Ringwood Chinese Restaurant - Ringwood

Remember your first day at your very first job? Did you feel excited? A bit nervous?

I certainly remembered mine... my mom dropped me off at the workplace and we had lunch together.

That would have been ok if I was 13 working a casual job in a supermarket... but no. I was 21 and it was a full time, beginning of a career kinda job.

Mom was reluctant to have lunch with me that first day of work. After all, it wasn't primary school I was going to.  But I am thankful she was there for me.

I never needed to have lunch with mom during a work day after that first day. And I don't think she minded at all. I found my feet, and a bunch of the most awesome people I have ever worked with after that.

Anyway, what has this got to do with the Ringwood Chinese Restaurant?  The waiter serving us was wearing a white business shirt straight from the package, complete with fold marks. It just reminded me of a high school kid going to work at his first paying job.

He did pretty alright for a newbie. The food was not bad as well. We ordered seafood and tofu hotpot. It had a generous amount of basa fish, prawns, cuttlefish, tofu and veges. The sauce was good with rice.

Cantonese beef fillet. The beef was tender and delicious.

The prices are a little higher than other chinese restaurants, but the ambience is good and the chef cooks good food. The portions are generous.

We did have a discount coupon which made the prices more reasonable. Overall I think the food is good, only that perhaps the prices need to be rethought to attract my patronage.

Tina's Noodles - CBD

Each time I pass by this restaurant, there is a line of customers waiting to enter the restaurant. The restaurant in Box Hill is also always full.

One weekend, my friend and I decided to give it a try.  The only caveat was, if there is a line outside,  we will move on to the next restaurant.  We went a little earlier than 12pm, and were able to get in without waiting.

The bowls were large, and my noodles were full of tasty bits. It had meat balls, quails eggs, luncheon meat, deep fried fish cakes, tofu, veges in a tasty broth. It was tasty but rich and could have fed two small eaters.

My friend ordered the fish slices with pickled veges. There were generous servings of fish slices in the bowl.

Overall, we enjoyed the food but it would be better as a smaller portion with a corresponding reduction in price. Alternatively, we could have shared one bowl of noodles!

Wantilan Bali - Hawthorn

Having been to Bali without Gaz, I wanted him to try the Balinese cuisine that I enjoyed so much while in Bali.

My family took me to try the famous Babi Guling dish in Bali, crispy deep fried whole duck, BBQ ribs so tender they fell off the bone. They were all so delicious!!

Wantilan Bali served all three dishes in their restaurant, but we only ordered two of them. Maybe one day we will return for the third dish!

Babi guling with crispy crackling. I liked the crackling,  which is better than the original dish I had in Bali but where the spicy vege was much more delicious.

BBQ beef ribs with spicy sauce.  The ribs were sweet and sticky, so tender and delicious.

We enjoyed both dishes, but Gaz thought they were not enough for him to fill his tummy. I think he was too hungry that day, but maybe we should have ordered the duck as well!

Hank's Fancy BBQ, CBD

We were so hungry after half a day of shopping. First, we shopped for clothes then we shopped for groceries at Queen Vic Mart. We were so engrossed in shopping that lunch was just a quick meal on the run.

So, when we went to Hank's, it seemed that the portions were disappointingly small for our hungry tummies.

Brisket sandwich, $12. We waited ages for this but was disappointed that it was only half a sandwich.

Mustard, pickles, it was tangy and only half a sandwich.... with crisps from a packet.

Buffalo wings $12 equating to $2 each wing... these wings couldn't fly.

I suppose the dishes would be good with a pint and a game of pool. But without the pleasure of a cold beer, the food seemed inadequate on their own.

We wanted to try their BBQ meats but they were sold out. The price per gramme of meat was quite expensive but it would have been nice to try it out to see if it's as fancy as the restaurant name suggests!