Old Town Kopitiam Mamak @ QV, Melbourne (An Asian Snack Food Tasting)

I have been very slack with putting up this post. So slack that I've been letting it slide since September... So here it goes...This is quite a visually long post :P

Thanh decided to host a Asian Snack Food Tasting at Old Town Kopitiam Mamak in QV... and it was also my first time meeting Agnes and Thanh in person (Twitter really does not count) :P Now this is a branch of Old Town Kopitiam located in Chinatown (and I'm quite sure of the one in Malaysia)... and this outlet caters for those wishing for a taste of Mamak (that just sounds wrong)...

Click here for their menu, as it is quite different from the menu at Old Town Kopitiam in Chinatown...

Cafe Vue 401 @ St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Hello all! I apologise on my M.I.A status for the last week. It's been a crazy year end at work (and still is), and by the time I get home, all I want to do is go to bed (sometimes with no dinner!) Gasp... 

It's also the time of the year of social gatherings and Christmas celebrations... so here is a much belated post on our visit to Cafe Vue 401 on Melbourne Cup Day :)

Melba's Breakfast Review @ Langham Hotel, Southbank

Boss lady (she hates that term) was going away on maternity leave... and we requested to go to Melba's for the breakfast buffet! Yayy! I was being regaled with tales of yonder (last year where they ate so much they had to be wheeled back to work)...

So I wake up in the morning (not feeling at all like P Diddy)... and arrived at Langham Hotel at around 7.00am... this was so that we could eat for a full 2 hours before going into work (indeed, we did not have lunch that day... nor dinner)...

Izakaya Den Review @ Russell Street, Melbourne

After the Taste of Melbourne this year, a bunch of bloggers and twitterers decided to pay a visit to Izakaya Den as they performed so well in the event.

The wonderful ingénue (she might choke on this a bit, so I'll add, for good measure, chotto!) author behind the blog of Blah Blog Blah did really well in organising the get together (given that I have never met her prior to this [face-to-face I mean]).

Together with a few others from blogs such as I Eat Therefore I Am, Jeroxie, Off the Spork and essJay Eats, we made a Motley Crue of food enthusiasts ready to tackle on this new frontier (okay, we had a little bit to drink prior to dinner... just a tiny bit!)

Hako Review @ Flinders Lane, Melbourne

HR ladies to eat, away we go!

KM was leaving and we had decided to pop over to Hako down the road for a farewell lunch. Busting My Chops had recommended the place as she recalled it as being worthwhile and reasonable for the price...

When we got there, we were greeted warmly and showed our seating. The place was already beginning to bustle with the lunch time crowd. We were clever and pre-ordered before hand via their online booking and by researching their menu.

Paramore - Melbourne Concert Review @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne

It's been a while since I did one of these. But I had so much fun and such a great night that it'll be a waste if I didn't share my experience on this. So taking a break from food (blasphemous I know!), I shall do a quick recap of the Paramore concert that took place in October :)

On the 13th of October (yes I know, this is slow)... Paramore performed at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl... Now I have to admit, I'm a new fan... I only discovered them (as I'm sure many of their new fans have also had the same discovery) on the Twilight OST...and I fell in love with their music!

Spice Temple Review @ Crown Casino, Melbourne

The entrance to Spice Temple is right next to Rockpool Bar & Grill 

"SPICE TEMPLE IS OPENING!!" The Boy excitedly kept me up to date with the going-ons with the set-up of the restaurant. He'd check the Rockpool blog nearly daily to tell me how close they were to the opening day.

Cocktail Night @ Cafe Vue, Normanby Chambers - October's 5th Element

The door that greeted our entry

When Ms Fashionista agreed to come to Melbourne for a visit, Ms Tinymouse and I were super ecstatic!!.. A GIRLY WEEKEND!!! What better task than to sit back, relax, gossip, giggle and dress up for no reason...

What better place to do that than at Cafe Vue's Cocktail Night. So I rang and booked for 3 for their October Cocktail Night, which was themed The 5th Element, to be told by a pleasant lady on the other line that unfortunately, the cafe was fully booked for that first Friday of October.

She asked if I would like to be informed if a cancellation occured, and of course I said, YES!

