Halal Food Journeys (4): Melbourne, Australia

Last week, I went to Melbourne, Australia and honestly, I was really worried about this trip cus it was my first time going to a Western country and I don't know what to expect. However, after this trip, it became one of my most favourite places to travel. There are so many things I want to share about this trip but firstly, I will just start on food first. 

In Melbourne, there are quite a number of halal food places and its really not that difficult to find one. There are several Malaysian-based food outlets such as Old Town White Coffee, Papparich and Nooodles (Airport T2) which have halal accreditation. You can also find Nandos which is almost everywhere in Melbourne. According to their website, all their restaurants serve halal chickens but only some outlets may sell wine or bacon. So, do check their website to see which has halal accreditation.

For me, there is actually nothing unique about the food in Melbourne. Its almost exactly similar to the food you can find in Singapore. Also, its crazy expensive! A plate of food can cost you about $8 to $12 on average. Compared to Singapore, where you can easily find food for less than $5.

1.

Little Ipoh
360 La Trobe St.
littleipohrestaurant.com.au

Nasi Kerabu $10

Nasi Goreng Kampung $11.90

Char Kway Teow $11.50

The first place we head to was Little Ipoh. It mainly serves authentic Malaysian food and a few Western food as well. It is nearby the intersection between Queen Street and La Trobe Street and is located at the 2nd floor of a shophouse. This is one of my favourite places to eat and I've been here twice during my trip. The dish I would recommend is their Nasi Goreng Kampung!

2.

Iluka Restaurant
65-71 Great Ocean Rd, Apollo Bay

If you're travelling along the Great Ocean Road, you might come across this place at Apollo Bay. We went to this restaurant as part of our Great Ocean Road tour with Melbourne Australia Tours. At the entrance of the restaurant, there is a halal cert. which show that their poultry are from halal suppliers. 

Since we were part of the tour, we only get to choose 2 items at the counter that they were serving and not from their menu. I decided to go for fish and salad as I was curious how Australian 'fish n chips' is like. Honestly, its not that tasty at all as compared to how you would find at Fish N Co or Manhatten Fish Market. I guess you could say its more healthier since you can actually taste more of the fish than the seasoning or the flour. 

3.

Bali Bagus
85 Franklin St.

Bakso Special $8.80

Ayam Penyet $9

Ikan Goreng Bumbu Bali $13

Now, back to Melbourne CBD is another place called Bali Bagus. Well, theres nothing much to say about this place except that its just your typical Indonesian restaurant. Food wise is okay~

4.

Mama Wong's Kitchen
2/76 Flinders St
www.mamawongs.com.au

Hokkien Mee $11

After taking a half day tour, the bus alighted us at Federation Square and so we decided to check out Mama Wong's which is only about a 5 minutes walk away from there. 

This place serves mainly Chinese style cuisines. I was clueless at first what I should get until, I saw someone having Hokkien Mee and it looks so delicious! So, I decided to get one for myself too. I'm not sure whether it was because I was really hungry or that it was really delicious but I absolutely love it. The thing that I really like the most is that they put a lot of things in the dish or rencah (not sure what the english translation of rencah is) and were really generous with their portion. Theres lots of prawns, chicken,  all kinds of vegetables and I'm not sure what else there is. Of course, they do sell other items but I was too full to try. I've seen alot of people tried their fried rice so, it should be good too. However, don't expect great service cus they can get especially busy during lunch hours.

5.

Lord of the Fries
www.lordofthefries.com.au

Lord of the Fries is probably the only place where you can get halal fast food. There have quite a number of outlets around Melbourne. The one I went to was at Flinders Station. Its actually a booth so you have to take away and find somewhere else to eat. However, since I did not eat the burgers straight away, it became cold and not nice at all. I believe that it would have tasted great so I strongly recommend you to consume it immediately. It can be pretty pricey though. One burger is about $5-$6 without any meal whatsoever. However, I do think Lord of the Fries is definitely worth trying at least once. Oh, and do remember to bring lots of those little packet sauces cus if you want to have chilli or tomato sauce on your fries, they will charge you $1. Otherwise, they are just gonna add extra salt.

Alright, that concludes my HFJ in Melbourne! Theres actually alot more halal places than what I've listed here but these are just a few that I managed to go to. On a side note, tomorrow is the start of fasting month!! I'm glad I managed to finish off this post before fasting month starts, otherwise I would be salivating throughout. Happy Ramadhan to all my fellow muslim friends!

