First World Problems

I apologize for my long, unexplained absence. Life has been a whirlwind of assignments, rehearsals and delicious food (praise the Lord).

But the main reason really, is that I've maxed out the amount of photos I can upload through the blog and I have yet to figure out an alternative solution that does not involve me having to fork out cash. Because my cash is precious. No money = no brunch = sad Ro.

Which brings me to my random thought of the day. Fine its not that random really. I am (apparently) the queen of First World Problems.

My thoughts are disjointed.

Its the start of SWOTVAC and I should be studying.
Which probably explains why Im here writing again! - because there are other things that I should be doing.


Pfft.

Time for more Earl Grey.

Brunch Adventures: Tom Phat

When I first came here with my mom and brother I was absolutely in love with this place! I was told that this was a "Malaysian Fusion" place, and so I expected Malaysian people running the place, and was slightly surprised when I saw Caucasian waiters! I suppose my brother was just slightly misinformed, and consequently I was misinformed too.... 

It definitely is fusion but hardly Malaysian :p More Vietnamese and Thai influences. At my first visit here I had this amazing roti + thai beef salad thing, which sounds a little weird (roti plus salad? In fact when I ordered it, it was under the heading of "Roti and Salads" but somehow I interpreted it as being "All roti dishes and salad dishes are listed here" instead of "All these salads are served with roti") but I loved it! Super tangy and the roti was soft and chewy (the way it should be! not crispy like how some people seem to like it, especially here in Melbourne. Roti tisu is crispy, yes. Roti canai crispy on the outside, yes. Roti canai crispy inside and out?? no. just, no.)

But that was almost 2 years ago...

And so much to my disappointment, by the time I came back, they've changed their menu :(

You know that reeeeally lousy feeling when you've set your taste buds on something and then you cant eat it because the restaurant is closed or its sold out or something horrible like that? Or maybe thats just me...

Roti Omelette with Tomato Salsa, Bacon, Chives.
 I wanted more meat so I had a side of grilled pork chop.

I really wanted roti. And from the list of roti+salads they used to have, the new menu only has one roti dish! (for lunch/brekkie anyway, not sure about dinner). I suppose its kind of like roti telur, but instead of the telur being in the roti, this roti is in the telur. Personally I thought it was'nt seasoned enough. But I have a feeling thats more of my own problem than theirs. Somehow to me if something isn't spicy, its borderline tasteless. Had to add salt and chilli sauce... But after I did that, cant fault the dish! Plus it satisfied my roti cravings so I'm not complaining.

Yellow curry with Hanoi Baguette

Meitze's dish. I thought those were carrots. But they're sweet potatoes! An interesting twist to the usual curry chicken and potatoes, I suppose? Super fragrant and flavoursome! Well spiced, (could this be my bias-ness to the spice? hmmm) and the bread dipped in curry sauce is just ... yum. Salivating just thinking about it.

Conclusion: Not very impressed with my roti dish, but the curry dish gives me hope. Maybe one day I'll come back to give this place another go and try other things :)

Meitzes totally sinful chocolate coated reese sandwiched in a double stuffed oreo 

Needless to say, its going to take me 500 days of exercise before I burn off all those calories... yup.

Not gonna happen.

side note: maybe I should start rating my dishes out of 10? hmm.

Tom Phat

184 Sydney Road

Brunswick VIC 3056

03-93812374

Brunch Adventures: Lot 6

I cant believe it took me 1 year of being a lost Foundation Studies student roaming around uni + 1.5 years of being a Melbourne Uni student to finally give this place a try. This entire time I've been hiding in Union House eating the same old same old (Honey chicken with rice), and missing out on life. (Okay not really).

So, Lot 6. AstroTurf and the constant crowd should've given me a hint that this place was gonna be good. 

All the nice sunlight, pretty wooden benches and steel tables, reasonable prices, good selection of yummy food and pastries, perfect location (right next to my favourite building in uni).. Lot 6 has officially become my current favourite place for catch-ups in between classes. Like seriously, how could you top that. I think for a period of time I came here almost twice a week.

Scrambled eggs with pumpkin, feta, and spinach on toast.

 Looks pretty mehhhh on the place but tastes great! Eggs were nice and fluffy, and the contrast between the saltiness of the feta and sweetness of the pumpkin was so yum. Personally I find it pretty hard to cook (and even more so, cut) pumpkin. Its so hard to get it to soften! But then again maybe thats just me. The pumpkin was creamy and smooth and the cheese was all melty and just, yum.

side note: is it just me or does this picture of the scrambled eggs look blurry? But if you enlarge it its clear. Weird. I always thought it would  be the other way round.

