Lygon Street in Melbourne, also known as Little Italy, is littered with quite a number of gelati shops. Between Queensberry and Grattan, there are some five such outlets. However, there is only one award winning gelati shop out of the five: Il Dolce Freddo.
Yummy gelati, with wide variety of flavors
It is also the only gelati shop Mellissa (and everyone else that I know of) swears by in Melbourne. We made it a point that I must try out this place during my trip, so went there I did, with Mellissa and Zehan (hello single and available guys out there please go and buaya her ok)
check out the their famous durian flavored gelato!
Freddo offers quite a variety of gelati flavors, but the one absolute must-try flavor would be Durian. Yes, good ol’ spiky stinky durian flavored gelato. There are other interesting flavors such as Pandan, various types of berries, rocher (with Ferraro Rocher), mango, lychee, passion fruit, and the more conventional chocolate, green tea, and coconut. Over 20 flavors in all.
KY, Mell, and Zehan
I ordered a cup with a scoop of Durian and Pandan flavored gelato for $4.80 (prices range from $4.80 to $7.80). It was lovely, the durian gelato actually made a very fair representation of the fruit, sticky, flavorful, and taste exactly like what you’d expect from the king of fruit. The pandan gelato too was quite lovely, sweet and fragrant.
The weather was quite lovely that day, if not just a little too cold. Then again, the temperature did keep our gelati in good shape and not turn into puddle of colored sweetened milky syrup so it was all good.
Can’t wait till I go there again this winter. 
Address:
Il Dolce Feddo
116 Lygon St,
Carlton, VIC 3053,
Australia
GPS: -37.80424, 144.966488
Tel: 03-9639 3344
During the 2nd day of my visit to Melbourne, Mel and I met up with Pinky who left Nuffnang Malaysia to continue her study at Melbourne. Pinky has always been one of my favorite persons who is very hardworking, efficient, and humble; which is probably why she is now Nuffnang Australia’s very first expat, in part time basis anyway.
Mell, Pinky, Kah Kit, KY
We met Pinky and her boyfriend Kah Kit’s at their apartment a couple blocks away and together we walked to Cafe Notturno in Lygon Street, also known as the Little Italy of Melbourne. Total walking distance was about 1km, very managable under the comfortable autumn temperature.
Cafe Notturno, meat lovers pizza
Cafe Notturno is quite a popular place among the students as the food here is pretty cheap in Melbourne standard. Almost everything in the menu is priced under $20.
I ordered a steak with pepper sauce, Mell got the seafood combo, Pinky and Kah Kit a fettucine bosciola, and we also shared a medium meat lover’s pizza.
steak, fettucine bosciola, seafood combo
The steak ($19.80) was prepared medium rare and actually tasted quite nice. The portion was rather large and perhaps not a very good idea for brunch but I finished it nonetheless. I liked the salad with balsamic vinegar too.
Seafood combo ($14.30) was very worth it, prawns, scallops, fish fillets, and squid rings deep fried in batter and served with tartar sauce, fresh lemon, and the same salad.
The fettucine bosciola ($12.70) was very sumptuous too; but I find the meat lover’s pizza ($10 – medium) a little too salty and not very crunchy. Pinky insisted that they had an off day and the pizza usually tasted better.
Mell actually drew this map! AMAZING isn’t it?
Cafe Notturno certainly offers some very decent food with very affordable pricing, perfect especially for those who doesn’t want to break the bank for an authentic Italian meal in the city. Of course, the brunch session was awesome with the great companies.
Address:
179 Lygon St, Carlton,
VIC 3053, Australia
GPS: -37.801511,144.966702
Tel: +613 9347 8286
Despite staying so close to SS2 and having my dinner there at least once a week, Buonasera Italian Restuarant somehow escaped my radar for the past year or so that they have been in operation. But as luck was on my side, a couple of weeks ago I went there on a food review session thanks to the invitation from the friendly owner Ms Zee Cheng.
Prociutto Melon, yum yum
The restaurant is located along a the row of shops at SS2 that is closest to LDP, which also means that parking is slightly easier compared to other spots around the area. Though “slightly” is a very relative word.
The interior is simple and clean though decoration could be slightly better as I personally find the faux vines around the edges ceiling a rather ill adviced concept. However, overall it is still an environment that is comfortable and conducive for a lunch/dinner date that is not too flashy.
Spaghetti Seafood
Unlike most other Italian restaurants, Buonasera joins the likes of Bermuda & Onions and Bruno’s as the few that are not halal. Which means that you get real bacon, and even some pork dishes. That realisation pretty much made my day already.
