Chinese New Year 2026

 Autumn is here already. Yesterday was yuen xiu - 15th day of Chinese New Year and time to eat tang yuen. I made some black sesame tang yuen and enjoyed it with instant ginger drink (in lieu of ginger sugar water). Two weekends ago, we went to the city to watch the lion dance parade. The weather was fu fu ma ma (so so in Mandarin) so we decided to go early in the morning in case it rained later in the day. We made the right decision to go early in the morning because it did rain in the afternoon around 2pm when we left. Also, the city and the parade was less crowded in the morning. We caught the early lions at around 10am and had prime positions to see the lion dance and Dai Loong as it appeared from the Chinese Museum around to Lonsdale Street. 

There were about 10 lions all in different colours in the opening ceremony in the morning. There was also a newer dragon, doing the customary twirl trying to catch the ball of sun. The firecrackers went on forever, and was very smoky but it was much more enjoyable knowing it is once a year kind of event. I wish I brought some ear plugs along but without the cacophony of clanging cymbals, beating drums, and popping fireworks, it would not be Chinese New Year!

After the official lion dance opening ceremony, each troupe went their own ways to perform for the individual businesses that had paid them for lion dances. Two troupes with their dancers met in the middle of the street and the dancers stuck out their hand from the lion hand to shake hands. Such camaraderie!

There were also a centre stage on Russell Street where dances and performances were on but we did not stick around to watch because there were a lack of seats. There seem to be fewer stalls these year, but of higher quality and fewer food stalls. Tesla, Uniqlo, Hot Wheels were among the few I remembered. Gaz won a cooler bag from Uniqlo. We were there early, yet he had to queue up for about 20 mins for his turn to pick a gift. 

For lunch, I found a place that does not charge Sunday surcharge so we went there for lunch. More to come in the next post!

Anzero, Glen Waverley

When I think of Valentine's Day, several things come to mind. There was a year on Valentine's Day when we got accidentally locked out of our house. It was the only Valentine's Day where we had a threesome - ourselves and the locksmith. It was a very expensive date. 

There was another year where we spent 3 hours at a restaurant. The act of eating food took less than an hour, but the rest of time we were waiting for harried servers and kitchen staff churning out meals to all the customers. We had plenty of time to stare into each other's eyes which was the only advantage of the date. 

This Valentine's, we celebrated ahead of time. We went to a neighbourhood Japanese restaurant Anzero. Gaz had heard good reviews of the place and wanted to try it out. It is a small, neat and tidy place. We were ushered to a 'display table' - a table at the front of the restaurant beside the glass windows so passers-by can see us as though we were on display. 

There is a small selection of items on the menu and each item can be made into a set meal for an additional $5. The additional items in the set meal is a fried beef dumpling, an onsen egg, and some cucumber slices. Both single and set meals came with a salad and miso soup. We ordered the 150g scotch steak yakiniku ($27.50). The beef was cooked medium rare and was tender but there were some chewy parts that really tested my teeth strength. It was basically pan fried beef on rice, and while I really liked that I was eating a hearty portion of beef, the dish would benefit from some kind of sauce. The miso soup on the side helped, because it was much too salty on its own. 

The spicy beef karubi ($29.50) was good. The chilli oil sauce gave the whole dish a nice kick, but it is not spicy. The raw egg added some richness to the dish. A second egg came in the form of the onsen egg which was part of the set, so we set that aside to eat with the beef yakiniku. I think upgrading the meal to a set is not really needed because the three additional items are not substantial and are not must have's in term of flavour profile. They are good to have to add variety to the meal though. 

 The portions were on the small side, but we both agreed that we should not be eating too much anyway. The flavours are a bit inconsistent and a bit of a hit and miss - the miso soup was too salty, the beef karubi and dumpling was oily. The restaurant had only recently opened for dinner service so perhaps a refinement of the menu is in order.

Union Deli, Acland Street St Kilda

Gaz took us to a new cafe at St Kilda last weekend. He was in the mood for an American diner type food so he suggested Urban Deli on Acland Street. For lunches, there is a cart out the front of the restaurant that one can see the meats chopped up and the sangas assembled. It looks like it mainly does take aways but have several tables set up outdoors for those who prefer to eat in. I do recommend dining in because the meat plates are too good to enjoy on the go. 

We order the porchetta lunch box ($22) which came with a thick slice of roast pork, sauerkraut, pickles, stuffing, chips and sauce. The roast pork is tender and the crackling where it was crispy was delicious. Some parts of the pork was a bit dry but when I eat it with the stuffing and sauce, it was great. The stuffing is very tasty, I wished I had more of that stuffing. 

The smoked beef brisket ($18) burger had thick slices of tender and flavourful slices of beef brisket, pickles, coleslaw and chips on the side. The portions were generous and it did not leave any bit of hungry in our stomachs. That's a sign of a good lunch date.

 

St Kilda Festival 2026, Robot Song

Leading up to Chinese New Year is the big Spring Clean. Reaching into the nooks and crannies that had only seen light once a year, brushing cobwebs from vents and corners, washing the windows and doors - these are all part and parcel of the big cleaning exercise once a year. I know I would have no qualms about stuffing myself silly at the dinners to come, because of all the calories burnt beforehand!

So it would seem frivolous for me to take a break the weekend before CNY to watch a play at Theatreworks in St Kilda. The play is called Robot Song and is about an autistic girl who was bullied at school and how she and her parents dealt with the issue. It is based on a true story, which made me feel quite upset that such things can be happening in our society. To think that kids can deliberately address a letter to their classmate to wish she had never been born.. how were they brought up? Sadly, the play did not mention whether the bullies were made to understand their actions are wrong or faced any consequences.

After the play, we went for a stroll along the beach. It was a picture perfect day - sunny and clear, not too many people on the foreshore. The development of the penguin viewing platform was new to us, so we went for a walk there and even saw a penguin nestled between the rocks. Soon, it drew a large crowd but happily we managed to snap a picture before the crowd grew too big. 

The wooden jetty has been complemented by a concrete walkway which increased the capacity so more people can walk and sit to enjoy the surroundings. The pavilion at the end of the jetty remains open and is home to a cafe in addition to an extension housing a public change room, and toilets. There is a place along the jetty where people can dive into the sea and climb back up using a steel stair. It is very convenient for those people to shower and get changed at the public change rooms after their dip in the ocean.

The city skyline in the distance looks like a dream. I used to admire city skylines but nowadays I like the view of never ending green pastures and mountains better. But the view of the cerulean sea dotted with sailboats is beautiful. 

 

Ruffey Lake Park

Ruffey Lake Park is a lovely, large public park in Doncaster with a large lake in the middle of the park. It has many walking tracks with paved roads, a playground, picnic tables and bbqs, even a ninja warrior course for kids. What it is lacking though, is shade. There are barely any trees along the walking tracks, so when it is a sunny afternoon, it is not a good idea to walk the park unless one is equipped with sunnies, hat, loads of sunscreen and long sleeve shirt and pants. Riding a mobility scooter would not hurt either. The tracks have a slight gradient which makes it quite a workout. 

 There is a nice boardwalk along the lake where one could try to spot frogs, crickets and ducks. 

We walked for a close to an hour, but could not persevere under the hot sun and soon left for the comfort of air conditioning in the car and home. 

Ampang Tofu, Doncaster

I think one of the little joys of life is to get a great bargain, especially in food. Last weekend, Ampang Tofu had a promotion in their restaurant. They were offering half price yong tau foo noodles. 6 pieces of vegetables and beancurd stuffed with fish paste and noodles in broth for $21.80 normally is half price during lunch time. 

There was a queue as expected, but I soon secured a table and wrote our orders on the slip of paper available at every table. There was another queue for the cashier after which Gaz picked out our selection of yong tau foo at the refrigerated display cabinet. I had asked him to pick vegetable pieces that required no extra deep frying, while he had picked out the fried wonton, fried beancurd, and all the fried pieces of yong tau foo. We were yin and yang indeed! Who would be picking out all the fried pork lard from his noodles, or chicken skin from his Hainanese chicken pieces if I was not around? He would grow into a tub then a barrel!

I ordered yellow noodles and bee hoon in laksa soup. I liked the rich creamy coconut, spicy and salty soup. The fish paste in the yong tau foo was bouncy and lacked any strong fish smell. I liked that the ratio of fish paste to vegetable is generous. 

Gaz's bowl of flat rice noodles in chicken soup was very good too. The soup was chickeny and tasted like home made with actual chicken bones and meat, not just chicken msg powder. I think the soup could have made a good Ipoh kai see hor fun. 

 There have been many unflattering reviews of this restaurant around the wait time and service, but I think one should not dwell too much on the quality of service in a typical Asian restaurant, especially when the restaurant is so good to offer a half price promotion. 

Asian Comedy Showcase, Morris House

When the State Government offers freebies, you don't refuse... so when it is the last weekend of free public transport, we just had to take the train and trams in the city. I also got us some tickets to the Asian Comedy Showcase at Morris House in Exhibition St. The line up was not announced ahead of time, so I had low expectations but it turned out to be one of the best comedy show I had been to. 75 minutes of laughing, all courtesy of Promotix. 

There was He Huang, Takashi Wakasugi, Nathan Chin, and a few other comedians whose names I did not catch. They were all funny and made interesting observations about daily lives which included Asian swear phrases, Uber drivers, rats and dogs. The crowd was a healthy mix of Asians and non Asians. 

Bridgerton Masquerade Parlour

The 4th season of Bridgerton will be streaming on Netflix soon! And how fitting it is to have a party to celebrate it. We were invited (and everyone else too) to a Masquerade Parlour at 362 Little Collins St. Here is the invitation, courtesy of Netflix: 

Netflix cordially invites fans in Melbourne to get masquerade ready for a new fairytale season

Join us from 31st January - 1st February at 362 Little Collins St

Dearest gentle reader, as anticipation swells for Bridgerton Season 4: Part 1 debuting on January 29 - with rising Aussie star Yerin Ha taking the lead as the masked Lady in Silver - Netflix is inviting Melbourne fans to unmask their own fairytale at The Bridgerton Masquerade Parlour. 

Open Saturday 31st January and Sunday 1st February, members of the Melbourne ton are invited to:

• Step into Regency-era opulence: Explore a luxurious Bridgerton-inspired space, filled with DIY and guided pampering stations to help esteemed guests perfect their masquerade look.

• Capture the moment: Pose for stunning photos throughout the Parlour and take home their own fairytale portrait in the Masquerade Ballroom set.

• Live the fantasy: Enjoy the company of fellow members of society and get ready for the new season in true Bridgerton style.

The Bridgerton Masquerade Parlour is located at 362 Little Collins St, entry is free and will operate on a first come, first serve basis. 

Yerin Ha makes her debut in this new season as determined and captivating Sophie Baek, opposite Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton. Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down - until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother's masquerade ball. Part 1 drops on 29 January, followed by Part 2 on 26 February. 

Isn't it lovely? There was a queue of about 50 people deep by the time we got there, 99% ladies dressed to the nines and 1% gentlemen who either loved their ladies a lot, or had been threatened to be there. The staff were dressed to their part in costumes of the era and they did a good job in keeping us entertained, providing instructions, helping us all the while keeping a pleasant and friendly demeanour.

After an hour of waiting in the queue, we were finally ushered into the parlour. It was beautifully decorated with wisteria (fake), large flower arrangements (real, beautiful!), costumes on mannequins, a dining table, and other props with things from the period. I think they have done such a great job. 

There were a few 'stations' in the space which were manned with ladies dressed in elaborate dresses to help the guests to choose the colours that look best for their skin, to choose a suitable mask for the 'masquerade ball', to choose gloves and jewellery. At the station where we chose a mask, we interacted with a man who wore a powdered wig and makeup with lip colour nicer than mine! He helped us 'choose' a blue mask and a mysterious mask for Gaz. The lady at the glove station was very kind and gave us instruction on what to expect. I put on a MJ glove, and made Gaz put on a 'napkin' with a brooch on for fun and pictures. After another half an hour of enjoying the experiences of the parlour, we were eventually invited to go upstairs to have our pictures taken. 

The Bridgerton Masquerade Parlour experience - the gossip papers, cards showing our choice of mask (mine was intellectual, so apt!), raspberry macaron

 A lady who had her portrait taken showed us what it looked like - one can choose whether or not to use AI to improve the portrait by superimposing a dress from the era, tiara, and even add hair in the case of a bald gentleman who accompanied his wife there. 

The queue for the portrait was another half hour as it took quite a while for the photographer to manipulate the pictures via AI, and people wanted to pose properly for their portrait. But when it came to our turn, we were quite rushed because it was already 6pm and the parlour was closing. We would have been the last one to take our portraits but for a middle aged lady who snuck in after closing time much to the chagrin of the staff but no one could dissuade her to leave. 

The end result was disappointing compared to the experience of the parlour. So I am glad that we took some time to browse around and take pictures on our own, but did not take too long as to miss our portraits taken by the official photographer. I would show our picture, but it looked nothing like us. Somehow AI managed to make us look much worse than unfiltered pictures!

Costco Ringwood

When it is 42 degrees, one would prefer to be indoors and enjoy some air conditioning. Add to that food, and shopping, it becomes a perfect way to spend the day. We went to Costco in Ringwood on Saturday to check out the CNY merchandise. First, we had to go into the store to register our details (we did not have membership, only a gift card from Gaz's cousin who is a member) which includes providing Gaz's driver's licence. In return, he got a slip of paper noting the value of the giftcard which we will have to present to the cashier when paying for our purchases. If there was anything left over from the gift card after using it to pay for our purchases, we may enter Costco again at a later time.

There were big tins of cookies like half a kg of taro pastries, pineapple cookies and egg rolls for about $18-$21. There were black sesame dessert, peach gum dessert packs, Korean ginseng drinks. I also saw bak kwa for $25 but vowed to resurrect my recipe and make my own this year.

I saw some interesting food items that are not usually sold elsewhere like Spam with Jalapeno, Spam with Tocino (both made in the USA) and Red Kiwi fruits (grown in the USA). We wanted to try the Spam but they are sold in threes and the reviews of the Spam flavour were not gushing so we did not buy.

We ended up buying 1kg of prawn hargow, 2 lt avocado oil and Gaz bought some mens' briefs. The avocado oil was by far the cheapest item in comparison to Colesworth. It was half the price of avocado oil in Coles or Woolworths. I am not a big user of any oil, so I will pour some out for use and keep the remainder in the bottle tightly sealed in a dark corner of the pantry. 

 Majority of the items are not any cheaper than Coles, Woolworths (when the items are on sale) or the local fruit and vege shop but there are some unique items and it is certainly useful if one needs to buy in bulk. It is also the bulk buying that makes it cumbersome to navigate around the warehouse. Try rolling a huge trolley along with 100's of other trolleys of bigger or similar size in a confined space - it will be sure to drive anyone crazy! 

Paying for our purchases was relatively easy. Trolleys (with any heavy objects) go on one side of the counter, people go on the other side and they are reconciled at the end of the process. We presented the slip of paper we got from the registration desk when we first entered the store. The cashier had to get a supervisor to come and authorise the purchase when they are paid via gift card. There was a remaining amount that we had to pay and only by cash. I had already prepared for it by withdrawing some money at nearby Ringwood Square. 

After shopping, we had some food at the food court. The menu is small and mostly made up of junk food like chicken nuggets, hot dogs, pizza slices, soft drinks, chips. We got a slice of pizza and hot dog and soft drink for a grand price of $5. The soft drink is unlimited refill - we saw a family of 5 fill up their cups to go after their meal. We also saw some families open up food they had bought from the store like coconut drink to have while eating their hot dogs. We were bedazzled by the massive platters of assorted sushi ($80 for 2kg) and sashimi ($85 per kg) which is slightly cheaper or on par with other retailers. I wonder if it tastes better than the ones sold by Sushi Hub or Sushi Jiro. 

Tamil Festival 2026

Did you know that January is Tamil Heritage Month in Canada? January is usually the month when the Thai Ponggal festival falls, and is the month when the Tamil New Year begins so it is the designated month to honour the contributions of Tamil Canadians in Canada. In Victoria, the Tamil community (mainly from Sri Lanka, but also from Singapore) are also striving for the honour. The Tamil Festival started as a small gathering in Casey in 2011, and has slowly gained traction and became bigger. This year's celebration is at the Caribbean Gardens, Scoresby. There were many stalls selling Indian traditional clothes, food, sponsor stalls (e.g. blinds, tuition centre for kids, mortgage broker, jeweller). Our favourite was a stall selling mutton briyani for $14 and mango lassi for $6. The mutton briyani was pre-packed (not sure where, but hopefully in a Council approved kitchen) and had lots of pieces of mutton and fluffly basmati rice. We also had chole bhatura (chole = chana masala/chickpea curry + bhatura = fried bread) except the bhatura was with curry chicken $15. The bhatura was crispy and the chicken was tender and salty. I wished there was a washstand where I could have washed my hands and ate with my hands. It would have been easier to tear and dip the bread in the curry than eating with a wooden spoon, which is not so satisfying. 

Ponggal celebrates the harvest of the year, worships the Sun God over 4 days. The second day of the festival is call Mattu Ponggal which celebrates the cow, that performs much of the manual labour of ploughing the fields for the farmers. When driving into the venue, we saw a sign for 'Pongal Drop Off point'. Pongal is actually a claypot where sweet rice porridge are boiled in milk and presented as offering to the gods during the Ponggal festival. In that sense, it is very similar to Chinese culture because during CNY, Chinese people prepare foods with auspicious names like nian gao (a sweet sticky rice cake, to coincide with the saying 'nin nin gou sing' - rise up every year through the ranks at work). 

Almost all the ladies in the festival wore the sari or salwar kameez. They looked so beautiful in the sheen of vibrant and bright colours on the verdant lawn. The men wore dhoti, which is like a sarong around the waist accompanied by a shirt or kurta. These are usually in cream or white in colour and definitely not as colourful as the ladies' outfits. I wore a long sleeveless dress in green to blend in while Gaz longed for a veshti to escape the heat. It was 32 degrees and sunny but luckily it was a reprieve from yesterday, which was 42 degrees!

Ho Jiak, Rainbow Alley

Ho Jiak is having a lunch special these days. For $20, you can choose from a list of main dishes like char kuey teow, sar hor fun, nasi lemak; and one chicken wing and achar; and a drink.

For dinner, there is an AYCE promotion. For $25, one can have all the mantou, roti canai, mee goreng, steamed vege you can eat. I don't think the food selection is to my taste and there is too much carbs so it is not a promotion I would go for. Besides, it is only valid after 8.30pm which makes it more a supper deal, like the going out for supper at mamak store after dinner habit many Malaysians have. It is also a sure high cholestorol habit and best be avoided.

Now, the food. My colleagues liked what they ordered - nasi lemak and char kuey teow, but the portion was smaller than average. Someone remarked that the ckt is not authentic but there is a disclaimer that it is Junda Khoo's style, not the authentic hawker style. 

I ordered the mixed rice $15 which was actually just the chap fan with dishes from whatever was in the bain marie from Da Bao on the ground floor. The operator has 3 levels of the building - there is Da Bao on the ground floor which is mainly a takeaway store where people can choose rice with a few dishes from the bain matie for $15; Ho Liao on the 1st floor, an upscale Malaysian restaurant; and Ho Jiak, a beer hall on the 2nd floor where we dined. It serves a more affordable version of Ho Liao and also hawker style dishes.

Having tried the food, I think it is not bad for the CBD location but the portion is smaller and the price more expensive (for the portion size) when compared to many Malaysian suburban restaurants. The hype (they have been invited to sell at the AO), the decor of the restaurant, the nicely dressed waitpersons, are all also part of the price. It is one thing to seek good value food but there is also some kind of pride to see a fellow Malaysian succeed in producing good food with good service at a reasonable price point.

 

 

Wattle Park, Minamoto Japanese Restaurant, Burwood

Minamoto Japanese Restaurant celebrated their 5 year anniversary last weekend and was offering 50% off all food and drinks. We went along to celebrate their anniversary last Sunday. Time flies but I remember visiting this restaurant a few years ago. It is a small place, with about 8 tables and no more than 20 covers. The food was homely and honest. There are special price promotions that lasts through much of the year to appeal to students from nearby Deakin University. Later, when my cousin's son came for an educational course at Deakin, he worked part time in this restaurant. 

We ordered a kaarage chicken roll ($9.90 original price), a poke bowl ($19.90 original price), unagi don ($19.90 original price) and a honey dew milk tea ($5.90 original price). The food was served in disposable bowls and plates so the restaurant did not have to wash up. I could not remember if they had always been serving on disposable plates or if it was just during the promotion period but it seems to help with the speed of which our food arrived at the table. Just two minutes after ordering, the poke don arrived. It was filled with salad leaves, fish chunks, cucumber and tobiko on rice. The rice was not seasoned strongly, and was still a little hot so some of the fish became partly cooked. It was still good for the price though. 

The unagi don came with a hard boiled egg, done just the way I like it. There was also endamame and pickled radish on the side. The unagi was nice, fatty and no bones unlike some pre-packed ones. 

The kaarage chicken in the roll was a big improvement from the last time we ordered the kaarage chicken here. It was extremely garlicky whereas there is less noticeable garlic taste in the chicken this time. It was crispy even though it was probably fried long before it was rolled into the sushi roll. 

After lunch, we went to Wattle Park for a walk. It was a very hot day and there is not a lot of shade along the walking tracks in the park but we had lots of fun exploring the area. There is a childrens' playground complete with 2 play trams that had been stripped and made into seating areas. Each tram can accommodate two families but of course there is only 1 tram control so the kids will need to take turns 'driving' the tram. Nearby, we could hear the real tram along Riversdale Road.

There is also a clear view of the city skyline from the park, as we walked towards Wattle Park Golf Course and tennis courts to explore the other amenities surrounding the park. There is a historic cottage and stables nearby, occupied by Basketweavers of Victoria. The stables looked bigger than the house, that's how much animals are treasured in the old days! There was a lone painter painting under the shade of a tree near the cottage. I hope he captured the bright red explosion of the blooming bougainvillea plant next to the cottage. 

There is also the Wattle Park Chalet in the park, which holds events like weddings and parties. The historic building and the garden makes it a beautiful place for a wedding. It is right opposite to the Lone Pine tree which would also make for a gorgeous setting for wedding photos. 

The park has many interesting structures, like a band stand, an large L shaped seating structure with no vista to any interesting sights, a bulletin board seat (except there is no bulletin board), a rotunda with seating and many other conventional looking park benches littered throughout. I think it must have been a very popular park in its hey day hence the many older seating structures. But on the day we were there, it was quite empty except for about 15 people around the barbeque and playground area. 

 

Yapari Japanese Steakhouse, Swanston St

I never thought I would eat so much beef buy due to a shortage in iron I have become a a regular beef eater (not the ones with giant collars in London). Heme iron is easiest to absorb by the body and beef is one of the best sources of heme iron. Having beef once a week or a couple of weeks beefs up my iron reserves. Too much iron places oxidative stress on the body which causes all sorts of issues like cardiovascular disease so there must be a balance between eating too much and too little. I do eat non heme iron as well, such as lentils and spinach and other heme iron sources like eggs and poultry so I need to be careful not to collect too much iron.

When we went to Yapari Steakhouse, I was nevertheless looking forward to eating my weekly beef. The cut of beef is served on a sizzling plate which one can cut and cook to their preference. I prefer mine to be fully cooked so the sizzling plate was very useful but spluttered a little too much. We were given disposable bibs and there are felt cubes for our bags on the ground next to the table but the oil from the sizzling plate will splatter onto one's arms, lap, bag if not careful. It is best to keep it away from oneself and not to make contact with the table surface around the plate (because the oil from the plate lands on the table and can soil your sleeves or hand). 

The fiddly part aside, I chose the Momo steak 150g for $19.90 and a side of rice, miso soup and mini salad for $4.90. The steak is a wagyu steak but is not very fatty. It is from the flank of the cow so it is a leaner cut. I really enjoyed it because it is just nice, not too oily or too lean. The meat comes unmarinated but there is a free flow of sauces in the self serve station like bbq sauce, mustard, chopped garlic, wasabi, yuzu soy sauce, mayo, sesame sauce, sriracha available. I enjoyed one of the soy based sauce, chopped garlic and wasabi with my steak. The sesame sauce goes well as usual, with the salad. 

I enjoyed the food and think it is an affordable steak experience to be tried. If anyone was really hungry, there are set menus that come with beer for around $70 to $90 which could be fun when eating with a group.

Little Claypot, Forest Hill

We went to watch Avatar 3 on the weekend and were kinda disappointed. It felt like a repeat of Avatar 2. The introduction of a new Navi clan, the same bad guy, the final battle involving the same methods and even the same place all felt too familiar. Along the way, there were some confusing moments, moments that don't seem to make sense. So, Avatar 3 is not my favourite. 

After the movie, we tried a new restaurant called Little Claypot at Forest Hill. It is a Malaysian restaurant whose specialty are dishes served in claypots like bah kut teh, peppery pork intestine soup and so on. I would never order bah kut teh from any restaurant here because I make a mean BKT. Also, the BKT costs $25 for a single portion. We ordered the Hakka braised pork on dry noodles $18.90 and fish fillet soup noodles $19.90.

The noodles seems to be of the dried variety and it is still qq past the first few bites unlike the fresh ones which grow bloated and soft into the meal. The cha yoke or Hakka pork tasted good but rather small in terms of portion size. There were about 4 pieces of pork, and after taking out the fat and skin it really was not much to eat. 

My dish the fish fillet and noodles in soup. I liked the soft and slippery texture of the rice noodles and there were many thin slices of fish, tofu cubes and tomato wedges in the soup. The fish looked like the snake head fish and tasted good. The soup was comforting but I believe some milk was added rather than the traditional way of frying fish and its bones then adding water and boiling the soup until the soup becomes naturally milky.

The restaurant is spacious, clean and orderly. That was my first impression and it was a good one. Ordering is via QR code and pay at the counter. There is a surcharge for card payments but no discount for cash payments. 

