Hubby with his TOYS + Request

Today is the 1st day of daylight saving. Since weather was really great yesterday, we planned to go to the St Kilda Beach in the morning. We were waken up by the sound cause by the strong winds in the early morning. Hubby decided to leave me to sleep as he know it is impossible to head to the beach which he wake up and finish his assignment.

By the time I woke up, Hubby is already in front of the TV with his TOYS. He is totally hooked on them once he started playing yesterday. *shake head* Starting to wonder did I make a wrong move by allowing him to buy. During school days, he is busy juggling working 3 days a week, 12 hours per shift + studying. During vacation, he will be busy playing with his toys + working extra. *Sigh* He is starting his 1 MONTH annual leave on the 5th Nov and I'm beginning to wonder how much time set aside for me? Hmmmm.....

He is spending time again with his toy as I'm tying this entry. Straight to his games once we got home after dinner with Fiona(next entry).

Hubby and his XBox 360

Hubby's latest game collection, Blue Dragon.

Hubby requested me to bake cookies since I was free in the afternoon. He ordered Chocolate Chips Cookie and also asked me to half the ingredients quantity stated in the recipe. He doesn't want to be stuff with cookies.

After about an hour in the kitchen, we had a pot of tea with some cookies for afternoon tea. Hubby likes the cookies as they are very crispy. He prefer crispy cookie than chewy onces. End result I had less than 25 cookies. Don't think Hubby will have any problem finishing them. :)

Chocolate Chips Cookies


Btw, when I was sorting out the photos. I found out I also baked a tray of cookies exactly one year ago.

Shoya Restaurant

We didn't manage to wake up for morning walk again. So it's evening walk again yesteday. This time round we walk to the city instead coz my dear hubby wanted to buy XBox 360 game. He is finishing his assignment and end of his schooling sememster very soon. He is all prepared to start on his new assignment which is finish his newly bought XBox 360 Blue Dragon game.

As we walk towards Treasury Garden, we saw about 6 newly married couples taking photos. Hubby said Treasury Garden is a popular for wedding. That is also one of the reason he chose Treasury Garden to held our wedding. But we were the only couple holding our wedding ceremony that day. :)

We came upon a lot more as we walk pass Parliment Building, there are about 5 brides taking photos. I had began to lose count of how many brides I saw within 5 minutes! Plus another 2 more brides along Collins Street. Hmmm...I think I saw about 10 brides and majority in tubes dress. What so special about yesterday other than the weather is teriffic?

On our way home after popping into JB Hifi for Hubby's games, hubby suddenly suggest to have dinner in the city, He feels that we should call for a celebration on his promotion. I like the idea coz it mean I don't need to cook..hehe.

Hubby wanted to have Japanese food again as he didn't have an enjoyable one the previous time. I did came up with a few restaurant but as it's Saturday evening plus no booking, we might have a hard time getting a table for 2. So we decided to pop into one of the Japanese Restaurant in Chinatown, make a reservation and return home to freshen up.

Totally change of plan when we passby Shoya. We went to have a look at their menu and was impressed that the manager actually take the effort to come out and show us another menu of their plus answer some of our questions. the restaurant was still close at that time! It wasn't due to open for another 45mins.

We in our sloppy track suits + sport shoes turn up in front of Shoya at 6p.m. sharp. We were too lazy to go home and back into the city again within an hour. That also mean I didn't have my camera with me! I will have to rely on Hubby's Nokia Hp again. *sigh*

1st was the complimentary dish from Shoya. It is a piece of fried fish with some onions and carrot.

Complimentary Fried Fish

Next was Unagi which was on the special menu. It was recommanded by us from the manager. He said it's a very popular dish. Hubby decided to give it a try.

Unagi Special

I ordered a glass of Shochu. It's not Saka. I haven't seem it other restaurant menu before. I was very curious so I gave it a try. The drink I had was called Jougo which was made from Raw sugar. It is describe as "Mild but not as sweet as imagined. Satisfactory smoothness. " It's very special and I like the after taste. It's a very smooth drink. Someone who doesn't drink + hate liquor even tried it and had 2 slip!

Tempura was the next dish. It's rather disappointing. It wasn't as nice as we expected. The Tempura serve at Kenzan is better(smell + taste) than this. Score decrease from here.

Tempura Moriawase

I love Tofu Steak plus I miss the Tofu Steak which Eizac recommanded when I was in Sydney. So I ordered the Bean curd steak topped with Japanese mushrooms and special gravy.We love the gravy.

Tofu Steak

We definitely order Sushi and Sashimi when we having a meal in a Japanese restaurant. This time round, no different too. But the sushi and sashimi was a bit dissappointing too *sob*. Sushi were small. Sashimi were small too. *sob sob*.

