Lake House Daylesford

Knowing my interest in fine dining, Gaz suggested we dine at the Lake House while at Daylesford. Fortunately we were able to make a reservation for lunch at 1pm the day before.

Lake House is a two Chefs Hat (The Age Good Food Guide) restaurant in Daylesford. The Executive Chef is Alla Wolf Tasker who opened the restaurant in 1984. To have been cooking and maintaining the prestige of the restaurant for such a long time is certainly no mean feat!

Lake House also offers hotel accomodation besides a fine dining experience. The pictures of the rooms on their website looked absolutely dreamy.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were immediately ushered to a window seat with glimpses of the famed lake. The seating and ambience was very comfortable.

There was only a 2 course lunch at $70 per person option but we got to choose what we wanted to eat from a comprehensive menu. Not a dessert person, I chose an entree of tempura prawns with radish salad and black beans (recommended as a special) and main of John Dory fish with squid ink.

Gaz chose a main of 12 hour suckling pig and dessert of assorted sorbets. The serveperson suggested we order a side dish of vegetables because there were not much veges on the dishes, the ones on the plate mostly serves as garnishing. So we ordered a dish of asparagus and brocollini.

Each table was provided a bowl of bread with unsalted butter, and some olives in oil and bread sticks. One of the parmesan bread sticks I had was very salty but there was also another one flavoured with cumin which was just right. I was not a fan of olives so Gaz had the whole lot to himself.

I liked the crispy nori and prawn but I have to say that my first bite of one of the prawns was NOT GOOD. I think the prawn in question must soaked up too much of the fermented black bean juice because the smell of something akin to preserved 1000 year old egg magnified by 100% + rotten egg immediately overwhelmed me on the first bite. Normally I'm OK with black beans, I even use it in my cooking, so it's all very strange.

Still, the salad on the side was very fresh and the prawn itself was tasty. I just steered clear of the black beans on the plate after the first bite though.


The side of asparagus and brocollini ($9).

Gaz's main of 12 hour suckling pig, tempura quail, blood pudding and asian funghi which was black fungus, lily bulb in a tangy sauce. We both loved the pork (hmm... can't get enough of the crackling) and the quail was nice too.

The funghi salad is tangy, meant to balance the fat of the pork I suppose. I have to say that the pork has a little boar taint even though it is a suckling. But I'm not deterred by this, crackling's the best!

John Dory, squid ink topped with foam. The foam is an apple sauce foam - I would never have guessed. Pardon me, but I don't like foams... they look like saliva on the plate! The black pieces on the plate are squid ink tuile which tasted a little salty. Doesn't the contrasting black and white on the plate look good?

Sorbet - Strawberry, pineapple and lime. My favourite one is the strawberry, it matches the colour of my top.

We waited a long time between the entree and the main, about 1/2 hour... Maybe we were supposed to talk and sip our wine patiently while the chef slaves over the little components on our elaborate mains.... I think we ate a little too quickly. The entree only lasted 1 minute on our table and the mains, maybe 2 1/2 minutes. We were hungry :)

With our bellies full (much help from the bowl of bread and butter), we made our drive back to Melbourne.

Daylesford

To recover from Christmas, we took a trip to Daylesford. It is only 2 hours away from our place, via the city. We only left the house around 2 pm so when we got there it was already 4 pm. Our first stop was The Albert Hotel where we were going to stay overnight.

The Albert is a really quaint heritage hotel. Although there were some bad reviews on Trip Advisor, we quite enjoyed our stay there. I had no complains at all about the cleanliness, amenities etc. We even received a bottle of wine and chocolates during our stay even though it was not mentioned on our booking sheet. For overpriced Daylesford, $110 is a reasonable price per night.

While in Daylesford, we visited Sailors Falls, a 30 metre waterfall which also has a stream nearby. The air was so fresh and crisp my hayfever deleviated substantially while there. There was also a stream nearby and I dipped my hand into the water. I hadn't expected the water to be tepid and gritty!!!


Natural mineral springs - Daylesford is widely recognised as a spa country because of the mineral springs which dots across the area.

There were three pumps at this place which one can use to pump mineral water to drink. We filled up our water bottle with the water and tried to drink it on the way back to Melbourne but the sulfur was too strong. It smelt like fart!! I couldn't drink it at all.

