Won Jo

Quick lunch passing through since I was craving Korean sides. They have quite a wide variety of rice dishes/soup to choose from, but didn't try their kbbq.

Stone pot bibimbap with beef and egg-$16.50

I love how it came in a sizzling bowl, which made the bottom bits of rice nice and crunchy. Good serving size with a variety of fresh veggies. I'm glad I got normal beef instead of bulgogi since you can use the side dishes to give the rice/beef flavour. I can appreciate how people flavour their rice by eating it with kimchi. I guess this kimchi wasn't too spicy if I could eat it (or my chilli tolerance has increased lol).

  

 

Jelly stuff, veggies, tofu/something paste, some other tofu thing and kimchi

I actually have no idea about korean cuisine apart from meat and kimchi. No idea what the sides were but they were all nice. Just the white jelly stuff with some sesame oil(?) was a bit too much for one person to finish, kind of felt quite bloated towards the end after eating that side dish.

'Youth of Today'

Did not realise how unfit I have become after non regular exercise since I quit dancing 2 years ago. I really do respect those strong women (both physically and mentally since today is our day) and they are over 40 but have so much strength. A reason I want to become stronger is when I go travelling, it's easier to lug my suitcase around. Especially in Paris where there are minimal lifts and it's too dangerous to ask someone to help in case they steal your stuff...Today people my age were just struggling unlike the older women, which is quite ironic because you're supposed to be more fit when you're young. 

Someone should have told me a few months ago that to get over depression, just keep yourself busy every hour of every day. Somehow jam packed my diary a bit too much, need to get out of holiday mode because there is still work to be done...

Still have to finish going through Europe photos and many blog posts still to do...

Time spent visiting friends houses (and their pets).

Border Collies: Cookie and Cream

Kitten: Little One

I really respect those people who save animals from RSPCA. This kitten was rescued from the shelter, and even though I've never been a cat person, this one makes me like them more.

Fratelli Fresh

Decided on this place for dinner to catch up with a friend as it is convenient and not too expensive (i.e. <$30pp for dinner). It was surprisingly packed since I've walked past here before during lunch and it's relatively empty.

 Capricciosa: Rosemary Cooked Ham, Mushroom, Scamorza-$22

I've heard good things about this place, however, I was disappointed with the pizza. Personally I thought it lacked topping, like 1/3 of the bottom is missing stuff, and not enough ham. Ham wasn't very flavourful either and neither was the cheese, which made the pizza relatively bland. The most flavourful thing were the mushrooms, but even that had a subtle flavour. Even though it's wood fired, there wasn't much taste in the dough, and just eating a slice the dough flavour took over the toppings, which felt like it made the toppings useless. Also, it's quite small for the size and outside takeaway sold similar flavoured pizzas for only around $15. I understand table service and rent is expensive, but not too the point where it's $10 more than outside. At least just be like the US where it's a 15% tip plus tax or the UK 12.5% discretionary service charge plus 26%VAT.

 Mushroom Risotto: Wild & Cultivated Mushrooms, Taleggio-$25 

However, the risotto was delicious and cooked well with a definite mushroom flavour and different varieties. It wasn't too creamy either. Serving size probably a bit smaller than your typical Italian restaurant, but I'll just go with give them the benefit of doubt that rent cost more here.

I'll come back to try their pastas to see how it compares to other Italian restaurants. Just the pizza I had was a pretty poor experience.

Barrio Cellar

Quick catch up with friends over lunch with Tacos Tuesday. The tacos are $3, normally you have to purchase 3 for ~$15. Still a good amount of flavours available, and around 3 tacos if you're looking for a lighter lunch. I think 4 to be satisfied, but I just went with 3 since it was more of a later lunch. You have to go up to the bar to order, and sometimes they were busy making drinks which made it a bit harder to get your food ordered, especially if you're in a hurry.

Fried fish w/ savoy cabbage, lime, radish, cilantro

 
Marinated steak w/ cream, guacamole and pico de gallo

 
Chicken: chipotle beer braised chicken, cream, avocado, iceberg

I went with steak not pork since I always have beef as a 'taco standard' to compare, and in case the pork was too spicy. Steak was marinated well and not too chewy but the sauces leaked out a lot, making this one the messiest to eat. The fish was the standout thanks to a friend's recommendation. Fried perfectly and moist inside. Would go back just to have the fish again, and the toppings really gave the fish more flavour. The chicken wasn't really special unfortunately, and had bits of lettuce and sauce dripping. The actual taco is a soft taco, so in general it's harder to eat. It's a good price if you come on a Tuesday for lunch.

Smelly Cheesecake

I love all these dessert places popping up, especially when there's cake!

 

Blueberry cheesecake-$8

Good blueberry flavour without being too artificial. It wasn't too dense either and the pastry wasn't too buttery or crumbly. I quite liked this relatively lighter cheesecake.

 

Matcha souffle-$10.40

This is no way a proper souffle, but I guess what they're trying to say is a lighter/fluffier cake. Souffles to me are always made to order in their own pots. This tasted like a Japanese Cheesecake since it was quite fluffy. Good matcha hit, and suitable for those who don't really like the bitter matcha. Probably more towards the expensive side for something this size (but 100x easier than making it yourself since all you gotta do is pay and eat and not worry about buying ingredients, prep, over whipping egg whites, baking and washing up like my most recent baking adventure...)

 

Friends weren't brave enough to try the 'Smelly Cheesecake' which is essentially made of blue cheese. I don't mind smelly cheese since once you get past the smell it's more about the taste.

Beanie Cafe

I love discovering and trying out new cafes, especially out West. Beanie Cafe is a short walk from Parra Westfield situated under some office towers. I love the natural lighting which fills the super spacious cafe. It's under new management with friendly staff, and of course good coffee. They offer a lunch special each day of the week at around $10ish, also have 10% off for WSU students (any uni student will know we live on discounts haha). There are so many items on the menu!

food spread

Capp (regular)-$3.50

Coffee had a lovely aroma and not overly bitter. It had a good drinking temperature and the right amount of froth. Price is average compared to the city (unlike in the Hills where it's almost impossible to find a good cup for this price)

Passionfruit cake 

Bits of passionfruit seeds inside the cake. Not too sweet even though there is icing on it. It was a tad buttery and crumbly, but it's a nice sort of arvo treat.

Chicken salad: grilled chicken, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, greens, with a mango dressing-$16

This was my favourite dish, mainly because of the mango dressing which we both thought was amazing. First time having a mango dressing. It had a nice sweetness to it which complemented that perfectly grilled chicken. Chicken quite moist as well. The salad ingredients were very fresh and again, the mango dressing just tied the whole dish together.

Beef nachos with beans, sour cream, guacamole and cheese-$12.50

Generous amount of toppings, with the beef not overly salty or spicy either. Loved the guacamole tomato which helped keep the dish fresh. Can't go wrong with nachos. 

Penne Arabiata with olives, chilli and napoletana sauce-$16.50

Pasta was cooked well with a good hit of chilli. I am still slowly building my chilli tolerance, but I can appreciate the chilliness in this. So many olives which made eating this dish feel even healthier. I actually prefer cream based pastas, but I didn't mind this tomato base since it wasn't overly acidic but had the sweetness from the tomatoes.

 
Smoothie: mixed berries, frozen yogurt, milk-$6

The texture was quite thick from the frozen yogurt, but it gave the drink more flavour, rather than adding ice to make it thick. A refreshing drink for a summer day. It's pretty decently price for the amount you get.

Matcha frappe

cakes

coffeee

Thanks for the invite! Hopefully I will be back to try their other dishes or  breakfast menu.

Dessert Kitchen

This dessert cafe is actually based in HK. Even though I've been to HK multiple times, I actually haven't been to or heard of this cafe. Thanks to a friend for recommending this place for dessert, it was pretty obvious from photos that I would want to come here.

The menu is quite extensive and there a lot of staff making the desserts. They have parfaits, sundaes, shaved ice and heaps of asian style drinks. Decided to go with their most popular options. I would have liked to try more, but our stomachs wouldn't have been able to fit more in.

 

Blue ramen-$10.80

Look at that vibrant (artificial) colour! It's essentially flavourless gelatine, with some melon scoops and asian sweet potato balls with some milky shaved ice. The ice melted very quickly and wasn't milky enough. There peach syrup on the side, and you can add to taste. It's kind of messy to eat, and probably not worth the price for some ice and jelly, but it's a fun concept and kind of cool to eat artificially coloured food in a different sort of ramen.

 

kitchen

Wouldn't mind coming back to Chinatown to try their other desserts. I hardly ever go to this side of town...

 

first time having Emperor puff's