Family, friends, food.

I apologize for the slowing down of updates (not that I've had much of a track record to compare to, I mean this is only my third post, so I guess it's just slower than the update-rate that I had initially intended)

But I'm back home in Malaysia and its been nothing short of fantastic. Tiring and busy, but fantastic. So many people to meet, things to eat and errands to run. License renewal, IC renewal etc etc omg.

Not to mention I have to prepare for my internship interview - a large part of this preparation having to do with my attire. And not in a particularly enjoyable way. More on this sometime in the future.

I've been trying to take pictures of my favourite Malaysian dishes that I absolutely have to consume whenever I'm back, but more often than not, the lighting is lousy. Or I start eating before I remember to take the picture :p So I'll see what I can do.

Here's a little preview until I have the time to properly sit down and write a proper post! (though this probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. Too much too do in too little time. Very intense.

Till next time! x

My fav steamboat place with amazing barbequed chicken wings.

Super delicious Salted egg crab

Brunch Adventures: Three Bags Full

Brunch is undeniably my favourite meal of the day. Late enough for a sleep in, early enough so you have time to do other stuff after that, and then you get hungry again just as dinner time rolls around. How awesome is that? Plus, Melbourne has so many terrific brunch/coffee places to offer.

And therefore, I have decided to start a Brunch Adventures series! Fulfilling that typical Asian stereotype: taking pictures of my food and posting it online and telling people about it (even though they possibly dont even care) but I cant help it, I love food so much I just have to share it. (the pictures I mean, not the actual food itself... although you're always welcome to share my food! At your own risk...  No I'm kidding. No not really. No really I'm kidding. :p


Three Bags Full


I didnt actually see a sign for this place, then again Im not exactly the most observant person around, so if youre not paying attention, you just might walk past and miss this place! In a brick building that looks a little boring from the outside, it sure is pretty on the inside! I mean, theyve got plants greeting you as you enter the doorway. Thats a big tick if you ask me.

The place is much bigger than I had expected, definitely bigger than most café's I've been to. But out of the two times I've came here, they were PACKED out and I had to wait 15-20 mins for a table. But that's probably because I go on Sundays after church, when lots of people from church are there too. Not helping that church ends around lunchtime (but its a Sunday! Where do all these people come from?!)

Anyway, it was surely worth the wait!

Mushroom and Lentil Ragu with Poached Eggs and Feta.

Wild mushroom soup has always been one of my favourites, and I just can't seem to find ANYONE selling them here in Melbourne. They rarely even have it in those instant soup cans/packets! (WHYYYYYYYYYYY) So the only way I can satisfy my mushroom soup craving is either making my own (which I havent exactly got around to doing) or to overdose on the Wild Mushroom Soup at Delicious when I go back to KL so I get sick of it for the next couple of months.

So yes, you can imagine my excitement when I saw this on the specials menu! I was initially worried that it was going to taste a little bit like dhall because of the lentils, but I could taste was mushroom, mushroom, and mushroom (oh yes) which was brilliant. Super chunky and full of mushroom flavour (if you haven't got that point already), and the feta made it extra creamy as well! I think they added a few drops of lemon oil or something, because occasionally I would taste something sour. Which was terrific, otherwise the whole thing would be a bit too rich so that little bit of acidity really helped lift the dish (note how I'm using MasterChef language here, evidently I watch too much of that series) 

But no really, this dish was amazing. Except maaaybe for the poached eggs? I wasn't too sure about that. I mean I love poached eggs, but poached eggs and mushroom soup seemed a little bit weird to me. Then again, in normal cases we'd have mushrooms with poached eggs on toast, so I guess its the same set of flavours, but somehow... I don't know. It did help to make the dish more filling though. It was weird for me but not like it was a total mismatch, so I'm not complaining. I'm too in love with the mushroom ragu.

Unfortunately this was on the specials menu which means they don't have it everyday! I don't even know when they'll have it again. But oh well, what can I do.

Try something else on the menu. :p

But to be honest, everything else on the menu seemed... normal. As in nothing really stood out. Then again, I don't dismiss the possibility of them making brilliant blow-me-away Eggs on Toast! I will have to test that out sometime in the future.

"Clever Coffee Press" (or something along the lines of "clever")
Filtered coffee - I cant remember which country these beans were from.
clearly I need to start paying more attention.

My awesome buddy Elton has graciously offered me "coffee appreciation tutorials" which I have gladly accepted, of course! So far we've been having filtered coffee, and I must say I really like it! But Cafe Lattes have been my only source of milk so far (I hate milk), so if I start drinking filtered coffee... I better figure out something else.

I like how you can really taste certain flavours in the coffee, instead of just full on bitterness. According to descriptions on the board, they use words like "raspberry", "butterscotch", "cherry","orange", "floral notes" etc for each type of coffee bean, which all sound really exciting because well.. it sounds like dessert. HAHA. Floral, raspberry tasting coffee? Just the concept of it excites me. Which is probably why I'm so determined to learn how to actually TASTE these notes they describe. So far all I can distinguish is acidity and maybe a little but of sweetness, and even then I cant compare them unless I have them side by side. Well, its a start! 

So lets see if my coffee appreciation skills improve with time (fingers crossed).

If you've been to Three Bags Full, let me know what you liked/didnt like about it (comment below)! or what I should order the next time I go there and they don't have the awesome Mushroom Ragu (which they probably won't).

