Having been in Fitzroy North of a lunchtime, with a big craving for Asian food and not too many…read moreAsian places open, I decided to try out the little Asian Noodle house just a couple of stores down from Piedimonte's. Similarly to Noodle Palace they do noodles from across South East Asia specifying Thailand, Malaysia, China and Japan. The couple were very friendly and the food was cooked fresh right in front of me (ready in under 5 mins). The Pad Thai was tasty but nowhere near as good as if you'd gone to a Thai place (the Thai place across the road was shut). The Char Kuey Tow was pretty tasty and more authentic. Overall, it really did the job without leaving me any lasting desire to go back. At $12 a pop, you can definitely get cheaper and better elsewhere I'd reckon. But for Fitzroy North at lunchtime, it was pretty good.

You can definitely get your noodle fix here and it won't cost you much at all. For me, a big bowl…read moreof steaming hot laksa is always the way to go, but I've been swayed by Singapore noodles and mee goreng, and I pretty much always end up taking an unusually slow bike ride home what with the extra weight of all those noodles in my tummy. The couple that I always see in here, running the show, are always really friendly and quick to take my order. I like getting my order in, settling in at a window seat and grabbing a newspaper or magazine for some pre-food light reading. By the time I've read one article in the papers, my noodles are usually in front of me steaming up my vision, so then it's a matter of setting the papers aside, tucking in with chopsticks and enjoying watching the peeps of Fitzroy North going about their business.

Feel the burn! This place knows how to turn it up. Amazing flavour from delicious numbing spicy…read moresoup broth. Perfectly cooked noodles and the right toppings. We enjoyed their featured Chongqing noodles with pork mince and peas and bok choy in a spicy soup, and the wonton noodles with spicy soup. Wonton serving bowl is slightly smaller than the Chongqing but still packs a heavy punch. There are many options on the menu and less spicy dishes as well. Would definitely recommend this for anyone in search of a delicious and reasonably priced meal.

While wondering the streets of Melbourne, we passed this restaurant and we HAD to eat here. There's…read morea Chongqing noodle shop in SF that we really liked and were just craving for some delicious noodles... This place did not disappoint! We stopped in for a late lunch and fortunately the restaurant wasn't that crowded. The menus are almost entirely in Chinese so it can be difficult if you can't read... We both ordered combo meals and walked out stuffed! The price point was just right and everything was delicious. There are a few different combo options and one we got included a bowl of noodles (pick which one you want), steamed pork w/ rice powder, and bing fen (dessert). The noodles were spicy, a bit oily but oh so satisfying to eat. I could have done without the steamed pork but the bing fen was delicious. After a big bowl of spicy noodles on a hot day, it was a perfect way to end the meal - cool and sweet w/ a mix of different textures. This isn't a place over-run by tourists so it's a great place to grab some authentic noodles without too much of a wait. If I'm ever back in Melbourne, I'd definitely come here for a meal.

The Carlton Chinese Noodle Café has been here ever seen I was a child, and nothing has changed. It…read morewas great when my parents first took me here and it's still great to this day. I swear even the décor hasn't been touched, and it really gives the place an honest, approachable touch. The owners are a lovely Chinese couple who, I believe, are the crucial element that makes this place a success. There's always a friendly smile when you walk in, and later when you leave satisfied, full, and contemplating the next time you'll be back. Shanghai fried noodles are highly recommended, so are the Popiah and Sui Mai. With the prices being so cheap, you can afford to taste a few things off the menu. Everything is cooked right there in front of you, and it makes for good entertainment while waiting for your meal to arrive, which is usually super quick. Bring cash because credit cards aren't accepted and be aware that there's very limited seats inside. Though you can always get takeaway.

I hadn't had dinner, and pretty much everybody was going to have a picnic, so I decided to go for a…read morelittle walk to see if I could find some takeaway, or at least a place I hadn't visited. So I ended up here, and it was actually pretty nice. I like a lot of these noodle shops, because they tend to be pretty basic, and they make some awesome noodles, as was the case here. The service wasn't too bad, but as expected, the price was pretty good.

Noodle Palace on Brunswick Street is pretty good for noodles as the name suggests. You can get a…read morerange of different styles of noodles from across Asia including Char Kuey Tow, Mee Goreng, Laksa and more. You get a pretty massive portion for $10 to $12.50 and it is very tasty for the most part. My personal favourites are the lemongrass chicken and the Palace Hot Bowl. It's not that fancy inside but the staff are very friendly, the service is quick and excellent and they play decent music. I mainly go and get a takeaway lunch. You get a ton of noodles for a decent price. And their spring rolls with plum sauce are pretty good too. It is far from mind-blowing but you would struggle to recreate the dishes for flavor and authenticity at home. It is one of the best places for quick noodles in Fitzroy. I'd choose Noodle Palace over the recently opened China Bar any day of the week.

