Lulu's Char Kuey Teow, Hardware Lane

The menu at Lulu's Char Koay Teow is limited to a few dishes, but I don't hold that against them. I think that restaurants that only offer their specialty dishes are those that should do them very well and so will not disappoint. The specialty dishes here are the char koay teow and char mee and they did not disappoint. Even though the name of the restaurant is char koay teow, I actually like the char mee (quite simply Fried Noodles) better. 

We ordered the Duck Egg Char Koay Teow $15.90 and Char Mee $14.90. The Penang CKT was smoky and fragrant. There were one or two small slices of lap cheong (chinese sausage), bean sprouts, chives, duck egg, definitely no fish cakes (this is one of the marks of an authentic CKT!) and two BIG prawns. The prawns were bigger than the ones you will find in other restaurants. They were juicy and fresh, so yum! Besides the original CKT, there are other CKT with special ingredients for different prices for e.g. blood cockles, razor clams, squid and jumbo prawns. If the normal prawns Lulu's use are already so large, I wonder what the jumbo prawns look like!!

This is the original Char Mee I enjoyed ($14.90), full of breath of the wok, the slightly alkalinic taste of the noodles and char from the wok makes it very enjoyable. As with the CKT, this also has pieces of crispy rendered lard which taste so good but oh so bad for health! Ah well... the diet starts tomorrow!

This place is really busy and you will find that there is a queue no matter the hour of the day. Luckily the mainly Asian clientele 'knows what to do' by keeping the chit chatting to a minimum, eating very quickly and moving on quickly after their meal so that the others waiting in the cold or heat outside can have their fix of CKT too. 

Decor wise, there is a shelf of antique items in the shop that brought back some memories of Malaysia for me. There is a display of old style biscuit tins with the transparent plastic front that shows off what type of biscuits are in the tin like the ones in the pasar malam (night market) and old grocery stores. I remember those grocery stores with fondness, full of sacks of dried seafood, no name biscuits from big tins sold by weight, freshly grated coconut, gas canisters and off the shelf traditional medicinal oils. It is also the place where one trades information of which neighbour bought what item for what purpose and general gossip. These neighbourhood shops and hair salons are better information portals than the Internet, I tell you. 

The price is higher than usual, but I think the two big prawns and the chef's skill is makes up for it.

Lacy Scarf

This scarf was started months ago, unravelled 3 or 4 times but finally finished last week! It's not a difficult pattern at all, but somehow I lacked the motivation piece to finish the project. But now that it is finally complete, I am enjoying wearing this light and soft scarf. 

The yarn over knit together technique is new to me and is what creates the lacy effect which runs down in three strips on the scarf.

Many employers have requested their staff to work from the office since April. There have been no cases for the past month in Victoria and it has been more than 12 months since Covid19 blew our lives inside out. So it's time to go back to the office and try to resume our old routines as best as we can. 

Farewell knitting, cooking fresh food on the day and eating dinner on time, farewell 0 minute commute I shall miss you the most!

Romanos, Knox Wantirna

Saturdays are usually the most hectic day of the week as we juggle various commitments and chores so we have Sundays free to indulge in activities we love to do, instead of the obligatory ones. Sometimes we even do nothing on Sundays gasp*

So it is nice to have a leisurely lunch in a restaurant on Saturday amid the craziness in our schedules. Recently we went to Romanos in Knox Shopping Centre after running an errand there. We ordered the big breakfast and a shakshuka.

The usual suspects - bacon, egg, hash brown, spinach and toast.

Shakshuka with toast. The toast mopped up the runny eggs and tomato sauce.

The service was speedy and friendly but the last time we went, the seats were a little old and needed re-upholstering. 

Osaka Kitchen, Vermont South

This hole in the wall restaurant is not located in the usual places where one would find a restaurant. Who would think of finding a restaurant near a loading dock of a supermarket, in a small lane away from foot traffic? 

 

It is a small restaurant with a few seats so I think if you live close by and was shopping at the nearby Vermont Shopping Centre, it is very convenient to pop by for a fix of Japanese home cooked food. The shop is run by two people, so it is best to call and place your order ahead to minimise waiting time. 

The last time we were there, we ordered the chicken karaage rice bowl ($9.80) and beef bento ($13.80). The bento comes with the standard miso soup which is not pictured. The prices are good, just look at the number of chicken pieces in the chicken karaage bowl. I doubt one can find any restaurant meals for below $10 these days, even if it is just slightly below $10. 

Taste wise, the ingredients taste fresh and cooked without MSG. The side dish in the bento box was simple, just like how a mom's home cooked meals are. There is a good balance of meat and vegetables in both dishes.

Comparing Osaka Kitchen with Uchiwa just round the corner, the latter has a larger menu with similar prices but Osaka Kitchen has just a little bit more authenticity to their food. But I would prefer to visit Uchiwa for a better dine in experience.

 

Despite it's location, this restaurant has accumulated a following. While I was waiting to pick up my order, I saw many others who had phoned in their order earlier coming in to pick up their orders. I am glad that a local restaurant is doing well under the Covid19 conditions. It has not been easy on the restaurant sector.

So, if this is your local area then go ahead and support your local restaurants!