Swee's Ramblings

Rabbit Day

2011-12-17T23:42:00.000+11:00

I dined at a Thai restaurant recently and there was a chinese horoscope about rabbits based on the day one is born. I was born on a Thursday so mine was described as follows:-

Roaming Rabbit, always moves too fast. He/She is impatient.

Hmmmmmmmm....

Pre-Christmas Shopping 2011

2011-12-17T23:32:00.003+11:00

We had beautiful summery weather in Melbourne today with a maximum of 29 degrees C. Decided to spend it with my 2 beautiful girlfriends Nuraini and Sophie. We headed to Westfield Doncaster for lunch, shopping, tea and dinner. I bought two lovely cardigans that were on sale from my favourite label, some homewares from my favourite AUD2.80 shop - Daiso and a hairbrush. We also lined up to get our names printed on a Coca-Cola can. I wanted Keith & Swee but they wouldn't allow symbols so they got it printed as Keithswee. Only after that did I realise it was a rather poor choice of name :P Oh well, guess the can of coke is going to be hidden somewhere in a dark corner. We had dinner at Straits Cafe but it was a rather painful experience as the ventilator failed to work and we had to inhale plumes of smoke from the wok. On the way home, Sophie had a flat tyre so we had to wait for Nick and Nuraini to come rescue us. So thankful for them, otherwise it would have taken us forever to figure out how to change the tyre :) Managed to get home on time for Keith to eat his takeaway dinner from me before going off to work. Grateful for the wonderful day spent with my gal-pals.

I'm back

2010-04-11T22:43:00.015+10:00

Sorry for taking such a long break from the blogosphere world. Thanks to Facebook, I haven't had the urge to blog much. All my many games, keeps me entertained for hours i.e. Mafia Wars, Mousehunt, Farmville, Cafe World, Fashion Wars, Friends For Sale.

One quarter of 2010 has passed, I barely wrote anything in 2009. I'm having a hard time trying to tie the pieces in 2009 so that my blog won't seem too disjointed.

A memorable part of 2009 was going to Malaysia and Thailand for the holidays and catching up with family and friends. So here's some photos. It's the easiest thing to do when one can't think of what or how to write :P

My parents

My doggieGrandma and auntCousin's wife and childrenMum and IMay Cy and her mum who were extremely hospitable during my stay at their place in PJ. Thanks for everything! :) Japanese dinner with my ex-colleagues from UOB bank.Millie and ISiew Yin and Joanne - my favourite girls from uni, missing Ai Ling though My Singaporean friends, James and Adrian from uni days. Thanks for coming all the way to Melaka to visit me :)

Bangkok 2009

2010-03-24T20:26:00.016+11:00

Photos of Bangkok trip with May Cy in Oct 2009.

Our first night in Bangkok and we went crazy ordering the food. This was dinner for 2 girls, we had 2 more dishes which aren't in the photo.

This tower belongs to meeeeeeeeee :)

The puppies were sooooooo cute, wanted to carry one home.At the floating market. It was a terribly hot day and I was suffering from the heat :P The boat lady finally took pity on me and let me use one of her hats.

Yarra Valley and Kinglake

2009-04-19T00:49:00.008+10:00

We took mum to Yarra Valley to visit the wineries. Who would have thought tht the Grape Picking festival would be on as well. There were so many 'pemabuks' around and they were extra friendly. We visited Domaine Chandon, De Bortoli, Yarra Valley Dairy and Beechworth Bakery. Here are some photos.

On a sadder note, we decided to drive by Kinglake after the wineries to see what was left of the town after the horrific bushfires in February. It was difficult driving through the long narrow winding road with sun in our eyes. Actually, Keith did the driving so I must thank him. The ride itself was equally difficult. There was an air of absolute silence in the area. The trees were completely blackened with the ground completely scorched and ashes metres high. We saw destruction of houses, cars, signboards, huge tree trunks on ground. Everything was so blackened. I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been for those caught in the fire. Nothing could have lived. The road like I said was narrow and winding, and trees so close to the edge of the road, there was no way the victims could have driven fast enough to escape the raging fires. It would take years for the people of Kinglake to rebuild their lives. Here are some photos of the destruction.

Hello 2009 :)

2009-04-19T00:30:00.011+10:00

Greetings everyone! It's been a long, long while since I last posted. 1/3th of 2009 is gone. Quite a number of significant changes have taken effect. I moved to Melbourne, specifically Mont Albert and also got a new job in February. Thankfully we have finished unpacking and more or less settled into our new home. The neighbours are exceptionally friendly. The one on our left wheels out our garbage bins every garbage collection day. The one in front baked us a lovely cheesecake as a welcome gift. And I thought Melbournians were less friendly than people in Torquay/Geelong, guess I am wrong!

I love our new suburb in Mont Albert as it is very close to Box Hill which is a very Asian/Chinese suburb. I can easily get lots of good, cheap chinese food anytime of day. Transport is also excellent as the train station is just less than 1km from home.

On a more exciting note, my mum is here visiting. She's been here for 3 weeks and will be leaving in a week's time. Not looking forward to her leaving meee :( I've been blessed with good home cooked food from mum. Here are some photos of our happy moments together.

Canon Ixus 870IS

2008-12-23T12:15:00.005+11:00

I got an early Christmas present from Keith yesterday. A Canon Ixus 870IS. Yay! I've been wanting to upgrade my Olympus digital camera so this is a perfect present. Hopefully it will inspire me to take more photos. Anyway, I would like to wish my family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year! :)

Angela Hewitt in concert

2008-12-08T14:45:00.002+11:00

Sometime in October, I had the pleasure of attending a piano recital by Angela Hewitt, a famous Canadian pianist specializing in Bach's music. She played Preludes and Fugues Book I and II over two days. I never did like playing preludes and fugue as a child because my piano teacher would make me play the same pieces over and over again for one whole year in order to prepare me for my piano exams. I did pass with flying colours but I always viewed Bach pieces as practising for exams and not playing for pleasure. However, give me Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and I will be sight reading their pieces gleefully.

Now that many years have passed and I don't play the piano any longer, I've started to appreciate some of Bach's music. This has also got to do with Keith's love for Bach so I've been surrounded by Bach's music at home and in the car nearly everyday. Thank goodness I've changed my view on Bach now. I find his music calming, soothing, simple and easy on the ear. It makes me want to pick up my piano playing skills again.

Anyway, here are photos of the piano recital held at Melbourne Uni. Also, some photos of me while waiting for the recital to start. We got there an hour early.

Cherry blossoms

2008-12-08T14:35:00.005+11:00

Who would have thought that I would have cherry blossom trees growing in my own front yard! You guess it, I was excited when I woke up one morning to find them in full bloom. It's only been a year living at our new place so I never knew what the two plants were until one fine day in spring. Too bad, their lifespan is exceedingly short. Only lasted about 2 weeks or so. Here's what I snapped in a hurry, it looks better in real life! Pardon the unruly lawn :P

My 33rd Birthday

2008-11-27T23:35:00.009+11:00

I have been away from my blog for sooooo long that I feel awkward in here! Don't know where to start or what to type. Anyway, I figured that blogging about my birthday would be a good start.

I organized to have the day off work and had the pleasure of sleeping in. Went for lunch with a friend and had a great time. Came home and watched dvds. Yes, I have been watching lots of dvds. Am currently into Gilmore Girls and there's season 1-7, each season containing 22 episodes! Yes, that's where I've been wasting my precious time.

Anyway, waited for Keith to finish work and went for a nice dinner at Fisherman's Pier in Geelong. The restaurant has gorgeous views overlooking the bay. The meal was surprisingly good for Geelong standards. I received a bouquet of red roses from Keith because I'd been complaining about how he's never bought me flowers before. Thanks dear! :P Maybe from now on, I'll start complaining about how he's never bought me bling blings! Lol.

Here's photos of my gorgeous flowers and dinner :)

My Entree - Tasting Plate of 5 consisting of oyster, prawn, ravioli with lobster filling, salmon with soba noodles and tomato gazpacho.
Keith's Entree - Goat cheese souffle baked with a nut crust, salad of rocket leaves, walnut and grilled pearMy Mains - Snapper fillet, creamy mash, scallops and lobster bisque
Keith's mains - Barramundi fillet, parsnip puree, crispy fried prawns, asparagus with port reductionSide dish - Best tasting garlic and rosemary fried potatoes I've ever had White chocolate and hazelnut bombe alaska with raspberry sorbet3 ways with passionfruit - souffle, ice cream and natural

Tessalaar Tulip Festival 2008

2008-10-03T11:28:00.009+10:00

We were puppysitting two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Willow and Chester on the weekend of 20th Sept so I came up with the idea of visiting the Tessalaar Tulip Festival in Silvan, Mt Dandenong as it would be a nice treat for both the pups too. The journey took 1 hr 30 mins, luckily the pups were well behaved and sat quietly in the car.

It rained before we got there so the grounds were very muddy and wet. Our shoes were covered with mud and I got little paw prints of mud all over my black jeans too when the pups tried to jump up for a cuddle. They seemed to love walking into puddles of water and getting themselves dirty. Luckily our car seats are leather so it was easy wiping the mud off. The pups weren't too happy when we got home as they went straight into the bath tub and got a good scrubbing hehe.

The theme at the tulip festival was Dutch so we got to sample all kinds of Dutch food. My favourite is still the mini pancakes called Dutch Poffertjes with dusting of icing sugar and maple syrup. Simply delicious. The tulips were very pretty at Tessalaar but I felt that the Araluen Tulip Festival in Perth which I went to 4 years ago wins hands down.

Now for photos, photos, photos! :)

Beef braised with Guinness

2008-10-03T10:54:00.008+10:00

I had a day off and decided to experiment with Neil Perry's recipe of beef braised with Guinness. I was totally caught off guard when paying for the Guinness at Woolies because the cashier had asked me for my ID. What the heck?

Anyway, the recipe turned out great and even got a nod of approval from masterchef Keith :P Here are photos of my dish served with mash potatoes.

A New Beginning, A New Celebration!!!

2008-09-02T23:34:00.004+10:00

I am sooooooooooo happy tonight I feel like I could climb up Mount Everest this very second. I just received the best piece of news tonight. After such a longggggggggggg, longgggggggggggg wait I finally got my Australian PR. Yipeeeeeeeeee! I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight but who cares. Keith will be taking me out to a nice place for dinner tomorrow to celebrate this significant journey and milestone in my life.

I also just bought a Nintendo DS Lite this morning. Guess it'll be a little pressie to myself for this joyous occasion and something to remind me of. 02/09/2008 - what a beautiful date! :) Spring also just started yesterday so it certainly is a joyous season :) Cheers!

Handbag Holder and Handbag Organizer

2008-08-08T10:49:00.008+10:00

I bought a handbag holder and handbag organizer from the internet. I find it extremely useful and well priced too. The handbag holder is a small round metal thing which can be extended to become a hook. It keeps your handbag off dirty floors especially when you go to a restaurant and have no place or empty seat to put your handbag on.

The handbag organizer is another excellent idea especially when you are searching for something. No more rummaging through your bag trying to get an item out. With the handbag organizer you get to organize your stuff into separate compartments within easy eyesight and reach.

Black Forest Cake, Cherry Zabaglione, Chocolate Granache

2008-07-31T21:20:00.008+10:00

This is Keith's Black Forest Cake with Cherry Zabaglione and Chocolate Granache that he made for the cake making competition organized by Overclockers Forum Australia.

Ingredients
Making the chocolate cake mix. Melting chocolate and butter over a double boiler.
Flour added
Egg whites beaten to stiff peak and folded into cake mixture.
Cake tin in the oven.
Cooking the cherries with the cherry liqueur.
Start of the cherry zabaglione. 6 egg yolks. To follow: caster sugar, cherry liqueur.
Cherry filling finished.
Chocolate cake out of the oven.
Cherry zabaglione being made on double boiler.
Cake cut in half ready to receive filling. More cherry liqueur sprinkled on chocolate cake.
Cherry zabaglione goes on cake.
Cherry mixture goes on cake.
Chocolate granache under construction Melt dark chocolate and mix cream in.
Finished chocolate granache.
Chocolate granache spread on cake.
Finished cake.

