Monk & Me - Camberwell

We went for an advanced screening of a new movie titled 'What We Did on Our Holiday' this week. It is a BBC comedy film and will be released on 12th February in Australia. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was funny and poignant. The three child actors in the movie performed very well and I especially liked the youngest. She is such a natural, and the script was nicely done too.

After the movie, we went to Monk & Me for dinner. It was just as well that we already had something to eat before the movie because the portion sizes in Monk & Me are quite small.

We ordered Char Kuey Teow and Seafood Laksa. With my seafood laksa, I wondered if it was a collection of bits and pieces of leftover noodles from half eaten laksas. I had difficulty finding more noodles to eat after just two mouthfuls. The broth was tasty but there was a bit too much coconut cream. There was a decent amount of seafood in the laksa. There were prawns, squid, and fishcakes.

The char kuey teow had a good smoky smell, almost similar to the hawker fare one gets in KL. It was spicy but not too spicy for us.

The prices are higher than other Malaysian restaurants but I suppose that is normal for the Camberwell area. The restaurant is not enclosed rather, it has large doors that are entirely opened up during opening hours giving a true blue Malaysian coffee shop feeling,  especially on a balmy day.

Monk and Me certainly has the ambience and portion size of a malaysian coffee shop, but unfortunately the price is about 8 times more expensive.

Vegetarian Roll

These vegetarian rolls are so yummy that I want to make them more often than what I do. Now that I have a julienne peeler, it is a lot easier to make these rolls.

You'll need:
1 pack of dried beancurd sheet (they come in one big sheet all folded up and breaks easily so be careful when unfolding)
2 carrots, julienned
100g of enoki mushrooms, separated and cut in half
About 10 pieces of dried cloud ear mushrooms, rehydrated and cut into thin slices
About 5 pieces and dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and cut into thin slices

Stir fry all the vegetables in a non stick pan with two teaspoons of oil, and a tablespoon of oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce). Add salt if needed.

Beancurd sheet

Stir fry until vegetables are cooked, then let cool.

Unfold the dried beancurd sheet, and cut into rectangles of around 15 by 22 cms. Wet a towel and wipe both sides of each rectangle before wrapping the rolls. The reason for this step is firstly to make the beancurd sheet pliable for wrapping, secondly to clean the sheet and lastly, to wipe away excess salt from the manufacturing process of the sheet.

Lying the sheet flat on a board, pile about two tablespoons of filling on the end closest to you, fold the sheet over the filling once. Fold the the two sides upwards and inwards then continue rolling until you reach the end of the sheet (you should be able to roll about 3 or 4 times before reaching the end of the sheet).

Shallow fry all sides until golden. Alternatively steam to minimise oil usage.

This dish involves quite a bit of preparation, but it is delicious and beautiful to look at.

Corlam Kitchen - Glen Waverley

Years ago, I bought a granite mortar and pestle vowing to grind my own spices the good ol' way. You know, the way of grandmothers in batik jammies squatting at the back kitchen and grinding at least five different spices in the mortar in preparation for a delicious curry for the night's dinner.

 I was quite pleased with my progress as it was only 3 years later that I seasoned the mortar and pestle. Didn't know they had to be seasoned? Neither did I! I was a little puzzled and concerned that there were black specks from the mortar appearing in my food until I learnt from Dr Google that they had to be seasoned prior to first use.

 Since then which is a year ago, I have not used the mortar and pestle. There is romantic ideals and then there is practical reality.

 These days when I crave for good curries, a visit to a curry house will have to do. Perhaps one day I will have the inclination to dress in batik jammies and grind spices in my free time.

 One day last week was when I craved for crab curry. We ended up at Corlam Kitchen in Glen Waverley as Plan B because the one restaurant I knew of that serves crab curry was full. I would have been happy to wait for a table but we could not even find parking.

 It was a blessed detour because I found another place that serves a smashing crab curry at a very reasonable price.

Look at this beautiful dish! Three blue swimmer crabs in a spice rich curry. It tasted very good. It was not greasy, had vegetables such as aubergine and okra and the spice tasted fresh. In fact, I believe I heard the spice grinder in the kitchen preparing spices for my dish as we waited.

We did not expect the size of the dish so we over ordered again. In addition to the crab curry and rice, we had a dinner special from the bain marie consisting of lamb and chicken curry and pumpkin, chickpea and veges with naan. The naan was large, cut into 4 pieces and brushed with ghee. It tasted and smelt very fragrant, thanks to the ghee and probably something one needs to make concession for now and then.

Corlam Kitchen is not a posh place and I was overdressed that night (having prepared for dinner at a slightly upmarket place that night) but the best food is usually found in ordinary, even remote places!

Junior Tan - Bayswater

There is a new kid on the block, and his name is Junior Tan. This newly opened restaurant is located a stone's throw from the Bayswater train station. It occupies the former Nando's premises opposite Aldi.

We were so keen to taste their Malaysian hawker fare that we visited the restaurant before it's grand opening. We ordered stuffed crab claws for entree, fried Hokkien mee and yee mee with egg gravy.

The fried hokkien mee was prawns, chicken and strangely cabbage, stir fried with thick Hokkien noodles. Usually chinese cabbage is used instead in fried hokkien noodles.

In my opinion, the smell and taste of the chinese cabbage is important to the success of the dish. The other important ingredients are lard and the breath of the wok, of which the latter was also somewhat missing.

The cabbage gave the dish a bitter taste. Perhaps it is a mark of individuality for the restaurant but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

Crispy yee mee with egg gravy was the next dish we had. There was a generous amount of vegetables but the beef slices were a little tough.

Crab balls with kewpie mayo. As usual, we ate too much for our already fat bellies so shouldn't have ordered this.

Besides, it would have came straight from a pack in a freezer and would not showcase the chef's cooking skills.

Perhaps we didn't order the right dishes but I think Junior has some growing up to do.

Chan House -Doncaster

We are so glad to have found another Chinese vegetarian restaurant nearby. As I mentioned in earlier posts, vegetarian restaurants are hard to come by and each good find is like the discovery of a prized truffle.

Chan House is located on a quiet street next to the Beverly Hills school but news travel quickly. This newly opened restaurant was half full when we visited on a weekday.

We ordered the roast pork off the specials board.

Thin slices of mock roast pork, complete with crispy crackling and chestnut flour 'fat'. The texture was very good, similar to the non vegetarian version.


A chef's special, sweet and sour taro fish. It was very delicious.

The food we tried was delicious and not too greasy. The ingredients were fresh and at reasonable prices. There seem to be a good variety of dishes on the menu so it'll be nice to revisit and taste other dishes.