Couture Foodie

Goreng Pisang!

2012-01-03T16:40:00.001+11:00

Authentic taste of goreng pisang crispy batter. The Aussie bananas are not as sweet as their Asian counterparts but I'm just stoked to get the batter right.

Queen Victoria Market Famous Bratwurst Sausage Roll

2012-01-02T00:19:00.001+11:00

After purchasing and picking up the famous Corica Apple Strudel and Cream Horns that originated in Perth from someone who brought them fresh over from Perth that morning, we were near Queen Victoria Market and decided we were in the mood for another "famous" food. Why not?

The Melbourne Bratwurst Shop in the deli section of Queen Victoria Market fronting Elizabeth St and close to the Macca's opposite (don't worry, you'll find it from the long snaking queue) serves the tourist must-try Bratwurst sausage in a roll.

Thank goodness chivalry still exists. I was swamped and swallowed by the lunchtime crowd at 1 pm, but the 2 gentlemen ahead of me saw tourists jostling me from behind and placed me forward ahead of them while they became the buffer for the crowd.

The smell of sizzling sausages totally made it worthwhile despite the rather abrupt and strange server. I made an order of 2 with exactly the same flavour bratwurst, fillings and condiments. She insisted on making only one first and then made another one after that making me repeat the order all over again for the next one. It took so long, I felt embarrassed and sorry for the guys behind me who so kindly let me go first.

Anyway, I opted for the Spicy Bratwurst with Sourkraut, onions, cheese with hot mustard dressing. As I was driving, I had to wait till I get home before devouring the lot. 20 minutes later, it is no less delicious with the moistness of the bratwurst bursting with flavour in my mouth, at the risk of sounding corny, there was a party happening in there. The sourkraut was just right, perfectly seasoned and not salty and too sour. The shredded cheese had melted by the time I got home from the heat of the sizzling hot sausage.

My dad will be salivating over these pics, he never fails getting one when he's there. So here's to you, Daddy, CHEERS!

Ang Zhao Chicken (Red Rice Wine Chicken)

2012-01-01T11:24:00.000+11:00

I've grown up eating this my whole life so the sight of chicken seemingly bathed in a sea of red bloody mess does not faze me. Most of you quite likely have not heard about or seen this dish. Due to my mother's Hock Chiew (Fuzhou) roots, we are used to having this dish and fuzhou fish balls. Yes, the ones with minced meat filling. In fact, Ang Zhao Gway is a hokkien pronounciation when in fact it should be called oinng zhao giaay in hock chiew.

The process of making the Ang Zhao is tedious with the fermentation process taking a minimum of 6 weeks. It is made from the fermentation of red rice and glutinous that has been steamed and cooked, with a mixture of a jiu bia (alcohol biscuit), apparently a disc of alcohol-transforming thing of some sort.

In any case, my mother-in-law was kind and generous enough to make the actual Ang Zhao for me when she knew I missed eating the dish and since Mum is currently overseas and even she has never made the actual Ang Zhao, my MIL who has never heard of this dish in her whole life decided to seek a way of making the Ang Zhao. So all I had to do was to cook it.

There are 2 ways of cooking this dish - a soupy version and a stronger dry version.

I'm into strong flavours that pack a punch so is S. Hence I've always cooked the dry version, passed down from my Mum from my maternal grandmother.

Here goes:

Generous knob of ginger sliced as well as minced garlic, which is not shown here.

Chicken of course. There's one whole chicken here chopped into small pieces.

The star of the show, a big bottle of Ang Zhao. It might look like pasta sauce here but it most definitely isn't.

Quintessential in Chinese cooking - Sesame Oil and Shao Xing Wine

Pour sesame oil rather than cooking oil into the pan and saute the ginger when the oil heats up. Wait for the fragrance of the ginger to permeate your kitchen...

before adding the garlic.

Add the chicken before the garlic starts to burns and take on a bitter taste. Stir fry the chicken till browned. Then add a splash of rice wine, stir it once and cover with a lid.

When the chicken is 3/4 cooked, use about 7 tablespoons of Ang Zhao.