Fortunately, there was a cancellation and we made it!

A cute concept of using recyclable wooden utensils

We were told that the doors would open at 6.30pm and the first course would be served at 7.00pm. We arrived to see that the place was indeed filling up fast!

The menu that was present throughout the whole night

As we were seated, we were informed of the process and introduced to the concept of the Cocktail Night. Being the foodie that I was, I begin jotting down notes as each "element" was brought to us, as there was alcohol involved and I wasn't going to trust my memory on this ^_^

Water - spherification of Cairpirinha

First cocktail, representing the 'Water' element, was a bit confusing, as we were left to our own device to figure out how to drink it. Apparently 3 giggling girls could get it wrong!... We drank the shot and then had the lemon 'oyster', rather than the other way round, much to the amazement of the couple seated next to us...

As a drink, because it was a shot, this went extremely quick and I was feeling quite lightheaded! My tolerance to alcohol has pretty much gone downhill ever since I stopped working for companies that offer month end drinks :P

Tuna tataki with oyster emulsion, saltbush & edible sand

The first course that was paired with the cocktail was a delicious Tuna tataki dish. With the most delicate edible sand and oyster emulsion. I quite literally wanted to lick the plate clean! (I DID NOT, in case you were wondering!)

This dish would be my second favourite dish of the night!

Air - gin, marschino liqueur, lemon & lavender mist
Cheers to over 20 years of girly friendship!

The second 'element' arrived, a cocktail comprising gin and representing the element of 'Air'. This was our least favourite drink... it was quite bitter and neither of us finished it off... it had an interesting introduction though!

Before we were allowed to drink, there was a brief introduction, and one waitress released a lavender and lemon scented mist upon us (from a perfume bottle!)

My notes, with Ms Tinymouse's extra notes :)

By this stage, Ms Tinymouse was extremely giggly and kept succumbing to laughter at anything that was being said, much to the amusement of the lady seated next to us, whom we later discovered was a free-lance Journalist doing a piece for The Age.

Buckwheat risotto with duck egg and cranberry

The second course, was our most FAVOURITE dish of the night! Buckwheat risotto with duck egg and cranberry... second best risotto I've ever eaten (first being from Tutto Benne), actually could be one of the best.. considering the last one I had from Tutto was a complete disaster!! (Chocolate and red wine risotto, you ask me why? I'm just as confounded as you...)

The delicate balance of flavours and the crispiness of the duck (bacon) and cranberries worked really well together.

Shot courtesy of Ms Tinymouse

We took quite a lot of photos (as can be seen), with Ms Fashionista's SLR camera... which prompted one of the waiters to demand, "Okay, whose the food blogger here??!"... hence. how we found out that the lady next to us was a free lance Journo and now a Twitter acquaintance :)

The waiter was hilarious and was very friendly and chatty... just the way we like it with alcohol!

Earth - frozen peaty whisky and dark chocolate

The third 'element", Earth, was Ms Fashionista's favourite... it was a frozen cocktail (meaning ice-cream!), of whisky and dark chocolate and had a very very intense smoky essence...

Pan seared kangaroo loin with celeriac puree & cocoa soil

Paired with the Earth element, was a pan smeared kangaroo loin with celeriac puree & cocoa soil... (those tiny bits of meat at the background is speck)

The kangaroo dish came adorning paint spattered boards

When the waitress said, "Speck", I had to ask her to explain.. brain was already very slow ... I had assume she was saying that the board was speckled!... (yes yes, laugh all you want)

Arriving under cover and released with smoke!!
FIRE - cognac, fig, orange & burnt sugar

The fourth element was my favourite! And I even polished off Ms Tinymouse's cocktail (by this stage, she was drinking warm water and no alcohol)...

Representing 'Fire', this cocktail was a mix of cognac and burnt sugar (do you see why I liked it?)

Fromage - Fire Engine Red Panna Cotta with red wine gel & Squid Ink Grissini

Paired with it was an interesting dish... a cheesy panna cotta with red wine gel... those little squiggly sticks you see poking out of the panna cotta, are actually squid ink grissini, a bit tasteless, but very crunchy...

It was at this stage I caught the gentleman next to us licking his plate! The waiter (our good friend), approached him to say that we unfortunately missed the best picture of the week!

