Wa Sushi, Boronia

At the last round of government dining and entertainment subsidy program, we took the opportunity to splurge on a sushi platter from Wa Sushi. We ordered a Salmonholic medium platter ($59) that had salmon nigiri and salmon roll both fresh and seared salmon and salmon sashimi. We love salmon more than other fish so it was an easy choice to choose this platter over the vegie platter and assorted fish nigiri platter. 

The platter was a feast to the eyes! The rice is less sweet compared to the chain restaurants but as it was prepared earlier, I think it would be much tastier to dine in. 

The fish was fresh and tasty, and I was amazed at the knife skills of the chef. To be able to cut paper thin slices of fish without breaking any part of the fish is no mean feat. Look at how thin the slice of fish that adorns the top of the salmon roll! There is a thicker slice of fish within the roll, along with some avocado and cucumber. The sashimi was also beautifully cut, there was no leftover skin or sinew on the fish.

There was about 30 pieces altogether, 6 different styles of presenting salmon. So each piece was about $2 which is a little more expensive than the platters from Sushi Hub. Unfortunately there was a public holiday surcharge 15% which meant we only saved 14% instead of 25%. Overall I think the quality is more bespoke and I feel it tastes a little fresher. It also offers other more deluxe platter choices with crab and sea urchin so they would provide an easy catering option for dinner parties.

Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas everyone! May the blessings of the Lord be onto you, and may you remember the gift of His sacrifice. For those who do not celebrate Christmas, happy holidays and happy shopping!

Christmas this year was to be celebrated at our place but has been cancelled due to Covid. The person who has Covid still has symptoms like coughing, tiredness but is otherwise doing well. There is no shortness of breath or anything serious. Another person felt they could not make it so we decided to postpone Christmas until the new year.

Luckily although all the planning had been done for the meal, the shopping for food has not so that has saved me from having a fridge full of composting food while we we are away at the peninsula for the holidays. 

Instead of moping around, we have decided to make the best of the situation. I will cook a smaller Christmas feast and deliver it on Christmas Eve to the person with Covid so they don't miss out simply because of Covid. We will then have Christmas day free to go to church, have a leisurely brunch, go to the beach and explore another part of town new to us.

I am reminded of some of the things we can do during the holidays even though we may not celebrate. One of my friends volunteer at a soup kitchen on Christmas Day, another will spend it at home knitting with their online knit group with members from across the world. Yet another has gone on an overseas holiday. 

Which ever way you spend this season, may you be safe and happy always. Signing off for 2022...

DPenyetz, Little Bourke St CBD

As a kid, there was a rumour at school that the green noodles in a cendol was made of worms. There was no doubt that it was nothing but a rumour, possibly endangering the livelihoods of street cendol vendors. But I did not partake of cendol for a long time because the green bean noodles were flourescent green and the drink was too sweet. So, when Gaz ordered the cendol ($5.90) at D'Penyetz restaurant he naturally expected to have it to himself but he unexpectedly had to share it with me because it was a hot day. It was refreshing and not too sweet because most of the brown sugar syrup was at the bottom so if you wanted a little sweeter, stir a little harder. 

We ordered the Ayam Penyet with the mildest sambal ($11.90). It was sweet and spicy sambal but delicious. An extra charge is applicable for more sambal. The chicken is tender and crispy on the outside. 

Mie Goreng chicken ($14.90) - it comes with fried egg and kerupuk, fried crackers. 

D'Penyetz is actually an Indonesian chain restaurant that originated in Singapore and has franchise restaurants in Malaysia. The prices are reasonable and quality of the food is good. For consistent food and reasonably priced food, this is the place to go to. 

Uncle Jack's Kitchen, Wheelers Hill

Food prices have increased many folds since last year, due to shortages of ingredients and labour then due to inflation. A year ago it might have still been possible to get a meal for $11 but today you would expect to pay $16 without the weekend surcharges, public holiday surcharges, credit card payment surcharges, if the restaurant managed to find enough worker to open for business. 

Uncle Jack's Kitchen in Wheelers Hill thankfully do not charge weekend surcharges or credit card surcharges. It is clean and tidily decorated with vases of fake and fresh flowers. There is a television screen at the entrance that played Christian workship karaokes, I am guessing the couple who own/run this restaurant are Christians. 

We ordered beef hor fun ($15.80) which came with slices of tender beef, bean sprouts and spring onions. Portion wise, it is not very large so we did not overeat. 

I ordered the Cheesy Baked Curry Chicken on Rice ($16.80). I was inspired by the simplicity of this dish and I would like to make it at home one day. It was fried rice topped with slices of chicken in Japanese curry sauce and cheesy creamy sauce. The dish is then baked until golden. I can imagine it being a comfort food or a quick and easy weeknight dinner dish. 

 There are other types of baked rice dish on the menu, like curry pumpkin seafood baked rice, creamy vegie baked rice, baked cod fillet in creamy sauce on rice that I would like to try to recreate at home. They sound wholesome and delicious. 