Dollop the Ang Zhao with the chicken and stir-fry. The amount shown in the pic is about 3 to 4 tablespoonful.

It's not shown here but add about 5 tablespoons of sugar and stir-fry, adding splashes of red rice wine or cooking wine. Add salt to preference.

Cover with lid to fully steam chicken till cooked.

Now it's alright if you would like to serve the chicken and make it a main dish with rice. But I adore Mee Sua. So I bought some "old-school" thin Mee Sua for the dish. Truth be told, I much prefer the modern slightly thicker version. The old school Mee Sua disintegrated quickly in the water and was really chalky. Blech.

We ran out of chinese mushroms and shitakes that day. Nonetheless it was so absolutely satisfying I might have to bug my mother-in-law to make us another batch to satisfy our greedy cravings. This time, we might convince her to attempt and taste the dish herself for the first time.

Kong Bak Pao (Bao)

2011-12-30T02:11:00.000+11:00

It has been said the Kong Bak (Braised Meat) Bao (Bun) is the Chinese version of the American Burger. But with gourmet burgers coming in the form of Golden Fields' Lobster Burger down to the pedestrian Hungry Jack's, there is always someone's version of something.

But enough of the burger talk. One of the things I missed most from my childhood is the smokey sweet smell of Kong Bak Bao and the braised tenderness of the meat encased within warm soft pillows of mantou. My parents used to bring me to West Lake as a child for some serious Kong Bak Bao indulgence. I don't remember much of the restaurant itself except that it was located on the 2nd floor under blocks of flats. I do remember thinking how lucky the residents were having West Lake Kong Bak Bao right at their doorstep literally and eating it everyday. Oh, the naivete of a Lipitor-innocent child.

So, having missed this dish for quite some time, I decided to make my very own for the first time. I tend to cook by instinct and gut feel so did not quite follow any recipe. But I would advise using a slow cooker for the recipe below or what I can remember of it!

Ingredients (for braised meat)

1-1.5kg pork belly skin on
8 star anise
2 tbs five-spice powder
12 tbs kecap manis
15 cloves peeled garlic
1 litre water
3 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs honey
3 tbs sugar

Method

Make sure the water is boiling hot. Pour into the slow cooker. Then stir in the rest of the ingredients except for the pork belly. Once the mixture boils, taste and add salt to preference.

Slice the pork into 1-inch pieces and place carefully into the slow cooker once the broth is ready. Ensure the meat is completely submerged.

Slow cook for just over 3 hours. I set mine on high although that does not mean a literal "HIGH" with my slow cooker, it's really just simmer. I prefer my meat to be melt-in-your-mouth braised. But it's entirely up to you to decide when to turn the slow cooker off.

When the meat is ready, steam your store-bought (yes, really. they taste good and who wants to waste their time making them nowadays) clam-shaped mantou. Once they are done, try making sure you have the mantou while they are hot.

Wash and cut the coriander, don't discard the stems.

You are set to go. Sandwich the meat between the clams of the mantou with lots of coriander. I have no idea why in the following pics my coriander looked like they've been plucked from the giant's veggie patch. My parents actually thought they were lettuce. My in-laws were intrigued as they have not seen or eaten Kong Bak Baos much to my chagrin and shock.

But enough of that, warning, food porn below (not THAT below):

Killiney Kopitiam Melbourne

2011-12-30T00:33:00.000+11:00

Killiney Kopitiam
114 Lygon St
Carlton VIC 3053
03 9650 9880

It was a chance passing on Lygon St and a quick glimpse of that oh-so-familiar logo that I realised the Singapore famous Kopitiam, Killiney was here in Melbourne! S was convinced I must have got it wrong, how could a coffee shop in Singapore be right here in Melbourne? But hey, here it is.

For those in the know, Killiney is known for their kaya toast and kopi (which I don't drink). Personally I've always loved Ya Kun's thin brown rye bread with kaya and butter. Not that I'm in a position to be picky here in Melbourne. And I do have fond memories of Killiney as a kid in Singapore next to ComCentre.

