Category: Restaurant

Yum Cha Addiction

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I don’t think I can ever have enough yum cha. I could have it every single day. It’s something I have quite often with my family when I’m back for my break. Yes, we are a family of foodies! hehe

But because it’s a tad expensive here, we restrict it to once a few months. So I treasure these yum cha days even more! Fun fact : Back home, we actually call it dim sum! Never called it yum cha till I got here. hehe But I am always very happy and excited when the mr and I have planned a yum cha brunch!

We usually only go to one place for yum cha but recently got introduced to a new place by Daisy after seeing her instagram photos of the food there. I couldn’t be more excited to give it a try! Can you tell from the grin on my face? haha I think I was a bit too happy that day. and cold!

Wealth Garden

Add : 866 Doncaster Road, Doncaster East, Vic 3109

Tel : 0398407611

Thank goodness the Mr has the same favourite cuisines as I do, so we could both enjoy our food together. To me, there’s nothing worse than being forced to have something you don’t like! Besides, food tastes more delicious when you have it with the person you love! (: Don’t you agree? In fact, the mr loves almost everything at yum cha so we could order everything I liked! hehe I was doing the happy dance inside.

This is a family favourite : fried chinese dough fritter wrapped in cheong fan (rice noodle roll). These were amazing! The cheong fan was so smooth and thin together with the crispy dough fritters, it’s a perfect pairing! It comes with a sweet sauce that you can go with. What I liked about the ones they serve here is they have vegetables (kai lan) wrapped in the cheong fan as well! Makes me feel less guilty when having it. haha

this is one of my absolute favourite dish at yum cha – char siew sou (bbq pork pastry). The pastry was really flaky and the filling was thick and every bite was filled with bbq pork. DELICIOUS!

Fried prawn wantons. Jammed packed with fresh prawns, this is served with a saucer of mayo. Just after these 3 dishes, we couldn’t stop smiling and saying “this is SO GOOD!” haha. Just thinking back, I can remember our eyes lighting up with every bite of the food. NOMS.

Now, this was the king of all dishes. haha In fact, this was the dish that made me ask Daisy for the place she was at! Steamed white radish cake. You can’t really find this anywhere else. The first time I had it was at Kam Boat in Singapore. Usually, its cute into large rectangular pieces and panfried till it’s crispy. The first time I had the steamed version I was a little reluctant and questioned if it would be as nice as the panfried ones. I was proven wrong with my first spoonful! hehe Amazing stuff!

The glutinous rice was really yum as well! I am sure my mum would love this!

 of course, yum cha would not be complete if we don’t have the usuals. They were all really yummy, but they just don’t stand out after having the others. Don’t get me wrong, they were still really good. Especially the siew mai. It was really tasty and generously filled. Having just one would fill you right up!

The century egg porridge was sadly the least of my favourite that day. It was just a little too blend and nothing really special. But I guess once you’ve had porridge from Crystal Jade then it’s quite difficult to find anything better!

Chicken feet is definitely considered a delicacy cause not every one would like it. The hubs is a big fan and couldn’t resist ordering this although we were already quite stuffed! hah But it was a really generous portion and I could only have a maximum of 2. haha So the poor mr had to finish it on his own! Oppsy!

So it’s time for the desserts. Yum cha cannot be considered complete without ordering egg tarts!

Another food blogger, Liz, also saw that I was at Wealth Garden and highly recommended the po lo bun (pineapple bun)! So we had to give it a try! I was surprised that it was filled!

They were filled with a sweet pineapple paste and also had pineapple chunks in them! I was surprised because in Singapore, I usually get the unfilled ones and have a slice of salted butter with it. It’s what my mum and I would usually have when we are having tea at Crystal Jade! hehe

Okay, feel a bit home sick after a post about yum cha 😦

Thank you for driving me all the way here to try this place! (: I think it has become our favourite yum cha place!

PS : Thanks Daisy for the recommendation and Liz too! (:

PPS : Do call in advance to make reservations, as this place fills up really quickly from the time it opens for business! 

New Found Gem : Kang Na Roo Korean Restaurant

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I have something to confess : I’m a convert! Let me explain. I use to think that my favourite cuisine is Japanese food. Don’t get me wrong. I still love my sashimi and sushi. But of late, I’ve realised that I would actually rather have korean when given the choice! Just something about hot plates and hot pots that I am craving for all the time. (: And I have to admit, we’ve been a bit korean crazy lately. haha

We chanced up this small little restaurant when we were furnishing our new place and needed to get some materials. Traveling up and down to Bunnings Warehouse at Clayton and saw this restaurant, at the corner opposite Clayton train station, was still buzzing with patrons at 9pm on a weekday night! So we both decided it was a place we have to check this place out.

