Toasted Chicken, Apple and Mustard Sandwich

That was what I had for lunch today.

Inspired by the sandwiches I had @ the Windsor Afternoon tea... i decided to try and replicate the Chicken, Apple and Mustard filling...

The ingredients:

1 chicken breast, around 1-2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 1-2 tablespoons of mayo, wholemeal bread...

Ignore the Butter.. I didn't use it in the end...



Mince the chicken...



Saute the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper...



Add the mayo and mustard



Mix it all up...



At work, I did this (as I didn't want the apple to turn brown)...

So slice up the apple thinly...



Toast the bread (optional), and line up the apple slices on the toasted bread...



Add on the chicken filling..

Voila!.. It was absolutely delicious and it was a great change to putting cucumber on sandwiches!!



NOTE: Ms Tinymouse.. I didn't pass you any.. so feast on the pictures I guess =)

Block M @ Little Bourke Street (& Queen), Melbourne

Working in the city, it's a challenge to find affordable good places to eat. Most of the time, we resort to cooking from home and bringing in lunch to work.

Sometimes, I just can't be bothered. So I put on my jacket and pray that the sun is shining (it being Melbourne and all) and take a walk and try my chances...



That's how I happened upon Block M.

I like Indonesian food, as it is quite similar to Malaysian food. And when I saw this restaurant tucked away in between Queen and Elizabeth, I had to go in.



They have a medium sized range menu... with most of the food being beef (ox tail soup seemed popular).

I wanted something simple and fast, so I ordered Nasi Goreng Kambing (Lamb fried rice - not goat)...



It came in a larger than life take away plastic container ($9.50) and a coupon to bring in when you return for your next meal (to receive a free Teh Kotak "Jasmine Tea")



Look at how much there is!!! I actually ate it for both lunch and dinner, as it was so much!



It also came with complimentary crackers ;)



I came back the following week and ordered Mee Goreng Kambing (which I forgot to take a picture of)...

Much preferred the Nasi Goreng... it was really really really good.. and I am sort of mad on Fried Rice... so when I say it's good, it's bloody brilliant!!!!

NOTE: A lot of people do takeaways, and there are a good mix of customers (majority being Indonesians and international students)

Singapore Chom Chom @ Bourke Street, Melbourne

This is our second time here, and like the Boy mentioned, "Why do we bother coming back?"

I guess it's to justify that because they have been around for so long, there must be something good about their food... either that or everyone has lost their taste buds...



The first time I ate here, I had Mee Pok with Char Siew and Siu Yuk... and that was pretty much tasteless... the noodles had settled into the shape of the bowl and was quite disappointing overall...

They do have a wide range of food on their menu, which just means, I have yet to find the dish they do well...

We decided to pop back for a second visit, as I had cravings for Chee Kwuey (dedicated to Normancook as well)...

The Chee Kwuey was really good, topped with heaps of chai po (pickled turnip) and the chilli was just nice...



The Boy ordered dried Mee Pok with Char Siew and Fried Wan Tan... I quite liked the wan tan skins as they were sweet... but the Boy didn't finish his food...



I ordered the Curry Chicken Laksa.. and it looks a lot better in this picture than it tastes...

The soup was extremely watery... tasted like coconut water with red colouring... a great big disappointment...



The waiter was really sweet.. he kept checking on us and gave us free Chinese Tea... a possibility of the good service could be equated to the direct relation that we were the first and only customers of that bleary Saturday morning...



Maybe I am ordering the wrong things... but I will definitely come back for Chee Kwuey.. just nothing out of their main meals category *sigh*

Overall Food Rating: 5/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10
Value for money: 7/10 (this meal set us back $24)

How to get there:

View Larger Map

Afternoon Tea @ The Windsor, Melbourne

After much deliberation, I decided that it was time to go spend some hard earned cash at the Windsor...

Passed the message around, and ended up asking nearly all the Boy's cousins (those that were around and their other halves) to join us if they were interested in High Tea...



Made a booking (2 weeks in advance) and managed to get a seating only because it was the AFL Grand Final (quiet time), and even so, the place was booked out... I managed to get us the first session (12.30pm-2.30pm; with the second session running from 3-5pm)

They also sometimes hold the Afternoon Tea sessions in their Grand Ballroom, but I felt that it wouldn't provide the same sort of ambience as the Lounge area...



The entrance to the Afternoon Tea isn't immediately obvious, and the concierge had to point us in the right direction...



A bit apprehensive as I only did my research via other food blogger reviews, and having everyone (from the Boy's side) turn up, I felt the pressure... LOLS... I'm kidding.. it's food and it's dessert!!! And it's the famed WINDSOR!!!



