Stephie’s Visit : Food Galore !

Whenever friends come over to Melbourne, the only thing I want to really do is to bring them to my favourite places to eat! and that’s absolutely what I did when Stephie came over! (: of course, we didn’t finish all the food in one day! haha

First stop : Dumplings Plus

Unfortunately, I didn’t take the main dish for the meal, which was the stewed belly of pork cause we were too excited and too hungry! haha but we also had a few starters, which I did take.

this is a house favourite : beancurd with century egg. but there was a little too little century egg for our liking!

of course we can’t not order a serve of pan fried dumplings at Dumplings Plus! haha these were yummy with alot of vinegar! slurps.

The Beatles vs. U2

Oh! we also had the crispy chicken which was really good! (: haha once again, too hungry and forgot to snap photos! 😛

Stop Two : Roule Galette

CREPES! hehe and not just any kind of crepes, NUTELLA crepe!

that’s how happy we were that Stephie is back in Melbourne! hehe

wouldn’t be complete without hot drinks on a cold day! (: hot chocs, flat white and espresso!

Steph is super happy with her hot choc! (:

Stop Three : Lord of the Fries

I will always bring friends here. cause they do have the best fries and the best topping ever. Those who are weight conscious… this might not be the best choice. haha but it’s SO GOOD. really. I kid you not!

of course I was talking about FRENCH CANADIAN! hahaha this deserves a close up shot!

how good is that? sinful, but good. Isn’t that always the case? haha

Stop Four : Verb Cafe

We had to bring Steph to our favourite brunch place at Newmarket and she loved it! hehe

She ordered the Field Mushrooms, which had a portobello mushroom, caramelised onions, spinach and goat’s cheese on toast! YUMMERSS! but too much spinach left a tart feeling in Steph’s mouth haha. took a while for it to go away!

I had their special : corn cakes with bacon, chilli and sour cream. Absolutely divine. I go back every week hoping it’s still on the special board. haha (: definitely my favourite!

and Baby and Cheok had the big breakfast! This was baby’s usual Sat morning brunch hehe

Chai Soy latte for me and a large cup of latte for my baby hehe

Stop Five : Greens @ Brunswick

We wanted to bring Steph to Minimo’s but it was close on Tuesdays. So we brought her to Greens instead! Crowded as usual, we sneaked in and found ourselves a seat next to the kitchen haha. so here’s what we had!

Steph loves pesto. Ever since we had the weekly dinners I knew she loves pesto. haha so she ordered a pesto, veg and ham panini which was huge and good! hehe

I ordered the potato stack with haloumi, bacon, tomatoes and a poached egg! this was so good. I tell you, anything in a stack. haha just order it! 😛

So in the span of 2 days (yes just 2!!!) we finished all these food. haha we’re GOOOD. hehe See u next year back here Stephie! (: oh but i will see u in Spore real soon! hehe

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when the girls came over.

I love it when people want to come over to my place and eat something I cook. By no means am I saying that I am a great cook. I’m not. I just really enjoy cooking for friends and I really enjoy the company! (:

The girls only had one request: MEAT. haha and straight away, steak came to my mind. There’s a recipe from The F Word (by Gordan Ramsay) and I haven’t got a chance to try it yet, so this would be the best time to try it! Daring huh? A new recipe when friends come over. haha well, I believe that even if I failed, it would be a fun experience anyways! hehe

Beef fillet with Gratin of Mushrooms

It wasn’t too complicated at all. That’s why I love recipes from Gordan Ramsay. Always allowing people to make them from home! hehe and from home, I did!

Eye fillet, mushrooms, cream, chives. BEST combination. I’m definitely not joking! I don’t really joke about my food. haha it’s an important part of my life! hehe having with crispy potatoes = ultimate! hehe I wanted more by the end of the night, even though I was super duper full.

the steak just melts in your mouth! and I was so glad I used shitake and button mushrooms in the gratin. The flavours just makes the whole dish come alive!

not sure how you like your steak, but everyone around the table was pleased with their medium-rare steak. I normally just prefer medium, but I knew the steaks were fresh (I bought them that very morning at Queen Victoria Market!)  and I definitely won’t be happy if I overcooked it. So medium-rare was definitely fine for the night!

Just looking at the photo is making me hungryyyy and crave for an eye fillet now! haha and I am definitely not hungry now. haha just can’t resist a good piece of steak! (:

Being a chocolate-crazy person, as I am. I picked a chocolate tart as the dessert for the night. I have always wanted to try making a tart. For some reason, I never got down to doing it. Being as brave as I am, I decided to do it tonight! So yes! two brand new dishes on the menu! DARING DARING me! but I totally regretted trying making a tart, cos the tart shell totally failed!!! it was so crumbly, I couldn’t even get it out of the mold. So I had to keep it in the mold and everyone just had to eat out of it. haha. I’m kinda scared for life, cause I haven’t got the courage to give it another try! I should though, really wanna make momofuku’s crack pie. hmm.. ambitious me. SOMEDAY. I will. (:

I must say, although the tart was a failure, the chocolate ganache and the huge strawberries saved the dessert! The tart shell, though crumbly, was very buttery!

