17th April Dinner Party

So, Mum decided to invite some of her friends over for dinner today. Wanted to do homecooked Chinese food but decided to do Western. And since my Sis and I are better at that than Mum, we agreed to let my mum relax, entertain guests and just wait for the food to come.

After running 12km in 1 hr this morning, slaving 3.5 hrs in the kitchen (and made 2 SEPARATE trips to the supermarket during that time gahhhh), you can see why I'm pretty darn knackered right now.

That's why, Imma shut up and let the pictures do the talking. Enjoiii =)

We love aged beef. 4 scotch eye fillets and 2 Wagyu (Grade 4) cuts. Didn't get it from our usual favourite butcher on Clarendon but these were pretty good too. Not too expensive, around $10 for eye fillet and $15 (or less) for Wagyu.

Chicken Fillet Mignon. Chicken meat wrapped with bacon and garlic cheese on top. All meat bought from South Melbourne Market.

Our family has come to the conclusion that though the market there is more limited in choices, but the food you get there are MUCH fresher and higher quality. Hence, comparatively more expensive but you get what you paid for. And it's good to enjoy some quality food from time to time.

Appetizer: Raw oysters with dash of lime and tiny teaspoon of Chilli, Lime and Ginger Sauce. Oysters don't get any fresher from South Melbourne Market too. Shucked right in front of your eyes. Excellent.

Garden Salad that we ate with secret recipe salad dressing, bought from Ms Marples the other day. I like it. Light, mildly sour with a hint of tangy spice to it. If only I were good enough to break it down to ingredients by just tasting it. Drats.

Clockwise from top: Mashed potato with bacon, garden salad, aged scotch fillet with salt and pepper, brussel sprouts, chicken fillet mignon.

OH NOOOOOOOOO. I made really yummy Mushroom Sauce but completely forgot to take a picture of it noooooooooooooo... Got the recipe here.

Dessert: Apple Crumble. Sis made the filling while I made the crust. And cause my Sis wasn't a fan of rolled oats, made some minor adjustments to my previous Apple Crumble Recipe.

In this case, substituted rolled oats with (leftover) Weetbix of same amount but added 60gm more of butter. Split the fillings up to Cinnamon (indicated by the "C") and Nutmeg. I personally prefer Cinnamon. Can anyone spot the Smiley Face? ;p

Apple crumble - huge success. Seriously, I recommend this dessert cause it's much easier to make than you think and tastes delicious. Every one loved it.

Oh and I can't believe I ran to Coles JUST to get a shrub of mint JUST so I could use two tiny leaves to take THIS picture. That's food blogger dedication right there. Now I have no idea what to do with the rest of it. Pfffft.

L - R: Datuk Hiew (who was once a student taught by my Mum's Dad), Datin Hiew (who used to be Mum's high school teacher BAAACK in the day), Mei (their daughter who lives in Melbourne), Sis, Mum and Miss Rose (who's Mum's friend from way back when they studied in England and now residing in Melbourne)

It's so great to have true friendships to cherish after so many years isn't it. So, thank you all for being my friend now and hopefully for many, many years to come.

Love always,

Winston.

Extremely overdue

Erm, some of my favourite food from the past month and a half after being back in Melbourne. Overloaded post, once again. Updating this food blog takes more time than you think, so just finding time to do that is kinda rare. Like now, just about to start at 2:30am when I've got class at 9am =/

Anyway, hope you enjoy them and that I don't doze off halfway cause I'm really sleepy now!

Start of semester, we had a potluck dinner at a friend's place. I made the pasta dish in the middle. Easiest but also one of the nicest pasta recipes you'll ever come across. One of those dishes that is so effortless that you'll laugh your head off but make people think you're a masterchef once they've tasted it. Will share it in the future!

I really like this jelly recipe that my maid back home shared with me. Easy dessert for a dinner party or potluck with friends. It's nice and milky cause of the condensed milk. Will share it in the future too!

Went to friend's place for some good old fashioned OZ BBQ. Ultimate burger we have here. Also, potatoes baked in saturated DUCK FATS. Yes, that's right, you heard me. Apparently they sell them in bottles and I enjoyed every bite of it without guilt

"Kuih Makmur", no direct translation but it's a traditional Malay peanut delicacy that my maid in Malaysia would make every Hari Raya. She made a batch for us and my parents brought them over. Bless her and they're FANTASTIC

A corn snack from Malaysia that my Sis and I absolutely love. Thanks Mum and Dad for bringing them over

Not sure what's the name of this, but it's also a delicacy that my maid made for us. I made a batch with her in Malaysia and would definitely make them again when I have the time. It's ridiculously easy but DELICIOUS

Had some bread that were about to go bad so Sis made some yummy bread pudding!

Called my Mum one day after class asking if there was anything to eat at home cause it was 3pm and I had to rush home to grab a bite before rushing off somewhere cause I didn't have time to eat dinner later that day. And 20min later, this is what I came home to - yummy fried rice all nicely prepared and waiting for me! MUM, YOU'RE THE BEST!

Dad's beef stew. No water required at all, good tip and extra flavourful!

