HWKR, A'Beckett St

Melbourne is such a difficult city to have a diet in. At every corner, in every alley there is a nice restaurant that you just gotta try out. Can you believe that there are even restaurants in car parks?? (see: Soi 38).

So, you get the picture.. there are restaurants and cafe everywhere you look in Melbourne. Sometimes, there are multiple restaurants in one place! HWKR is a new concept akin to food courts in Asian countries. The restaurants in HWKR would change every few months or so to make sure that there is always something new for customers to try out.

In our last visit to HWKR, Chanteen (Diana Chan, winner of Masterchef 2017's restaurant), Rice Paper Scissors, Reynald's desserts (Masterchef finalist) were among the few restaurants there.

We ordered the grilled barramundi with sambal from Rice Paper Scissors, char kuay teow from Chanteen and matcha dessert from Reynald's.

Generous portion of grilled barramundi on rice. The sauce topping was delicious. I just wish it was ikan pari or stingray grilled on charcoal, served hot on banana leaf just like how it's done in Malaysia. But in the absence of stingrays (I have not seen it sold anywhere), and charcoal fire, this dish is good enough.

Chanteen's CKT. There is chai poh (preserved turnip) in this CKT, so it's not exactly authentic (by my standards) but it tasted quite nice. There is the breath of wok in this dish and I saw Diana Chan personally cooking this plate for us. I actually didn't know who she was until my friend pointed her out to me, but don't tell her that!

Reynald's desserts - somehow they look much nicer on Masterchef?? These ones look quite ordinary, but they are expensive.

Don't leave your card at home, as only cards are accepted and I don't mean your business card. One is expected to get a place to sit, order your food at the counter and pay but the stalls will deliver the food to your table. It'll be interesting to see what the next wave of restaurants would be at HWKR.

Avenger Station, The Paddock Federation Square

All the crazy Avengers fans out there, know that there is an Avengers Station interactive exhibition happening at the Paddock, Federation Square!

To get to the Paddock, walk along the Yarra River towards Birrarrung Mar Park. Entry to the exhibition is not cheap, at $38 per person (weekdays). 

We saw many excited kids and parents alike who just could not wait to get their turn at going into the exhibition. There was a queue out front at the entry because they could only admit a certain number of people at any one time to ensure that everyone gets enough space to explore the exhibition at their own leisure. We took about 1 hour to go through everything in the exhibition. 

The first thing that greeted us was an 'induction' into the Avengers team. Staff were on hand directing us to Agent Maria Hill speaking to us from a big screen. After that, there were rooms of exhibits showcasing costumes from the movie sets, props, interactive games, panels of information (there were too many of such panels - too much reading!). 

The final part of the exhibition is a game where you get to be Iron Man and blast the baddies out of the way! Only 3 players can participate at any one time, so there is a queue to play. 

After the exhibition, we went to the Midtown Diner where we got some food and cocktails. Gaz got a serve of chicken shwarma (something that Iron Man ate at the end of the first Avengers movie). It was just a chicken kebab, by the way!

Rice Paper Scissors, Liverpool St

Waiting for Gaz to arrive at Liverpool Street so we can go into the restaurant together (they would not give entry unless everyone in the group is present), my heart is racing and there are butterflies in my stomach. Thoughts racing through my mind, 'Will the Lamb Ribs still be on the menu?', 'Will there be 5 dishes I would like to eat on the menu?' and importantly, 'Will the second time be as good as the first?'. 

The last time I tried Rice Paper Scissors was during a weekday lunch time. Rushing though we were, I had a really nice time devouring all their signature dishes like the Lamb Ribs. I still love those meltingly soft lamb ribs and the flavours are intoxicating. 

This time, we ordered the same lamb ribs, chargrilled beef with mustard leaf wraps, whole fried snapper, soft shell crab baguette and sticky pork belly.

Lamb Ribs

Char Grilled Beef Mustard Leaf Wraps

Fried Whole Snapper

Pork Belly

Soft Shell Crab Banh Mi

My favourite dish is the lamb ribs - they were just so flavourful, and tender. Eating it, I felt like a Neanderthal savaging the meat while holding onto the end of the bone. I could even make Neanderthal noises while eating it, they were so good. But I think that would just look too weird...

