Peony Pavillion

Yesterday, we watched Peony Pavillion at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda. Quite different to the Peony Pavillion ballet performed in the Arts Centre last year, this one showcased Chinese dance instead. I had stumbled on the show by accident while surfing the Net but boy, am I glad I went for it!

Peony Pavillion is a Chinese opera play written in the Ming Dynasty. A full length PP chinese opera can reach 20 hours! Thankfully, this PP was only 3 hours. The dancing was superb. The choreographer showed the audience the versatility of the cast by mixing acrobatics, chinese dance, chinese opera moves and contemporary dance in the show. The props were amazing and brilliantly used. There was a scene with a set of 3 - 4 chinese wooden doors used to show the comings and goings of the people in the house which I thought was cleverly set.

The choreographer captured the essence of PP in this show with interesting scenes and on a nice pace. It also helped a great deal that the synopsis of each act is clearly displayed on two large tv screens on either side of the stage to provide context to the audience. I wish they would do the same for ballets, so that the audience can understand the background of each act without having to buy a programme.

The show ran for only 2 sessions. Perhaps it was due to the lack of publicity but it was a little surprising that the theatre was not fully packed on the opening night.

Secret Recipe Forest Hill

Last week, Gaz and I were at Forest Hill Shopping Centre and decided to try out Secret Recipe cafe. Secret Recipe was a big casual dining brand in Malaysia, and is well known for its cheesecakes. It serves Western meals as well as local favourites such as nasi lemak etc.

The reason I used the word 'was' is because I am not too sure if it continues to be popular, as the last time I visited a couple of franchises whilst on holidays in Malysia, I found the quality has dropped dramatically. The servings were miniscule for the price charged and the taste was lacking.

The franchise appeared in Melbourne last year, with one opening in Knox Ozone. We visited the place once for drinks after a movie but have not tried the food there.

We ordered the award winning lamb shank (not sure what award it won) and stir fried somen.

Unlike in Malaysia, the portions are reasonably sized in the franchises in Australia. The lamb shank rested atop a pile of creamy mashed potatoes and baptised with a generous ladle of gravy. It was comfort food to the max!

Gaz' stir fried somen had lots of vegies in it - cabbage, carrots, fresh salad. There were also slices of chicken meat in the dish. It had the breath of the wok in the dish which I loved.

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised at the quality and quantity of the food. The shank was $21 and with a discount coupon we received the somen for free.

Update: This restaurant is now closed after the Secret Recipe chain went into administration.

Meko Dining

Following our V Day drama which caused us to miss our reservations at the original restaurant Gaz wanted to go to, we were lucky enough to dine at Meko Dining without prior reservations.

We were served complimentary bubbly and I received a complimentary gift of a rose candle for the ocassion.

We were saved from the trouble of choosing our food, instead the restaurant had a set menu for V Day. A 2 course menu for $68 or a three course menu for $78 per person.

The food in Meko Dining is fine dining quality, without the accompanying pretentious pomp. The plates are not huge, the servings are not tiny. I did not have to eat KFC or McDonalds after our meal.


For amuse bouche, there was a deboned chicken wing stuffed with anchovy and prawn mousse topped with sweet chilli sauce. We had to ask the waitstaff what we were eating as the dish was served without explanation (this attests to the restaurant's unpretentious style, but the dish was a little too complex to decipher without proper description). I am not a big fan of sweet chilli sauce, but it does it's job to open up the taste buds.

Chicken Wing stuffed with Anchovy and Prawn Mousse

Gaz ordered the san choy bow as entree.

San Choy Bow

My entree was Salmon Tartare with Seaweed Caviar. With what? Seaweed Caviar is created through molecular gastronomy using seaweed. I missed the popping salt water flavour of non-vegetarian caviar though.

Salmon Tartare with Seaweed Caviar

Gaz's main of eye fillet. He loved the sauce very much, and I loved the mushrooms on the plate. I would like to ask the chef how the sauce was made, it was really tasty! The dish was had mashed potatoes (Gaz thinks his mash is richer and tastier!).