Bliss Kitchen, Brandon Park

Preceding our visit to Shaun's Kitchen and Malay Kitchen, we went to Bliss Kitchen in Brandon Park after their move to a new shop (from the food court). I have heard many good things about the food and the reasonable prices and they were offering a limited time discount offer so we went there for lunch.

There was a short queue to order at the counter but we managed to order and find a seat. Perhaps there needs to be two cashiers to cut down on the queue? I found the menu to be all over the place. There are some food options with no prices (like food in the bain marie, packs of kuih on the counter) and two or more different menus on screen above the counter, and on standalone flip things on the table. It was rather annoying. 

We ordered the fried rice noodle with egg gravy (aka wat dan hor - don't call it sar hor fun, the cashier auntie is very particular) and pan mee, both $16.80. 

I liked the wat dan hor but the sauce was quite watery and lacked flavour. Perhaps some yum yum powder is needed here.

The pan mee had sweet potato leaves and beancurd slices which reminds me of Malaysia. The broth was tasty and anchovies were crispy. The dough needs some improvement though, it felt like it was on the softer side, not q enough. If I had known, I would have ordered it as mee hun kueh which is another option on the menu.

Since there is a long queue on the weekends and seating is a gladiator event, I think I will not go out of my way to this restaurant.

Portarlington Mussel Festival 2026

I must exercise my mussel memory.. the last time we were at Portarlington was for the Mussel Festival in 2023 and yet I cannot remember it clearly! This year, in a spree of finding activities for each weekend of the summer, I booked a ferry trip to Portarlington from Docklands for the annual festival. The trip costs $42.50 per person after discount which is rather steep but thank goodness for free PT this weekend! I even saw a flasher as the train sped towards Richmond. Free live show! But the Port Phillip ferries are not free, because they are privately run and subsidised by the government. 

The ferry trip was very choppy, I nearly got sea sick but for the loud cheers of a group of women near us in the cabin who cackled each time someone out front was drenched from the ocean spray. Really, to sit out at the front of the ferry in the open sun, wind and water is quite brave! We could not see out the window due to the water spraying all over the left side of the ferry, doing a wonderful job of cleaning it.

The entry fee to the festival has increased a dollar to $10. This year's festival is bigger than ever, with what feels like more stalls, more entertainment line up, more food stalls and variety of foods. The weather was fine but the wind blew sand and soot into our eyes and food. When I blew my nose, the tissue became black with fine particles. It might have been soot from the bush fires from the central parts of Victoria which are still burning.

We tasted 2 mussel dishes, one with garlic and white wine $18 from Miss Mussels and another a Thai red curry flavour $16 from Portarlington football club. I think I preferred the bold flavours of the curry better, and the mussels were bigger too.

Our ferry back to Docklands was at 4.30pm so we explored the rest of the town. I went to Woolworths and bought a cool drink and a tube of harissa which I have not seen in metro Woolworths before. Now, I just have to research what dish I can make with it! We took a walk on the beach and took pictures with the iconic mussel rocks there. We walked along the main street and admired the finished development of an apartment project, the first on the main street. It looked quite nice, there were at grade secure parking, 3 levels of apartments and two retail shops in the alley between the project and the next building. The business does not seem to be doing well though, there was a Business For Sale sign and hardly any customers were there even though the main street was crowded.

Like last time, we bought a kilo of mussels to bring home after the festival. The price has increased a dollar to $7 a kg which is still cheaper than the supermarkets. I like it that these mussels are locally farmed and look forward to enjoying them for dinner tonight.

A Tale of Two Kitchens

Leading up to the festive period, we tried out new restaurants to try. One of the new restaurants we went to was Shaun's Kitchen in Mitcham. It is a small place, the seating was only for about 8 people. Most people takeaway, or buy frozen dim sum to steam at home. But one of the must have item here is the rice noodle rolls or cheung fun which are prepared freshly on the spot. Paired with a heavenly soy sauce blend that is so delicious it will make you want to order more. 

There are limited items on the menu like pork dumplings, hargow which are steamed on order. Shaun's Kitchen has many other frozen dim sum items for sale, like chicken feet.

We ordered the beef cheung fun (so delicious) and other items. As the cheung fun stood out, I cannot remember clearly what else we ordered. I do remember thinking the dumpling skin on the hargow was a bit on the thicker side so I can probably skip that the next time.

A great bargain is the theme for the next restaurant with a Kitchen in its name. I stumbled across a promotion for $6.60 dishes at Malay Kitchen in Box Hill during their 6th anniversary celebration in November. Kiasu me had to try it out, especially since the dish of the day that was priced at $6.60 was pork intestine soup (original price $23). I love a good peppery pork intestine soup!

Although I would have thought no one else would share my love for pepper pork intestine soup, it turned out that at least 50 other people did. We had to queue up for nearly an hour before we got a seat and ordered. 

 Though the volume of order was crazy, the dish did not disappoint. It arrived very quickly and steaming hot. It was peppery, hearty, full of intestines and chicken, and came with rice. I was actually feeling under the weather that day, the starting of a cold but this dish warmed me up straightaway!

Malay Kitchen is an authentic Malaysian restaurant but the normal price is a bit pricey. I have tried their prawn mee and laksa, and they're both very good.

Mini Dragon, Wantirna

Victoria is experiencing a heat wave this week. The temperatures reached 42 degrees on Wednesday and will be 43 today. We decided to eat out to save from cooking in a hot kitchen and went to Mini Dragon restaurant on High St, Wantirna.

