On a typical dull Saturday evening, the team at Hungrygeek was hungry. Hungry as in… hungrygeek, in a manner that gave a literal sense to our website name.

Spotting an opportunity to write a potential recommendation, we spotted up Beneditti, on Belmore Road, Balwyn.

The enormously large number of customers waiting for their take away food was what we initially perceived to be an obvious sign of the mind blowing flavours, and top quality cooking that this place had to offer. Impressed with the initial impression and seated at a seat, we were so happy about being at the place that we whispered to ourselves “yes!!!!”…

Benedetti provides great friendly service, and their waiters did not stand around and have nothing to do, as opposed to many places that we have visited previously. They did not pick their nose, sneeze on our food, or scratch their asses and then smelling the finger while we were eating. We, at Hungrygeek, applaud the amount of consideration the staff paid in this regard.

Anyways, upwards and towards the food.

The three of us ordered a seafood pasta dish-, a rack of barbequed ribs and a fresh pizza with tomato and salami. The prices were descent, but not overly cheap. The bill came to 70 dollars for the 3 of us.

My fellow hungrygeeks enjoyed the barbequed ribs. However, I do not know if it is possible, but de-boned ribs seem so appealing when in the middle of eating a rack of ribs that were about half a metre long. But I suppose eating ribs without bones is kind of like how you cant watch a Stars Wars movie with Princess Leia without a box off tissues, if you know what I mean? no? are you sure? oh. ……. me either.

The pizza was fresh (excuse the crappy camera phone photos) , and reeked of delightfulness, kind of like children in a playground- in a non paedophilic way…. Perhaps my descriptions and images are a bit too long. So to keep it short, “yuck!” .. if ‘yuck’ means delicious and fresh and flavoursome.

The pasta was GREAT! Cooked al-dente, which is a word that means “tasty” in Chinese for all those who are linguistically challenged. The sauce was quite nice too, it was rich, but not too rich. Kind of like the 40 year olds living in Footscray who drive 200 thousand dollar BMWs, but live with their parents. The sauce is more successful though. I enjoyed the salmon, which provided quite a nice flavour to the pasta. The only “bone” I have to pick in this seafood dish (with the fish), is the prawns.

I am a prawn freak. I attempt to avoid eating at places that I suspect of serving frozen cheap, unfresh, tasteless, chewy prawns that cost 2cents each. Do you know what I am referring to? You know, those prawns that look translucent and stiff? Yes ? yes? I’m sure you do.

Anyways, I believe that a restaurant should not cost cut to such an extent that they HAVE to avoid serving fresh prawns that cost $20/kg. We’ll do the maths. .. a single prawn would weigh 20grams if they were enormous. Of 1000grams in a kilo, and at $20 per 1000 grams, that’s 40 cents per prawn- and this is overestimating of all the prices. Sure, there are other costs involved in producing a meal, and although I don’t demand top end quality stuff, come on, I paid 18 bucks for a bowl of pasta, surely that’s deserving of at least a little bit of quality?

There is little doubt that the crappy prawns are used to cut costs. It’s deplorable. I’m quite sure eateries base their actions on demand, therefore, I am using hungrygeek.com to suggest a national movement to ban restaurants from using the frozen prawns.

ANYWAYs, it was quite an enjoyable meal.

We walked away as “fullgeeks”, rather than ‘hungrygeeks’.

This place is great for a local meal on a Saturday night with some mates. You may be able to take your partner here if they are not so picky with prawns. Cos prawns really need to be fresh. Prawns are great. Have I told you guys I’m a prawn freak?

On a more seriuos note, if the owners of Benedetti’s want us to review any of their food (and the prawns) again, please feel “free” to invite us again. Get it? “free”?