The 5th Element!!

The last element, the 5th Element, we were told to guess...

We were also told that we had to make the cocktail ourselves, by balancing the flavours provided...

Citrus, Syrup and tinctures (own made bitters)

I actually had a lot of fun... all 3 of us ended up with very different tasting drinks... and we all liked our own versions best

Reversed Floating Island

Paired with the last course, a dessert... which was a reversed floating island...

Delicious vanilla cream oozing out of the meringue shell encasing it, the dessert was sweet and was a great way to end the course.

Did you guess what the last element was?

It was ....

Creation!

It was a super fun night, filled with much chatter (we were chatting to the two tables immediately next to us and sharing notes!)

Would I return for another adventure? Most definitely... am already planning one for the girls at work for November's menu!!!

*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: Modern French
Dining Style: Cocktail and food degustation
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 8/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10 (it was quite cold, and we were sitting inside the cafe!)
Service/ Attitude: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10 (5 courses, 5 cocktails for $75)

Address:
Cafe Vue
Normanby Chambers
430 Little Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Tel:(03) 9691 3899

Website: http://www.vuedemonde.com.au/cafe-vue.aspx

Cafe Vue is open from
Monday to Friday 7am to 4pm and
Friday evening from 6.30pm for Cocktail Nights
* Cafe Vue does not take reservations during the day, only for
their Cocktail Nights on Friday evenings

How to get there:

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Nyonya Weekend Buffet Review @ Chilipadi, Melbourne Central

Last week, the Boy and I had the honour to be invited by the owners of Chilipadi at Melbourne Central to try out their menu for their Nyonya (or Nonya) Weekend Buffet (which will be starting soon). Special thanks to Penny (from Jeroxie) who gathered a bunch of us bloggers and tweeps to try the fabulous food that night!

The beautiful table setting of fabric rose petals, real daisies, and tea candles had us all in the romantic mood

Les Petit Truffe - Autumn Festival In Spring

The Boy and I spend approximately 20 hours last weekend preparing for a fabulous dinner for our Autumn Festival (Moon Cake Festival) dinner for his cousins....

The feast was a huge success, the dishes all prepared by us (apart from the macarons, I do NOT want to talk about it)... yes even the dips and mayo were all made by us :)

This post, I'll put up all the dishes and description and I'll leave it up to you, my wonderful readers, to select your favourite dish and in the following post, I'll put up the recipe for that dish!

So enjoy, feast with your eyes and don't forget to comment at the end :)

Kouzina Modern Greek & Meze Bar @ Southgate, Southbank (Melbourne)

We finally managed to book some time to have a team lunch and it was by chance that we found Kouzina (as the original plan was to go to Hako)...

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by a super enthusiastic floor manager (there were only 3 staff on the floor at the time we were there and probably 3 other tables?)...

The restaurant was fairly quiet but the chirpy manager more than made up for it... (however, since dining here 2 weeks ago, I'm not sure if this place is still up and running as they've taken it out of their website!)

Kouzina happens to be a chain of Greek restaurants and are located in various shopping centres (Westfield Doncaster, Knox Ozone, Watergardens Town Centre [Taylors Lakes] and Robina Town Center [QLD]).

Luckily for us, Kouzina caters for the busy lunchtime people around the city and thus, part of their appeal is their 12 for $12 (12 items, each for $12)

We gleefully made our selections and also Mrs. Awesome Pawsome (hehehe) ordered a few starters for us as well...

Mixed Dips 16.50
Tzatziki, Melitzanosalata, Taramosalata & Feta kopanisti, pita bread

The dips were beautiful, rich and generous in flavour and the pita bread was quite good. Although I'd much prefer Turkish bread (but when in Rome...)

Pita bread with the above dips

DO YOU SEE THE FIRE?????

Flaming Saganaki 15.50
Grilled kefalograviera cheese with green olive kebab, flambéed with ‘Metaxa’

One of the best things to eat whilst dining in a Greek restaurant is Saganaki, and this did not disappoint... The cheese was beautifully salty and a yummy cheesy texture/ There weren't enough olives to go around though...