Sushi Sashimi Moriawase

Finally a dish which bring the score up! The Wagyu Steak! The steak was so tender than I don't even have to cut it. The beef melts in your mouth and hubby loves the after taste. I had read about Wagyu beef but It's our 1st time trying and we are falling in love with it. It's stated that their Wagyu beef has been grain fed for 500 days at the contracted farm in Australia using Japanese method. Is that the case why it taste so good and so expensive???

Wagyu Steak

Lastly we end our dinner with Dessert. We don't usually have dessert as we are always too full by then. This time, we make sure we have room for dessert coz we knew what we want to try even before ordering the main dishes.

I had Pan-fried Japanese dumpling with red beans wrapped with thin and sweet flour skin.

Yaki Daifuku

Hubby had Sea Urchin CheeseCake. Something special. Its nice but it doesnt seem to have the taste of Sea Urchin. The cheesecake is not the spongy type.

Sea Urchin CheeseCake

Both of us love our dessert. Overall, we enjoy the Dessert + Steak the most.

We will return to try their Smokeless BBQ "Yakiniku". Seem to be very popular and one of the major ingredient is 500 days grain fed Wagyu beef!!!!

When will be my next makan trip back???

Kenzan Japanese Restaurant

Hubby decided to give me a break and head out for a nice dinner last Tuesday. I was in-charge to decide the venue. I spent some time in the morning surfing thru net and reading thru some melbourne food blog to find new restaurants/our next target. I did manage to find a few which caught my attention. As both of us are craving for Japanese Food, I decided to try out Kenzan Japanese Restaurant located at Collins Place.
we were both pretty hungry when we reach the restaurant. I ddin't make any booking assuming they won't have a huge crowd on the weekday + we are early. The place was not even half full when we arrived. But throughout the whole night, we kept seeing customers arriving and leaving.
After viewing the menu, we decided to have a Prawn Tempura, a Seafood Chawanmushi, a Sushi and Sashimi in mid size(should be enough for 2).
We will given edamame (beans) FOC before we start our meal. It was fresh + each of us was given our own share of edamame. I didn't manage to take the photos.
1st to arrive was the Prawn Tempura with a bowl of rice. The Tempura was nice! I smell really delicious and prawn was fresh. But hubby felt that the prawn is a bit too small, not fat enough. As for the rice, it's rather disappointing. Nothing special even though they state on the menu that it's imported Japanese grain but it taste what we have at home daily.


Next was the Chawanmushi. I like it coz the steam egg is really smooth but it's a bit to hot. I almost burn my tongue a few times. Plus they make you eat with a very small spoon! Okie I admit, I'm not lady like.



There is a long break in between the next food. Hubby was getting a bit impatient. By then, the place had already packed with customers. Finally our favourite Sushi and Sashimi arrive. 1st reaction was "WOW so big ah!". 2nd reaction was "Serving plate BIG only leh!". Hubby started to suggest maybe we should order more dish. We started eating after requesting the menu. I like the rice coz I can taste the vinegar, the sushi is well done + the fish pieces cover the rice! Hubby was disappointed by the oyster as it's too small. We did manage to have a few different types of fishes + different parts.


The menu came when we are almost finishing the food and Hubby was getting really disappointed by their service. He noticed there is a huge different in service by different people. He saw some of the waiter explaining the food to their customer when it arrive. But the gal who serve us just bring us our food and did nothing else. She even almost forgot about our request to see the menu + having more wasabi. *shake head* Hubby started complaining and comparing the food + services to the other Japanese Restaurant we tried at in Chinatown. It the end we didn't order any more food + didn't finish our meal with dessert + not a single cents in tips. Disappointing. Don't think we will go back there again. But we never knew till we try right?
Good service has been consider in when it comes to fine dining. It the food is alright not very fantastic but the service is good. We will definatly go back again. But if the food is nice but service sucks. We can forget about it.
Btw, photos are taken using Hubby's Nokia Hp. I always forget to bring the camera with me. I will try harder to remember okie. :)

Summer Here

It's now 1130 and the temperature is already 30.5 degrees. Weather report Max for today is 33 degrees. I won't be surprise is the temperature is going to climb higher than expected. Summer is really coming! Hubby and me was planning to start our Sunday earlier than usual and head off for a morning walk (desperatly need to start exercising as we have put on a lot of weight this winter). In the end, we were still in bed at 0900. I didn't manage to have a good night sleep. Woke up in the middle by the noise my neighbours made and a horrible nightmare I dream after that. I was so scared that I have to wake hubby up to comfort me back to sleep. :( We decided to change our morning walk to evening walk instead. Hopefully the weather will continue to be sunny. I tried cooking scramble egg for breakky. Hubby likes it and me 2! *success*....hehe




Scramble Egg on Toast with Mushroom & Tomato......the tomatoes are really sweet!

After 2 oversea calls

I'm alone at home again. Hubby is on his 2nd day night shift tonight, another 1 more night to go before it break the silent night. I do feel lonely when he is on night shift especially during the weekend as he will be spending the day sleeping and night working. As for me, laze around and try not to wake him up and whip up a nice meal to fill his tummy before he start work. I sort of like the freedom I have but at the same time dislike it too. Woman are so hard to please right? (Bet hubby is going to raise both hand and agree on that) Can't complain much coz he is providing food on the table.

I just tried making Konnyaku Jelly with Longan and Pineapple. 1st time making it, not very sure what hubby will think of it. Passing some to Lynn tomorrow with the chilli paste I make. I will need to find out any improvement I need to make on them. Is it too sweet????




Since hubby was working during last weekend, I had quite a lot of spare time and tried making Chilli Paste. It took me almost an hour in front of the stove frying the chilli with low heat and also took me 2 oversea phone call to seek help from my shi fu (teacher, who else but my dearest Mum) End product is super spicy chilli. :)



Before I end with more food photos, I better jot in down before I forgot. Hubby and me went for a nice Japanese dinner on Tue. Photos are in his hp. I will have to upload them and review it on the next entry.
Below are some food photos which I cook for the last few weeks


Stew Pork with Mushroom and Taro




Beef Meatball




Green Tea Ice Cream for myself!!

Labour OR Coalition?

Australia election is going to held on the 24th Nov. The fight is between Labour Kevin Rudd or Coalition John Howard (currently P.M.).

This is actually my 2nd time experiencing election in Australia. 1st time was when during my Uni days. Kevin Rudd was nobody then.
Australia election campagin is much more interesting to see compare to Singapore. Each party are announcing new plan/strategy every single day.

More advertisment(pin pointing opposite party bad point ) are being release. Can't wait for Little Johnny and Kevin to have a LIVE rebate on TV! Hmmm there are things PAP will never do.

Who is going to be next to lead the country? Is Little Johnny able to continue with P.M. post till he retire? This is going to be a nice fight to watch

Close 1/4 hospital?

It's on The Age : Nurses to Close One Quater of Beds from tomorrow 7am in Victoria Public Hospital. It is going to happen?

No Nurses = No Bed = No Patients

Feel that Hubby is going to love it and hate it.

Pro: - ANF win this war, more pay!
- Union is really protecting its member.....fighting for the best for them

Con: - who is going to take care of the patients???

Hmm.....does it mean I won't have to sleep alone for the next 3 nights?

This is something which will NEVER happen in Singapore!!!

Love & Hate.....argh!

Sometimes I love them, sometimes I hate them.

Love being able to day dream, sleep, read, meeting interesting ppl or experience something different.
Hate when I have to waste my precious time or coming across a sickening/inconsiderate person.

It's all about Melbourne public transport.....Trams or Train or Bus.

Beginning to realise why I rather leave home after 8am to work. I woke up earlier than usual planning to start the day early and ending it early. Left home at 0745, miss the Tram by just 30secs and then discover that I have to wait 18mins for the next bloody tram to arrive!!!! ARGH! Great I'm going to reach office even later than usual.

When I finally manage to get engross with my story book, the driver announced all passengers have to switch tram to contnue the jouney to Box Hill. I ask myself how great is the day going to get. Not long after I got settled down to continue with my book, I was overwhelm by some irritated fishy smell. I had no idea where it came from but it was on and off. Beginning to suspect the lady beside me (guess I was right coz when she hop off, the smell tack along with her) but I didn't change my seat as there isn't any other seat for me to chose. I just have to pray that she will hop off soon. 4 more tram stop before I finally reach my destination, the driver announced again that all passengers have to get off and wait for the next tram as this tram is making a U-turn and head back to Port Melbourne. WTF! It took me 3 different trams to get to work!!

Starting to think maybe I should practise my driving a lot more(since I already got my license but I haven't drove by myself yet) and start driving to work if possible. But this thought immediatly disappear when I see a cup of hot skinny mocha sitting at my desk waiting for me(all THANKS to Brad).......haha
Hmmm.....I LOVE starting my morning with a cup of hot nice coffee.

Stay tune guys......more Melbourne public transport story to come!!! c")

Night Out!!

It's now 5.15p.m. on a Mon evening. Finally ending another Monday Blue :)
I'm still in the office but waiting for Peter(my boss).....dun be mistaken, I'm not a very hardworking worker :p
Waiting for Peter to finish his course and head out into the city. We are hanging out together with Robyn and Brad (both my colleagues). Going to have dinner together + drinks.....bet it's going to be fun. Hmmmm......starting the week with drinks.....wonder what will be our condition tomorrow morning. Hahaha

I better go and pack my stuff and prepare to leave anytime.

Brasserier

Last night me and hubby went to have a really nice dinner at The Brasserier located at Crowns. It was such a wonderful dining experience!!!

It was my 1st time dining at The Brasserier but I had heard/read a lot of positive comments about the restaurant from hubby and also the blogs I read. We had tried to dine there last year and because it was Sat evening and we didn't make any reservation, they couldn't squeeze us in. But last night we were lucky! We didn't make any reservation either but manage to get a table for two at the 2nd level. Maybe because we were pretty early.

We started with warm bread roll dip with oilve oil and dukkah. I love warm bread....hehe

I decided to have a glass of wine recommanded by the friendly, detailed waiter. The wine was really smooth, rather light + spicy. I love it! Hubby had a lemon lime bitter...hmmmm dun think he knows it is an alcoholic drink but seem like he enjoy the drink a lot.

Hubby and his lemon lime bitter

Our Entrées

I had Prawn fritters in a crispy pastry brick papillote, served with tomato and capsicum chutney and cos lettuce

Hubby had The Brasserie's assorted duck charcuterie, toasted sourdough

Main Meal

I had today special Mussel in soup

He had Traditional topside wagyu steak tartare, French fries

I was very interested to try their dessert. Can't consider a full dinner without ending it with a dessert. But hubby was too full and I decided to give it a skip since I will be eating alone. I will definitly go back and try their dessert. :)

Both of us love the dishes we ordered! It's delicious, worth the price, excellent service and a great environment. We had our dinner from 6.30p.m. till 8.00p.m.

As we were very full after such a nice meal, I suggested to do some shopping to help in our digestion. But that didn't help hubby's wallet. I burn a big hole in his wallet instead by purchasing a dress and a overall(no idea exactly what it should be call) from French Connection. If it wasn't on discount, I won't purchase the 2 pieces. It too expensive.

What do you think? Cute? Still have to hunt for a belt to go with it.

p.s sorry for the poor resoultion image on the food photos. It was taken using hubby Nokia phone N80

Look Out

I just went on a date with my hubby of coz (who else?). We had a really nice dinner + shopping for me! I will post the photos + detail hopefully tomorrow as it's pretty late now and I'm super lazy......hehe.

Off Day

If there isn't any program during the weekend, I will tend to spend most of my time in the kitchen. Trying out new recipes or cooking something special which need a bit more time to prepare. But this weekend is very unusual.

We had our weekly marketing done at Victoria Market early morning on Saturday. We decided to pamper ourselves and went to Lygon Street for Aussie Big Breakfast + Coffee! It was really delicious and the coffee was fantastic. Sorry, we didn't take any photos. I have to start constantly remind myself to capture some pictures before all the food get into our tummy. J

At 4pm, we (only me, hubby and Robyn...a colleague of mine) started our bbq while watch the AFL Grand Final (CATS WON!!!!!!!). I prepared quite a lot of food....prawn, oyster, chicken satay, salmon cutlet, steak, lamb chops and corns. We are pretty ambitious but we did a good job by finishing all the food. J We even went for a movie after that. As we drove out from my apartment, the firework started. We even manage to finish watching the whole firework display before catching the movie. I LOVE FIREWORKS!

Hubby and I slept in on Sun. We had banana bread for breakfast before going to Prahran. I found this Japanese store in Prahran and hoping to get some sashimi cut salmon/tuna for dinner that night. I was really disappointed to find out that the shop operating days are Tue-Sat when we got there. Loiter around Chapel Street before deciding to have fish and chips at Hooked. I had Fish Burger with chips while hubby had Fish with Tempura. The fish, hand cut chips and tempuras are all so fresh!! I will definitely check it out again. Btw, it allows BYO and free corkage and its open daily.

As for dinner, I was feeling lazy so hubby decided to give me an OFF DAY! J We went restaurants along Victoria Street and bought lots of food. This time round, I did remember to take some pictures before we start eating...hehe

Our dinner.....different food from 3 different restaurants

Hong Sau Tofu.....hubby favourite currently. he can stop dreaming of their tofu. Making us wonder what exactly is use to cook their tofu.

Crispy Chicken Spare Ribs coated with Salted Egg Yolk from Pacific House. I have not seem any other restaurant that serve this dish. Friends who we recommanded this dish felt in love with it too. Must try!

Pork Spare Ribs in Peaking Sauce

Prawn Spring Roll. Totally different taste when eat with fresh basil and lettuces.

Don't worry, we didn't manage to finish all the food in 1 meal. It wasn't meant to be. We also had it for the next day lunch and dinner.