Station Hotel

Fine dining will always be my favourite eating experience. I love the ambience, the service, the exquisite menu options and the presentation of the food. I don't, however, like the damage that it causes to my wallet but you get exactly what you pay for and it makes me happy :)

My best friend took me to a renowned steak place in the Western suburbs (Footscray) that looks like your everyday pub from the outside, but surprisingly serves amazing steak. Looks can be deceiving though.

The dining area of Station Hotel was very fancy schmancy which I was a bit taken aback by. Before I had arrived, I had heard mixed reviews about the place. Some people really enjoyed it and some people thought it was pretty average. I personally enjoyed my steak. Please ignore the poor iPhone 4s image quality because I forgot my camera but I still wanted to share my experience with you all.

Complimentary bread. Very addictive. 

FRESHLY SHUCKED OYSTERS! $3.50 each

These oysters were tiny which was a shame. We really should have ordered more because the dressing in the middle complimented the oysters so well. I never used to eat fresh oysters when I was younger but I've grown to like them, a lot.

Duckfish sashimi with tempura oyster, mushrooms, soy and mirin dressing - $18

We also ordered the sashimi for entree and wow, the sauce was SO SALTY. The sashimi was drenched in the dressing so I had to drain it before I ate it. As for the Chinese mushrooms, they tasted a bit better than the ones in Shincup two minute noodles. I probably wouldn't recommend this dish for an entree.

My beautiful steak. 120 day grain fed Black Angus scotch fillet - $38

120 day grain fed? I hope the poor animal was also massaged on a regular basis and fed some wine considering it had that patience. My scotch fillet was cooked to perfection for medium rare. I find that sometimes steak places end up toooooo bloody when you cut into it which I don't like. I was a bit nervous that I couldn't finish 300g but in the end I swapped with Sarah because she couldn't eat her bloody (excuse the pun) Wagyu steak. 

The massive hot chips that are served with the steak are hand cut. Usually I'm a bit skeptical about hand cut chips because they don't have the same great taste but these ones did. The salad (at the time) needed a bit more dressing. 

Sarah's undercooked 450 day grain fed Wagyu X Holstein rostbiff - $36

How cute are the little saucers that the mushroom and peppercorn sauce come in? Sarah's steak was a big blob and was not cooked properly inside, leaving it red and too bloody for Sarah to eat so in the end we had to swap. 

ANOTHER CLOSE UP OF MY DELICIOUS SCOTCH FILLET + TRYING OUT BOTH OF THE DELICIOUS SAUCES. I wish it had more mushrooms in it. 

I have been to many steakhouses in my time but I would definitely recommend the Station Hotel, especially if you live around the area. My experience on the night was superb, and it was also due to the fact that the waiters were friendly. I have mentioned this so many times in my previous posts - service is everything, especially when fine dining. If you don't smile at me, I will endeavour to give you a hard time. Overall two thumbs up for me. Just be careful when finding parking around the restaurant as some areas are permit zones and we watched cars being fined as we were walking out. 

Station Hotel

Address: 59 Napier Street Footscray 3011

Contact: 96872913

Hours: Everyday 11am - late

Price: $$$$

Website: http://www.thestationhotel.com.au/

HOW TO GET THERE:

Chin Chin

Chin Chin. Weird name, warm ambiance but wonderful food.

Hong and I finally paid a visit (an expensive visit indeed) to celebrate our 19 months. In all honesty there is any excuse to eat out these days :)

The wait for Chin Chin wasn't too horrendous (to my surprise), especially for a Friday night. We went relatively early to avoid the after work rush. I arrived at 5:15pm and we were seated by 6:15pm. The guy I first spoke to wouldn't sit me down (without Hong), nor would he put me on a waiting list which I was extremely frustrated about. We then spoke to a helpful English girl who sent us a text to notify us that a spot was ready. When we were seated, there was a girl at the bar sitting by herself waiting for a friend that came half an hour later! How annoying is that (the fact that she was seated even though her friend wasn't even there)??!///?/???

 

Here is the menu that Chin Chin are really good in hiding. On the website it states - Looking for our MENU? Sorry Mario, the princess is in another castle! Meaning that you would HAVE TO come in and try the dishes. Open the image up if you want to have a read of the variety on the menu and the price range.

 

Chin Chin Coconut crush with the fruit of the day? - $8.00

It was dragonfruit and it was delish!!! I'm so glad I didn't order a normal juice or soft drink because this was so fresh. Although it was a bit chunky and hard to drink, the taste of it was so exotic and I felt like I was overseas. Because we were seated at the bar, it was fun to watch the bartenders set up the cocktails and watching their detail on presentation.