Back to Killiney in Carlton.

The decor is nothing like I remembered of the more humble version in Singapore. But mind you, that was going back decades ago. It's a franchise so I was hoping for authentic versions of Singapore fare especially now that Chom Chom was no longer around.

Familiar logo and not-so-familiar menu:

Of course we had to order their signature set of Kaya Toast, Soft-Boiled Eggs and Teh Tarik to start.

The teh tarik was way too sweet, it lacks the fragrance and strength of a good teh tarik.

I was certainly not disappointed with the kaya toast. While the bread was just an average toast, the triumph was definitely the kaya. The whiff of coconut pandan brought back great childhood memories of biting into a warm toasted kaya slice. My fave kaya in Australia is Glory's Hainanese Kaya in a jar. But it sure doesn't beat Killiney's fragrant pandan flavoured coconutty eggy concoction.

Eggs were cooked perfectly but I was offered light soy sauce instead of the thick caramelly kecap manis. Love the little spoon, so so kopitiam.

Roti Prata was floury and definitely not the Singaporean version I remembered. Completely edible but does not leave you wanting more. It tasted just slightly stodgy.

I was anticipating the taste of laksa from home. From the pics on the menu, it looked like they were serving it with thick rice vermicelli (chor bee hoon) as was the description. Disappointing, it arrived with hokkien noodles instead. The broth was scented with the right amount of coconut milk, spices and laksa leaves. Unfortunately without the right laksa noodles, it just missed the mark.

The sambal chilli was familiar enough.

The char kway teow actually tasted rather like an Aussie version of itself. I was so rooting and hoping this would turn out good. But it's neither Penang char kway teow nor Singapore sweetish char kway teow. Again, perfectly edible but I question the authenticity.

We did take away the mee siam and chicken rice. While the minute portion of mee siam was fine (nothing a packet of Hai's instant paste can't match), the chicken rice was suitably impressive by Melbourne standards.

The owners assured us they were refining as they go and will be adding more to the menu. They are such nice guys you really are genuinely hoping the business goes well. They are looking at expansion, which sounds promising. I do hope they will and have plans to stick around longer. Actually talking to them reminds me of Singapore Chom Chom's Andrew, engineer son of the owner who is there helping most of the time and one of the most genuine guys you ever meet. Singapore do breed good blokes.

Kurobuta Belly Pork Roast and Red Velvet Cupcakes

2011-12-29T23:43:00.000+11:00

Being home-bound this holiday season need not be a sad parade everyday. There is no person I love spending time with more than my precious babies. My paralysed husky girl is fighting one health battle after another but with Mummy giving her some nice Kurobuta pork (minus the fat and crackling), it did cheer her up a little bit.

Straits Cafe Doncaster Review

2011-12-29T22:22:00.000+11:00

Straits Cafe

694 Doncaster Road

Doncaster VIC 3108

03 98081845

Living in the bayside area of Melbourne, we are far from any "authentic" form of Asian cuisine, at least not those deemed authentic by the seasoned Singaporean and Malaysian taste buds. Jolted out of my inertia the other day, I had a sudden craving for Or Luak (Oyster Omelette). No doubt inspired by an MMS pic from a friend holidaying in Singapore featuring the starchy delicious hot mess of oysters, eggs, tapioca-potato-flour and spring onions.

So I decided to ask my good friend Google for a recommendation. I knew I had to travel east to find some sort of half-authentic version of this dish. Now I've been to Straits Cafe in Doncaster a few times over the years to know that Tony, the at-times cantankerous chef does a decent job of frying a mean Char Kway Teow and Hor Fun. I could never get used to calling it Sar Hor Fan like the M'sians. I didn't know they have started frying Or Luak but apparently only on 2 select days of the week. What do you know, this was my lucky day for once after a whole year of tragic circumstances.

Poor S was suffering from sciatica but was game enough to rev the engine and make our way to hawker mecca with a 45-min day trip to the eastern land of Asian congregation.

