Please read any of my other reviews as I pride myself on great advice and impartiality. I was recently informed of a new restaurant in Templestowe Village through our local traders association.

Have now eaten at Base Camp an half a dozen occasions and it is a personal favourite now.

Tucked away within the village but worth the hunt. Base Camp is an Indian / Nepalese fusion restaurant of the highest quality and standards.

Your host Durugah is a true gentleman and very reserved. A wide variety of Beautiful Indian traditional favourites and a few true Surprises.

My fellow guests unanimously vote the Chicken Momo's as amongst Melbourne's best. The Kashmiri Chilli Chicken is also to die for. The staff are conscious that hot curries and chilli's are not everyone's cup of tea and accordingly are very responsible with the heat of dishes. Cuisine is generally mild to moderate in heat unless you prefer the death by Vindaloo type scenario (which they can cater for).

Very reasonable pricing. Excellent Cleanliness and service. Management by warm and supremely friendly staff.

I confidently recommend this restaurant and I stand by what I tell personal friends. "If you dine here and genuinely aren't impressed - I'll pay for your meal."

A definite must try. Robert

Approximate cost: $30

A dodgy review is dishonest and unfair to you. Please read my review and acknowledge why I have written it. I am a professional driver specialising in diplomatic and VIP transfers. I am also qualified in Roadworthy safety inspections on passenger vehicles.

I first met the proprietor Norm Dean quite a few years ago when I was getting the odd tyre, balance or wheel alignment in Nunawading from a company Norm worked for.

Norm usually did the work on my car and is a specialist at wheel alignment issues. The reason I came to admire this guy is because he would always put me on the right track and would always speak up if he thought I was getting advice based upon profits rather than quality.

Over several years, Norm personally fixed quite a few really troublesome suspension, steering and wheel related issues on family and friends vehicles. Difficult problems on Mercedes, BMW's and exotics as well.

Norm bought his own business some years ago and is now the proprietor of "Performance Tyres" at the East end of Lilydale and my patronage followed him. I can tell you, that to this day, I'm still driving out to Lilydale for my tyre, alignment and suspension work, even though it is a few K's away.

Every business transaction I've had with Norm has been entirely satisfactory. I never feel in any doubt about his recommendations and most importantly, I've never questioned his prices. I refer him to friends and family and tell them - just get your prices, get your advice and THEN ring Norm.

Great businesses are built on service and trust. Sometimes Norm has even told me that he can't offer a cost competitive quote on an odd branded tyre or so - due to market manipulation by the wholesalers. Who does that in business other than your independent servo owner?

I trust Norm and recommend his business without any hesitation whatsoever.

I know I've gone and done it now, but here goes. What are the chances that a 5 Star steakhouse would open in my nearest local shopping square.

"Golden Ribs and Steakhouse" opened for business in the last two months in Donvale and its appearance is not entirely what we are used to, (READ ON PLEASE) Nestled in amongst other typical retail strip shops, the exterior is dominated by quirky neon signs and is a simple shopfront.

Please believe me that I am an absolute diehard 5 star steak maniac. I've spent thousands of dollars over many years at Grill on the Hill in Kew, Stefans in Balwyn, Bluefire at Docklands, Lazars, et al. I don't mind paying $120 to $180 a head for great steak meals, but that doesn't mean I want to.

I gave Golden Ribs the "once off try" and was stunned. I've never had ribs ever, so I ordered a 450 gram MSA Scotch Fillet and sides and hoped for the best.

The steak was cooked to 5 star perfection. Everything the equal of the BIG name restaurants. A very broad selection of cuts and condiments. Friendly and very patient service by the owner-operator. I have been back every week since and have probably blown a great secret by telling you that my last meal - large steak, salad, fries, one glass each of imported beer and red wine - $65......

Best of all is that you can order an appropriate meal size without running the bill up. There are fantastic options in every meat cut ranging from 250 grams to 500 grams.

One item though is the décor. I'd say that a new business struggling to provide the best food has probably run short on funds for opulent décor. Who cares? The steaks are as good as I've had and the service is A1. If you are dining out with Clive Palmer, go to GOTH and spend three times the amount. If you just want the same meal in peace and quiet - Donvale it is. See you there before the secret gets out and I can't get back in.

Cheers, Rob.

Approximate cost: $55

*** This Restaurant has moved. They have a brilliant new venue in Springvale Road Nunawading right near Whitehorse Road. ***

For the sake of 'fair play' and transparency, I must admit that I have been eating at Punjabi Masala for about four years now and about once every fortnight. I am however fairly new to WOMO...

I'm very keen on Indian cuisine and I've eaten at most of the candidates in the Eastern suburbs.

Punjabi Masala is a curious little establishment as it seems to have been a Wild West taverna or similar in a previous life. It's also tucked into a back street behind Nunawading Railway Station, so you will not find it in your regular travels. Don't be at all concerned if it is fairly quiet during the week, they still do a roaring trade in home delivery and take-away. The decor, as with many Indian Restaurants, is what I describe basically as 'Ye Old Worlde' which is clean but a tad dated. Who cares??? I'm there for great food.

