Quick reviews: Flemington Kebab House, Coconut House, Rice Workshop, Somethin' Fishy & Cafe de Beaumarchais

Flemington Kebab House, Flemington
I had been meaning to try out this place since forever but never quite pulled the trigger until New Year's Day. We ended up coming here since a lot of other restaurants were closed on the day and M had lately been saying that he felt like something vaguely Middle Eastern.

We ended up just each getting a kebab (he the lamb/doner and I the chicken) with some chips. These chips were delicious, fresh and crunchy and doused with a tonne of chicken salt they tasted amazing...mmm...MSG. The kebabs were also delish and HUMONGOUS. I tried some of M's lamb and this lamb hater actually liked it! The lamb was flavoursome but not too musky. I was still happy with my chicken choice however and the generous garlic and chilli sauce made everything flavoursome to the max. The bread was also noteworthy, a great spongy but chewy turkish loaf cut in half and filled rendering more like a traditional sandwich than the rolled up shape we normally associate with kebabs.

Coconut House, CBD
I've been going to Coconut House for a while, partly due to the fact I used live very close by. I wouldn't exactly call it a favourite but it's definitely a top choice when I feel like something and cheap.

Their laksas are very good, and I personally really enjoy their meat and rice meals (e.g. BBQ pork/chicken with rice) although lots of people find their rice too garlicky. That said, I am a garlic fiend so I probably can't be trusted to be impartial when it comes to this. On this occasion, I had the pok mee, something I'd had before and enjoyed. It definitely hit the spot, especially with the mountains of chilli I put on it. They were also obliging in giving me extra chilli in the form of their garlic chilli sauce which normally accompanies their Hainan chicken meals. The BBQ was nice and lean, just how I like it. The minced pork was a bit problematic for me; although it was flavoursome, it was too fatty and grisly for my tastes.

Rice Workshop, CBD
Even after the monstrous kebab I had earlier the day I still felt I wanted something for dinner so we went for a quick one at Rice Workshop and shared a beef curry don. Rice Workshop is in a similar vein to Hainaichi in QV—very cheap quick Japanese meals served in paper bowls—but in my opinion does it better. This beef curry don was very tasty and I love that they have a little condiment station, including free Japanese pickles. I'll definitely be back to try more of their dons and their udon bowls.

 


Somethin' Fishy, CBD
We weren't entirely sure we were making a good decision to choose this newly opened joint when we felt like some Fish and Chips one evening due to the emptiness and the mixed urbanspoon reviews. However, as soon as we opened out cute brown cardboard packs I knew we'd made a good choice. We'd each gone for a something fishy pack ($10 with a free water/drink) and it was a perfectly generous portion for a hungry person. The fish was fresh and nicely crisp but the real stars of the show were the diamond cut chips, very similar to those served at Schnitz. Best of all there was a very well stocked condiment station at the restaurant, including Sriracha!!

 

Cafe de Beaumarchais, Sassafras
This was the only one of these five eateries that I didn't like. We chose it because it was the most promising looking place for lunch in Sassafras up on Mt Dandenong, where we headed one afternoon to visit a friend. First impressions were pretty positive, a cute little vaguely French-themed cafe in a nice location.

I ordered the breakfast tart while M went for a sandwich and our friend a quiche. M's sandwich was mediocre, I was very unimpressed with the quality of the baguette used—the sort of dry 'French Stick' you used to get at supermarkets back in the day. My breakfast tart was very average, a small slice of tart (which in itself was pretty bland and uninteresting) accompanied by a mountain of exciting and underdressed salad and some nice relish (out of a jar, as our waitress confessed). To take away, M also got a choc hazelnut cheesecake. As soon as he tried it he regretted his decision. It was sickly sweet and just not at all a quality cheesecake, especially for the price of $9. That was definitely a big complaint we shared about this place, that it was overpriced for what it was—very pedestrian food. Our biggest complaint, however, was reserved for the service. The place seemed to be staffed primarily by teenage girls, which of course, is not at all a problem in and of itself. It is however a problem when they seem completely disinterested in providing decent service and spend their time on the phone on a personal call while they are supposed to bagging up the $9 slice of very mediocre cheesecake you just ordered and paid for. Instead of getting off the phone, she struggled (unsuccessfully) to bag the cake with one hand, at which point we just indicated to her not to bother and that we'd just take it home sans bag.