Persian Flavours, Forest Hill

Persian Flavours is an institution, having been around for such a long time and serving authentic Iranian food. There is another Iranian restaurant along the same strip of shop, but having tried both now, I think Persian Flavours stands out more. The food is tasty, the place seems clean and service is orderly.

We ordered the Chicken and Lamb Tikka kebabs, with naan ($15.80). The skewers were cooked over charcoal grill and have a smoky flavour. The chicken kebab was tender and succulent. And the bread.. Middle eastern restaurants always makes such delicious bread. These are made in a big tannur that took centrestage in the kitchen. It was crispy and soft, hot and so addictive. We wrapped the kebab in the bread, and also used it to mop up the sauce from the stew we ordered.

Khoresh Bademjan (Lamb and Eggplant) ($16). The colouring of this dish looked as though it ought to be spicy like a curry but it is nothing like a curry. The red comes from tomatoes and it tasted like a mild pasta sauce with chunks of lamb and eggplant that melts in the mouth. It is so delicious that we only managed to curb our appetites for just enough time to take a photo of the dish.

Akbar Mashdi (Safron and Rose Water icecream) ($5). Akbar Mashdi does not translate into ice cream in English, so at the time we ordered this we had no idea what was going to be served. Luckily it turned out alright, though Gaz was not a big fan of the savoury safron in the ice cream.

The restaurant also sells safron threads and safron candies at the counter. We really enjoyed all the dishes we tasted that night and look forward to visiting again.

Poke the Bear, Northcote

I think Melbourne is the best city for brunches. Slept in? Can't be bothered having breakfast? Bland breakfast foods? Brunch is the answer. I like brunches, they make me feel good about skipping one meal in the day. It gives me the illusion that if I only did brunch, I could lose a whole lot of weight because I only had 1 meal instead of two. 

For brunch today, we chose a cafe on High Street, Northcote called Poke the Bear. There is a bear theme to the cafe, but luckily it's not overbearing (haha, get it?). Definitely not the 'stuffed toys everywhere ala freaky Chucky in a teddy bear suit' type. So, nothing to be afraid of. All the dishes on the menu has bear in their names e.g. Bear and Grin, Papa Bear (which is what I ordered), so cute! There were also little bear figurines and toys dotted throughout the cafe in a tasteful manner, like behind the counter, in the tip boxes and so on. Also cute. 

The cafe was buzzing when we got there and the waitpersons were friendly and helpful, especially towards their many regular customers - they must be doing something right! A good sign indeed.

Gaz ordered one of the daily specials - ham, cheese, cherry tomatoes, potatoes omelette with toast ($19.50). It almost looks like a pizza, loads of stringy mozarella cheese and ham until I found the omelette underneath. It is a generous serving of all the things I like :) There is probably more cheese to eggs, and I could do without potatoes but I love it the way it was.

I ordered the Papa Bear ($19.50) which was cheese and potato hash, poached eggs, arugula salad with a choice of toppings - I chose bacon. I enjoyed the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce the best, which provides so much flavour when eaten with the crispy cheese and potato hash browns. My only gripe was that the bacon looked black and burnt in some parts. It would have been better if the bacon was less black and with more salad on the side.

After brunch, we had fun menu surfing the many multicultural cafes and restaurants along High St, and the many artisan shops selling crystals, home made knick knacks, organic food stores etc. It was a wonderful way to start the day.

Yarra Valley Cafe and Deli

So, we had a very stressful time last weekend while getting some cherries at the orchards in Wandin as you would have read about in the last blog post. 

One of the things that can make things less stressful is... delicious and plentiful food. And did we get some of that at Yarra Valley Cafe and Deli. Located in Wandin's retail strip, it has plenty of carpark at the front of the restaurant, outdoor seating and was beautifully decorated for the Christmas season with fairy lights, cut outs of paper snowflakes and hampers heaving with Yarra Valley produce like jam, relish, fudge, wine. 