The restaurant also does dinner service. From the menus and advertising posters around the restaurant, I gather that one of their chef's special is whole barramundi fish in soy milk (similar to Dainty Sichuan's whole spicy fish) and duck hotpot. They do not particularly appeal to me, but I think this place is a clean and wholesome restaurant to have lunch after shopping at the Woolworths and chinese grocery nearby. It is also within walking distance to the Monash Gallery of Art and library. 

The Week

It's only 2 more weeks to Christmas! We've already been to a few Christmas functions - end of year work functions, Christmas catch ups, carols and fireworks, Christmas markets but I am looking forward to the Christmas dinner with the family which will be held at our place this year. I am planning to cook some new dishes and bring out the best china which will add that little bit of special-ness to the dinner. But what I'm not into this week is: 

1. Harry and Meghan's new docuseries on Netflix

I dislike people who air their family's dirty laundry in public, even when they are public persona. Sure, there may be times when you need someone to whinge to or to laugh (not in a nice way) with and this can be your own family and maybe one or two long time, trustworthy friends. Definitely not to Netflix and to the whole world. 

It seems like the whole world is rapt with them, both the supporters and the critics but I think the best thing for these people is not to give them any airtime. And if their children complains about their parents or their childhood to some version of Netflix 20 or 30 years later, we know where they got the idea from.

Thymes Five, Ashburton

Before our walk along Gardiner's Creek, we stopped by Thymes Five cafe in Ashburton. This cafe is modern and clean, and is located along the main street of Ashburton. It was bustling with activity when we arrived. We were shown to a table opposite the service window so we could glimpse into the kitchen and see what the chefs are doing. 

Gaz ordered the waffle with chicken. This is an American concept, mixing savoury with sweet and it is not my style, just like bacon and maple syrup isn't but I enjoyed this dish. It also comes with some fruits (strawberries and blueberries) and a serving of chilli soy sauce which has a kick to it. A very strong kick. It was an instagrammable dish. 

My only comment is that the waffles are a little dry and hard and the sauce was too spicy for me. 

I ordered the soft shell crab with chips and salad without much thought. When it was served, I realised we had ordered two deep fried food! The batter was a little too thick for my liking but the chips were very nicely cooked. It was crispy and crunchy, perfect. The salad dressing was a little oily but I liked that I was still eating some green leafy vegetables to feel less guilty about the deep fried food I was consuming. Both dishes were around $21-22

After lunch, we walked all the way to Holmesglen train station along Gardiner's Creek trail (which really isn't that far away) and went to Tung Wo restaurant. Gaz was too full to eat anything else so I took away some of their famous prawn dumplings in soup for snack later at home. $13.50 for 6 dumplings is quite steep but they are most authentic tasting sui kau I have found in Melbourne so far. 

They changed their name from Niko Niko to Tung Wo a while ago, which is the name they used when they were located in Glen Waverley. Personally I think it is a much better name to stick with, because Niko Niko made them sound like a Japanese restaurant, which cannot be further from the truth. 

The Week

Summer is here, bring on the warm and sunny days! Here's what I have been interested in this week: 

1. Wednesday

No, not hump day rather, the 8 part series on Netflix. It is only the most popular English language show on Netflix right now, so the law of average dictates that I must like this show. And I do! I have been binge watching a couple of episodes per sitting on work nights, which have not been healthy but luckily the weekend is here and I can finish the final few episodes. I hope the ending is a satisfying one. 

2. Toastmasters Club

What is the one fear that most people have? It has to be public speaking, methinks. There is so much to be afraid of - the expectation that the speech has to be funny, engaging, interesting, thought provoking; the hundreds of eyes on you; the questions that come afterwards. It's like dealing with a funnel web spider on steroids. Hence why I have been looking speaking clubs that will help me overcome this fear. It is not the most comfortable or cheapest thing to do, but if it means I am taking one small step towards self betterment then I will see it as Year 2023 resolution and take on the challenge.

3. Jia Jiang and 100 days of rejection therapy

What led me to Jia Jiang and his pet project was actually another public speaker with a project in a similar vein. A friend actually told me about Jia Jiang many years ago (Jia's first videos on Youtube was 10 years ago) but my interest was piqued again recently when an article about a female public speaker who went on lunches with strangers appeared in a newspaper. I remembered how Jia started his project as a means to desensitise himself from rejection, and the crazy things he would do to get rejected like asking to plant a flower in a random person's garden or get a Olympic symbol from Krispy Kreme. I mean, some of these things that I would never work up the courage to so, which is why I admire him even more.

Hamilton

Since it is now spring and the weather is warmer when it is not raining, we are going out more often. One of the weekend, we went to watch Hamilton as a special treat. Gaz got some tickets from Lasttix at a very good discount. We did not have high expectations for good seats, because the nature of the discounted tickets are that one cannot choose their seats. So when we got into the Majesty's Theatre and found our seats, we were very pleased with the seating and the view. It was in the centre of the fifth row of the dress circle. The view was wonderful and we had ample legroom because there was the passage in front of us. It was literally the best seats in the house. 

