Taipei Delight, Balwyn North

Taipei Delight is an old friend, it is a Taiwanese restaurant that I once frequented in Glen Waverley but once the redevelopments commenced, it shut up shop never to be heard again. When I found out years later that it had reopened in Balwyn North, I had to give it a try for old times' sake. 

The place became really busy during lunch time, and people were standing around our table waiting to pounce once we gave the slightest move to leave. There were also some seats at a bar or counter, but few people wanted to eat at the bar because it was narrow and the stools were not very comfortable. 

We ordered the chicken chop rice ($13.80), beef noodle soup ($14.80) and Taiwanese sausage ($8.00). I ordered the sausage after we finished our mains, as an afterthought. One of my fondest memory was spending time with my friend and her family at a 'pasar malam' or night market in Malaysia. We would have fun looking at the food and wares that vendors sold. Besides ready to eat food, there were stalls selling toys, dried goods, knick knacks and bric a brac. But the food was my favourite things to see, and the smell of all sorts of food wafting through the air would make us salivate. Her father would often buy us a Taiwanese sausage on a stick to snack on as he did his grocery run. 

Chicken chop with rice came with fried egg, pickled mustard vegetable, some boiled fresh vegetables, and a decent sized crispy chicken fillet. This was my go to dish to order when they were operating in Glen Waverley. One day, I popped in during lunch time to order this and to my amazement, no one was in the restaurant or at the front of house. The restaurant in those days were very popular with students from the nearby Glen Waverley High School so every lunch time would be packed with young kids. Not long after, the restaurant closed and relocated. 

Thankfully, I have now rediscovered them and can relive the memories of eating with my mates in the restaurant. There were only a couple of dishes I liked from the menu, including the chicken chop with rice which previously had a soy egg instead of fried egg. 

The Taiwanese sausage came sliced and with slivers of garlic. I had never eaten it with raw garlic before but I like garlic so I did not mind. It was very spicy though! 

 Taiwanese beef noodle, the quintessential dish of Taiwan. I had the best Taiwanese beef noodle cooked by someone I used to meet up for Chinese lessons. She was studying hospitality and knew of my love of food. Once, she gave me a container of Taiwanese beef noodle broth and chunks of beef (I supplied my own noodles) and it was the most marvelous, tasty and beefy broth I had ever have! She taught me how to make my own and I did make it once which was so good but it was so much work! Sad to say, this version of beef noodle in Taipei Delight fell short of my standard. 

The restaurant also sells house made celebration cakes, pastries and cookies. During breakfast time between 9:30 to 11:30 Fridays to Sundays, there are the usual Taiwanese breakfast fare like soy milk, egg pancakes and glutinous rice roll filled with chinese doughnut and pork floss. 

Nearby, there is Nanyang Express with their $10 meals and several cafes. Greythorn Library is around the corner near Man Kee Dim Sim. There certainly is no shortage of Asian restaurants here!

Pharoah Exhibition, NGV, Fortune Alley, Emporium

Yesterday we went to see the Pharoah exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria. The exhibition was from the British Museum which we had visited about 8 years ago. The British Miseum had the largest Eygptian antiquities and they were very impressive. If you ignore how they were acquired.. 

The exhibition has a few notable pieces. For me, the one that stood out were 10 statues of Sekhmet, a blood thirsty goddess (she likes beer too), daughter of the sun god Ra. 

There was a large collection of jewellery as well. One of the plaques refer to a heart pendant and I was looking for a love heart in the display case thinking how cool it was that the love heart had existed since 900 BC. Only to find that it was a pendant of a heart, the organ in our body. They wore these type of jewellery to protect the corresponding body parts.

 For lunch, we went to Fortune Alley on Flinders St. $14.80 for 2 dishes on rice or noodles or $16.80 for 3 dishes on rice or noodles. I ordered a small combo but there was 15% public holiday surcharge and a 2% card surcharge so ended up paying $17.35 for food from a bain marie. Should have gone to McDonald's!

A walk in Emporium checking out Jelly Cat, a plush toy store. There was this display of miniature models of a bubble tea shop, book shop, bakery and others. Most people in the shop were browsing and not many were buying.

Artspace Box Hill, Grain Asian Cafe and Box Hill Library

What a beautiful morning it was, only to be replaced with cloudy skies and rain in the evening. Luckily, we took advantage of the ocassional sunny bursts in the morning to visit Box Hill to watch a community show of ballet, dancing and acapella singing.

It was held at the Box Hill Town Hall in the afternoon. There is a side area in the town hall for Artspace, which is an art gallery currently holding an exhibition of photos of the local scenery and people titled 'I wish we knew these were the happy times when we were in them'. There couldn't be a better title for the exhibition. I love the title for everyday life as well. We often take things for granted, until it's gone.

