Spilt Milk in Carnegie

Yesterday, Mr. C and I went to Carnagie with a few Malaysian colleagues to buy some Korean grocery for our home Korean bbq. Before that, Mr. C and I had brunch at Spilt Milk.

I found this quaint cafe via Urbanspoon.

It is a small cafe with character, a must have quality in well to do Melbourne Cafes. The deco outside was simple yet cute and so was the menu. Even the name of the cafe is adorable! Dishes are cutely named after animals though I am not sure why. 

Really thumbs up to this homey cafe for ambiance factor. Price of food was affordable and presentation was delightful. My mocha tasted alright. The mocha was delightful and definitely no complains whatsoever!

If you are in Carnagie or the surrounding suburbs and you are looking for a change in scenery, make your way to Split Milk and judge for yourself. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shark Fin House Dim Sum in Melbourne

:: shark fin house ::
\
Yum Char Siew Pao

A friend from Uni and her hubby relocated over to Melbourne recently. We were invited to the city by another Uni friend, YC who was having brunch with them for dim sum. 

Over here in Australia, dimsum is known as Yum Cha. 

Initially, Mr. C and I declined but changed our mind. Who can say 'No' to Yum Cha, right??

Apparently, some people can. *hehe* But definitely not us!

We woke up late, hurried ourselves to the city on Sunday for a mighty fulfilling lunch at Shark Fin House. Since moving to Melbourne, I've been told this is the place to go for a good meal of dimsum. 

But I've only been to TaiPan at Doncaster and Gold Leaf at Burwood.

So, it was good to have a chance to sample the highly acclaimed tasty morsels offered here.

Liked the pork ribs best, tastier than others and less fatty 

Exotic chicken feet (only Mr. C had this)

My glorious Liu Sha Pao!!

Perfection

Piping hot salted egg and custard steamed bun

Be careful of the hot golden liquid

Oooooh my... best Siew Mai and Ha Gao

Comparing with the other two dimsum restaurants, I think Shark Fin House is my current favourite! I like the pork ribs at Tai Pan but the one here is even better and tastes less fatty. The char siew pao (roasted pork bun) was the best tasting one I've had so far in Melbourne, too! A yummy one is hard to find, it's usually too sweet and not so tasty.

The Liu Sha Pao was another thumbs up. The ratio of salt and sweet is just right. And I love it when the liquid oozes out instead of being coagulated. 

Hmmm... what else was delicious? 

The siew mai (steamed pork with prawn) was top notched. Not fatty in tasting. And I loved the taste of the generous prawn nestled closer to the bottom. In Malaysia, not all siew mais have prawns.

This place was packed. Unfortunately, the person who waited at our table was  abit of a blur case. We had to ask several times for chilli, for my liu sha pao and our tea. Gosh. We stopped asking him after awhile and flagged down other waiters. 

You definitely have to make reservations beforehand or risk not having a table or waiting in a loooong queue or rather a forever queue.

Suffice to say, I had a truly fulfilling meal. Satiate my dimsum cravings till the next time. :)

Over the Road cafe

Last Saturday saw Mr. C and I making our way to Northcote. I bought a Scoopon voucher for the both of us, $19 for a meal and a drink each at Over The Road cafe. Seriously, Melbourne is breeming with cafes everywhere! In the CBD like Manchester Press, Harware Societe, to name a few. At the fringes of the city and the surrounding suburbs in Brunswick, Fitzroy, South Yarra and so on.

If not for the Scoopon deal, I doubt we would have ever heard of this place.

From the outside, the cafe's sign board looks plain. The reddish brown brick building looked ordinary but even then, the hanging basket of flowers and the French doors give a hint of a potentially quaint cafe.

 

 

 When you step in the shop, you will see a lot of pretty, quirky, cutesie ornaments. I saw owls, cats, dogs, rabbits, elephants (I think), the works! All these crafty stuff are for sale. On the left, you will see the counter to order take away or make your payment. On the right, there is a couple of tables with chairs for customers and a few couch to just lounge and chill.

The lady that served us brought us inner into the shops towards the back where there were a couple  more of tables and chairs for customers. Drape around as deco are more ornaments.

On the left is the front part of the cafe

The picture was taken from where I sat, at the back of the cafe. See what I mean? All sorts of trinkets, ornaments to cozy up one's home surrounded us. Think Mr. C was worried I would buy up the whole shop. You know how some people are partial to say, butterflies, or some, owls etc. 

Me? I love anything that looks adorable. I grew fond of butterflies since my youth, I've loved dogs all my life, I like cute mouse 'cos I was born in the year of the rat (following the Chinese calender) and I fell in love with owls, elephants and giraffe since moving to Melbourne!

As usual, I ordered mocha. It was good

Bought the cat hooks for a cat lover colleague who just moved into her new home

Dainty and rose themed brings Aunt M to mind

Mr. C doing his own thing, being in touch with the world as I explore the wonders of the shop

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. C thoroughly enjoyed his big breakfast

Although the cafe wasn't full house, we had to wait for our food. Then again, the waitress did inform us at the start that there will be some waiting time. I think it is because I ordered the baked eggs. 