Pretty personalised Chin Chin wine glasses.

The alcoholic beverages book. There were wine bottles priced up to $2k in there - sheesh!!!

Kingfish Sashimi with lime, coconut, chilli and Thai basil - $18.00
*standing ovation*

The sentence above is underlined to represent how much I loved this dish. I want to give a big hug to the person who created it. They have executed it perfectly. The slices of kingfish were bite sized but you are given so many pieces so it didn't even matter. There was enough zing in the lime juice without completely taking over the other components. You would be a fool to go to Chin Chin and not order this dish. 

Pad Seuw of six hour braised WAGYU with gai laan (chinese broccoli , rolled rice noodles and crispy shallots - $24.00

It was either the pad seuw, pad thai or green thai curry so we opted for the first one. Just at a glance, I figured it would be salty judging by the dark colour, but it was far from it! I wasn't disappointed with the taste at all. I probably wouldn't recommend this as a MUST HAVE.

"Son In Law" eggs with chilli jam - $8.00

My friend Fi recommended this dish and I'm rather glad we ordered it. Basically it's an egg that's fried on the outside but still runny on the inside. The chilli jam wasn't hot/spicy at all which my taste buds thanked me for because I cannot handle it. You should order this if you intend on visiting Chin Chin.

"Feed Me" is an option that Chin Chin has where you let the waiters or the chefs choose a selection of signature dishes. I'd be a bit skeptical about this option because I'm rather picky with my meals.

Crispy skinned duck, picked cucumber and ginger salad, sesame salt (separate) and fresh lemon - served with a small bowl of Jasmine rice - $33.00 

I friggin love duck but this was too hard to cut for me. I don't like eating food that takes too much effort (with the exception of ribs because ribs is fun). Later on I discovered that it was actually the skin that made it tough, and the meat inside was tender as!!! I probably will order something different on my next visit as this was pretty ordinary. It tasted like a fried quail with much more meat content as opposed to a duck.

Caramalised Pork with crispy barramundi and green apple salad - $27.00.

Oh man!!! How horrible does this image look with iPhone flash. I realised that I didn't take a photo of this dish on my camera so I had no choice but to upload the iPhone one. Sorry guys (I know I had to ruin everything didn't I?).

Fortunately for us, Hong's mate from high school is a waiter at Chin Chin so he hooked us up with this dish (thank you so much kind sir!!!). At this point in time, we were honestly extremely full but managed to finish 3/4 of it with ease as it was so delicious. I would have much preferred if the barramundi were fresh and steamed opposed to fried because the texture wasn't as delicious and hard to chew through. I like eating apples in my salad now, thanks to my friend Jny's recommendation. The caramalised pork reminded me of a favourite dish my mother often cooks. To all my Vietnamese friends - "Thit Ko" would be something familiar, and this might sound disgusting but I love eating pork fat hehe it's so soft (but so bad for you).

Last but not least - dessert. This was a layered coconut jelly with roselle and sugared ginger - $12.00 

Hong loves this dessert but I don't see the appeal to it. It was just layers of different flavoured jelly. I wouldn't pay $12 for this again so next time I will probably order two separate desserts so Hong can have this all to himself! 

View from the chef's bar seating. I'm so jealous I didn't get to sit here. I requested bar (I saw the waitress write '2 bar ok' next to my name on the waiting list) but the wrong one unfortunately. Will request it on my next visit! The floor seats are just too close together and I don't like people staring at me when I take my food pictures. IS IT COZ IM ASIAN???

This photo is blurry but it actually turned out pretty nice.

Chin Chin

Address: 125 Flinders Lane Melbourne

Contact: 86632000

Hours: 11am - late everyday.

Price: $$$ / $$$$ depending on how many dishes you order.

Website: http://www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au/

Akachochin

(This is a continuation of the previous blog post. Please read that one first for this one to make sense.)

After eating TWO DOZEN oysters, Hong and I were still feeling hungry which was surprising because the hot weather usually makes me lose my appetite. I didn't want to order anything from the dining menu at the Melbourne Public Bar. I'm glad we didn't continue dining there because we stumbled on the glorious works of AKACHOCHIN, a Japanese fine dining restaurant which is also located in South Wharf. 

