Bento Bento, Glen Waverley

Many restaurants are participating in some kind of promotion or other in this challenging retail times. It is even more commonplace where the competition is significant, like on Kingsway in Glen Waverley. Many Asian restaurants on the strip has daily promotions, Groupon, or promotion with purchase type advertising. 

After the first lockdown ended, we went to Bento Bento on a Groupon voucher. It was nice to dine out again. The restaurant was quiet but livened as lunch hour progressed. There were a number of take away orders but many people also preferred to dine in. One of the things I missed during the lockdown was dining out, and not needing to wash the dishes afterwards!

Under the Groupon promotion, we were given a serve of endamame each and allowed to order one rice bowl and a soft drink each. Gaz ordered the Gyu Don and I had the Katsu Curry Don. 

The Gyu Don came with an onsen egg and pickles. The beef was cooked in a flavourful soy based sauce. The beef slices were thin with distinct strips of fat i.e. tender!

I enjoyed my Katsu Curry Don because as always, I find Japanese curry delicious and heartening. The Katsu Curry Don reminded me of the time we went to a mountainside town in Japan during offpeak ski season. We ventured out at night for dinner but strangely could not find any restaurants open except for a small neighbourhood eatery that served their last two bowls of curry udon to us. It was a scary moment for me - imagine starving through the night! But thankfully we found something to eat and even if it was an ordinary bowl of curry udon it filled the hole.

Ordinarily the rice bowls would cost $15 each but we got a good deal with Groupon. Each of our meal ended up costing below that but included endamame and a drink. 

Our order was served quickly and were freshly prepared. Except for a few hiccoughs at the beginning where the soft drinks of our choice were unavailable, the service was prompt. 

There are already a few Japanese restaurants on the strip like Ajisen Ramen and Waya so I do think that this restaurant would need something more to differentiate itself to survive in these challenging times. 

Update: This restaurant has permanently closed

Forage Food Store, Boronia

When brunch was a thing in Melbourne (sigh... those days look so long ago!), we would go to Forage. They serve hip dishes like pulled pork, apple kimchi slaw, watercress. They're always busy but the waitpersons are friendly and the service is prompt. One thing though - if you're having a girly brunch, don't sit on the stools. They're not very comfortable. 

The last time we were here shortly before the lockdown, we ordered the Benny with Pulled Pork Shoulder ($18). This comes with poached eggs on potato rosti, pulled pork, kimchi slaw. I like the potato rosti and the eggs were poached perfectly. The hollandaise sauce was creamy and rich, to be cut with the acidity from the kimchi slaw. I would rather prefer the real kimchi though, as the kimchi slaw was a bit meek for my taste. 

Gaz being the big man ordered the Big Meat Breakfast ($21). It was laden with bacon, sausages, potato rosti, eggs sunny side up, mushrooms, grilled tomato and in case you didn't have enough carbs, toast as well. I love big breakfasts and this was no exception. I just love the meats and wished there was more kransky sausages but this is portion control by the restaurant and I am glad for that. Otherwise I will be eating far too much processed meats for my own good. 

Forage is currently open for takeaways only, which lessens the attractiveness of any dishes so it would be wonderful to be able to dine in once again. They have outdoor seating at the back as well as along the side of the shop so if you prefer to sit outside during warmer days or just to be socially distanced from others, that is a good option to keep in mind. 

U Dumpling, Boronia

U Dumpling is a good place to go to if you have a hankering for some Sichuan food or something spicy. Their dumplings are not too bad either but it's really the dishes of hot and spicy food that we come here for. If you do order the spicy dishes, then be ready for the mind numbing heat that will have you reaching for tissues to wipe your tears away. 

We ordered the Braised Spicy Lamb Ribs ($28) - this was on the special menu. It came with green peppers, bamboo shoots and the portion of lamb was generous (more generous the first time we ordered this dish when it was still new on the menu). I love lamb ribs cooked this way because it falls off the bone and is so tender. Tina's Noodles have a spicy noodle dish with lamb ribs that is my go to each time I visit that place because of the same reason. But this, just lamb ribs and plentiful at that, is way better!