Dad LOVES to make steamed fish, and we love to eat them

Steamed salted fish. Just add a BIT of soy sauce, diced ginger and pop it in the rice cooker just before the rice is cooked. Goes so well with rice YUM

Mum's homemade soup. LOVE IT

Mum's super yummy stewed pork belly and ox tongue. Everyone LOVED the ox tongue! Sounds disgusting but tastes heavenly! So incredibly chewy and tender just like meat, which it almost is cause tongue is muscle anyway

Sis' really yummy pumpkin soup. I think one of the best ways to have bacon is with cream based soup

Sis' lamingtons - really yummy!

If you love and know how to appreciate a good rack of ribs that's not overcooked and beautifully charred, there's only one place to go to in Melbourne (that I know of so far) in my opinion. And that's at:-

Squire's Loft Albert Park

1 Queens Road

Melbourne, VIC 3004

6 mains, 3 side dishes (not included in picture), 2 bread baskets and only ONE bowl of salad for 8 hungry eaters

One of the better Korean restaurants I've had in Melbourne, and SO much cheaper than the ones in the city too! Really enjoyed it. One of the dishes there at:-

Kim Chi Lunchbox

652 Glenferrie Road

Hawthorne, VIC 3122

For REALLY good Malaysian Food (which is also one of my cousin's many recommendations), go to:-

Kuala Lumpur Restaurant

123 Koornang Rd
Carnegie, VIC 3163

This butter prawn and roti dish was TO DIE FOR

Tasty spicy (which wasn't spicy at all) claypot chicken

Good old fried Kangkung with Sambal

The one and only dish that makes it completely worth it to go all the way to Carnegie to eat - the Malaysian Fish Head Curry. Honestly, BEST curry we have ever tasted. And you'll be surprised by the bowl after bowls of rice you'll be eating just with this dish alone. FANTASTIC, TRY IT

The one and only place in Melbourne (that I know of so far) worth going to for GOOD Peking Duck. Also very popular choice for a lot of people. Found at:-

Old Kingdom Chinese Restaurant

197 Smith Street

Fitzroy, VIC 3065

Beautiful. Can't get this in KK. 3 ducks for 7 ppl

NICE and crispy with really juicy meat. Love the sauce too YUM!!!

Second dish of the 3 course Peking Duck Meal - Stir fried duck meat with bean sprouts. The intense flavour from the "wok hei" aka "wok heat" made this simple dish so outstanding!

Third dish - Duck bones soup with tofu MMMM...

Also ordered the Prawn in Signature Sauce dish. YUMMY

Cousins also introduced us to this Japanese Restaurant that completely BLEW MY MIND. Was SOOOO unbelievably fresh and delicious and all I can think about right now is when I'll be able to go there again. It's also really popular and a lot of people know about it so I'm glad to finally be able to try this place. It's at:-

Shiranui

247 Springvale Road
Glen Waverley, VIC 3150

I'm not usually a Chawan Mushi person. But one bite of this and we IMMEDIATELY ordered another one. Best we ever had. Please try it

Forgot what dish is called but it's in the Lunch Menu. Slightly seared beef in light sauce. SO GOOD

Tempura Udon. I don't even know how they managed to turn such a simple looking dish so beautiful. You tell me.

Sis always orders the same thing in Japanese restaurants and now I consider her as a Chirashi Sushi connoisseur. According to her, one of the best she's ever had too!

Thing is, Chirashi Sushi is such a versatile dish and can look/taste completely different from one Japanese Restaurant to the next. What's special with this is the unique flavour of the rice and the undeniably freshness of the seafood

Sashimi Platter YUMMY!!

Beef Nigiri Sushi MMMM!!

Chicken dish YUMMEHHHH

Our family LOVES ordering fish head (usually Salmon) in Japanese restaurant. SO GOOD SO GOOD. What a great eating experience enjoying every single thing on the table that day. Definitely good to go in the lunch time cause this place is NOT cheap and you'll be paying and arm and a leg if you go for dinner. But you HAVE to book in advance!

FINALLY got the chance to go to Miss Marples after being here for my third year and hearing every one talk about it. Always good to have a car. Address is at:-

Miss Marples Tea Room

382 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd

Sassafras, VIC 3787

Here we have a picture of Dad's extra strong Vienna coffee. What he ALWAYS orders at cafes. I don't know how he can take it. It's just espresso shot and cream

Pumpkin Soup - REALLY tasty

Fish n Chips! I always love a good Fish n Chips and the one here is pretty darn good too

The "All Famous" Miss Marples Scones. A lot of people have warned me before that it's kinda overhyped and should just enjoy the jam - and I agree. But that didn't stop me from enjoying my meal there cause it was great to appreciate the Old English interior they had going on while spending time with the family. Would still love to go back there anytime =)

Jam was really good. However, I've been told that the scones at another famous nearby restaurant called Pie in the Sky is surprisingly good. Apparently it's much lighter and more crumbly so I definitely can't wait to try it out one day

That's all the piks for now. Also, just wanted to say thanks to my Sis and cousins cause most of the restaurants above were their recommendations and I really enjoyed them. Hope you liked them and will TRY to update more consistently from now on hehe.

Blessings,

Wince!