Last Friday the Menulog team decided to be brave and shaved (and coloured) their hair, all for a great cause – supporting the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave 2010! We attended one of the free World’s Greatest Shave events organised on Sydney’s Martin Place.

Two of our team members were brave enough to shave their hair despite partners’ disapproval and rest of us let the creativity flow…

If you like the final result, please sponsor us and donate to the Leukaemia Foundation!

The funds we raise will help the Leukaemia Foundation to provide practical care and support to patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders.

Horrifying dining stories are back this week - “the customer is always never right”:

…all customers have a time limit. Regardless of what time you come in, once the session that you are in ends on the hour, everybody gets thrown out to make room for another round of diners, who in turn have an hour’s limit to dine and then the cycle repeats itself.

…my wife noticed a looong hair on the plate sitting under gravy/ juice. We kindly asked the waitress to remove the plate from the table as most of us were still eating. As she approached the table, she asked “What colour is the hair?” No apology…….more concerned about the colour!! Moments after the plate was removed and taken back into the kitchen, a thunder of foot steps was heard coming from the passage way. To our surprise, it was the Owner, with…..surely not…….yes you guessed it, in her hand was the hair that only moments before was on the bottom of my wife’s plate. Holding the hair up in the air and with a loud voice she yelled “Is this yours? This is your hair love. Nobody in the kitchen has hair like this. This is your hair…

…I will never return to a place where the Maitre d’ eats food of plates waiting to be served…

…after waiting 45 minutes for our Entree they brought out our meals first. After stating that we wanted our entree first, then our meal - the young lady looked at me and said well you didn’t ask for your entree to come first…

…unable to handle complaints or feedback from customers without making threats - my wife was told she should speak better English and shouldn’t come back if she didn’t like the service!!…

Share your tales of dining woes - just add them in the comments section.

Every month we will showcase one of our top users and what they have to say about their delivery experience with Menulog.

February 2010 User of the Month: Benn

Here are some of the latest take-away restaurants we have that you should check out…

In Melbourne, if you want Indian dishes then you should try the Funky Curry Indian Restaurant. It is home to traditional and authentic Indian cuisines that you should really taste.

Another take-away not to be missed in Melbourne is KTM Cafe Asian Food Experience. Here you’ll get to conquer Asia through a wide variety of the continent’s dishes. This is your chance to savor the flavors of different Asian cuisines.

While in Gold Coast, try Pizza King. Grab a slice of your favorite pizza. Or, enjoy munching on those other flavors with your family and friends. Pizza King also has pizzas suitable for your kids’ tastes so no one gets left behind. 

For Brisbane, we have Rangla Punjab Indian Restaurant. Caters to Indian taste buds and for those who love curries. Definitely the place if you want to spice up your meals with those Indian dishes.

With a busy weekend ahead we thought to give you some hints and tips on how to survive and don’t miss out:

Saturday:

• invite your friends over for takeaway nibbles and Opening Ceremony of the XXI Olympic Winter Games (12:30 pm on channel 9)
• order your Chinese New Year Eve’s dinner from nearest Chinese takeout or book a table in restaurant

Sunday:

Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year celebrations – with Menulog you can make it happen

• have a romantic picnic with oriental cuisine picked up on the way
• order home delivery and decorate your place with Chinese lanterns or cute tiger toys
• check out Valentine’s specials for great night out

If you are in Sydney and your stomach started grumbling, we have some new take-away restaurants that you might wanna check…

 City Slice. Have a slice of the city with the mouth-watering pizzas in this restaurant. Have a bite of your favorite toppings. Or enjoy any of their gourmet, traditional and seafood pizzas. Salads and pasta are also available.

Pizzabase St Ives. Another pizza parlour that you must check out. It does not only serve the regular pizza flavors but also caters to those with dietary needs. They have here gluten-free pizzas and gourmet vegetarian.

