Sunday, September 30, 2007

Let's go to the Show!

Australia's answer to Disneyland :D Her own version of amusement park, art & craft fair, dog shows, food halls, showbags and... even flying pigs all rolled into one! The Royal Melbourne Show concept takes place in many cities around Oz around this time of the year (school hols and spring). It was fun to be back... and this time I had the company of Margie, whose wedding I attended at Mt. Dandenong :)

I must be getting old as this was the ONLY ride I went on - or, in my defense, I didn't want to risk my lunch of menya ramen :D

There was even a section of the showgrounds dedicated to tiny tots - here's where you find the merry-go-round and cup-and-saucers!

A huge replica of a chicken barn showcasing all sorts of poultry.

"Baa baa black sheep... have you any wool??"

As with any funfair, there were lots of food stalls selling pies, souvlakis, strawberries & cream, sausages, candy floss, etc. We shared some waffles and cinnamon/jam donuts :D

Too bad these weren't for eating...

Cupcakes, wedding cakes, fruit cakes and all sorts of art & craft on display.

The main highlight of every Show is the Showbags - here's the Showbag Hall where one can buy $10 bags or more with all sorts of merchandise eg. candy, CLEO mags, Disney characters, etc. I went home with a "The Family Guy" showbag because of a crazy beach towel with Stewie declaring himself "King of the Beach" :D

It's been 5 years since I visited Southbank, where Crown casino and other fancy buildings are located. A cold and rainy evening but there was someone rowing down the Yarra river in a gondola!

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stormiii at 11:06 pm

2cups of tea

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Pancake Thursday :D

Struck by the cooking bug on Thursday, so it was off to the supermarket with a "green bag" for the shopping and then back home, flexing my culinary muscles :P I bought a small box of "Jiffy Buttermilk Complete Pancake Mix" sometime back from an American wholesaler. Stir in 3/4 cup of water and voila... a lovely batter ready for the pan. The box said 10 to 12, but I only found enough batter for 5 thick pancakes (just slightly larger than McD's hotcakes)! The buttermilk aroma and texture was just perfect :) My reward - a late brunch of chicken gourmet sausage, egg (sunny side up), fried tomatoes and the requisite ketchup/mustard.

A little bit later and still craving for pancakes, I poured some frozen berries and good Korean honey/maltose syrup?? over another slice. A taste of summer indeed!

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stormiii at 12:27 pm

1cups of tea

Monday, September 17, 2007

I love my Peking duck!

It's been years since I had peking duck - my last experience was at the Chinese restaurant revolving on top of Prima Tower in SG :D Peking duck is rather popular here, probably because meat is wonderfully tasty in Oz and everyone loves duck when it's prepared well. Note the French - duck a l'orange and the British Aylesbury duckling!

Everyone seems to know about the best peking duck establishment here called "Old Kingdom" in Fitzroy. Lesser known is "Little Peking" restaurant (144A Canterbury Road, Blackburn) which also serves a mean peking duck ;P We ordered a two course duck for $48.30. First course, peking duck: the crispy skin and beautifully smoked taste was enhanced by the sweetness of homemade popiah (spring roll) skin, sliced spring onion and hoisin sauce :D Second course, a choice of duck meat stir fried with Hokkien noodles or bean sprouts. Needless to say, the noodles were equally delicious.

I gave into my craving for "mei cai kou rou" or Pork belly stewed with preserved vegetables, a Hakka speciality which I'd missed. It was a healthier version compared to what we got back home for $4 from the Hakka kopitiam in Geylang :)

A final dish of "Garlic scallops" was unfortunately a let-down. After all, that wasn't their speciality!

stormiii at 4:17 pm

4cups of tea

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Replete

Following the trend of my already luxurious foodie weekend escapade, we ducked into Replete Providore, a tiny cafe jammed with tables and shelves stocked with deli items at 302 Barkers Road. A proper Sunday brunch!

We shared this muesli slice filled with raisins and all things nutty. Toasty, crumbly and totally wholesome :D

I changed my mind over their award winning hotcakes and went for the Omelette with parmesan - a new entry for the spring menu. Lo and behold, it was chocked full of spring veggies too :D Well, their hotcakes and cute chocolate brownies will be saved for my next visit!

stormiii at 3:58 pm

2cups of tea

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Yarra Valley!

Another sightseeing Saturday - we decided to have a satisfying lunch at Yarra Valley, the wine growing region of Victoria :) An hour's drive northeast of the city, through quiet country roads with "kangaroo" signs and we arrived at Roundstone Winery. A pretty and isolated winery+bistro, it serves a kind of "farmhouse/rustic" cuisine and was also listed on the "Cheap Eats" guide :D A friendly Shetland sheepdog actually welcomed us into the bistro!

