SMASHING BEAN

Shop 1/119- 125 Ocean Beach Rd
Sorrento

When J and I decided we felt like breakfast at lunch time on a Saturday in Sorrento, trying to find somewhere that could accommodate us proved to be very difficult.  Most places had moved on to their limited lunch menus by 12.00 which left us with little hope of satisfying our craving for bacon! Fortunately for us, staff at the third cafe we tried directed us to Smashing Bean who serve an all-day breakfast. We were relieved...until we saw the menu.

Smashing Bean’s breakfast menu is one of the more unusual ones I have seen. If you are a traditional bacon and eggs kind of person then this is not the place for you. As J put it, “this menu is very Sorrento”.  The dishes are unusually titled and there’s no bacon and eggs or pancakes in sight. If however you are watching the waistline or just plain health conscious you will probably appreciate some of the more unusual items and lack of greasy offerings! Obviously there’s enough people out there who do as this place was doing a brisk trade, particularly amongst families with babies and children.

Meals are ordered at the counter and only fried eggs are served due to the size of the kitchen.

WE ORDERED
The closest menu item I could find to my traditional bacon & eggs was the EBC - free range fried eggs, bacon, cheese & rocket served on ciabatta with a choice of tomato relish, fruit chutney or mayonnaise. I went with the tomato relish.

J ordered Fresh baked beans served on turkish toast with marinated goats fetta, avocado & spinach.

WE THOUGHT
I didn’t really enjoy my ciabatta. I had envisaged receiving the eggs, bacon, cheese and rocket on top of the ciabatta but instead it was all sandwiched between another piece like a nicer version of a Subway roll. The bread was so crisp that it was impossible to cut through meaning I had to pull the whole thing apart to eat...very messy! The relish was nice but there wasn’t enough of it.

J felt it was nice that the baked beans were home made, but thought there wasn’t enough sauce and that the dish lacked flavour.

WE LIKED
Drinks were good...my Chocolate milkshake was very enjoyable and J thought the coffee was great, even ordering a second cappuccino. Big glass windows give a nice view over the main street.

WE DISLIKED
I’m a traditionalist when it comes to breakfast. I don’t mind a bit of a variety on a menu but not when it comes at the expense of the more conventional items.

WILL WE RETURN
Nothing majorly wrong here but Smashing Bean would not be my first choice if having breakfast in Sorrento again. It’s a pleasant enough place to dine but the menu was too abstract for these traditional breakfast girls!

6/10

BONJOUK

Shop 2/206 Springvale Road
Glen Waverley
(The Glen Shopping Centre, Corner of High Street Road & Springvale Road, Glen Waverley)

Bonjouk was once a cafe in the middle of a gift shop at The Glen Shopping Centre. Despite the unusual mix, it was always difficult to get a table so they must have been doing something right. In recent months, it has transformed solely into a cafe/restaurant and expanded to include an area outside the shop in front of Thomas Dux and Harris Scarfe Home.

Many come for coffee and cake or a glass of wine but a range of hot meals is also served. Before embarking on a Friday night shopping trip, we decided to give these a try. The menu isn’t huge but there are several entrees, mains and side dishes to choose from. Cakes (including several flavours of macarons), can be selected from the cafe section outside.

WE ORDERED
I ordered the Fish and Chips -

J ordered the Gnocchi in a Tomato Sauce with Basil Pesto -

WE THOUGHT
The waiter asked if we would like salt & pepper when our meals arrived and we said no, assuming that the meals had already been seasoned. Unfortunately we were wrong as both dishes were lacking in flavour. 

The fish and chips were better than expected with nice crisp batter, good chips, a well-dressed salad and ample mayonnaise. Unfortunately the fish was a bit tasteless and just needed a bit more seasoning.

J felt the gnocchi was nice and light and almost melted in your mouth, however the sauce was too bland and needed more basil flavour. After trying some I would have to agree.

WE LIKED
Service was friendly and efficient. A small number of giftware items remain on shelves around the walls which made for an interesting view.

WE DISLIKED
I would have preferred the dishes to have some seasoning when leaving the kitchen, or at least had access to some salt and pepper shakers. They may get stolen occasionally but I like to be able to season my own meals without having to ask.

WILL WE RETURN
I’d definitely return for coffee and cake or a macaron or two, which I have thoroughly enjoyed here on several occasions. I’d give the hot meals another go but maybe try something else next time...or remember to say yes when offered salt and pepper!