After placing orders for Or Luak, Char Kway Teow, Lo Bak and Rojak, S decided to head to Chemist Warehouse for some Voltaren. So guess who was left sitting alone with all 4 dishes arriving at once trying to ignore the gasps and shocked looks from the petite Asian girls who were struggling to finish a quarter of their har-mee and the men thanking their lucky stars on the money they save from not dating a glutton. Don't they know fat people never hoe down in public?? Yes size 10 or 12 are XL and XXL in Asia.

So this is how it looked:

The first dish I tucked into was Or Luak (Oyster Omelette). It is important to note that the dipping chilli sauce is essential to the dish. No matter how nicely done the Or Luak is, an insipid chilli dipping sauce can spoil the taste.

In this instance, the Or Luak itself was literally more like an omelette than the gooey starchy fry-up it usually is. Straits' version is more like a flat pancake-like egg omelette with chives and oysters. It is perfectly acceptable but lacks the exciting piping hot sensation you come to expect visually and gastronomically to fill you with the aroma of garlic, mashed up eggs and oysters. The gel-like starch of tapioca and potato flour mixed with undercooked eggs, chives clinging to fresh oysters still oozing with juice and garlicky goodness is just missing.

The chilli dipping sauce was a huge disappointment. It was slightly tangy, as if making a polite concession to the original version. It needs to have that robust unapologetic sourness of lime juice and vinegar with the spiciness of pounded chilli padi and pungent punchy taste of shallots. There is no zing. But it wouldn't be fair to expect the hawker version so true to Singapore hawkers and Malaysia's street vendors. So as far as having the pleasure of eating something that resembles the real thing, Straits probably hit the spot with the Or Luak, albeit a weak one.

Kudos to the Lo Bak, or Ngoh Hiang as we refer to this dish in Singapore. I've always loved the Lo Bak here. They use chicken instead of pork and it's in strips rather than minced. For some reason the texture reminds me of fish or prawn paste but it's not. Superbly juicy, the filling is flavoursome and moreish. The beancurd skin is crispy but they were generous with the filling so there's not much of the skin that's spare.

The most dependable and star dish here is the Char Kway Teow. But on this occasion, and I can't pinpoint why, it was just average. Perhaps the really busy lunchtime crowd and huge takeaway orders were putting pressure on Tony to fry as quickly as possible to meet the demand, but I can guarantee the standard is normally much better than it was today. What can I say? It is what it is, we all have our up and down days.

After a couple of mouthfuls, we decided to take it away. When we asked for it to be taken away, the waitress said she'll give us a box, then she started serving other people and forgot about our container. So I took it up to the counter and paid at the same time. The container was in her hand but she made me take the plate back to my table with the container to do it myself. Do note they charge 50c for the container, it's calculated in the bill and you won't be advised about it in advance.

The Rojak was delicious. Straits was extremely generous with the sauce and crushed peanuts. The few pieces of mung guang (yam bean) adds a great crunch to the texture. The blandness of the mung guang goes perfectly with the thick rojak sauce. It wouldn't be fair to expect them to use as much mung guang as they do in Singapore or Malaysia. At between $9-$11 a kg, and as generous a portion as Straits provide, it just doesn't make sense to put mainly mung guang in there. However you can hardly tell the difference with the substitutes - granny smith apples and pineapples. I've done without the cucumber and tow pok in my rojak, preferring to stick to mainly fruits in it. They do have kang kong veggies and my fave cuttlefish in there. The cuttlefish goes incredibly well with it.

Straits Cafe in Doncaster is no fine-dining establishment, but you know what? I kinda like that. Somehow having hawker food in a posh environment makes me think it is probably not all that authentic. But if a cafe environment is what you are looking for, go to Straits Cafe in Wantirna. It is managed by none other than Tony and Helen's son and daughter-in-law. If you do go on the weekends to either, their Popiah is not to be missed, you've been tipped!

TGIF!

2011-09-12T10:19:00.002+10:00

Smoked Salmon Hashbrown Salad

2011-09-08T14:58:00.000+10:00

One of my favourite dishes in the world is actually a salad. I love my greens, taste not just having it as a healthy option is my motivating hunger for vegies. I frequently love coming up with making different sorts of salads and dressings. Today, I'm introducing an amazingly simple and yummy salad I make very often.