Here is a picture of the cake being served. Luckily we had some guests over for lunch the next day .

Where was I when the cake was artfully done? Sick in bed! haha. So, this is basically Keith's post on the overclockers forum which I conveniently sought permission from to post on my blog. How did Keith go in the competition? He came out 2nd! Yay!

The Dark Knight

2008-07-29T19:31:00.002+10:00

I watched The Dark Knight with my colleagues at the Gold Class cinema last night. It was from the funds we raised through our raffle ticket sales so we basically got to watch for free. The seats were very comfortable and the movie itself very enjoyable. I loved Heath Ledger's acting, he played a very convincing joker. I also liked Jack Nicholson as the joker in the older Batman movie. I thought that Katie Holmes should have reprised her damsel role as she is much prettier to look at :P Overall an entertaining movie, good that I watched it in the cinemas to enjoy the full effects.

Oh For the Love of Shopping

2008-07-27T15:41:00.007+10:00

I had been waiting eagerly all week for Saturday to come so that I could go shopping in Melbourne. It all started when i was surfing the vogue forum and one of the girls posted the cutest ever cardigan she bought. Not wanting to miss out I called the shop to put it on hold for me. Come Saturday, Keith said he did not want to go to Melbourne because he was taking part in a cake making competition organized by a forum. It turned out he had to work that afternoon too. Undeterred, I told him I'll go to Melbourne alone and caught a train up.

The new summer collections have just been launched in most shops. I find it weird for them to be selling summer stuff at this time of the year when it's right in the thick of winter. I was only suppose to get the red cardi but I ended up with these! :O I would have bought more if not for the "you need to be more responsible and save money for rainy days" thought running through my head :P Feeling happy with my haul, I decided to get a hot chocolate from Koko Black as it was raining and freezing. It was so rich and sinful. I then caught the tram to Spencer St station to make my way back to Geelong.

When I got to Spencer St, I was shocked to see the number of passengers on the train. It was overflowing! All the seats were taken and there were heaps of people standing on the aisleway, and near the doors. I managed to squeeze in because I did not want to wait for another hour for the next train. The journey itself takes 1 hour so I would end up wasting 2 hours if I waited for the next. My poor legs were feeling sore from all the shopping so I decided to sit on the cold hard floor. After about 30 minutes of playing Sudoku on my phone, I decided to stand up for the rest of the journey. Moments later, in came a drunk smelly old man swearing away at everyone with a bottle of beer in his hand. He was spilling beer all over the floor and hurling abuse at people. Being outspoken Australians who do not tolerate such kind of behaviour, he was quickly reported to the train conductor. The train conductor gave him a warning and moved him to another spot. Thank goodness for that!

I was starting to feel faint as it was so stuffy in the train. We were 15 minutes behind schedule as the train could not travel at its maximum speed due to the many passengers. I was so glad to step out of the train when it arrived at its destination. By then, I was having a throbbing headache and my neck and shoulders were aching so much. Keith quickly cooked dinner for me and I tried to eat eventhough my stomach was feeling very stuffed, probably from the hot chocolate. Thirty minutes later, still with a throbbing headache I felt that I had to spew, and so I did. It opened the floodgates of spew it wasn't funny! I think I spewed about 8 times within the course of an hour! I felt so weak and I had to lie in bed but it only made me want to spew more. I quickly took 2 panadols and forced myself to sleep. It stopped my spewing and I slept till 9am Sunday. My muscles and joints still feel weak today but at least the spewing's gone. Phew! So much for the love of shopping :P *sigh*

Richard and Claire's Wedding

2008-07-12T18:45:00.014+10:00

We were privileged to be invited to share the coming together of Richard and Claire as husband and wife today, 12th July 2008. They were the first couple/ friends we got to know when we first moved to Victoria. It was they who recommended us to live in Torquay. By chance, we lived just around the corner of each other and there were many good dinners to be had.

It was a beautiful day and the bride looked absolutely gorgeous, while the groom dashingly smart. The speeches were very touching and moving and I can't tell you how happy I am for them. They really are a great couple! :) Now, time for photos. Beware, there are heaps!

The anxious groom waiting for the arrival of his lovely bride
The lovely bride with her parents walking down the aisle
The bride and groom meetThe vows and exchange of rings
Chinese tea pouring ceremony
Signing the marriage certificate
Keith and the groom
Claire and I
Keith and I
Now, for the food. Lunch was at Pettavel Winery. Absolutely delicious! :) First up was the chicken.
Ox cheek dumpling Lamb with ratatouille Confit duck leg with pine nuts
The wedding cakeLook there's Argus their dog! :)
Miniature version of Richard and Claire
Poached pear with honeycomb, caramelised sugar and ice cream. An absolute winner!
Chocolate cake served with ice cream and orange.
Home sweet home. I look tired and washed out thanks to all the wine.

Tutto Bene

2008-07-12T00:02:00.006+10:00

I suggested dinner at Tutto Bene after reading many good reviews of the Italian restaurant. Many a times we have walked past their Gelateria out at the front to get a cup or cone of their wide assortment of gelatos without realising what a great restaurant it is inside. Wished we had made the discovery sooner! The chef and owner of this establishment won the silver award at the 1999 World Intercontinental Risotto competition in Italy.

We had:
Olive Ascolane - Traditional Marche region meat filled, crumbed and fried green olives; Salsicce rosso - Spicy roasted capsicum infused pork sausage; and Baccala fritto - Crispy fried salted cod with fresh vegetable giardiniera.

Mozzarella artigiani - handmade locally produced mozzarella of the day. Keith gave a big thumbs up for this dish. He absolutely loved it and had to call his best friend in Perth to share his excitement. The mozzarella was soft and creamy on the inside with a tender layer of skin. This was a classic Italian combination of Bufala, tomato, basil and balsamic vinegar. We have had it at several other restaurants but the cheese here was the creamiest and the best ever.

Al Presidente - A unique combination of 3 year old parmigiano and balsamic vinegar, produced from a 1912 mother must, created by our chef for the Italian President visiting Australia. There was a long list of Risottos on the menu that I had a hard time deciding. The risotto was good but rather plain. I should have gone for the Porcini Mushroom Risotto with white truffle oil as I love mushrooms. Will save that for our next trip :)

Anatra arrosto al marsala - Boneless, crisp roasted duckling with Sicilian marsala scented broth and amarena cherries. The fat was rendered off the duck so it wasn't fatty. The flesh itself was well cooked, tender and deboned. Duck usually goes well with sweet fruits for example orange, however the cherries were a great contrast.

Zabaglione carammellizzato con sorbetto al marsala vergine e frutta di stagione - zabaglione brulée with a 12 year old virgin Marsala sorbet and fresh stone fruit. The zabaglione was very light, airy and fluffy with sweet intense flavour. We could hear the chef in the kitchen whipping it up.

Tortino al cioccolato fondente amaro con salsa di ciliegie nere e croccantini - slow baked dark chocolate fondant cake with black cherry puree, crispy wafer pieces and double cream. Okay, I know the brown stuff in the middle of the plate looks off-putting haha. It's chocolate double cream by the way and it's really rich and heavenly albeit the presentation. Just close your eyes and savour it :)
Prices are reasonable, service is excellent, atmosphere might be a tad noisy but we will definitely return for more.

Taxi

2008-07-09T23:19:00.006+10:00

After reading all the positive reports about Taxi Dining Room in Federation Square, we went there for tonight. We were the first customers to arrive at 6pm. The waiter serving us was very professional and attentive at the start of the service.

We had:

Oyster with blue swimmer crab, parsley, and beluga caviar. A little bit over-garnished that it overwhelmed the taste of the oyster. I think that the best way to have oysters is to eat them raw. I loved the presentation of the oysters at Taxi though.
Pressed Duck and Rabbit Terrine with Foie Gras Parfait. This one was a winner! So many ways to eat this, and each combination gave an explosion of different tastes and textures in your mouth. It was presented really well, and very fun to eat. Finish off with the duck egg yolk in the center of the terrine - so rich, so creamy. It leaves a wonderful aftertaste in your mouth.
Wagyu Beef, sushi style with two dipping sauces. Imagine a sliver of wagyu on a sushi ball perfectly smoked, soft, chewy, slightly sweetened with teriyaki sauce and a tiny dab of wasabi. Presentation might not look very appealing but it tastes good with the sesame dipping sauce that comes with it. They serve 5 pieces, entree size but you might lose interest after the 3rd piece as it is quite filling.

Wagyu Beef Sirloin with mushroom, rocket salad, and sesame dipping sauce. This one was a real winner! This steak was easily the equal of Rockpool - complex, charred, tender, juicy, and full of intense beef flavours. The rocket salad was a real surprise - strong taste of peanut (I could taste it but not see it) and not pungent.

Fried chats potatoes (side dish). Perfectly executed - crispy, golden, and tasty.

Banana spring roll with espresso jelly and banana ice cream. Another winner, the pastry was crisp and the ice cream had even more intense banana flavours than the banana itself. The espresso jelly complemented the dish very well.
Banana souffle with a molten chocolate center and banana ice cream. A perfectly risen souffle, I wish mine could rise like that. Perfectly soft in the center, fluffy and very light in texture and the hot melting chocolate in the centre are a perfect match. The banana ice cream adds further depth to the dessert.
Service was friendly, however it got a bit slow towards the end when other diners started streaming in. It took them a while to clear our plates and to refill our drinks. View from Taxi was excellent as you can see from the photos below.

Louis Vuitton collection

2008-06-23T03:39:00.006+10:00

Here are the photos.

Monogram Tikal

Damier Hampstead PM

Damier Koala Wallet

Oh noooooo

2008-06-22T01:24:00.004+10:00

Oh noooooooo.... I'm now officially one of them! :( You know, the one where majority of customers are Asians or black haired homosapiens with fair skin. It is a norm to see flocks of them inside or in front of the boutique all over the world. The company's logo can be readily sighted when walking on the streets, be it in Kuala Lumpur, Perth, Melbourne, Shanghai or Paris. Sales is so good that it is a rarity to be served immediately upon entering. It is usually a 10-15 minutes wait and even then one usually needs to catch the attention of the sales person. The popular colour of this brand is brown and gold. Unfortunately, there are heaps of fake ones sold in flea markets and online shopping sites. Can you guess yet???

Anyway photos of my latest shopping buys will be loaded later. For now, I have to nurse back my bank account balance to a healthy figure *sniff*sniff*. I wish money grew on trees.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2008-06-03T09:39:00.002+10:00

Woke up to a really cold wintry morning yesterday. The temperature was 1.5 degrees Celsius. We stepped into our Audi but the car refused to start. After many failed attempts, we had to use our spare car. Thankfully I got to work on time. Oh, what a black Monday.

Today I did not have to work. However, Keith wanted me to drive him to work due to the lack of parking spots available in town. It was yet another cold foggy morning with temperature of 2 degrees Celsius. Keith told me to be careful when driving home as he found the roads slippery. I did not pay much heed to his advise as I was still in 'sleep' mode.

On my way home, I was looking forward to crawling back into bed when I drove over an icy patch while turning and the car started steering all over the place. It gave me a fright as I thought I was going to have another expensive car spinning incident. With the Audi out of order, I didn't need this car to join the party. Thank goodness lady luck was shining on me. I managed to gain control of the steering wheel and got home safely and scratch free. Home was just less than 50 steps away from where it took place. Winter blues are definitely here! Blame it on the weather! Brrrrrrrrrr.

Good Food and Wine Show

2008-06-03T09:32:00.013+10:00

Last Saturday Keith and I went to the Melbourne Good Food and Wine Show held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Tickets were priced at $25 per person. It was very crowded but we got to do some food and wine tasting. Lunch at the venue was pretty impressive and affordable.

We were entertained to live cooking shows in the celebrity theatre. I managed to catch 3 shows lasting about 45 minutes each. The chefs were Tobie Puttock head chef of Fifteen Melbourne (started by Jamie Oliver), Peter Evans and Matt Moran head chef of Aria.

I also had my first taste of chilli wine! It certainly cleared my sore throat and flu that afternoon and warmed my stomach instantly. It makes a good winter warmer drink! Do not attempt this if chilli's not your cup of tea as it is really spicy.