The last musical we watched was The Book of Mormon which has been quite a while, so it was nice to be at a musical again. The set was quite plain but the music and plot was all one needed to be entertained. The two main catchy numbers for me were the Alexander Hamilton and My Shot.

What I did not like about the plot and this may have been a true life event was how senseless the duels were. To think that his advice to his son failed ultimately resulting in his son's death, only to follow the same advice resulting in his death is also a mystery. Should have changed your strategy, Hamilton!

I particularly liked the follow up story of his widow Eliza Hamilton's legacy post his death. She established orphanages and helped children in need. She was also a strong protector of her husband's works and legacy. 

Hamilton will be at Her Majesty's Theatre until Jan 23. 

The Week

Here's what I've been interested in this week: 

1. Self help books

The last 2 years have been a roller coaster ride. There have been so many changes to lifestyle, work, how we even function as a society and all those have affected me to some degree. I found myself feeling really low lately, and crave for some positive change in my life. Gaz borrowed How to Be Fine by Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg, two popular podcasters and author in the US from the library for me. It is an easy book to read, and summarises their year of reviewing and living 2 weeks of their lives on 50 self help books so in a way I feel like I'm already getting the best advice from all the self help books available. I am conscious that reading will only get me so far, the next challenge is to actually put things into gear and actually make the change. 

2. Sally Capp's comments

The Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp gave a TED talk this week about how Covid had made Melbourne stronger and better, which has drawn ire from many people. Melbourne's foot traffic is still 15-20% down from pre-Covid, and office occupancy is only 45% the lowest among major cities in Australia. A recording of the talk is nowhere to be found so the other side of the story remains to be told. I'm not sure if the city has indeed become stronger and better and it is definitely a different world altogether.

3. Hotpot dinners

I've been trying to cut down on time spent on household chores including cooking. Now that we are required to return to the office for more days of the week (eventually we'll probably have to go back full time), it should be easier if I can cook and freeze meals in advance, or cook a fuss free dinner. Enter the hotpot! It is so easy to prepare a hotpot meal, and healthy as well because there is no extra oil used. I usually prepare ingredients like sliced fish, fishballs, tofu, vegetables and noodles which are less processed and fast to cook. I would like a grill pan for Christmas to cook on the electric portable cooker so I can also grill meats on the table next.

Rone, Flinders St Station Ballroom

When Rone exhibited in Burnham Beeches in the Dandenong Ranges, the tickets were sold out so quickly that we didn't get a chance to go. This time, we booked early and last weekend we went to his exhibition in the Flinders St Station Ballroom. As the name suggests, the venue is above Flinders Street Station, and partly refurbished. The ballroom is accessed via a narrow corridor so it does detract a little from the grandeur of a function held there. I can imagine line dances and rock n roll dances held in the place and less waltzes and other ballroom dances. 

The exhibition is called TIME. There are 12 paintings each exhibited in a room, besides the freebie painting (last picture) in the gift shop on the ground floor. We took about 1.5 hours strolling through the space but there is so many little details to take in that you can easily spend more time here. But be warned,  there is a lack of seating unlike a gallery so it might be tiring to be on the feet all that time. 

Rone started painting his signature young women faces in shades as a graffiti artist, on walls with irregular features like windows and pipes. He has done the same here except the paintings are on not only walls but also cabinet doors, books, and posters. It reminds me of Red Hong Yi's paintings which amazed me with its versatility of the medium used, much like the versatility of the canvas used here.  

Besides the paintings, he spent 3 years on curating furniture and materials used in the exhibition. Everything from old chairs, antique china, typewriters, old books and magazines, old newspapers that pappered the windows in the corridors were meticulously collected and displayed. They were 'aged' and arranged like Chernobyl happened in the middle of a normal work or school day. 

The intention of the display is to express the passing of time, which it did very well. There were even fake cobwebs and mould. As a clean freak, I felt compelled to get the vacumm and mop out. 

If you are wondering about the girl in the paintings, she is model Teresa Oman. Like in Burnham Beeches (actress Lily Sutherland was his muse in the project), every painting is of the same person. I wish I looked that good when not smiling. 

At the end of the exhibition, there are opportunities to buy merchandise including books, ivy in a resin block and prints at the gift shop on Level 2 and ground floor. 

TIME by Rone will be at Flinder Street Station until 23 April 23. Tickets can be purchased via Rone's website. 

Coolart Wetlands and Homestead and Hastings Foreshore

Coolart Wetlands is a large park and wetlands run by Parks Victoria located on the other side of the peninsula, opposite site to the more well known tourist destinations of Dromana, Arthurs Seat etc. Parks Victoria ran guided tours to some of its parks and this was one we had never been to or known about so we decided to take advantage of a guided tour. 

The tours were ran by two 'friends of the park' who are both very knowledgeable and despite being much older than us, walked quickly and surely through the paths both beaten and unbeaten, of the park. We were told little tid bits of information about the occupants of the wetlands, observed the many types of wildlife and birds in one of the hides (structure with slits for windows to watch birds) and enjoyed our walk to a secluded beach. Overall it was an easy walk with plenty of interesting sights. 