The tall and imposing pillars of the Town Hall above. This is the first time I have gone through the doors. It would have been the most grand structure in 1923. I do wonder why there is a 1994 chiselled into the render. Was it the year it stopped being the official council office?

We had gone shopping earlier in the morning at Box Hill Central. It was a wise decision to come earlier in the day because there were still some on street parking to be found. We managed to park for free! The centre had undergone a face lift which was very much needed. It was busy, but not shopping carts over feet busy yet. When we were leaving at about 10.30am, it was starting to get really crowded.

Brunch was at Grain Asian Cafe (no pictures because we only had half an hour before we had to move the car). I ordered pork strip's on crispy noodles and Gaz had wonton noodle soup. They were $17.50 each, which I suppose is on par with other eateries. There were also breakfast sets like lor mai kai with congee and choice of tea or coffee for $18.50 or bacon, egg, baked beans with toast and choice of tea or coffee for $16.50 but none really appealed to me at the time. 

Since we had half an hour before the performance starts, we paid a visit to the library. There are games and books to borrow, newspapers to read (the day's paper can only be borrowed in exchange for a Whitehorse Manningham library card) and a chess set to play. Too bad, or maybe luckily, we ran out of time to finish the game so neither of us could say one or the other is smarter. Though we both know Gaz is the smarter one..

When it came to scoring on street parking for free, it was definitely my street smarts that helped us. Just round the corner from the library are all day parking bays (for the weekend) so we did not havebto move the car in the middle of the 2 hour performance.

Young and old alike danced during the folk and ballet performance. They are not exactly Australian Ballet corps but it was quite enjoyable to listen to the music and watch their steps. The acapella was sung by older gentlemen who had perfect pitch. I enjoyed their performance very much and Gaz who has a tendency to fall asleep at seated performances, did not disappoint. Soon, he was having a bit of a shut eye mid way through the singing. At least I did not have to pay for him to be sung to sleep this time.

What a wonderful day it was today! We bought lots of food to enjoy during the week from Box Hill Central, enjoyed a tasty brunch and was serenaded by talented performers in a historic building. It is a good day indeed.

 

Matsuki Izakaya, Mount Waverley

We are so blessed to be able to eat out and have a good meal. These days when everything is so expensive, a casual meal in a restaurant can easily cost a week's worth of groceries, let alone to go out for fine dining or even 'casual' fine dining.

To celebrate an ocassion, I found a new restaurant with no weekend surcharge and of a cuisine we like to eat. It is a small Japanese restaurant near the Mount Waverley train station. The downside is the restaurant has limited seats so we only had counter seats even though I had made a booking.

For entree, Gaz chose crispy unagi which was a deconstructed unagi roll atop a deep fried gow gee wrapper. It was very tasty.

We ordered a tempura bento set which came with three tempura shrimp and sweet potato, karaage chicken, salad and salmon sashimi. There was also miso soup, chawan mushi which tasted sweet (not my favourite, when normally I would breathe in Gaz's famous steamed eggs) and rice.

Assorted sashimi. Our favourite is the oysters, and scallops. The salmon is a sure winner too but the fish slices did not have much sweetness.. quite disappointing. 

Matsuki special roll. Gaz thought it was topped by sea urchin but the orange topping was actually spicy tuna with mayo. It is deep fried cucumber sushi, topped with spicy tuna, sprouts and tobiko, sprinkled with shichimi.

Overall, we were happy with the food and service. Price wise, it was not the cheapest of suburban Japanese restaurants but since there are some new and innovative dishes like the crispy unagi, it is probably positioning itself as slightly ahead of other suburban Japanese restaurants with the price to match. There is a 5% discount with cash payments and we used it to our advantage. The total bill came to about $103 with discount.

Deakin Uni Burwood Sculpture Trail

This weekend we went to Deakin University's Burwood campus. There is a sculpture trail on campus that shows off a number of beautiful sculptures such as the ones pictured below. 

We spent about an hour and a half starting from the parking lot next to the large field off Holland Avenue, one of the entrance into campus. Despite the time spent, there were still plenty of other sculptures we did not spot.

Andrew Rogers

Andrew Rogers

Tram cafe run by hospitality students on campus

Another Andrew Rogers

Yes, Andrew Rogers. Sculpted from Carrara marble

I like this bag made of a common plastic sack in the style of a Birkin bag.

Doesn't this look like it was from the set of Squid Game? Deakin University library, open 24 hours. Amazing!

My favourite sculptures of the day.