I scored some really red and huge strawberries at the market that morning too! (: they were as big as my palm!

(: will definitely try making a tart again soon! Although I am really quite scared about failing again. haha. I will. One day!

Thanks for coming over girls! I’m still very amazed you finished both discs of Italian Food Safari! haha. But yes, thank you for your wonderful company! Was great! (: Roast pork again soon!

ps : recipes for both dishes will be on my food blog soon! (:

A Celebration.

Hard Rock Cafe

Festive Terrace

Resorts World Sentosa

It has been 8 years since I’ve met up with them. And it’s been really nice to be invited to celebrate their birthdays with them! (: and even better then the celebration is at a place I’ve never been before : Hard Rock Cafe at Resorts World!

I totally felt like a tourist, cause I got lost. I pretty much covered the whole RW in like 20 mins. haha But well, it’s all worth it! The catching up and having the company of a few of my ex-classmates were just awesome!

Thanks for inviting me babes! (: It was really good to catch up and I’m very happy to hear all of you are doing well! Hope to meet up once more before I head back!

For the life of me, I still can’t believe Hard Rock Cafe is not located in the Hard Rock Hotel. Although Mish told me it’s because they have their own signature restaurant in the hotel, so they had to move Hrd Rock cafe somewhere else. Oh wells. Love the atmosphere, but the lack of staff resulted in overcooked beef, and slow service. But nonetheless, it was a really good night!

(ps : thanks Choy for the photos!)

the starter which I missed! Looks good aye? hehe Huge portion though! Everyone was kinda full after sharing this!

Choy’s bacon and beef burger! Was yummy! (:

Love how they used the toothpick with the flag to keep everything together.

My steak sandwich! (: It was well done though I asked for medium. But the flavours were good! So I shall not complain too much! (:

Emma’s and Ven’s mac and cheese! (:

and I can’t remember what’s the name of Jem’s dish! But it looks yummy! hehe

Boulangerie

Festive Hotel

Resorts World Sentosa

our dearest Mish was so sweet to buy cakes from Boulangerie that are made from a French pastry chef! (: And they not only good good, they tasted yummy! Thanks babe!

I took this one home! (: Always have been and always be a chocolate person! hehe

Can’t wait to meet up again and have more yummy food and good company! (: Haven’t laughed like that for a long time! Always good to meet up with old friends!

Turning 24 : Part 1

Birthdays spent in Melbourne has always been a small thing. Just dinner with Baby and meet up with some close friends after for drinks! But this year, it’s a little different. Cause baby had to work in the evening and by the time he finishes it would be too late to have a proper dinner, we had lunch instead! Then had dinner and drinks with the close friends! (: In other words, I had a super awesome day with the company of all my good friends! hehe so the happiest girl this birthday, is ME!

so as not to drown you all with photos of food and make you all super hungry. I’ve decided to split my celebrations into two posts! hehe

the first place : Shoya

we revisited this place after we celebrated my 22nd birthday (: a place full of memories! Good one indeed. and if you are craving for good japanese food, this is it. The best place to go! hehe and boy was I glad we did.

we ordered the set lunch and I love how they give small portions of everything. but at the end of the meal, we were stuffed! but very happy-stuffed. haha

so this was what we had in our set lunch

our appetizer is cabbage and crab meat with vinegar. It’s really good! The sourish taste of the appetizer just makes us look forward to filling our tummy up! hehe as my mum would say, it’s very 开胃! hehe first dish, and we were already singing their praises. haha Can you imagine how happy we were once the whole meal was over? (:

and what’s a japanese meal without chawanmushi? hehe

and to go with our meal, hot sakae of course. (:

and the sashimi course is something I look forward to everytime we come here. So fresh and good. And hidden behind the cucumber is my favourite : raw scallop! LOVE IT! hehe I learnt my dearest baby and left the best for last!

sushi! (: hehe fresh and no doubt awesome. hehe

their signature : mushroom and quail egg tempura with crab and scallop wrapped in filo pastry. this made both of us smile after we bite into it, especially the filo pastry bit. SO GOOD! hehe

wanna take a closer look at the scallop and crab wrapped in filo pastry?

sure! (: hehe

fried rice and miso soup!

we being SUPER HAPPY! hehe (: and you know why? cause we got our main meal : wagyu beef with truffle sauce !

how good does this look? it tastes as good as how it looks or even better! hehe the beef was tender, the flavours just explodes in your mouth. Then the aftermath is just, wide grins on our face! hehe