We ordered the pan fried salmon with hand cut chips and salsa. There was also a salad of rocket leaves drizzled with aged balsamic which tasted sweet and yummy. I loved the salsa which was avocado, mango and tomatoes with chilli - the chilli gave it a nice hit, but not too spicy. The hand cut chops were crispy but fluffy on the inside. I think the chef cooks potatoes really well because the hash brown in Gaz's dish was equally well cooked - crispy and seasoned well. The salmon didn't have a crispy skin which was a let down, but I was OK with it because I enjoyed the salmon (except for the skin) and the rest of the plate. For $22, it was well priced. 

Gaz had the big breakfast, which is only available until 12pm, but as it was only a few minutes past 12, they made an exception for him. There were bacon, eggs, toast, tomatoes, hash brown, relish, spinach and mushrooms. I liked the relish and the hash browns, and who does not like the combination of fried eggs, bacon on toast. Add some relish to that, and it's a sophisticated bacon and egg sanga. $20 for a big plate of food, well priced.

There are a few other cafes on the same strip of shop. Next door, there was a pizza place, a bakery, and another restaurant. Many of the cafes were full, all benefiting from cherry pickers visiting for the day.

Yarra Valley Cafe and Deli also sells cake slices and coffee, and although we did not try any they did look good.

Cherry Season 2019!

We went to Wandin to get some cherries today. There were sooo many people with the same idea that all the cars caused a traffic jam in Cherry Lane (where many of the orchards are located). It was crazy.. Cherry Haven next door had to turn people away because there was literally no room to fit anymore into their carpark. Nearby cherry orchards had signs up stating U-Picks (pick your own) had closed because there were no more cherries on the trees.

We were told that the cold season had not been good for the harvest, so there were less cherries to go around. Perhaps there will be more when we finally get more sunshine and warm weather in Melbourne, by the next couple of weeks perhaps. 

Cherryhill was buzzing with activity. There was a line of people with big buckets waiting to go into the orchard to pick all those goodies off the trees. There were a little cafe that sells cherry spritzers, cherry soft serves, cherry ice creams, and prepacked boxes of cherries. Out in the yard, there were entertainment in the form of a singer with a guitar, food trucks, photo ops with the beautiful view of the valley. It was a well oiled commercial machine. They even had Mandarin speaking staff to assist the tourists. 

Incidentally, this was also the place where someone opened their car door right into ours in the parking yard and then walked off in full view without apologising or even acknowledging what they had done. It was not a good experience. What should have been a relaxing trip to the country turned into what felt like pre-Christmas shopping frenzy. You know, where people wrestle each other to the ground for the last turkey roast, and driving like lunatics in the shopping centre carparks. 

While cherries were in short supply, we managed to get a 1kg box from another orchard which was less commercialised, less busy and caters more for locals. The cherries were bigger than the ones available right now in the markets, but of course one has to pay for quality. They were $22 per kg. The verdict? Juicy, but not as sweet as imagined. Perhaps the crop in two weeks' time, will be better.

Sushi Jiro

Not to be confused with Sushi Jiro / Sukiyabashi Jiro in Japan but it does well enough to satisfy any sushi train cravings you may have! 

Sushi Jiro has locations in Glen Waverley, Knox, Box Hill, QV and Chadstone. Most of the plates are priced at $3.90 while premium plates range from $4.90 to $7.90. There are also hot foods such as udon which you can order from the touchscreen available at each seat. 

$5.90 premium plate

Takoyaki $3.90

Aren't sushi trains just the greatest? It's like being at a buffet but you don't get judged on how many plates of food you've eaten (you glutton) and the food even send themselves to you.

Sushi trains seem to be one of the latest thing around, and I am so happy to be part of it!

Kaws - Companionship in the Age of Loneliness, NGV

When I saw the Youtube footages of people in Uniqlo China bashing each other over a Kaws t-shirt, I knew I had to go to the exhibition in National Gallery of Victoria to see what the big deal is. 

So, Kaws is artist Brian Donnelly's tag. His early works are in street graffiti, then graffiti on advertisement posters. His friend actually gave him a key to billboard cupboards at bus shelters so he can remove the posters, work on it at his leisure and reinstall when complete. 

These days, companies would be rushing to pay him to 'vandalise' their advertising. Perhaps it may even sell more products because of his trademark xx eyes, skull and crossbones. The 'enhancement' of Simpsons family below was sold for USD $14.7m recently. 

