Weekend Getaway - Canberra

Our mission to Canberra this month is to see the flower festival (Floriade) which is a big thing during this season in Australia. Where all of the flower blooms to its maximum beauty :)
So I planned a weekend in Canberra, to experience their food and also their historical monuments.

We left Sydney early in the morning and it was lunch time when we arrived. We checked in at the hotel and straight away went to Dickson Asian Noodle house. Both me and bf are starvinggg... I've come to know this restaurant from the review I've read about the cheap eat and really tasty foods. They offer not only Chinese Malay food but also Thai food too.

So for starter, we ordered the Spring Roll. Its a good value considering how big it is. It is not as oily as you get from a regular spring roll. A variety of vegetables inside and mince meat too :) Quite tasty..

Spring roll (4 for $6)

 My bf ordered Chicken Padthai, he suddenly crave the padthai. When we looked at the menu at first, we were quite surprised to see a padthai for $12.50, as usually in Sydney during lunch hour, you could get a decent one for $8.50 or $10 max. But when the dish came out, it was double the portion that we usually get in Sydney.. No wonder the price ;P - So, no complain..

Taste wise, it was pretty good, the sweet and tangy padthai sauce is very balance, the chicken is well marinated and cooked too ^^

Chicken PadThai ($12.50)

 Me on the other hand, was craving the combination laksa. As i read from a couple of review to try it out. I must say, it was a greattt dish. The coconut soup is not as thick and coconuty as other laksa. It is very light and also the amount of meats (pork, chicken, duck) in there is more than the vermicilli itself. From the bowl, my favourite bit is the tofu!! The tofu absorbed some of the soup and when u bite into them, the soup just flow to your mouth.. *droolingggg*

Combination Laksa ($12)

We came out a happy people as our stomach is now full and we are ready to start the journey...

Our First visit is to the New Parliament House :)

Our plan was to have dinner in El Toro Steakhouse but when we were walking through Canberra Chinatown and found a place called " Family Food Court" on the second floor of a building, we were curious as to what is inside. When we came in, it was a buffet for $22 per adults. Looking at the food offered, we were drooling and the idea of a steakhouse where u could spend double the amount just vanished from our mind. We paid, sat and eat :P We were too hungry that I forgot to take pics :P

The next day we went yumcha in Chinatown called "The Scholar", from the review that I read, one person mentioned that once he brought his sister from Sydney to have yumcha here and the sister said it was the best yumcha she's ever tasted, so I was curious and came here on the Sunday. It was not busy when we came. Here's a bit of snapshot of what we got.. 

It was disappointing I should say... and pretty expensive too! Apparently the sister's reviewer above hasn't explore Sydney much ;P The BBQ pork bun is not as soft, the bean curd roll is quite dry on the outside and the pork ribs is just an acummulation of fats T.T


Next destination is Cockington Green Garden ^^ - Its a garden full of miniatures houses and other sculptures :) Entrance fee is $18.50 for an Adult.

In that area also, we found out this small homemade ice cream place called Stripey Sunday. The decoration is very homey and it looked like baby's room with soft blue colour :) We got the Sundae there :)

From my well-planned trip, we had this humongous kebab in Yarralumla called 'Halal Pide House', we got the kebab and also their famous zucchini balls. When we got there, there were a lot of students eating and lot of people queuing for takeaways. Apparently they also have like a set menu for dining so the table they provide in there is for dine-in set menu customer. So both of us bought the kebab and went back to the hotel to eat

The kebab was so big that both of us were so tired from chewing. The meat is so flvoursome and A LOT.. That I literally leave out the bread and just picking out the meats ;P

$9.50 for mix kebab and $1.50 each for the zucchini balls

We also went to Old Bus Depot Market in Kingston. They offered everything from fresh produce, hot foods, artisan bread, Snacks, Sweets,  Homewares, Fashion, EVERYTHING!
It was very crowded when we came and I bought this yummy turkish herbs bread for $4 :)

Here are some pics of other places that we visited - Floriade and Australian War Memorial Museum :)

That concludes our trip to Canberra :) Looking forward to come here again ^^

Kellys Bar & Grill

I always go to Hurricane almost every time we are craving for a sumptuous meal of pork ribs. Mr.EN told me that he prefer Kellys over Hurricane... I never believed him and so I went wid Bebski for our Monthniversary..

