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

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
Rather fork out the extra few dollars for a noodle dish. Unfortunately I was extremely poor borderline broke when I went there.

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
Dry noodles with beef ball soup on the side.


Pan Mee
Didn't look that appealing. The chilli tamarind sauce on the side was deceptively chilli.

Curry Laksa
Looked alright didn't taste it.

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

$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 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.

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.

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 =]

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

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.


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.


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.

Eating Out: Petaling Street Revisted Again(Afternoon Tea Special) + Desert [600 Station St, Box Hill]

Yes I went to Petaling Street AGAIN for their afternoon tea special. So far I've tried 4 out of the 9 specials.
This time I chose the Wonton Mee (Dry)
Very different to to Honkie Wonton Noodles which is wontons and noodles in soup. Malay style however comes with char siu which was a very weird concept to me at first but after having countless arguments with K仔 about whether Honkie or Malay Wonton Noodles is better and having a taste of Malay style I've been converted!

Going to rate the Wonton Mee according to Leslie Tay's (super famous Singaporean food blogger who's a doctor by day) expectations which are written in his book which I love (thanks K仔 for getting it for me from Singapore =] )

Wonton Noodle (Dry) $6.80 with drink

Afternoon Special Mon-Fri 3-5pm

Likes:

+ Super tasty QQ noodles
+ Massive serving of noodles
+ Enough wontons
+ Meaty tasting char siu which looked dry but was alright.
Dislikes:
- RED char siu, more would have been nice as well
- Char siu wasn't fatty enough, and no crispy burnt bits =[
- MSG wontons with little filling

Teh Tarik $3

Have had many many cups of this

Likes:

+ Nice and frothy

+ Very smooth and milky

Dislikes:

- Price

Ice Kachang $4.50

Massive BEWARE

Likes:

+ Size

+ Colourful

+ Price

Dislikes:

- Hard to eat without it going everywhere

- All the goodies are at the bottom, very hard to reach

- Coloured syrup is very very sweet

- Feels neverending

One problem with the ice kachang. There is a minimum charge of $3.50 per person however the ice kachang is so massive you need at least 2 people to help attack it which doesn't meet the $3.50 minimum charge. I think they should waive the charge if the itemed ordered it ice kachang, seriously I'd like to see on of the workers there finish one themselves without chucking it up afterwards.

There is a Petaling Street opening on Swanston St in the city. Ever wondered why this place has soon to be 4 chain stores? Because their food is ABOVE AVERAGE at reasonable prices.

Eating Out: Simon's Peiking Duck Restaurant [197b Middleborough Rd Box Hill South, 3128]

Tuesday night and they still had 2 seatings with the 8pm one about 75% full. You know this meal will be up to par. This place has been reviewed by everyone, critics and bloggers. As a result I think it's overrated, however it is pretty damn good, I was just expecting out of this world amazing which obviously wasn't the case.

So I'm assuming the first thing everyone notices is how come it's spelt Peiking and not Peking. That I cannot answer but I believe someone blogged about it already HOWEVER according to their array of awards/certificates/qualifications stuck to the window this restaurant is actually registered as Simon's Peking Duck Restaurant. Yes without the "i". Could someone clarify this on their next visit? Not that it really matters.


         Peking Duck $55/65 a duck (3 courses) 15 pancakes
Likes:
+ Crispiest skin (quite certain it's so crispy because it has been flash FRIED)
+ Lots of skin with some meat
+ Good balance of flavours
+ Thin pancakes so you don't get full as fast
Dislikes:
- Not enough fat under the skin (could be due to frying rendering it all out)
- More pancakes please =P

               Timorese Chicken $17.80 I think

Simon said this dish was one of his favourites and supposedly marinated for 24 hours, maybe acquired taste?

