China Bar Signature, Burwood

'Tis the season to be merry, and to eat a LOT! Even though I ought to rein in the belly, it is almost impossible to say no to an abundance of delicious food during the merry season. After all, when everywhere one turns it's Covid, Covid, Covid, one must cheer oneself up and I can think of no better way than indulging in food. 

Enter China Bar Signature, the longstanding Asian all you can eat restaurant. I don't think there is another Cantonese buffet restaurant in Melbourne, so it is a treat to be able to eat here. There are dimsim dishes (oh no, I forgot to sample one of the sesame buns which looked very pretty with gold paint on top) such as prawn dumplings, chive dumplings, chicken feet in black bean sauce, steamed pork ribs, xiao long baos all in cute single serve bamboo steamers, custard buns, egg tarts, fried prawn beancurd rolls, sesame toast, fried squid, congee. Yumcha these days can easily cost $25 per person min, so to pay $36 for a week day lunch for a range of yumcha dishes plus other foods seems reasonable to me. 

I also spent some time and stomach room for the BBQ section where one can find roast pork, roast duck, BBQ sausage, soy sauce chicken, grilled chicken wings. The best is the fresh off the wok stir fry section where one assembles the desired ingredients and the chef stir fries the noodle dish, or vegetable dish with plenty of 'breath of wok'. My favourites are the stir fried flat rice noodles, and belacan kangkong. They have also added a steak station where one can choose wagyu beef, and other meats.

The sushi section has shrunk to pre-cut rolls like tuna & mayo, crabstick rolls, and marinated seaweed and baby octopus. There used to be nigiri sushi like salmon nigiri for lunch if I remember correctly but now salmon is only served for dinner. While I do miss the salmon nigiri, there are other seafood options. 

There are prawns, mussels, flower crab fried egg noodles, and pipis in black bean sauce. I love pipis and am so glad for this new addition to the menu. There are also a wide range of other hot cooked foods like pork chops in mandarin sauce, tofu and veges, stir fried veges, sweet and sour pork, beef brisket and so on that I couldn't try because my stamina collapsed under the weight of food I was piling on! I wonder how the mukbang Youtubers can do what they do for a living, it is agonising to eat too much for me!

To end our eating challenge was the dessert bar, filled with a variety of cakes, mousse, tarts, fruits, ice cream (Asian style with melon, red bean, durian etc flavours), jellies. As usual, I was much too full than is good for me but it was a very good day!

Kinn Thai, Knox

It's the holidays and I have been reading a number of books lately. If Covid has any upside at all, it would be rediscovering the joys of reading. Previously I would be so tired from getting up early and commuting to work that I would be praying for a seat on the train so I can nod off. But without the long commute I have been able to cook fresh meals almost every night and fit in a few pages if not a few chapters of reading almost every night. 

It is very satisfying to read a really good book and find lessons to learn from, similarities to my own life, understanding the characters in the book as though they are my friends and be immersed in their lives. There are reading challenges on the Internet such as reading 52 books a year, or picking books by a specific author, about a country, a topic etc each week. As for me, I pick my books on what's made it to the 'best' list on Goodreads. So far, most of the books have been pretty good. 

The book I am reading now is Growing Up Asian in Australia. It is a compilation of short stories by Australians with migrant backgrounds, foreword by Alice Pung. In one of the stories, the author tells how they hated Thai food because that was all they ate at home since their parents were chefs at the local Thai restaurant in town. The only reprieve was when they could eat at the school cafeteria which serves classic Australian fare such as meat pies. Things went a bit awry when the school teachers ordered food from the parents' Thai restaurant. They had ordered dishes with mild chilli ratings but what they received were not quite what they ordered! It all ended well though. 

Much like the teachers in the book, I also prefer mild dishes. I can tolerate 1 chilli sign, and perhaps two but definitely nothing more than that! So when we went to Kinn Thai at Knox for dinner, I made sure to order only mild dishes. Luckily Kinn Thai's dishes are pretty mild and adjusted to the Western palate. 

We ordered the duck curry ($28) which is always delicious when eaten with steamed rice. Creamy curry, lots of coconut cream, pieces of duck goes so well with rice. 

Next was the crispy barramundi with 3 flavours sauce ($26) which is basically sweet, sour, spicy sauce. Deep fried fish... what else can I say... 

We also tried their soft shell crab with chilli jam, and grilled beef ($27), both of which are also delicious. For fail proof Thai food, you can't go past Kinn Thai!

Son in Law, Collingwood

Story has it the Son In Law Eggs is a dish served by mothers-in-law as a warning to treat their daughters well. If not, well... then their nuts will be deep fried and served with chilli jam, just like the way the eggs are cooked in the dish! 

How true this story is, I am not sure. But, I am sure that this dish tastes delicious! In Malaysia there is a similar dish - deep fried hard boiled eggs, topped with sweet and spicy sambal. They are sometimes part of the 'nasi campur' (mixed rice) repertoire in mamak stalls and I would almost always go for the eggs. They're good enough to have a whole plate of rice with. 

So when I saw this dish on the menu in a restaurant with its namesake, I knew I had to order it. The Thai version is a little different to the Malaysian version, without the sambal and the egg yolks are still a little runny but it was still good. I prefer the eggs to be deep fried a bit longer and the yolks hard though.

The restaurant also serves steamed kaya and custard cute shaped baos. They're almost too cute to eat! If you have a restless kid who you want to bribe while enjoying a peaceful meal in a restaurant, then this is a must order. Also good for those young at heart :) 

The restaurant is directly across the street from the Collingwood Yards. It used to be the Collingwood Technical College now converted into a community housing artists and their studios and galleries. This is where the famous Keith Haring mural is. Some remnants of the technical college are still left in the building like blackboards with class schedules which surely brought back many memories for those who attended the college back in those days. On our visit there when it first opened to the public as Collingwood Yards, we met a few students, now elderly men who reminisced about their school days. 

There is also the opportunity to meet with the artists as they work in their spaces and buy art directly from them. As we know, artists have been struggling during Covid19 and it is wonderful to be able to support them. Without art, the world would be a lot less beautiful.