Mr Burger, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

We had hoped to go to Badger and Hawke (see Big Fil's review) for a quick lunch near work, however it was unexpectedly closed in the lead up to Christmas.  Instead, we wandered the streets looking for another burger joint.  Starving, we finally found the Lt Bourke Street outpost of Mr Burger.

There are about four types of burger to choose from.  One of the guys went for the Mr Meat which came with caramelised onions, bacon and BBQ sauce.

I went with the simple Mr Burger - a juicy beef patty with the typical salad ingredients.  While it looks small, the burger is quite big.  I'd liken the taste to a gourmet version of Hungry Jacks - especially with the grilled flavour and the tomato sauce and mayo. 

While another of the guys went for the Mr Hot which came with jalapenos, onion rings, bacon and chilli mayo.

We also got some chips to share.

Mr Burger is normally a food truck.  However, this seemed to be a permanent shop for Mr Burger.  It's small, there are no tables and it's all take away service (which we didn't realise before we turned up).  We ended up eating our burgers across the road in front of an office building.

Verdict: we liked it.

Overall

Service is slow - perhaps it felt particularly long since we were all starving and it had started to rain.  There was a bit of a mix up with our orders but in a good way.  Somehow they ended up making two burgers for me (but I only paid for the one).

For the price, it's quite good value ($10-$12 each). The burgers taste nice but my preference is still for Grill'd and Fat Bob's.

Omeros Seafood Bros, Gold Coast (QLD) by Obelix

Omeros Bros Seafood is touted as one of the upmarket restaurants at the Marina Resort.  I found it reasonably priced with pleasant ambience and friendly service.


For a seafood restaurant, it served one of the best steaks I have ever sunk my jaws on - juicy and charred well.  The said steak was part of the Surf and Turf ($44.90) which consisted of an eye fillet with Moreton bay bug tail, king prawns in a light mustard sauce.

Friends of mine ordered the Garlic Prawns which came with a creamy mushroom sauce on rice ($30.90).


We shared a Greek salad ($14).  


Chips were diplomatically referred to as "vegetables" on the invoice to assuage the guilt ($9).  

Verdict:  We liked it.  

Overall  
Omeros Seafood Bros is well worth the look in, especially for the Surf and Turf.  

Sanbo Chinese Restaurant, Vancouver (Canada) by Bureaucrat

Richmond is a inner-city suburb of Vancouver.  In the last few hours of our time in Canada, we rambled across Richmond looking for last minute souvenirs and a very late lunch/early dinner.  Loyal readers would know that I get a hankering for Chinese food, in particular, for rice, when I'm on holiday.  Sanbo Chinese Restaurant is located in Richmond which is a predominantly Asian suburb - kinda like a mash-up of Doncaster and Box Hill in Melbourne.  

Despite the odd time (sometime between 3-5pm), there was a reasonable number of people dining in. We opted to go for the lunchtime deals (CAD$9.75 for a main and a drink).  I went for the fish w sweetcorn gravy on rice - comfort food at its best.  A big serve of fluffy rice, topped with lots of fish fillets and soupy sweetcorn sauce.  This was a healthier version as the fish hadn't been deep fried in batter.

The Lawyer went for the stir fry beef rice noodle.  A big dish as well with lots of beef.  While this was nice the fish dish was much better.

Both dishes came with your choice of drink - we both went for the Hong Kong style tea, which is made with powdered tea and lots of condensed milk.  A rather sloppy presentation with the very tea-stained mugs. You also get complementary Chinese tea...

...as well as complementary soup as a starter.

Inside, the place looks like a typical suburban restaurant, with booths lining the perimeter and tables in the middle.

Verdict: we liked it a lot.

Overall
A really great cheap feed for less than CAD$10 per person you get a big, well cooked meal with a drink and complementary Chinese tea and soup.  The place seems to be a favourite with the locals.

Malaysian Kitchen, Doncaster East by Obelix

I was introduced to Malaysian Kitchen by a friend who recommended it on the basis it cooked up consistent Hawker stall food at very reasonable prices.  On this occasion, I tried their special lunch menu which had several of their popular noodle and rice dishes to select from in addition to free drink for $12.50.

I was very happy with my choice of Chef Pan Mee.  I have never had this noodle dish before and was surprised by the thick cut noodles that came with it.  They were a slippery but nice texture and the broth was flavoursome without being too salty.  It had little bits of fried anchovies and pork throughout.

My dad ordered the Nasi Lemak with Beef.  It was good value considering you get a free drink with the meal and other places charge similarly if not more for a Nasi Lemak sans drink.

My mum selected the Combination Ipoh Hor Fun which had plenty of 'wok hai'.

And we chose tea and coffee for our drinks.

Verdict:  We loved it.

Overall
Malaysian Kitchen is great value, particularly with their lunch special.  Service was prompt and the food was decent.