When people think of Japanese fine dining, they instantly think of the basic places such as Izakaya Den, Maedaya or of course the world renowned Nobu. Akachochin is relatively new and under appreciated. With much excitement, I am THRILLED to share this gem with you. I'm hoping that it will be in the top 10 Japanese restaurants on Urbanspoon, as it is currently sitting at a low 31 (with an amazing rating of 90%). Ganbatte ne!!!

いらっしゃいませ

Irasshaimase - which ultimately means "welcome". It is honorific and is used as a sign of respect towards the customer. Every single employee (except for the tall caucasian waiter) said it to us from the second we walked into the door until the moment we sat down.The Japanese have strong traditions and customs which Australia lacks HEAVILY which is really disappointing. Two of my friends from work are visiting Japan mid year, and I am looking forward to hearing their stories when they return (so jealous of you guys!!!).

Happy 18 months Giraffey, you're a big poop.

Because we didn't make a booking, we were seated with other duo pairs on the marble sushi bar. I didn't have a problem with that at all, because it was so enjoyable having a full frontal view of the head chefs doing their thing. The passion, the talent and their infallible care with presentation and food quality is exceptional. Behind the glass on top of the sushi bar showcased different types of tuna, salmon, fried egg and other vegetables. The colours were so vibrant and the food was frrrresh. 

We ordered a quail dish and was scared that our order was lost in translation (haha do you like my movie reference) because we were just served a quail leg to begin. The dish was called "Quail Karaage to Manju" which sounds more complicated than just a quail leg. Lo and behold, our quail was served last, and it was legless. I love the creativity, with something just as simple as that makes our experience so much better. 

Shiromi Uzsukuri $15.

This photo does not give the pieces of white fish sashimi any justice. I rubbed my fingers against the texture of the fish and was enchanted about the skill it took to cut the fish so perfectly and with great precision. I didn't like the tang of the momiji oroshi (the orange condiment on the plate) so I just ate the slices with spring onion. This is a MUST HAVE if you ever get the chance to visit this gorgeous restaurant. I uploaded this pic onto Urbanspoon because I was secretly very pleased with how the photo turned out hehe.

Outdoor eating is also available but it was too hot to sit outside.

Grilled pork belly with spicy teriyaki sauce - $15

Pork belly is my absolute favourite, as I have mentioned many many times in my previous posts. The pork belly was so soft and full of fatty juices which I LOVE. After we finished the two big pieces of mushroom at the top... nek minnut I made a smiley face (below) but then Hong told me not to play with my food especially not in front of the chefs :( 

But pork belly makes me happy. 

Alas! The REAL Quail Karaage to Manju - $19.

One quail cut in two, one quail egg cut in two, and a deep fried potato cake with quail inside. To those who are disgusted by the thought of eating duck or quail, you really shouldn't have anything to fret about. The taste is like no other: chewy, sweet and flavoursome. The deep fried potato cake wasn't too soft and wasn't too burnt, and had a good potato to quail ratio. By this point, we were feeling too full to move, especially from the oysters that we had earlier on. However, that doesn't mean there isn't any room for dessert ;)

Black Sesame Panna Cotta with Green Tea Ice Cream - $14

Oh my goodness...... *squeals with excitement* this was one of the finer desserts I have ever eaten in any restaurant. I've been meaning to try Yeonga as I've heard that their desserts are excellent! Next to the green tea icecream is some sort of sweet red bean paste and the strawberries complimented the black sesame really well. The panna cotta had a really nice wobble as soon as I put my spoon in. It didn't have a grainy taste, but the sesame snap on top of the green tea ice cream gave it a good CRUNCH!

You probably would have noticed that throughout this blog post, I mentioned that Akachochin was "perfect" and "exceptional" more times than one. It deserves all the recognition and praise that I can give. The waiters are very efficient, yelling out 'service' as soon as the food has finished being prepared. The sushi bar chefs probably had a bit of a chuckle at my poor efforts to say Japanese phrases such as delicious and thank you. I will definitely return to Akachochin on another special occasion, as it is a bit too dear on the back pocket to be able to eat there regularly. I can only hope that Japanese food lovers can appreciate their dishes and people who are yet to try will fall in love with Japanese cuisine after here.

Akachochin
Address: 33 Dukes Walk, Southbank VIC 3006
(near the Exhibition Centre and DFO South Wharf)
Contact: 9245 9900
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday for Lunch 12pm - 4pm and Dinner 6pm - late.
Price Range: $$$ and a half
Website: http://www.akachochin.com.au/