Next stop : White Rabbit Record Bar

There’s this cosy little place in Kensington Town and I have been wanting to try it for the longest time! So I decided to head there and give their food a try, as well as enjoy the ambience and company (:

and what’s so special about this place? It’s a bar and cafe filled with old records! It’s so cute! I loved it immediately after stepping foot into the place.

records made into lights

records as a decor

and they also sell old records for you to purchase! super cute shop! hehe (:

the food was yummy, the service was awesome! By the time baby got here, the boss said the kitchen was closed. but when she realised he was going to drink on an empty stomach, she said she felt bad and asked him to order a sandwich, she would make it her him! We decided that we were going to make that our usual hanging out spot! hehe it’s like a tango’s in Melbourne hehe

thanks babe for coming early! (:

and thank you Cheok and Lyn for coming! (:

and thank you you two love birds! (:

and of course, thank you baby boy (: hehe especially cause you surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers!

made my night (: I love you! hehe

Thank you everyone for making time to celebrate this special day with me! (:

crazy crazy us (: love ya babe!

brunch with Peggy and Paul

Chimmys
342 Bridge Road,
Richmond
Vic 3121

http://www.chimmys.com/

It’s been a long time since we had brunch together.
it was really nice catching up and just enjoying each other’s company! (:
Peggy and Paul brought us to this place for brunch
and it was really good!

everyone had the Big Fry Up
cos it consisted of everything! haha
and it was a very very decent portion size
so the boys would definitely be filled up when they finish the last potato! haha

the pototoes were golden and crisp!
the eggs were scrambled just nice (:

and to top that, it came with baby’s favourite – bacon! haha
so guess whose tummy was really satisfied that afternoon? hehe

I, on the other hand.
had my favourite dish I could ever have for brunch.
im sure you can guess it! haha

almost like an eggs benedict
but not quite.
it was served on a butter scone
with cheese
and asparagus! hehe (:
of course, can never leave out the thick, yummy hollandaise sauce!
YUMS!

and to compliment everything.
I had to order a chai latte (: hehe

really awesome food.
awesome place.
and awesome company.
a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon (:

Cheok’s Birthday

 

It was good timing.
my papers were over
and I really needed a break! hehe
so Cheok’s birthday celebration was a good time for all of us to unwind (:

I had to skip dinner though
had to finish up another draft for my thesis
so i joined everyone for drinks!

our first stop was the container bar at lonsdale street.
in this small little alley.
really nice place!

the birthday boy (: hehe
and one of the love of his life – whiskey haha

yummy yummy yummy i got lamb in my tummy.

it’s been a long long long long time since I ever had lamb.
I was always afraid of the smell. haha.
but Peggy promised that the one she cooked wouldn’t have the lamb-smell. haha
if you know what i mean.
so i said OKAY! when she suggested cooking it for us. (:

and it was SUPER GOOD!
I can now say, I’ve had roast leg of lamb! haha (:
thanks Paul and Peggy for cooking the yummilicious good that night!
it was awesome!

A year wiser ♥

Been waiting for this day for the longest time.
Cause we have been wanting and planning to head to Waterfront for this special day since 2 months ago!
haha yes. we plan way ahead for this.
But it was worth the wait! (:

hope you enjoyed yourself and this is a birthday to remember!
so before I go on and on and on.
I will let the photos do the talking!

♥

Awesome dinner, movie and company!

Had a potluck at out place with Peggy and Paul tonight.
and dinner was super duper yums! (:

menu :

beef rendang
cabbage chicken
wasabi prawn

Everything was super yummy
and with good company. what could be better? hehe
Dinner with this sweet couple always is accompanied with laughter and smiles (:
ALWAYS. hehe
which is  awesome!
So thank u for coming over for dinner
and cooking the beef rendang!
we really really enjoyed it.
Lester is still raving about it now! hehe

After dinner.
We went to Crown to watch The Ugly Truth.

A really good movie!
everyone should catch it.
it’s hilarious. we laughed almost continuously! haha.
so many movies i wanna catch.
but so little time. rah!
well. I’m glad we caught this one (:

this day can’t get any better
we should really do this more often!

Thank you once again!
 

Cheok’s Beautiful Chaos : Tuna Tataki

Ingredients :

4 Tuna steaks
Black peppercorns, coarsely cracked

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup Peanut oil
1 ounce Sesame oil
2 ounces Soy sauce
1/2 ounce Garlic—grated
1/2 ounce Ginger—grated
5 spice powder to taste

Steps : 

Roll tuna in cracked black pepper then sear it in a very hot cast iron pan without oil.

let cool slighly, then slice thinly. Serve with dipping sauce.

Beautiful Chaos (:
that’s the name of his dish! haha

the dipping sauce :

Just mix all the ingredients together!
quick but SO GOOD! (:

and that’s how you eat it! (:

Enjoy!