Halal Food Journeys (3): Taichung, Taiwan

If you have missed out on the previous HFJ in Taipei, click here

Apart from being in Taipei, I also went to Taichung to stay there for a night. I was really glad that there are quite a few halal restaurants there and from what I know so far, there are 3 of them. I only managed to went to 2 due to time constraints so here there are......

1.
Dumpling Restaurant *Halal*
No. 200, Section 1, Wenxin Rd, Nantun District

Majiang Noodles NT$60 (~S$2.50)

Spring Onion with Beef (Small) NT$150 (~$6.50)

Beef Dumplings 20pcs NT$120 (~$5.00)

Finally, a place that serves authentic Chinese cuisine. Their specialty is the dumplings and probably, the hot pot since every table has one. However, I did not try the hot pot as I wanted just a simple lunch and the price was wow. Their dumplings are all handmade. Once you enter the shop, you will be greeted with a person folding up dumplings at the entrance. I have to say their dumplings are seriously the best. Once you take a bite, it is just irresistible and highly addictive.

The rest of the dishes were also good. Another favourite of mine is the Majiang Noodles. It tasted like noodles mixed with rojak sauce which I absolutely love.

The service at this restaurant is highly commendable as well and the staff there were really friendly. Although they were very busy, they were still willing to take the time and help explain the dishes to us and respond to our every requests. Two thumbs up for this place! Totally highly recommended!

2.
Si Shih Lai Hand-Pulled Noodles 喜士來手工拉麵 *Halal*

No. 128, Wuyi St, Taichung City

台中市五義街128號

(04) 2206-9486

If you love noodles, this place is perfect! But, this is no ordinary noodle place as all their noodles are hand-pulled. They even have tons of different flavours with a choice of either thick or thin noodles to go with it. 

If I remember correctly, they may not have an English menu so it is highly recommended to bring along a friend who can read and speak Mandarin or you may have to decipher the characters yourself. We decided to take away the noodles and ate at the hotel. 

We order some spicy beef noodle and the other was seafood noodle. It comes with soup but I think it is meant to dip it in with the noodles or you can drink it on its own. I love the spicy beef noodles alot but it is too spicy for me. After a few mouthfuls, I simply cannot take it which is a shame cus I really like how tasty it was (should have ordered the one without spicy). The seafood noodles was ok but maybe a little bland. 

3.

Islamic Yellow Beef Dumplings Restaurant 清真館黃牛肉餃子館 *Halal*

台中市忠孝路165巷12號
No. 12, Lane 165, Jhongsiao Rd., Taichung City
TEL：（04）2285-6389

When I came here, it already was closed. Not particularly sure about the opening hours of this place or if it has closed down. Anyways this is just another place that serves halal food. You could give this place a try if you happen to visit them when its open.

That wraps up my HFJ in Taiwan. Personally, I prefer the food in Taichung rather than in Taipei. Hopefully, it has been helpful to some of you who are planning to have a trip to Taiwan soon and have an idea of how halal food is like there. Thanks for reading!

P.S Extra Tip:

 At some parts of Taiwan such as Sun Moon Lake, there is really no halal food choices. When faced with such situations, you can try eating at Mos Burger and have their seafood burgers if you are comfortable. The reason for Mos Burger is because they are located almost everywhere in Taiwan and most importantly, they do not sell any pork. This could be an alternative for you if halal food is not accessible and you are totally unprepared.

Halal Food Journeys (2): Taipei, Taiwan

I just came back from Taiwan like a week ago and I must say it was one crazy hot and wet trip. I think May is probably a very wrong time to go there. Some parts of Taiwan was raining non-stop while in other parts especially in Taipei, was scorching hot. On a side note, I was incredibly disappointed that there were some halal food restaurants in Taipei that has closed down. I seriously did not expect it because they were pretty well known and had quite a number of good reviews. I will talk about em at a later part of this post.

One very important thing to note about all these halal restaurants is their opening hours. They will open at around 11am - 2pm and 5pm - 930pm. This seems to apply to every one of these restaurant so make sure to plan your day properly so that you are able to eat on time.

1.

Bismilla Restaurant *Halal*

No. 40, Beining Rd

886 (02) 2577-9271

Bismilla was the first restaurant that I went to in Taipei. Unfortunately, I did not manage to take any photos of the food because I was literally too hungry at that time and forgotten to take photos. This restaurant serves up Thai food and I must say its pretty good. There is also another Halal Thai food restaurant called Yunus Halal Restaurant just a few shops away from it. However, sadly again, I forgot to take any photos at that restaurant so I can't do a seperate review for it.

