Using free-range, organic meats and local ingredients when possible, meatballs constructed at Meatballs & Sons are homemade. Their sauces, marinades, chutneys and preserves are also prepared in-house, with their menu changing with whatever seasonal produce is available. In order to sample as much of the menu as we could, A2 and I shared two types of meatballs, two sides and two desserts. First up were the meatballs: slow-cooked lamb and Thai chilli chicken. There wasn't any sauce to accompany the Thai meatballs, but they were moist enough to not...

Phillippa Sibley's new venture is a fixed price (hence the name), ticketed restaurant - apparently the first of its kind in Melbourne. Places are booked and paid for in advance online, though walk-ins are welcome if there's space to accommodate. We visited for lunch, which is $49 for 2 courses and a glass of wine. Once at the restaurant, the meal can be upgraded to a 3-course lunch for $65.Their 4-course dinner for $79. Apart from the set menu, this month they were offering freshly shucked oysters and...

With a wide range of dishes on offer, often sharing plates as a group is the best way to enjoy food at izakayas. Just as well Izakaya Hachibei has plenty of seating for groups! Our order today consisted of: - Salmon skin roll ($14) - Wakame salad ($7) - Small sashimi platter ($17) - Buta Syogayaki ($14.30) Slices of pork fried in ginger - Yakitori ($2.80 each) - Gyutan Shio ($8.2) Braised Ox Tongue Of what we tried, my favourite was the salmon skin roll. It was tasty and wonderful with the crunchy salmon skin...

Being a cold winter's day I wanted something to warm me up, but still wanted to enjoy Shimbashi's wonderful soba. As a compromise, I had the Kamo Seiro Soba, which is cold soba served with a warm broth with duck slices ($19). This is different to Kamonan Soba, which is where soba is served in the warm broth with slices of duck. Also in the broth were some pieces of tofu and mushrooms. Like on my previous visits, the soba noodles were enjoyably nutty with a slightly chewy...

Third Wave has been on my list for a while. I was particularly interested in trying out their Russian menu as it's not something I commonly see. Major facepalm moment when I realised that the Prahran branch doesn't actually serve the Russian menu - it's only available in Port Melbourne. I had the Spicy Ratatouille Baked Eggs, described as an 'addictive' and 'slightly spicy mix of eggplant, zucchini, red peppers, tomatoes, Herbes de Provence and other tasty morsels baked with authentic Spanish chorizo and 2 free range eggs....

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