[Melbourne 2022] Hills BBQ Noodle Shop @ Box Hill

After our adventurous Great Ocean Road trip, we returned to Melbourne City. As it was late, we looked for a late dinner or early supper place and the group decided on Hills BBQ Noodle Shop as its closing time would be around 2am. 

shopfront

menu

The place feels like an old school Cantonese food shop. We were served hot Chinese tea upon seated.

cheers

Once our orders were taken, the complimentary soup of the day was served to the table. It was dried vegetables soup 菜乾湯. Simple but packed with familiar comforting flavours.

dried vegetable soup

I think probably more old school styled shop does this but nowadays, it had become rare for restaurants to serve complimentary soup.

Who eats crab noodles for supper? Apparently, us. Hahaha!

Ginger Spring Onion Crab Noodles @AUD86 (Market price for crab, AUD8 per serve of noodles)

side view

This place serves live seafood and we did enquire on the market price for the crab which is in accordance to the weight of the crab. The one that we got weighs slightly over a kg but with a claw missing. The wanton noodles are separate orders at AUD8 per piece, so we got 2 noodles for the dish.

bon appetite~

The mud crab was meaty but in overall, the dish tasted milder than I expected. Good but didn't wow. Noodles with the ginger and spring onion gravy topped with spicy chili oil, was pretty yummy.

Deep Fried Big Intestines 炸大肠 @AUD23.80

Our appetiser plate of deep fried intestines is the same price as half a duck. Wow, that's like the priciest intestines I had ever eaten. It was undoubtably good and without any funky smell. Crispy and of a nice glaze on its outside, and tender soft on its insides. Hence, the effort in preparing this dish must have been quite extensive.

The must order, I think should be the roasted duck. We got ourselves half a duck and it was a very good choice. Tender and meaty plus fragrant with the duck oil from the skin.

Roasted Duck (Half) 烧鸭(半)@AUD23.80

When in Melbourne, we eat Barramundi. So, we got a Hong-Kong styled steamed fish as well.

Steamed Barramundi (soy sauce, spring onion) @AUD55

The fish was well steamed, with firm flesh and the simple soy sauce brought out the natural sweetness of the fish. It was a fairly large fish as well and probably weighs around 900gms to a kg.

Hmmm, from a simple supper... I think we overdid ourselves and turned this meal into a late night feast!

We saw that most individuals or couples in the shop, ordered things single pax items like those noodles or rice dishes. Out of curiosity, we ordered one rice dish and one noodle dish to try.

Stir fried Black Bean Beef Rice @AUD15

I must say, the Asian restaurants that we visited thus far, does very well with beef. Tender, juicy and flavourful. However, the bean sauce for the rice dish was a tad too strong for me hence, it was pretty salty.

My recommendation would be, go for the Beef Brisket Noodles Soup. I was actually wowed by this dish! First of all, the meat selection in the bowl was on-point. A combination of chunky fatty and lean parts, and even so, the lean parts were tender and not too chewy. The fatty parts just dissolved straight into the mouth. Soup tasted good with the daikon pieces absorbing the flavours and seemed like it had been boiled adequately.

Beef Brisket Noodles Soup 牛腩面汤 @AUD15

The four of us, finished all of the above. Spent about AUD59 per pax. Payment at the counter, after our meal. Thank you Tracy, Hence and Ivan for sharing the calories!

Hills BBQ Noodle Shop

Address: 586 Station St, Box Hill VIC 3128, Australia

Contact: +61 3 9899 3382

Business Hours:

Mon-Tue: 12pm–11pm

Wed-Sun: 12pm–2am

[Closed] Dim Sum Lunch @ Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant

This establishment has been around for the longest time. Been there a couple of times but this was my first in trying their dim sum menu. Located in the middle of nowhere, at 201 Keppel Road, and nearest MRT would be Harbourfront.

There's valet parking if you are driving there.

entrance to the building

Head right in and take the lift to Level 9. Depending on which lift, there's one that requires some more climbing of stairs. After which, there's an escalator that will bring you to the restaurant. The restrooms are at the start of those flight of stairs.

interior

view

view changes

If you are dining on a weekend, do note that last order is 2pm and the restaurant closes at 230pm. We were there at 1 pm and the feeling was a tad rushed. Would recommend to allocate at least 2 hours to enjoy the experience.

boiled peanuts and pickles

chinese tea

There are set menus with reasonable pricing of about $288++ (for 10 pax) and one gets their popular Peking Duck, shredded scallops in egg white,  fish maw soup, noodles, a fish and a meat dish, vegetable dish and dessert. But we were there for dim sum, so ala-carte it would be.