Spanish baked beans with chorizo, feta and a poached egg

 The beans weren't as well cooked as I had hoped, it was still a little chewy and hard. But I guess that means it didnt come from a can? Super filling dish, I had this for breakfast and I didnt eat anything else for the rest of the day until dinnertime. Which is, a rare occasion for me (who constantly and I mean CONSTANTLY snacks in between classes).

Lemongrass and ginger tea

Must try! Their Dark Hot Chocolate is my favourite beverage though.

Photo by Shini.

Sense my excitement.

Everything  looks really simply presented but for the very reasonable price I'm not going to complain about the lack of unnecessary leaves and drops of oil around my plate. They were even giving out free beverages the other day while we were there, SCORE!

Thank God for all these lovely cafe's in Melbourne. I would have no idea where to go for brunch if I was in Malaysia. Then again, in Malaysia I'd be busy stuffing my face with Char Kuey Teow and Claypot Loh See Fun with a nice cup of Teh O Ais Limau to be thinking of Ham and Cheese Croissants and fancy coffee.

Till next time! x

Lot 6 

located next to the Eastern Resource Centre (ERC)

Melbourne University

Sweet tooth.

Or is it sour? Nobody says "sour tooth". But sour desserts are amazing. Even though my brother disagrees.

I have made it a personal goal to try every lemon tart available (unless I am absolutely convinced that it is hopeless) until I find the best one, and LO AND BEHOLD, I HAVE FOUND IT.

Ive been craving this so badly I have decided to dedicate a post to it.

Say hello to the awesomest lemon tart ever.

(If you know of a better place, TELL ME PLEASE.)

Babkas lemon tart served with clotted cream

I have yet to try the food from this cafe, but really, the lemon tart alone is good enough to make me want to go back again and again. The texture of the filling is alot more soft and curd-y than most of the ones I've tried, which are usually abit stiff and slightly dry (if you get what I mean). On its own, the tart is already great, but it really does pack a lemony punch so it might be too sour for some. So even if youre on some kind of diet, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you have it with the cream! With the cream, its like an orchestra in perfect harmony in your mouth, the amazingly creamy texture of the lemon curd+cream enveloping your tongue, the cream cuts the acidity of the lemon, the lemon cuts the richness of the cream.... 

I could go on forever.

I'm not even kidding when I say I have to hold myself back from breaking out in a joyful song or getting up and doing a little dance when I eat this.

Babka Bakery Cafe

358 Brunswick St

Fitzroy, VIC 3065

03-94160091

Brunch Adventures: Dead Man Espresso

"I hear the angels talking, talking talking, now I'm a dead man walking, walking, walking"

Can't help but have this song ring in my head the every time I (or anyone else) say Dead Man Walking... oops I mean espresso.

Herb and potato rosti with poached egg, avocado and smoked salmon

Potato rosti is probably one of my favourite brunch food item, right up there with perfectly poached eggs (I don't even mind if they cheat by using poaching bags I just want my eggs). One of my favourite cafe's does an AMAZING rosti, but recently they've changed it to some sort of fried mash potato patty thing and I am utterly depressed. So I was super happy with this rosti! Crispy and delicious (and possibly not very healthy, but lets not think about that). Simple but delicious! Though I probably should have ordered another poached egg because I'm not much of a fan of dry food, and in my honest opinion I could've done without the salmon.

Didn't try these next ones but here are pictures anyway.

Debs and Debs dishes (Because Jon had scrambled eggs. Boring.)

Smoky beans in tomato sugo with paprika oil and Pyegana Cheddar crumble with toast

BLT - pork belly and spinach puree on brioche with side of gazpacho

What on earth is a gazpacho. The waiter explained but I wasn't paying attention. Absent-minded as always. But from the bits and pieces of the conversation I could gather, its some sort of tomato sauce/soup thingy. Apparently its delicious!

Magic?

 Recently introduced to ... magic coffee? No, you will not get super powers or excrete golden eggs after you drink it, but it refers to the way they extract the shot/the part of the shot that they use (something like that. Debs explained this to me but once again, I cant remember details). What I can remember is, it doesn't contain the part of the coffee that would taste bitter (hoorah!).

edit:  Magic - double ristretto with milk. without the bitter end of the coffee and most of the caffiene. 
(thanks debs) So to me it tastes a little bit lighter and the taste is clearer. But then again my coffee taste buds aren't exactly very developed yet so I could be very wrong.