Ingredients

Smoked Salmon
2 Hashbrowns
Creme Fraiche
Mixed Rocket Salad
Half a punnet of cherry or grape tomatoes
Balsamic Vinegar
Black Pepper

Method

Bake hashbrowns in the oven (this will take about 25 minutes on 230 degrees from frozen)
Place salad and tomatoes to fill the plate
Rest hashbrowns on top of the salad in the middle
Dollop creme fraiche on the hashbrowns
Put as much or as little smoked salmon on top of the hashbrowns
Drizzle balsamic on the salad
Add cracked black pepper over the lot

I realise hashbrowns are very "pedestrian" but it's easy and a great replacement for rosti which I do use as well.

Enjoy!

Shou Sumiyaki Review

2011-03-22T16:31:00.000+11:00

Shou Sumiyaki
160 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9654 3933
Open: Tue-Sun

It was one of those Sat nights after a musical at the theatre, take a wander and a gander down Little Bourke St in Melbourne CBD. The throngs of drunken teens and queues outside seedy nightclubs all part of the street-scape in the city most nights. The signboards flicker enticingly with chinese characters seducing many adventurous tourists and locals alike into the lure of Chinatown delights. Yes, we are still talking about food here, lest your lecherous mind wonders. However, the Asians know better. We snake into the laneways and dark alleys in search of more authentic fare.

This day, S and I didn't want Sichuan, dumplings or the usual Chinese. For some reason, our nostrils were leading us down Lil Bourke as they were assailed with the smokiness of charcoal bbq and imagery of sizzling meat done the Jap way dipped in various condiments.

When we found our smoky source, I was surprised how alike the interior was to my Restaurant Story decor. Corny to say right up my alley? My disclaimer first of all is to declare my dislike of bbq/steamboat self-service restaurants. But something led me in there and made me order Kurobuta pork belly, Waygu beef, squid and mushrooms for bbq-ing. I blame it on the affable waiter all too happy and full of smiles to help.

To start off, we ordered an entree of sliced salmon sashimi.

The salmon was decent enough, very fresh and creamy almost in texture, but obviously not on the Koko radar. Completely acceptable with the thrill of wasabi soy sauce making a scintillating trail through the nostrils.

We also ordered soba, chilled buckwheat noodles dipped in soba tsuyu. A delightful distraction from the hot bbq, adding a whole different layer to the meal.

I do have to comment on the condiments. The dipping sauces on the whole were a hit and miss. The miso sauce was a bit too salty but the lighter terriyaki sauce was more than palatable. Frankly the meat freshly bbq-ed on the table seared over hot charcoal hardly needed accompaniment.

One of my main fears about eating at a cook-it-yourself bbq restaurant is the spitting oil from the cooking meats. Surprisingly it doesn't seem to affect me here. I don't know why or how, but I didn't suffer any sputtering drops.

Mushrooms in garlic butter wrapped in tin foil was placed there first - longer cooking time

It was absolutely worth the wait. Sooo yummy and cooked just right. The mushrooms were juicy, sweet with a hint of rich butter without overpowering it.

Get your tongs ready though...

Here comes the meat

Kurobuta Pork Belly

Waygu Scotch Fillet

ABSOLUTELY divine!! The quality of the meat was superb. The seared parts of the meat were slightly crunchy oozing with the juiciness of the silvers of fats as you bite into them. Think taste, not Lipitor as you savour the moment. Tender, flavoursome and decadent, I would choose quality over quantity any day. Dipped slightly in the caramalised bittersweet terriyaki sauce, it felt like heaven has landed in tongue central. A-meat-zing.

I kinda was hesitant about the squid thinking it's gonna be chewy for sure.

But it was just sublime. I truly believe the quality of the produce play a big part in the taste and chew factor. This is not an all-you-can-eat hovel of a restaurant. Their decent selection of cocktails, booth setups and excellent service makes it well worth a visit if you are planning on a good night out for dinner. There was a set menu for 4 people, which S and I are keen to try. We'll get a couple of friends (hoping they don't turn up) and order that very generous-looking set.