In the mood for something deep fried, we ordered the Sichuan Spicy Chicken Rib ($17.80). It's entirely a coincidence that we ordered two rib dishes! Deep fried with sichuan spices, it was crispy and the fix I needed. But it had a heavy taste and it was not due to the spices. 

The restaurant looks clean and tidy and the portions are generous. They have been adding more main sized dishes to the menu so it is more than just a dumpling and noodle restaurant. The menu need a little more variety though, maybe a few more non spicy vegetarian dishes to complement the spicy dishes. 

Malay Momma, Southbank

The National Gallery of Victoria has reopened but admissions are only through booking so that they have some sort of control over the number of people in the gallery. It was probably the first time we had a nearly empty gallery to ourselves, where we could take photos and stop by exhibits for as long as we wanted without getting in other people's way. It was quite a pleasant experience! 

The arts sector is bearing the brunt of Covid19. Many performers and artists do not qualify for the Jobseeker payments. Arts is a luxury, but at the same time a necessary part of life. It really is too bad that some universities may seek to decrease the cost of job-ready courses such as Economics at the expense of Arts courses. What kind of society would we become without beauty in our lives? 

After our visit to the NGV, we were hungry but wanted to avoid going into the heart of the city. Luckily, I had heard of this new restaurant nearby. It was a 5 minute walk and the restaurant was empty so we could dine in without worrying about the social distancing rules. All of their orders while we were there was for takeaways or deliveries.

I found it thoughtful and hygienic that their cutlery came in a prepacked sleeve containing fork and spoon or spoon and chopsticks with a napkin. Common cutlery boxes should be out the door by now, but many restaurants still retain this pre Covid19 habit. 

We ordered the Curry Laksa ($14.90) - with chicken, fish cake, tofu puffs, green beans. The broth was creamy and lacked a little spice but I have no complaints. There were plenty of chicken, tofu puffs and fish cake in the dish. I was really happy about that, because no one likes eating just noodles.

I had the Beef Hor Fun - flat rice noodles with beef in silky egg chiffon sauce ($14.90). I could smell and taste the breath of wok in this dish. The flat rice noodles were cooked really well, so was the beef slices. It was tender and there were lots of them. I can see that this restaurant does not skimp on the ingredients that matter! I really dislike restaurants that serve big portions of carbs but you'll be hard pressed to find any proteins in the dish. 

The prices are probably a little on the high range but I understand that the rental and location may be contributory factors here. There is also a lack of good Malaysian restaurants in the area so if I was living nearby I would be happy to pay these prices. 

Kokoro Asian Cafe, Bayswater

This cafe recently had a change in management and now serves Japanese food. Previously, I believe it was a cafe known for its coffee and also served Indonesian food. We actually stumbled across this cafe only recently and decided to try it out as we wanted to support the local businesses. 

The wait person told us that they had only taken over since two months ago at the height of Covid19 so it must have been difficult for the owners to remain profitable during this period. Unlike some restaurants that had increased their prices to cover for the additional cost (hand sanitizers, reduced patron numbers due to social distancing), Kokoro had maintained the same prices and even provided more complimentary items like prawn crackers, miso soup and candy bars. 

We ordered Spicy Kimchi Chicken Bento Box ($16.50) and Baked Chicken Chop Rice ($12.50). 

I liked the kimchi chicken and the assortment of fried entrees in this bento box. The packaged jelly in the dessert section of the bento box is a cute touch! 

The sauce in the baked chicken chop rice was sweet but bland. It was not what I'd expected and I would probably not order this again.  

The cafe is a friendly neighbourhood Japanese cafe close to the train station so it is great for weary commuters wanting to pick up some Japanese food on the way home.