We arrived that it was still quite empty.. and we looked at the menu and decided that we have to try both the ribs and the steak..

For starter, they gave us warm homebake bread which was really soft and fluffy complemented by the creamy butter.. can't get enough of this bread but remembering that we still have a feast coming so we held ourselves :p

Complimentary Bread

Then our main came...

Bebski got the 500g rump steak and it comes with chips (by his choice) and deep fried onion rings :) The steak was cooked to what we asked for and it has that grilled flavour notes that ure looking for in a good steak! I must admit it was better than hurricane :)

My main came.. I ordered the combo steak and Ribs.. Pardon me, I dont eat everything.. we share the ribs as we just want to judge if it is really better than hurricane :) 

The Verdict? Mehh... Hurricane is still the one serving the best pork ribs for me! The steak though is better in Kellys! :) Overall dining experience... It was a lovely dinner, great service and good food.. Just order the steak as my recommendation :)

http://www.kellys.net.au/

Doy Tung Thai, Maroubra

A quick lunch in Doy Tung Thai with Bebski and Mr.P. A friend of mine recommended this place for a quick lunch fix as they cook so fast and the portion are humongous! Fit for hungry girls or normal guys ;p

The place is located along Maroubra road just across commonwealth bank. Their lunch special menu varies from padthai to fried rice and stir fries for only $8.50 or $9.50, can't remember exactly...

For me, I ordered the beef padthai. Oh my God they cooked so quick and the portion are really really huggee! It can literally feed 2 or 3 people!! The noodle was cooked well with some chewy in it and the padthai sauce was exactly to my liking ^^

Bebski order the chicken stir fry in peanut sauce. Sometimes I wonder who would've like to eat a stir fry with peanut sauce? It is weird in my mind because we Indonesian eat peanut sauce as a side sauce for satay/skewer not as a stir fry sauce. I tried a bit from bebski's plate and it actually didn't taste as bad. It's quite okay :)

Mr.P ordered the Thai fried Rice. The fried rice was so fragrance and tasty! But I can't eat that much as this dish contained lots of onions :( Which was also one of the reason why Mr.P loves this fried rice!! And he finished the big portion by himself and he can still manage to eat 1/3 of my padthai~~

Overall, the foods here are good and the service was alright too. Definitely a place to go for quick cheap lunch in the area ! ^^

Everest Kitchen, Marrickville

The first time I tried Nepalese food is when my Manager in Subway brought homemade momo or Nepalese dumplings for me to try. It was quite an experienced. The filling of the dumpling got masala spices in it wrap in a wonton sheet and u dip it in some kind of a peanut sauce.. But despite that sounds-odd combinations, I loveeee it!! Ive been wanting to try other Nepalese but has never got the chance... My bf is not keen on indian/nepalese food so it's hard for me to persuade him. UNTIL..... I found a all-u-can-eat deal from Ouffer.

Entrées

Traditional Non-Vegetarian Nepalese Set
buffalo dumplings, char-grilled goat, grilled chicken salad, soy bean salad, beaten rice and potato salad

Main Courses

Potato & Bamboo Shoot Curry
potato and bamboo shoots tempered in light curry sauce, flavoured with Nepalese herbs and spices

Mixed Grill
a tantalising selection of succulent chicken, pork, duck, goat and lamb

Desserts

Gulab Jamun
milk dumplings soaked in rosewater-infused syrup

Apparently what we got is quite different from what offered on the main courses. We only have a choice of a curry (lamb/pork/chicken/beef) but we never got the mixed grill :(

THe mixed entree was probably our favourite dish of the night ^^ The potato curry, chicken salad, momo, everything is yummy! And the plate looks so colorful tooo :)

Mixed entree

 Can;t get enough of this momo so we ordered 2 more round of this hehehee!

Momo

 Chicken curry - The Curry tste is similar to Indian curry but milder to my pallet. It is nice to eat with warm steam rice :) We decided not to go for seconds as we were getting full hehe..