 Newtown Thai 2 Express. Craving for Thai foods? This is the perfect take-away venue for you! Treat yourself to some authentic Thai cuisine. Explore the rich flavors of curry and stir-fried dishes. And, never ever forget to try the chef’s special.

 iDine Cafe Earlwood. A must-try for indian food lovers out there. Indulge in the spices and delight yourselves with the finest dishes of India. Be sure to leave room for some luscious dessert too.

Belucci’s is the place you’re looking for - heritage building vith sunset view serving tradidional Tuscan dishes…
 

1.When did you open Belucci’s?
Belucci’s has been around for more than 30 years in Australia, Holland and England. Here in Melbourne for 3 Years.

2.Have you had much experience in the industry previously?

I have owned and operated restaurants for more than 30 years here and overseas and parallel to that I have been a teacher of Hospitality for all Diploma and Degree subjects.

3.What difficulties did you experience and how did you overcome them?
It is an every day chore in the hospitality industry. One has to be determined and patient to overcome in this unpredicted industry

4.How did you first attract new customers when you opened? Do you use different methods now?
Yes I did. People love something for nothing or something free with something they like.
“As a gesture of goodwill a free entrée with every main course for one month”

5.Tell us a little about your chef. How did you convince them to come to Belucci’s?
This is funny. I am the Chef.

6.What do you think makes Belucci’s unique?
My Classical style of cooking as ancient as Romans, coupled with an exellent service and a great venue.

7.What is your worst horror story where things just went wrong? How did you fix things in the end?

Might sound boring but in 37 years none. When you strive to serve quality product consistently it is rare to have horror stories. The only story I can tell you is about costumers who want everything for nothing. 

8.Where is Australian dining going in the next 10 years
Backwards.30 years ago it was bad because people didn’t know what cuisine meant. Now they think they know everything, when they don’t know as much 30 years ago. This is a big problem. Reading books and watching TV programmes does not make you an expert. You have to life a life of varied culture, speak there language and adopt there ways to appreciate their food. Unfortunately this is scarce.

I have spent more than 35 years  studying this and still am learning.

9.How would you describe today’s customers? Are they more picky, more sophisticated, more generous?
Depends on their demographic. The richer they are the more tight they are. The ones who are open minded are willing to learn about the diversity of the cusine.

This week we’re visiting South Melbourne, which has a great number of special deals.

For dining out, The Bengal Tiger has a great 2 course $20 special on Monday nights. For Thai, SugarCane Thai has a 10% discount for Menulog users only, available 7 nights a week.

For home delivery, Krou Supan is giving users 10% off their first order and Baked in South Melbourne offers 20% off your first order. Finally Patony Pizza has some great meal deals including a $28 deal with 2 large pizzas, garlic bread and a bottle of soft drink.

If you haven’t found what you’re looking for, see all deals for South Melbourne restaurants and South Melbourne food delivery.

Happy Australia Day!!!

This is a day to spend with family and friends and appreciate all that Australia has to offer. And there is plenty to choose from no matter where you are: concerts, festivals, races, picnics - highlighted with spectacular fireworks show.

Sydney       Melbourne       Brisbane       Perth       Adelaide       Canberra       Hobart       Darwin 

If you’re planning to celebrate indoors check out Menulog Australia Day dining specials and those exhausted by outdoors activities can find great deals in our takeaway section.

This week we’re looking at Chatswood in Sydney:

For dining out, Chatswood Village Courtyard Cafe has a buy 1 get 1 free pizza special for Friday night and lunchtime on Mon-Sat. If you’re looking for some affordable lunch catering, visit Chargrill Charlie’s with 5 special corporate lunch packages for $11.50 per person. If you’re after a great buffet option, Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ Restaurant has a $22.90 BBQ buffet, available at all times.

In home delivery, Wi Marn Thai Restaurant has a 10% first order discount whilst the same Chatswood Village Courtyard Cafe has a free garlic pizza for orders of $40 or more.

If you haven’t found what you’re looking for, see all deals for Chatswood restaurants and Chatswood food delivery.