Or perhaps, they have this thing about serving both our food together at the same time. Something I learnt watching My Kitchen Rules. Lols.

I am sad to say that my baked eggs that day was rather dry. Was a little bit disappointed. Ever since my first wow baked eggs experience last year at Bluebird Espresso, I've always ordered this dish if it was on the menu. So far, I think Bluebird's is still the best in my opinion.

Enjoyed Mr C's breakfast though. So, it wasn't all bad. Maybe they had a bad day or the oven was working up. Anything is possible but I hope, it isn't the norm.

 

 

The food didn't knock our socks off but it wasn't horrendously horrible.

Love the quaint vibe (though it may not be for everyone especially if they aren't into cute ornaments) of the cafe. Mr. C feels it was only alright. Plus point would be that the shop wasn't noisy and overcrowded like some cafes and one comes to mind, Three Bags Full. Lol. Though the food there is amazing!

Basically, because of the Scoopon deal, it was a buy one free one meal and drink. And that made the difference. If I had to pay full price for my baked eggs, I wouldn't think it was that worth it. 

To be fair, I hope to go back there another day and give it another go. 

India Delights again !

Every time I crave for Indian food like Roti Canai or any curry dish, Mr. C and I will head to Rich Maha in Vermont South. After all, it's fairly nearby to where we lived. Plus, it has 80% likes on Urbanspoon (at the time this was posted).

However, we've been told umpteen times that we should patron India Delights 'cos the food is tastier. It has higher 'likes' on Urbanspoon garnering 88% favourites.

Something about a falling out - which seems to go with the territory of going into business often than naught - seeing the chef leaving Rich Maha and starting his own shop, India Delights.

Not too sure if the chef and those who worked there are originally from India but I highly suspect that they're most likely from Malaysia. Awesome Possum!! :)

We've been there once early on during the middle of the year but besides the iced horlicks, I wasn't that impressed. I thought the food was only alright leaving me to still be partial towards Rich Maha.

But you see, I've adopted this habit of not being quick to judge and to always, always give anything - if the first attempt was horrendous - a second attempt before deciding to call it quits.

And so, one fine Thursday evening saw us once again at India Delights in Forest Hill.

Eateries here do offer Mee Goreng but NEVER Maggie Goreng. Hence, I decided to give this a go here. I don't think it was too much to expect it to taste just like the one in Malaysia. However, it basically tasted just like Mee Goreng. Instead of the thick yellow noodles, they used maggie noodles.

What a bummer! At least, I had my teh tarik (basically, it's milk tea with a bit of froth due to the style of making the tea).

Nevertheless, the food was still enjoyable. Just not what I expect it to be. Mr. C as usual, had his rice with 2 veges and a curry fish.

But you know what, in the name of patrotism (LOLS), we will still patronised this eatery every once in awhile. And perhaps, I just haven't tried the dish they're famous for!

Roti Canai next up!!

 

 

 

 

Oriental Fast Food is where we eat

Last Tuesday, Mr. C and I weren't feeling well. We went nearby for lunch after a visit to the doctor's. It was nice to hot, comfy feeling food. When I am sick, I get even more homesick especially for my mummy's tender loving care nursing me back to health.

We've been frequenting this place since early this year. Although I've been in Melbourne for the past year and a half, Mr. C and I've just walked past the shop to go grocery shopping but never did try the food from this shop.

It all started when my aunt from Brissie was here for Chinese New Year and decided to try the food. I liked it and brought Mr. C's visiting parents in April then later on Mr. C during the weekends and since then, this is our regular haunt.

#1 Convenient as tt's just 5minutes drive from home.

#2 The food tastes yummy. Especially the Yin Yong! Love the salty egg sort of taste in the gravy. Tom Yam noodle was feeling that even I struggled to finished it.

#3 Pricing for food is reasonable! Some dishes under $10 if not give or take a bit more.

I even recommended the shop on Urbanspoon! That's how good I think the food is. If any friends crave for Malaysia good, hawker food, we'll bring them here. Just like my twin who visited  from Sydney a few weeks back.

It's not a regular restaurant or food shop where it is situated in a building on its own. It is located in the small food court in Rowville Stud Park Shopping Centre and opposite the check out counters of Coles.

Yin Yong 

Rice noodles with crispy thin noodles soaked in egg gravy with chicken and seafood

Beside and opposite Oriental Fast Food are other food shops. But if we go to Rowville Stud Park Shopping Centre to eat, we only go there and no other food shops.

Usually, we'll go on the weekends and the people are super nice enough to serve us. Today, despite not being well, we had to collect our food (sad face) from the counter. And the Yin Yong wasn't as awesome as it usually is.

However, we aren't going to stop going back just because of this one sad incident.

Hopefully, it's just a one off thing. We'll be back again Oriental Fast Food unless you give us another reason not to. :)