IL Nostro Posto-Hardware Lane, CBD

Mr HSH and I met up with some friends for a catch up recently and decided to utilize another one of our Entertainment book vouchers. This led us to a Italian/Silician restaurant on Hardware Lane.Few things I've learnt about Hardware Lane-in general, lots of annoying people trying to sell your their food and drag you into their restaurant, and in general, expensive food that are of a low quality. On the plus side, the band playing on the strip does give it a lively atmosphere and for diners who aren't fussy about food, they might even enjoy the ambiance there. I'm not one of them. As nice as it is to have music around, I'm one who likes to be able to talk over my dinner and of the numerous times I've been to Hardware Lane, I've always chosen to be seated inside.

So far, I've been to Aloi Na which was okay, I've also been to Pop restaurant which had a promising menu but the food was very expensive (fine dining price-35-40 for mains) but the quality did not live up to expectations.

However, our worst experience was probably at IL Nostro Posto. Their waiters were probably better than most of Hardware Lane in that they did not beg us to go into their restaurant. Our one draw card, the Entertainment card did not make up for the ordinary meal we had.

First of all, we had a very hard time understanding our waiter due to his heavy accent. That's not his fault of course, I guess it just adds to the authenticity of the place. However, I found him to be slightly inpatient and even a little arrogant, as it took a while to choose from the menu...all reasonable I guess but not my idea of ideal customer service.

That wasn't a major concern for me. My major issue was with the food....Most of them were highly priced and of poor quality. Hoping this doesn't sound like I'm ranting too much, but as of today, I think this could possibly be the worst restaurant I've been to. Please refer to the captions underneath each dish for my comments. Our total bill came to about 177 dollars. That was for 4 people-2 entrees, two drinks and four mains. We got a 40 dollar discount but in general, it was still meal that was not good value for money.

I certainly would not be coming back.

To sum it all up, borderline service, below average food and high prices.

Entree-I think this was one of the "Specials" Beef meatballs in tomato sauce-unsure of the price but would have been around 14 dollars. Anyway, edible dish but just really poor value for money.

MR  entrepreneur's girlfriend's main-Carnaroli rice with wild mix mushrooms and truffle oil-$25.50I think this was okay but my friend only finished half, but more likely due to her being "full".

Mozzarella, tomato, basil, extra vergine olive oil-$14.50-"large house salad"-This was the most pathetic excuse for a salad. A few pieces of tomato with mozzarella carelessly thrown on top. I almost laughed when I saw this dish.

Sicilian rice ball” filled with provolone cheese and beef ragù-$14.50-Very boring, tasteless. Sauce appears to be store bought.

MR HSH's main-Typical Sicilian homemade pasta with veal ragù-$23.40-the pasta looked like silk worms (but from experience, Silk worms taste better)...very small serving size and tasted really weird. MR HSH thinks I'm too hard on his dish...he thinks it wasn't too bad...

Mr Entrepreneur's main-Best presentation I've seen at the restaurant for the day. He was quite happy with the dish and it certainly looked more palatable than MR HSH's or mine. 

My main-Home made ravioli pasta filled with ricotta cheese and spinach, dressed with tomatoes sauce and basil-$22.50. What more can I say? It was bland and boring. At least it didn't taste weird to me. 

Ouffer offer-Chateau Yering hotel in the Yarra Valley!

How can I resist this Ouffer offer? Maybe...because we're saving up for a ring, wedding and house. Maybe because we're going to Fiji in three weeks....maybe maybe maybe...

Desire versus responsibility

Can't help but share this offer. I hope we end up booking. Now just awaiting Mr HSH's approval.

Today's Ouffer: A Romantic Getaway to the Chateau Yering Hotel in the Yarra Valley! $495 for One Night in a River Suite, a 3 Course a la Carte Dinner for Two at Eleonore’s Award-Winning Restaurant, Cooked Breakfast, a Bottle of Sparkling Wine, Romantic Rose Petal & Tea Light Candle Turndown + Take-Home Gift! ($990 Value)

Ouffer has ended

Days 01

Hrs 04

Min 55

Sec 38

Limited quantity available!

