Shoya

Have been busy with work etc... But just got to tell you about a few places I have had the pleasure of dining at from Friday onwards.

Friday night with a few drinking buddies and friend from Hong Kong, we headed down to Shoya, on Market Lane, Chinatown. THis place is fairly new, barely a year old.. They have 4 floors, each dedicated to a favourite Japanese passtime: Karaoke, drinking, Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) and eating (wafu dining). There are a few tatami-style dining tables, but we were giving a "normal" table for our yakiniku. The special thing about this place's yakiniku is that it is smoke-less, i.e. no need to smell like burnt oil when you get home.. We left our menu choices to the very capable Yuki. We had many BBQ beef dishes including ox tongue, tender marinated beef pieces and chicken. We also had nyu-tataki (raw beef with onion, lemon and egg), ox tail congee, sashimi platter, vinegared octopus, mentai-go (fish roe) potato salad etc..and lots of Asahi and sake to go with it. It was a very extravagant meal $$$...

Saturday, we went National Golf Club, Cape Schanck for lunch and to pick my mother up from golf. We had a long lunch at the club house. I ordered the baked fish cake with aloli, red onion and baby spinach, Dad ordered the gourmet fish and chips. Both our meals were unexpectedly small but by the time we were half way, we thought, "That was delicious!" So highly recommend it if you are ever out that way .

Finally, last but not least, the revamped Dumpling King in Box Hill. My parents have always loved Shanghainese food but detested the state of some of the more popular Shanghainese restaurants in Melbourne. So, they were a little reluctant to go to Dumpling King, when I suggested it on Sunday evening...thinking that it would be as grotty as the other. But since a few years back, this little place has expanded and "bloomed" into a very decent looking restaurant, similar atmosphere as Westlake Chinese Restaurant on the same street. We sampled the "Little-Dragon Buns", Pork dumplings, Shanghainese thick noodles, Oo-long tea shrimps, "Hong-Siu" tofu and Boiled pork slices with clear noodles. My sister loved the chill oil garlic sauce that came with the pork slices and added it in all the other dishes that she put in her bowl. I loved the buns.. they had soup in them and the pastry was just right. Their dumplings were smaller than that of the other more popular Shanghainese restaurants but the pastry was much better... If you want quality SHanghainese in a clean and comfortable setting - this place is highly recommended! .. Got to get back to reality - WORK.