We were shown to our table, which was located in a cosy corner and had huge fluffy pillows and soft comfy chairs...



You can see that they start by tempting their diners with a plate of rich cream, boysenberry jam and strawberry jam... a hint of more delicious things to come...



Between the 7 of us, we had 3 of these 3 tiered servings...

On the top were the famed scones and raisin scones.

On the second tier were savoury pastries.

On the bottom were finger sandwiches of (from memory, but you can double check on their website):

Chicken, apple and mustard; Egg, mayo and chives; Smoked Salmon; Cucumber and Sour Cream; and Virginia Ham and Mango Pickle



Then on to the dessert buffet!!

Because it was the weekend, we were in for their Chocolate Indulgence spread, which meant CHOCOLATE CAKES, And a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!!!

Cakes, cakes and more cakes (or so the nice waittress informed us)...

In the little cups on the ledge were very good and creamy Creme Brulees'...



More variety of cakes (non chocolate, and then some)



Tarts and other fun desserts...



I scream, u scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!...

The coffee flavoured ice was really really yummy... plus you have your usual assortments of sprinkles ;)



The crepe station!

I know my Big Bro would have just been stuck at this point... brialliant crepes... soft, light and melts in your mouth...

You also have a multitude of choices when it comes to the sauces...

On the table was also a light crumble...



Some of the cakes I took back to the table...

As well as some strawberries which I meticulously drowned in the chocolate fountain... you gotta love Fondue!



The crepe the Boy brought back to the table, which I told him to add chocolate sauce... and a lonely Meringue... very yum!



At the end, around 2pm our waiter came by with our bill.. (it was a hint to get out by 2.30pm I suppose)...

We were delighted with the bill at first, as the total amount was a lot less than expected.... after about 10 minutes, our waiter came back, a bit flustered and apologised, as he had given us the wrong bill... Ahhh.... we should have split... lols

Quote of the day:Whilst pointing to the egg in the egg sandwich, "I wonder what the yellow bit is in this egg sandwich?...Oh!!"

The person shall remain anonymous, but.. HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

All in all, I'd say it was a very good High Tea.. they served a wide variety of cakes and pastries... and the quality was excellent...

It was a tad pricey, so you might want to come by on a weekday instead (cheaper), but then you'd miss either the Chocolate or Ice Cream indulgence (depending on the season)

Overall Food Rating: 9/10
Restaurant ambiance: 9/10
Value for money: 8/10 (Their dessert was a lot better than a lot of other hotel high tea's and buffet spread, it was just pricey.. but worth it!)

The Hotel Windsor serves traditional afternoon teas between 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm Mondays to Fridays, for $45 per person and $65 per person on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.

Reservations are essential.
To make a reservation, please telephone (03) 9633 6004

How to get there:

View Larger Map

Black Cat

I slept at 8pm last night and woke up at 8am this morning!! How cool is that?!

After all our morning activities, I suggested that we go home and take a nap.. which earned me a glare from the Boy...

"WHAT?!", Did I say something wrong? I can never have too much sleep...

Anyhoo, things changed, and the boy took out cold bottles of beer (mine is the gay Beez Neez...)... fried up some chicken strips, nuggets and fries...

Sat back and watched the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final.... since the Doggies (If I had to choose and support), were not in the finals, the Cats were my team for the day!!

The Boy gave up watching half way as he was getting increasingly frustrated at how the Cats were playing.. I sent him off and away...

I just kept eating.. I eat when I'm stressed and it was a very painful 3 quarters for me!!

And somehow the CATS WON!!!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ms. Tinymouse... HAH!!!.. BOO TO YOU!!!!.. I'm such a bad winner ;)

WE have come to the conclusion, that if the Boy supports a certain team/player, during a final and watches it... that unfortunate team/player will lose... better if he hides himself in the room and not watch!!!

NOTE: Look at how much White and Blue I put up in the picture!!!

Hellbound Train

An early morning train drama, had me in shock for majority of the morning.

As the train was pulling up into Platform 2 in Melbourne Central, it made a sudden stop... everyone on board just assume it was a Connex problem again, and just started grumbling... 5 minutes of the stalled train, the driver's voice came on, on the PA.. "Apologies passengers, as we were pulling into the station, a passenger had jumped off the platform in front of the train..."

There were gasps from the carriage, and whispers.. and someone started crying...

The rest of us with our earphones on plugged into loud music to escape the mundane mornings, could not escape this announcement...

A lot of important looking people came and looked under our carriage and shouting under... at some point, the located the victim... (under my carriage)... and then everyone on board, on an unspoken agreement, looked away from the windows....

5 minutes later, we were all signalled to get up and move up the carriages and exit through the driver's door...

