Food Republik, Box Hill

Gaz and I went to Food Republik in Box Hill for dinner recently. It was surprisingly quiet, even the red velvet rope marking where the queue should be into the restaurant swung pitifully lonely in the wind.

We satisfied our inner glutons by ordering 5 dishes between the two of us. We ordered mee sua with pork intestines, black pepper beef with rice, spring onion pancake with egg, mantou with pork belly, and xiao long bao.

Most of the dishes were quite small, so we had no problems finishing all the food we'd ordered. The size of each dish seemed to have shrunk from the last time we were there. Even the xiao long bao's seemed tinier.

We had to attract the waiter's attention for water, and this was how much water we got. 1/4 of a small cup. 

The mee sua was very tasty, albeit small. For the price ($6) I guess that is an entree / snack size.

There are no pictures of the rest of the food we ordered, because we were too busy eating!

Green Roses

I am enamoured by green roses at the moment.

In the world of roses, I imagine the red roses would be the ones dancing and flirting with all the men in the party. The pink ones would be the ones sipping their fruit punch shyly by the corner, but with all the guys looking at her, interested.

The green ones would be the ones driving Prius with bumper stickers like 'Honk if you're a Vegan'. They would be the ones using natural washing products such as egg whites on their face, and bicarb soda for their kitchen sinks.

I even bought some green carnations to match the green roses. I have not seen the green variety of rose plants in the nurseries here, I wonder where I can get a pot?

Foodtopia, Bayswater

Foodtopia is a newly opened fusion Indonesian, Thai and Malaysian restaurant on Mountain Highway, Bayswater. The restaurant's decor gives it a country cosy yet classy look. I believe they serve cakes and coffee during the day, as well as hawker style lunch specials such as pad thai, fried noodles etc for $9.50.

For dinner, there is a small selection of curries and stir fried main dishes, mainly seafood. When Gaz and I visited, we ordered the chilli fish, and salt and pepper prawns upon the owner's recommendation.

The chilli fish was deep fried fish fillets with thai curry sauce, cashew nuts and veges. Our fish sat on another table for a few minutes by mistake so by the time we got it, the fillets were not as crunchy as I would prefer it to be. The dish was tasty and went well with rice.

The salt and pepper prawns however were fried to crunch perfection. They certainly did not skimp on the serving size. There were at least ten big prawns on the plate, reasonable for $15.90

While we were dining in the restaurant, there was a group of rowdy teenagers who brought their own alcohol to drink in the restaurant. They were very noisy and were having fun at others' expense. Once, one of them tried sitting in a baby's high chair for laughs. I must say that no one else besides them really had a laugh at that prank. Gaz and I scoffed our food down just so that we can be away from them.

This incident shows that running a restaurant is not only about the food, but also about handling all sorts of customers - happy, unhappy, disruptive, dishonest. Once, I overheard a customer demanding a refund for a king prawn dish on the basis that the prawns were not fresh, but she had already eaten half of the dish! The restaurant refused the refund. Running a business is certainly a challenge!

Maedaya Richmond

A little haiku to celebrate the idea of relaxing with food..

Grilled skewers of meat
over hot charcoal
makes my eyes water
with joy

What I really enjoyed about our dinner at Maedaya, Richmond was the variety of little food dishes on the menu, sake, and good company in a bar/pub environment that is not too rowdy.

Maedaya serves tapas style Japanese food which goes well with their offering of sake. We were given an ipad on which we ordered these dishes to go with our sampler of 3 sake:

Crab claw - not the ordinary frozen variety.

Agedashi takoyaki - takoyaki which is served a la agedashi tofu style, with soy sauce in the bowl. It went well with rice.

Maedaya special skewer combo - from left: chicken balls (not what you're thinking), chicken thigh, inari tofu skin, pork belly and beef. The skewers were cooked on charcoal, giving it a fragrant smokiness.

Rainbow roll - tuna, salmon, avocado, tobiko with smoked salmon and cream cheese. Very colourful!

Grilled unagi - was extremely small for $6

Lotus root chips with spices - not a big fan of the herbs they sprinkled on top but loved the texture.

Black Toro, Glen Waverley

Fresh with the memory of chomping down tapas in Spain, we went to Black Toro in Glen Waverley and ordered the banquet for two. For $45 pp, these were the dishes which arrived on our table in good time (i.e. didn't have to wait 15 mins between each dish):

 Oyster with tequila and lime - Fresh!

Potato and chorizo croquette - salty, deep fried, fluffly, what else can I say.. yum

Mezcal cured salmon, avocado puree, smashed coriander meringue & salmon roe - delicious! Loved the coriander meringue which was so light and dainty. Lovely combo.

Deep fried soft shell crab - the sauce around the plate was very hot! I like the thought of soft shell crabs, but dislike the taste which is usually fishy because it comes frozen.

Wagyu beef sliders - It was filling. 

Roasted barramundi, marinated tomatoes, olives and radish - The fish was crispy, but the star of the dish was the marinated tomatoes which were savoury and sweet with strong tomato taste.

This is considered a grande plate (main) but the size is small, only one and a half slice of barramundi. This was the last dish of the banquet, we were hoping for more meat. After we left the restaurant, I decided to hop next door to Ocean King and get a take away serve of char siu and sausage to fill up. 

Gaz ordered an extra dessert of frozen Nutella parfait, broken tres leches cake, toasted meringue & banana. I think we will try another dessert the next time.

Still missing the tapas in Spain...

October is Mental Health Month

Did you know that October is Mental Health month? And that World Mental Health Day is on the 10th of October each year?

Mental health is very important but it is often brushed aside because of the stigma attached to it. In recent years however, there have been more much needed discussions around the care and funding required to treat mental disorders and awareness of mental health wellbeing through campaigns such as Mental Health month.

The World Health Organisation describes mental health and well being as the state in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

Around 20% of adults are affected by some form of mental disorder such as depression, anxiety disorders etc every year. Nearly half of the population will experience a mental disorder at some stage of their lives. 15% of people will eventually take their own lives. Yet only 1/3 of people affected by mental disorder seek help (www.sane.org)

Stressful life events and hormonal changes can lead to mental disorders, but the causes of mental disorders are varied and difficult to pinpoint. Most people affected by mental disorders make full recovery.

Recently I experienced big changes at work. When one is working 12 hour days everyday and experiencing sleeplessness thinking about work, this is hardly a good thing. This has sapped my energy and made me irritable. No one seems to understand. There have been countless times where negative thoughts of my self worth in handling the situation has entered my mind.

I consider myself mentally well, but I was not kind to my mind. In helping deal with my situation, I especially like #10 on the list of tips to promote mental wellbeing (www.mentalhealth.asn.au)

1. Walk whenever you can
2. Call a friend and catch up
3. Surround yourself with reminders of what you love
4. Let go of what you can't control
5. Learn more about something that amazes you
6. Write it down
7. Make time for fun
8. Go out of your way to make someone's day
9. Offer and accept help
10. Do one thing at a time

Keeping my mind beautiful with worthy thoughts that bring life.