Side note: I just read an article about caffeine addiction. Apparently it takes 7 days to get addicted to caffeine. I have yet to find out if these effects are reversible. 

So now thanks to my new found interest in coffee, I'm ruining my teeth AND destroying my brain. Perfect.

Dead Man Espresso

35 Market Street

Melbourne

03-96862255

Bashful Giraffes

Hello Mr  Green Giraffe, nice to meet you too
Wearing: Victoria Dove Top

Favourite Item of the day! Such a cute print.

Behold: the awkward arm...
Wearing: Damsel Dress

A lovely oatmeal colour, with a high enough neckline and just a small cut out at the back so as to not look inappropriate. 

Probably the best berry cheesecake Ive had.
I tried not to ruin the aesthetics of the cake while taking the photos. But after about 2 minutes I dug in...
Wearing: Chelsea Baby Pink Dress

The softest shade of chalky pink. Perfect for lazy -to-dress-up days where you still want to look presentable.

 All photos by Ethel, from www.lovesherelle.com

(PS: spot the BW2012 necklace!)

I am honoured to have been asked  by Sher and Ethel, the darling girls of Love, Sherelle to help out with their photoshoot! It was a lot of fun despite not quite being able to figure out where to put my arm without it being awkward (as you might be able to tell from the photos...)

All items are lovingly handpicked, of fantastic quality and best of all - reasonably priced (and you can trust me when I say that)! Nothing Sher and Ethel wouldn't wear/buy themselves :)

I will forever be amazed at people who successfully start and run their own business/label/some form of career at such a young age. Makes me think about what I'm going to do with my life. Although it may not sound as noble as "finding a cure for cancer", food tester/critic is still my dream job. (dont judge me)


Till next time! x

Brunch Adventures: 1000 £ Bend

Its pretty well hidden behind a warehouse-esque exterior along Lt Lonsdale street. I love the chill-out atmosphere and pretty hipster-ish deco of the place, but it was possibly A TAD BIT too chilled for me. Food took a pretty long time (45 mins), and didn't taste fantastic. But maybe something happened in the kitchen on that day. 

But it was pretty full, so it seems that many people do like this place. 

Grilled Saganaki Burger with Mushrooms, Rocket, Aioli, and Relish.

Too salty, and there weren't any mushrooms :( which made me very sad.

Quesadillas with pork, sour cream and guacamole.

Which tasted much better

I heard the coffee here is pretty good, though I didnt try it. Maybe it was just one of "those" days in the restaurant. Oh by the way, you have to seat yourself so don't bother standing at the door waiting for service. 

I guess this is more of a hang out place, and made to feel like your own lounge I suppose. So maybe thats where the whole "find your own seat" thing fits into the package.

On a different note, uni has officially started with full swing, and suddenly I'm swimming in work-I-need-to-do as well as sleep-I-need-to-get. Body clock is still protesting.

The first weekend of Beautiful Woman Conference 2012 is over and I cant wait for the next! Love the amount of effort the team puts into decorations and things just to make us [the girls] feel all pampered. Amazing time spent with the girls - dressing up, planning outfit themes, hanging out, sleepovers, taking tons of pictures, but most importantly, encountering God.

Shout out to the boys who surprised us with breakfast! 

Also, Ive been eyeing a few brunch/lunch places to visit... So hopefully, more yummy Brunch Adventures to come! :)

Chanel's Classic Revisited

I KNEW that these photos would convince me that I absolutely need (want) this jacket.

Aaaaaaaaaaand there it goes into my ever growing list of things-I-will-buy-for-myself-at-some-point-in-life-that-are-insanely-expensive-and-possibly-unnecessary. But in all honesty, it might get downgraded to the list of things-that-are-just-plain-impossible-unless-I-become-very-very-rich. 

Well, a girl can dream.

The exhibition is a joint project between stylist Carine Roitfeld as well as renowned designer and photographer Karl Lagerfield, showcases the jacket modelled by a ginormous bunch of famous people, such as the Fanning sisters (LUCKY GIRLS), Sarah Jessica Parker and even 3 year old Hudson Kroenig (what a cutie pie). I've yet to find out if the exhibition is coming to Melbourne (I doubt it. Even if they came to Australia surely they would have it in Sydney. EVERYTHING happens in Sydney.) but you can check out all the photos here. 

The spinning and half transparent images did make me slightly dizzy though. BUT ITS WORTH IT. 