Some of the booths
Could not resist taking a photo of the lovely cupcakes
More cakes
The lunch we had - Beef Wellington by Ben O'Donoghue served with Lindemans Reserve Shiraz
12 hour braised lamb, tarragon gnocchi "bubble & squeak" by Gary Mehigan
Rice pudding trifle with fresh raspberries, amaretting & baby meringues
Inside the celebrity theatre with Matt Moran
One of the meals prepared by Matt Moran - Veal with cheese and bacon
Grilled salmon

Banana Fritters

Matt Moran signing his cookbook at the end of the show

Later that evening, we crossed over to Crown complex for dinner. We chose Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons an Italian restaurant which opened recently. I was impressed with the bread section as it was very fresh and authentic.

We went straight to our mains as we were still quite full from the afternoon. I ordered a risotto of wild pork and chorizo. I thought that the risotto was a bit undercooked as it was rather grainy but the overall taste was good. Keith ordered the sea urchin pasta. I had a taste of the sea urchin but did not fancy it. Maybe it is an acquired taste I need to hone my taste buds to

We did not stay for dessert as we could not fit in anymore and the waiters were looking rather busy. We were lucky to be in and out of the restaurant in 40 minutes. The table next to us that came in at the same time did not have their orders taken until 30 minutes later! They were completely forgotten. They even had to wave the waiter over so I guess service is a bit of a hit and miss. I don't blame them as the restaurant was fully packed. Price wise it was quite reasonable.

Day 7 - Movida

2008-05-28T20:33:00.004+10:00

Once again, it is time to bid farewell. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. For May Cy's final day of her visit to Melbourne, I took her to Movida, a Spanish Tapas Bar for dinner. They were booked out as usual so we sat at the bar. We ordered 5 tapas and 3 racions.

We had roasted lamb cutlet encased in Catalan pork & paprika pate, half shell scallop oven baked with jamon and potato foam, cantabrian artisan anchovy on crouton with smoked tomato sorbet, Hunter Valley quail boned, filled with mahon cheese and crumbed, air cured wagyu beef thinly sliced with a truffle foam and poached egg, oven roasted portabello mushrooms finished with sherry vinegar and pan seared marinated cuttlefish with chickpeas, mint & tomato salad. We were so full at the end of the meal that we had no space for dessert. Unfortunately the lighting was very poor so I did not get good photos. Here's what I managed.

Cantabrian artisan anchovy on crouton with smoked tomato sorbet

The award winning air cured wagyu beef thinly sliced with a truffle foam and poached egg.

Roasted lamb cutlet encased in Catalan pork & paprika pate

I drove May Cy to Tullamarine airport for her flight to Perth later in the night. Lucky girl gets to continue her holidays for two more weeks while I go back to work. Hopefully I will survive my day back at work as I am down with sorethroat, cough, flu and fever. Help.

Day 6 - Mt Dandenong & Lygon St

2008-05-28T17:57:00.009+10:00

We went to Mount Dandenong and our first stop was at Sassafras where Miss Marples famous scone is. The crowd was so long that we had to wait 45 minutes for a table. We got tired of waiting so left without sampling the scones. Instead we had some Dutch mini pancakes called Poffertjes. It was a welcome delight as it was nice and hot off the pan and we topped it with maple syrup.

Miss Marples Tea Room in Sassafras Mt Dandenong

Roasting a marshmellow

Yummy Dutch mini pancakes

Our next stop was Sky High and the view was quite scenic. We could see Melbourne CBD in the distant horizon. By then, it was getting dark so we made our way to Belgrave where Puffing Billy, (steam train) is. I remember going on it 13 years ago with my brother. This time, there was no Puffing Billy in sight so we left.

Sky High, Mt Dandenong

We headed to Cafe Cavallino on Lygon St for some Italian food. The owner is a big Ferrari F1 fan thus the shop is filled with Ferrari F1 souvenirs and memorabilia. If you are a fan of Michael Schumacher you will find many photos of him. Cafe Cavallino makes good pizzas. The pizza base is good and the dough is nice and chewy. The ingredients used are very fresh and they are quite generous with the toppings. Service is good and the staff are very attentive. We didn't have to wait too long for our food and the price is very reasonable.

Keith at Cafe Cavallino Lambrusco wine

Siciliana pasta

Minestrone soup

Prosciutto, rocket, olives, tomato and cheese pizza

Pizza paescano - salami, tomato, potato, mushroom and olives

After dinner we headed to Brunetti cafe for dessert. Keith had a lemon cheesecake which was not overly rich and not too sweet. May Cy had an orange sponge cake which was done to perfection. I had the tiramisu but did not like it. It was slightly bitter and did not contain enough sponge fingers. It had no kick to it, lacking in the liquer/coffee department. I reckon my tiramisu and Keith's beats theirs anytime.

Brunetti cafe on Faraday St, Carlton

Day 5 - Queen Victoria Market and St Kilda

2008-05-28T13:31:00.011+10:00

We went to Queen Victoria Market as May Cy wanted to buy some macadamia nuts. We grazed on Spanish doughnuts, American doughnuts and Bratwurst hot dog for lunch. The Spanish doughnuts also known as churros at QVM is my favourite as the dough is very light and not too sweet. Later in the afternoon we went to St Kilda and Middle Reserve Park.

European deli
Bread and pastry shop
Outside Queen Vic Market
Luna Park, St Kilda
One of the cake shops on Acland St, St Kilda
Apple strudle from Acland Cake Shop
Spanish Doughnuts at San Churros
Look! A llama on St Kilda pedestrian walk way.
Even the dogs were curious and puzzled at this strange creature
Dogs sniffing the llama's butt
Keith and I at the Middle Reserve Park
St Kilda's tourist attraction

Day 4 - Rockpool

2008-05-28T11:58:00.006+10:00

Keith was not feeling well so we stayed home for most of the day. We arrived in Crown at 6:30pm and wandered around the riverbank and shops. Our booking at Rockpool was for 9pm but we were rather hungry so we asked if we could dine earlier at the bar. Lady luck was smiling at us so we managed to get a table at 7:45pm. We spotted Neil Perry the celebrity chef and owner of Rockpool and got him to sign our copy of his cookbook and took a photo as well. The food was sublime and we had a great time. Service was excellent. Now for photos...

May Cy and I along the riverbank of Crown Casino
Admiring the aged beef that was hanging outside one of the restaurants in Crown Complex
May Cy sitting in the lobby of Crown HotelMay Cy and I at Crown Hotel
Rockpool's logo
The kitchen
A waitress walking past the kitchen.
May Cy May Cy and IKeithMay Cy's starter - Slow Cooked Egg with Bone Marrow on Brioche with Red Wine SauceKeith's starter - King Prawns with Goat’s Cheese Tortellini, Burnt Butter, Raisins and Pine NutsMy starter - Four Raw Tastes of the Sea - from Right to Left - Kingfish, Salmon, Tuna and ScampiKeith's Sirloin on the Bone May Cy's portion of the Rib-Eye on the Bone 750g 36 days for two shared with meSide order of Mac and Cheese
Dessert - Strawberry Salad with Vanilla Pannacotta and Rose Granita Prune and Armagnac Crème Brulee Chocolate and vanilla bean ice cream
Keith with Neil Perry

Rockpool is highly recommended. Do make it a point of dining there at least once if you are in Melbourne. I am getting hungry just by labeling the photos. As usual, we forgot to take photos of our dessert until half way through.

Day 3 - Bistro Vue

2008-05-28T11:54:00.005+10:00

Bistro Vue a classic French fare was our last stop for the night and also our first time there. The ambience was good and had a rustic feel with a live accordionist playing classic tunes. Service was not up to scratch though as the waiters were not very attentive. They took forever to give us our menus, we had to ask them for it. Drinks were not topped up immediately. Even when it came to paying our bill we had to wait for a long time. Guess that's the difference between a bistro and a proper restaurant. Service aside, the food was good. The highlight of the meal was my entree.

Interior of Bistro Vue

May Cy's entree - Tasmanian Oysters

Keith's entree - Soft shell crab with sautéed crab, olive oil sauceMy delicious entree of egg pullet - Two hour poached egg with wild mushroom purée
and Shimeji mushrooms Wagyu Steak

Wild hare fillet

Keith and I

Me and May Cy

Day 3 - Footscray and Melbourne CBD

2008-05-28T11:48:00.010+10:00

We went to Footscray for Vietnamese beef noodles. After lunch, we crossed over to Footscray market to look at the stalls. The crabs looked very tempting - big and meaty. We also found a stall that sells live cockles - yay! We did not get anything as we still had a long day to go in the city.

We headed to Melbourne City again for some shopping and food. I took May Cy to Little Cupcake along Flinders Lane as I wanted to try their red velvet cupcake. It was light but a tad sweet with the frosting. I also took May Cy to Koko Black, a chocolate haven for chocolate lovers located in the Royal Arcade. This time I ordered their new hot chocolate called 80:20. It's so much drinkable compared to their Belgian hot chocolate which is so rich and chocolaty. Later in the evening we went to Bistro Vue for dinner which I will write about in the next post.

Footscray market - you find a wider mix of ethnic groups ie. Vietnamese, Chinese, Africans, Indians shopping here rather than local Aussies.

May Cy in Bourke Street Mall

May Cy in the GPO

Florist located just outside the GPO

May Cy outside the GPO building

Little Cupcake in Flinders Lane

Yum, all mine!

Are you going to share it with me?May Cy in one of the graffitied alleywaysKoko Black - 80:20 hot chocolate and ice coffee with ice creamMay Cy in the Royal Arcade where Koko Black is located

Day 2 - Melbourne CBD

2008-05-28T11:05:00.005+10:00

Jacsmyn had cornea infection in her right eye and was worried about her situation so she cut short her trip. She decided to go back to Malaysia to consult her eye specialist as she was running out of eye drops. Her flight back to Malaysia was at 3pm so we had to make a quick dash and tour of Melbourne CBD. She craved Chinese food so I took her to Southgate for dim sum at Red Emperor. Unfortunately they were closed when we got there so we had to make do with Westlake in Chinatown. We took photos along Southgate, Yarra River, Flinders Station, Federation Square and Chinatown.

May Cy and Jacsmyn in my houseJacsmyn and I along Southbank

May Cy and I along Yarra River

Jacsmyn and May Cy with Flinders Station in the background

May Cy and Jacsmyn with Federation Square in the backgroundJacsmyn in Chinatown

Day 1 - Great Ocean Road

2008-05-28T09:32:00.010+10:00

Sorry, I have been missing in action for a while now. My friends, May Cy and Jacsmyn whom I worked with in UOB Malaysia came over for a visit so I was busy playing hostess. They arrived in Tullamarine airport on 20th May at 12:30am from Gold Coast.

I took them for a drive on Great Ocean Road and to the Twelve Apostles. On the way, we stopped in Lorne for lunch next to the newly completed pier. There was a beautiful rainbow as you can see from the photo.

At the start of Great Ocean Road

Beautiful rainbowCompleted pier in Lorne

May Cy and Jacsmyn at The Lorne Seafood Pier Restaurant

Me and May Cy

We continued our journey to the Twelve Apostles. I got worried halfway as the petrol tank was nearing empty and there weren't any towns in sight. I drove on to Port Campbell and was so glad to see a petrol station. We made it safely to the Twelve Apostles just as the sun was setting.

Jacsmyn and I

May Cy and IMay Cy and I
Jascmyn and IMay Cy

We arrived home at 8:45pm and Keith made us mushroom soup and caesar salad for dinner. Yum.

Wii Fit

2008-05-09T20:42:00.006+10:00

I bought the Wii Fit on its launch date yesterday for $119. It is still unopened as I am feeling rather lazy and uninspired. The box itself weighs a ton, maybe that's part of the regime fitness. Lets see how effective it is and whether I succeed in keeping fit and shedding those extra pounds. I know it is wishful thinking but all is not lost. I would have gained hours of entertainment and laughter.