* The bill did take an unfathomable 25 min getting to us though...

2-way Crabs and Lobster Noodles

2011-03-22T15:28:00.000+11:00

I've done a drier chilli crab this time round than my other efforts with a self-indulgent slant to it. Meaning heaps of pureed ginger, chilli padi and garlic, very little sauce as we didn't have mantou that day.

Now for something I haven't done before, Black Pepper Crab! I cook by gut feel and thankfully (for S), it turned out delicious.

Recipe

2 mud crabs
Approx 5 heaped tbs of cracked black pepper
5 cloves of garlic minced
2 cloves of shallot minced
Curry leaves, big handful
Big generous dollop of butter
Oyster sauce, about 3 tbs

Cracked black pepper

My mother-in-law's home-grown curry leaves. They might look diseased here but this is the frozen result


Mix with one tbs of boiling water

Steam the crabs first, then crack the shells

Method

Heat wok up with 1 tbs of oil
Add butter, don't turn the heat too high you don't want the butter to brown too much or froth
Toss in the shallots and garlic and fry for about 2 min
Grab a generous handful of curry leaves and toss for 3 min
Pour the oyster sauce into the wok and mix thoroughly
Add cracked pepper and sliced red chilli if you wish, stir fry for about 1 min
Now for the piece de resistance, steamed crabs go in and voila!

It's no secret I love my Singapore Chilli Crab, and have talked about it several times on this blog. But this is a drier and much spicier version some of you might not like.

Recipe

1 whole bulb of garlic
2 whole shallots chopped
100gm ginger sliced
5 chilli padi sliced

Put the above in a blender or chopper.

Tomato Ketchup about 5 tbs
Maggi's Garlic Chilli Sauce half a bottle
Egg optional

The rest of it is easy, stir-fry the blended mixture in 1tbs of oil till fragrant, then add the sauces and crab.

Lobster with Ginger and Spring Onion Noodles

Recipe:

Whole lobster tail, remove the shell from under and cut into 2cm pieces
Half a bulb of garlic minced
2 springs of spring onions sliced
Ginger sliced
Chinese cooking wine
Oyster sauce about a few splashes
1 cup of boiling water
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with cold water for thickening
Blanched wanton noodles

Fry up the garlic, spring onions and ginger. Fry the ginger 2 min before adding garlic and spring onions as the ginger takes longer to cook.

Toss in the lobster pieces and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add chinese wine, oyster sauce and water. Mix well. Put a lid over the wok and let it cook for about 3 min. Add cornstarch/water mixture to thicken.

Pour over blanched wanton noodles and all done!

Feeling Crabby Today

2011-03-13T13:28:00.001+11:00

Having some serious crab cravings today. So, I'm going to attempt crab 2-ways and lobster ginger/spring onion noodles for dinner. Sit tight for the results!

In the meantime, here are some TWENTY unabashed hedonistic pics from another Singapore Chilli Crab rendezvous last month. Recipe is the same from here.

Korean Ginseng Chicken

2011-02-24T09:45:00.000+11:00

The Korean Ginseng Chicken is a lot less herbal-ly than the Chinese version. I've never been a fan of Ginseng Chicken, it's more like my dad's thing. He's obsessed with ordering it every time we go to a Korean restaurant. My mother is a big fan of it.....for the dogs. My parents insist on slow-cooking a pot and a whole chicken, shredding meticulously the softened chicken meat for my precious 3 dogs.

I digress...

This is my version of Korean/Chinese Ginseng Chicken. The pressure cooker is my best friend as it speeds the process up by heaps.

Chinese New Year Belated Post - Yu Sheng/Loh Hei

2011-02-24T09:38:00.000+11:00

Easy-to-make (alright, assemble) right in the comfort of home. Just add Salmon sashimi, although T, a dear Singaporean friend, mentioned the traditional Yu Sheng is meant to be accompanied by a certain type of fish.

First off, Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Big slurp of coconut drink

Ta ta ta deng....

