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.