Lamb Sovlaki
Skewers of Lamb loin, pita bread, lettuce, tomato, onion, tzatziki and chips

A few in the team ordered the Lamb Sovlaki (pictured above) and Chicken Sovlaki which looked really good and healthy (kinda)... and it made me feel a tad jealous... look at those chips!

Lemon-Pepper Calamari Salad
Lightly fried calamari strips, mixed lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, kalamata olives and ouzo aioli dressing

Spamma had the Calamari Salad which she declared a "WIN"...

Vegetarian Meze Plate
Domades, baked lima beans, grilled red peppers, gava balls, eggplant dip and pita bread

The vegetarians opted for this and boy were they glad... their food looked amazing that even a carnivore like me was spotted eyeing this dish dangerously!

Lamb Salad
Grilled lamb loin, mixed lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, capsicum, olives, feta-yoghurt dressing

This was my dish and I was a tad dissapointed, given that everyone else's' dish looked better than mine. The lamb was cooked nicely, but the losing point for me were the amount of tomatoes in this salad. It should have been named the lamb and tomato salad... unfortunately for the tomatoes, majority of them were left on the plate. There was not enough dressing as well (in my humble opinion) and it was quite dry.... (Wished I had ordered the Sovlaki instead *sigh*)

Would I return to try their other dishes? Possibly... it was much better Greek food than Saganaki (in Docklands) and much more affordable as well.

*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: Greek
Dining Style: Restaurant
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 7/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10
Service/ Attitude: 6/10 (Although he was very chirpy, the service was still a bit slower than I liked)
Value for money: 7.5/10 (for the cuisine and area, it was quite good)

Address:
3 Southgate Avenue
Southbank VIC 3006

Tel:(03) 9682 2999

Website: http://www.kouzina.com.au/

Kouzina is open 7 days a week from
11am until late


NOTE: Again I note, the Southbank restaurant has dissapeared from their website listing, so may no longer be there, but the other locations are still available. I'd advise on calling first.

How to get there:

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The Little King Eatery Review @ King Street, Melbourne

"I've got to take you to this great Malaysian place!".... said N one day...

"Woah.. that's a big call!!!", I said... 

Apparently she's been here twice before with another Malaysian... and the fact that N had been exposed and worked in Malaysia for a brief time helped me in trusting her taste buds =)

So one Friday lunch, we managed to take some time out from our busy hectic schedules (with me putting up a million "to-do's" for her, for when we returned)...

We arrived at 12pm sharp.. (apparently any later and it gets really crowded)... I was a bit lost for words when we walked in... the interior was quite unlike any Malaysian eateries (in Melbourne) that I've ever been into...

Set in a more "Western" style, it looked quite modern and cozy (not your normal style hawker restaurant/cafe, but more proper restaurant style, if you know what I mean)...

Browsing their menu wasn't easy, as there were quite a number of dishes to choose from... so we stuck with the classic favourites of Laksa and Char Kuey Teow (reputed to be quite good, and with my entire family originating from Penang, I had to taste this first hand)

The seafood curry laksa was actually quite good. The soup was rich and creamy (but not spicy enough), however it wasn't as good as the old Laksa King's version, but it was slightly better than the Laksa Lemak from Penang Coffee House...

Now to the star dish of the day. This was actually quite close to a good Hawker stall version of Char Kuey Teow... the noodles weren't too gluggy or too dry and the seasoning did give me some sort of flashback to sitting on the road side and eating at Lorong Selamat in Penang (Malaysia).... so I reckon it was a WIN!


Service was a bit over attentive at times, they kept wanting to be helpful and clear our dishes even after we told them we were quite happy to just chat and nibble on...


However, over attentive is better than not attentive at all I guess....


So well done N, I will return to this establishment, but it'd have to wait a while... I just have to be homesick enough to want to pay 5 times the amount of what I'd normally pay in Malaysia... but I think I will cave... February next year is much too long a time to wait....especially for good Char Kuey Teow =)


*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: Malaysian
Dining Style: Restaurant
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 7/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7.5/10
Service/ Attitude: 8/10
Value for money: 7.5/10

Address:
232 King Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Tel:(03) 9600 3620

Little King Eatery is open from
Monday - Friday 12-9pm and
Saturday from 5-9.30pm

How to get there:

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