It was shocking, and it was drama... luckily, we know the victim is alive. Why or how he got in front of the train, and how he survived is a different matter altogether...

Thank you all for your concern and checking on me to see how I was =)

Amazing what the human mind can make you do when dealing with shock... you just feel numb and you carry on to keep yourself as busy as possible and not think about the tragedy that occurred...

To everyone else... have a safe weekend =)

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

"Look Ma! I can make Teriyaki Chicken!!"

And that's what I'm teaching y'all today...

"Hontoni? Hontoni, deska?" I hear you ask eagerly...

You'll need... Mirin... or better known as Sweet Rice Wine... and, Vinegar Rice Wine, Dark Soy Sauce (Jap), ginger...



Marinade breast cutlets and/or tenderloins in the ingredients (4 tablespoons of Mirin, 2 tablespoons of Vinegar Rice Wine, 2-3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce and 1 teaspoon of ginger)



Heat the griller and add in 1 (sliced) onion (in a mixture of butter and olive oil)



Once the onions start to brown, add in the chicken



Slice the chicken up and serve with daikon and other green vegies (I used long beans) and hot rice!



NOTE: You see sugar in the ingredient picture, because I didn't have the Mirin at the time, so I reduced the quantity of the Vinegar Rice Wine and added 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar (brown)...

On another note... work was bearable today.. because for some reason, I kept thinking it was Friday and was really excited .. and I got all my shit done...

AND... devil spawn actually praised me and bought me a cup of hot chocolate!! The world must be ending....

If the pictures from Sydney are anything to go by, the world is indeed ending...


(http://www.theage.com.au)

Either that or I'm going to strike the lottery soon!!!



*WOOT*

I Like You Better When You're Not Around

I think I shall now rant and also post up food I cook... makes it easier to deal with the transition from work to home ;)

But seriously... I much prefer it when the devil spawn isn't around... I get more work done without having to answer every single god damn question... Questions that are easily accessible...

For instance, devil spawn started a group MSN message asking, "Do you guys know where Black Rock is?"

A question that could have easily been answered if the devil spawn opened up a web browser and did a quick search on Google Maps... much quicker as well... rather than selecting each person to invite into the conversation to ask a stupid question.

My days at work are long and laboured... punctuated with a quick lunch for about 30 mins, and then it's back to work again...

I work an ongoing shift with no breaks, and I tell the devil spawn that I'm overwhelm... it just smiles at me and declares it will be leaving to go to the gym... WTF... seriously....

Everyday is a positive reinforcement to why I left so many moons ago... why I'm back is beyond me...

Back to my lunch... I made Lamb Chops with a minted mash...

Mash - potatoes, milk, salt, butter, chopped mint and Parmesan Cheese
Lamb - I do this countless of times... so I shall just leave off mentioning it...

I liked my towers of Carrots and Cucumbers!!...my very own C&C... cycle & carriage... *lame* I know... forgive me.. my brain is fried....

The Long Day Is Over

I'm not sure when the last time I felt so tired...

But I sure as hell did not sign up for taking on so much workload!

A simple message on Facebook from my ex-work colleague:

"Hey, you want to come in and help out for 2 weeks? Basically it's to take on this easy account..."

Has somehow been dragged into 2 months and now until the end of November... yes... I admit.. money is alright... And I was becoming really complacent sitting on my butt blogging day and day out, cooking and enjoying life...

*sigh*... everyday is a reminder to myself, a huge *WHAM* on the head, of why I quit the job in the first place a year ago...

My off-again, on-again crazy ass boss has made 2 people have a nervous breakdown since I've been back, demanding to know why (whilst people were crying and broken) they were being affected and shouting at them.

Now that I'm back... I go in with a different attitude... I try to not let her get to me... the, "I don't really care what happens because you NEED me" attitude.. and it's working...

sorta...

I come home to the Boy, who laughs at my problems at work, and tells me I'm an idiot for letting it affect me that badly... Ahhh... the ever logical come back!

The above is a joint cooking which the Boy and I did... I fried the fish, and he did the rest :)

Pan fried the fish in olive oil with crack black pepper and sea salt...It as a Salmon fillet... (Crispy skin *wuhOoo*)

Spinach Balls (created by the Boy), was sauteed in the pan and rolled up into a ball stuffed with Parmesan cheese, and then dipped into egg wash and coated with a light batter of plain flour and deep fried.

Asparagus was grilled with olive oil and seasoned with black pepper and sea salt.

As said countless times before.. the simplest things are often the best...

Now to bed!

NOTE: *waves at Ms Tinymouse's sister*... "I love you too!!!!" Okay, love might sound a bit strong.. but what the heck!!