Herring Island, Thomas Oval Fenced Dog Park, Orrong Road

 Today is a lovely spring day with typical weather - part sunny, then rainy, and windy! We went to Herring Island for Birrarung Marr Festival. Herring Island is a man made island in the middle of Yarra River. It was created in 1929 as part of works on the Yarra River and can be accessed only during the summer months via a free punt service in Jan to Apr or on 'Open Days' via a bridge which is what we did today. There are 9 sculptures on the island that visitors can find and experience while they are on the island. As well, there are wildlife like skinks, snakes, dragonflies, birds to observe on the island, not to mention the flow of brown waters of the Yarra River. It can be quite soothing and relaxing amidst the background noise of car sounds on the Monash Freeway nearby. 

Enroute to Herring Island, we drove on Orrong Road, a public street lined with big, grand trees which are lushly green. These are the same trees that shed all their foliage during autumn, no doubt causing the gardeners of the big mansions along the road a lot of grief! In a regional town, the boulevard would be called Avenue of Honour.

We parked near Kanteen which is packed full with customers because of its awesome location on the banks of the Yarra River, the walking trail along the river and sports grounds. Today, we forgo the $16.50 three egg omelette because we were having picnic on Herring Island. I packed as though we were going to spend the night camping on the island (which btw, is not allowed) so there is plenty of food. 

We spent 2 hours eating, going on the sculpture trail (we found 8 of the 9 sculptures!), and enjoying nature. The little centre on the island was not open today, instead there are guides seated near the entry to the island providing information and welcoming visitors. 

On the way back, we walked to the Thomas Oval Fenced Dog Park. It is Stonnington's first dedicated dog park where dogs can roam around unleashed. There are some 'obstacle course' or activity areas for dogs in the park like hoops for them to play with. Even though I do not have a dog, I can see that it would be a very exciting place for dogs to visit. It also has the best view for a dog park - you can see part of the city skyline from the park. For the dog owners, there are also activity areas i.e. gym equipment nearby. 

Thomas Oval Fenced Dog Park - the dog park with the best city views

One of the nine sculptures on Herring Island - Fallen Fence. We have a few in our neighbourhood thanks to the extremely strong winds this spring.

We spotted a heron by the riverbank, looking as though it was going to dive into the water but 'chickened' out! We spent about 3 hours on Herring Island and walking along the trail to the dog park. It is a good outdoor activity for a nice summer day. 

Banksia Park, Heide Sculpture Park

It's cherry blossom time! Banksia Park has a spot where about 10 or so cherry trees are planted. Some of the trees are just blooming so they are very pretty.

 Banksia Park is very close to Heide Gallery and also adjoins the sculpture park. There are a number of sculptures to look at while taking a walk in the park. 

Vegify, Knoxfield

I know a person who is a vegetarian, having 'converted' after 40 odd years of 'meatism' as 'penance' for a something that happened in their life. Why does it feel like most vegetarians in the Buddhist Chinese culture are vegetarians for their 'sins'? Anyway, every time we meet up for a meal, I would ask them to choose a restaurant for us to dine it. Inevitably, it is a push back to myself to select the restaurant because they are by their own admission, too slack to research a good restaurant to go to!

It is a good thing that there are a couple of reasonably priced, Chinese vegetarian restaurants around (but bad news for my mate, these restaurants are not near their place!). Vegify is the nicest vegetarian restaurant in my neck of the woods that serves Chinese vegetarian food, including my favourite mock meats! I love that I could be eating 'fish' that is not fish meat but tastes and looks like fish - mock cod fish are made of beancurd sheets and seaweed that looks and tastes like the real McCoy! They can be steamed, made into Assam fish or curry fish which tastes so good.

I had dinner in this restaurant once and was so impressed that I had to come back for their lunch service because there are different food to try like noodle dishes for lunch. I ordered the curry laksa and sweet and sour chicken on rice. The laksa broth tastes a little different, less salty because there is no dried shrimp but it is still delicious. There are green beans, tofu puffs, mock prawns and chicken with yellow noodles ($15). My mom thinks that I should not be eating too much mock meats because it undergoes a lot of processing (she's right) and mostly gluten (Gaz's right) but I think it's OK to have once in a while. It's not like every meal's a mock turtle soup for me, is it? 

Sweet sour chicken on rice ($15). I like that there is a mound of salad to balance the naughtiness of deep fried 'chicken' pieces. There are also other cooked vegetables like zucchini, pineapple and tomatoes that gives it a healthy vibe. I would probably not order this again because I didn't like the sweet and sour sauce. It was a little lacking but I cannot put my finger on the missing ingredient. 

This restaurant is a small establishment and is always busy. Reservations are recommended.