Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Mass Review

I've accumulated so many random places to mention that I shall just dump them all into one post

Wonton House Swanston Street
Beef brisket and wonton noodle soup $9.50
Taken with phone
Beef Brisket with Wonton Noodle Soup <$10
Likes:
+ Generous serving
+ Finally decent wontons, large and springy
+ Fatty brisket
+ QQ Noodles
Dislikes:
- Not a excellent broth, it was just alright.

Verdict? This place serves some pretty decent and authentic food. I would come back again. If it's still around considering the rate the restaurants on Swanston disappear.

Old Town Kopitiam Mamak QV
Nasi Something [Old Town Kopitiam Mamak, City]
Nasi Something
Rather fork out the extra few dollars for a noodle dish. Unfortunately I was extremely poor borderline broke when I went there.
Roti Chanai [Old Town Kopitiam Mamak, City]
Roti Chanai
Very sad, after visiting Mamak in Sydney a few months earlier I was utterly disappointed with this. The sambal is still really oddly sweet.
Beef Noodles [Old Town Kopitiam Mamak, City]
Beef Noodles
Dry noodles with beef ball soup on the side.

Pan Mee [Old Town Kopitiam Mamak, City]
Pan Mee
Didn't look that appealing. The chilli tamarind sauce on the side was deceptively chilli.
Curry Laksa[Old Town Kopitiam Mamak, City]
Curry Laksa
Looked alright didn't taste it.
Mee Goreng [Old Town Kopitiam Mamak, City]
Mee Goreng
Looked and smelt delicious. Must try next time I'm there. Next time........


So the weather has been pretty cold lately (well then lately)
Calls for HOT POT
MaMa Sichuan Restaurant Swanston St
HOT POT TIME [Mama Sichuan Restaurant, City]
$25 per person buffet. They only have 3 types of meat, beef, chicken and lamb. Their hot pot aren't that special but the snacks are. They have precooked dishes like chicken and prawns stir fried in chilli, fried chicken, dumplings all that kind of stuff just ready for you to scoop and eat whilst you wait for you're hot pot stuff to cook. But my favourite part of the meal was the 6 or so side dishes of various items cooked in chilli old. MSG deliciousness. Also they have a limited number of desserts for each sitting so get in quick. The coconut jelly is very good.

Guess what, when to Petaling Street for afternoon tea again!
Petaling Street Box Hill
Petaling Street Style Steam Rice Roll $6.80 inc drink [Petaling Street, Box Hill]
Petaling Street Style Steam Rice Roll $6.80 with drink.
DO NOT GET THIS.
It wasn't bad I guess but there wasn't anything good either. All their other dishes on the menu are wayyyy better.


Crazy Wings Russel St
I tried a little bit of their chilliest wing and it seriously blew up my mouth. How they make it so chilli I have no idea but it will be probably the chilliest thing you have ever tasted in your life. Not for the faint hearted I guarantee you that. And even if you can fight through the burning pain I recommend you not eat too many as I've heard of people who haven't had such a good day the following day as it has been spent in the bathroom....

I have a few more places to do I think and then I'll be up to date finally.
As for the cookbook challenge, it's challenging enough to find time to cook nowadays as mum cooks on weeknights, I normally eat out on Fridays after Ultimate Frisbee, I don't have time on Saturday night as I have badminton and Sundays are usually cramming hw/assignments/essays night. I normally cook either Saturday or Sunday lunch but it's never anything interesting, if you want to find out what I make then follow me on Twitter, posted my link in the previous post.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Got a twitter, follow me =]

Yeah I know I'm slow but today I finally started a twitter account (due to free access on my phone and reluctance to do hw).
twitter.com/teenagefoodie
Trust me I'll be tweeting all day as I have nothing better to do waiting for buses, on buses, during breaks, during lectures and all other times. I don't think all my tweets will be about food but you can find out more about me that way :) and I'll probably be uploading a lot of pics that I won't upload on blogger there. Picture of this morning's breakfast is already there.
So follow me
And of course, leave your twitter link in the comments section so I can follow you too.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Thanks Grub

Two weeks ago Grub from grub town (I don't actually know her name) gave me a "one lovely blog award".  Except because of the hectic schedule of uni I haven't gotten around to accepting the award and a lot of posts waiting to be written up.
So to accept the award you have to do a few things:
+You have to post a link back to the award giver
+ Share 7 things about yourself
+ Award 15 blogs
+ Drop them a note to tell them about it (I don't think I have the time to do this)

Just want to say thanks to Grub for giving me this award, it is nice to know that there are people who read my blog. Also it has been (I can't think of the right word but sort of) comforting to have a fellow blogger who is also passionate about cooking, photography and a first year uni student in Melbourne.

