La Porchetta Review

Location:273 Spring St, Reservoir, 3073, (there are numerous La Porchetta locations, as this is chain of successful Italian food)
Phone:(03) 9460 5525
Time: Dinner Time (around 7pmish)
Price: Reasonable (ranging from $7 for pasta and $17 for steak)
Cuisine Type: Italian

What got dished out:
I ordered a medium Porterhouse Steak with chips and mushroom sauce. I received a Well done steak. Like I've mentioned before in my previous post about how the standard of steak generally determines the quality of food.
I already know that the quality of food at La Porchetta isn't the best, it's the fast food of Italian food, kinda like McDonald's type thing.

I was actually kinda disappointed when the steak came out because generally La Porchetta don't exactly nuke my meat.
I couldn't be bothered sending it back because I was extremely hungry, and when one is extremely hungry, any food is good.

In haste, I forgot to request to have the mushroom sauce to be put in a container as a dipping sauce. When it came out, I wanted to kick myself. I HATE having any sauce on my steak. My reason? What happens if the sauce isn't nice? then I'm stuck eating it with my steak. Granted the mushroom sauce is pretty nice at La Porchetta, but it's not actually consistent.
I don't know if all the franchises have a set recipe, but clearly they don't. Sometimes it's runny, sometimes it's too buttery, and sometimes it taste nothing like the "standard" sauce.
The mushroom sauce I had that day was a tad on the runny side(too much water I think?).

The chips weren't that bad, but of course nothing beats McDonald's fries, but these suffice, at least the chips weren't so brown due to the lack of oil change.

The meal was edible and I completed the whole entire thing without having to think twice. I can't say it's the best steak I've had, but it wasn't the worst. In truth, it was the poorest La Porchetta steak I've had in a while. But who can complain? the steak is only $17 bucks, a lot cheaper than most places (by almost $10), so I don't have high expectations of it.

I did try a little bit of my friend's ravioli bolognaise. I think this has to be such a weird combination. Of course I always associate bolognaise with spaghetti and then whenever other pasta types are used, I just get weirded out. La Porchetta doesn't make a flashy sauce, nothing punchy about it. I mean I've been to a place where the sauce was really sour-ish due to the fresh tomatos. In truth La Porchetta is a safe house. I mean the sauce taste no different to ones that you get from a Dolmio's bottle. I didn't mind the combination. The pasta wasn't hard rock, I've tried in some places where the ravioli tasted like OMG WTF that with each bite I wanted to cry. There were no tears here.

My thoughts:
I've been going to La Porchetta for years, even in my uni days, because it's quick, easy and cheap, especially for some Italian food. It's not fine dining but it's a lot better than the stuff that you buy from the bamborines from shopping centres. I can live with cheap and okay food. I can't deal with expensive food for mediocre servings and mediocre tastings which La Porchetta is not.
It's probably one of the more famous chains in Melbourne for Italian food, the other being Sofia's but they do extremely large servings that could feed a family of four on one pasta dish. I find places like that food wastage.
I guess I like coming here because it is safe and easy. Stuff I should learn to make myself but can't be bothered because someone else makes it quicker (not better).
It's probably the reason why even years on, the La Porchetta chain is still very successful, there are a LOT of these chains lurking around Melbourne, it's some pretty crazy stuff and most people have the same mentality as myself (ahh the lazyness)...

And in truth, when it comes to Italian food, I use La Porchetta as the benchmark (you have to start somewhere), I generally crack it if the steak/pasta/chicken/pizza comes to me worst off than La Porchetta's and cost more. Generally you get a face palm type thing going from myself. and I'm mad as hell. =]

I know everybody has a benchmark for food, I mean you have to, how else do you know if something is good or bad? Unfortunately for me, when it comes to Vietnamese food, the standard is high because the benchmark happens to be my mother's cooking. When it comes to Italian, it's surely La Porchetta. Don't ask me why, it's just how it is.

