My partner and I recently dined at Shò and were extremely impressed with everything! The quality of the food was a pleasant change to the normal stall or market quality of the ingredients in a noodle soup! Everything is clearly made from scratch and they clearly take care in preparing all of their ingredients. One thing that I found interesting from other reviewers here on womow is that a lot of them said they experienced poor service. My partner and I had the complete opposite experience to this. They had an extremely full restaurant and we hadn't made a reservation on a busy Friday night, however they managed to find room for us and get us seated within minutes. We had menus brought over to us straight away and were explained the specials for the night. We had a few different waiters throughout our time there, but each was very polite and attentive. We noticed that some other tables had little pots of chilli, soy, vinegar, etc, and we fancied them so we asked a waiter if it would be possible to get some. He went around the entire restaurant and sussed out who had almost finished their meal and politely asked them if he could take their condiments for another table, they obviously accepted as he quickly brought it over to us with a smile. This was very much appreciated!
I gave Shò 5 stars for value as we had the 'create your own noodle soup' meal, and felt that for being able to pick three accompaniments (even all seafood items if you wish!), your own noodles and choice of soup, dining in a fantastic atmosphere with fresh, tasty food in one of the most expensive venues in Melbourne... $14.50 was an absolute steal! I had a laksa with udon noodles, tofu, roast duck and chicken and my partner had beef brisket soup with vermicelli noodles, roast duck, crispy pork belly, and assorted seafood, both were divine!
We plan on going back to Shò again in the near future, and will comment back here on how the service compared to last time, as perhaps they have updated their staff since the other reviews. I can't however comment on the actual main course options as we decided we felt like noodles, and were happy to pay less for them.

Approximate cost: $14.50

This new Japanese restaurant is definitely up there with the Melbourne inner-city restaurants in terms of quality, presentation and price. I am not convinced though that it is suited to such a location as it is very expensive and the portions are tiny. Three main courses are recommended to serve one person, each ranging around $28. The entrees aren't much cheaper. I would not recommend this restaurant for people who dislike seafood as there are only two or three options on the entire menu to cater otherwise. In saying that though, the dishes that I ate (I am allergic to seafood) were delicious and the chef put in additional effort to cater to my needs by making me different sauces and taking care in preparing the food. The restaurant atmosphere itself is lovely, and the staff are very attentive. They have a good selection of wine and international beers. The food is definitely worth what you pay for it, however, personally I would probably also enjoy a much cheaper meal.

Approximate cost: $28

I found Sebastopol Noodle Bar by accident when I was driving past one day. From the noodle bars in Ballarat that I have tried, I nave never been satisfied with either the quality of the food or the lack of hours in which they are open! I decided to give this place a shot, it just looks like your typical noodle shop, but the food is SO good! My favourite is their Curry Laksa Soup (I have mine without seafood, so just with chicken, pork, vegies and tofu), it's slightly sweeter than most Laskas I have tried (a lot!) but has a perfect level of creaminess and spicyness/oilyness as some other Laksas are either too watery, too coconut-creamy and don't have enough, or any, chilli oil.
They also offer your standard Chinese takeaway menu (e.g. lemon chicken, sweet & sour pork, plum bbq pork etc). The prices are slightly cheaper than what you would get from any of the Chinese restaurants locally, yet I have not tried the food from that menu but I am sure it is good!

Approximate cost: $9.80

I visited Chat for Tea today with a friend who was visiting from Melbourne. Neither of us are vegetarian but we enjoy vegetarian food and were looking for somewhere nice and quiet to have some tea and chat (thought the name suggested this would be the right spot, haha!). After reading the reviews about the Pink Lady drink I thought I should try it.. Whilst I have no idea what was in it, it was delicious and looked equally as inviting! I had the satay chicken skewers and thought they were delicious, however could have been slightly warmer. My friend had the green curry and said it was amazing. While we didn't try the tea, it all was beautifully displayed and I will definitely be back to try some on a cooler day!

Approximate cost: $10-20

We tried pizza from Don Chichios for the first time tonight and were pleasantly surprised with the quality. I was somewhat sceptical at first as the interior doesn't look brand new and there are no big menu boards, but we were impressed with the speed of which our order was filled and also the fact that they gave us a free garlic bread! After trying a few pizza places around this area, we have finally found one which we know we will keep going back to! :)

Approximate cost: $8

After trying out two alternative fish and chip shops in Ballarat (ones that were highly rated), we have come back to Fair Dinkum. The quality of the food here is exceptional and they have a huge range of items on their menu (such as the South Melbourne dim sims, huge range of fresh fish and deep fried treats). The batter is always crispy and not too thick, and the potato cakes are clearly home made, not frozen. Don't expect to walk in and wait 10 minutes for your order, I highly recommend phoning your order in advance as it can take around half an hour before your food is ready; they are very popular! Like most fish and chip shops they are closed Mondays (and possibly Tuesdays?) but it's definitely worth the wait until the weekend for food from here!

I was so surprised with this fish and chip shop! My partner accidentally called up and ordered from this fish and chip shop one day instead of the one we usually go to. My partner had been to this fish and chip shop years ago with the previous owners and apparently it wasn't fantastic so he had avoided it ever since. When he went in there though he realised it had new owners and they were very friendly and dressed in hospitality/chef uniforms which was a nice change! Everything was so clean and neat. When we got home I was so happy with our food, the chips were perfect, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the potato cakes were home made with a good crunchy batter and my partner's fish was apparently very tasty as well! Nothing was greasy or soggy and we could tell all of the ingredients (including the oil used) was fresh. We will definitely make this our new fish and chip shop and hope that the owners don't change any time soon!

I recently ate here with my partner while we were moving house. The quality of the burgers was good, as was the service, although they took a while to make them. They are quite similar to the burgers you get from Grill'd if you are familiar with those. I would definitely recommend this place if you don't feel like a plain, greasy fish and chip shop burger!

Approximate cost: $10-15

I used to visit this nail salon regularly for years until my work forced me to remove my acrylic nails. Recently I changed jobs and decided to go back to get acrylic nails again. The girls there still remembered me and were as friendly as ever. They had done up the store as well and it looks great! The girls that work here are exceptionally good at what they do; they don't use drills that damage your nails, but they are just as quick as people who do use them! The finished product is clearly exceptional to any other nail salon you would find in a shopping centre and the price is very reasonable considering this. Acrylic nails are $55 for the first time, then $50 for refills. I have never had my nails lift, chip or had any other problems with them when I have had them done here. I highly recommend Saesha Nails & Beauty if you are looking for a quality job, especially for important occasions!

L'Anima is an amazing modern Italian and wood fired pizza restaurant. My partner and I often go here if we want to celebrate an occasion or feel like a special dinner out. The wood fired pizzas are to die for, they are the best I have ever had, and the pasta is equally as good. You must try their desert pizzas as well, they are mouth-wateringly decadent (definitely share one between two people)! The service here is always attentive and friendly and the restaurant itself is quite small on the inside and is always packed so it's important you make a booking (usually just earlier on in the day is fine). They offer a takeaway service also, so if you are feeling like pizza but don't want the greasy kind, try L'Anima!

Approximate cost: $15-25