I tasted New Zealand spinach (thick, not as silky as English spinach) and heard pobblebonk frogs (they sound almost like swarms of bees, but what a cute name!!)

We saw the endangered blue billed duck (below) swimming and diving for food.

Two birds that flew straight into the hide where we were observing their kind. Instead of building their nest in the outdoors, they had the brilliant idea of building it in the hide. A ready made 'nest'!

There is a homestead on the property, but a pity it was closed for renovations until further notice. It was built in 1895 and changed hands in 1937 whereupon it was declared a sanctuary for wildlife. There is a lovely garden near the homestead, where one can picnic on the lawns on a sunny day like the one we had when we were there. It was such a change from the La Nina weather we had been having. 

After lunch, we went to the Hastings beach foreshore where we found this (below), a Port Jackson shark egg. It looks like a screw made of seaweed. The mother shark picks it up with its mouth and screws it into the crevices of rocks so that it will be wedged safe and sound until the baby shark hatches. Isn't that amazing? Only a few types of sharks lay eggs and I had the privilege of seeing an empty shark egg casing that day to learn something new. 

There were some some pelicans on the foreshore hoping for fish meat from people who were filleting the fish they caught out in the sea. 

Colourful gerberas growing on the beach at Hastings. I don't think they're wild flowers, but they look magical, like something out of a fairy tale. 

Somers and Hastings is just about an hour and a half from Melbourne and is well worth the visit.  

Edwin Wine Bar, Southbank

I'll start off by saying that the food at Edwin Wine Bar is delicious, the service is good and the mocktails even better but it is a classy and pricey place to dine at. Luckily, thanks to the Fork and discount on food, we were able to experience fine dining without the price tag. 

We ordered the beef ($54) which was very tender and melted in the mouth. The sauce was thick and delicious.

Some greens as a side dish - peas ($14)

Blue eyed cod, pancetta ($45). The pancetta was crisp and salty which provided a contrast to the fish. This dish is good, but I prefer the steak which was very tender and thoroughly infused with flavour.

We also ordered a mocktail which was very refreshing, with elderflower. 

The restaurant is at the ground floor of Peppers Hotel so it is convenient for hotel residents to dine at. I saw a few tables where the customers seem to have dined there before. Most tables ordered multiple small plates to share, tapas style. The popular dish seem to be croquettes and salmon wings, and of course the steak. 

Ranong Town, Ferntree Gully

Now that the borders are open, travel has become an achievable thing to do. But only if you have the patience to wait out long queues at Customs, flight cancellations and withstand the impacts of the shrinking dollar. Thankfully, authentic food can be found closer to home to bring you closer to where you wanted to travel to. 

Ranong Town is a new restaurant serving authentic Thai food. The building used to be a milk bar but has been repurposed to a restaurant with seating for around 4-5 tables inside and an additional 2-3 outside. There are no great views outside the restaurant, unless you fancy looking into people's houses across the street and a Telstra phone booth but it is a good place to sit if you're waiting for coffee takeaways (there's a fancy coffee machine that the staff was playing with while we were eating but the coffee trade was slow because it was lunch hour). 

We chose to sit inside to escape the drizzle (La Nina, begone!). There was a row of fridges at one end and an open area with a few shelves filled with snacks and everyday essentials of varying origins, some from Yarra Valley. It is quite an eclectic collection with no rhyme or reason but interesting to browse through when waiting for the food. We settled on a bag of crackers and munched on those while waiting our order of Khao Moo stewed pork hock on rice ($16) and Thai boat noodles ($16).

The stewed pork hock on rice can also be ordered as a main course ($22) without the rice. The pork was very tender and smooth. There is a vinegar chilli condiment that accompany the dish to cut through the greasiness of the pork. 

The boat noodle is filled with herbs, five spice powder soupiness. There are a few pieces of beef and beef balls, bean sprouts, and rice noodles. Gaz had not tried boat noodles before and was put off by the liberal dash of five spice whereas I have had it before in Thai Town and Dodee Paidang and knew what to expect. This is where culture shocks set in, because Gaz did not grow up eating five spice and is used to beef marinated in baking soda to tenderize it but it is the opposite in most south eastern countries. 

 The food here is authentic and tasty. They also have curries ($17 - $21 for seafood option) and several other dishes that sound interesting like Hat Yai fried chicken ($20) and stir fried bitter beans ($16). Now if you are getting something like bitter beans in a restaurant, you know you are getting authentic!

Butcher 128, Yarraville

We were en route to Macedon one day and decided to stop at a hip brunch place at Yarraville. Butcher 128 is so called because it used to be a butcher shop. It still has the glass display cases previously used to show cuts of meat now relegated to storage space and juice cooler. 

