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.

The Lobster Cave, Beaumaris

Friends are great - they answer the phone when you call, they listen to your whinging, they don't judge you and they get you what you like! Knowing how much of a foodie Gaz is, one of his friends gave him a $99 voucher to Lobster Cave Restaurant in Beaumaris. 

Lobster Cave was mentioned in several big news stories in the press last year as the venue for Opposition Leader Matthew Guy's meeting with an alleged Mafia boss. So I was half expecting to see some famous people there when we got there but was disappointed... not really. We were there to try out the food and was impressed with the quality and quantity of the food and the great service. 

Our waitperson was very good at explaining how it all works (our voucher did not entitle us to the Set Lunch Menu) and made sure our glasses were topped up and we were looked after. 

The thick carpets of the restaurant absorbed all noise, there was an aquarium running the length of the wall, it was dark, heavy and intimate within the restaurant. 

To start, we received complimentary corn fritters. I'm actually not sure how this whets the appetite for the large courses to come and the fritters stuck to our palate but it was nice of the restaurant to provide complimentary entrees for their diners. 

Complimentary Corn fritters

We ordered fried mushrooms in butter as a side. This is not a great picture as the button mushrooms and black fungus do not show nicely on the black plate but it was a nice dish.

Fried mushrooms

For mains, I ordered the fish while Gaz had ravioli with lobster tails. The  blue eye fillet was perfectly cooked. The skin was crispy and the flesh was still moist. It was a very generous serve of fish and asparagus and cherry tomatoes. The sauce was an anchovy butter which was very buttery but no real anchovy taste. Still, I thought this dish was well cooked and was probably enough for two meals for me!

Blue eye fillet with anchovy butter, cherry tomatoes and asparagus

Gaz ordered the pasta with lobster tails. It may seem like only five or six ravioli parcels but they were very filling. The butter sauce was rich and the mushrooms were fragrant. The lobster tails... mamamia! There were 5 lobster tail halves on the plate! We had a great time eating those lobster tails. It felt so luxurious eating this dish for lunch...

House made Beef Cheek Ravioli with Lobster Tails and Duxelle Mushrooms

Because we ordered a side dish, the restaurant also gave us some complimentary sweet potato chips. It was served with creamy aioli dipping sauce. I think sweet potato chips may be a healthier substitute for plain potato chips, but they are not my preferred choice of chips because it is very difficult to get them crispy on the outside and moist on the inside; and they get burnt, or look burnt easily because of the sugar content. 

There was so much sweet potato chips on that plate that as much as we loathe to waste food, we just had to leave some chips on the plate. 

Complimentary sweet potato chips

I hope they were put to good use, maybe it would make a healthy feast for the seagulls by the Beaumaris foreshore?