His trademark crosses for eyes and what looks like fluffy hair at the side of the head is actually an abbreviated skull and bones. He is known to 'innovate' on existing well known characters e.g. Mickey, Bugs Bunny with his skull and cross bones.

Later, he expanded to making toys. His first one was named Companion, which is the figure with a smooth finish in the picture below, and later BFF, the figure the Companion is carrying. As you can see, he also does sculptures.

Nowadays, everyone can get a piece of Kaws because he has done collaborations on toys, apparel including shoes, paintings, plates. That is if they are in stock. At the NGV, the Companion toys sold out the first day they were open for the exhibition. First day! More are coming, but we just don't know when yet. Or maybe the staff knows but they're keeping the date hush hush so they can get their hands on it first?

Back to the exhibition, I enjoyed it very much. There is a generous number of displays of different genres shown e.g. paintings, photos, sculptures, toys, etc so it kept things interesting. It is also a tribute to Kaws who have done so many different type of work. I think my favourites are the paintings, they are so intricate.

But I don't think I will be rushing to get a merchandise. The skull and cross bones thing just doesn't resonate with me. To each their own, of course. Resale of Kaws merchandise are rife on the internet. Some of the Uniqlo x Kaws t-shirts are selling at 1000% the original price.

Kaws - Companionship in the Age of Loneliness exhibition is at the NGV until 13 Apr 20. Tickets are $20 per person. There is no need to pre-book as the line is minimal.

Da Guido 365, Little Collins St

Da Guido 365 is the sister restaurant to Da Guido in Little Italy or Lygon St in Carlton. It's decision to open up in the financial precinct of the CBD at the mercy of office workers who are price sensitive is 180 degree different to its offering in Lygon St and is a brave move. The prices starts around $20 for a pizza and $25 for pasta so this is not a place for an everyday casual lunch. On the other hand, the food is quality, the service is attentive and may appeal to the business lunch or dinner where 'the corporate card is paying but let's not go berserk' crowd.

I visited the restaurant many moons ago, when it was the new kid on the block and when they still had the truffle pizza on the menu. The pizza was soooo good, and as you can see in the picture below had generous shavings of truffle everywhere. The dough was delicious, the cheese was top class and the truffles... wonderful! It was so good I went back again for it, twice in two weeks. This pizza has been taken off the menu online so I'm not sure if it's something that is still available. I'm glad I got to enjoy it while it was on the menu. 

Warm calamari salad with chilli and parsley. The calamari was tender, the dish was seasoned well.

I saw some tables ordering pasta dishes which looked good also but we only had pizza the couple times we were there. Like the pizza, I believe the pasta dough is also house made so I would have loved to try them also even if the portions looked a little small.

Unlike Tipo00 nearby which is pricey and Pentolina another Italian restaurant also nearby, Da Guido offers a reasonable price and the added choice of gourmet pizzas on their menu.

Mahjong, St Kilda

There is just something about an All You Can Eat place that makes my heart flutter, adrenaline rush and lastly the devastating effect of a very heavy stomach. The first two feelings are awesome, but there is always the regrettable third that follows. But no matter how many times I have to roll out of a restaurant straight into a food coma that lasts till the morning after, I still love going to AYCE. 

I love AYCE for the variety, the choice to choose for free (this is obviously an illusion because you always pay, with money in the total price and with the pain and regret of overeating) and the challenge of eating more than the price you paid for the food (which is also an illusion since these AYCE restaurants are still running, and going from strength to strength thanks to people like me). 

Mahjong restaurant in St Kilda was a great find for us. The restaurant is clean, tastefully fitted, and service is quick. Food wise, there is a reasonable variety to choose from and the food are all made to order so they are fresh. 

There are dimsum items e.g. steamed dumplings; large plates e.g. steamed fish fillet in soy sauce, salt and pepper calamari; desserts e.g. banana fritters. Each table has a menu, you order which ones you would like to eat and the staff brings them out. The kitchen will prepare the appropriate portion size according to the number of people on the table in order to reduce waste. For example, a normal yumcha dish portion is 3 dumplings but if there were 4 people on the table the chef will steam 4 dumplings in one bamboo steamer to customize. 

Our favourite dishes were the salt and pepper calamari, peking duck wraps, pan fried dumplings, wontons in chilli oil, and tibetan chicken. There were three dessert dishes, and since I was not a dessert fan anyway, I did not find it lacking. My advice is to skip dessert and just enjoy the savoury dishes. 

Service starts at 12pm on Saturdays and goes for two sessions on Sundays from 11:30am for the first and 1:30pm for the second session. Ordering of food is limited to the first 90 minutes from arrival so do be mindful to order enough prior to the time limit so you can continue to eat and chat post 90 minutes. 

This restaurant is great for a leisurely lunch with friends and family over small dishes and wine, on a beautiful sunny day as the restaurant has distant views of green Albert Park and there is outdoor seating available. If not, it is also great for an overcast day when you can sit inside and still enjoy the food and the decor. 

Cooking Corner, Little Bourke Street

I am quite glad to have stumbled upon Cooking Corner through a restaurant reservation website recently. If I hadn't, I don't think I can say I finally know of a good and reasonably priced Taiwainese restaurant that goes beyond the popcorn chicken and minchee with rice dishes. 

This place is well known for its homemade gua baos. I can say that I've not had a better tasting or fluffier bao. I chose a classic bao ($6) which is filled with slices of braised pork belly and pickled mustard. Quite the classic Taiwanese bao filling but I think I would have preferred the fried chicken bao, which is another one of their 'chef's recommended' dish because I thought the classic bao filling was average in taste. 

                                     

What I really liked was the pea tendrils salad with tofu ($12). It has slices of deep fried lotus roots, deep fried tofu, pea shoots, endamame dressed with sesame salad dressing similar to the true and tested Kewpie sesame salad dressing. I've always liked the Kewpie dressing so I enjoyed this dish, and I thought there was a lot of quality ingredients in this salad that made it different (good) from other salads. 

We ordered the boiled vegetarian dumplings which was filled with chives, mushrooms and tofu ($13 for 12 pieces). The dumpling skin was thin and the filling was very tasty. My friend who is a vegetarian thought that this was a better version of vegetarian dumplings around.

And because we are Asians, we ordered Shallot Oil Dry Noodle ($9) for our fill of carbs. Asians cannot let one day pass without eating rice or noodles, it's true! Although the dish looks simple, it tasted delicious. The shallot oil made the noodles fragrant and the noodles had a good bouncy texture.

I really like this restaurant because the food is fresh, 'clean', and modern but does not stray too much from the authentic Taiwan taste. I can't wait to try their Beef Noodles next time to see if it lives up to my expectations!

Cargo, Docklands

Docklands can be a very scenic place to be, but it can also be a very cold and windy place to be. The last time we went to Docklands, it was the latter. Some visitors from overseas were in town and because it was their umpteenth time to Australia, we chose Docklands to bring them to because they had been to everywhere else that was considered 'touristy'. It was probably not a good idea, because there were few trams from Collins Street, and we had to wait for about 10 mins in the wind for one. In fact, some of us caught a cold in the week after returning from the day out.

We visited the Skypark first. Did you know that the Skypark is a public garden on top of one of the Melbourne Quarter MQ building? It is open to the public from 8am to 6pm everyday and can be accessed by a winding staircase or a glass lift, both of which sounds and indeed look so romantic! You might think that being so close to Southern Cross station and the busy Collins St below that it will be very noisy in the garden but it is quite an oasis. The lawn is lush green grass, there are trees everywhere, there are strategically placed benches and benches in the style of a beach lounge chair. There are even fairy lights along the border of the park so it feels magical when you visit when it is still dark.

We also visited the Sunday market, the District shopping centre, the Library and generally strolled along the harbour. There are such nice views of the water and the boats bobbing on the water but boy, were we cold!

For lunch, we went to Cargo. This place is very reasonably priced for a Docklands restaurant, there are plenty of seats and we got a table with a view. 

We ordered the beer battered fish and chips ($24). For some reason fish and chips is always a favourite with our overseas visitors, not sure why. The fish was very crispy. 

Spaghetti and beef balls ($18) for another dose of quintessential 'Western' food for the benefit of our overseas visitors...

Calamari ($13) for entree. Can't get enough of calamari!

Funghi mushrooms with truffle oil ($17). This was yummy... love the truffle oil though some people would say truffle oil is so passe. I was watching 'I Live Alone' the other day and saw Hwasa pour a whole bottle (ok, I'm exaggerating, maybe a couple of dashes) of truffle oil into her instant jajangmyeon. See, she likes it too!

We enjoyed our lunch at Cargo and was very satisfied by the quality of food, portion sizes and service. It is definitely one of the better value for money restaurants in Docklands to visit if you are ever in the area.

Wilson's Promontory

Wilson's Promontory National Park or Wilson's Prom as it is fondly called, is the southern most tip of Victoria. The most accessible parts of the national park are along the east while to access the west part of the national park, one will need to walk a day and stay overnight there. One of the more popular walks is to the lighthouse, where you can stay overnight at the lighthouse and walk back the next day. I heard that the views are spectacular. But so are the views from the east side of the park. 

We walked up to the summit of Mount Oberon and were rewarded with these views of the Bass Strait. In total it was about a 3 hour return journey for medium fitness walkers like us. The incline was steep and relentless. The last leg of the journey involves climbing flights of stairs against a mountain face in very windy conditions. I was terrified. But look at the views from the summit: 

There are many walks to choose from, ranging from easy to very difficult overnight walks. The Wildlife Walk was one of the easiest ones. It is just a meander through flatlands, bushes and trees. The only mildly strenuous bit is avoiding the kangaroo droppings along the way. There are no prescribed path on this walk, one is free to walk wherever you can see wildlife.

We saw many kangaroos on the walk but no other wildlife even though we really wanted to see wombats.

This is Squeaky Beach - yes the sand is so fine that it squeaks if you rub it! But the scenery is amazing too, lots of interesting rock formations with colours of the sunset.

This is one of the most surprising walks we've been on, mainly because it was not planned but short (about 1.8km) and we were rewarded by beautiful views of the bay on both sides. There is Norman Bay on the left and Leonard Bay on the right.

There is so much to do in Wilsons Prom - swimming, enjoying the beach, camping, walking, photography, wildlife observing, the list goes on. We enjoyed our trip very much and all the locals were so friendly.

Burma Lane, Melbourne CBD

If you want a great lunch and pay only half the price, then go to Burma Lane in the CBD. Burma Lane is a sister restaurant to Red Spice Road, so if you enjoy the food at RSR, you will like Burma Lane too. It serves modern fusion Cambodian cuisine and have the same bold, intense flavours as RSR. It also has a version of the famous pork belly on its menu. On Mondays, it has a Feed Me set menu on half price (limited to 4 people only, normally $39 pp). 

The Feed Me menu changes regularly so you don't have to worry about eating the same thing because you've gone twice in two weeks like I did, because I enjoyed the food so much. The Feed Me menu provides for 2 small dishes, and 3 mains.

Dumplings, can't go wrong with dumplings! The second time I visited, it was shan tofu which I found a little bland, unlike the dumplings. 

Smoked chicken wings. Deep fried then covered in smoky spicy dressing. It was sticky, sweet, smoky and spicy.

Deep fried barramundi pieces, sweet potato in a spicy honey soy sauce. It was a little bit fishy, but not bad. On the second time I was there, they served braised beef cheeks which was just marvellous!! The meat was tender and melted in the mouth. It was braised in the same kind of sauce (notice how most of the sauces on the menu seem a little similar in colour and flavour..?) but was so good.

Papaya salad - my friend enjoyed this immensely as she loves papaya salad. It was crunchy and refreshing. The second time I visited there was wok tossed greens which included green beans, which I enjoyed more.

Pork Belly - 1 cube per person. Similar to RSR, it was sticky and melted in the mouth, and is a constant on the menu.

The dish that I most enjoyed in Burma Lane was the braised beef cheeks, surpassing the pork belly which can be a little stringy at times. I also enjoyed the wok tossed greens which had the breath of wok in the dish. The portions are generous, and no need for rice to fill the tummy up. So if you were ordering from the ala carte menu, don't go past the braised beef cheeks!