The staff are extremely friendly and nothing is a problem. Genuinely nice people. The food is uniformly excellent and there is a very wide choice of food styles. Some Indian restaurants are very limited in the provincial nature of their menu, but not here; including Asiatic influenced items from the Northern border regions of the country. I even routinely get personalised meal items which are precisely to my personal taste.

If I'm guilty of writing wholly positive reviews its because I wouldn't waste my time just to rubbish a business. This restaurant is recommended without reservation. If you have a favorite Indian dish, you will enjoy it here. As usual, don't ignore the entree's. There are some true gems there as well.

I'm not overly stressed by the price of a retaurant meal. A couple of our local Indian eateries are quite expensive and I've only ditched my old favorite when they compromised on food quality. The good news is that this menu is keenly priced. You get plenty of quality food at a very reasonable price. This restaurant is recommended without reservation. (perhaps other than the decor) If you have a favorite Indian dish, you will enjoy it here. As usual, don't ignore the entree's. There are some true gems there as well.

Approximate cost: $15

I have been the chairman of a very large Body Corporate development in Doncaster, Victoria, for over 20 years. We have 27 free standing homes over quite a large area. Getting trades-people to quote on jobs is one story, but getting quality trades-people is an art in itself. We have had over a dozen fence and boundary related repairs over the last 20 years and the best I can say for even the best of those repairs is that it has been satiscfactory workmanship with average quality material. Then I found Mick Archer.

Due to shody, lazy building by the original developers, we were recently faced with a fence re-instatement which was extremely complicated by the need to completely redesign and engineer a three foot high retaining wall below the fence. The fence itself needed to be an 8 foot high corral fence in itself for privacy reasons. I had four or five so called professional fencers look at the job. None of them submitted quotes on this job and the last just laughed when he saw the required job.

I found Mick by chance in a local paper and was happy when he promptly turned up. We commissioned Mick who gave us a quote that seemed entirely reasonable for a large job. Mick's only stipulation to us was that he insisted on using galvanised steel for the uprights. I didn't like the concept but he convinced me by explaining that wood just could not be used on such a high structure that was also retaining four feet of earth.

Mick and his assistant turned up right on time and got to work. Two days into the job, we found out why the original fence was a disaster. Right below the surface was a solid clay bed from a previous Pine plantation. Harder than concrete and impervious to even serious power tools. Mick told me that he could not compromise and that the footings had to be dug down to his required calcuted depth or else the build would be flawed.

There was no talk of increasing the quoted costs and the footings needed to be dug by hand as we couldn't get machines in. The back-breaking work added two days to the job in searing heat. (for Mick and Co)

Moving fast forward, Mick completed the most amazing high quality fence I have ever seen. Literally it is insanely good. The job has been completed for some time now (over two years) but hasn't flexed, moved or settled by a quarter of an inch. I didn't know Mick Archer "from Adam" but I'd be glad to recommend his business without any reservation whatsoever. Just a friendly and incredibly hard working professional fencer.

I would also be glad to send photos of the aforementioned 'great wall' to anyone who would like a look. If you doubt the quality, drop me a line and I'll show you the fence in person. Mick Archer Fencing is now one of my treasured trade contacts.

UPDATE --- I've used Mick again to tackle another similar nightmare fence at the back of my property. Same great standards, same friendly service, same fantastic fence.

I've referred Mick to a number of family and personal contacts and he continues to impress - not one of my referrals has been anything other than thrilled with his work and reasonable prices.

Approximate cost: $2400

Definitely an undiscovered gem amongst Indian Restaurants. Under relatively new management, we returned to this splendid eatery. (It was excellent previously) The decor is rather 'ye old worlde' and is a but of a pastiche of budget driven Indian themes, however I will sacrifice opulent and superfluous decor for a first class and inexpensive menu. Restaurant reviewers should always start with the premise that you are going here for the food.

The staff are very friendly and no request is a problem. The courses arrived, timed as requested and extras so often missing such as a wine bucket with ice were promptly provided.

The menu has a broad selection of all the usual Indian favorites, with some nice little surprises as well. Try the Chicken mo-mo dumplings as an entry (a sort of sensitively spiced minced chicken and corriandor steamed dumpling that is hand madeto order, fresh and absolutely wonderful. Sort of like a dim-sim might be in heaven) Otherwise the food is very good across the board. I choose Indian cuisine maybe once a week and have eaten at most of the Eastern suburbs stand outs. T.T. is now a solid favourite. Situated in a quiet cul-de-sac in Jackson Court Doncaster, seating is available most nights, however word is spreading and I noted last night was booked out. Get in while its a secret.

Having been there three times in a couple of months I was pleasantly surprised that on our visit last night, our friendly manager informed us that that they would not be charging corkage as they valuaed our returned custom. I appreciate that genuine offer even though I am happy to pay for the privilege of BYO. Oh, and lest I forget to mention, the overall cost of the menu is at the lower end of the scale in comparison to competitors. The overall bill would not scare off the budget conscious customer looking for a warm friendly dining experience.

I would not hesitate to recommend Tandoori Temptations to family and friend alike.

Approximate cost: $15