Of course, we decided to pop up on a Friday night at 7pm. PEAK HOUR ALERT! And waited, willingly and excitedly, for half an hour to get our seats. Standing at the doors was pure torture, only because we had to withstand the cold winds that was coming through the doors whenever customers were going in and out, and also smell the aromas from the food in front of us (and salivating non-stop because of it!). The restaurant was really cosy and everyone working there were koreans. We were excited, cause we knew we were going to get some authentic korean food.

Kang Na Roo

Address : 309-315 Clayton Road, Clayton Vic 3168

Tel : 03 95432842

I dunno about you, but I absolutely adore the small dishes that come just before the food comes. The top of my favourite list is the caramelised sweet potato! I could just have that all night, although my waist wouldn’t be too pleased about that. haha

We flipped through the menu and this hot pot dish caught our attention : Gamja Tang. It’s mild pork bone marrow stew with vegetables and potatoes. It was just the right amount of spice that we needed to warm our tummies up for the start of winter. The Mr was just happily slurping on the marrow and we finished everything in that pot.

What was special about this particular hotpot is that you could order a serve of special rice with vegetables that will come after you have finished 95% of the soup in the pot. Then one of the wait staff came to mix the rice into the hotpot and fry it on the spot! The Mr and I were just smiling non-stop cause we were so amused!

It looked simple but it tasted A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! With the flavours of the stew, it was a home run for us!

This, dear readers, was no ordinary fried chicken. It’s drizzled with a sweet chilli sauce that intrigues us. It’s almost like malt –  it’s super duper thick and sticky but not overly sweet when you taste it! We just couldn’t stop eating it even though our stomachs were starting to feel stuffed! The addition of peanuts and pine nuts just adds a bite to the dish. Just describing it now is making me hungry even though I just had dinner. haha

We could not be happier when we were done with our meal that night. Both the Mr and I had the widest smiles and the happiest bellies (: Definitely a place we will visit regularly from now, seeing that it’s about 5 mins drive away from our new place! (: And do know that you could call and book a table in advance so you won’t have to wait too long for a table!

So are you a japanese or korean food lover? Or are you a convert like me? Would love to know!

{NZ} My Kitchen Part 2

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Remember my post on My Kitchen that had all the vegetarian Taiwanese food? This amazing place is also known for their meat-y delicacies and they are also equally mouth-watering! I’m sure if you’ve been to Taiwan, you know will know that they are well known for starters (小吃).

Pig’s ear! It’s stewed till the outside is really tender and the middle is really crunchy! It’s the fav of my parents and my hubs! It’s something you either like it or hate it I suppose. But in my family, we love it! hehe Mum said my grandma use to cook this but she doesn’t anymore. That explains why my dad loves it so much! hehe

Pan fried dumplings! I do love my dumplings. With lots and lots of vinegar! (: This came after our main for some reason and we were SO STUFFED. but still finished them all. haha

I ordered minced pork rice (卤肉饭)! I absolutely loved it! Worth every penny too! Just $4.95 for this small but mighty bowl of yumminess!

The hubs ordered the deep dried chicken cutlet. It was really crispy and was really well seasoned. It brought us back to Taiwan when we had the deep fried xxx-large chicken cutlet at the road side. This definitely came pretty close!

Mummy ordered braised pig trotters! Just looking at the photo makes me miss my grandma’s pig trotters even more! But these were really good too. Not too salty and the trotters were really tender, and the gravy. I could just have the gravy and rice to be honest. Think I might make some soon. haha

Dad had the dry noodles with mince. This sound and look ordinary but with the addition of the mince (similar to the rice) it was delicious. Could do more of the sauce though, cause it turned out a bit dry. The crunch of the zucchini was genious though. Added a bit of freshness with every mouthful! (:

The portions are really huge and we obviously didn’t learn from our first visit here and share our mains. haha Got too excited and just wanted to try everything on the menu! hehe Definitely a place you should try when you’re around the area!

{NZ} My Kitchen Part 1 : Vegetarian

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I don’t know about you, but Taiwanese food has always been a favourite in my family. There was a period of time we went to Taiwan at least once a year. And when we are there, we would always eat till our hearts content! Especially the street food that you can get at the night markets. Simply delicious!