(You can click on the photos to view a flat and well... solid version of the photo, and navigate with your mouse/arrows. I'm saying this because it actually took me a while to figure out that it was not an automatic slideshow)

I love how the theme and feel of the outfit in each photo is so different, even when it's just black and white photography, when they are all wearing the same piece. Such is the magic of a good stylist. Definitely inspires me to do the same with my wardrobe and make the most out of everything I own... THATS going to be a challenge.

Here are the few of  my favourites! (there are more than a 100 photo's in total)
All photos taken from www.thelittleblackjacket.chanel.com

Natalia Vodianova

  

Alexandra Richards

Clemence Poesy

Elisa Sedanaoui

Im biased because of the Tutu skirt.

Elle Fanning

Joan Smalls

Hudson Kroenig

How adorable is he? At 3 years of age he's already walked the runway of two Chanel shows. Lucky kid.

Tang Wei

She looks stunning here. Love the fat braids. 

Carine Roitfeld

This last one is my favourite of the favourites. Elegant, poised and polished. 

Watch the making-of process here!

In between now and getting that jacket (which may never become a reality but lets not rule out the possibilities, who knows, I may accidentally come up with some breakthrough invention that will make me a billionare. Like a device to make changing bedsheets when beds are situated at corners of rooms a much much easier task, for example), I will just continue hanging out amongst the racks of beautiful (and more reasonably priced) jackets and blazers at Zara.

Till next time lovelies x

Brunch Adventures: RMB Cafe

Haven't had time to grab a proper Aussie brunch since I've been in Malaysia, so naturally I scheduled a brunch meet up at the first chance I could!

For some reason there's almost always something I am craving for at every moment - unless I just ate and am not hungry. Craving of the day - French Toast. (Bacon and maple syrup compulsory)

Brought Gwen (welcome to Melbourne, darling!) to Degraves Street for brunch, I told her to pick whichever cafe she wanted but I'm secretly happy we settled for this place (with french toast heheheh. I have no idea what I would've eaten if we ended up at some sort of sandwich/panini place)

Thick Cut French Toast with Crispy Bacon, Maple Syrup and Caramelized Banana

yum yum yum. Such a generous amount of bacon (my tastes buds are appreciative but my arteries are not) and the toast was nice and thick and soft, to soak up all that lovely maple syrup. Maple syrup + bacon may sound like an odd combination to some, but trust me, its level of compatibility is somewhere up there on the "Made for Each Other" scale alongside Apple and Cinnamon, or Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese.

Actually cream cheese goes with pretty much anything if you ask me.

And the banana's added a "healthy" touch and was a perfect "buffer" in between mouthfuls of oh-so-sinful crispy bacon. It probably would've been  much too rich and oily otherwise.

I remember the first time I came here for brunch, we were in the middle of "banana drought" because of the flood, and I ordered this simply because it had banana's in it. Those were the days where choice of fruit (or rather, whether you are eating bananas or not) were some sort of a status symbol/display of wealth.

Thank God for cheap banana's again!

Mini Passionfruit Cupcake

We went to check out the Sunday Arts and Crafts market at the Arts Centre and found this cute cupcake stall (amongst all the amazing arts and craft) ! This girl dusts ALL her cupcakes in glitter. Cupcakes on their own are already irresistible, but how can you pass up sparkly cupcakes??

I don't know when it started, but passionfruit is my current favourite flavour for everything.

Aside from looking absolutely gorgeous, her cupcakes are so fluffy and moist, these are now my second favourite cupcake place - second after Cupcake Central's Red Velvet.

In the meantime I've got to work on my own cupcake fluffifying skills.

Till next time! x

RMB Cafe

37 Degraves St

Melbourne

Malaysia: Photo Diary

DISCLAIMER

if you're Malaysian and really miss food from home, this might be slightly painful.

Good food from home! (left out the ones that werent yummy and hence not blog post worthy)

And because I forgot to bring my camera most of the time, these are all from my iphone. Bear with me.

Fresh young coconut

Lemongrass steamed fish

Salted egg crab

Best fruit tarts in the world @ De Pastry Chef, Menjalara 

Appam and curry puffs for less than 1 AUD @ Bangsar

Paper Thosai @ Jaipur Curry House, Taman Tun

Honey Lemon @ Jojo kitchen

Chilli Pan Mee @ Jojo Kitchen

Not so great HK dessert, but the names were hilarious so I had to.

Steamboat, satay and the best chicken wings ever @ Pulau Ketam Seafood, Kepong

Teh C peng that was way too sweet @ Village Park, Damansara Utama

My favourite claypot Loh See Fun @ Mama Kitchen, Taman Tun

Limau Ais, my go to mamak drink! 

My cracked macarons - the ones that survived the monster of an oven.