We still have the bottle of water, now chilling in the fridge for his consumption later!

The Convent Gallery was one of the 'must do' on our list. Admission is $5 per person, and the entrance ticket is valid for a couple of days after purchase.

Prior to being an art gallery, the building was a convent and boarding school for girls. The building consist of two floors of gallery, a museum of artefacts from its convent and boarding school days and a watchtower which was previously an infirmary for the convent.

I loved this little chapel within the building. It felt really cosy and close to God. The Convent Gallery also hosts weddings and receptions.

Wombat Hill Botanical Garden. We visited the Garden on our first day and spent a couple of hours exploring the hilly area (so steep!) and having a little picnic on the grounds. It was deserted because every one else had better things to do on Boxing Day so we had the whole place to ourselves.

Butterflies were everywhere in the garden. As we walked along, it felt like being chaperoned by the butterflies that flew alongside us all the time.

Outside of the hotel, we saw a lovely cat. If you looked closely you'll notice kitty has different coloured eyes, one blue and the other green.

The weather was perfect for our trip. We spent so much time outdoors in the warm and sunny weather and absolutely loved it. Lucky that the weather bureau was wrong in forecasting the weather to be cloudy and possible showers!

I really enjoyed Daylesford. It was rare that we did not plan too much to do on the trip but to go with the flow and enjoy the outdoors. We had such a good time!

Christmas Dinner 2011

Gaz managed to fix the oven in time for the big stars of our Christmas dinner - Roast Pork and Roast Whole Chicken with Roast Veges.

This is the first time I've made Christmas dinner, previously it was more relaxed lunches (as if!). This year's dishes:

Garden salad (with homegrown tomatoes)

Roast Chicken and Veges

Garlic and chilli prawns - nearly 1 kilo of prawns here - spent so much time peeling and deveining them without cutting them apart!

Seared sea scallops with asparagus sauce

Chinese Roast Pork - crunchy crackling!!!


Not pictured - pumpkin soup and watermelon sorbet, home made as well. I must say the sorbet turned out to be more like granita but Gaz loves it so much he's steadily polishing the container, especially since it has been rather warm lately.



I had over catered of course, too much food for 5 people but we only had enough leftovers for a couple of meals each afterwards, so it was a good outcome!

Peace to the Earth

The day before Christmas is when the oven buckles under the weight of expectation of a tantalising Christmas dinner fit for a panel of judges who are best friends with words such as sous-vide, mirepoix and veloute.

Time for Plan B. New ingredients, new cooking methods (no more appearing cool, calm and collected over a glass of chilled champagne while the food magically cooks in the oven. Think slaving over the stove and timing everything so that all dishes are ready before I sit down to entree), and new dishes.

So I made the trek to the overcrowded Coles where it was as much a hazard to dodge around the shopping trolleys as it is on the road with drivers who are in a hurry to the mall to get that last minute Christmas gift.

Two hours later, a very sweaty and grumpy me came home (30 deg for consecutive 3 days) to... no water. Water people replacing the mains was the last thing I needed.

No oven, no water, Christmas dinner on the line. I'm sure I can come up with something...

Suzuki Night Market

Gaz and I finally went to the Suzuki Night Market at the VicMart last Wednesday night. The Night Market is held on Wednesday nights every summer and from what I had heard, is worth a visit.

We spent nearly 2 hours on a trip that would normally have taken an hour. Half the time was spent being stuck on Victoria St leading up to VicMart on a snail's pace. We finally struck gold and parked 2 mins away from the market.

Then we got into the market and looked at the crowd of people waiting in line for their turn at each stall... Gaz was getting crankier by the second.

We had to queue about 20 minutes for this - food from the French stall. Mixed platter of tapenade, onion tart, chickpea chips and roasted capsicum. We also got a pork sausage baguette which is not pictured. Both dishes were $10 each.


While Gaz was queueing for the above, I went in search for paella. I soon found the Spanish stall about 4 stores away and waited for about 10 minutes for a plate of seafood paella. It was hot off the paella pan, and very very flavourful. Not bad for $10. It was my favourite dish of the night.