Guilin Noodles

2011-02-13T23:45:00.000+11:00

It's a long shot, but does anyone out there know the place to get Guilin Noodles in Melbourne? I had some last year at the Chinese New Year Festival in Glen Waverley, and was totally hooked. If anyone knows, email and let me know.

Singapore Chom Chom - Another one bites the dust

2011-01-31T03:28:00.000+11:00

It's with great sadness to announce that Singapore Chom Chom, on Bourke St in the city, has shut its doors for good. I wish the nice owner and his warm and friendly family all the best in his building business and his wife's extremely successful hair salon located in the next building.

The business had a really promising start, at a time when there were hardly any Singaporean-style cafes or restaurants in Melbourne. I've eaten there for many years, practically the day they opened their doors. It was the only place where I could eat Kway Chap. They also had several dishes Singaporeans recognise and love, totally different to M'sian fare. Admittedly over the last year or so, we have not been going back in ages. The owner devoted more time to his building business and the food standards really suffered. The prices were still competitive with the rest of the other Chinatown mob, and I certainly don't mind paying for good food, but when their signature Hainanese Chicken Rice chilli was reduced to a vinegar/chilli watery mess, we knew it was a matter of time.

Genuinely, they had a great run and business was fantastically brisk, but over the last couple of years, the food was nowhere near how it used to be. Unfortunately everyone noticed.

Update: Ron & Sue's Chinese New Year Nian Gao Found

2011-01-27T00:32:00.000+11:00

In the city. I prefer theirs over all the others. It's not sickeningly sweet and have just enough gooeyness!

What has happened to Ron & Sue's kuehs?

2011-01-18T22:43:00.000+11:00

Haven't seen them around in a while. Miss my pineapple tarts and now the Chinese New Year brown gooey kueh they usually have in Asian grocery stores.

Giant Crab Legs from Coles!

2011-01-01T12:52:00.000+11:00

S's iPhone 4

All the better to watch the Food and Travel & Living Channels with

Putu Mayam

2010-12-22T23:39:00.000+11:00

I was talking about missing this Indian dessert treat one day at dinner with some foodie friends, and my lovely friend ordered 75 pieces for us to pick up at a place in Glen Waverley. We froze most and took them out to steam as and when we feel like Putu Mayam.

Lindt Cafe - Wimbledon Cake

2010-12-22T04:33:00.000+11:00

This post is way overdue, but no less delish. On a whim (wimbledon, geddit? LOL), I decided to get a whole cake since we had guests over for dinner couple of months back. Not wanting to overload on rich chocolate seeing as we were having some heavy dishes for dinner, I opted for a berry fresh option (I know I know, I'm on a roll with the punnets, oops, puns).

As described by Lindt, the Wimbledon cake is an artistically layered cake of mascarpone & vanilla bean cream, almond vanilla cake, strawberry puree, bordered by shards of red & white chocolate. Don't get me wrong, it is a thing of beauty in its entirety and I'm sure someone with less of a greedy eye might take a million pics of the cake as a whole, but I couldn't wait to dig in and TASTE the divine-ness.

I was not disappointed. Enjoy.

Cupcakes for Friends

2010-12-22T01:03:00.001+11:00

Iced with cream cheese frosting, these Red Velvet (I used Koko Black Cocoa) Cupcakes were enjoyed by one and all...

Note the speckles of vanilla beans from the pod!

WTF?

2010-12-21T03:17:00.000+11:00

Found this in a grocery store...

Crystal Jade Melbourne

2010-12-20T04:32:00.000+11:00

Crystal Jade Restaurant

154 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9639 2633

S and I have been frequenting Crystal Jade for years now. When they started, the location was in a dingy alley next to a dubious building with young Asian girls regularly spotted entering the building with various gentlemen callers. Hence their relocation to the much higher-profile and less sleazy corner of Russell and Little Bourke was met with much relief from existing customers as well as attracting new ones, not to mention a much bigger floor space. I haven't figured out whether the restaurant is HK or Singaporean. I know it's Teochew/Canton-influenced. I don't really care either way as the dishes are similiar to the ones I used to eat in Singapore.