Ouffer is on!

$495

$990

Send as a gift

• Share with your friends:
• 
• 
• 
• 
  

Need to Know

• Expires 27 March 2012
• Not valid with any other offer
• Bookings essential and subject to availability
• Eleonore’s Restaurant is open every evening from 6.30pm
• Dress code: smart casual, gentlemen to wear a collared shirt. No denim
• 50 minutes from Melbourne city and airport
• Maximum River Suite room capacity is 2 adults and 1 child
• Contact details can be found on the voucher

What We Like

• Bottle of sparking wine upon arrival
• Chateau Yering Hotel is located in the beautiful Yarra Valley wine growing area
• Eleonore’s Restaurant noted in The Age’s Good Food Guide 2012
• River Suite features a private outdoor area, king-sized bed, antique furnishings and a marble ensuite with a claw-foot bath and separate shower, and a stereo television with DVD player
• Hotel facilities include broadband Internet access, 24-hour reception, car park, dry cleaning service, swimming pool, tennis court and licensed restaurant
• Handrails in bathroom, with a wheelchair accessible shower
• View menu: http://bit.ly/EleonoreMenu

The Company

www.chateauyering.com.au

Lately, the stress has been getting to us. Information overload from gadgets (which keep us perpetually plugged in but completely tuned out) is an ineffective distraction from frantic, frenetic and frenzied days of all work and not enough play. The precious little time we do get to take a breather seems to be getting shorter, and we definitely need to get away to unplug while we reconnect!

Fortunately, there’s a place we know where we can find repose strolling through the old-world gardens or sipping regional wine in the guest lounge of a historic Victorian mansion: located in the breathtaking Yarra Valley wine region is the landmark Chateau Yering Hotel, with its unsurpassed rural views, cosy lounges and elegant fine dining.

The mansion itself dates back to the 1850s and has an impressive history as the social centre of the Yarra Valley. Contemporary descriptions mention parties of socialites travelling from Melbourne for weekend get-togethers, which featured musical sessions on a piano that had been brought overland just for the purpose.

Today, the mansion is a luxurious 5-star hotel less than an hour from Melbourne. The Hotel is situated on 250 acres of land with a 2.7 km frontage to the Yarra River. Enjoy spectacular views across the Valley to the Great Dividing Range or get back to nature in the Heritage-listed gardens; there’s also golf, tennis, swimming and wine tours available if you would like to get out and about.

Today’s $495 Ouffer is for a romantic escape to the opulent Chateau Yering Hotel, featuring a 3-course a la carte dinner in the award winning Eleonore's Restaurant, with its emphasis on regional produce. You’ll stay overnight in a River Suite with spacious accommodation featuring a private outdoor area, king-sized bed, antique furnishings and a marble ensuite with a claw-foot bath and separate shower.

But let’s not overlook the little extras that make your stay memorable: a bottle of sparkling wine upon arrival, a tea light candle and rose petal turndown, cooked breakfast in the conservatory-style Sweetwater Café – and a gift for you to take home.

Cosy up in luxury and enjoy the old-world ambiance at Chateau Yering Hotel, where the most stress will be deciding on the wine.

White's Cafe-Mount Pleasant Road, Nunawading

 I just came back from a wonderful breakfast at a  local cafe on Mount Pleasant Road, Nunawading.  White's Cafe is located on a sleepy strip of shops in a beautiful suburban part of Nunawading, away from the train station and major roads. I think they also double as a catering business.

At first glance, it appears to be a very family oriented place and looking at the customers in the cafe, I guess they're probably from nearby neighborhoods and were frequent diners at the cafe. The majority of the people there had kids with them.

The restaurant itself seems a bit worn down but nobody seemed to care. It was a no fuss joint where the furniture looked like they were probably bought from the local op shop. We had good service from Sally (?owner) and another waitress.

The Breakfast menu was no fuss and simply typed on a A4 sheet of white paper. There weren't many choices to choose from. Both MR HSH and I ordered the Eggs benedict with guacomole, caramalised onion, pancetta on poached eggs drizzled with hollandaise sauce. It was one of the best Eggs Benedict I've had! Everything was beautifully cooked and perfectly seasoned. I was in heaven! Compared to the P+MJ I had at Porgie and Mr Jones, I can honestly say that this was significantly more superior.
 
We also ordered a Chai latte and ice chocolate. Both were very standard, nothing special although Mr HSH was happy that he got a big serving of ice chocolate.  

Overall, we had a great breakfast at this family oriented cafe. I wish they had a bit more variety in their breakfast menu and offered extras like mushrooms etc. Alas, will definitely come back!

 

Porgie and Mr Jones

What a delightful little cafe! Hidden amongst the boring facades of the other shops along this sleepy strip of Auburn Road in Hawthorn, I would never have known about this place if a girlfriend hadn't suggest that we try this place out because she'd heard many good things about it!

So the 5 of us, 6 if you include baby Caitlyn ventured into Porgie and Mr Jones on a sunny Sunday afternoon for brunch. A couple of us were quite late, but the waitresses were generally accommodating (but nothing to write home about) which is especially nice as I knew they were busy and there were other people waiting on tables.

Anyway, the deco of the place was quite artsy and hippy. Very nice ambiance. You get the impression that people who come here don't just walk in off the street, they come with a purpose and knowledge that this is one top quality cafe. 

I ordered the P+MJ and can honestly say that it was a very filling and satisfying breakfast. It was gourmet, tasty but just lacked a bit of seasoning. The mushrooms were to die for! My poached eggs were debatable. One was soft boiled instead of poached, the other was perfectly cooked though and oozed all over my bread. The only other thing I'd say is that I wished they had put more greens on it. There were only a few puny little spinach leaves. I also ordered a Chai latte and that was just stock standard.

The other food all looked gorgeous and I don't think the girls had any complaints about it. Next time, I hope to take MR HSH along for a lazy Sunday brunch!

Ms Lawyer fructose intolerant ordered a delicious looking flourless orange cupcake.

I think this was the grapefruit juice-it tasted pretty awful but i liked the bottle it was presented in. .

Ms beauty pageant winner turned optometrist turned mother ordered her stock standard muesli "Bircher museli with pear"

This is my delicious P+MJ

Ms recently married Optometrist ordered the Dukkah Eggs which also looked to die for.

 

Ms fructose intolerant Lawyer's Crossant with ham off the bone

Lady in Waiting

What can a girl do while waiting for her other half to “pop” the question? What if she knew, almost with as much certainty as the fact that the world is round that they were meant for each other? How important, is it then for the question to be asked? The question: “Will you marry me?” If both parties have agreed that 2012 is the year to get married, if both have planned on spending the rest of their lives together, and if ones hopes and dreams for the future have already been shamelessly discussed…why then is a ring and a question so important in sealing the deal?

Those are some of the thoughts I’ve had to grapple with for the last 6 months or so of my life.  The last two years, my life has in part been filled with an array of people getting engaged, getting married, having babies and then having more babies…There are very few things that girls and boys  in their prime will talk about nowadays besides getting married, having kids, and buying a house. So, it’s not unusual that I’ve been sucked into the whole humdrum of it all. 

MR HSH and I have a deal. We’ve been together for over 3 years, madly in love for most of the time, and he’s supposed to propose before the end of this year. As the days are being crossed off one by one in my mind, I am fretting. I am fretting before our grand plan was to get married in October or November of 2012. That’s peak wedding season. I am fretting because I want a wonderful, picture perfect wedding such as the ones you see on www.stylemepretty.com. Being the snob/perfectionist/idealist that I can be with stuff like this, I am fearful that all the best stuff will be booked out by the time we get engaged. After all, Mr. HSH still has till the 31^st of December to propose. However, for a lot of venues and good wedding suppliers, they would already have been booked out for peak wedding season next year. 