7/10

BAR BOSH

Shop 2219, 509 Burwood Highway,
Knox Ozone,
Knox City Shopping Centre,
Wantirna South VIC 3152

http://www.barboshknox.com/

Bar Bosh is one of the numerous restaurants that form part of the Knox Ozone complex at Knox City Shopping Centre in Wantirna South.  Located almost directly opposite the Village Cinemas, it’s a great place to visit before or after a movie or in our case before an afternoon of shopping on a Sunday afternoon.

Like most of the restaurants in this precinct, you can dine indoors or out, but being the middle of winter, our decision was made for us by the weather.  The room is divided into two sections around a central bar featuring an enticing cake display that is the first thing you see upon entering.  Popular with all types, there were families with kids, girls catching up, couples and people celebrating birthday parties.

We were pleased to see that breakfast is served until 3 p.m. so with us both having empty stomachs, this was the section of the menu that caught our attention.

I would like to have tried a piece of cake but that will have to wait for another visit as we were both too full!

WE ORDERED
We usually try and order something different but today we both went for the Big Bosh Breakfast - 2 Eggs (as you like them), on turkish bread w/ bacon, sausage, tomato, spinach, mushrooms & hash brown.  Both of us chose scrambled eggs.

WE THOUGHT
This meal was so huge that I just couldn’t finish it, most unlike me (especially at breakfast time)!  The spinach and mushrooms were particularly good but the bacon wasn’t crispy enough and the eggs were slightly under seasoned.  J couldn’t finish hers either but had no complaints.

WE LIKED
The service was excellent for a busy Sunday lunchtime and all staff were very pleasant.  The atmosphere is great and it’s a good place to people watch if you’re into that sort of thing.

WE DISLIKED
Meals were slow to arrive...we must have waited close to half an hour from the time our order was taken.  But we’ll forgive them as the quality was good.

WILL WE RETURN?
For sure.  The location and service were great and I’d be eager to try some of the mains after seeing them go out to other tables, especially the calamari.

7/10

PARADISE INDIAN RESTAURANT

Paradise Indian Restaurant
200 Jells Road
Wheelers Hill

http://www.paradiseindian.com.au/

Indian has never been one of my favourite cuisines so for this reason I had never before visited Paradise, the local award-winning Indian restaurant located at the Wheelers Hill Shopping Centre. 

Highly recommended by Indian friends, and with a desire to try somewhere new, hubby and I ventured to this plain looking shopfront on a Saturday night to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Step through the doors however, and you are immediately transported to the subcontinent.  Indian artwork fills the walls and floral wreaths hang from the ceiling.  The waiters are formally dressed and eager to please.  Judging by the amount of takeaway orders leaving the kitchen, this place is popular...and with good reason.

I’m no expert in Indian cuisine, but the food was seriously good.  The place was almost full and live music began at 8.30 p.m.  Service was pretty good if a little inattentive at times.  All in all a very enjoyable night.

WE ORDERED

Complementary pappadams and three accompanying relishes were brought to our table as soon as we’d ordered.

We shared the Nawabi Chikken Tikka for entree - Chicken breast fillet, marinated in Paradise spices & saffron dipped in egg batter, cooked in the tandoori oven

For main course we shared Lamb Korma - Tender lamb pieces cooked fresh corriander, ginger , green chillies & saffron and Bengali Prawn Malai - Prawns cooked in mild sauce with coconut & cream

We also shared some Saffron Rice and a serve of Roti Bread - Wholemeal bread baked in the tandoori.

For dessert we shared Kulfi Ice Cream - Thickened milk & pistachio flavoured with cardamom & saffron followed by a Cappuccion and Caffe Latte.

WE THOUGHT
We couldn’t fault the food...the relishes and sauces were flavoursome and the meat in all dishes was melt in your mouth tender.  The Roti bread was quite different to the store-bought kind you find in supermarkets with almost no oil.  I was disappointed at first but found that it was actually preferable as there was enough oil in the sauces.  I really enjoyed the ice-cream, it was full of flavour and refreshing.

WE LIKED

The atmosphere was pleasant and the owner was genuinely interested in ensuring we’d enjoyed the food and had a good night.  The music added a fun touch, reminding me of the laidback kind of surfie music you’d hear in a Quentin Tarantino film.

WE DISLIKED
Like many Asian and Indian restaurants, the wine list was seriously lacking...but it is BYO so best to take advantage of this next time.  The caffe latte and cappuccino were way too strong and the cappuccino was slightly burnt.

WILL WE RETURN?

Definitely, a return trip with friends is already planned and we took a takeaway menu as we walked out the door.

8/10