Prices are not unreasonable. Most dishes average around $28-30 but there are some starting at $20 for the more basic dishes. S and I went on a Friday night for a late supper, so there aren't probably as many dishes as I would have liked to display.


Fresh Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber and Chinese Mushroom Claypot $28

The first dish we ordered was one of my faves, Sea Cucumber, Fish Maw and Chinese Mushroom in Claypot. These come in 2 sizes and obviously for the two of us, we had the smaller portion, which was plenty generous in serving anyway. To be expected, there were more fish maw than sea cucumber. The sauce was delicious and really moreish, perfect with rice. The fragrant punch of ginger emanating from the gravy was really quite something. Sea cucumber was cooked well and surprisingly tender, compared to others I've tasted, ahem Pacific House Toorak Rd, ahem. S, who is usually squeamish about any form of innard and foreign food was feeling adventurous tonight after some egging on from me. He bit into the fresh fish maw (not the dried kind) with trepidation, and to his surprise, found it really tasty although he was still not too fond of the texture. The sauce did help mask any lingering odour one might expect to be present in fresh fish stomach. However, can't go wrong with oyster sauce, chinese rice wine, spring onion, ginger, garlic and a touch of sesame oil. I definitely recommend trying this dish.

Dried Scallop and Crab Meat Fried Rice $20

The fried rice arrived at the same time as the claypot, which was perfect timing. I can't think of a better accompaniment to the first dish. I've had the fried rice here plenty of times but this was the first time I've ordered the dried scallop and crabmeat special. The fried rice was great as usual but nothing to write home about. The scallop was really dried in every definition of the word. Quite honestly if you swapped it with fry shallot crisps, I probably won't know the different. And there was no detection of a single piece of crabmeat in there. Portion is really for one so for those thinking of sharing, either have extra rice or noodles as backup or just enjoy the rice as another dish rather than a staple.

Yam (Taro) Ring with Kong Pao Chicken $27

This is one dish I really miss and look forward to that I used to have as a little girl in Singapore. Diced chicken stir-fried with a sticky sweet sauce and heaps of dried chillies, chopped capsicums and onions enclosed within a ring of deep-fried yam/taro. Every single time I go to Crystal Jade, we would order this dish without fail and they rarely disappoint. On this occasion I was more than a little disappointed. The chicken was not of the usual standard. Hard, chunky and without a mere hint of heat, the dreaded un-authentic word has to be used. Even worse, the taro, which was the main reason why we ordered the dish, had a strong aftertaste of urine. Or something akin to what you imagine urine to taste like. It was acidic and kinda have the stench of urine that lingered in a really unpleasant odour in your mouth and nostrils long after you rinsed it off with the $8 pot of tea they charged us for.


Home-made Red Bean Paste Pancake

Hashima in hot almond creme

The desserts were alright. Pancake was done no different to the thousand other Chinese restaurants around. But what was interesting was the Hashima, which I love having for dessert every time I visit. S asked what it was, and when I told him the unappetising truth, which was dried frog fallopian tubes, his face blanched with disbelief and disgust. I did insist he try it and am pleased to report he found it bearable enough to finish half a bowl. It really has no smell or any hint of unpleasant texture. Perhaps it was because of the strong almond creme, but I've had hashima on its own with just crystal rock sugar soup and it was fine too. One thing is certain. Even on Crystal Jade's worst day, they are still a lot better than Dragon Boat.

I have no idea why, but words haven't been flowing as smoothly as they usually do. Excuse my sometimes-jumbled-mumble in this post. It's either that or it's 4.30am in the morning and I'm shattered.

David Jones Food Hall Grilled Salmon

2010-12-12T05:51:00.000+11:00

Just a quickie. This is only $13.90 cooked Medium with chips and salad and your choice of sauce for the salmon. The fish is fresh and has none of that fishy smell. Actually tasted more like King Salmon than Tassie. I had this in Chadstone, where they also had a selection of John Dory, Rockling and Barramundi as well.