I usually let the host decides the selection of dishes on invited reviews, but this time Eiling and I made a little special request and asked for at least a dish involving pork. *smirk*
The first dish that was the Prosciutto Melon (RM 28.90), Italian speciality ham that is cured and served with rock melon, not unlike my first experience of it at Bermuda & Onion. The deliciously salty ham and the sweetness of melon works well in this classic combination, though the melon used were just a tad too ripe.
Caesar Salad with bacon, Australian Chilled Angus Sirloin
Next up was the Seafood Spaghetti (RM 38.90) with quite a generous portion of very fresh prawns, mussles, and squid. While I’m normally not a big fan of cream sauce, I must say that I really enjoyed this dish. It wasn’t overly rich nor over powering. Just very sumptuous and flavorful.
The Caesar salad (RM 19.90) isn’t the typical salad for skinny girls who wants to get skinnier. The dish comes with plenty of pork bacon, cheese, hard boiled egg, crutons, and of course, fresh vegetable. On top of that, you get four slices of garlic bread too. The bacon was really yummy!
The final main dish was the Angus Sirloin (RM 49.90) that comes with a bowl of deep fried rosemary potato chunks that Eiling just can’t stop eating. I find that the steak itself was pretty commendable considering the price point.
Tiramisu, Chocolate Pot, and Enzo’s Famous Mixed Berry Zabaglione
The nicely decorated and pretty good tasting Tiramisu (RM 14.90) was supposed to be our only dessert, but due to the interesting chemistry that Chef Enzo brewed up with Eiling, we ended up with a bit more than we could handle.
The good chef, who started working in the kitchen since 16 (exactly how many years ago is a mystery), prepared another two desserts as our stomachs were already filled up to the brim. We had Enzo’s Chocolate Pot (RM 14.90), with vanilla ice cream and chocolate that isn’t too sweet; and finally his signature dessert, Mixed Berry Zabaglione (RM 16.90) which is a home made mixed berry sorbet with Italian egg custard. The sourness of the sorbet and the rich custard (egg yolk, sugar, Marsala wine) was an awesome combination, I finished it and losen my belt in the process.
Chef Enzo and I, Eiling who really likes her dessert
To be honest, I’m rather impressed by the quality and the selection of food at Buonasera, not to mention it’s midrange pricing. This would be a place I yearn to return for more.
Address:
42, Jalan SS 2/66
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.120033,101.620907
Tel: 03-7877 8586
A couple weeks ago baby Marco’s father invited me to have a food tasting session at this curiously named Bermuda and Onion at Cangkat Bukit Bintang. Since I was bringing a couple guests, he reminded me that this place serves pork, more pork, and nothing but pork! My drool started flowing just from hearing that magic sentence.
note: Unfortunately this place has gone halal (updated jan 2010)
love the decoration of this place
During the weekend, parking around the area was surprisingly easy to find. We were greeted by this absolutely beautiful interior decoration the moment we stepped into the restaurant, the lime green wall, egg shaped lamp on the curvy ceiling fan, the patio, the bar, the chairs; this place looks like something out of a romantic movie, a striking contrast from the nearby Jalan Alor kopitiams.
bruschetta, parma ham with asparagus, prawn, and okra on skewers
As 2 of my buddies and I waited for TBG and her lesser half, we were served some bruschetta with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to start the day off. Very nice.
Then the pork dishes began, in a small way at first. Out of the three skewers we had, two of them had pork in it. The prawns and parma ham was absolutely fantastic, the asparagus and bacon was equally delicious with it’s contrasting texture and taste of vegetable vs meat. Ladies fingers and tomato gave a pretty good balance to counter the meat just a little. It was a very good start, and I was quite impressed already.
cold cuts, caesar salad, parma ham with rock melon
To warm up our stomach further before the main dishes, we were presented three other appetizers: cold cuts, caesar salad, and prosciutto and melone.
The cold cuts came with three different types of meat with some olives. I love two of them but find the harder type a little bit too much to handle with it’s dryness and more pungent smell (purists would love it though). Caesar salad came with plenty of prawns, bacon, Parmesan cheese and egg. It was very refreshing and delicious!
However, my favorite of the day has to go to the prosciutto and melone. I never knew parma ham could go so well with rock melon, the saltiness of the meat and the sweetness of the rock melon was absolutely brilliant! You must order this when you go to Bermuda and Onion, do not forget this!
wild boar fettuccine, bread dumpling soup, pork chop ala mustard
Then came assault of main dishes. The wild boar fettuccine was pretty strong tasting, with generous chunks of wild boar meat and mushroom cooked with fresh herbs. The speck ‘canedarli’ gnocchi is a homemade Italian bread dumpling served in double boiled chicken broth and Parmesan cheese. The chef explained that they’d have made this bigger in Italy as compared to here.