Till next time! x

Three Bags Full

60 Nicholson St,

Abbotsford, VIC 3067

03-94212732

You can get there by taking tram 109 towards Box Hill,

 or tram 48 towards North Balwyn 

Suddenly Sydney: Photo Diary

Time to breathe new life into my dead and disintegrating blog! And what better way to kick things into motion that a post about my spontaneous holiday in the middle of exams. 

Long story short: The idea incepted on Tuesday, I found myself in Sydney on Wednesday, back in Melbourne on Sunday to take an exam on Monday. Cutting it close, i know. But anyone who knows me well enough knows i tend to do that. Especially how i time myself to leave the house with the exact amount of time i need to reach the train station, and if in any case i need to turn back and get something, im going to need to run.

okay i will shut up now, this is meant to be a photo diary. A big shout out to Max who graciously let me borrow his camera on such short notice.

ill try to keep the captions as short as possible!

ps: please forgive my lousy photography skills. Im not an expert though I wish I was. :(

the face of excitement. Lets go! 

(also my taxi was late and i was bored)

took me a good 37 seconds to figure out how to get to the lobby.

first meal - asian.

George St.

what was impressed on me as the Swanston Street of Sydney.

beautiful view of city lights from our balcony

our apartment was SUPER equipped. Cutlery, bowls, plates, cups, mugs, big wine glasses, small champagne flutes, rock glasses, toaster, 3 spatulas of different sizes, strainer, grater, peeler, ladle, whisk, tongs, wooden spatula, beer cap opener, scissors, icing spreader, chopping board, different kinds of knives, mixing bowls, can opener, small glass bowls for serving finger food i guess, a teapot, a small porcelain jar each for sugar and milk, salt and pepper, the even had airtight PLASTIC TUPPERWARES.

i was blown away by how well equipped it was.

my workstation of the week. 

my list of places i need to go - thanks to urbanspoon and googlemaps.

more asian food.

DOUBLE DECKER TRAINS 

Orange and almond cake with candied petals and persian figs.

meet Lulu !

amazing gelato.

I had Greek Yogurt and Salted Caramel, just thinking about it is making me salivate.

i had to grab a boost. i was amused by the ribbed paper cups compared to the Styrofoam ones we normally get!

weird large mirror on the ceiling above the bed. 

skyline from my balcony

choices from Black Star Pastry! Strawberry watermelon cake and the orange cake mentioned above. both were so yum.

i think... i prefer dessert story 

meet claire!

i still cant believe I ordered all of that for myself. Note how the coffee is in a bowl.

love this place. Docklands cannot compare.

Adriano Zumbo: Im almost there!

BREAK IT.

and this was one out of the kazillion racks they had in the kitchen.

macarons round 1:

salted butter popcorn, pancakes and maple syrup.

passionfruit tart. which was amazing. or maybe im just biased. i love passionfruit. and it looked pretty.

charles du jour 2012 - limited edition (i think)

burnt vanilla brulle, fresh strawberries, vanilla creme chantilly and vanilla water bursts.

can i just say,  BOTH the vanilla water bursts exploded before I could get the whole thing properly into my mouth :( because I am too rough for delicate things like these.

side note: after hearing it in masterchef creations so many times, I finally found out a few weeks ago that creme chantilly was just a fancy name for whipped cream -.- I feel cheated. Creme chantilly sounds so posh. I was half expecting creme chantilly to be infused with the aromas of some flower (lily?) and you know, just to have some sort of exquisiteness to it but nah, its whipped cream. im gonna start saying creme chantilly instead of whipped cream from now on.

I want MY name in pink and lights! Although Ive always felt that chinese last names are weird. As in if you call us by our last names. As they often do when they refer to people in newspapers and such. "Tan says...". 

maybe its just me.

But i dont think "Hong" in bold pink and bright lights would look as good as "Zumbo"

they were begging me to walk across. but I was carrying a camera I did not own and I was too much of a chicken.

and then i saw this old lady. 

and felt ashamed. 

its amazing how much bigger the step seems when theres a chance (albeit a small chance) of falling into the RAGING WATERS.

walked all the way...

to find...

:(

But i guess the outer areas were pretty as well.

just another dessert caf... wait what?

Dessert and stationary. who wouldve thought.

add "wagyu" in front of  beef dish and the price goes up by at least 40% instantly.

Miss Chu's

suuper expensive public transport. 

interesting finds at Rozelle Markets!

and i found myself there again. This was the Rozelle branch.

everybody say: CROQUEMBOUCHE

Macarons round 2:

Custard crunch, Passionfruit and tonka bean, Watermelon and mandarin, Peach Ice tea.

Peach ice tea was my favourite! You could reeeeeeeally taste the fragrance of the tea omg so divine.

nabbed a vintage camera at the market. Not sure why i bought it, it probably has bad photo quality, not to mention I have no idea what the numbers around the lens mean.

largest Apple store everrrrrrrrrr. 3 floors!

Sydney Town Hall

its Claire again!

Market @ the Rocks

Bought the Chocolate tart, I couldnt resist.

I was afraid I might regret my decision, but Thank God I decided to just be brave and go. It was so much fun just chilling out, having to exercise my self control to study (no self control over the dessert part, evidently), and just exploring a new place. Not to mention my brother appreciated my presence and moral support (awww).

The only way I get anything done is by impulsive decisions. hmmm.

When was the last time you did something spontaneous?