Skybar, Glen Waverley

Skybar is a rooftop bar and restaurant in Glen Waverley. This place is on level 8 of the building which gives it an expansive view over the Glen Waverley and surrounding area. Being a rooftop bar, I was afraid that it would be cold and windy because it was a particularly windy night when we visited this restaurant, but the outdoor dining area was well covered with clear plastic tarp which made it windproof. 

We went as part of a Groupon offer which offered good value otherwise it can be a little pricy. I guess part of the price goes towards paying for the view too. 

For entree, there was a mix of 4 items - chicken karaage, deep fried calamari, arancini balls and watermelon salad. The watermelon salad was refreshing after all the deep fried items on the plate. It was a good balance. 

This is the main I chose - pan fried salmon with beurre blanc sauce and sweet potatoes. The fish was well cooked, but the beurre blanc and fatty salmon was quite rich but a squeeze of lemon soon set it right.

Gaz chose the steak and potato chips. That's typical isn't it, fish for the ladies and meat for the gents.. we get half of each other's plates though so I didn't need to miss out on the steak.

Lastly, green tea panacotta which was so yummy that we practically scraped the bottom of the glass over and over again to make sure we didn't leave anything behind. Delicious!

We found the food to be on the oily side, and I think there is some refinement to be made overall. Service wise, the waitpersons were courteous, almost with an air of fine dining in the way the dishes were presented and explained which was welcomed. This is a nice place for a special occasion that demands a view or for the international visitor.

Uchiwa, Vermont

Uchiwa is a new neighbourhood restaurant serving Japanese food. Don't expect authentic Japanese food here, but the flavours are good. I saw some reviews on the net questioning why jasmine rice is used when short grain rice is usually used in Japanese cuisine. I didn't mind it at all, because the price is very reasonable for the flavours and portions served.

We ordered the fried oysters ($7). There are 3 pieces and they are fried perfectly. I love deep fried anything but deep fried oysters are especially delicious because of the crispy outside and buttery soft insides.

Teriyaki beef bento ($13) which comes with salad and three pieces of sushi. There were lots of beef slices, and they were good quality slices, not the ones with more fat than meat. Or gristly meat. There was even some 'wok hei' or in this case should I say 'breath of the teppan' instead of 'breath of the wok' in this dish. And this is why I have no complains over what type of rice is used.

I ordered the katsu don ($11) which came with egg and onions and a chicken (or pork) cutlet on top of rice. The deep fried chicken cutlet was moist (I've had the pork cutlet as well, it can be a bit dry) and well fried. The dish was seasoned well, again no complains over what type of rice it was as I would be happy to eat the whole bowl, Jasmine or short grain rice!

This is a small place located in the Vermont South shopping complex. Many of their orders are from takeaway or Uber Eats but there is a comfy enough seated dining area for their eat in diners. The waitpersons are polite and they even offer free tea at dinnertime.

ONDA, Richmond

ONDA is one of the best restaurants I have been to recently. We stumbled upon this place and was glad that we found such an amazing place. ONDA serves Latin American food. The flavours are vibrant, new to me, and bold. 

We ordered the black prawn dogs with salsa picante ($14) as a snack. I think this is a similar concept to the American corn dogs, only with prawns and charcoal. The prawns were crispy and goes well with the green chilli salsa which is not as spicy as it sounds. 

For entree, we ordered the house cured ocean trout ceviche with blood orange, toasted hemp seeds, puffed rice and amarillo mole ($16.50). It was served on house made crisps. Isn't the colour and presentation just so beautiful? Amarillo means amber and I take it to be orange chilli mixed with mayo. The combination of the trout, refreshing blood orange and amarillo mole was so delicious. It was not easy to get everything on a chip but it was well worth the fiddly factor when it does.

 
For mains we ordered the swordfish with carrot polenta, roasted heirloom carrots, tomatillo salad and puffed buckwheat ($29). I love how the chef has thought about the texture and always incorporates something crispy into each dish. I loved the puffed buckwheat crispiness in this dish. The swordfish was cooked really well, juicy even though swordfish is a meaty and can be dry if overcooked.

