foo(d)manchoo say...: Let's talk food...Blue Train

Blue Train Café
MR5 Mid Level Southgate Landing, Southbank

Ah, Blue Train, the place where music students would usually go to grab food and beer after seeing a show at Hamer Hall because it was the "cool" place to be...how deluded were we back then? Needless to say, those days have long passed and Blue Train is no longer on the list of places to go, however, on this one occasion I felt like reminiscing, so a one-time only visit ensued.

Glorified Hawaiian (1)...tasty, but expensive

It didn't take very long to be reminded of why this place fell off the list. It was one of those places where if you had a large group of people and needed somewhere that would kinda please everybody, this was it. When I say please everybody, I mean, barely...The thing that struck me first was the huge hike in prices since I went there last. $18.90 for what was essentially an upmarket Hawaiian pizza? Seems a little steep...rent on Southbank must be going up...

Glorified Hawaiian (2)

The second item on the list was the "Garlic naan bread filled with spiced potatoes, tomato kasundi and yoghurt". Now, as you'll see from the photo below, the tomato kasundi and yoghurt are actually condiments, and not in the garlic naan itself...that's what happens when you get a non-english speaking asian person to write your menu for you...This meal was actually the best part of the visit. The combination of naan and spiced potatoes provided quite a hearty meal and the kasundi added an extra tangy punch to the overall experience...I didn't touch the yoghurt though, but I'm sure it was...good?

Garlic naan with spice potatoes...
serves family of 8 starving asians, or 1 white person

The third item, and definitely the worst item was the supposed "roti canai". Now, I admit I was to blame for this one. After having the authentic thing at Laksa King, to think that this sort of restaurant could do this sort of asian dish was a mistake, and deep down I knew it wouldn't be good, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. Somebody should've been fired for this crap. If I wanted cheap crappy flatbread from Coles, scooped out "Home Brand" crunchy peanut butter and 6 leaves of lettuce garnish I would've bought it all myself and still saved at least $9 from your $12.90 price tag. I think I had 2-3 bites before giving up from the shit experience. I took a crap photo of a crap dish so you can all to see what to avoid...

"Roti bread served with peanut dipping sauce...don't go anywhere near it...
Coles flatbread + microwaved peanut butter + garnish

So the moral of the story is this...The days of the coolness of Blue Train are over...It's now just over priced semi-ok food that's trying to accommodate a wide variety of cuisines and only half managing to succeed. If it's convenience you're looking for over everything else, then fine, go for it, otherwise there are plenty of other good options around Southbank, even possibly at the food court downstairs!

(>_<)