It all seems too shallow really. Getting married is about the union of two people and deep down I understand that. Still, I am finding it hard to part with my idea of the wedding that we have both dreamed off. The possibility is not completely gone. Shamelessly, I have emailed my favourite venues and wedding suppliers to enquire about what Saturdays they still have available next year in Oct and Nov. At this point, our preferred venue Lake House and Sault in Daylesford still had a couple of Satudays available during those two months. My favourite photographer Ben Adams who is based in Brisbane seem pretty free in Oct.  Unfortunately, my preferred hair and make up artist Lisa Carter only have two Saturdays left in October…I feel the chances of me securing her as my make up artist is minimal by the time the question is popped.  Arggh…I have to keep reminding myself that in the absence of choice, I’ll just have to leave it to fate. 

I’ve toyed around with the idea of getting married the year after in Spring (too far away), in Winter 2012 (too cold), in Autumn (possibly)…but none seem as inviting as the idea of getting married in Spring 2012. Oh well…I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how life pans out.  

Meanwhile, I should answer the first question of this post. What can a girl do while waiting for the question “Will you marry me?” to be asked. Practically, I have looked around at rings to give MR HSH an idea of what I want-Delicate, unique, art deco pieces with a sizable diamond.  I have warned him again and again that It does take several weeks to make a ring so that he can get organized and prepare in advance. I have advised him not to propose during our Fiji holiday in October in case of theft overseas. Occasionally, I have appeared somewhat nervous about wedding suppliers being booked out. In general, MR HSH has taken this all in his stride.  However, the most important thing to do, and often I have to remind myself, is to not be inpatient and trust that we will get married, and really, it doesn’t matter when or where, but ultimately that, we will.

Aloi Na-CBD, Hardware Lane

The other night,before our 9:20 pm session of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we went to Chin Chin on Flinders Lane with the knowledge that we will probably have to wait a while for a table. I knew they had a no booking policy and thought that we'd wait 30mins-1 hour and get a table for three at one of the most talked about restaurants in Melbourne. We arrived at about 6:15pm but to our dismay were told that they were no longer taking down names that night as they already at a 3 and a half hour wait!!!!

Disappointed, we could only turn to our trusty Entertainment book. I've been to Aloi Na twice before. The first time I really liked it and had a great green curry with chicken. The second time I thought it was average. Our third time, I hoped would be similar to my first. As I also had the entertainment gold card, I thought it only made sense that we gave the restaurant another go. We ventured into hussle and buzzle of Hardware Lane where every restaurant it seemed, wants a piece of you.

Compared to the other restaurants in Hardware Lane, Aloi Na was much quieter which was what we wanted. I've noticed this the other times I've been in the restaurant. I suppose business is comparatively less for them compared to the other restaurants.

We ordered 3 main courses (Thai green curry with chicken, massman curry with beef, lemongrass lamb) and a Thai beef salad with coconut rice to share. For drinks, we all had the Thai milk tea.

Positives first, I really liked the pots the curries were served in. I especially liked how the green curry was served on a claypot over a candle to keep the curry warm. An endearing way of presenting the curry. The Thai milk tea was also tasty.
The food were all generally tasty but nothing special. I found the way the food was prepared and put together a bit careless. I also found the consistency of the curry sauce too thin for my liking.  The coconut rice was pedestrian and I've made better at home myself. The servings were also very small. The massman curry barely had any beef or potatoes in it. In fact, we had to order an extra curry the red duck curry to keep the other guys happy (there were three of us).

For all that, four mains, a salad and three drinks, we were charged 130 plus, minus the 25 dollar discount we got from the Entertainment book. Not cheap.

The deco of the restaurant was nice and the staff generally attentative.

Overall, not a bad meal. I probably won't go back again as I was disappointed a second time and the food wasn't really good value for money.

lemongrass lamb

red duck curry

thai beef salad

green curry

massman curry