Thursday, August 30, 2007

Fitzroy!

A late lunch at Red Tongue, one of the many cafes along funky Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. This place is full of quirky fashion boutiques, cafes and artsy stuff and totally demands an afternoon for wandering around :) And it's warm enough to sit outside on a balmy spring day!

It was lunch but we both decided on gravlax (smoked salmon), poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.. I had mine on a pancake instead of Turkish pita. The eggs were just perfect :D

Here's a cute kitty playing with the shadows at the one of the many photo galleries.

More reviews coming your way!

stormiii at 9:43 pm

2cups of tea

Monday, August 27, 2007

An early spring

Spring has come early to Melbourne. As we drive along the streets, shades of pink and white blossoms dot the sidewalks - I wonder if it will be even more beautiful in the larger parks around the city's perimeter :)

Saturday came, the warmest thus far this winter at 20 deg C! Dressed in our spring wardrobe, we lunched at Ying Doi (Victoria Parade), a well known cheap eat for Thai foodies :D A tip, come for lunch only instead of dinner to enjoy their rice and noodle dishes at 50% of dinner prices!

Crispy pork belly stir fried with vegetables in a slightly sweet sauce - served with rice... this one was totally yummy!

The ubiquitous Pad Thai, but cooked in the BKK style using kway teow (alright for me, I guess) :D

I know, I know... A$5.50 for goreng pisang in caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream?? Let's just say that it's one of the few banana fritters I indulge in annually.

I found myself walking past beautiful heritage homes in the suburb of Hawksburn that springy afternoon...


MEL has these old, graffiti-ed yet charming train stations with the zinc roofing and brick walls. Almost art deco like ;)

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stormiii at 12:21 pm

2cups of tea

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Puffy!

Was craving for something sweet after lunch at a HK "ca can tang" (cafe) in Box Hill today :P Chanced upon a Beard Papa copycat called "Puffy" - it is slightly smaller and has cookie pastry for the topping... costs about A$1.60 each (almost S$2). Oh how I miss the strawberry puff from Beard Papa at Vivo!!

stormiii at 5:33 pm

0cups of tea

Saturday, August 18, 2007

D's kitchen

This is probably the first pic of a dish that I cooked here in MEL. I've been experimenting with all sorts of SG favourites and cuisines e.g. laksa yong tau foo, Japanese curry, chicken stroganoff, etc. ;) Feeling peckish this afternoon (winter makes one eat 4 meals a day), I decided to whip up up a real treat - smoked salmon linguine. Mix strips of smoked salmon/ocean trout, linguine pasta, chopped spring onions/chives, sundried tomatoes, olives, sour cream and a dash of black pepper, spicy Italian seasoning and other herbs that you enjoy! Bon appetit :D

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stormiii at 3:55 pm

2cups of tea

Friday, August 17, 2007

A touch of Korea

You know that spring is in the air when the neighbour's plum blossom tree bursts forth with numerous white gems :) This winter has been the coldest and driest in the last 10 years - I sure hope that doesn't signal an exceptionally hot summer!

Dinner at Kimchi Friends, our favourite Korean cafe before Emi left on her 5 month vacation - my all time favourite of bibimbap :D

stormiii at 2:55 pm

1cups of tea

Monday, August 13, 2007

BBQed

Emi and I were invited for a BBQ dinner at my aunt's place over the weekend :) She lives in a 100+ years old, gorgeously refurbished heritage house which Emi and I constantly drool over :P

Here's my aunt at her best angle and in my favourite part of her house - the lovely air-lit kitchen.

Emi and Chuan studying the Egyptian papyrus painting hanging over the fireplace :)

Our feast for the night - cooked to perfection by Attila... check out the prawns and chicken shaslicks!

Chuan's refreshing grilled capsicum and feta cheese salad - must try the recipe one day :P

stormiii at 12:53 pm

2cups of tea

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Banh mi!

"Special pork roll at $2.50!" - found a few stalls selling my favourite Vietnamese banh mi or pork/pate in baguette at one of the asian enclaves known as Springvale.

Six different types of pork, topped with pickled carrot, spring onion, coriander and chilli in a crisp baguette... totally yummycilous :D

stormiii at 1:02 am

0cups of tea

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Birthday fun!

An unexpected treat from my housemate and "landlady", Endang on her birthday - a weekend getaway at the penguin famous Philip Island! Although no penguins are featured in this post.. only food :D We started off at Lazy Moe's for brunch. With it's slogan of "Let 'em eat!", we were in for an American diner style with massive portions of BBQ combination, buffalo wings and breakfast favourites of poached eggs, fresh spinach and mushrooms served on muffins. Yum!


We couldn't leave without ordering their famous pancakes - literally named! Served with strawberries, warm maple syrup and vanilla ice cream.

Philip Island is about an hour and a half's drive from MEL and we were so happy to finally get a look of the sea :) We drove past quaint and sleepy towns with holiday cottages eg. San Remo before crossing the bridge into the island. Interestingly, there are many other activities to be found at Philip Island although most tourists just zip in for a look at the fairy penguins. A view of our accommodation at the All Seasons Eco Resort, so eco that we found a nest of eggs and a squawking mother bird outside our 3 room self service villa!

It was raining cats and dogs after sunset so we zipped over a miniature golf which turned out to be pretty fun with 8 of us owning the entire place! I won't reveal my handicap here :D

The birthday girl, Endang with Felix - very nice friends :)

Birthday celebration at Dutchies Stone Grill Restaurant - we checked out 3 other places before settling for this unique experience. I had the deliciously fresh Seafood Combination!

Back at the villa, Emi baked her last batch of pandan cupcakes :D And in true Emi style, she brought the electric whisk without the whisks!

Still, the cupcakes turned out beautifully in the oven...

And looked even yummier when topped with whipped cream frosting, nuts and a.. grape!

With Shuling, Emi and Endang.

We stopped at an amusement park called Amaz'n Things on the way home. It was full of curious and strange illusions like this one with my head on a platter!

stormiii at 12:05 am

5cups of tea