Eye Fillet with Mushroom Sauce

My main of barramundi with macadamia crust on a bed of daikon. The crust was surprisingly light and crunchy. Although it was quite brown in some places, the barramundi was so tender and cooked beautifully. The daikon underneath was cooked, and taste a little salty. It was just delicious!

I wondered why is it that they serve two little fillets of fish instead of one big piece. Then I noticed Gaz also had two little eye fillet steaks on his plate instead of one big steak. I think the chef was thoughtful enough to provide us with servings like this so we both could share each other's plates without the hassle of dividing the food.

Barramundi with Macadamia Crust

Our dessert platter had a delicious dark choc mousse which paired really well with the sweet pistachio ice cream. I did not like the candied tomato which was a little tart, but Gaz liked it. For me, I could do without the tart element on the plate.

We also received a passionfruit sorbet in between the courses as a palate cleanser.

Pistachio Ice Cream, Dark Chocolate Mousse with Candied Tomatoes

We really enjoyed our dining experience at Meko Dining. The food was delicious, innovative and thoughtful with honest serve sizes without the long wait time. For special ocassions, it is the perfect restaurant to go to.

Update: This restaurant is now closed.

Locked Out!

I received this flower arrangement from Gaz on Valentine's Day. Beautiful Oriental Lilies with such wonderful perfume.

Gaz had also booked a Japanese restaurant in Armadale for dinner however due to some unforseen circumstances, we had to cancel our reservations.What happened? We got locked out of our house!

We were both ready for a good night out when Gaz discovered he'd locked his car keys in the house and asked me for my keys so he can open the door. Then I realised I'd also left my keys in the house. Panic!

There were no unlocked door or windows that I could test my contortionist skills. Then I found a hair pin in my bag. I've seen it done on the telly, it cannot be too difficult! I spent 15 minutes trying to pick our front lock. I reckon that if I had another hair pin I would have been successful. Unfortunately that was not the case and we had to be rescued by a locksmith instead.

My ego dashed, the locksmith arrived within 15 minutes and opened the lock in 5 seconds. From the time he got out of his vehicle, opened the lock to the time we paid the $150 bill, he'd only been there for 30 seconds.

It turned out to be a much more expensive Valentine's Day for dear Gaz that he'd expected!

Happy Chinese New Year 2013

Happy Chinesssse New Year! It's the year of the snake this year. People born in the year of the snake is said to be insightful, wise and influential. To me, the snake is another animal in the Chinese zodiac that can be eaten. Of the 12 animals - dragon, rabbit, tiger, horse, goat, ox, dog, rat, monkey, pig, rooster and snake, 11 of the animals have landed on the Chinese dinner table as one form or another. If the Dragon was not a mythical creature, it would have been on the table too. Maybe that is why it is considered the luckiest of the zodiac sign...

This CNY eve, I had the opportunity to help out in preparing the quintessential Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner. The Reunion Dinner is definitely one of the biggest occasions in the Chinese culture and is the sole cause of the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people from the cities in China in Jan/Feb each year.

On Saturday, I helped Gaz's mom prepare and cook 8 dishes and 1 soup. Our day started from 12 and lasted till 8pm at night! It felt like running a marathon, except that when you cross the finish line in a marathon you usually get a free bottle of water and a medal. I guess having 8 dishes and a soup to sit down to at the end of all that work is as good as, but by the time all the cooking was done, the appetite's gone.


On the table was braised mushrooms, dried oyster and black moss, steamed fish, and white cut chicken (steamed chicken with spring onion and grated ginger), oyster sauce lettuce in addition to prawns with capsicum, beef with brocolli, a delicious pot of soup plus a take away order of roast pork. Gaz's cousin also brought a home made tiramisu, which was was very delicious.

No, there is no snake on the menu.

 And add two very tired persons at the table to the tally..

Photo courtesy of D