Gaz ordered the grilled wagyu striploin with monfongo, chimichurri, beef fat croutons, beetroot puree, pickled beetroots and beef jugo ($29). Wow, so many things happening on this plate! Monfongo is deep fried plaintain mashed together with other ingredients e.g. pork or seafood. You can see it underneath the wagyu, a thick big slab. It tasted a bit like yam, and was very filling. The beef fat croutons was very nice, again a crunchy element on the plate. And now I know why it tasted delicious, because of the beef fat!

And now, for dessert ONDA presents to you black sesame and chocolate cigars filled with dulce de leche and banana mousse, puffed buckwheat and aromats ($15). The cigars are presented in a sealed cigar box, layered with smoked coffee beans so that when the diner opens the box, the smell of the coffee beans creates an unforgettable experience. The cigars themselves were crispy, decadent and delicious. I don't normally like bananas but I didn't mind it with the chocolate and dulce de leche.

We loved our dining experience and the new exciting flavours at ONDA. I think the snacks and small plates are a good way to sample what the restaurant has to offer. The mains may cost more but they are filling and are of good quality, and definitely don't skip the cigars for dessert. I just hope I haven't spoiled the surprise for you!

Thoughts on How to be Environmentally Friendly - Use Soap

With a glut of plastics in our landfills on land and in the oceans, it has become more urgent to tackle reduction of single use plastics and unnecessary plastic packaging. In our household, I have tried to make some small changes and re-think our habits to reduce use of plastics. 

For example, we try to avoid the use of cling wrap by storing food in reusable glass containers in the fridge, or covering bowls of food being microwaved with glass plates. We also bring our own bags to the supermarket including those for bagging loose fruits and vegetables.

A new idea came to me the other day - maybe we should use soap instead of body wash and hand wash. Soap lasts longer, and comes in less packaging usually in paper (albeit waxed paper) than body and hand wash. Body and hand wash comes in plastic containers, its refills comes in plastic containers as well. 

So I have bought some bars of soap to be used in the shower and in the sink. So far, it has worked just as well. In fact, we used to use soap as kids before liquid soap with fancy smells and colours took over. Not to mention the disaster that was micro plastics parading as 'moisture beads', now they are all over the ocean, in fishes and probably in our stomachs as well. 

There are still lots to do to reduce my use of plastics, but every little bit counts!

Studfield Dumpling House, Wantirna

Studfield Dumpling House is a place where you want to like it, but you would struggle to do so. This newly opened restaurant looks neat and clean, the menu contains a variety of dumpling, rice and noodle dishes at very reasonable prices. This is what we ordered when we visited:

Deep fried chicken ribs on rice. I think it's difficult to go wrong with deep fried foods. This tasted similar to what you would find in a generic Cantonese restaurant. Lots of rice, and even some blanched bok choy on the side for a balanced diet.

Fried chicken and prawn dumplings. Unlike some other stores where their dumpling fillings consists of a mystery mash with no discernible prawn meat, I can see actual prawn meat chunks in the filling, a very good sign. They weren't oily like the rest, but taste wise, was a little underseasoned. 

Stir fried rice noodles with beef slices and egg gravy. Liked the egg gravy, liked the rice noodles but the beef was a little tough but edible. I like how this is a generous serve.

The restaurant looked clean, generous serves, food was OK.. so what was the let down? The service. I don't expect to be waited hand and foot, this is a Chinese restaurant after all. But I do expect intuitive service. For example, you don't bring a dish with gravy and only a pair of chopsticks to eat it. What will the customer scoop the gravy and pieces of slippery rich noodles with?

Although there were only two other tables besides us in the restaurant, we had to ask for water and cups after being seated for some time. I don't think it occurred to the waitstaff to bring us any. And no, this is not a restaurant where customer can self-service.

Another dish was delivered to our table without any eating utensils until we asked for it. All the while, the staff was chatting to their friends/relatives on one table, or milling about.

All in all, it was a very frustrating experience because we wanted to enjoy the food hot when it arrived on the table but couldn't do so. It's really too bad, because the strip would benefit from a dumplings place.