I ordered the Baron sandwich - grilled beef brisket pastrami with swiss cheese, mustard and a pickle ($14.50). The cheese made it a flavourful sandwich, who can resist melty cheese? Inflation has really set in, because I would have commented in the past about paying more than $7 for a sandwich but now we just accept it and hope there is no service surcharge, weekend surcharge, credit card surcharge lurking at the end of the meal. 

Butcher's BBQ Plate ($18.50) came with charred beef brisket pastrami, blood pudding, coleslaw, figs and a pickle. And boy, were we in a pickle! In our haste to order, we did not realise that we had both ordered beef brisket pastrami albeit in differing forms. Mine in a sandwich and Gaz's deconstructed. 

The pastrami was dry, so it really needed the coleslaw. I believe we had the last plate of pastrami because at first the kitchen told us they had ran out. They did ran out of sourdough bread so we got a big Vietnamese baguette instead, which was a good variation because otherwise it would have been nearly identical to my sandwich order! The blood pudding was a nice touch of difference because it was very tasty. 

There is a semi outdoor seating out back which has a play area for kids which makes this a nice place to hang out for families. 

Marble Yakiniku, Glen Waverley

I have mixed feelings about the redevelopment of Glen Waverley central. On one hand, there are now more restaurants and shops but on the other hand, it is starting to feel too crowded and congested. It is the new Box Hill. 

Among one of the new places which popped up after the redevelopment was Marble Yakiniku, which also owns Ichi Katsu a fried Japanese pork schnitzel place on Kingsway. Both are placed in the upper middle range restaurant scale. 

There are different types of banquet and ala carte menus available. For simplicity, we just ordered the Bamboo banquet $110 pp. We get a plate of sashimi, tofu salad, scallop with cod roe sauce, 2 kinds of A5 wagyu cuts and 1 of M9 wagyu cuts, rice, miso soup and dessert. 

The sashimi, scallops and tofu salad were all served in quick succession all in the time it took me to sprint to the ATM and back. There is a 5% cash discount, and no merchant fees with cash payment. The tofu salad had some unusual red seaweed in it. 

The most delicious was the scallop with seared cod roe sauce. It just melted in the mouth. 

Some side dishes to soothe our burning mouth while eating grilled beef.

Sashimi always tastes nice.. unless it's a 'surprise sashimi'. Once in another Glen Waverley Japanese restaurant we ordered the 'special of the day' which was offcuts of salmon sashimi soaked in soy sauce. Here we have kingfish and salmon slices, no offcuts. 

2x A5 and 1xM9 cuts.. they sound like some motorway names, right? I have expected the M1 Monash Freeway to make an appearance. But no, M9 is Australian wagyu (we were given Karubi cut) and A5 is Japanese wagyu (flat meat and short rib) We were given the karubi and short rib cuts. The marbling  on the short rib looks beautiful (it's the one closest to you in the picture below).

I love it that they use charcoal grill, not electric. But the problem was that we are both very bad on the grill and the fat on the meat kept catching fire. So I'm not sure whether I've squandered my chance of eating A5 wagyu the best way it can be cooked. My favourite cut was the A5 Japanese wagyu flatmeat which has a good balance of fat and meatiness. It is also thicker than the A5 shortrib so there was actually something to bite into and enjoy the buttery silkiness. 

We do get pieces of mushrooms and pumpkin to grill as well, but they were a disaster. Even though the pumpkin was sliced thinly, it just would not get tender without getting horribly burnt. We were given only 1 hour to cook, eat and socialise so it felt quite stressful. There was no explanation or guidance on what the cuts were, how best to grill and savour. So having chosen this place for a special occasion it was a little disappointing for the lack of service. 

During our meal we spoke about the evolution of food from necessity to symbol of decadence. Foods that used to be rejects, like trotters or tendon are now selling at more than the price of meat itself. Having recently braised a whole kilo of tendons and finishing it largely by myself I almost felt the bile rising up in my throat. Who knew too much tendon can be a bad thing? 

Here's a bit of a trivia on wagyu in keeping with the topic of decadent food. Wagyu actually translates to Japanese cow. This is probably a good example of how a word can be used as both an insult (they just took my parking, what a cow!) and a compliment (you're as prized as a cow). There are actually 4 main breeds of wagyu, but each place / prefecture raises these breeds differently so it yields different textured meat. That's why we sometimes hear about cattle who only listens to Mozart, or only bathes in sake. The most expensive cuts are Matsusaka wagyu from Mie prefecture which are from virgin female cows and the most famous is Kobe wagyu from Kobe in Hyogo prefecture which are from castrated bulls. Now that's some trivia!

Back to our dinner where I'm sure I did not just ate some unsullied cow from the grill, for dessert we get a choice of vanilla, black sesame or green tea ice cream. It came with a wooden spoon straight from the ice cream cups of yonder days. Quite an anti climax compared to the nice wagyu cuts we had been enjoying. The quality of the beef is very good and having only a few slices per person made it feel less sinful to consume so much fat. A true connoisseur will never bemoan the calories they have eaten, it is in fact a necessity for flavour.. just walk an extra two blocks to the car on the way home.