The best value dish is the fried whole snapper. We love to eat fish and the whole fish with eyes staring back at us did not deter us. The snapper tasted good with the spicy chilli dressing on the side.

My least favourite dish is probably the soft shell crab baguette. The ratio of soft shell crab and bun was wrong - mine had too much bun and not enough soft shell to go around each mouthful.

The feed me menu costs $59 per couple for a selection of 5 dishes. 

Street Art in Frankston

Street art is fast gaining popularity in Melbourne so much so that city councils are no longer painting over street art (see: Melbourne City Council accidentally painting over Banksy's stencil of a rat in Hosier Lane in 2010) but instead is spending funds in curating street art. 

Frankston City Council is spending up to $165,000 over 3 years to transform the city centre's walls and laneways. We braved the rain and wind to go on a guided tour of the new pieces being completed for the council in March and saw some awesome pieces in their last stages of completion. 

I have included pictures of some of the pieces that I like (maybe I should refer to them as 'walls of art', rather than 'pieces'!). There were some abstract ones, but as you can see, I prefer ones with people and animals. I think I relate better to these ones rather than to abstract pieces. 

I learnt on the guided tour that the artists may have a brief idea of what they plan to paint, but unlike painting on a canvas, walls are much trickier to paint on. Everything from the surrounding shops, the way the sun sets on the wall, any windows on the wall etc impacts on the position and what is painted on the walls. 

One of the biggest highlight was seeing Smug's art. Smug is an Australian but internationally based street artist. He painted a picture of a skeleton holding a bird - it was unfinished at the time of viewing so I have not taken a picture of it. Another reason to go back and view all the finished pieces on a sunnier day!!

Most of these pieces have their own messages, up to the viewer's interpretation. For Smug's piece, perhaps it meant that everyone under their skin is the same. We did see him around the site while on the guided tour, but as he did not stop to speak to us, I will never know for sure..

For more information of the street art in Frankston, refer to the following link: 

http://www.frankston.vic.gov.au/Things_To_Do/Frankston_City_Public_Art/Street_Art

Kyoto Cafe, Eastland Ringwood

It is autumn and the days are getting shorter. The sun still sleeps when I get up to get ready for work these days. Lately, Gaz had the reason to travel together with me to work when usually, he would go on his own much later. He was surprised at how early it felt (oh, he knew exactly what time it was, but his body struggled to accept it!). Thankfully the nights are still warm and the sun sets only at around 7pm. 

We went to Kyoto Cafe in Eastland Ringwood for dinner a couple of months ago. Because it was a very warm summer's night, the outdoor precinct where Kyoto Cafe is located was buzzing. There were diners spilling out from each restaurant onto the outdoor eating area, and people were generally soaking in the warmth before it evaporates when winter approaches. 

Too hot to cook, we decided to eat out and enjoy the air conditioning facilities of a restaurant. 

Gaz ordered the dinner special - wagyu beef set which came with a salad and dessert (not pictured). Wagyu beef slices and veges on a sizzling hot plate accompanied with miso soup and rice. There was a big bowl of salad which was very refreshing. The beef was tender and I like how the diner can control how rare or cooked he/she wants the beef to be. If you wanted the beef to be rare, take it off the hot plate and if you are like me and like your meat well cooked then leave it on for longer!

I decided to splurge and ordered the Black Pork Katsu + Sashimi Set ($31.80). The sashimi costs $5.80 extra to add to the bento. I think I would stick to the normal order next time. Besides, there is enough variety in the bento box to keep me happy and interested.

There was steamed egg / chawan mushi, prawn and vege tempura, the pork katsu, sushi rolls, a young umeboshi, lotus root chips, tamago roll, a salad rice paper roll and various condiments and sauces.

The pork katsu was tender and tasted clean and light. I think this is the difference in taste between Kurobota black pork and the ordinary pork. I also enjoyed the sweet young peach (the green fruit at the bottom right of the picture). I have not tasted one before this - it was sweet, juicy and slightly tangy. Very refreshing.

The prices here may be a bit steeper but the quality and variety of the food is better. They also have a selection of matcha drinks and matcha desserts.