Likes

+ Large serving

+ Sweet, salty, sour, chilli flavour explosion

Dislikes:

- Flavours tasted all mixed up and not too pleasant

- Wasn't very fresh

                        Belachan Vegetables 
Simon says (haha touch your toes) he doesn't like okra because it's slimy but I like it for its weird texture.
Likes:
+ Slightly chilli
+ Belachan wasn't overpowering
+ Variety (beans, okra, eggplant, asparagus)
Dislikes:
- Quite oily

Food: 9/10 Must say the peking duck is very very good. I went to Da Hu Peking Duck Restaurant a month ago and that peking duck was atrocious and it's supposed to a specialist restaurant. The thin pancakes were special and perfect. Timorese chicken was a bit of a let down. The noodle and soup course were very average.
Service: 9/10 Amazing for an Asian restaurant. I was more than pleased after my last restaurant visit being Yuki Japanese (my rage post is yet to be posted, but do check Urbanspoon for reviews or should I say explosive rage rants). Simon is what customer service should be like. Also the waiters/waitresses are very attentive, we ran out of water and one look at them and one look at the jug was all that was needed to get refills.
Environment: 7/10 Very cramped. Obviously trying to fit as many tables as they can in which leads to invasion of private space.
Accessibility: Bus and car. 733 bus from Box Hill to Oakleigh (vice versa) passes it, not sure what other buses if any.

Verdict? Will come back. Next time NO WAY am I sharing a duck between 4 people. 2 people maybe 3 to a duck. Peking Duck is just one of those foods which no one wants to share.

Garrr uni is eating up all my time

I know I haven't posted in over 2 weeks
Don't worry I have a few posts still to write
-Rant about Yuki's
-Simon's Peiking Duck
-ECPot

Unfortunately uni started 2 weeks ago and I've been completely wasted after 3 hours of public transport travel time a day and countless incredibly boring lectures. Hopefully I can find the time soon to write up all the posts. If you want to know more about what's been going on with my life head over to my other blog http://nonfoodieponderings.blogspot.com/ I post every few days on that. So click and read to find out what life is like for a first year uni student in Melbourne and for rants about how shit Melbourne public transport is.

Eating Out: Petaling Street Revisted (Afternoon Tea Special) [600 Station St, Box Hill]

Hungry after a day of orientation at uni K仔 and I decided to head down to Box Hill to try out the afternoon tea specials at Petaling Street. Twice we did this.
There are 10 dishes to choose from, all of which are $6.80. YES $6.80!!!!!!!!!!! May I add that includes Teh Tarik hot/cold OR a can of soft drink. But do go for the Teh Tarik, very frothy but sweet.

On the first visit we shared a Hainanese Chicken Rice. No picture because we were just too hungry to care. The skin was very springy. Only issue was the soya sauce underneath was quite salty. There was about 5 decent sized pieces of chicken.

The second time we went we both ordered separate dishes, at $6.80 why not?

Traditional Malaysian Roast Chicken with Rice

Likes: 

Whole maryland =] with super crispy skin

Moist chicken (I don't get how it can be so moist if the chicken is roasted, really raises suspicions.)

Chicken rice was quite chickeny

Dislikes:

Skin was extremely salty, like they dipped it in salt. 

Char Koay Teow
Likes:
Very generous serving.
Everything was there (crispy pork lard, fish cake, prawns, chinese sausage, egg, beansprouts, garlic chives and COCKLES)
Just right for chilliness (not for K仔, he added a massive dollop of sambal onto his share)
Dislikes:
Cockles tasted like the sea, sooooo fishy.

By the end we were both completely stuffed. Although this is their "afternoon tea" set we had it for lunch. I wonder how anyone could eat the much for afternoon tea.

Food: 8.5/10 The chicken dishes were average but the char kway teow was the best I've had all year.
Service/Environment:  8/10 Clean. Alright service, English is obviously not the waiter/waitresses first language but it is better than a lot of places in Box Hill.
Value: 9.5/10 Exceptional value. To get a 10 the dishes would have to be perfect, close but definitely not perfect.
Accessibility: Train, tram and bus.

Verdict? Wonder if I can try out all 10 dishes offered. 3 down 7 to go. Ipoh Hor fun sounds good, as does Petaling Street Style Short Rice Noodle in Claypot.