We were fortunate to get the sun today after a drizzly Friday. Hmm... if only I woke up to this view every morning :D

After the wine tasting session, lunch by the water - with housemates Felix, Endang and Budhi.

Endang had the Smoked salmon and potato salad.

A good portion of Beef Bourguignon with mashed potatoes for hungry Felix!

And a yummy helping of Mushroom ragout and bacon on slices of brioche for me. We were served by a cute French waitress; she certainly gave the dining experience a certain Francais flavour... "merci beaucoup, mademoiselle!"

Our second stop, Yering Station. Tourists flock to this famous winery for it's award winning wines and impressively built complex. Besides dining at it's popular restaurant, one can peep into their fermentation and aging rooms.

Another breathtaking view of the Yarra Ranges, we even saw a herd of cows making their way home :P

Time for sweets - Mango, honeycomb and mascarpone cream trifle with mango sorbet.

Vanilla and strawberry panna cotta with strawberry and balsamic ice cream. The panna cotta had a texture that was just right :)
Milk chocolate bavarois with warm caramel centred spring rolls, crème de cacao anglaise.

My choice - Caramelised lemon tart with strawberry and mint salad, brandy snap cigar and crème anglaise. A little of everything heavenly... happy happy happy.

stormiii at 7:12 pm

2cups of tea

Friday, September 14, 2007

Disco fever!

One of the best things I enjoy about my casual job at the centre for intellectually disabled clients is the outings :D So far, I've accompanied them to Wantirna Lavender Farm and yesterday, it was Disco Thursday at the nearby recreation centre! At least 100 people attend this weekly social event. Last night, we had "DJ Jeff Sunshine" and his partner spin the tunes.. mostly 70s to 80s retro and... techno too (think Aqua) :D

Here's Colin Rankin - he walks and dances with a cute shuffle. He especially loves Elvis and the Beach Boys :)

Peter and his girl, Maryanne. Peter is actually very beng - besides showing off his "armani" haircut, he loves his black shirts and black wristband.

Mimi Byron and Rosie Lazarevic - Mimi is very ladylike and elegant. She's always knitting or making necklaces. Rosie loves dancing and has performed in musicals. She literally danced me off my feet!

stormiii at 12:11 pm

1cups of tea

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Weekend treats :)

Thank God for perfect, perfect spring weather on weekends :D I checked out Orexi's, one of the highly reputed souvlaki cafes in town, which is also located in my friendly Greek suburb of Oakleigh. Apart from Nikos, Orexi's is definitely another foodie highlight here :D Most customers ordered takeaways as the cafe could only accommodate 20 people at the most. I counted at least 10 staff packed into the tiny kitchen!

The secret to Orexi's souvlakis is it's beautifully flame grilled kebab. Four stacks of kebabs were slowly rotating over the charcoal bed and guess what, it was a Chinese guy who was in charge of it :D My theory is that he used to make siew yoke somewhere :D We had the "open" Chicken souvlaki with caesar salad.

And my gigantic sized Mexicana lamb souvlaki (wrapped). Definitely proved a challenge to finish!

An afternoon treat at Chadstone today - Koko Black's Ice Chocolate Mocha with two scoops of homemade chocolate and vanilla ice cream :D

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stormiii at 6:58 pm

1cups of tea

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Southern Cross

Southern Cross, one of my favourite train stations after Flinders Street :) The multiple platforms evoke one of those timeless and romanticised ideas of grand train stations across Europe...

stormiii at 6:52 pm

0cups of tea

Friday, September 07, 2007

Sambap = happy

Endang and Felix came home from dinner on Monday with rave reviews about this authentic Korean BBQ restaurant called Hwaro (562 Little Bourke St). By Koreans for Koreans said it all :D and who can resist the allure of charcoal grilled meat in this cold weather?? Hwaro also serves huge soup pots and some of the usual Korean fare. We had an order of belly pork marinated in wine sauce and fillet of beef rib for the BBQ :D I was only too happy to be able to eat them sambap style!

Dinner with Cheng is always a happy affair as we wax lyrical about things old and new :) No doubt, this time the words flowed even more freely over our bottle of green tea soju!

We also tried the top shell-cold noodle salad, which had the clean and spicy flavour of kimchi.

We decided to go for coffee to clear our soju heads, but somehow found ourselves at Max Brenner (QV, Melbourne Central) instead. Cheng had the latte and we shared the Belgian waffle with banana, strawberries and vanilla ice cream... oh, and the decadent chocolate sauce :P

My order of dark chocolate and orange drink - I'd say, but the "hug" cups are cuter here than back home.

stormiii at 12:53 pm

2cups of tea