High Fidelity

Andrew's Hamburger

Andrews Hamburger, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Ph: (03) 9690 2126; 144 Bridport St, ALBERT PARK 3206

I moved to Albert Park 6 months ago and I am extremely delighted that Andrew's Hamburger is just 5 minutes walk from my house.

The shop front and the interior will bring you straight back to the 70's, when food was still properly made with quality ingredients and patience. Every time when I was there the queue is always so long that it snakes out onto the foot path. Consider yourself lucky if you are told there is a 15-minute wait during dinner hour. It opens from Monday to Saturday until 9:30pm, but get there earlier because the beef patties are always sold out well before the closing hour.

No you won't get fancy ingredients here. These are good old, honest burgers that are cooked to the perfection in front of your eyes. The patties are grilled till the edges are crunchy, with cheese melted over the top. Below the patty are big fat thick tomato slices and finely shredded white cabbage and iceberg lettuce.

No photo of burger here because it is always most eagerly consumed after a well-worth wait. Take my word for it - you won't be disappointed.


Andrews Hamburger, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Fiesta!

Fiesta is a Mexican restaurant in South Yarra.  It's established in 1986, more than 20 years old.

The food: good serving size, nice salad. Lime chicken on salad is very appetising and refreshing.

However, the chimichanga is a bit disappointing: not spicy enough and the burrito is a bit too thin and not deep-fried properly. It's reasonable if it's your first chimichanga. But for us it just didn't quite deliver the "chimichanga-factor" as the one we tried at Tres Amigos in Lakes Entrance.

On the other hand, the taco beef is yummy. The beef is full of flavour and tender. I just can't get enough of it.

The dessert is a bit of a surprise. Dessert menu is short but interesting. We had bread and butter pudding with orange sauce and you can find caramelised apple in the moist pudding. Not too sweet and not too rich, but very satisfying, especially in winter :)

Also, don't forget to try the margaritas!

Dainty sichuan food

Dainty sichuan food is the best Szechuan restaurant I've been to so far. The food is great and very well priced, given the generous serving size. The restaurant is always crowded and most customers are Chinese, suggesting that food is truly authentic. Just a note: people who can't take spicy food probably won't be able to enjoy most of the food on the menu. However, you can always wash the food down with a big bottle of Tsing Dao beer. And if you can't finish the food, the waiter/waitress will be happy to provide you plastic containers to take away the leftover.

 

A must try for Szechuan food lovers. Try cummin pork/lamb spare ribs too.

James Squire Brewhouse

James squire brewhouse at Dockland is not just a bar and not just a restaurant. It's both. Good beer and good food. 

They have their very own micro-brewery so that you are guaranteed the freshed hand-crafted beers. There are three different beers that are brewed in-house:

DOCKLANDS
Brewed with all pale and Munich malts, James Squire’s Pale Ale is rich and robust with the earthly floral dry hop character of Fuggles hops.

THE CRAIC
Portland’s own full-bodied Irish Stout is a tasty chocolate brew which maintains creaminess and softness with a bittersweet after-taste.

THE HIGHWAYMAN
This thrice hopped ale uses a blend of choice English, European and New Zealand hops resulting in a fruity aroma with hints of citrus, gooseberry and blackcurrant.

The environment is very easy going and relaxing. It's a nice place for friends and family to gather , meet up, and have a drink and dinner (there are even pool tables!).  The food is, though not superb, but reasonably nice and well-portion, and not too expensive; the beer is excellent - fresh and rich in flavours, unlike your normal bottled beers. People who don't like to drink beer should give James Squire's beer a try, you might be surprised [ And no, I'm not an alcoholic :) ].

Pellegrinis Bar

Open: mon-sat 8am-11.30pm; sun noon-8pm; Unlicensed

Some said Pellegrini's has had one paint job in over fifty years. Some said Pellegrini's claims to have been the first establishment to serve espresso coffee in the proper way. All I know is:

This Italian espresso bar has been unchanged in decades and for a good reason. It delivers history, atmosphere, the Italian cool, more importantly, excellent coffee, granitas, honest home cooked pasta, and a good variety of cakes and dessert.

Stepping inside this tiny cafe, you will notice the faded photos of Italy, faux marble, the long bar, old furnitures and radio etc. Instantly you are no longer in year 2007. Time seems to have stopped here. The shop itself is a living history.

The cheese cake is light and not too sweet. Sometimes the cake is a little bit burnt on the side, but still tastes great. It is this kind of imperfection that makes everything a little bit less boring and special. Try the coffee and you can easily forget about starbuck's coffee (or whatever fancy names with the fancy prices). No you won't get any gourmet food here. What they serve is just hearty, honest home cooked pasta with a good serving size.

You will neither get a proper bill after your meal. The staff obviously can't be bothered to perform precise mental arithmetic - "make it ten dollars". Or they are just lazy to give coin changes.  And that usually leaves me walking out the shop with a grin =)

Cafe for nerds - the Journal

This popular cafe is located right next to the city library on flinders lane.

It has a bookish atmosphere and is great for reading. Inside there are two long communal tables with comfortable lighting and shelves above containing books, magazine, and newspaper. There are also other small tables and bar stools run along the inside of the cut section so people can sit inside or on the other side.

Don't expect it to be quiet bcoz of it's bookish atmosphere. If you look carefully you will see a vacuum tube amplifier (my favorite) sitting at a corner in the cafe with nice tunes to chill. I like that very much.

The service is good. The coffee is not bad. I like the blackboard specials that always get updated. The soup of the day is always hearty and inviting. It's also a nice place to have a glass of wine at night.

Address        Shop 1, 253 Flinders La, Melbourne

Phone           (03) 9650-4399

Style             Cafes

Cuisine         Cafe Fare

Hours           Mon-Fri: 7am-late; Sat: 7am-6pm

Details          Licensed

Payment       Cash

Price Guide  Breakfasts $4-$7, soup $8.50, mains $12.50, bruschettas and rolls $5.50-$8.50, pastries and gelati $2.70-$5.50