As we sat eating our dinner in the restaurant, it quickly began to fill up with customers with similar intentions as us so much so that the restaurant had to summon an additional staff to help out. It's an old style restaurant with basic decor and limited seating but thankfully it has an aircon which is what we can only ask for on a 40 degree day!

We ordered the bbq pork with tofu and veges $25. Lots of garlicky goodness that would satisfy a vampire in this dish. Also, lots of veges that would satiate a part time vegetarian (obviously not for strict vegetarians because the dish has pork slices in it). The sauce has a bit too much dark soy but no msg so I felt it was still healthy  and  tasty.

The best value dish is the barramundi fillet with a bowl of rice $18.80. There are 6 flavours - we chose the Thai style fish. It came with thinly sliced Spanish onions, cucumbers and capsicums in sweet and sour chilli sauce. It was appetising and the veges were fresh.

 When we left to pay, the cashier overcharged us by 2.5% even though we paid by cash which should not have any credit card payment surcharges. I did not realise I had been short changed until I recalled the change in my hands as I was putting it away in my purse later. It is not a big amount, but I would have appreciated being informed of any surcharges, or price increases not listed in the menu beforehand. 

Picnic at Tim Neville Arboretum, Boronia

Yesterday we had a picnic lunch with visiting family from Hong Kong at Tim Neville Arboretum. I suggested a picnic lunch because it was going to be a fine day, the park has the best playground for young kids and the roses were in bloom in the garden. Look at the beautiful flowers!

I made seafood fried rice vermicelli, pani puri, pork and chive dumplings, Gary bought a bucket of fried chicken and carve a fruit bowl out of a watermelon and filled it with watermelon pieces, ayu jelly and sapphire grapes. It was a great hit with the adults and kids alike who finished everything inside and the kids even brought the watermelon bowl home! We also bought two packs of snags to barbeque, but all the tables with barbeques were fully booked from at least 11:30am, so we brought it back home again in the cool bag. 

 It was good catching up with family whom we have not seen for at least a year, but not so great dodging bullets about what other family members were up to. It's a long story.. and so difficult to be diplomatic about everything. 

Regrettably, my skin blistered badly under the high UV rays of the Australian sun. I had terrible sun burn only on my face even though I wore sunglasses and a hat. I slathered aloe vera gel, serums, healing balm, mineral water spray and oatmeal creams onto my face, but the red patches which are now peeling only seem to be spreading. The last two - mineral water spray and oatmeal cream seem to provide some relief but my skin still feels tight and itchy. I am a twice cooked pork - already sun burnt from our trip to the thermal springs and sun burnt again from the picnic. I will be keeping out of the sun's nasty rays from now on.

Goodbye 2025, Happy New Year 2026

What an eventful end of the year it has been! And what an eventful start of the year it has been!

I started off the annual Christmas and NY holiday period with going to the city to take in the sights and sounds of Christmas. Thank goodness we did not host the annual Christmas dinner with the family this year, otherwise I would have been stressed out by the traffic during Christmas shopping. This year, we bought most of our Christmas presents online, so only Australia Post had to worry about the crazy traffic.

Christmas dinner went by smoothly, although at one point some family argument was brought up and I thought we would not get out of the dinner on an amicable footing. We did, but the issue remains unresolved. Best let sleeping dogs lie. I literally learnt that lesson at a church fellowship meeting one night. Bored of all the talking, I made friends with the host's dog and kept stroking its soft fur while it was trying to sleep, so it snapped at me to give me a 'friendly' warning. So yes.. best to let sleeping dogs lie. 

We were particularly adventurous this holiday season, trying out new restaurants. Two new places we struck off our list was Shaun's Kitchen in Mitcham and Chef Wong in Huntingdale. There are some similarities between the two - both sell dim sum and are small establishments. I liked the rice roll at Shaun's Kitchen - they are made to order, they are silky and thin and the sauce is so tasty. I wish to know what their secret blend is! Chef Wong also sells dim sum - theirs are tasty and seem to not use MSG (which is a pro point) and one can order the dim sum by piece instead of eating 3 of everything. Although the dim sum is sold per piece, it is still the same or a tad pricier (per unit price) than larger establishments that offer a more comfortable dining experience. 

Directly after Christmas is MIL's birthday dinner so we can always be assured there will be a food coma every year. This year, we celebrated with a banquet at a local restaurant. For $1,288 per table, there was a cold platter for entree, shark fin soup (small fins), steamed free range chicken, steamed fish, pepper beef, spinach in broth, lobster with noodles, steamed rice and fruits. We celebrated her birthday with cousins and her friends complete with a mango cake and candles. We dressed up for the dinner - Gaz in a blue suit and myself in a Superdry qipao style dark blue sequin dress. I think we rose to the occasion! I'm not sure why a big celebration was not organised last year instead, since it was a milestone birthday. Gaz's SIL did not even attend the small dinner we had at the same restaurant due to a cold. 

To recuperate from the food coma, we went to the Mornington Peninsula for New Year's eve. We had wanted to go on more walks but the weather was windy and rather cool. We did still manage to do a 1km walk (a bit more because we got lost) to Kings Falls, some picturesque but short beach strolls and a full day of hot springs bathing at Alba Thermal Springs. It was a very enjoyable way to end the year.