I love eating the Vego Mee Goreng at Noodle Palace, I have for years. This place changed hands…read moreearlier this year and I was worried that the quality was going to go down, but I'm relieved that it hasn't. Now that saying, I was tempted to try Nasi Goreng about a month ago and I gotta say it was pretty average. There was hardly any taste to it except for the soy sauce. That got me to thinking: Am I blinded by noodles? I really hope not. I'm going to trust my taste buds and proudly state that the Mee Goreng is still good. This place has also now got a sushi counter in the front window to get some more foot traffic. I've tried a roll in the past and honestly, they are not that great, which pains me to say, because I love this place and I really want them to be great.

Your regular Sumo is meant to consume 20,000 calories per day and strike terror into the hearts of…read morethe hardiest men. Well not Clifton Hill's Sumos Noodle and Sushi bar. I don't live in fear I am going to spend the next day hovering near the toilet or fear I am consuming more than the daily calorific intake of the average athlete. Sumos is a very clean and lean eating establishment. Their food is also MSG free if you are one of those people who are holding on to the myth that Chinese Restaurant Syndrome is a world problem. My favourite dish is their curry laksa, but there is a veritable choice of Asian style noodle and rice stir fries and curries to choose from. And at approx $10 for a large serving it is very reasonably priced. Their sushi on the other hand is slightly more expensive than the average sushi bar at approx $2.70 for a roll. It is not bad quality but a bit annoying that they charge you 10c extra for soy sauce and 30c for wasabi.

We're a bit sushi starved us Westgarth residents, necessitating more than occasional trip to either…read morethe excellent sushi bar within Northcote shopping centre or, even better, Sumos Noodle & Sushi Bar in Clifton Hill. A tiny little sushi bar with just a handful of tables, Sumos Noodle & Sushi bar sells a small selection of sushi either singly or in - very good value packs - along with fresh prawn spring rolls, noodles and more. My favourite? Sumos' excellent tempura chicken sushi at $2.70 a pop, comprising not only a generous amount of exquisitely battered chicken, but just about the creamiest, loveliest mayonnaise I've ever found in a piece of sushi. Excellent with a little ginger and wasabi or alone, Sumos' sushi is the bee's knees.

Delicious ramen & gyoza My husband ordered a tonkotsu chashu…read moreramen and I ordered the gyoza for lunch. The ramen was excellent - the broth was very rich and porky and the toppings (soft boiled egg, bamboo shoots, nori, bean sprouts and spring onions) were super tasty. The gyoza were excellent too - super thin skins with a moist tasty filling.

Decent Ramen spot if you don't mind crowded spaces and a bit of a wait. Service was very good ,…read moreEverything tasted fresh , and I would say the tonkutsu ramen was dine in a classic style. I personally was surprised to see all of the Asian influence in Australia. If you are looking for great Ramen and don't mind a bit of a wait, this place is worth it for sure.

When you are craving for Malaysian food in Melbourne you should drop by at Malaymas…read more It's a cosy Restaurent located in Fitzroy. Tmyou should call for a reservation before you come here as it could be quite packed during the weekends. There are tons of yummy Malaysian food to order. I be tried the hainanese chicken , the meat is soft and succulent with the jelly like skin. Love the cucumbers and soya sauce with it, definitely should try with the chili sauce. Another fav is the beef rendang. The meat is so soft. It kinda melts in your mouth the sauce is really fragrant super yums if you eat it with white rice. We tried the fried kangkung with chili belacan too. It's awesome, it makes me think of home. If you would like noodles there are hokkien mee which is the fat noodles fried in black sauce. Another is the curry laksa which is the curry coconut milk soup with Vege and noodles.

As a Malaysian, unfortunately, we are quite particular when it comes to Malaysian food (well, at…read moreleast for me). There are many places in Melbourne to get my fix, but I always come back to Malaymas - and I always order the Fried Kuey Teow, as theirs is the best that I've tasted in Melbourne, without any disappointment. It's a humble restaurant (I like it that way), with a menu to satisfy your Malaysian cravings. They do really good Hainanese Chicken Rice and hot Horlicka too - mmmm.... The only downside (for me) is the roti canai - still yummy, no doubt, but can't beat made on-the-spot rotis. Decently priced and generous portions, lovely friendly staff too. I highly recommend Malaymas.