Springvale Temples visit and Temple Food

Springvale is home to a number of temples, a few of which are situated close by each other on Springvale Road, Springvale South. There is a big chinese Buddhist temple called Bright Moon temple, a more modest vietnamese Buddhist temple called Noa Nghiem temple that is attached to a school a stone's throw away and Wat Khmer a cambodian temple next door. 

The Bright Moon temple is in the distinctive old chinese architecture. I liked the elaborate, one piece stone carving depicting the life of Buddha and dragons in the middle of the stairs leading to temple building. In ancient times in the Forbidden Palace, the Emperor is carried up over the stone carving in his palaquin by his servants on the stairs. 

Bright Moon temple offered free vegetarian lunch every Sunday in the ground floor expansive hall, which has now stopped because of Covid. It was a shame because it would have been such a communing experience.

Hoa Nghiem temple is a more modest temple in comparison with Bright Moon. Unlike Bright Moon where there is a large gravel area for car parks (still under construction), car parking at Hoa Nghiem is limited, but there is a reserve next door with car park bays if needed. 

Hoa Nghiem has a restaurant in a separate building to the temple on the ground floor. It serves vegetarian food, mock meats and vegetables. There are pre-packed food for sale at a table on the left as you enter the hall. One orders at the counter, self service drinks and cutlery but the food is served to your table. 

The Bun Bo Hue was delicious, there was an assortment of mock meats which was difficult to tell what they were meant to recreate. There is no garlic and onions used (the purest form of Buddhist cuisine omits garlic, onions, chives, shallot and leeks because the strong savoury taste from these herbs evokes desire) so the substitute for fried onion garnish was fried shredded lemongrass. The soup of course do not have the rich bone broth taste but it was not filled with MSG either.

 'Pork chop' on broken rice had various mock meats substituting for the pork chop, pate and pig skin. The customary egg is missing because eggs contain life, they would have turned into little chicks if hatched. Although unfertilised eggs do not hatch into chicken, the rule still applies. 

Some Buddhists are not as strict and do consume the five herbs and eggs, like a lot of things it just depends on how far you want to go. 

So there were no garlic in the vinegar dipping sauce, and no fish sauce, but I actually much prefer it to the normal dipping sauce. It is quite sweet though (without the balancing saltiness from the fish sauce) so it is best used in moderation. 

The prices are around $18 per dish, and higher for main course dishes like stir fried vegetables etc. Hoa Nghiem Vegie Hut is open Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. I will be quite excited to try it out for dinner!

Daylesford

We bought tickets to the Borealis on the Lake ($20 pp) in August to see the man made northern lights. The lights are beamed from stationary light towers among misting machines. I think the addition of music adds another layer to the experience. Without having seen the natural phenomenon, I thought this was an interesting experience and hopefully one that I can compare to the actual one later on. 

We thought we went prepared - we wore multiple layers, brought a picnic dinner, but others brought chairs and blankets! 

Daylesford Lake has never looked like this before.. Borealis ended on 4 Sept but there may be a next year..

We visited Sailors Falls which has not just one but two waterfalls. You can see two waterfalls from the top of the stairs but the path leads to the bigger waterfall and creek. It had been raining throughout the winter (it was drizzling while we were there) so there was no shortage of water in the falls. 

Along with the spa experience, a walk around Daylesford Lake, a meal at the Lakehouse, I think Sailors Falls is another must visit place. 

 

Open House Melbourne 2022

Melbourne has so many beautiful, notable buildings and spaces. There is a mix of old and new architecture but I do wish that more of the old buildings are preserved for future generations because really, there is just nothing like them anymore. So, stop tearing down architecturally significant old buildings for ugly high rise apartments please!! And building a glass tower on top of an old building simply means a clash of style that doesn't work!

During this year's Open House Melbourne, we visited several places which we have not been before. Open House gives us the ability to go to special places not usually open to the public but because of that, it is always a stretch to go to more than 2 or 3 places in one day. So we went to the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda several weeks before the actual Open House. It is open to the public normally, except the roof top which boasts of beautiful views to the city. There are daily free tours carried out by the centre that brings visitors around the centre and the roof top. We stumbled on the tour but was too embarrassed to gatecrash halfway through so missed out on the tour. 

The Pride Centre is a public communion place for all LGBTIQ+ people. There is a lounge and workplace with tables on the ground floor past the reception counter which reminded me of the university days where students would be busily cramming before exams while some others casually flip through books or chatted. There is a gallery, computer lab and a bookshop also open to the public. There is a theatrette, co-working spaces in the building, which can be offered for hire. The rest of the upper levels are offices occupied by organisations with interests in the LGBTIQ+ community. 

The central piece of the building inside is a the spiral staircase and structure shaped like an egg. To me, it conveys the message that individuals need to break through the shell and emerge just as they are, beautiful to the world. Don't forget to book the guided tours of the centre to learn more about the centre, otherwise you'll only be theorising what this and that means, like me.

During the Open House weekend itself, we were fortunate to see the refurbished Capitol Theatre at RMIT University. This venue has been very popular in past years. It is a cinema designed in the deco art style by an architect firm from Chicago, husband and wife Walter and Marion Griffin. Marion Griffin was the first women architect in Illinois and it is believed that majority of the work at the Capitol was hers (because her husband was busy philandering, but that's just a rumour. They eventually divorced). 

There are so many centrepieces in the building but my favourite is the LED lighted (not in those days, they were normal light globes of different colours) in the molded ceiling which can change colours and controlled from a central point. She was really ahead of her time!

 After the tour, we had lunch at Kim Sing which had relocated from Flinders Lane to the newly refurbished Capitol Arcade, just next to the theatre. I remember going to Kim Sing's at Port Phillip arcade when I was in university, and then to their shop at Flinders Lane pre covid. I am glad to have found them again, which really was just a coincidence as I was exploring the surroundings while waiting in the queue to go into the Capitol Theatre. 

They have not broken away from their mantra of providing cheap and affordable meals to students. The chef's special dish of chicken steak on rice is $12 while some of the other dishes like stir fried chicken and vegetables on rice were $11.

After lunch, we visited Tribeca Brewery. This is actually an apartment building at Albert St, East Melbourne. Originally the home of Melbourne's most famous brew VB, it was illegally demolished to make way for apartment buildings when it should have been preserved due to its historical significance. In response, the government ordered the body corporate to create and maintain a museum dedicated to the brewery, which must be open to the public at least once a year. The apartment building must also be painted the same red brick colour as it was while a brewery, to retain a little piece albeit inferior of the brewery. 

The brewery commenced in 1850's and was still in use until 1985. That means in 1980's the residents around the area could still get intoxicated by the smell of yeast and beer in their homes! Workers in the brewery received better benefits - they receive 2 bottles of beer a day to drink on the job, and a dozen to tide them over the weekend! 

The museum spans several floors all accessed by a metal staircase that took us to each floor to see the old vats and machineries used in the process to make the golden drop. 

The next day, we visited Monash University's Alexander Theatre which was refurbished pre-covid to establish a state of the art sound gallery and performing arts theatre. It is one of the best theatres in the area so they receive many bookings from schools and organisations to hold end of year concerts and performances in the theatre. 

What amazed me during the tour was how sound can be massaged and changed to enhance a performance. We were ushered into the David Li sound gallery where we saw a piano performance. There were many sound speakers all around the room which can be controlled from the single tablet. During the performance, the tour manager switched them off (resulting in a 'dead' atmosphere, the room absorbed all sound, the music sounded unpleasant) and changed settings (from sounding like an orchestral hall with a measured echo effect, even though this room was quite intimate to a medium sized sounding room). What the performance made me realise is that we rely not only on our sight but also our ears to indicate our surroundings. 

If you have missed Open House Melbourne in July 22, don't worry because you can still attend Open House Bendigo on Oct 22-23. 

Treasure Bowl, Bayswater

We love to seek out new restaurants and give them a try. Treasure Bowl is a relatively new kid on the block. It serves Cantonese cuisine and also has the usual BBQ meat fare for sale even though they are not hanging by the window like most BBQ restaurants. It also serves yum cha which one can order via the list tick system (vs. trolleys). 

On our visit, we ordered some unique dishes which I have not eaten before or available in other restaurants. The dishes seem like home cooked fare but appeals to the taste buds.

The first dish is a soup based beef ball, prawn ball and tofu. I have forgotten what this dish is called but I have not seen this on the menu in other restaurants. We did not know that it was soup based so it was a nice surprise - can't say no to comforting hot bowl of soup when the weather is cold and rainy like it has been this autumn. 

The beef and prawn balls were home made and bouncy with a QQ texture. The beef balls reminded me of the ones at yumcha, sans the worcestershire sauce. It seems like quite an odd dish simply because I wouldn't have thought to combine beef and prawn balls and tofu in a dish. A little vegetable like lettuce would have made this a complete dish on its own.

Steamed brinjal, BBQ pork with shrimp paste. Full of umami from the shrimp paste, and soy based sauce, this dish was good to eat with a bowl of steaming hot rice. I imagine this would not be too difficult to put together but the portion was generous and the simple dish was delicious.

Treasure Bowl is a welcome addition to the dining scene in the area. The menu has interesting dishes but geared towards the mid to pricey range, the service was very attentive and fast. The yumcha service is something I would like to try for our next visit. 

The news are awash with images and tributes to Queen Elizabeth 2, who passed away aged 96 on 8 Sept 22. What an admirable lady! I can't imagine working until 96 years old. Even though her work seems like it is mostly socialising with people, I imagine it'll be quite taxing to get out of the house at that age. 

I wonder if she'd ever wanted to just stay home in bed on a particularly cold and wet day, like most days in England are, and how she motivates herself. If she'd ever been stuck in a conversation that is going nowhere and what she does then (probably walk off, 'look, there's Viscount Severn, I must go say hi'). 