Seven things about myself:
+ I'm left handed
+ I'm studying Biomed/Commerce
+ I don't particularly like making desserts
+ I LOVE durian
+ I haven't spent a single cent on cookbooks/recipes but yet I have a shelf of numerous folders, a few cookbooks, many free magazines that I have collected over a few years.
+ I can solve a rubiks cube
+ I picked up a new sport this year, Ultimate Frisbee, yes it is a sport and it's super intense. Youtube it.

I guess I'll mention a few of my favourite blogs in no particular order
+ Grub town of course (recipes, stories and photos)
+Almost Bourdain (inspirational and amazing photos)
+ Big Picture Stuff (creative and makes me happy, written by my friends who are twins)
+ ieatishootipost (in depth knowledge, stunning pictures, I actually bought his book and I love it)
+ K is for Kani (uni life and fashion)
+ Make You Scream for Ice Cream (shows how good you have to be to get on Masterchef)
+ Mochachocolata-Rita (reminds me of HK)
+ Nosewhistle (written by my awesome friend who's a design student)
+ Naruhodo (interesting and insight into someone's life =P)
+ Rasa Malaysia (authentic recipes)
+ Malaysian Food and Travel Blog (mouth watering photos of one of my favourite cuisines)
+ Eating Asia (personal stories)
+ That Jess Ho (best writing style, absolutely love reading her posts)

I don't think I can put my other blog as part of the list cos I don't exactly read it. But please do check it out http://nonfoodieponderings.blogspot.com/
About my daily life and my super amateur photography.
I'll probably open a twitter account soon since I get free access to it on my phone.
Add another thing to manage/update to my already couple of blogs =]

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Cookbook Challenge: Balinese Chicken Satay [Theme 5, Outdoors]


Shockingly late but I actually made these a few weeks ago, just never remembered to post it.
To date I think the best satay I've had was from Mamak in Sydney a few months ago. I have yet to go to Malaysia/Singapore.

Balinese Chicken Satay
Balinese Satay
Recipe from Sunday Life liftout in the Sunday Age, by Karen Martini.
Serves 8-12 (family of 4 polished them off, without rice though)

Ingredients: 8-10 skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips/pieces. 2 stems lemongrass, super finely sliced. 2 brown shallots, sliced. 3 cloves garlic, chopped. 2 fresh red chillies, sliced with seeds. 1 thumb sized piece ginger or galangal, thinly sliced. 1/2 tsp dried tumeric. 2 tbsp ground coriander. 2 tsp ground cumin. 3 tbsp kecap manis. 1 tbsp fish sauce. 5 tbsp brown sugar. 2 tbsp vegetable oil.

Method: Soak a packet of wooden skewers in water. Meanwhile prepare meat. Place chicken strips/pieces in a bowl. Place remaining ingredients in a food processor and process well. Pour marinade over chicken, combine and marinate for at least 1 hour (24 hours if possible). Thread chicken onto skewers. Heat grill/barbecue to high and cook satay sticks for about 10 minutes, basting chicken the first time you turn with a little leftover marinade. Serve with steamed rice (I didn't though, ate them plain)

Very simple recipe, if you don't feel like chopping up the ingredients, use a blender instead of a food processor.

Skewer turning stand
Parents got this special skewer rack for $3 at some random shop. It's supposed to be a shish kebab rack. Mum being the clean freak she is, made dad wrap the entire rack in foil so it'd be easier to clean. And of course, Dad took control of the barbecue like all men do.

Satay Sauce
I'm not going to post a recipe for the satay sauce before it wasn't very good. Try and find one on the net, make sure it involves cooking the onions/garlic/other ingredients.