Then of course, there’s the pork chop ala mustard that came in a huge plate. A generous slab of pork chop is pan seared, and served with creamy Dijon mustard sauce and plenty of mash potato. Very rich and creamy but really good.
sea bass and roasted pork belly
Just as we thought the lunch session is coming to an end, two glorious dishes appeared. The interesting looking sea bass and roasted pork belly.
The sea bass, as with most dishes from this restaurant, didn’t escape the influence of pork. Mantled with parma ham and served with mixed sauteed vegetables, it gives you a false sense of enjoying “healthy” seafood but of course, with a more satisfying experience through the taste buds.
As for the pork belly, what can I say? Proper and glorious layers of pork skin, fat, and meat served in a thick brown sauce with mashed potato and Lardoni bacon, I can’t help myself but to continue slicing it up and chew em down despite already being very full.
hot restaurant manager Sharmini, and good Chef Max
We capped the day with a hot cup of cafe latte, it was definitely the best lunch I’ve had in a long while. Chef Max and restaurant manager Sharmini were very friendly, as with baby Marco’s parents as well.
Price wise, I’d think this place is pretty reasonable. The skewers are RM 8-9, my favorite parma ham with melon at RM33, other main dishes are priced at around 30+ to 50+. Give it a try!
Bermuda & Onion is located at Changkat Bukit Bintang, nearby Jalan Alor
Address:
no. 41 Changkat Bukit Bintang,
50200 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.147592, 101.708100
Tel: 03-2145 8333
While our Muslim friends were celebrating the Prophet’s birthday last Thursday, I was invited to sample some dishes at Lisa Spaghetti at SS15, Subang Jaya. As I have a limited stomach myself, Sammy and Dree were called upon to lend a stomach in this expedition. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
update (april 2010): This restaurant is now closed.
comfortable ambiance in simplicity
Situated just across Taylor’s University College’s main campus at Subang Jaya, the restaurant caters mostly to students and young adults. The menu and especially pricing reflects just that, everything is priced at less than RM 10 (most dishes from RM 4.99 to RM7.99), with the only exception being the hotplate lamb chop at RM 12.80. Very good value, but what about quality of the food?
Lisa and Chan, our very friendly hosts
As we were busy tasting the 6 main dishes Lisa prepared, the very friendly host explained to us on how she arrived at opening this restaurant late last year. Even though a small establishment, the recipes are sourced internationally through Lisa’s mother in law who has traveled and lived in various parts of the world for more than 40 years. This includes Italy, America, and England. The restaurant aims to serve these dishes as close to their original form as possible.
hot plate princess, stew rice, curry spaghetti, fried butter rice
First dish to arrive was the hotplate princess, a generous portion of Lisa Spaghetti and black pepper boneless chicken with half a dozen small sausages. I find the sauce very flavorful and yet not over powering, the chicken was juicy and compliments the pasta rather well. Stew rice was arguably my favorite of the day, the gravy was thick and delicious and goes very well with the chicken and steamed rice.
hotplate lamb chop, white sauce spaghetti, fried ice cream, oyster mushroom
The curry spaghetti and fried butter rice were pretty good as well, providing a sort of fusion between the east and the west and came out pretty good. As our collective stomachs were filling up, Lisa brought out the hotplate lamb chop and white sauce spaghetti. I enjoyed the lamb chop with its juicy meat and black pepper sauce, but I must say that if you are not a big fan of cheesy food, the white sauce spaghetti might prove to be too rich and too cheesy.
Lisa Spaghetti is situated just opposite Taylor’s University College at Subang Jaya
After the 6 entrees for the 3 of us, Lisa still wasn’t prepared to let us go. She brought out fried ice cream and fried oyster mushroom. The dessert and the finger food were pretty good too, I just wish I had a bigger stomach.
While the selection (mostly chicken) of dishes might not be very big, the taste and especially the price at Lisa Spaghetti were very good. Where else can you have a plate of spaghetti starting at RM 5.00 and soft drinks only at RM 1.80 in an air conditioned restaurant? Give it a try, I’m sure I will be there again when I find myself at SS15.
Address:
No. 38, Jalan SS15/8
Subang Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.076045, 101.590490
Tel: 016-345 8886