She's spent 70 years on the throne so she must have done something right.

Lezzet, Elwood

Lezzet is the sister restaurant of Tulum, which was recently listed third in Delicious magazine's Top 100 Restaurants in Australia. It has a more casual, relaxed vibe, it's food is rustic and portions are generous. Taste wise, it is no lesser than Tulum - the flavours are bold and packs a punch. 

We ordered the Kuzu ($38.50) - 40 hour braised leg of lamb, smoked cheese and covered with lavash bread. The bread when pierced, released the appetizing aroma of the dish. It was also useful in gathering pieces of lamb which just melts in the mouth and the cheese for eating. I find the cheese a little salty but when eaten together with the lamb and bread, was fine. I like the presentation of the dish, which reminded me of the past popular bowl of soup covered with pastry. 

This is my favourite dish - Seafood Guvec ($36.50) which is a casserole of scallops, prawns, fish, mussels, olives in a tomato based sauce on pilaf rice. There is just something about casseroles that make it such a comfort food. I love that it is ladled over rice which makes it feel like home and so comforting to eat. This was so delicious to eat that Gaz requested that I look up recipes for Turkish Guvec to cook at home. 

 From my searches on the Internet, guvec is Turkish for casserole and it can be made from meat, vegetables and seafood. The staple ingredients seem to be tomatoes, paprika, cumin, oregano, black olives regardless of what protein (or veges) is in the dish. I hope to cook it successfully one day!

Jishan Garden, St Kilda Road

It was a rainy and cold night when we ventured up to Jishan Garden along St Kilda Road, CBD for dinner. The restaurant has been opened for a few years but it was our first visit to the establishment. We rarely stop at this stretch of St Kilda Road because the location is not great for parking and there are not many reason to stop by. 

The restaurant is housed in a grand old house of yesteryear, but still in great condition. I love historic structures and we spent quite a few moments admiring the statues of unnamed Greek goddesses, the architecture of the building and the latest additions of swings, little dining pavilions on the grounds. 

Inside, we were welcomed warmly by the waitstaff into a private nook with a bamboo curtain separating our table from the other diners. The table was already laid out for us with custom porcelain ware, including disposable chopstick tips. I find the latter such a good idea to reduce waste. 

We ordered Bang Bang Chicken with Truffle ($22.80). This is a cold entree. The chicken was poached and dressed with a delicious truffle sauce which we lapped up. 

This is my favourite dish the Signature Sweet and Sour fish. I'd forgotten the price but the menu on their website shows $58.80 for sweet and sour wild blue cod. The fish bone is removed, the fish cut in criss cross fashion then deep fried and doused with a sweet and sour sauce. It takes real skill to be able to make this dish. I enjoyed the crispy yet tender fish meat.

We also ordered the Spicy Dry Wagyu Beef ($26.80). The waitperson warned us that it will be very spicy, so we asked them to tone the spiciness level down but it was still quite pleasantly spicy! I cannot imagine how spicy the original dish would have been. The wagyu beef is tender but because of the spice it is to be taken in moderation. 

 The restaurant decor is beautiful, there is even a guzheng or Chinese zither on display. When I stopped to marvel at the instrument, the waitperson kindly invited me to take a picture playing the instrument. Of course, I do not know how to play the zither but I jumped at the chance to be pictured pretending to play. In ancient China, the zither is associated with gentlewomen from rich families (and I imagine, pretty too!). After all, only those from a rich family can afford the time and cost to do anything other than work in the fields for a living in the ancient times. 

Jishan Garden offers chinese style high tea as well and it would be lovely to revisit when the weather is a little warmer and sit outdoors.

Tansy's, Kyneton

Tansy's is one of the best restaurants in Kyneton. It is a small place, only a few tables manned by the chef whose restaurant bears her name and a sommelier. We would not have known about this place until Gaz's friend who is a big foodie recommended we try it during our visit to Kyneton in April. 

I was told that Tansy's kitchens were where big name chefs receive their training in French cooking. Later, she relocated to Kyneton from Melbourne to open a new restaurant in her home.

Reservations fly out the door quickly so we were happy to be able to have lunch here. There is only a set menu, $80 for entrees and main, or add another $20 for dessert to make it 3 courses.

There are 2 choices per course. I chose the sardines in romesco sauce. The sardines were so fresh and nicely grilled.

Three cheese souffle was a bit rich but came with some salad to lighten up the dish.

Seafood in saffron sauce as the main dish. Saffron sauce was so good, earthy and distinct flavour. I have finally tasted some good saffron! I used to think saffron didn't have much taste. The seafood was cooked so nicely.

Duck, polenta in spiced sauce. Our introduction to Pedro Ximenez a Spanish sherry which John so kindly described to us and even gave us a sample. We liked it so much that Gaz bought a bottle when we returned to Melbourne.

 This was a Michelin starred food experience. We enjoyed talking to John about the food and sherry and even waved goodbye to Tansy's.  The atmosphere is relaxed and unpretentious. What a wonderful experience!