Mei Jing Chinese Restaurant, Wantirna

Mei Jing Chinese Restaurant is situated off the corner of Boronia Rd and Mountain Hwy in Wantirna. It was formerly known as 'Superstars' Chinese Restaurant which has now changed management and is still known as Superstars on most websites including Urbanspoon - it's obviously time for me to update its details ;). If it wasn't for my family friend finding it in the Chinese newspapers, we would never have dined at this restaurant as it really was in the middle of nowhere.

The decorations of the place was that of a typical Chinese restaurant, nothing too special, apart from the very golden ceiling reflected by the awfully bright lights just above our table. I tried to take a photo of it but the shine hurt my eyes so didn't end up working out too well. :P The table where we enjoyed the meal was right next to air-conditioning vents and made us all shiver with coldness, as it was reasonably warm outside and most of us only wore a thin layer of clothing. The waiter was very nice and quickly turned down the air-conditioning for us. I've had many experiences like this in Chinese restaurants and most of the time I get rejected by phrases such as 'but the other customers might be warm' or the likes of 'sorry all the air-conditioning vents are connected so I can't turn off just this one, please put up with it'. I was pleasantly surprised at the good service here.

Whenever we go out with these family friends, it's always occasion to open a bottle of red wine. This time it was Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 made in the Coonawarra region. This wine's actually quite popular with everyone I know who've had it. I'm not a big wine drinker so I can't really comment but I do find it easier to drink than others because it's not as dry and is a bit sweeter.

We ordered the usual mixed cold platter entree with jellyfish and realised that Mei Jing's is actually fairly different. It's usually individual portions of jellyfish and other things such as marinated pork, chicken/duck feet, duck tongue or some other variation but Mei Jing's is actually marinated duck strips with peanuts, carrots and other veggies. I liked it! We finished off every little bit of it, even all the peanuts.

We also ordered a mixed roast dish, including roast pork, roast duck and cha siu. I personally didn't like any of them, the duck itself was too fatty and wasn't that tasty anyway. The cha siu was WAY overcooked and totally dry and tough I didn't even want a second piece. The worst was the roast pork which was salty and the skin wasn't crispy! I hate un-crispy pork skin. :( Although it wasn't a very good start to the evening, it quickly got better as our main dishes came on.

Bar Bosh, Knox Shopping Centre

It's difficult to decide where to eat for lunch on a sunny Friday afternoon - there's just too many choices! I decided to flip through my trusty Entertainment Book to find some inspiration and finally settled with Bar Bosh in the Knox Shopping Centre. This place doesn't really stand out amongst all the bustling restaurants in the restaurant strip called the Knox O-Zone, however after reading their menu, Yuye and I were convinced it was going to be good. We were totally right!