When we returned to Melbourne, we had another round of food gorging.. starting with a lobster noodle ala restaurant style (but not quite because the bottle of sesame oil had finished and has not been replenished). Look at that... a nice treat indeed! And we did not have to pay hundreds of dollars for the same dish (as we would have, if dining at a restaurant). The lobster is a WA rock lobster and it was big, compared to the frozen lobster tails from Chile. It was 30% off from the deli at Woolworths and costs $20.

 We met up with Gaz's auntie visiting from Hong Kong for a picnic at a park. This time, I did some cooking and whipped up some fried seafood vermicelli, pani puri, pork and chive dumplings. I wanted to also make okonomiyaki - bring them around the world in food, ya know.. but ran out of time. Gaz bought a bucket of fried chicken and carved a fruit bowl out of a watermelon and filled it with watermelon pieces, sapphire grapes and ai yu jelly. The best thing about a picnic is that the kids can play at the playground while the adults can enjoy the park... who am I kidding? The best thing about a picnic is that there is no washing up to do! But the worst thing about a picnic on a sunny day is the inadvertent sunburn... my skin is peeling as we speak.

Alba Thermal Springs and Spa, Fingal

Alba Thermal Springs was a really great experience. I had booked a Weekday Retreat package ($290) months ago. The package includes unlimited hot springs bathing, half hour massage and half hour facial and a light lunch of smoothie and plant based salad. I thought going to a hot springs during the hot summer would have limited appeal to most, but it was still quite busy. We saw many people, some from interstate on the grounds. Because we were all given white robes and white towels, it was quite the sight.

Alba is directly opposite the Peninsula Hot Springs. It is newer and more luxurious. The architecture of the building is so beautiful, the layout is well thought out and luxurious. Unfortunately no phones are allowed in the hot springs so the beautiful design of each thermal baths (25 plus 7 private baths) will only be etched in my mind and not in photos. There is also a lap pool, a cool plunge pool, dry sauna and steam room plus 6 shaded gazebos for resting. I did not see much resting in the wooden gazebos but plenty of resting in the pools. 

Spiral staircase at the foyer near the change rooms and locker. 

To give a few examples of the thoughtfulness of the end user design, each locker has a concealed heat pad on which a robe and towel rests, heated and ready for the guest's first use. Alba had me at 'Hello'. 

Our experience started at 9:30am with bathing in the thermal baths. There are 25 to choose from, with varying styles and temperatures (from 19-41 degrees. Each bath has a small plaque displaying temperature details). There are many that we thought were our favourites, until we explored a new bath. By the end of the day although we did not try each one of the 25 pools, I think I can safely say that The Waves is our favourite pool. It is a jet spa for both the back and feet in 41 degree water with a shade sail overhead. It was great to get away from the sun and enjoy a massage in the pool. 

Other notable mentions from the list of pools are The Shell (a very private, enclosed pool - but not great for more than one couple at a time), the Cascades (lower) (a hot pool 41 degrees, with a view of the waterfall), the Luna (shaped like the moon), the Eve (can see the sunset from this pool), the Cascades (upper) (view across the Peninsula). We particularly liked the first two pools. 

Post an hour of bathing, we changed into a new robe and disposable undies and slippers and showed up at the Spa for our facial and massage treatment. We were greeted by a receptionist who showed us to some day double day beds with views of the scenic view outside, sipped on some herbal tea and filled up a questionnaire about medical conditions and so on. Then we were shown to a treatment room where our masseurs Ketut and Tayla were waiting.  

Gaz was so relaxed that he slept through most of the session, snoring loudly as I am sure is music to Ketut's ears. I meanwhile, was relaxed and enjoying the massage. Although Tayla applied only low pressure, I could feel the after effects of the massage the next day, which is an indication of a good massage. After the massage, we received recommendations of what products to try (all of them used during the treatment) and actions (ours said to relax and hydrate - good recommendations!). We were also served some water, herbal tea and a chocolate coated apricot while decompressing on the double day beds. A couple next to us were so relaxed that they thought they were in their own bed at home and started pashing loudly.

12:30pm and it was time for lunch! We head back to the change rooms for our normal footwear and head to Thyme, the restaurant for our smoothie and salad. They were very busy but friendly and efficient. Our meals came out about a minute after we placed the order. Gaz had the eggplant which was a slice of grilled eggplant doused with olive oil and Szechuan chilli oil while I ordered the soba salad with snowpeas. It came with a liberal serving of coriander and Vietnamese mint, very green. Too bad we could not use our phones to take pictures of the food presentation (the restaurant opened out to the springs outside, hence the restriction). We did see some people use their phones taking pictures at the pools then tuck them into their shoe when bathing. Seems a nuisance to have to do that, better to enjoy the moment I say.

Unwilling to leave, we had another 3 hours of soaking in the gorgeous pools after lunch. We tried out the steam room and dry sauna but could not last more than 2 minutes each time. When it was finally time to leave, we enjoyed the rain showers in the change room and the pleasantly scented shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. A great feature of the change room is the swimsuit dryer which is akin to a washing machine drum during the spin cycle. No more wet clothing to haul back to Melbourne!

We really enjoyed our experience Alba and would come back. I thought I was silly to book a HOT springs bathing in the HOT summer but it turned out really well. The weather was a nice 19 degrees, not too hot but a wide brimmed hat and sunnies are highly recommended. Alba provides plenty of sunscreen stations and water fountains dot the landscape - another thoughtful and successful end user design.