Tiramisu

2008-05-05T22:52:00.010+10:00

After reading sleepiekoala's blog sometime back I was inspired to make a tiramisu cake. So I decided why not do one for the pizza party. Here is my version. I got the recipe off my mum. I reckon some improvements could be made. It needs more sugar, maybe extra 3 tablespoons. If unsure of sweetness, taste the cheese mixture and adjust the sweetness according to your liking. I also found it lacking in kahlua so I would double up the amount.

2 tubs of 250gm mascarpone cheese
1 packet of 400gm savoirdi or sponge fingers
1 cup of strong coffee
400ml whipping cream
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp vanilla essence
6 tbsp kahlua
6 tbsp brown sugar
cocoa powder

1) Cream the mascarpone cheese in a bowl. Add egg yolk, vanilla essence and sugar.
2) Whisk whipped cream until stiff and mix into cheese mixture and leave aside.
3) Line a 9 inch rectangular container and baking paper.
4) Add the coffee and kahlua into a small bowl and dip the sponge fingers (one side only) and lay it in the container 1 inch apart.
5) Add some of the cheese mixture above the sponge fingers and fill in the gaps to form a layer. Sprinkle some cocoa powder. Continue with the next layer of dipped sponge fingers, cheese and cocoa powder.
6) Cover the container and leave in fridge overnight.
7) Before serving brush on more cocoa powder.

*I also freezed the tiramisu for 2-3 hours just to firm the texture up a bit. Anyway here are the photos of my tiramisu cake. I forgot to layer the container with baking paper prior to starting and also forgot to add the vanilla essence to the cheese mixture. Doh.

Kahlua, extra strong espresso and savoiardi or sponge fingers

Creaming the mascarpone cheese, sugar and egg yolk

After adding the whipped cream to mascarpone mixture

Arranging the dipped sponge fingers

Layering the cheese mixture above the sponge fingers

Dusting cocoa powder then adding another layer of the dipped sponge fingers

About to go into the fridge to set overnight

End product - about to dust cocoa powder on top before serving

A slice of my tiramisu cake

So you think my tiramisu cake looks good? Wait there is more to it! I had bravely challenged Keith to make his own version of tiramisu to see who would come out best. Of course it was a stupid idea. No brownie points on guessing who would emerge the loser of the tiramisu challenge. Me, me, me! Bah :P

I did it to spur Keith on as he is not a fan of making desserts. He took it seriously and his French recipe book quickly surfaced from the bookshelf. Just by looking at the recipe book, I knew I would be the loser as his recipe asked for lots of rum/kahlua and a lot more sugar. I waved the white flag and told Keith to just serve his tiramisu to the guests. He refused and said I had to serve mine too. Anyway some of my colleagues were very supportive of me and said they would have a bigger piece of my tiramisu to his. Thanks guys, you know who you are haha. I would honestly go for Keith's if I had to choose so no hard feelings at all. I found the incident very funny in fact. No one on the table would choose the winner. They said that both our tiramisus were different in their own way. Yeah, yeah just being extremely polite! Here are the photos of Keith's tiramisu.

Doing the same process of layering the sponge fingers and cheese

Dusting cocoa powder

Tiramisu sitting in fridge waiting to be served

End product. He served it with sliced strawberries but I did not take a photo of it.

Here is the recipe Keith used. It is called Creole Tiramisu by Konemann from the book Exotic Desserts from the French Caribbean.

For the sabayon:
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup or 200ml dark rum
31/2 tbsp or 50ml sugar syrup*
250g mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup plus 50g grated coconut
4 egg whites
31/2 tbsp or 50g sugar
2 cups or 250ml whipping cream
2 cups or 250ml coffee
8 slices genoise**

For the decoration:
31/2 tbsp or 50ml coconut milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Serves 4, Chilling Time 4 hours

1) Prepare a sabayon with the egg yolks, 31/2 tbsp or 50ml of the rum and the sugar syrup. Whisking constantly, warm the mixture over low heat until thick and frothy, then allow to cool.
2) Whisk the mascarpone cheese until smooth then fold it into the sabayon and add the grated coconut. Beat the eggs with the sugar until stiff peaks form, then whip the cream and fold the egg whites and the whipped cream into the sabayon.
3) Brew 2 cups of very strong coffee and add the rest of the rum to it. Trim the edges of the genoise and cut it into 5 squares to fit the base of the molds. Cut 1 of the 5 slices into quarters and soak all of the genoise pieces in the coffee.
4) Line the sides ot each pyramid mold with 4 triangles of parchment paper. Fill the tip of the mold with the mascarpone mixture. Press 1 of the smaller quarters of genoise into the mascarpone, fill the rest of the mold with the mixture and close with a whole slice of genoise. Chill for at least 4 hours. Unmold, sprinkle with cocoa powder and serve, garnished wit coconut milk and cocoa powder.

*Sugar syrup
Ingredients: 4 cups or 1 liter water - 4 cups or 1kg sugar.
Preparation: Dissolve the sugar in the water and let it boil for 3 minutes.

**Genoise. In this case Keith substituted it for the savoirdi or sponge fingers.

Keith substituted rum for kahlua. He also omitted the coconut powder and coconut milk.

Pizza Party

2008-05-05T22:25:00.009+10:00

I decided to throw a pizza party and invited few of my colleagues over. Keith was absolutely a gem as he volunteered to cook for them. The pizza was made from scratch and tasted delicious! Keith did all the preparation and my contribution was to help spread the home made tomato paste onto the rolled out dough :P How great is that???

There were 8 of us which made it easy to divide and there were a total of 8 pizzas served. Each slice we bit into was piping hot and crispy as Keith timed them perfectly. We had mushroom pizza, salmon with capers, eggplant, salami with basil, prosciutto with rocket, spanish chorizo and 2 more which I can't remember but they were a combination of the already listed toppings. I didn't get the chance to take photos of all the pizzas as we were too busy feeding the guest. I only managed to take photos of the 2 vegetarian pizzas prior to it going into the oven.

Homemade pizza is absolutely the best, I have yet to come across a pizza shop that serves as good as what Keith does. My colleagues could not stop complimenting Keith on the excellent pizza. They also thanked me repeatedly the day after. I am so glad everyone enjoyed themselves and of course I have Keith to thank the most because without him all this wouldn't have been possible! So thanks dear, I totally appreciate your effort! *muaks*

Pizza flour with some water

YeastAfter kneading the dough Toppings Aubergine/egg plant pizza before going into the ovenMushroom pizza before going into the ovenKeith putting the final touch to the mushroom pizza. I bought him the apron :)Old photo of a home made meat pizza Keith made few months ago

Third attempt at pandan chiffon cake

2008-05-04T14:29:00.006+10:00

I am so in love with pandan chiffon cake that I had to bake it for the 3rd time. I think I have perfected it minus the look lar :P

First of, I bought a proper angel cake tin meant for chiffon cakes through the internet. It is aluminium and the bottom can be removed which makes it easier to take the cake out. Non stick tins are ineffective for chiffon cakes because the cake won't be able to rise on the sides creating an unbalanced cake.Next is to use CAKE flour. It is very important to use cake flour as it creates the light, soft and fluffy texture. It was quite a task getting cake flour in the shops. Woolworths, Coles Express etc do not stock it surprisingly. I went looking in the Asian supermarts but even that was difficult. After visiting about 8 of them I finally found one Asian shop that did. Cake flour texture is so different to normal plain flour. It is very soft, fine, fluffy and white, however it still needs to be sifted.

I also bought a proper silicone spatula to fold the cake mixture instead of using a spoon. It is very important to fold in the beaten egg white mixture gently. For once, my pandan cake has risen properly, in fact nearly to twice its original height.

Star of the Week

2008-04-23T21:51:00.005+10:00

Here is a photo of my Star of the Week trophy. How did I get it? I came in first in my team in terms of performance :)

Second Attempt at Pandan Cake

2008-04-20T23:28:00.006+10:00

My second attempt at making pandan cake turned out much better than the first. It was a different recipe to begin with. The cake was lighter, sweeter and more flavourful. The top did not crack too much either. I still haven't been able to find cake flour in the shops so I used plain flour and corn flour instead and sifted the flour 12 times!

Barley, Ginkgo and Bean Curd Dessert

2008-04-20T22:37:00.009+10:00

Barley, ginkgo and bean curd dessert soup is a favourite in my family. It can be drank hot or cold and is cooling for the body system especially after eating lots of fried stuff. Back home in Malaysia, my mum would make my brother and I crack the shells of the ginkgo nut, remove the outer skin layer and bitter centre core. We did not mind it one bit as we love ginkgo nuts.

However when I boiled the dessert today, I used pre-packed ready peeled ginkgo nuts. It was so much easier and quicker. All I had to do was remove the centre core.

Here is a picture of my 'tong sui'. I usually put in the bean curd at the last minute so that it'll be intact and in bite size pieces. I decided to do a different style today by letting it boil longer and disintegrate into tiny flakes.

Ham Choy Tong or Sour Mustard soup

2008-04-18T16:37:00.005+10:00

I have been wanting to make ham choy tong for about 3 weeks now and only got to doing it today. I am surprised by the end result! It tasted like a proper ham choy tong soup on my first attempt.

Here is what I used.

500gm of pork spare ribs, scald first in a separate pot of hot water to remove the dirt, blood etc.
2.5 litres of water
5 slices of ginger
2 cloves of unpeeled garlic
4 tomatoes quartered
1 box of soft tofu
Salt to taste
350gm of pickled mustard or ham choy

I soaked the pickled mustard in water for about 20 minutes, changing the water about 6 times or so. Meanwhile, I put the scalded spare ribs, ginger and garlic to boil on high for about 30 minutes.

Slice the pickled mustard into smaller pieces and add in to the soup. Boil on high for a further 20-30 minutes. Put in the quartered tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and season to taste. Cut the soft tofu into square cubes and simmer for 5 minutes. Ready to serve. It goes well with a plate of steamed rice.

My work place

2008-04-10T20:16:00.003+10:00

I took photos of my work place and my beloved desk. My work station is so close to the vending machine and cafe which makes it convenient. I also get a gorgeous view of the bay from my desk but I did not take a photo of the scenic view. The office looks pretty empty because I took the photos at 7am.

Bak Kut Teh

2008-04-10T19:46:00.004+10:00

We had Bak Kut Teh served with yam rice for dinner tonight. Bak Kut Teh literally translated to English means pork bone tea. The soup is brewed with a mixture of herbs and spices together with pork bones for hours to bring out the flavour.

It is a very popular dish in Malaysia and the best can be found in Klang where it originated from. Lots of KL-lite and PJ-ians would travel over an hour to Klang just to have a good hearty Bak Kut Teh. They would bring their own special Chinese tea leafs to drink while having the meal as it aids digestion and makes the meal less fatty. Bak Kut Teh is usually served with white rice but I am used to having it with yam rice.

Frying the dried shrimps, yam and rice before going into the rice cooker

Cooked yam rice. Sorry for the mess, took the photo half way through eating :P

Bowl of Bak Kut Teh with spare ribs, mushrooms, bean curd and tofu pok.

Shark Fin House

2008-04-08T22:54:00.009+10:00

Shark Fin House in Melbourne Chinatown is well known for its dim sum. It is 3 storeys high but still pack to the brim and near impossible to get tables especially on weekends. There are 3 seatings at most Chinese restaurants here that serve dim sum with the first one at 11:00am, second at 12:30pm and last at 1:30pm.

We decided to try their dinner last Saturday and were handed the chinese menu. This made no sense to us as we cannot read or write mandarin so the head waiter gave us an English version instead. The English menu was somewhat lacking as we could not find any claypot tofu dishes on it. So when we ordered, we asked the waitress whether they serve claypot tofu with salted fish and she said yes. We asked why it was not in the menu and she said it was in the Chinese menu. Anyway, our second dish we ordered was venison with XO sauce from the English menu.

Service in Shark Fin is just average, it is always hard to get the attention of the waiters. Luckily the food came out quick. The claypot tofu was a winner. It had lots of salted fish in it and the sauce was well balanced with the chicken, ginger, tofu and salted fish. As for the venison, it was a different story altogether. The ginger and spring onion was lacking, the meat had too much corn starch and the XO sauce did not make its presence felt.

I have a high suspicion that the venison dish has been tweaked to the Aussie taste buds whereas the claypot tofu has remained a traditional Chinese dish. We will be more mindful in future not to order from the English menu and to just order dishes we know in Cantonese. I did not take any photos of the dishes this time as there were too many people sitting close by. I personally think I should just patronize Shark Fin House for its dim sum as it is best known for that.

Kun Ming Restaurant

2008-04-07T19:23:00.005+10:00

We headed to our favourite Chinese restaurant, Kun Ming for dinner on Sunday night after the flower show. I love their double boiled soup as it is very nutritious, tasty, healthy and reminds me of a good home cook soup. They have 2 different types of double boiled soup everyday and it costs $5 a bowl. Keith and I will always have a bowl each and swap half way through.

We ordered vegetables with oyster mushroom and pan friend toothfish as our main dishes. The dishes were done to perfection. The vegetable was cooked just right, nice and crunchy while the oyster mushroom lend a delicate flavour. As for the toothfish, the skin was crispy while the flesh was moist, very smooth and soft. The snow peas presented with the toothfish received a thumbs up from me. You must try toothfish if you have not, it is quite similar to cod fish.

Pandan Cake

2008-04-07T19:18:00.007+10:00

I attempted to make my first pandan chiffon cake on my day off today. Unfortunately it did not rise enough and did not turn out soft and fluffy. It was rather moist, flattened and a tad heavy. Taste wise, it had enough pandan essence and coconut milk but it could have done better with a bit more sugar.

I am a bit disheartened at how the cake turned out. I suspect it had to do with the egg white mixture and folding in steps. It is also recommended on google that an aluminium tube mould pan be used over a non-stick one. Unfortunately, I could not find any that were not non-stick ones.

Anyway, we have to learn from mistakes so hopefully I will persevere and come up with a better pandan cake next time. I won't be posting the recipe until I master it. I have googled a whole heap of different recipes for the pandan cake, will see which one works best. On the upside, I had the cake with some kaya and it tasted delicious.

I could not resist taking photos of my failed pandan cake so here goes. Forgive the looks, as I had a hard time getting it out from the pan. I wiggled it too hard until part of it broke and dropped off. So please ignore my baking and presentation skills.

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show 2008

2008-04-07T13:07:00.014+10:00

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show was held in Carlton Gardens over 5 days with entry fee of $19.50 per adult. We went on Sunday expecting to see rows and rows of flowers but were disappointed. Instead we got rows and rows of stalls selling their products and massive crowd everywhere.

We then made it into the Royal Exhibition Building, a world heritage site. I loved the interior design and architecture of the building with the domes. In the building, there were exhibitions of floral arrangements by students, florists and creative art schools. Some of the designs were interesting as you can see from the photos.

Winner of the mannequin competition

Nasi Lemak

2008-04-04T22:38:00.006+11:00

Nasi Lemak is a Malaysian specialty and is also known as the unofficial national dish. It is coconut rice served with egg, cucumber, roasted peanuts, sambal ikan billis or chilli baby anchovies. It can come with chicken curry, beef rendang or chilli cuttlefish as accompaniments. In Malaysia you can buy a basic takeaway nasi lemak for just RM1 (approximtely A$0.35) minus the extras. It is usually wrapped in banana leaf and newspaper or brown paper shaped in pyramid style. It's the quickest way to satisfy ones craving for nasi lemak.

I usually get my nasi lemak from Sambal Kampung in Melbourne Chinatown as it is pretty close to the real deal. Last weekend, we decided to get it from a different place ie Banana Palm Curry House. I regretted that decision as the nasi lemak was a bit dissapointing. The coconut rice didn't have enough flavour and aroma while the chicken curry and beef rendang tasted bland. They both tasted like they were made from the same curry base. Price wise, it was pricier than Sambal Kampung. It is highly unlikely that I would return for the nasi lemak.

Potato and Caper Terrine with Tuna Steak

2008-03-31T00:14:00.006+11:00

This is a stunning recipe I got from Shannon Bennett's cook book entitled My French Vue. It's the best potato salad I've ever eaten. It has a burst of exciting flavours and texture. The ingredients all match and harmonize perfectly. Do give it a try if you can.

8 medium-sized kipfler potatoes
4 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 shallot, finely diced
4 tbsp fine lilliput capers
2 Ortiz anchovies, crushed
4 tbsp fried bacon or ham lardons
Sea salt and pepper
4 egg yolks
500ml vegetable oil
2 handfuls curly endive
1 tbsp olive oil
(Serves 4)

Put the kipfler potatoes into a pot of cold water, add 1 tbsp of salt and bring to boil. Cook until tender. Once cooked, drain and cool. When they are cool enough to touch, peel.

Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl, add the mayonnaise, shallot, capers, anchovies, bacon and salt and pepper, and mix well to crush the potatoes.

Divide the mixture into 4 portions and spoon the mixture into round rings to shape it. Press the mixture in well with the back of a spoon.

Put the vegetable oil into flat bottomed pot and warm over a low heat to approximately 60 degrees Celsius. Add the egg yolks carefully without breaking them, remove the pan from the heat and allow the yolks to warm through for 4 mins. Carefully remove the yolks with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper.

Remove the rings from the terrines and place an egg yolk on top of each. Put the curly endive into a small bowl with the olive oil and toss together. Place the dressed endive over and around the plate. Season the egg with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Mixture of ingredients After adding in the potatoes After spooning the mixture into a round ring Carefully adding the egg yolk on top We used rockets instead of endive as the local grocer did not have them. Chose to serve the terrine with tuna steak as our mains. Cut tuna steak to reveal it's pinkness in the centre the way I like them.

Black Glutinous Rice or Pulut Hitam

2008-03-30T10:53:00.007+11:00

I decided to put the crockpot or slow cooker to the test as we just bought one. I chose to make a black glutinous rice dessert or also known as pulut hitam in Malay. The ingredients I used are as follows.

1/2 cup of black glutinous rice
1/4 cup of white glutinous rice
2 litres of boiling hot water
2 pandan leaves, knotted
Add rock sugar to taste
Coconut milk

Add the rice together and soak for about an hour. I had run out of black glutinous rice so I added some white glutinous rice to make up for it. After soaking, add the rice to the slow cooker. Pour 2 kettles or 2 litres of boiling hot water to the crockpot and add the pandan leaves in. Put the crockpot on high for 2 hours. Then give it a stir and put it on low for the next 2 hours.

Add in rock sugar or normal sugar towards the end and give it a stir. Put it back on high for 30 minutes. Ready to serve. Dish out into individual bowls and add a tablespoon of coconut milk if you like. I didn't have any on hand so I had it plain.

Black glutinous rice Ready made dessert. You can see it's piping hot.

Chicken Porridge

2008-03-30T10:30:00.010+11:00

The weather in Victoria has suddenly changed to cold wintry conditions. Hopefully it's just a temporary situation and will warm up again as it's only just the start of autumn. Daylight saving will end for us on April 6th. It'll be 2 hours time difference between Malaysia and Australia instead of 3.

Woke up to a cold Saturday so I decided to boil some porridge for lunch. Here's my recipe. I take the easy way out by using a non-stick rice cooker.

1/2 a cup of jasmine rice
5 cups of water
1 tsp of shredded ginger
1/4 tsp of chicken stock powder
Shredded chicken
1 salted egg
2 century eggs
2 stalks of spring onions
2 tablespoons of fried shallot

Put the rice and water to boil for about 5 mins. Then add in ginger and chicken stock powder when hot. I don't have to do anything until towards the end of cooking time. After about 25 mins or so, depending on how soft you want your porridge to be, add in all the ingredients and give it a stir. Let the ingredients sit in the porridge for about 3 mins. Dish out the porridge into individual bowls and sprinkle spring onions and fried shallot. I also serve pickled cabbage and white "fu yi" or chilli bean curd that can be bought from Asian grocery stores as side accompaniments.

Shredded chicken, salted egg, century eggs and spring onionReady to serve chicken porridge
Pickled cabbage
Fu Yi or Chilli Bean Curd
After stirring my bowl of porridge

Kun Ming Restaurant and Guitar Hero III

2008-03-26T01:25:00.013+11:00

I had the day off on Tuesday as I worked through the weekend. Went to Melbourne and bought the hard to get game, Guitar Hero III for PS3. Believe me, I've been on the look out for the game since January. Each time I went to JB Hi-fi or EB Games they'd be out of stock. The game gained notoriety when an Aussie dad bought his son the $170 game for $10,000 on eBay as a Christmas present. Anyway, I finally got lucky on my most recent trip to JB Hi-fi. Hopefully Keith will be able to tolerate my bad guitar playing skills.

We went to Kun Ming Restaurant on 212 Little Bourke St, Melbourne for dinner as I was yearning for some Chinese food. I haven't had Chinese food for ages, probably 6 weeks or so with the exception of dim sum. As you know, a Chinese will need to have rice some point in time so my body was screaming "rice, rice, rice!".

We each ordered a soup as our starter. It was very tasty and I enjoyed it very much. For our mains, we had claypot beancurd with salted fish and a fried flounder fish with salt, chilli and pepper served with steamed rice of course. They were both delicious.

The flounder was a sensational contrast in texture between the moist fresh fish and crispy golden batter on the outside. The flounder was filleted and carcass was deep fried and used as a presentation bowl. The dish was finished off with fried garlic, chopped chillis, coriander, salt and pepper. It always never fails to attract glances from other tables.

The beancurd or tofu was another genuine dish. The salted fish was soaked for a long time and announced itself with occasional sparks of saltiness. It was as soft as the tofu. The chicken was slightly over tenderised but otherwise nicely balanced without too much liquid as you get in some other restaurants.

We have eaten dinner at Kun Ming 4-5 times and have always enjoyed the Cantonese style dishes. The restaurant was surprisingly busy on a Tuesday night. I would not hesitate to recommend Kun Ming. Not too expensive, tasty and caters to Chinese tastebuds.

Spaghetti Carbonara

2008-03-24T19:20:00.002+11:00

This is what we had for dinner tonight.

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T13:45:00.009+11:00

Happy Easter everyone! I got lots of chocs from friends and colleagues. Don't know what to do with them as I'm not that big a fan. I do eat them, but not all the time. Give me Pringles potato chips anytime! Here's a pic of the choc bunny that my friend requested me to take. Maybe I'll save it for her when she comes visit :)Back to the fruits that I bought, the custard apples weren't sweet at all and flesh kinda hard. Not anything like what I had back in Malaysia. I guess it must be a different variety as they were imported from Vietnam. The persimmons and longans on the other hand were so sweet and crunchy. I've loved persimmons since young except that they aren't always in season so I don't get to eat them very often. Longans are great when chilled except that if you eat too much and don't drink enough water, you're likely to loose your voice and get a sore throat.

Yay to Kimi and Ferrari for winning the F1 in Sepang yesterday. Massa could have come second but somehow lost control of his car and did not finish the race. I hope they both do well in Bahrain in a fortnight's time.

Last night, Keith made lamb shanks in our new crock pot and served it with mashed potato. His mash is the best! It's very light, smooth and fluffy.

Food Review

2008-03-19T00:48:00.012+11:00

I had the day off today so we went to Melbourne. I had Vietnamese beef noodle or better known as pho for lunch in Richmond. The soup was very tasty. I think I've found the best pho shop in Richmond although I've only sampled 3 others so far and there's many more of them in the vicinity. Keith had the chicken noodle soup which was equally good. Reminds me of the "kway teow teng" in PJ State. The drinks however weren't as good. Keith had the jackfruit shake while I had the soursop shake. It was rather watery and flat in taste. For those who want to give this shop a try, it's called Pho Dzung Tan Dinh located on 208 Victoria St, Richmond.

After lunch, we went shopping. I bought some hard to get fruits such as custard apples, longans (or mata kuching) and persimmons. It didn't come cheap. Later in the evening, we went to Lygon St for some Italian food. Keith's Italian friend recommended us Il Gambero although he warned us that he last went there 15 years ago. We ordered a small prosciutto pizza and two entree size pastas ie. the gnocchi with bolognese sauce and spaghetti marinara. The pizza crust was too dry while the prosciutto was overcooked. As for the gnocchi, some were shaped too big and the sauce a bit too sour. The spag marinara was too garlicky and the little prawns felt like they came out of the freezer. Forgetting my camera yet again, I used Keith's motorola phone to capture the food hence the poor pic quality. Anyway I'm glad we ordered small portions as I was saving space for dessert at Brunetti. We headed to Brunetti, a short distance away located on Faraday St, Carlton. My eyes immediately widen with excitement at all the cakes, cookies and chocolates. It's a big cafe occupying 5 shops lots. I had a hard time deciding what to order but we eventually settled for a New York cheesecake, creme caramel with chocolate shavings, an ice choc and a hot choc. The place was pack even on a Tuesday. The cakes and drinks were quite good although a tad sweet. I suspect people with sweet teeth would have a field day at Brunetti's.

F1 Australia 2008

2008-03-16T22:46:00.018+11:00

16th March 2008 - The day I watched Formula One live at a circuit for the first time. I've been an ardent fan of F1 since early 2000 with Ferrari being my favourite team and Michael Schumacher my hero. I seldom ever miss a race that's shown on tv. Pity I never got to see Michael racing in real life. Now that Schumi (or "tar-shu-ma-ke" like the way the Chinese say it) has retired, I don't follow the F1 as closely anymore.

There have been rumours of Bernie Ecclestone not wanting to renew the contract with Melbourne when it expires in 2010 unless we hold a night race. So while it's still in Albert Park, Melbourne I thought I'd make the most of it and experience race day. We caught a train from Geelong and took a tram from Spencer St station right to St Kilda Gate 2. We arrived at 1pm fully decked in our Ferrari gear and bought the general admission ticket for $99 per person. It was sweltering hot, 39 degrees C was the forecast. It felt much hotter than that on track. We slathered sunscreen on our exposed skin. The race didn't start till 3:30pm so we wandered around the park. They had air shows, V8 racing and drivers parade before the race started.

Anyway 3:30pm finally came and we got to see a handful of cars crashing out in front of us on the first lap. How interesting! The roaring sounds of the F1 cars were just exhilarating. I bought a pair of ear plugs to drown out some of the sound. Lewis Hamilton, driver for McLaren Mercedes was in a class of his own and won the race. Ferrari with Kimi and Massa had a rather rough time. They both didn't finish the race but Kimi managed to score 1 point by coming in 8th. As you can imagine, only a total of 7 cars finished the entire race.

Surprise, surprise, we didn't stay to the end. We left after about 20 laps as we couldn't stand the heat and dust, plus we knew that Ferrari wasn't going to get a good finish so it was home time for us. We were so dehydrated and flustered that we had to stop at Gloria Jeans to cool down. The mango chiller I had was such a welcome! When I got home, my face, legs and arms were covered in so much dust and soot. I had to shampoo my hair twice and scrub my skin clean. I reckon I won't go to the circuit to watch another race unless the weather is nice and cool. I don't think Sepang and Bahrain would be very welcoming either in the searing heat. I much prefer the nice cool comfort and big screen of our own home. Plus you get to see the whole track on tv and not just one particular section.

My F1 receipt and ticketMe in the sunFerrari trying to catch up to Red Bull The crowd

View of the grandstand and happy snappers/filmers

New beginning

2008-03-15T23:35:00.006+11:00

I'm back to being slack in updating my blog again. During the 2 weeks I've been away, Malaysia has had her election and formed government. For the first time in history, the ruling and leading party suffered a major blow by losing 5 out of 13 states i.e. Perlis, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan to the opposition. Here's hoping the change would be good for the country.

Politics aside, my dad had a cataract operation on his right eye which was a success. He'll have the left one done in a month's time.

We also had a friend from Perth who stayed with us for 4 days. He is Keith's best friend and loves cooking too so I was spoilt with good food every night.

I finally got to eat at La Luna Bistro in Rathdowne St, North Carlton . It's located in a lovely area with nice shady trees around. I had oysters as entree and the spicy sicilian beef ragout gnocchi as the main which I enjoyed very much. Dessert was a tasting plate for 3 so we got to sample 6 different desserts. I'd definitely go back again although the price might be a tad expensive for a bistro. My only regret is not bringing my camera along to snap happy food snaps.

Part 4 - Dinner at Rockpool

2008-03-04T00:34:00.007+11:00

Finally, Part 4 of 2nd March '08! We went to Rockpool for dinner at 8:45pm. Having no reservation, they sat us at the bar area. Surprisingly, the bar area was just as comfortable as the main sitting area. The only difference was that we didn't have the Yarra River view but had plenty of wine bottles to ogle at. I was expecting to be put on to high stools and cramped bar tops. Instead, we were seated in nice comfortable chairs as per photo below.
Not feeling too hungry, I ordered a Wagyu Spaghetti Bolognese priced at $28. It was the best Spagbog I've eaten although the serving was a bit small for the price. I don't think I'll have it again because no matter how good the chef is, how exciting and adventurous can one get with a spagbog anyway?The table next to ours had a Wagyu hamburger which looked more tempting to me. Must try that next time.

Keith had a T-bone steak which was done to perfection as a medium rare. You can see how red it still is from the 2nd picture. The meat was tender, juicy and had a wonderful grilled taste to it. The best!
We ordered a side plate of roasted mushrooms which was quite good but the portion simply too large for the 2 of us. For dessert we had a summer strawberry salad with rose granita. I've had it 3 times now and it's one of my firm favourites. Keith ordered a praline mille-feuille which is a pastry with pralines in between. The serving was huge again. We were in a hurry to finish our dessert as we had to rush to the car park before it closed at 10pm. In our hurry, we forgot to take pics. We had 5 minutes to scoff everything down so we didn't enjoy the dessert as much as we could have. And wow, I've finally finished telling my tale!

Part 3 - Melbourne International Motor Show

2008-03-03T23:32:00.017+11:00

There was a huge crowd at the motor show. The ticket lines were taking forever. It costed $18 per person. I snapped away happily at the cars and also sat in some to test the leg space and interior. The Fiat 500 was a hit with everyone. It's so cute and stylish. Here's some photos of them. I wonder if they'll be the next big thing after the minis and beetles. Retail price in Australia starts from $23k. Anyway enjoy the shots!

The Fiat 500 in green, white and red. Colours of Italy.

Alonso's new F1 ride for team Renault. (It was the only F1 car on display!!!)

Audi R8
Ferrari
Maserati
Lamborghini
Interior of the Lambo. Lovely seats!!! So plush and luxurious.
Another Lambo.Guess who?? Meeeeee! hehehe.. taking photos of the crowd with my mini Olympus. I haven't downloaded my pics but have conveniently cut and paste from Keith's photopage *grin*.

Part 2 - Crown Entertainment Complex

2008-03-03T23:11:00.006+11:00

After lunch at Red Emperor, we walked along Southbank which was crowded with people as they were having the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. There were many participating winemakers who set up booths for wine tasting. This did not come free. One had to purchase a ticket costing $25 before being allowed to try the wines on offer. Rather reasonable I would say. However, we did not stay as we were on our way to the Melbourne International Motor Show held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

On our way, we walked through Crown Hotel/Entertainment Complex to escape the scorching sun. It was a good move as there was an interesting photographic exhibition and gourmet experience displayed in the atrium by New York photographer Melanie Dunea. She had gathered some of the world's finest chef and asked them, ‘What would you eat for your final meal?’ It was pretty interesting to read what the chefs had to say. Among them were Tetsuya, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Neil Perry and Nobu. I couldn't help posing for a photo with Gordon Ramsay in the background. His show "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare" is one of my current favourite minus the F*** word he loves uttering. Here's a photo of me and him.
Moving on, I couldn't resist getting my favourite durian ice cream from a Japanese food stall in Crown's food arcade. They make the best durian ice cream in Melbourne. Enough to satisfy my durian craving. Their sweet corn is delicious too.

Part 1 - Lunch at Red Emperor

2008-03-03T22:18:00.006+11:00

Sunday 2/3 was a lovely bright sunny day. We went to Southbank for dim sum at Red Emperor. It was our first time as all the other times we went by, they were fully booked. We would then end up in Miyako, a Japanese restaurant just next door. I especially love the green tea and seafood fried rice. It's one of the best I've eaten.

Anyway back to Red Emperor, we got there at 3:15pm. On Sundays, their kitchen stays open until 4pm for lunch, so there were still trays of hot piping dim sum being pushed out on trolleys. We got about 9 different dim sum dishes, mostly steamed. It's the best I've eaten so far in Melbourne but it's quite pricey so you get what you pay. It costed us $72. Red Emperor is owned by the same owners as Taipan in Doncaster East.

I like the dim sum in Taipan too. Taipan serves bigger portions at cheaper prices, wider variety of dim sum to choose from, more tables available albeit the further driving distance. So it depends on what you are after, both are equally good. As usual, I was too hungry and forgot to take photos of the dainty dim sum dishes at Red Emperor . I would definitely go back for another meal.

Hello March

2008-03-03T21:55:00.014+11:00

First blog for month of March 2008. On Saturday 1/3, we stayed home as we invited 4 guests over for lunch. We bought 2.5kg worth of eye fillet to feed everyone. Keith had the honour of cooking again. He served the steak with scallop potatos and roasted beetroot. For dessert we had apple pie and vanilla ice cream. I managed to take photos of the steak and potatos.Look at the amount of steak!!!

Yummy baked scallop potatos.

I also had my first taste of vodka cruiser cool lime drink by Kristov that sell for $4 a bottle. It was refreshing and sweet. It comes in various flavours such as passionfruit, raspberry, lemon, pineapple, orange and blueberry. Back in uni days, we used to drink subzero as that was the only ready to drink pre-mixed alcoholic drink available. These days we are spoilt with so many choices.

Anyway, some of our guests stayed on for dinner and Keith made a salmon caesar salad. I was too sleepy and tired by then to take photos of dinner. The meal was perfect after such a heavy lunch. Needed more veggies to balance off. It was close to midnight by the time we had the house to ourselves again. I'm so thankful to have a dishwasher!!! :)

Happy Leap Year

2008-02-29T18:33:00.005+11:00

Happy Leap Year! February 2008 seems to be a very busy blogging month for me. This will be the 19th post, the most I've posted in a month since joining blogspot. Yay to that :)

My Childhood Photos

2008-02-27T23:00:00.017+11:00

I stumbled upon an envelope containing a handful of my childhood photos. Unfortunately the condition of the photos are terrible due to water marks left. Thanks to Keith who used his digital camera to retake the photos, I can now post them up. He did some photoshopping, touching up and cropping but not much can be done to salvage some of them. Don't I look like a tomboy in my younger days? And look, I'm not playing with barbie dolls! I'm playing warriors and soldiers instead. hehhehe...

Crab spaghetti

2008-02-26T17:30:00.003+11:00

I found this old photo taken 4 years ago or so. I thought it looked cute although I had to take the crab shell away from my plate before eating as I didn't feel comfortable having the crab stare at me. It was a very delicious meal made by Keith and it was also about the same time he got cured of his allergy to seafood.

Australian Youth Orchestra

2008-02-23T14:13:00.002+11:00

I had the pleasure of attending the Australian Youth Orchestra with Keith and Andrew at the Melbourne Town Hall last Tuesday. Andrew invited us as his guests as it was sponsored by his company Accenture. It was conducted by Rossen Milanov and we listened to 3 pieces by Rachmaninov, Mozart and Mahler over a length of 2 1/2 hours. I enjoyed Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in D Major the most. It was a most enjoyable experience.

After the performance, we proceeded to the cocktail function. There we met the conductor, performers and the Melbourne Lord Mayor John So with his wife. We got lucky and chatted with the Lord Mayor for a bit. The couple were very friendly and down to earth. We listened to some thank you speeches from the organizers and congratulated the conductor and soloist, Lin Jiang who played Mozart's Concerto for the Horn. I hope to attend more classical performances in the near future :)

Yee Sang or Raw Fish Salad

2008-02-23T13:25:00.006+11:00

Being Chinese New Year and all, I had a craving for Yee Sang. I started googling up restaurants in Melbourne that serve the dish. It was quite a tough job until I stumbled onto a blog by a Malaysian in Melbourne. She didn't provide the name of the restaurant she went to except that it was a Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown. So I googled up Malaysian restaurants in the vicinity but still didn't have much luck. In the end, I sent her a private message to ask her about it. Thankfully, she replied within 24 hours. Her recommendations were Banana Palm Curry House (first preference) and Westlake. The great lengths I go to in looking for food!

Two days later, I got Keith to get the Yee Sang for me. Banana Palm was closed so he got it from Westlake. It didn't come cheap but I finally got to eat it. However it had too much sauce, wasn't sweet enough, a bit too sour, no pomelos, not enough turnip and peanuts. Maybe because Westlake is HK owned and not Malaysian hence the slightly different taste. Banana Palm would have been a better choice being a Malaysian restaurant. Here's photos of the takeaway yee sang.
Verdict : I much prefer the ones in Malaysia including my Mum's homemade one. I should ask her for the recipe next time. However, it satisfied my craving for Yee Sang so I'm happy to wait for another year before my craving comes back ;)

Through googling, I learned that it's a Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese community thing to serve Yee Sang on the seventh day of Chinese New Year. It's slowly gaining popularity in Hong Kong but not as widespread yet.

Coated Chicken fillet with goats cheese and pesto

2008-02-23T12:55:00.005+11:00

While surfing the forums we came across this recipe. Curious to try, we went to the shops and bought the ingredients. The coating consisted of Kelloggs bread crumbs, finely chopped parsley, little bit of powdered parmesan cheese and a beaten egg. The chicken fillet was butterflied and flattened with a heavy roller. We added goats cheese and pesto into the centre and folded the chicken over the fillings, securing it with toothpicks. After that we coated the chicken, sprayed some olive oil and popped them into the oven. The outer layer turned out crispy and golden brown while the goats cheese and pesto added flavour to the chicken. Having tried it, I would add some ham into the filling to make it tastier. We served it with Greek salad (bought readymade from Safeway) which paired off well with the chicken.

Road Trip from Perth to Melbourne

2008-02-17T19:29:00.005+11:00

Here's a map of the roadtrip Keith and I took in Jan 2006. Pity, I didn't have a blog back then. Our trip lasted about 3 weeks as we made many stops along the way. The red line shows our exact journey. It's definitely something you MUST do if you live in Australia.

Beggar's Chicken

2008-02-17T19:23:00.006+11:00

Keith made beggar's chicken a while ago. Here's some shots I took.

Vietnamese

2008-02-16T16:06:00.007+11:00

After reading a random blog's recommendation to try the 'pho' or Vietnamese beef noodle in Richmond, I pestered Keith to take me there. There's easily 20 over Vietnamese restaurants in the vicinity. We've only tried one other shop so far. I went for the traditional beef special whereas Keith was more adventurous in ordering the Vietnamese beef stew. The traditional beef was good whereas the stew was a bit oily. I don't think I'd rate this shop as my favourite so I'm still on a hunt to find the best 'pho' shop in Melbourne.

This is a sushi sponge cake with pork floss from BreadTop. It's really good. I'm a fan of it now :)

Valentines Day Dinner

2008-02-16T16:04:00.008+11:00

We had grilled field mushrooms for dinner on Valentines. It was most delicious as I'm a big fan of mushrooms or mushbiliks like what me and Keith call them ;) One of them had a mushroom pate spread while the other had the pesto spread with breadcrumbs on top. They were grilled in the oven and then served on a bed of rocket and spinach leaves. Absolutely delicious although the photos may not do it justice :)

CNY in Melbourne Chinatown

2008-02-10T20:37:00.000+11:00

We went to the CNY celebration held in Melbourne Chinatown this afternoon. They closed Little Bourke St and Russell St and had lots of CNY stalls set up. The food stalls were the most popular. I wanted to get some yong tau foo and satay sticks but the queue went on forever so we gave that a miss. There were also 3 lion dances and a dragon dance going on with lots of red firecrackers going off. The atmosphere was definitely lively. We bought lots of CNY junkies as well :) Here's some lame shots I took of the lion dance.

Top 100 Restaurant in Australia

2008-02-10T20:32:00.000+11:00

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the top 100 restaurant list compiled by the Australian Gourmet Traveller.

Thank you from Brigid and Ben.

2008-02-09T18:02:00.001+11:00

We had to return Willow to Brigid and Ben on Sunday night. *Sniff*sniff* I love that pup so much. Look at what they got us in return.

The card reads :- Dear Swee and Keith, Thank you so much for the lovely meal on Thursday night and taking great care of our little Willow while we were away. She loved being around you guys, especially the cuddles and special meals!!! From Brigid and Ben. Hi Aunty Swee and Uncle Keith, I had lots of fun at your house and hope I can come and visit again soon. Love from Willow.

Isn't that cute? Thanks so much guys! Really love it.

Willow's Blog

2008-02-09T17:39:00.001+11:00

Ok ok, take my photos. Make sure you give me a treat though!
Hurry up!!! Are we done yet???? I'm getting bored... I think I need to wee....
*Phew* Out in the garden at last. Now, where shall i mark my territory?? *Look left*Look right* Can I pretty please have my foodddddd? Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee? *YUM*YUM* Steak and hash browns!!!
Pork chop with parsnips and cucumbers with my name on it! *Yipee*
Ahhhhhh such a yummy bone! Leave me aloneeee. I want to enjoy my bone in peace. No more photosssss.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

2008-02-06T22:17:00.000+11:00

I would like to wish my family and friends a very Happy Chinese New Year. It's bye bye pig year and hello rat year in two hour's time. It'll be my second time missing out on CNY celebrations with my family. Thus, I'm feeling a bit sad and lonely.

Reunion dinner on the eve of CNY is what I always look forward to with mum's delicious cooking and the whole family reunited and eating together. Today, I had a solo meal of leftover indian curry with saffron rice for dinner as Keith had to go to Melbourne. How sad is that. Well the lack of festive spirit over here makes it easier and it'll just be another working day in Australia.

There'll be a CNY celebration in Melbourne Chinatown on Sunday 10th Feb so I'm hoping to go. I bought some pineapple tarts and love letters as comfort food for the festive period. I miss eating the sweet mandarin oranges or "lo kam" as the Chinese call it. I can easily eat 3 in a day if they're really sweet and juicy. Here's wishing Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone. Love, peace and prosperity throughout the year :)

P/S: On an exciting note, we had two fire alarms going off at work today. One was in the morning and the second in the evening. That took about an hour off work just standing in the field waiting for the firemen to give us the green light to go back into the building. Turned out to be a faulty cable. Well, at least everyone's safe and we know that the fire brigades here are very efficient as they got to the office swiftly on both occasions.

Dinner at Empire Grill

2008-02-03T12:17:00.001+11:00

We had dinner at Empire Grill in Geelong last night. Surprisingly the food was quite good. Keith had onion soup as his entree while I had king prawn with avocado flan and rice wine jelly. I forgot to take photos of them. For mains, I had wagyu steak with mashed potatos, caramelised onion, and tomato. Keith had the rib eye fillet with roast potatos and herb butter. I thought mine was better. We shared a frozen nougat with strawberry and raspberry glace as dessert. Too bad the photo turned out bad as it was overexposed. Wouldn't mind going back to sample more of what they have to offer.

Photos of my house

2008-02-03T12:14:00.001+11:00

Here's some shots of my new house which KatKat asked me to take. Pics aren't that good as I'm using my old Olympus camera.

More photos of Willow

2008-02-03T12:04:00.000+11:00

More shots of Willow. She's enjoying her dried pig's ear from the pet shop.

My Name is Willow! Woof Woof!

2008-02-01T21:29:00.001+11:00

Guess what? I'm babysitting my friend's puppy Willow for the weekend! Isn't she gorgeous? :) She's a lovely 6 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Very cuddly, gentle, affectionate, curious, entertaining, playful and smart. She loves sitting on my lap, licking my face and jumping into bed. She's got such lovely eyes and likes staring at me with her big round eyes. She knows how to signal to us that she needs to go out into the garden for a poo or wee. As much as I sound like a doting mum, she adores Keith. She follows him everywhere! Guess she knows who cooks and feeds her :P We went to the pet shop and bought her some toys and snacks.

I've taken a photo of the dinner Keith prepared her tonight. She wouldn't let her bone go and chewed on it for at least 2 hours. Must be tired out from it as she's happily sleeping on my lap as I type. She doesn't like drinking water and her water bowl goes untouched. Is this normal? She'll take a few licks when I cup what little water there is into my palm. That's the only way she'll drink. Can't get her owner for advise as she's in a remote part of Australia with no phone reception.

Steak, steak and more steak

2008-01-28T01:02:00.001+11:00

I took Keith out to dinner at Parker's Steakhouse in Geelong on his birthday but the meal was a real let down. We ordered a steak each but it wasn't tasty at all and the sauce was just so 70's. I ended up nauseated with a stomach ache so had to rush him through his meal as I wanted to go home. So much for listening to people's recommendation. Not going to step back there ever again.

We celebrated Australia Day on Saturday, 26th Jan, by going to the Maritime club and getting on to a ship that was docked in Williamstown. The ship's gearbox had broken so they had to wait for parts to arrive from Italy before making the trip back to Sydney. Here's a shot of me on the ship.

Later in the evening, we went to Melbourne CBD as I wanted to watch the fireworks. Had dinner at the Brasserie in Crown, a French restaurant with French waitresses and cute French accents. Anyway, we had steak again but it was overdone this time so we had to send the food back to the kitchen. While waiting, they served us a deep fried prawn entree which was pretty delicious. The steak came out proper the 2nd time around. It tasted great but the sauce was a bit too rich. After dinner, we sat along the Yarra river waiting for the fireworks. It came on but boy was I pissed :P The fireworks were litted from a different angle to where I was sitting and I could barely see it due to the skyscrapers. Grrrr... what a waste of time. It was far too short, lasting just 5 minutes and only got glimpses of the fireworks atop one of the buildings. I've been warned anyway that Melbourne fireworks on Australia Day is nothing compared to Perth's.

On Sunday, I took Keith to Rockpool for his birthday dinner again since Parker's was such a letdown. Here is Keith's review on Rockpool which I stole from one of the forums he posted on as I'm being lazy here ;) Wish I had brought the camera along to snap food piccies. Here goes. Oh yes, we had steak AGAIN :P haha.

Entree: Grilled white asparagus with mushrooms, soft boiled egg and escargots
Simply amazing. The escargots and mushrooms were grilled to perfection such that the edges of the escargots were just so slightly caramelized, which contributed to an incredible depth of flavour. This was balanced by the sauce which had a hint of acidity to lighten up the dish. The asparagus spears were probably cooked a little beyond al dente for my liking but there was nothing wrong with the dish otherwise.

Entree: Steak tartare on lettuce with chips
Before I ordered this I wanted to be sure that it would be light. Previous dining experiences at Rockpool has taught me that the entrees are substantial enough to be called mini mains in their own right. After getting an assurance from the waiter I ordered it. I was surprised when they plopped down a very generous serve of tartare! The waiter said that she was surprised when she saw how large it was.

So once again I tried to analyze the tartare to see what was in it (so I can replicate it at home). Egg yolk, finely chopped beef, chives, a touch of dill, red onions, and some peppercorns. But obviously there was more - I could taste but could not see. The tartare was slightly less delicate than tartares I have had elsewhere, but when eaten with the lettuce and radicchio the flavour became much more balanced.

Main: 36 month old ribeye, aged 45 days, chargrilled to medium rare (750gm - shared for two)
An old mainstay of ours. These guys are so good at making steak that every time we have visited, it is done exactly the same way - outside charred with a delicious smoky aroma, about 2mm of steak which is well done, and the rest a delicious pink-red with all the juices still in the meat. They are so certain that the focus should be the steak that they serve it simply - white plate, steak in the middle. They have resisted the temptation to overload the dish with garnish. There is nothing else on the plate.

How the steak is done is a mystery to me - if I attempted to cook it that pink at home, the steak would still be tough and stringy. Not here, it is melt-in-the-mouth. Cut the steak, and the juices don't come out. The juices are only released when you bite into it. I know to rest my steak but it still does not come out like this.

Side: Zucchini with garlic, mint, and burnt butter
The zucchini was cooked to perfection with only the slightest hint of mint on the nose. It was very nice, but even the best chefs cannot make me love zucchini and I wish I had ordered the mushrooms, or the carrots, or the potato-cabbage gratin which I have previously had (and were very nice).

Dessert: Raspberry Bombe
The first of our killer desserts. You really go to Rockpool to try their innovative appetizers and desserts, and this dessert was out of this world. A core of raspberry ice cream with a hint of bitterness (citrus zest, maybe?), with a lemon meringue and egg white coating, flambeed with Cointreau. This had many flavours which really should not go together, but was somehow assembled with such skill that everything was perfectly balanced. You can imagine that if they added a touch too much bitterness, or a touch too much lemon, the dish would be ruined. After I finished the dessert I marvelled at how they managed to achieve this balance. Truly impressive - the highlight of the night.

Dessert: Cherry Trifle
Served in a glass with brandied cherries at the bottom, a jelly and biscuit (?) layer, with a brandied cream on top. Ground pralines (I think?) were added for some contrast in texture. Once again, a masterpiece. The flavours were not as contrary or as unexpected as the Raspberry Bombe, so this dessert is not as daring or exciting on the palate. Once again, this was culinary perfection.

The wine was a 2005 Chateau Simon Bize Burgundy - a real Burgundy which means Pinot Noir. Smooth and elegant but without much nose or length. Cheap for a Burgundy Pinot served in a top class restaurant at $95.

Hifi weekend

2008-01-15T15:59:00.000+11:00

It's the 15th day of the New Year. Exactly a month since we moved to our new place. I've tried taking photos of our new house as per KatKat and sleepiekoala's request but they came out crappy. The house is too compartmentalised to take decent photos. Can't get whole shots of an area so no photos I'm afraid.

I haven't had the chance to be on the computer much as both the desktops decided to play up. We've only got the Vaio laptop so can't stay on it for too long.

My recent weekend was great. Had some friends over for lunch and a listen to our hi-fi system. After that, we went to Carrum Downs and Glen Waverley to listen to their systems. Stayed overnight in Glen Waverley. Went for dim sum at Taipan, Doncaster East next morning. It's easily the best dim sum in Melbourne. Glad that there were 9 of us so we had a feast sampling the various dim sums. Wished I had brought the camera along. After the heavy lunch, we went to Mornington Peninsula to listen to yet another friend's hi-fi system. It was a bit of a drive but worth the journey. By the time we got back to our own home it was 9pm. Time sure flies when you are enjoying yourself.

Happy Birthday Dad! :)

2008-01-10T23:50:00.000+11:00

Today is dad's birthday. He turns 65. Happy birthday, dad! Love you :) Hugs and kisses XOXOXO

Goodbye 2007 and Welcome 2008!

2008-01-01T22:03:00.000+11:00

First day of a brand new year. How can I not blog :) As we say goodbye to 2007 I want to recap what the year had been for me.

Jan - Can't remember much but celebrated Keith's birthday.

Feb - Signed up for blogspot thanks to sleepiekoala. Went home to Malaysia to celebrate CNY. Caught up with my aunt and uncle who visited us from Canada.
Mar - Back to Australia with mum who stayed for a fortnight. Keith started work in Mt Isa, Qld. Keith also bought me a PS3.
Apr - Went to Sydney for a holiday with Keith during Easter and he bought a pair of hi-fi speakers.

May - Got our Audi back. Mum and dad got a shih tzu dog which I've yet to meet.
Jun - Saw snow and got on to the skis for the very first time in Mt Buller.

Jul - Kar Mun from Malaysia came to visit for few days. Went skiing in Mt Hotham and sprained my knee. Found facebook. Went to Phillip Island and saw the little fairy penguins.
Aug - The moon turned blood orange during a spectacular lunar eclipse. Final series of Harry Potter released.

Sep - Geelong won the AFL Grand Final. Keith finished work in Mt Isa and went to Perth without me :P

Oct - Killed my poor notebook. Help Keith build his ship model.

Nov - Keith's family visited. Celebrated his mum's 60th birthday. Celebrated my birthday as well and got my first Chanel handbag as a birthday present. Visited Yarra Valley wineries. Bought a new Sony Vaio lappy. Ai Ling posted a birthday tribute to me on her blog :)
Dec - A shark attacked a kangaroo in Torquay beach when the roo went for a swim. Benazir Bhutto assassinated. Moved out of Torquay to Geelong.

I guess that about sums 2007 for me. Might have left some events out but that's what I can think of for now. Looking forward to 2008. Happy new year everyone :)

Ouch and Yum

2007-12-30T22:06:00.000+11:00

I woke up on the wrong side of bed and pulled my neck and left shoulder muscles. I can't move my head to the left or look up as it hurts like crazy. Driving to work was such a chore especially when I had to look to the left and right for traffic when turning. Never experienced such muscle pain before. I hope the pain goes away soon. Wonder if old age is catching up :(

Keith took a bit of the pain away by cooking up a scrumptious meal tonight. Photos as below. I love the potatoes best.

Dunno what to blog

2007-12-29T22:07:00.000+11:00

I check blogs belonging to my friends on a daily basis but yet am so lazy to update my own. Feeling uninspired at the moment and don't know what to blog about. Christmas has come and gone. 2008 is fast approaching but have no resolutions. Wanted to watch the fireworks in Melbourne but Keith's working until 10pm NY's eve so I'll just have to watch it on TV.

We are almost done with the unpacking. Truth be told, Keith did most of the unpacking and arranging of stuff. If it was me, most of the things would still be in the boxes. So thanks for the hardwork darl! :)

Boxing day and year end sales have started but I've been staying away from the shops. Wonder how long it'll last. I've got a list of things I want to get like a pair of thongs (sandals :P), a pair of shorts, knee length cotton pants and a few baby tees/ polos. I've put on weight so my old baby tees are too tight now... don't like over clingy tops that show my fats. And yes, I'm shopping for summer clothes cos it's getting rather hot. The temperature went up to 37 degrees C today and is forecasted to be 43 degrees C on new year's eve. Help.

Anyway, I'm off to play on the PS3 :) If I don't blog before year end, I'd like to wish my family and friends a very happy new year. Cheers to 2008!

Unpack, unpack, unpack sigh

2007-12-16T23:41:00.000+11:00

Friday 14th December, we moved into our new place in Highton. It took the movers 13 hours to load our stuff from Torquay and to unload in Highton. There were just two of them and they were working at a really slow pace hence the long hours. We had to help them too. It was 10pm by the time they finished.

First thing we set up was our bed. Next was the computer. Saturday we had to go back to Torquay to clean the house, took us 5 hours. By the time we finished, our body was aching all over. Back in Highton, we still had to unpack and Keith got his hifi set up. Our first meal at home was Indian takeaway. Sunday we got the TV, ps3 and wii hooked :) Went to JB Hifi to get some cables and a new ps3 game, Assassin. Doubt I'll have much time to play it though. Also bought a Kris Kringle pressie for a colleague which we are going to exchange at work tomorrow.

There's still heaps of stuff to unpack, don't know how long it's going to take us. The good thing about this place is there's a dishwasher, ducted air conditioning and heating. The night scene is also beautiful with the city lights. Plus we have a special study where Keith and I get to sit next to one another on our own computers haha. So there's 3 computers to play on now, ie. 2 desktops and 1 laptop :) The other thing that I'm happy about is finding my long lost childhood friend. Imagine having no contact with her ever since Standard 3, only to find her on facebook. The sweet thing is she remembers me too! Cheers to facebook :)

Now that we are living in Highton, we are slowly discovering more of Geelong. Ate at a chinese restaurant which is the only place that serves dim sum! It wasn't good at all. So looks like we still have to drive to Melbourne for our dim sum fix. Not complaining though ;) Anyway, good night for now.

Christmas Party

2007-12-09T20:18:00.000+11:00

Keith hosted a Christmas party for his forum mates from stereonet. I've taken photos of the leftovers :P Sorry didn't have a chance to take them beforehand as there were too many people and felt embarassed snapping photos with so many people around.

1) Prawn served with seafood cocktail sauce

2) Raw salmon slices with Asian salad, fried shallots and Keith's secret sauce. Sorry no slices of salmon left in the photo :(

3) Caesar Salad. Sorry no croutons, bacon or cheese left.

4) Roast leg of ham with cloves, honey mustard and fennel.

5) 1/8th left of a strawberry mousse with sponge cake

6) Some of the wine we had. There were more but did not bother taking photos of them all.

We also had 2 roast chickens with stuffing but they were wiped clean so no photos of that unless you want to see carcasses :P hehe. It was a very yummy lunch and Keith did all the cooking while I did the washing :)

P/S: I was thinking of KatKat when having the strawberry mousse cake too! I know sleepiekoala's cake looks nicer though :P Hmm... I wonder what cake KatKat is having since we all have cakes to eat to celebrate KatKat's birthday. By the way, I love those old photos sleepiekoala posted of KatKat in college and uni days :)

Hello New House

2007-12-02T21:25:00.000+11:00

We will be moving out of our existing house in Torquay as the owners want to move back in. We have also secured a new place to rent in Highton, Geelong. I have about 2 weeks to pack and unpack. So it's going to be a busy month, with Christmas and New Year coming up as well.

Our new place in Highton is far away from the beach but sits on very high ground. So we get to have a very scenic view of Geelong from the balcony. It's a fairly new housing estate and is nice and quiet. It'll be much closer to my workplace and Melbourne. Plus, the weather will be at least 2 degrees Celcius warmer than Torquay. I'm already picturing in my mind how to decorate the house. Some random shots of the new house.

My 32nd Birthday

2007-11-28T00:23:00.000+11:00

Oh dear... I'm 32 years old now. Lived almost half a lifetime. The day started normal, having to work. Got birthday wishes and kisses from colleagues. Keith took me out for a nice dinner at Scorched Restaurant in Torquay. Spoke to my family on the phone for 30 minutes, miss them.

Was about to call it a night when I decided to login to facebook. Then I received an email from sleepiekoala asking me to check her blog. And when I did, boy did my whole face light up. I couldn't stop laughing and giggling looking at the photos and the posts she made. What old memories it conjured. She's such a dear, still keeping old postcards and scribblings from me 12 years ago. I wonder what other rubbish I wrote! Those were the days when we were so carefree and crazy. I really cherish the time and wonderful friendship we built. Not forgetting KatKat and Jo too, they might get upset if I don't mention them ;) So here's to you wonderful babes. Cheers!

And once again, thanks sleepiekoala for making my day. You are the best! :) *BIG HUGS*

New Laptop and New Prime Minister!

2007-11-25T01:35:00.000+11:00

Keith bought a new Sony Vaio laptop today. I love it as it's ultra portable, slim, speedy and has large keypads. The only thing is it's loaded with Windows Vista so I have to get use to it. Keith will be happy that I won't hog his desktop as much with this new baby to use.

Sadly, John Howard has lost the election after being in power for 111/2 years. Our newly elected Prime Minister is now Kevin Rudd. Hopefully we'll see good things emerging from his leadership and government.

Helium

2007-11-24T01:30:00.000+11:00

Customer: Are you on helium?
Me: Err, no. Why do you ask?
Customer: Because your voice is very high-pitched and you sound very happy.
Me: Ooops, no. I'm NOT on helium, pardon me.
Customer: *Chuckles*
Me: Thank you and have a nice day (low-pitch)

*Sigh* I'm trying to speak with a lower pitch these days. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't *shrug* Can't please everybody :)
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Customer: Please could you get your boss to call me back? I'm calling from New Zealand.
Me: Sure thing. What's your name and number?
Customer: Phil 'for sex'
Me: I beg your pardon? Could you repeat that?
Customer: Phil 'for sex'
Me: How do you spell that? F-o-r .... ?
Customer: It's 'for sex'
Me: Ummm, okay. Could I have your number please?
Customer: "for, sex, two, eight.. seven, nine, two, sex"
Me: Oh you mean four, six, two eight, seven, nine, two, six?
Customer: Yes, that's right. Thank you.
Me: Thank you and have a nice day. (Hang up phone and burst out laughing)

Can't get use to the Kiwi accent!
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