Happy Days Review

Location: Highpoint Shopping Centre (Rosamond Rd), Downstairs near the cinemas
Phone: 9317 3990
Time: 8.30pm ( I was there for dinner)
Price: Unreasonable( I paid approx $29 for steak and hated it)
Cuisine Type: Cafe food




What got dished out:
Whenever I go to a cafe type place for some odd reason I always order the steak.I guess because for me, the steak tells me so much about a place. I.E the quality of their food. If the steak is cooked properly then I know that the standard is pretty good with everything else and that I'd be returning to try everything else. Of course, cook the steak incorrectly and it's game over.
This was supposed to be the Eye Fillet with chips and Vegies with Mushroom sauce.
I always request for a medium steak, most times it's a hit and miss. I mean what's the point in anyone asking, it should be like "you get what the chef feels like" because I've asked for medium and it either comes out nuked (i think thats supposed to be "well done" or it comes out rare with blood squirting me in the eye with each cut.
The chef/cook got it right, it was indeed medium. It was indeed steak tasting, but my biggest issue was the plate being too small. I mean they dumped the piece of steak on a bed of chips and veggies. Where exactly did they think I was going to cut up my steak? On my lap perhaps? My friend of course was like "you can cut it on top of the chips", true but then I'd be squashing my chips.
The chips by the way weren't that flash, more like cooked in oil that hasn't been changed for ages.
Now I'm no salad fan. I don't unfortunately eat my vegetables as I'm supposed to. And the salad that they lumped on my plate didn't look all that appetizing either. It looked like a day or two old and i wasn't going to bother with it.
This is pretty much the end result. I didn't touch much of the chips, I wasn't going to attempt any of the salad and frankly the steak was just too bleh to go any further. I might as well add here that I also had an issue with their mushroom sauce which tasted nothing like mushroom sauce. In fact it tasted like something that I'd get from a gravax tin, add water, cut up some mushrooms and claim it to be mushroom sauce. Oh wow, I think I just worked out their secret. LOL.
The sauce was really watery and bland, actually it just tasted like packet sauce to me, it was the most disappointing steak I've had in a while, not the worst steak but was pretty up there in terrible steaks and I know I've had better somewhere else... Actually, i think I could have cooked up something better and I am no cook, in fact I think there is a law somewhere where it's illegal for me to cook =].

My friend ordered some veggie burger. I can't remember the actual name of it. But when it came out, the first thing she said was "Gee the bread sure does look waxy". Being that I didn't bother taking a bite out of her veggie burger, as I'm no big fan of "veggie patties", I thought I'd give it a miss.
My friend being the actual vegetarian commented that it was one hell of a burger, as in it was pretty decent. I'd take her word for it, I'm not one to go to any cafe/restaurant/take-away place that serves meat and order vegetarian of anything. I like my meat dishes a bit toooo much. But she did rub it in a little bit (probably without realising it) that her meal was awesome (yes she did find the chips a bit soggy and also believed that the oil was old),and she was apparently fine with the salad. The damn girl ate the whole thing and left nothing on her plate.

My thoughts:
When it comes to shopping centres, I totally believe in just sticking to the fast food joints. Nothing ever really comes good out of a shopping centre especially when it comes to dining. I prefer places like McDonalds, KFC or better yet Nandos over something like Happy Days. Fast food outlets are consistent on making bad unhealthy food but the standard is the same no matter where you go. LOL.

Right where Happy Days is situated there is a Nandos, a La Porchetta, Seared, Grilled and China Bar. It puzzles me on how such a place that serves mediocre food can still exist. Yes it's got that 1960's feel about it, as in there's a juke box in the background. It's quirky but that's as far as it goes. Diners go to a place to eat. you get wow`ed at the scenery for like 5 minutes, get bored and expect good food. Which clearly they really struggle. Okay fine, I only had the steak but like I said, the steak is always an indication on how a place is travelling.

Happy Days has some stiff competition considering La Porchetta does something very similar for a lot less and are consistent at making their food taste a certain way. Which I guess also explains why La Porchetta is bigger and busier.
Who in their right mind go to Happy Days? Those who couldn't find a seat at La Porchetta or Seared. Can't be bothered with Grilled or Pancake Parlour. OR they think "we walk past Happy days all the time, let's give it a try"

Would I go back? hell NO! Especially considering there are so many OTHER better options around it, that I'd rather eat there. Happy Days should be called "Struggling Days". Because I struggle to comprehend why they're still there and who the hell would even bother going there.