Taxi

To celebrate Father's Day we decided to head out for a special dinner at Taxi. Upon arrival we were greeted with a warm welcome and we were shown to our seats which offered a stunning view of Southbank. The decor was everything we expected it to be, simple and elegant.

After ordering our starters and mains we were given a palate cleanser which was a serving of miso pumpkin soup. Sounds weird I know but it was creamy and absolutely delicious! Our starters arrived and we had ordered tempura to share, the vegetables and tofu were coated in a light batter and deepfried served with some kind of sauce. This dish was nice (there were some unidentifiable vegetables) but not spectacular.

For mains I had the T-bone with bonemarrow, this was accompanied by mushrooms and crispy pork and spinach puree. I had thought that the sauce would be something different (since it said it had bonemarrow) but it was essentially a pepper sauce and everything was just a tad too salty for my liking. The others at the table had the special for the night flat head with scallops wrapped in prosciutto, and the wagyu beef which came with a horseradish dipping sauce. The fish was a hit being perfectly cooked and the scallops were a nice a touch, the wagyu steak and horseradish was also enjoyed although the horseradish we would have to say is an acquired taste.

We finished the evening with a strawberry souffle and petite four. These were flawless and made their way easily into our already bulging bellies.

All in all it was a nice evening, the service and mood of the restaurant was perfect although I would have to say I was not as impressed with the food as I thought I should be especially for the price.

Place: Taxi

Where: Level 1 of Transport Hotel, Federation Square Melbourne

Did we have a great time: We had a good time.

Would you go again? I would probably try somewhere else first.

Recommended: Yes, it's a nice place to go for a special occasion.

Dress Code: You don't need a suit but don't turn up in jeans and a top!

Good Satay – Hong Kong

After recently arriving back from a brief trip to Hong Kong and Japan I am filled with many culinary stories most good, some bad and a couple of very odd experiences. But first to focus upon the good.

On our second evening in Hong Kong we decide to venture out of our air conditioned room into the humid summer evening. Taking with us the trust worthy travel book, we decide to take its advice and head in search of a place called Good Satay. This little eatery is hidden around a corner on a middle level of a shopping centre, walking in we pass women sitting in the corridor with buckets of prawns, patiently shelling them in preparation for the dinner rush.

Suffering from mild jet lag (one of us had traveled from the UK) we were fairly early for dinner so we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. We were seated in a corner and handed laminated menus which English descriptions and pictures to go with the food just to make sure you knew what you were ordering. We just had to try the Satay chicken, followed with chicken in Pandan leaves and Fried Kway Teow.

Once the food arrived our mouths began watering. The chicken satay came on sticks with perfect bite sized portions of meat that we covered with the delicious satay dipping sauce.

The chicken in pandan leaves were just as good, the meat was moist and infused with the flavour of the leaves. Unwrapping them proved to be a little dangerous and messy, just need to watch out for the exiting steam from these little parcels.

For me however the winner of the night was the Fried Kway Teow, we were given a very generous serving heaped with fresh prawns and chunks of Chinese sausage, this coupled with crunchy bean shoots left me begging for more. It was simply divine.

All in all our first culinary adventure in Asia was deemed a success, the food was great, we ended up paying under $20 AUD and although the staff were a bit too attentive with the tendency to hover over us we had a great night out.

Place: Good Satay

Where: Houston Centre, 63 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Hong Kong, China

Did we have a great time? Yes

Would you go again? If we find ourselves back in Hong Kong defiantly going to pay a visit.

Recommended? Of course!