Kanpai Japanese Restaurant, Chapel Street

Ramadan has reached its half way point. Felt like it was just recently that we start this holy month. We had our Iftar at Kanpai Japanese Rstaurant at Chapel St. with Nis and Luke yesterday. I’ve heard of this place before from friends but didn’t have the opportunity to try it before. As it was near my office, there was no rush getting there. The weather was not the best with the rain and wind doing its best to dampen the mood.

This small yet pleasant restaurant is located at the end of Chapel Street (close to Toorak Road). At first look, nothing special and the place is not as fancy as the other eateries located at this trendy area. The atmosphere was pretty good and service was adequate. To start, we’ve ordered the Miso Soup,  Unagi Maki (mini eel sushi roll) and the Entrée Tempura (prawn, fish & vege). The tempura was crispy and I was happy with the portion size. The same can’t be said about the sushi as what was on the plate was this tiny little roll which you can hardly taste the filling. Quite a disappointment.

On to the mains, it was the Meat Teppanyaki & Mixed Teppanyaki as this is what the restaurant is known for. The grilled meat, seafood and vegies are topped with creamy garlic sauce is quite yummy to say the least. The 4 of us shared this and it didn’t take us that long to finish this off. The mains were tasty and the portion was acceptable.

It was a decent dinner experience but I was hungry by the time we reached home. It was pricey for amount of food that was served and sadly it was not the best Japanese I had in Melbourne. Would not be rushing back there anytime soon but do try the Teppanyaki  if you’re there.


p/s: Sorry for the limited images posted. Was too hungry to bother with the camera :)

The Menu

Dina a.k.a. The Mrs

Japanese Salad

Very small Unagi Maki ($8.00)

Teppanyaki ($18.00); what's left of it :)

Teppanyaki - image courtesy of Kanpai Website.

Kanpai
South Yarra/Toorak
569 Chapel St
South Yarra, 3141
(03) 9827 4379
www.kanpai.com.au

Fasting & Nis's Birthday @ Fish Seafood Grill Restaurant, Docklands

It’s been a while since my last blog. Been really busy and was being my usual lazy self. Well, here it goes. It’s Ramadan again and I’m celebrating it as a married man for the first time this year; so no more rushing back from the office to cook for my Iftar...hehe.  1 week down and I’ve only cooked once this time as Dina’s been cooking all the meal. Our menu ranged from pasta to soup but carbs/rice seems to be the regular selection.

We went out for a change yesterday to celebrate my sister’s birthday. Email was going back and forth for most of the Monday to decide where she’d wanted to go for dinner which doesn’t help the tummy during the fasting month. It was decided that the venue would be ‘Fish Seafood Grill’ at Docklands for the 5 of us.  The menu looks good and review was mostly favourable. I was also interested to try their ‘state of the art’ rotisserie oven where the fish/steak cooks at a scorching 500 degrees Celsius (930°F) slow rotation to seal in the flavour and natural moisture of the fish while melting away the fats; resulting in a succulent fish that’s reduced in fat, cooked to perfection and bursting with flavour.

Wife and I arrived first and ordered some garlic and herb bread to break the fast while waiting for the rest to turn up. A quick view of the menu and we all decided to go for the ‘Rotisserie Special’ where you can select a main from the Rotisserie menu and you can match it with a share plate or/and dessert of your choice for a very special price. It’s a nice way to share the meal as we each can select something from the menu to sample. Below was what we’ve ordered:

Plates to Share/ Appetizer

½ dozen natural oyster with three dipping sauces
Sizzling pot of prawns & seafood in a light garlic tomato broth
Salt and pepper calamari with tomato, eggplant and lime compote
Char grilled octopus, with kipfler potato and lemon
Seafood cocktail
Baked Peri Peri meatballs with salsa cruda

Mains from the Rotisserie (served on sizzling plates with 3 accompaniments)

Atlantic Tassal salmon
Blue eye
North Queensland saltwater barramundi
MSA Porterhouse steak 280gm

Dessert

Hot chocolate molten pudding served with vanilla ice cream and rich chocolate sauce
Lemon lime tart with raspberry sauce and chocolate ice cream
Baked blueberry cheesecake with double cream and fresh fruit coulis

Overall, the food was nice but it took quite a while to get to the table at times. The seafood cocktail was a bit bland and unfortunately some of dishes are not as warm as I would prefer it to be. This being said majority of the meal are tasty and enjoyable. As for the service, I would rate is as ok as it could have been slightly better. 2 or 3 people to serve a restaurant are not nearly enough. The ‘Rotisserie Special’ was a great way to go as the whole meal cost about $50 per head – mind you we are talking about seafood restaurant and plenty of appetizer and also dessert. With a full tummy and pleasant evening, it was a great night out. I wouldn’t mind going back.

 Fish Grill

The Menu

Us

The 3 Amigos

Fab 5ive

 Oyster with three dipping sauces

Seafood Cocktail

Sizzling pot of prawns & seafood in a light garlic tomato broth

Salt and pepper calamari with tomato, eggplant and lime compote

From the Rotisserie - North Queensland saltwater barramundi

Baked blueberry cheesecake with double cream and fresh fruit coulis

Lemon lime tart with raspberry sauce and chocolate ice cream

Hot chocolate molten pudding served with vanilla ice cream and rich chocolate sauce

Craving for Food

At the office and lunch time was creeping closer. Was talking to my wife on messenger and discussing on what to cook for dinner later on. Out of nowhere, Beryani came up and long and behold we started to crave for it. INDIAN FOOD it is but herm ... where should we go?

As a very fussy person when it comes to food, I tend to go for the same thing on the menu most of the time and get very disappointed when it falls below my expectation. A quick googling session was in order and we found NAMASTE Indian Restaurant. A peek at the menu and that was all it took for my mouth to start salivating. To make it worst, dinner is hours away so back to work for now.

Tick Tock Tick Tock and few hours later it’s quitting time. Off to the city to meet wifey and straight to Lygon Street as we were famished from all the waiting. Hehe. Nestled in between few other Asian restaurants, Namaste is quite small but cozy enough for the two of us and as we were quite early for dinner, it was no problem for us to get a table.

                           
As we knew what we wanted from the menu it did take us long to decide and we ordered the following:

Mushroom 65
Mushroom marinated in spices and deep fried. Yummy start to the night and it was very tasty. The raw onion compliments the slightly crispy mushroom and the lemon gives it a tangy kick. I don’t think it’s too spicy and advise anyone to try it (even if you are not a fan of spicy food). Loved it.

Mushroom 65

Biryani Meal
A combination of lamb biryani, chicken biryani & vegetable biryani served with saalan, raita, onion salad, and gulab jamun. A perfect dish to share between the two of us. It was nice and tasty but I would have to say that I had better.

Beriyani (Chicken, Lamb, Vege)

Garlic Naan and Roti Chanai with Butter Chicken
What can I say. You can't go wrong with these sumptuous selection and we really enjoy both of them. The roti was crispy and flaky and the Naan was perfect. We had it with the creamy Butter Chicken as the dipping curry which completes the meal. Reminds me of the Mamak stall back home which I really miss.

Butter Chicken

Garlic Naan & Roti Canai

Not to forget the Mango Lassi to clean the palette.

Mango Lassi

Overall it was a great experience and was inexpensive. The service was OK but I would definitely go back for the Mushroom and the rotis. To finish of the night, we had a lovely stroll down Lygon Street while enjoying the sights and oh so wonderful smell. We shall try to do this more often :)