Tina's Noodles, Box Hill

You know some things are so bad, yet so good? In fact, most of the things that are bad for you, taste so good! You can almost take a blind bite of something and if tastes wonderfully good, then you can be almost sure that it's bad for you. Think double hickory smoked bacon, or chocolate ice cream. That wonderfully creamy and well seasoned mash? Yup, there are almost as much butter and fat in it as there are potatoes used to make it. And let's just be honest, there are no real healthy substitutes for naughty foods! 

So, why am I talking about this when noodles, veges and meat, the type one can expect when they visit Tina's Noodles at Box Hill? That's because their deliciously spicy and flavoursome lamb ribs noodles react so badly with my stomach! Yet, I can't stop eating it, and I would gladly go back again and again for more!

The soup came with a thick layer of red coloured oil at the top and braised lamb ribs with layers of fat sandwiched between the deliciously tender meat that falls of the bone. The noodles were probably the only main ingredient which was good for me, if I try not to think of how much carbs I have consumed that day. My tongue started to go a little numb after finishing the bowl, but I really enjoyed it.

For those who cannot consume spicy food, there are other non spicy options available (but this Dainty Sichuan little sister is not the place for it!) like the beef with pickled vege noodle soup. The taste of pickled veges was very strong but we really enjoyed the silky soft noodles. 

Tina's Noodles have been around for several years now and over the years I have spotted some changes. In comparison to an earlier commentary on the same restaurant but in a different location, the portions are now smaller but the price has increased. I guess that is the same with almost everything but I certainly hope that the trend stops here. 

Tasty House, Forest Hill

What attracted me to Tasty House was as we were walking out of another restaurant on the same street, there poured a bevy of suited men (office suits, not the hazmat kind) smiling, laughing and generally patting each other on the back for having had a wonderful dinner with great company. And I thought to myself that any restaurant that could elicit such joyful response from guys after a hard days' work battling office politics and still stuck in their monkey suits is worth a try!

We ordered the XO Pipis with Chinese Doughnut (for an additional $1). There were not many chinese doughnuts but what we had were crispy and tried their best to soak up the abundance of sauce at the bottom of the plate. I loved the pipis - they were plump but too bad that the sand had not been purged enough. I could still taste the grittiness of the sand in between mouthfuls. The sauce was fragrant, but it did not taste like the familiar XO sauce with the fragrance of dried shrimp and scallops. 

Dry egg noodles with 2 roast combination - I chose roast duck and pork sausage combo. The roasted meats is the main drawcard for this restaurant. Given I do enjoy a good Cantonese roast duck, it was natural that I should order this dish. The meat was tender and well cooked. I just wish I was there when the ducks had just finished roasting.

The restaurant also serves the usual BBQ pork and roast pork, and there are other exciting dishes on the menu that I would have to come back for, like noodles with Singapore chilli prawns.

Japanese Fest 2017

We were at the Comics Lounge on Thursday night where we sat on the same table with an Italian and a Spanish who had made the journey from half a globe away to live and work in Australia. We started talking about what they thought about Melbourne and so on and they said the same thing I had heard from a Canadian tourist years ago. 'Melburnians love their festivals!! There are festivals almost every weekend!'. Yes, yes that is true! We have been to our fair share of festivals and particularly enjoy the food that is a staple in each of these festivals. 

Like these ones from Japanese festival three weeks ago: 

Very greasy crab surimi rolls topped with cheese and mayo fried in oil. I regretted buying this from the Kobe Jones stall after the very first bite....

Lychee gelato from Gelato Messina - so goood! Messina has some of the best flavours in town. Yeah... sorry, just not in Melbourne CBD. You can find a store in Richmond, Fitzroy or Windsor, but not in the CBD. Maybe I should say that Messina has some of the best flavours in the burbs? Anyway, it's even better that we got the gelato free as part of the Japanese festival!

Squires Loft, Nunawading

Chomp chomp cave man food! Think big piece of meat, big lump of potato, and racks of pork ribs. And what's that on the side? Oh, that's just some green looking frilly things. I believe they're called salad, but they really have no place on the table!! 

We visited Squires Loft this week for dinner where our table ordered some major chow. Angus beef eye fillet, ribs, scotch fillet and fish (don't ask). I felt all beefed up after dinner. I  had probably eaten two or three servings of meat in this one dinner alone!

Scotch fillet 300g for Gaz, with mushroom sauce. The meat was tasty and well cooked and so were the chips.

Two racks of pork ribs and baked potato. The ribs were dry... not the juicy, succulent meat I was expecting. It was well charred too.

Apparently there is an express lunch menu for $15 which is good value since our mains cost around $40 per pop.

But I would not recommend to get the ribs!!

Bensons, Belgrave

We went to Sherbrooke Forest in the Dandenong Ranges last weekend. I just love the name of Sherbrooke Forest, it sounds like where Robin Hood and his merry men would hang out. There is also Sherbrooke Falls but do not be fooled by the name. It does not sound as grand as it's name. It is more like a brook rather than a big waterfall. 

We visited the park for the walking tracks rather than the waterfall. The track is not too difficult and takes less than an hour to complete but still offers a moderate level of exercise. There is a portion of the track that is uphill so it is a good opportunity for some good aerobic exercise. 

I was a little concerned about the falling gum tree bark which seem to be a feature of this place. I remember the same thing happening when we visited this place a few years back. One large bark fell not far from where a man was cooking his food on the BBQ at the picnic ground. One hears of branches falling off trees injuring people and while a gum tree bark is lighter, it is nevertheless concerning. 

After the walk, we went to Bensons at Belgrave for lunch. We ordered the tapas plate ($35). It consists of two boards of assorted food - meatballs in sauce, bread and hummus and capsicum dips, lemon pepper calamari and arancini balls. 

It was a very pleasant end to the weekend's walk.