After days of western food, I think we were craving for something asian so my cousins brought us to My Kitchen! The good thing about Taiwan restaurants/cafes is that they cater to vegetarians as well. Which was awesome! We ate so much, we were stuffed by the time we were done with our starters. haha But the food was too good to not finish (of course the mr had to finish half of my food for me haha).

i was never a big fan of century eggs. I use to only like them in my porridge when I have dim sum. But I tried a dish a while back with toufu and a century egg sauce and totally loved it! When my cousins ordered this, I couldn’t be more pleased! It was delicious! I wanted more!

Thai style deep fried toufu! This was super yummy too! Just didn’t know whether it fits the Taiwan street food theme. I guess smelly toufu would fit more, but thank goodness they didn’t order it! haha Nonetheless, the toufu was super crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Went perfectly with the sweet and spicy sauce!

This was a childhood favourite of mine. Fried mantous with condense milk! No one at the table tried it before. I was so super excited when they placed this on the table. I was practically grinning! haha They seriously compliment each other. If you haven’t tried this, PLEASE DO! Hot and crispy man tou with sweet condense milk.

mmm. just thinking and looking at it makes me salivate!

It’s vegetarian braised mince pork rice (素卤肉饭) ! It was so so good! And only $4.90NZD! Delicious (:

This is my braised mock beef noodles (红烧牛肉面) and the soup was really herbal and perfect for a cold day. The noodles were endless and of course the mr had to finish it for me. haha

 Mummy’s mince mock pork noodles! This was a little ordinary compared to the rest. Loved the addition of fresh cucumber and carrots though!

The Mr ordered the pork chop set which came with braised mince pork rice and three side dishes. Doesn’t that pork chop look amazingly similar to the real ones we usually have? So so amazing!

The portion sizes were all really huge here so if you want to try more dishes, I suggest sharing the mains instead! Unless you’re a big eater or have someone who would finish up everything, like me! haha Stay tuned for the non-vegetarian meal we had at this place next! (:

A Review Post Gone Korean Crazy

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We are addicted. Addicted to everything Korean. But more specifically, Running Man! We were introduced to this awesome tv game show by the Mr’s sister, Melissa, and we have been crazy about it ever since! If you haven’t had a chance to watch any episodes, I urge you to watch them! I have to warn you though, you would laugh so hard, you would get cramps or even fall off your chair!

So the last few episodes that we watched, they went around the different cities of Korea buying the famous korean food and snacks at their night markets. That made us drool and made our stomachs growl. We usually watch an episode before going to bed, and boy was that a bad idea. We were so hungry by the time the episode was over. haha

Needless to say, we were both craving for Korean food! If you follow me on Instagram, you would have realised that for my dinners, I’ve been making my own versions of korean dishes just to satisfy those cravings. But after the weightlifting competition the mr took part in last night, we couldn’t resist but to head to Han Guuk Guan at Carlton for dinner since it on our way home.

Han Guuk Guan

Address : 13 Victoria Street, Melbourne Vic 3000

Telephone : (03) 96391747

This family-run Korean restaurant is gem hidden behind taller buildings along Victoria Street. We use to dine there really often when we were living in Carlton a few years ago. But haven’t been there for ages! They serve both chinese and korean dishes and trust me, both cuisines are yummy (Do take note that they only serve korean on Mondays, in case you would like to try their chinese dishes).

The staff were very friendly and the whole restaurant was filled with the delicious smell of BBQ meat. We couldn’t wait to get seated and have our food!

We ordered the seafood pancake as a starter. It was really crispy on the outside and was made with a mixture of vegetables and seafood. It came with a tangy sauce which made it even more delicious!

Though the starter appeared to be small, the mains were huge! The Yu Seul Jaa Jung Meon (Black Bean Noodles with Seafood) was DELICIOUS! There is something about me and black noodles. I can’t have enough of them.  As unappealing as it looks, trust me. When you take your first bite, you will be in love! However, the combination of hunger and delicious food was horrible though, I ate two bowls so quickly, I was stuffed even before the other dish arrived! haha

The Mr was really happy with how delicious the food was! (: And he sure had a big appetite after his weightlifting competition and he finished everything!

of course, we couldn’t resist ourselves from ordering our favourite dish: Soondubu Jjigae (Spicy Seafood Toufu Stew) ! Especially on a cold and rainy night, this was perfect! The soup was really tasty and breaking the raw egg yolk just made the soup/stew thicker.

We definitely left the restaurant full and happy! The price was really reasonable too for the portion size! And what made us even happier was that the Mr did really well at the competition! 3 Personal Best lifts yo! (: Congrats baby!

So the next time you are around Carlton or even the city and you crave Korean, you know where to go! (: