Xiao Long Bao

I really needed a pickmeup after an extremely gruelling and long day at work. I decided to head over to Dumpling Sisters to grab a quick bite to eat. Their dumplings are okay, and the place is never busy enough to wait very long. This time round I decided to try their xiao long bao.

Unfortunately it was quite underwhelming. Not only were they quite small, but I found bits of pork bone in the filling! I experienced that horrible sensation of biting down on something hard and sharp in three out of four xiao long baos! Gross. I gave up and left the rest cold, and untouched. Don't worry though, I didn't go hungry. I had a whole plate of 12 boiled dumplings before I started on this dish. By myself.

Ajisen Ramen

A random sms during a workday of "what are you doing tonight? dinner?"* was all it took to get me to meet up with my crazy culinary cousins** for a Japanese meal. Fantastic.


For some reason I'm obsessed with prawns lately, so chose the deep fried ebi in cream sauce. The sauce was extremely buttery. I was hoping for prawn in the Japanese Panko bread crumbs, but unfortunately no :(

Pork Ramen

Other Ramen!

Takoyaki - an absolute staple now that I have tasted the real thing in Japan. I'm constantly dissapointed back in Australia, but always on the lookout for something on par. Ajisen's octopus balls are not too bad.

I also had miso soup, which was extremely lacklustre. So much in fact, that I won't even bother with a photo.








*If it was real sms speak it should've have been: 'wat ru d'ing 2nite? noms?!' :P




**Pretty proud I came up with that

Father's Day: Desserts

For Father's Day this year we all went out to try a new Indian restaurant that opened in Docklands. The restaurant was impressive, but quiet for a weeknight. We ordered a few curries, coconut rice and naan to share. With all the waiters hanging around, I was a little apprehensive in taking photos of the mains, but when the dessets came out, I simply could not resist :)

Butcher's Grill

We are always on the hunt for delicious steak places. I believe we can add Butcher's Grill to the list :)



Scott had the steak which, although looked quite thin, was cooked a perfect medium rare. The red wine sauce was really good.




I was going to have steak too, but could not pass up the king prawns in garlic butter on top of a creamy mash. The smell alone was amazing.

For desert, chocolate ganash. Very rich. The ganash had a wafer-like base that had a texture I couldn't warm to. It reminded me of biting down on eggshells. Freaky. I gave that bit a miss.

Shabu Shabu

All you can eat can be a hit or miss. For the record, an all you can eat shabu shabu (Japanese hotpot) is awesome.



For 2 hours, you get yourself your own spot in front of the shabu shabu conveyor belt, with each little plate containing the tiniest amount of raw food (e.g a slice of beef, 2 slices of fish cake, a handful of cabbage). Grab whatever you feel like, and add it to your own hot pot of the broth of your choosing (I got the miso broth). Patiently wait for it to cook, then dip it in sauce and consume. Wonderful!

I particularly liked how each person got their own little pot to cook in. At the end of the 2 hour session, all the flavours had mixed in the broth, so the soup was just as good on its own.

The pork belly section of the train was always sought after.

For only $25, it was a decent feast!

Malaysian

A new place opened up in North Melbourne. Lets check it out!



The roti chanai was so good. The curry was so thick and spicy and immediately went straight to my top 3 spots for curry chicken. Just so you know:

1. My Dad's Chicken Curry
2. Sambal Kampung (because they use chicken breast fillet in their curry)
3. This place (I have no idea what the restaurant is called)

I also tried the egg covered combination noode. Not too bad.

They also had a chilli sauce that was full of flavour and spice. Must return!

China Red

Sick of talking to people, even to get food for lunch? Just go to China Red, where you can order your meal by selecting your dishes from the wall mounted touchscreen:



We ordered an unusually curry-flavoured combination soup with shitake mushrooms that were quite rubbery.

The xiao long bao's were quite small, but not bad.

Although we didn't need to get a waiter's attention to get our lunch, the staff was very prompt in clearing empty plates and refilling tea. It was an alright meal, but I'm in no hurry to return.

Food Safari - Mrs Parmas

Food Safari! We decided to go to Mrs Parmas, and picked four parmas to share between 5 people. As usual, this was way too much. Parmageddon was my favourite. It looked like a regular (and delicious) parma, but packed a spicy punch that slowly grows on you. Yum!

The chips were sooooo good. You can see all the chicken salt coating on each fat fry.

Not only did we get too many parmas, but way too much cider as well :)

Smashed.

Election Day

Best thing about going to the polls? Sausage sizzles.


We lined up at lunchtime, which was probably the busiest time of the day to vote. Thank goodness for sausages to help pass the time. By the time we filled in our ballots we were hungry again. It was a good excuse to go to our local breakfast spot for some milkshake/tea and pancakes :)