Out of the two places, it is an extremely tough fight and I just can't simply choose which is better. Yunus has a better restaurant ambience compared to Bismilla but in terms of price, Bismilla is slightly cheaper.
Still, I think both of these restaurants are worth a visit.

2.

Somewhere in Wulai.. *Not Recommended*

While I was on my way to Wulai Falls, I came across several shops and this place. The reason why I did not put the restaurant name or address is because I seriously do not think it is worth it. If Wulai is one of the places in Taiwan that you intend on visiting, then you might encounter this place on your way there. However if its not, then I strongly do not think you should come all the way there for the food. 

I do not think the food is terrible but I would say, just mediocre. What totally ticks me off about this place was the restaurant owner. He kinda has a bad attitude and you can also sense a little vibe coming from the locals that he wasn't very liked by them. When asked how long he has been in Taiwan, he said 6 months. Well, good luck with that. I don't think this place would last long. I was quite doubtful about the authencity of the halal sign as well. 

Therefore, this place is a huge no-no for me.

3.

Kunming Islamic Restaurant *Halal*

No. 6, Lane 81, Fuhsing N. Rd

886 (02) 2751 6776

Omelette NT$150 (~S$6.50)

Chili Prawn NT$260 (~S$11)

Fried Fish with Spicy Sauce NT$300 (~$13)

Bhindy (Lady's Finger) Arabian Style NT$230 (~$10)

Kung Pao Chicken NT$260 (~S$11)

Out of all the halal restaurants I've been in Taipei, this restaurant beats out the rest in terms of taste. For something as simple as an omelette, it is probably one of the best omelette I've ever tasted. In most of their dishes, they use a lot of red pepper, green pepper and whatnots to bring out its refined taste which is different.

Although I did not order chapati (because I just ate chapati earlier in the day at Wulai), I still think their chapatis are worth a try as most of the diners there had chapatis on their table. So it should be good right. Another recommendation to try is the Fried Fish with Spicy Sauce which also seems to be a popular choice among the diners there as well. The size of the fish is also a lot bigger as compared to fried fishes in other restaurants which makes it oh so satisfying.

One of the things I have to point out is that I find their briyani rice too expensive. I bought a plate of plain briyani rice which cost me NT$120 (~$5). Pretty extreme don't you think. Although the briyani rice tasted really good, I don't think its worth at all to spent around $5 for it, without any meat or toppings whatsoever. Well, probably its best to just settle with plain white rice which will only cost you NT$20 (~$0.90).

4.

Taipei Halal Bismillah Restaurant *Halal*

Taoyuan Airport, Terminal 1

Basement 1

Before departing from Taiwan, I decided to have my last meal at Taipei Halal Bismilla Restaurant. It is located in the basement food court at Terminal 1 and serves up mostly Mediterranean fusion food. (As usual, hungry me forgot to take photos of the food...) I'm really glad that my last meal in Taiwan ended up well. I like that the food is really simple yet tasty and at a pretty affordable price. 

Service may be a little slow as there is only one person taking care of the stall and doing the cooking. So, it may not be for those who are in a rush to catch a flight but if you are not, it will definitely be worth it to give this place a try.

Before & After

Here are the two places that I went to which has closed down. I was really disappointed especially with Enjoy Kitchen because it was a very popular burger place. Thank goodness there is Google Maps cus I almost thought I went to the wrong address or that my eyes are playing tricks on me. If you haven't notice you can actually turn back time using Google Maps. Pretty cool right? So all the photos below was taken from Google Maps. The before photos was from 2012. Its amazing how 3 years can change so much. 

If you happen to come across this post and planning to go to Taipei, make sure you take down this two places so that you won't have to waste so much time looking for them like I did.

Yuntai Muslim Food

4 Wenzho St., Da'an District

                                                 Before                                          After 

Enjoy Kitchen

No.2, Ln. 84, Sec.3, Roosevelt Rd, Da'an Distict

                                                  Before                                            After  

That's the end of my HFJ in Taipei but its not the end for Taiwan. I went to another part of Taiwan called Taichung . I did not want to add it in here or else this post will just be too long. It's gona be a short one cus I only spent like 1 night there. So, do look forward for the next HFJ in Taichung!