Malaysian Kitchen

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I was introduced to Malaysian Kitchen by a friend who recommended it on the basis it cooked up consistent Hawker stall food at very reasonable prices.  On this occasion, I tried their special lunch menu which had several of their popular noodle and rice dishes to select from in addition to free drink for $12.50.

I was very happy with my choice of Chef Pan Mee.  I have never had this noodle dish before and was surprised by the thick cut noodles that came with it.  Continue reading...

Matteo's (Revisit)

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

To celebrate a milestone birthday recently, I made a booking at Matteo's for their Lazy Sunday Lunch.  Having been previously wowed at Matteo's , I knew it was a pretty safe bet to host my birthday lunch there.  It did not disappoint.  The service was attentive, the menu creative and even the kid's menu showed care and attention - in fact we begged scraps off Kiddo's meal, it looked so enticing.

The Lazy Lunch Menu is $79 per head, $109 per head with a glass of wine matched with each course.  As we were not big drinkers, we opted for the $79 option and ordered wines and drinks separately.  It was indeed a lazy lunch as we were very well fed and rolled on home for a nanna nap.

The entree consisted of four tastes to share:

Peking duck rillettes wrapped in a spring onion crepe

Panko crumbed goat's cheese

Scorched Mooloolaba cobia sashimi, shisho-ponzo dressing

Spicy veal, wombok and salted beef bresaola rolls

These little morsels looked so beautiful, particularly the Peking duck rillettes with the sliver of lotus roots on top.  The cobia sashimi was a stand out.  So light and delicate but smokey at the same time.

Course two, we had a choice of the following:

Spanner crab wonton ravioli, Asian coleslaw with bean shoots and choko, tom kha galangal sauce

Saikyo-yaki miso baked black cod fillet, broad beans, heirloom carrots, taramasalata

I had the baked cod which was juicily cooked and flavoursome.

Course three were meat mains and we had a choice of the two below.  I ordered the pork hock below.  It was melt in the mouth glory.  The surrounds were pretty yum too, eg the cabbage and cauliflower.

Roasted Golden Plains pork hock roulade, cider braised cabbage, macerated prunes, cauliflower, garlic cream, ginger wine glaze

Pan seared spatchcock chicken, grilled baby corn, pumpkin, sugar snap peas, Balinese yellow curry sauce

Desserts was a feast in itself as well.  We each had a tasting plate with three wee desserts.  For those of us on a low sugar lifestyle (me), Matteo's kindly accommodated by swapping the sweet desserts for a sumptuous cheese platter.  My cheese platter was quite the envy of the sugar fiends.  The Gods must have been smiling down on us as we were also very lucky to have an extra sticky date pudding thrown in!

Chocolate pudding, run and raising ice cream, passionfruit trifle with red velvet cake and pineapple

Cheese platter with all the trimmings - the walnut bread was delightfully warm!

It's my lucky day - on the house warm sticky date puddings

A cuppa to wash it all down with

The kid's menu was no less spectacular.  Kiddo chose the following from the Gen Dine menu.  As mentioned earlier, all the adults begged for a little taste of each.

Calamari

Steak with onion rings

Chocolate pudding and icecream

So there you go!  It was a feast in the literal sense of the word.  It was a very memorable birthday lunch for me and my guests.

The deets:

Matteo's
533 Brunswick St,
NTH FITZROY  VIC 3068
ph: 9481 1177

Grain Express

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Grain Express is situated in the Centro Box Hill's food court and it straddles the divide between yum cha in a restaurant (sit down meal with waiters, trolleys and all) to food court (grab and go).  It is the busiest shop front in the Centro food court complex and I'm guessing it's popular because a) you get fairly decent yum cha offerings and made to order noodles without having to wait too long b) being very informal dining, it attracts the large groups which otherwise would be be split to fit onto standard tables in a restaurant.  Often you would see large gatherings of pensioners or families with young children rearranging the tables and seats in the food court dining area to suit.  

As mentioned there is the usual yum cha fare already steamed and ready to go eg: assorted dumplings, fried entrees, buns.  They also do a made to order noodles and rice dishes.  Here is an idea of what they have which we ordered over several occasions both as a take away and also to have there:  

Fried Kway Teow

This didn't really taste like an authentic fried kway teow one would get at a hawker stall - it's more of an Hong Kong style stir fried rice noodles but it tasted ok.

Curry Laksa

Like the Fried Kway Teow, this did not really taste like an authentic laksa but as a noodle dish, it had plenty of chicken and vegetables and tasted ok.  I wouldn't order this if you are after an original laksa experience.

Century old egg and pork congee with Chinese donut

This they do well.  The congee is a creamy texture with a fair amount of century old egg.  And who does not like a fried savoury donut to dunk in?

BBQ pork puff and custard egg tart

Their custard egg tarts are just as good as a restaurants.  Which is a dangerous thing because it is all too easy to order a plate or two, or three...

Fried calamari 

 The fried calamari are a bit of hit and miss.  Whilst anything deep fried is delicious in my book and calamari at that, the tentacles can sometimes be a bit chewy.  On the up side, you get a good jaw workout.

Fried prawn wantons

These fried prawn wantons along with the custard egg tarts are my pick of bunch.  The wantons are chock full of prawn mince and being deep fried, makes it even more moreish.

Grain Express - yes it's in a food court but if you can get over that fact, it does fairly good yum cha offerings for those in a rush or wanting very very informal dining.  I would not recommend their take on traditional hawker stall food eg laksas, fried kway teow, etc as there are plenty of other places which can do it better.  However Grain Express' congee, dumplings and custard egg tarts are pretty decent.



Until next time...

Shizuku Ramen

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

I was the lucky plus one guest for lunch at Shizuku which is a modern take on a traditional ramen restaurant.  By modern take I mean, they had many creative spins on typical noodle house fare.  For instance, we ordered a cha su souvlaki which was all that you would expect of a Greek souvlaki (wrap, lettuce, salad elements like leek and cucumber) but with the Japanese roast pork interior and with an Asiatic bent of chilli mayo and sichimi sauce.  It was absolutely delicious and as an entree, a great starter to share.  It tasted very similar to a Peking duck pancake eg roasted meat, slightly sweet sauce, egg pancake....mmm....

Cha Su Souvlaki

To further demonstrate their creativity, the green tea came with a little nibble on the side.  These were savoury popcorn.  It tasted like they have been lightly sprayed with soy sauce or similar.

For mains we both ordered the ramen...for how could we not as this was their specialty?  There were many creative versions of ramen.  Of note was the ramen burger.  But being a ramen traditionalist, I decided to try their kimchi ramen.  I loved the juicy slices of pork with just the right amount of fatty to lean meat ratio.  The egg was wonderfully boiled, just setting on being gooey.  The kimchi itself wasn't the fiery hot type so very enjoyable to eat.  The soup was hearty and comforting.  Apparently the broth has been boiled for at least 10 hours to get the concentrated flavours.  The noodles had a nice bite to them which was in a whole different league to 2 min noodles.

Kimchi ramen

My friend ordered the Shoyu ramen.  The broth for this one was mind blowing.  It was tasted very complex.  I suspect a variety of meats were used to create the broth.  The broth of the Shoyu tasted like a labour of love.

Shoyu ramen

The interior of Shizuku was all about glossy black walls and statement lighting.  It had great ambience.  It is situated on the same strip of Victoria St as the pho shops and offers an alternative to the usual noodle shops.  

Until next time...

Food Travelogue - Malaysia, The Chicken Rice Shop

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Not long ago we accompanied Kiddo on her pilgrimage to Legoland in Johor, Malaysia.  Our driver recommended we avoid the usual theme park food and opt for one of the restaurants in the Medina Complex next to Legoland.  He actually recommended The Chicken Rice Shop as it had a reputation of being a family restaurant and reasonably priced.  If I had to compare The Chicken Rice Shop to something familiar in Australia, I would say it is a chicken rice equivalent of the Grill'd burger joints.

We ordered two of their meal 'pax 'and an additional noodle for Kiddo.

I had the Healthy Meal  (RM 16.50 which roughly translated to $5-ish AUD, it was a bargain!).  Here's what I got, including a cup of tea (not pictured):

Steamed chicken breast with all the trimmings (dipping sauces and rice)

Chicken soup, soya egg and braised tofu

Pak choy

I very much enjoyed my Healthy Meal.  The chicken was silken and well cooked.  The veggies were steamed nicely and not over done.  Loved the soya egg and tofu and could have easily eaten more.  I didn't drink the soup as I feared it looked a bit greasy.  For under $6 AUD, it was a very decent meal and way better than fast food option.

P ordered the Hainanese Chicken Rice Meal (RM 15.50).  The following is what came with the pax (tea not pictured).  I just realised upon uploading the pictures, they forgot to give us the Ipoh bean sprouts which supposedly came with the pax.

This is the Hainanese curry chicken, rice, soup and the sweets

Nyonya Pai Tee

P reported he really enjoyed the curried chicken.  We didn't eat the Pai tee or the sweets as it looked really sugary.  Too bad we only realised the bean sprouts were MIA after we left the country.  But once again, for approximately $5 AUD, it was great value.

Kiddo had a bowl of laksa (RM 11.90).  It looked very fresh and plenty of veggies within.

For more details on The Chicken Shop(s) peppered throughout Asian, click here. When travelling through Malaysia and Singapore, I would definitely pick The Chicken Rice Shop over say, McDonalds or other fast food outlets purely because it offers fairly healthy fare at reasonable prices.

Until next time...

Food Travelogue - Singapore Part 5 - Imperial Treasure

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

We had time to kill whilst waiting for our flight back home at Changi Airport and decided to check ourselves in at the Crowne Plaza Hotel next to Changi for a lie-down and a freshen up.  That was when we stumbled upon Imperial Treasure which was located within Crowne Plaza Hotel.  Even though it was neither lunch nor dinner time, we decided anytime was yum cha time.

The yum cha was an 'order off the menu' affair rather than a 'pick off the trolley' type.  This was perhaps because we were eating around 3pm.  The service was very attentive and we were offered a plate of honeyed cashews upon arrival.  Thinking it was a gratis amuse bouche, we quickly scoffed down said unsolicited nuts but got a bit irked when the billed came and we discovered we were charged for them. It was only $3.70 or thereabouts but it was more the principle of the matter.

But having said that, the yum cha itself was a delight.  We ordered the cholesterol laden fried octopus coated with salted duck egg yolk.  OMG, anything coated in duck egg yolk is a winner, never mind the angioplasty I require later.  Continue reading...

Matteo's

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

My dear friends V & A were joined in holy matrimony a few weekends ago.  The ceremony was touching and humorously reflected their personalities and the food at the reception was ah-may-zing!  I count myself blessed to have friends who love their food because it guarantees good eating in their company.

The reception dinner was held at Matteo's in North Fitzroy which dabbles in a bit of Italian-Asian fusion.  I am generally wary of fusion cuisines but the folks at Matteo's somehow marry these diametrically opposite food cultures up and create exquisite plates to remember.

To prove my point, here is what we had:

Soft boiled duck egg coated with yuzu curd, organic quinoa salad with avocado, hazelnuts, Myrtleford ricotta and preserved lemon

We got to pick out our own entree and main from a selection.  For entree I could not resist the duck egg.  In general, I love a good boiled egg - it's simple but perfect at the same time.  The accompanying quinoa was complex and interesting with crunchy nuts and creamy avocado and the zing of the preserved lemon.  Yum!

Japanese seafood plate

P ordered the Japanese seafood plate which looked like works of art.  My photography does not do this justice (the room was romantically lit = dim,  which did made it difficult for a hack like me to take a decent shot).  The trio consisted of:  Hiramasa kingfish sashimi, shrimp remoulade with kaffir lime and lemongrass;  tempura Balmain bug tail, wakame seaweed salad and teriyaki glazed smoked eel, coddled egg and potato salad with kewpie mayo.

Crisp skin Cone Bay barramundi, jasmine rice congee with scallop & freekah, finger fennel & mustard green

Being Asian, I am partial to a bit of congee so this was my selection of mains.  The congee tasted of the sea. with chunks of scallops throughout.  I would go so far to say that the congee rivalled my mum's.   The barramundi was nicely cooked ie the flesh still held together.  Sometimes when barras are badly cooked (eg when I cook it) the flesh tends to fall apart.

Seared wagyu beef skirt steak, tamarind beef sauce, panko-crumbed tomato-sambal eggplant, braised snake beans, bell pepper piperade

This was P's mains choice.  He was still reminiscing about the wagyu a week later.  The mains came with sides.  If veggies tasted this good all the time, I would happily be a vegetarian.

tatsoi salad with nashi pear and daikon, dried wasabi peas, wasabi mayonnaise

Fried royal blue potatoes, sesame and furikake salt

The dessert was our own tasting plate with three small tastes:

Five spiced quince & pistachio frangipane tartlet

Coconut milk panna-cotta with plum wine jelly

Warm, dark chocolate fondant pudding

It was a beautiful evening celebrating a beautiful couple *sniff*

After such a lovely experience, I have decided to have my birthday dinner at Matteo's! So hopefully  more pics to come later on this year.



Until next time...

Grand Noodle

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Grand Noodle is a good solid takeaway staple for those nights where you just can't be faffed.  They do a more Westernised take on the standard hawker store noodles and rice dishes.  The serving sizes are decent and the service is quick - no mucking about.

Our standard order (for we are predictable people) include:

Curry Laksa

 Their curry laksa had loads more veggies than the more traditional curry laksa, which is actually a positive.

Nasi Goreng

Their Nasi Goreng had plenty of BBQ within and not too spicy which made it family friendly.

Char Kwai Teow

 So this may not be the most authentic tasting Char Kwai Teow I have ever tasted but as stir fried noodles go, it tasted more than fine.  Better than what I am capable of.

In summary - Grand Noodle, a handy go-to takeaway place.  It might not be authentic hawker stall fare but it tastes more than fine, service is quick and serves are substantial.



Until next time...