I was a phene for pho in my university days - my housemate introduced me to my first bowl of…read moresteaming Vietnamese deliciousness at the tender age of 21. How I lived without it for all those years, I don't know. Thank gosh for friendship. Good Days is a hip new Vietnamese eatery in Brunswick that I wish existed in my neighbourhood. It's a cozy and welcoming reprieve from the bustle of the street, and a great mid-week dinner. I was catching up with an old friend, and we nabbed two bar seats which was a good life choice as you can watch the chefs prepare the food as you await your food coma. The menu is short and sweet featuring four Vietnamese classics (pho, rice paper rolls, chicken rice, and noodle salad) but with a point of difference. The impressive twist? Good Days is vegan-friendly and all the meat is ethically sourced - unheard of, I know! The free range pork is from McIver Farm Foods, the free range chicken is from Milawa Farms, the pasture raised organic beef is from Creighton Creek and Australian prawns are from North Queensland. Now for the real 'jump on your chair' moment - they have vegan pho! The aromatic vegetable broth (shiitake mushroom and kombu base) was exceptional, and the grilled and braised Asian mushrooms on top gave a 'meaty' vegetarian touch to the dish. My friend got the pork and prawn noodle salad with homemade rice paper rolls and we both agreed we could drink a gallon of the nuoc cham sauce it comes with. I have a weakness for rice paper rolls and highly recommend the mushroom and tofu vegan entree. The drinks menu features coconut water, Vietnamese iced coffee and jasmine tea. Speak to the staff if you're gluten-free and they will happily help you out. Good Days is an undersell - it's more like Great Nights and life-changing mushroom pho!

Disclaimer: I know Nam personally (the mastermind who created Good Days Brunswick). We went to…read moreVietnamese school together back in the "good old days" when you could get a solid Banh Mi for 2 bucks at lunchtime (sold out of an esky by a little VN granny). Long story short, Nam is a quiet achiever and nothing has changed. Continue to read my food review if you like. As I was visiting from outta town, I just had to skip my usual "benchmark dish" the Beef Pho and went straight to this mysterious Mushroom Pho. I must say I am converted. GDB use fresh succulent mushies. My fav is the innoki and the 2 slices of char grilled oyster mushroom cooked before me. The way it is beautifully presented reminded me of a scene from the 1985 Ramen movie "Tampopo." And just like in the movie, I caressed those 2 slices of oyster mushroom in that beautiful dark kombu broth and whispered "I shall meet you towards the end and eat you". One final note that sums up this dish is "delicate". I am not sure if pho from VN is delicate because of the portion size, the price or the way it is cooked. All I know is modern Aussie pho often lacks the subtlety of its motherland origins. In creating something unique, GDB is actually paying homage to an iconic dish. Pro tip: if you like the whole slow eating concept, I suggest you sit at the bar and kindly ask the chef to blanch your bean sprouts. This will help retain the temperature of your broth and you can savour every last drop, piping hot 'til you hit the spot. I also had the Saigon samurai beer which is ?locally brewed beer on tap. It is a light beer very similar to a 333 or Saigon bia (all it needs is some ice cubes and it's like being back in VN). Finally, I really wish someone else would create their version of this Mushroom Pho dish and battle Nam and his GDB team because then it would actually become something (just like in Japan you have different ramen based on different regions).

This is another one of those places that I have walked past quite often, namely because one of my…read morefavourite pubs happens to be just down the road from it. Unfortunately, it is only generally open at night, but I managed to get in here to check it out, and I have to admit that I do think that this is a pretty awesome place. It certainly does have that Hong Kong feel about it, and the food is pretty awesome as well. Oh, and the prices aren't bad either. Definitely worth checking out.

We were recommended Houhai Dumpling House by our next door neighbours and on a Tuesday evening with…read morenothing organised for dinner, it seemed the perfect opportunity to test them for ourselves by ordering some take away. A simple online search revealed their menu (not just dumplings!) and brought about my ongoing internal struggle - making a decision on what to order! I ended up choosing the Prawn with Ginger and Onion, happily paying the $1 extra to have these pan fried. We called in our order for pick up and were advised it would be ready within 20 minutes, which it was close enough to, however I'm not too fussed on having to wait a few extra minutes - personally I'd rather leave the restaurant with my meal just being freshly cooked than it sitting on their counter awaiting collection. You get 15 dumplings per serve which is MORE than enough for one person, along with dipping sauce for your dumplings. I of course made the mistake of thinking I could finish one serving solo. Which I did, but I regretted immediately after - next time I think sharing two serves between three people would be ideal. Not two serves between two people! I loved the fresh and tasty dumplings that I received (and consumed too many of in a single sitting!) and cannot wait to return and try other items on their menu. However, how I'll stray from the dumpling section of the menu is an issue in an of itself! My only negatives would be the inability to mix and match flavours in the one serving (with 15 per serve, it would nice to be able to sample three different types) and also a lack of choice in dipping sauces (thankfully I always have sriracha at home). Very minor things and not something to deter you at all.