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Papadums and chilli

 Milk dumpling infused with rose water. Reading the name I thought it would have some kind of chewiness as a dumpling but to my disappointment, the texture is like biting to a rice ball ;P I quite like the rice pudding at the bottom though :)

Gulab Jamun

OVerall dining, good to know what Nepalese food taste like.. Will I be back? hmmm.. Maybe I would like to taste momo in other Nepalese restaurant.. But I need to wait for the next voucher deal or persuade my sister to come with me ;P

http://www.theeverestkitchen.com.au/

Petaling street: Malaysian Hawker Food, Kingsford

Petaling Street Now Open in Kingsford!! Yay!! Don't have to travel to city, avoiding the traffic and the parking!

Went here one night to have a late dinner with my friends, my bro and my bf ^^
This dish is so yummy and yet heavy! The noodle is a lot, the noodle is season with soy sauce and the chicken was crispy!!

Dry Egg Noodle with Crispy CHicken

 Hokkian Noodle fried with sweet soy sauce, veggies and chicken. The chicken was marinated well. Full of flavour! The noodle is chewy yuuummmm

HOkkien Mie goreng

Petaling Ginger and Shallot Fish with rice

Petaling Spice Fish Fillet with Rice

This Dish is like the Malaysian version of Jap Omurice :)

Omelet Pattaya filled with fried rice

The three dishes below is some of the new dishes that I tried when my parents were here :)

The sambal prawn is not as spicy as I would like it to be but the sauce is so delicious, a combination of giner, shallot, garlic and chilli and Im guessing some dried shrimp paste as well!

Sambal Prawn

Nyonya Fish fillet

Crispy Skin Chicken

Bibim To Mix, Darlinghurst

Normal day at work but abnormal appetite as suddenly I crave for Bibimbap when reading through some food blogs. I found out about this small place in Darlinghurst where their main food is Bibimbap and also their priority is to make healthy food delicious..

So bibimbap is a korean soul food where there are two ways to eat it. You either use a regular bowl or the hot stone bowl that make your rice goes crispy at the bottom.. Basically, it is eating rice with toppings such as spinach, beansprout, carrot, mushroom with mince meat of your choice, sunny side up eggs and the "sauce". This sauce is mainly made from the Korean red pepper paste or gochujang, sesame oil, minced garlic and sugar -- you can make it at home too, its quite simple :)

To start with, I ordered Kimchi Mandu (Kimchi and Pork dumplings..

Kimchi mandu ($7.50)

My choice is the beef bibimbap with regular bowl, as I don't like my rice crispy.. I also upgraded it to include Banchan (korean side dishes - 3 of them). After one spoonfull of the bibimbap.. I literally feel so satisfied that I can satisfied my cravings for it. It is healthy and it is so yummy...!!

Beef bibimbap ($9.50 + $3 banchan)

I looked through the menu and found Galbijim in it. I remembered my friend asking me If i have ever attempted to make galbijim before.. So I was curious what was the taste of the dish and so I ordered them too. It was a surprised to me to see that the dish was actually a set menu with rice and banchan included. I thought it was only the soup... Well, eating out with guys means rice will never going to be wasted he he..

Galbijim ($22)

Nick's Seafood, Darling Harbour

It is not often when I can feast on such a meal - Fresh Seafood. Its not that I couldn't, its just that its too expensive for a meal and Bebski doesn't really like "Western-style" seafood... But luckily, my parents came for my brother's graduation and I get the opportunity to eat in Nick's Seafood, Darling Harbour with my parents, bebski and my uncle ^^

We ordered two platters to be shared among us.. 

The first platter is the Hot & Cold pllater for two which consists of  Golden Tempura King Prawns, Blue Swimmer Crab, Freshly Shucked Sydney Rock Oysters, Tasmanian Smoked Salmon, Fresh King Prawns, Salt and Pepper Baby Calamari, Mussels & Chips

All I can say is.... Amazing! All the seafood are fresh. I never liked salmon but I lovee the salmon here! Writing this blog makes me wanna go there again... droools~~~~

Hot & Cold platter for two $130

The second platter which is Nick's platter for two is generally has similar components to the Hot & Cold platter but this one has Fresh lobster in it! The Lobster meat again is fresh and juicy!

Nick's Seaood platter for two $160

Overall, I loveeeeeeee the seafood platter here.. Will definitely come back, hope I dont have tp wait for my parents to come to enjoy the food here..~~ The price was worthed! Service was excellent too....

http://www.nicks-seafood.com.au/