Our modus operandi would be somewhat simple, like "give me one of each". Haha!

tableful of delicious dim sum

My de-facto order would be the char siew bao and siew mai as these are basic items of any dim sum meal. They served it steaming hot, and that's good because we'd be taking photos first. Oh, but poor har gao, they should be eaten quickly!

soft, fluffy 叉烧包

look at these beautiful fillings

The siew mai at Prima was dense and with a very visible prawn. But I'd prefer if the prawn had its tail peeled. I know it's visually appealing but still...

prawn siew mai

har gao 

Was rather hungry, so those har gao or siew mais were devoured fairly quickly. And then, there were some rather interesting stuffs too. Like steamed rice rolls with century egg and mango. Say whuutt?!

steamed rice roll with century egg, pickled ginger and mango

no kidding!

I sincerely thought that dish would taste weird. Pungent century egg, with pickled ginger, mango and wrapped in soft rice roll? Hmmm. I don't know because it sounded a tad scary.

Surprisingly, it works. It was just a pity that the century egg yolk was not those soft lava kind that you find in Hong Kong, but the combination of QQ'ness from century egg skin and the rice roll, that ultra sweetness from the mango and pickled ginger was refreshing.

Finally tried the 炸兩 (zha leong), of fried dough fritters and wrapped in steamed rice rolls. The one we ordered had squid paste stuffed into the fritters. Nice texture and while I couldn't taste the squid, it was nice to chew on and I do like savoury chee cheong fun.

fried dough fritters stuffed with squid paste wrapped in rice rolls

savoury rice rolls

Other staples dim sum included the chicken feet, pork ribs, and fried carrot cake. The classics, if you may.

steamed pork ribs

steamed chicken feet

pan fried carrot cake (and that's my camera reflected o the spoon, =x)

There's stewed beef tripe too and by now, was feeling rather full.

stewed beef tripe

But we are not leaving until we tried their house specialty too. Yes, the Beijing Duck and the Shredded Scallops with Egg White. One could opt for the service staff to portion out the dish, or DIY. For the Shredded Scallops with Egg White (赛螃蟹), one could opt to add the black vinegar in. I preferred it with vinegar, actually.

Shredded Scallops with Egg White 赛螃蟹

vinegar, if you wish

look at this luscious bowl

For Peking Duck, they'd show you the whole uncut duck first. After which, the skin is removed from the duck and served with egg crepe, cut cucumbers, sliced chives and sauce for DIY wraps.

Peking Duck wrap starter kit

glorious skin

artistic plate from Hence

It was pretty fun to wrap up the skin and eat it. Some of us may wrap it beautifully, while others may wrap it functionally. In the end, we still enjoyed the food!

yummy package

The second serving of the duck, we chose it to be simply stir-fried with onions. Meaty and flavourful. It was of a nostalgic taste like home-cooking.

duck, second serving

The food was delicious, the view was great and the service was efficient. Best thing was the companionship that like-minded people brings. Thank you to fellow foodies; Ivan, Hence, Tracy, Kris, Tiara and Rachelle for spending Saturday lunch together. Cheers!

We spent about $43 per pax for the meal. It was super duper filling.

[Tasting] Kai Duck 嘉苑美鸭 @ Ngee Ann City

Located at Level 5 of Ngee Ann City, Kai Duck is a new modern Cantonese casual dining restaurant by Kai Garden. Its menu has creative signature dishes based on Cantonese-style Peking Duck. The outlet itself is decked in 1960's cha chaan teng (茶餐廳) decor with an upbeat modern vibe. Expect delicious contemporary Cantonese cuisine that appeals to millennial as well as baby boomers.

signage

sights that greeted diners

interior

Service was quick and friendly. The place was bustling and packed a crowd on a Friday evening. The 160-seater restaurant has 3 private dining rooms that can accommodate larger group of up to 12 pax. Reservation is advised.

Let's start with a pot of hot tea as our choice of drinks. Absolutely loved the striking blue coloured pot. Tea itself was mildly fragrant with a light taste. Forgot to ask what type of tea it was!

飲茶

Started with a plate of cold appetiser in the form of Chilled Mini Tomatoes topped with Japanese Sesame Sauce. This dish whets the appetite with its combination of sweet from the red mini tomatoes countered by the savoury from the fragrant goma sauce. There's bits of aiyu jelly for additional texture contrast.

Chilled Mini Tomatoes topped with Japanese Sesame Sauce @$10.80

Then, we had the pan-fried carrot cake from their dim sum menu. Can taste bits of lap cheong 腊肠, dried shrimps 虾米 and slivers of radish in the lo bak gou (萝卜糕). Was that chili sauce that was drizzled all over? Hehee.

