The Boathouse Restaurant, Maribyrnong

Personally, I don't like the word "reviews". It always gives me the impression of someone who is so far superior in knowledge of flavour/taste to give a precise and detailed critique on food. I am no where near that. And I know that most of the time it's not the case, but it still gives me the impression. (No offence intended to anyone).

However, dining out each time is such an experience to me. There's so much I wanna say because Food excites me so. So I guess this is just something I'll have to get used to, eventually.

And I always tell my friends I'm not a pro. I can't tell you how a dish SHOULD taste, but I can only happily share what I personally like (and don't like) about it.

And another thing that makes me hesitant about this kinda stuff is because I don't like to be held accountable to people. My opinions are really based on my dining experience at that specific point in time. We all know that not all restaurants are always consistent.

Heck, too many times have I gone back to a restaurant only to find that it's not the same anymore. Hence, good for me not necessarily good for me (again) and also you. You just have to believe how I felt at the time and try it for yourself.

Anyway, back to the Food. I've got this friend that I consider my foodie buddy. He used to be my housemate and one thing we loved doing was to think of which restaurants we'd try next. At the end of it, we always have a list that's too long for our own good and get ourselves really hungry. Aih...

And The Boathouse Restaurant in Maribyrnong by Masterchef Judge, Gary Mehigan, has always been one of them. We had a couple of errands to run in the West so we couldn't pass up this chance to try out this place. A perfect way to spend a pleasant Saturday morning with friends.

Ambience was very warm and inviting. I loved that there were lots of windows and natural light. Just feels more open and relaxed.

Soy Piccolo Latte

Everyone knows that Soy Pics are always my coffee of choice. However, I was quite disappointed by mine here. As if the glass wasn't small enough already, it was the first time I had been served a coffee that's not filled to the brim, which made it slightly bitter. Also, the froth was not smooth. The bubbles were too big and made it very thick to drink.

BUT, I was still happy because I got to spend that wonderful morning somewhere new with my dear friends (who always let me pick and take a picture on their food, hehe...) On to the food...

Ann's "The Lot" Breakfast

Sausage was good.

Kel's Roasted Field Mushrooms, Spinach, Poached Egg and Hollandaise

Hollandaise was delicious.

Ian's Avocado Toast with Smoked Salmon, Wild Rocket and Feta

Hashbrowns

By golly were they perfectly cooked and delicious or what. Lots of microbubbles on this thing. Well done.

I had the "Breakfast Pizza" with crispy bacon, mushrooms and poached eggs

SO GOOD. The toppings were fairly straight-forward, but what made this pizza OUTSTANDING was the dough and how it was baked. It was my favourite kind of pizza to eat. The base was crispy, yet firm.

A lot of times I don't like woodfired pizzas because they tend to be stretched too thin that sauce started to seep through. Which makes them soggy and not crunchy. What's worse are woodfired pizzas that are so sloppy that toppings fall off when you hold them vertically. Thankfully, this was neither and the pizza was thick enough and baked till it was stiff and had a delicious crunch at the base. LOVED it.

Another thing I loved about the pizza was the little air pockets that you get at the crust. I LOVE THIS in pizzas! Just gives this extra texture and crunch from it which I always enjoy. Also, what's great about this was the slight char you find at certain parts of the crust. I love char, anywhere, anytime, so this was good for me.

Final thing that I noticed about the pizza was that it wasn't as sandy compared to other woodfired pizzas. In fact, you could feel a bit of oil when you touch the dough. Not sure how they did it but I'm sure it helped make the pizza extra crunchy when baked.

Overall, I really enjoyed the brekkie experience here. Although I'm aware that reviews here have not been the best. I'm just trying to be honest about my experience there, then, and this was based on brekkie only. They have a separate menu for lunch and dinner.

But to be very frank, I really wished they hadn't given me the two runny poached eggs (which had yolks that were surprisingly yellow, btw), because they made me feel really bloated by the end of it. Without it I'm sure I would have enjoyed myself a lot more.

Regardless, I had a great time and I can't wait to go on more food adventures with my amazing friends in Melbourne. Cause food can be good, but it's the company that makes a meal GREAT.

- Winston OUT! =)