I had high hopes but - not the best crepe cake

Chinese Wine Chicken we would drive out to Sri Kembangan for

Here it is!

Red Ruby - my fav Thai dessert

Tutti Frutti @ Taman Tun
How does anyone resist the rainbow sprinkles?

Century Egg and Pork Porridge 

SO MANY PAPAYAS ON THIS TREE

Roti Telur (which I proceeded to drown in dhall)

Asam and Cendol flavoured crushed ice

Crazy crispy fried wontons @ Rawang

Watermelon juice

Pandan Chicken

Pai Tee

CHAR KUEY TEOW

Salmon, Tuna and Butter Fish Sashimi at a sushi buffet @ Damansara Perdana
We had so much sashimi that day even until now I dont wanna eat salmon.

Mochi Sweets @ 1 Utama.
The 30 minute wait before you can eat it is excruciating.

Pu Tien @ 1 Utama
Fun Fact: according to my dad it MAY be one of my "long lost relatives" who opened the restaurant because he has the same surname  as I do, and my grandfather was from Pu Tien and one more reason that I cant remember. Sorry dad!

Drunken Cockles @ Pu Tien
I know some people have an aversion to cockles. But these were really good!

Overpriced Strawberry Cheese Cupcake @ The Bakery, Genting
But we still love it because its awesome. 

Kaya Balls that didnt have much kaya in it, much to my disappointment

Maggi Hot Cup Tomyam. HELLO.

The few rare photos not related to food.

Loved this ride as a kid. Still love it as an adult! And there is NO SHAME in lining up for the Flying Elephants okay! 

Except maybe if you did it 6 times in a row.

Which we did.

FYI, the best way to enjoy this ride is to let the elephant drop real close to the bottom then press the button so it goes back up with a sharp jerk, and then let it drop again. Repeat. For maximum awesomeness, you need to pick an elephant that responds really quick to the button. I recommend Elephant Number 12.

Muar Chee @ SS2 Thursday Night Market

Which we spent about 1.5 hours getting to. But thats another story.

Lined up for 10 whole minutes. Only to find out that there was another exact same stall about 10 metres down. Don't ask me why they were not next to each other. I prefer the Petaling Street Muar Chee though! (with Ribena, Coffee, Lychee, and Pandan flavour! YUM)

NYAM NYAM - one of the exclusive treats as a kid

No idea what this biscuit is called, but its another one of my (and im sure, my other peoples) favourites.

How you are expected to eat Nyam Nyam - dip the plastic stick into the chocolate, then dip chocolate covered stick into the rice bubbles so they stick onto the chocolate, then eat.

How everybody eats Nyam Nyam - finish the rice bubbles, then savour the chocolate.

Nobody really likes the rice bubbles. They have always just been an obstacle before you reach the chocolate.

Most hated stall as a kid - the rotan stall.

Super cheap falsies. And to think that about 5 years ago I found some for 5 bucks each and thought THAT was cheap.

Dragon Beard Biscuit which was unfortunately from a packet because we were desperate - but still amazingly crumbly

So after Chatime, apparently now Meet Fresh  has begun its invasion

Teriyaki Cod Fish

Teriyaki Squid

Favourite sashimi of the moment - Scallop. Why have I not discovered this earlier in life?

Its nothing but rice noodles and LOADS OF AMAZING SPICY AND TANGY FLAVOUR.
Best Mee Siam ever @ Nyonya Colours

My guilty pleasure - maggi mee goreng

The lovely beauticians
Because there are 3 things that need to be done every trip home. Dental checkup, hair cut, and a facial. 

And these pictures are only one dimension to the amazing time in Malaysia.

As I was sitting at home wondering why I'm craving Tutti Frutti, because theres Tutti Frutti in Melbourne too and I dont really like it, I had a (wonderful) revelation.

Favourite foods are chosen based on their flavour (of course), but what is really craved the most is the fun times with amazing people while eating those foods. Stories exchanged in the comfy air conditioned interior of Tutti Frutti with friends, dad driving us out to all these far away places just for a meal,  Laks driving us all the way up to genting JUST for that strawberry cheese cupcake.

Ahh, good times.

Every time I go back, it seems to get a little harder to leave.  Because now I realise how precious the times are with my family whom I only get to see for a few precious months in an entire year, and with my highschool friends who I get to see for even less than a few months in a year. Skype is never the same. Dislike skype but I have no choice :( Darn it I'm a little homesick.

So lets see, what DONT I miss about Malaysia? Probably the toilets which always seems to be wet and you better bring your own tissue just in case.