Pan Fried Carrot Cake @$13.80

You know, very often we only get to eat Peking Duck if it was a big family outing like Chinese New Year or grandma's birthday, or with big group of friends. Now, we can feast on the crispy crunchy goodness of Peking Duck without having to order the entire fowl at Kai Duck.

Let's see what Chef Fung, owner and Group Executive Chef, has in mind for us diners with Kai Duck's featured signature dishes; Sliced Peking Duck with Crackers, Mini Burger with Peking Duck Salad, Crispy Bun with Sliced Peking Duck and Peking Duck Handroll.

Sliced Peking Duck with Crackers @$4.80 (min. 4 pieces)

Mini Burger with Peking Duck Salad @$9.80

Crispy Bun with Sliced Peking Duck @$4.80 (min. 4 pieces)

Peking Duck Handroll @$4.80

I was impressed by the Peking Duck skin. Glistening, golden and crispy all the way, even after many shots of photo-taking prior. Amazing.

Unlike traditional Peking style of baking the duck with fire, at Kai Duck, the duck skin is prepared by using the Cantonese method of drizzling the duck with oil after baking. Expect a good mouthfeel from the duck oil for the paper-thin skin that crackled with each bite. I loved how the crispy skin was further enhanced by the pairing of cracker, deep fried bun/mini burger, as well as the crispy popiah skin in the handroll.

The Sliced Peking Duck with Crackers was refreshing with a slice of cucumber and tangy sauce, and the crispy texture further enhanced by the tasty corn cracker. The Mini Burger with Peking Duck Salad felt more substantial with the inclusion of duck meat. Thought the salad was a bit like coleslaw. It was funny, as we thought the crispy bun looked like luncheon meat. The Crispy Bun with Sliced Peking Duck was crispy duck skin, with cream cheese and extra crispy flattened mantou. There was a bit of sweetness from the handmade mantou bun too.

My favourite signature dish would be the Peking Duck Handroll. I loved the extra crunch from the popiah skin, the sweet savoury sesame sauce that coated the duck meat and the cucumber slices for extra freshness in taste. Yummy. 好食！

Stir Fried Hong Kong Cai Xin with Pork and Preserved Vegetables @$15.80

We didn't forget our vegetables and the plate of greens in the form of crunchy cai xin topped with the preserved vegetables was a good interlude. This dish goes well with rice and speaking of which, I'd recommend you to try their Signature Fried Rice with Black Truffle Mushroom and Beetroot, served in a hot stone pot.

Signature Fried Rice with Black Truffle Mushroom and Beetroot @$16.80

As soon as this was served, we were greeted with a strong whiff of truffle aroma. It looked pretty with all the puffed rice topping which was hiding the pinkish-purple grains below. What could this be like? How will it taste? Thoughts started to run wild and anticipation builds.

The service staff will mix the rice for the table. Loved the colour and can't wait to taste.

delicious signature fried rice

It was love at first bite. Savoury, flavourful and with crispy bits and the tiny diced mushrooms and sweet corn. Maximum enjoyment even when it was meatless. Recommended!

Chase this with some hot soup and we tried the Poached Patin Fish Soup with Chinese Wine. The wild caught patin fish is delivered twice weekly from Sarawak and each fish weighs about 5kg. This fresh water fish is also known as '水果鱼', loosely translated as 'fruit fish' because it loves to feed on the fruits around the river. Rich in collagen and fish oil.

Poached Patin Fish Soup with Chinese Wine @$38

full of goodness

The soup has a wholesome rich taste accentuated by the mild flavours of ginger, yam and chinese wine. The pot is meant for 4 pax but I want more soup! For fish lovers, especially those who loves fish oil, then this pot can also be shared amongst two pax. Just give me a bowl of rice to go along with this for a happy meal.

If you don't fancy fish, how about trying some Crisp-Fried Fish, Prawn and Crab with Black Truffle Sauce?

 Crisp-Fried Fish, Prawn and Crab with Black Truffle Sauce @$16 (min. 4 pieces)

Loved the yellow hue and the cereal coated batter. The Black Truffle Sauce has strong flavours, so a dab will do.

cheers to good food, good friends

Thank you Kris for extending the invite and May, Kai Duck for hosting the dinner. Kudos to Chef Cheung and his team for the delicious food. Special thanks to the service crew who attended to our table.

Kai Duck 嘉苑美鸭

Location: 391 Orchard Road, #05-10/11, Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872
Website: http://kaiduck.com.sg/
Contact: +65 6235 5419
Business Hours:
Monday to Fridays:
11.30am to 4.30pm* (last order at 4.30pm);
5.00pm to 10.30pm (last order at 10.00pm).

Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays:
10.00am to 4.30pm*
5.00pm to 10.30pm


*Dim Sum available