We also had a plate of cheese arepas from the Mexican store for $5 which was just corn bread with cheese. Not my cuppa, for sure. The $10 dish had beans and some pieces of meat but I didn't think it was worth $10 at all.

Our bellies full with food, we started browsing along the stalls. Some were selling recyclable home decorations, plates, glassware, clothes, chocolates, tea etc. There was a band playing at the end of one shed and people taking a breather from the humidity and the satay fumes stayed out in the open air around the band juggling their plates of food and drinks.

The atmosphere that night was just electric.. it was like one huge pasar malam, but much more robust with the band, the diversity of food and people. The weather was also a big plus, being about 28 deg and sunny. So much so that the cranky boy said that he would not mind going back again sometime before summer finishes.

Talk to the Hand

I think someone should invent a personal privacy bubble for those of us who have to work in open space offices. Whoever who came up with that concept should be hung upside down and water slowly dripped into their nose. An advantage of the open office plan is that it fosters communication. Too much communication, in my opinion. Not good for work at all! Imagine your boss rolling up to you in his chair and asking you to do something urgently and the ten seconds later asking whether you have done something else, followed by another request to do something else ten minutes later.

It all just gets too much.

Now, if there was such a thing as a personal bubble contraption, right after the first request I will be inflating this bubble till it completely encapsulates me within the bubble, putting a sound proof barrier and also maybe an electric fence which will zap anyone who dares knock on the bubble until the first task is finished. Then, the bubble is deflated around me and I will then be ready for the subsequent tasks.

If someone is wasting your time by asking the most mundane questions to which the answers are readily available if they would only take the time to check, there goes the bubble again.

If the team is telling a dirty joke you would rather not hear, the bubble goes up again.

I like the idea. Especially the electric fence.

London

It's almost lunch time in London, but I am not hungry because lunch was served just before the plane landed in Heathrow. For the first time in my life I finished everything that was on my plate in an airplane and asked for more. Who would have thought Neil Perry's dishes could translate just as well on a Qantas labeled plate?

Checking out from the airport was a breeze, thanks to the strings my work pulled to get me out of the airport as soon as possible so I can be out and at our London office stat. Since the client was paying an exorbitant amount of money per an hour of my time and the clock has been ticking since 16 hours ago, I was sure they had something to do with it too.

The first thing I did once in the privacy of the company car is to switch my Blackberry on and immediately reminders and emails rang out. One of them sounded urgent - 'Client wants to meet tomorrow for an early breakfast meeting at 6am for a run through of the proposal.' Great, only half a day left to run a few more sensitivities and finalise the proposal. Well, technically I also have the whole night too. Will do.

'Mam, we're here.' I nodded and got out of the car. The chaffeur helped with my heavy briefcase, carrying it all the way to the receptionist' desk where he handed it back to me after introducing me to the blonde behind the desk. She smiled and led me to a waiting lift and pressed the only button on the panel, floor number 35.

I hardly had time to tap my shoes twice in impatience when the doors opened into a a large open space. Another assistant was standing by the lift to help with my briefcase and showed me into an office reserved for me. My favourite Root Beer drink was waiting for me on the large antique desk. Judging from the chilled glass and the bubbling foam, I could see it had just been poured. How on earth did they know I love Root Beer!

I sat for a little while taking in the fantastic view of London city underneath and around me. The London Eye moving so slowly in the distance was mesmerising. The Thames was actually quite idylic in the surprisingly sunny and warm autumn day like this.

Suddenly there was a tap on the door and I turned around in my chair only to find.... no, I am not in London. Not in a large office with a fantastic view of the outside but in a shared cubicle with grey partitions and darker grey carpets. And I dare say surrounded by grey faces too. The phone is ringing and I am sure it will be be someone complaining of a $2 credit interest miscalculation in their bank account with an average balance of $2M. Yes... immaterial, insignificant, inconsequential. Yes, back to my mundane mundane life...

Climbing Everest

Someone once said that half the battle is won or lost in our mind.

Since about three months ago, I have been very keen bordering fanatical, on scaling the 1000 Steps at the Kokoda Memorial Park regularly. As I have previously written, this trail comprises of about 900 uneven steps up a hill set in very green and natural surroundings. I try to go at least once every weekend, so much so that when my manager asked me what I was doing for the weekend he would always also ask me if I would be going to the 1000 steps too.

Lately though I have lost the discipline to do that so after a hiatus of about a month, I resolved (after seeing a roll of fat hanging out of a pair of jeans I recently bought) to start the regime again. No better time to do it but now, on a Friday evening after work.

There was an avalanche of excuses in my head as I left the office. 'It's not sunny enough, it might be dangerous to go up as there might not be many people at a time like this, you're not dressed properly for the occasion, it's not warm enough, you might not make it to the top because you haven't done it for some time, you might faint halfway' etc. In my head I was already starting to lose the battle already.

I was very surprised to see the car park full as I turned into the park. It turns out that there are many people who go up the trail after work too although I was the only one who was dressed inappropriately in Friday office casuals. If I had gone home to change I know I would not make it out the front door again for the day.

Even while I was climbing the steps, my mind was still restless and tossed doubts of whether I will make it all the way to the top but I did persevere and made the full circuit in about forty five minutes, my usual pace.

The battle was finally won.

Zen Japanese Restaurant, Hawthorn

It has been a while since we last had Japanese food so Gaz decided he'll bring me to a restaurant on Burwood Road, Hawthorn that has received good reviews.

We had takoyaki balls as entree. They were piping hot and very delicious with the bonito flakes and mayo on top. Gaz also liked them very much. My only gripe is that there is not many octopus bits in the batter.

Gaz wanted to have some sashimi and ordered a main sized sashimi platter. 16 pieces of fish comprising of salmon, tuna and whitefish. Doesn't the whitefish look like chicken? The salmon was really delicious, full of flavour however I cannot say the same with the rest of the fish. Oddly the tuna did not have the familiar melt in your mouth texture but was rather grainy and bland.

This is my bento set comprising of sashimi and sushi, tempura, teriyaki chicken, inari and salad with sesame sauce. I believe the staff are Korean as I overhead snippets of conversation in Korean. The sesame sauce on the salad is a Korean touch to the bento box.

Gaz had another bento box with beef, teriyaki salmon, teriyaki chicken and salad. The teriyaki salmon was delicious. The chef must have received a good shipment of salmon.

The bento came with miso soup and dessert. We got green tea ice cream and sesame ice cream each. Gaz preferred black sesame ice cream to his white sesame ice cream but we took a picture of the ice cream anyway because the pattern on the bowl is so pretty!


The food at Zen is good overall, and reasonably priced for the portions we received. I did feel that the sushi rice were inconsistently prepared - some bits were larger, some were smaller and lacked the precision that I have come to associate with Japanese cuisine.

A Night at the Opera

The other day, Gaz called me at work and asked me if I would like to see Placido Domingo. Would I?! I spent my teenage years listening to cassette tapes of the Three Tenors. I listened to the tapes so much I could almost sing the songs myself, without the charisma, voice and without knowing what the words meant of course.

The concert was held on a Monday evening at Rod Laver Arena, so I rushed back from work, gobbled down a hasty dinner and drove to the city. We were seated in good time, and watched people filing in. Most of the audience was of an older age, although it was heartening to see three young girls on the row in front of us also set to enjoy the night.

'A Night to Remember' starred Placido Domingo and Welsh mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins, accompanied by Orchestra Victoria and only played for two performances, once in Sydney and once in Melbourne.

He sang many of the familiar tunes and seemed to get better as he went along. At one point, his voice was so strong that many other men in the arena stood up and shouted Brava! The atmosphere was electric. I could see that Gaz also enjoyed the performance, because although he yawned, he did not nod off!

I Would Like..

As my birthday approaches, the annual question of what I would like is asked. This is a difficult question to answer, not because the number of things I would like exceed the number of friends and family I have. Indeed I am blessed by caring family and friends who take the time to ask, as well as a very short shortlist of what I really want right now.

For a couple of years now, and this year especially for no particular reason, I am reminded once again of a certain scene about this time seven years ago. My parents were taking me out for dinner at the local restaurant, which we went to every week, the one that made a really awesome tofu with crab meat and egg chiffon dish. There was no fanfare around the day, just me and my parents spending time together.

Parking was scarce and the only spot Dad could find was at the end of the street from the restaurant. So we parked and started walking. There was no foot path for pedestrians (this is Malaysia!), we walked along the verandahs belonging to the strip of shops. It was dark but for the street lamp that shone nearby and quiet as most of the shops were already closed.

The first shop was a shop selling some sort of machinery during the day, its verandah was uneven cement covered with engine oil. Another was a cafe, it's verandah floor was covered with mosaic. Next to it was a shop that sold bits and bobs for the house like nails, nuts, door handles, paint. It had a nice smooth concrete floor on the verandah, like polished marble. Each shop had different floors on its verandah and each verandah had slightly different heights. We stepped carefully so as not to stumble and fall. There is a little alley, a break between the strip of shops. 3 steps down a little stair to street level, cross the alley, then back up 3 steps onto the verandahs.

On the steps back up to the verandah, we saw a solitary dark figure sitting on the steps close to the wall. Mom immediately drew me away from him, closer to her. Dad led the way in front of us but walked further away to the left. Amidst the daily reports of snatch thieves and robbers, all of us were instinctively wary.

It was during a time where Malaysia imported many foreign workers from poorer countries to help with jobs that locals did not want to do. Working conditions and remuneration for these foreign workers were far from ideal, therefore many commit crime to supplement their income.

The man on the steps was a foreign worker. I could see it from the way he dressed, dirty white shirt, black pants and slip slops. His skin colour and face bone structure did not fit. Oily and dark with dishevelled hair. He was also making noises.

As we neared, I realised what they were. They were sobs, heaving sobs which rose to a soul wrenching cry. He cried as though all hope is lost and there is nothing more to live for. He cried as though a lifetime supply of tears was not enough for him to cry. Our presence did not affect him as there was no space in his world but him and grief. He truly exuded pure anguish and hopelessness. I had never seen a grown man cry like that. I think it even embarassed my parents a little, they being traditional Chinese people who were taught not to express emotions too readily.

We passed him by.

The second shop after the alley was a rubber thong shop. I know from experience that the shop owners who also live there will be sprawled in front of the television with the door ajar enjoying a Hong Kong drama serial, oblivious to passersby. They were true to their nightly routine that night.

We arrived at the restaurant, ordered my favourite tofu dish and had dinner. None of us spoke much, and certainly not about the man, but I could see all of us were still thinking of what we saw. After dinner, we took the same route back. The man was gone.

I have thought again and again of the man since then. Where had he gone after that? What had he experienced? What would have happened if we had just stopped by him that night?

This birthday, I am not in want but there are many in the world who do not have family and friends who are able to ask and provide hope. So, if the question must really be answered, then it will be answered this way - please donate to a charity of your choice and let us sow hope.

Pictures of Spring

It has been a tough day at work today. Many unexpected and difficult situations arose, to which I had no immediate solutions for. I wish I was not alone in the team to deal with these matters, but the fact was remains. At times like this, I just need to remind myself of the many things that I can be grateful for.

Recently during a conversation at work, someone remarked that we are still employed because we are able to solve problems and deal with difficult situations. That is how we add value and differentiate ourselves. I cannot say that I should thrive for difficult situations at work just so I can prove myself, but I cannot hide from them either.

This slogan during WW2 in Britain says it all - KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.

After all that depressing talk, I think some pictures of spring beauty are required.

Abbotsford Convent

The Slow Food Farmer's Market at Abbotsford Convent is by far the largest farmers market I have ever been, hosting about 60 farmers who sell direct to the public. It was Gaz's suggestion that we visit the market, held on the fourth Saturday of every month from 8am to 1pm. Usually entry to the convent and its grounds is free but there is a $2 per person charge for the farmers market. Parking nearby cost us another $2, but is considered cheap for full day park.

The market is plastic bag free, customers are to bring their own bag and trolleys. We forgot to bring our own bag so Gaz had to carry a bunch of spinach I bought around while we browsed the many stalls that lined the path up to the convent.

There really was more to the convent that meets the eye. The site itself is 6.8 hectares - that's a lot of land, with 11 buildings on the site. There are also gardens on the site, not to mention nearby parklands and the Yarra trail in front of the entrance to the area. Gaz and I kept walking and walking and each turn brought us to a new unexplored area. Some of the buildings are being refurbished but some are yet to be refurbished. The architecture, paint stripping off the walls and the air of tradition that hung about the area reminded me a lot of my alma mater which was also a convent prior to being utilised as a school.

The Abbotsford Convent was occupied by the Sisters of the Good Sheperd from 1863 - 1975 as a refuge for female orphans who worked, schooled and lived on the site. Since the turn of the 20th century it has been turned into a community art and cultural hub. Today, it is home to artists who rents studios at the site, cafes, and a school. Some $12M has been used so far to refurbish it back to its former glory, and some $12M more is required to complete the job. Abbotsford Convent does not receive funding from the government, as we learned from Maggie Maguire, CEO of the Abbotsford Convent Foundation.

Here are a couple of pics of the place;



Besides the majestic buildings, we were instantly attracted to the stalls which sold food. We were hungry as anything when we arrived at 11am and were hoping to find a sausage sizzle somewhere as is usually found in farmer's markets. It turns out sausage sizzles are a little too... pedestrian, for this venue. We saw stalls selling braised beef cheeks and cous cous, spanakopita, minced beef in a pastry wrap, mini pork burgers with wild leaf salad and pomegranate molasses instead.

Braised Beef Cheeks - just nice for a sunny but chilly windy day. The beef cheek was very tender while the crisp apple & celery salad complements nicely.

Besides having all the dishes mentioned above, we also had lunch at Kappaya Japanese Soul Food Cafe located on the site. I only ordered miso soup (below) for myself:

But how could I resist not picking on Gaz's order of Bento Box? From left: vege chip (similar to tempura), steamed chicken, garden salad, walnut onigiri, grilled salmon onigiri, kelp.

Gaz especially liked the steamed and was ready to down broth and chicken skin all in one go if I had not stopped him. I personally liked the vege chip, it was crispy and healthy!

Tao's, Bulleen

I've heard of Tao's in Bulleen many times before, but had never been. So when Gaz suggested we visit Tao's for a special ocassion, I was secretly delighted. At $58 per person for a 6 course dinner, it was reasonably priced.

I was also assured by a colleague beforehand that I would not need to visit KFC or the Golden Arches after dinner at Tao's. That is a relief because I am not particularly fond of the big prices, big plates and minute food portion type restaurants, no matter how well done the 'amuse bouche's are.

The set menu started with a plate of assorted starters - from right to left: bacon wrapped spring onion, oyster with ginger and cucumber and a sweet chilli mayo with bread stick.

To be honest, I only really liked the oyster, which is very surprising because I usually liked bacon, any bacon and dislike oyster, any oyster. The bacon on my plate was a tad too salty for my liking, while the oyster was really refreshing and wasn't fishy at all.

We had a list of entrees to choose from. Gaz chose the soft shell crab, deep fried. It was a little fishy, but I think it's the case with all soft shell crabs which usually comes frozen.
I chose tempura prawns for my entree. Deep fried... what can I say?

Next came this beautiful dish of meatballs. It was a ball of pork, minced till smooth, covered with a layer of glutinuous rice topped with bonito flakes which fluttered in the heat making the meatball look like an anemone in deep sea.

There was some mild curry sauce to go with this gem, but I liked it better without. The nicely seasoned meat was really tasty, and the meatball just melted in my mouth. It was very good.

For mains, Gaz chose the lamb which came with some mint sauce. We saw many people in the restaurant order the steak which was presented on a sizzling plate. The lamb was good though, very tender.

I decided to go with the healthy option by choosing the baked rockling with herbs. What herbs I don't know, but the fish was flavourful and slightly crispy, very nice.

We were also served fried rice on the side which filled us up immeasurably. No pics here because it was much too dark. It was served in a little pot, which reminded me of Pooh's honey pot.

Before dessert, we were invited to cleanse the palate with a shot of passionfruit drink served in a pot of ice with two daisies sticking out of the pot. Presentation was a bit... off, but the drink was really very good! So refreshing and indeed, very cleansing to the palate.

For dessert, Gaz chose the creme brulee. I didn't really manage to eat very much of it, and you'll see why in the next picture.


This was my dessert, panna cotta with mango mouse on top. Now, if you looked to the right of the cup of panna cotta, you'll find a stick of metal. That is the spoon. How was I supposed to eat with that?? I had no choice but to place the cup against my mouth and slurp the panna cotta noisily into my mouth. I only managed to eat half of it before I gave up and sent it to Gaz.

All in all, we tasted some nice food and the bottomline is that I was actually full after the dinner. The service was very good, the food came very quickly which is absolutely wonderful. Once we had to spend 4 hours to finish a degustation menu and only left the restaurant at 11pm. On a weekday. Not something we'll like to do again. So, quick service and good food at reasonable price. It's worth a second visit!

Update: This restaurant is permanently closed. There is a new concept vegetarian sushi restaurant Midori by Tao's in Bulleen by the same owners.

Thai Yim, Glen Waverley

It is disturbing how quickly restaurants turn over around here. One day you see it, the next day it's gone. And I'm not talking about pop up mobile restaurants. Gaz found a Malaysian restaurant at Glen Waverley to try one night. I didn't recall seeing the restaurant in that area but it had a website and someone had written a review about it online so it has to be there. Right? Well... no.

When we got there, it turns out that the restaurant has been replaced by a Thai restaurant, Thai Yim. So we decided to enter and explore the unknown anyway. We were ushered to a table close to the door by a friendly looking waiter. I asked if we could have a seat in the middle or back of the restaurant so we wouldn't feel the cold draft through the doors but were told the tables were reserved.

For entree we had pinkie in blankie. I liked eating the pastry wrapped prawns with my hands, dipping it sloppily into the sweet chilli sauce as I go. Can't go much wrong with deep fried foods, I say!

The duck curry we ordered came with big pieces of duck breasts with skin on. The curry sauce was coconuty and nice and there were lots of vegies in the curry. We do try to get our quota of greens everyday and it is not easy to have an adequate serving when eating out unless we order a purely vege dish like fried vegies etc.


The last dish was basil chicken stir fry. It was indicated as mildly spicy in the menu but we found that it was not spicy at all. Perfect for me, else I will be sniffing away while eating! Again, full of vegies which was good. We were not too fond of the abundance of bamboo shoots in the dish which overpowered whatever little basil smell it had.



I do hope that Thai Yim lasts longer than the last restaurant, and judging by the number of people who entered the restaurant while we were there, it will be staying for some time yet.

Update: This restaurant is now closed

Cafe Vue, Bulleen

On our trip to The Heide, we also had lunch at Cafe Vue. Actually, the major reason we went to the Heide was to have lunch at Cafe Vue. The cafe is an affordable offshoot of Vue de Monde by Shannon Bennett. The cafe provides a hint of the Vue for everyday dining for people like me. Read - not that extravagant to splash out on fine dining for no special ocassion.

Gaz had the $15 lunch box - a pita roll filled with beef and salsa, a mini box of pasta and assorted veges, a hummus like dip, home made potato crisps and to round off the meal, a lovely nutty chocolate muffin. We never did get the full list of items that were in the box, so I don't know what the hummus like dip is called. We asked for a clarification of the items in the box before we made up our minds about what to order but the waitress took longer than we expected so we ordered anyway.

The crisps were a bit too salty for me, but it was certainly very crispy and novel - home made potato crisps, now that's something I can't make at my home!



I just love the presentation of the food - the lunch box came in a wooden box. Utensils and napkins also came in a little wooden carry. There were potted herbs (we had no idea what our potted herb was...) on the tables. All in all it was casual and rustic mix.

I ordered a duck pie. A ... what... pie? Yes, duck. I love duck and was really keen to see how well they did the pie. The most delicious element on the plate I found was the mash potatoes. Somehow I sense that it has lots of butter mixed in, but it certainly made it very very smooth... very nice. Gaz loved the pea puree. The pie was OK, the crust was thick and I found it difficult to break down. But did I mention the mash and pea puree were heavenly?


We saw so many yummy mummies and young families having their mid day meal at the Cafe. I'm sure many of them are there only for food too, and many of them look like regulars.

As we ambled around the sculpture garden, we noticed a cube shaped room in the middle of the garden. There were about 20 people in the room, dining and drinking. It turns out the Cafe Vue also caters for private parties and this is where they would serve them. In the woods... a fantastic idea! This is not without its problems I suppose, because as we were exploring around, we heard an almighty clatter and crash of plates. Someone had dropped a whole armful of plates en route from the private room to the main kitchen. Oops!

Raya Wishes

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

Wright or Rong?

Doing the right thing is so difficult, isn't it? On the other hand, it is very easy to do the wrong thing. Even if you have your own ideals, principles, and a strong sense of what is right and wrong, sometimes it is still easier to go down the path of least resistance.

Say on a Sunday, this would be what I'll be thinking - 'Wowee... it's a nice day outside. I should go for a jog in the park, I really need the exercise. Then I'll need to wash the car, it hasn't been washed for months. The warm weather will dry both the car and the clothes within the day if I did the laundry today.'

Next thing you know, it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I'm still on the couch in my pyjamas watching serials on the computer with a plate laden with the bones of the deep fried chicken I just consumed for lunch. The path of least resistance...

Of course, some decisions we make are more serious than just what to do on a Sunday. The repercussions of the decisions are much more than just ending up with a flabby belly, a dirty car and a hamper full of dirty clothes. In my line of work, choosing to do what is wrong or even an unintentional slip may cause reputational damage and monetary loss involving figures I can't earn even in a lifetime. That is why we have policies for guidance at work.

So when my colleague put me in an akward position by asking me to co-sign a time sensitive transaction that would have breached the policies, I declined to sign and explained why I thought it was wrong. However, the transaction was put to me again with a new set of rationale trying to 'justify' the action, with a 'we're running out of time' line thrown in. This time I was swayed and I took the path of least resistance...

The transaction went smoothly, I did not doubt it would be otherwise. The point was not that we were lucky nothing went wrong, it was that I had my own principles, I thought I could adhere to it, but in the end I did not manage to. There is no easy way out of this, but to actually put up resistance to doing the wrong thing instead of taking the path of least resistance would be the right thing to do.

Leftovers

I used to feel bad whenever I make quiche for instance, because it means that I'll have to throw the bits and pieces of puff pastry away after they get cut to match the size of the quiche pan. Well, no more of that! I stumbled upon a recipe for seaweed rolls from a Women's Weekly Japanese cookbook.

So last week I made chicken pie, and seaweed rolls. The rolls call for 2 pieces of puff pastry, roasted seaweed cut into tiny strips, a dash of sea salt, some caster sugar, roasted sesame, cheese and melted butter. It was quite easy indeed. Both of these two dishes went into the oven together, and at the end of 30 mins we got both lunch and tea time treat.


The seaweed rolls do not look great, but a combination of seaweed, cheese and butter made it taste delicious. Not to mention the sea salt flakes which made it both savoury and fragrant.

After making the seaweed rolls, I had a whole lot of seaweed sheets in the pack. Although they come in a resealable pack, nothing beats eating it fresh on the day it was opened. I had slices of avocado, crab sticks, strips of omelette, unagi and vinegared rice laid out on the table and we had a DIY sushi session.


My favourite combination...

The Heide Museum of Modern Art

Gaz and I took advantage of the sunny and warm weather very unusual for a winter's day, by going to the Heide Museum of Modern Art today. The Heide is located on Templestowe Road, Bulleen. The stretch of road was particularly busy that Saturday and it took us almost 10 minutes to find a break in the traffic to turn into the museum grounds.

You might wonder why we would be spending our time indoors in a museum when I had mentioned earlier it was a sunny and warm day (which is a godsend after enduring months of cold drab winter days). The Heide has a large outdoor sculpture garden on the premises, and we spent most of our time wandering from one sculpture to another. My favourite is titled 'Rings of Saturn', a large shiny metal sculpture of circles twisting round and about. It is surrounded by a few white globes not far from it.

We also visited the kitchen garden, where produce such as cabbage, lettuce, asparagus, spring onions were grown. Did you know that asparagus grows sticking out of the ground like that? I didn't.

Lettuce growing abundantly, they're so fresh and sweet to the taste buds.


We laid out the picnic mat and basked in the sun for a little bit. It was wonderful enjoying the green lawn and the gold sun. And the shiny silver of Saturn's Rings.