China Red

Well I had no intention of buying anything at the Boxing Day sales but after getting a haircut and spending an afternoon of familiarising myself on previously familiar grounds (when did they knock down the Myer Lonsdale St building?!), I of course was hungry.  Spu was around for the eating too.  After realising that both Hutong and a new ramen shop were closed, I called Tina who suggested we try China Red, located in the old Village Cinemas arcade.  

Supposedly China Red is owned by the Hutong peeps.  The shopping crowds were definitely out and about so getting a table wasn't necessarily going to be easy.  But fear not!  Despite China Red looking full, we were instructed to go downstairs where an even larger space housed more available tables.  

The nifty (and maybe gimmcky) thing about China Red is the ordering system.  There's no waiter interaction - instead you get to order via a touchscreen whereby each menu item is accompanied with a photo.  You get the option of three languages too!  English, Chinese, Japanese.... although I kinda doubt the Japanese menu gets a workout.  It's a win-win situation for everyone:  I don't want your rude service and generally the waiters don't want to give service.  No more rude waiters.  No more ambiguous menu descriptions.  

The only problem was that the menu didn't prompt you to confirm and finalise your order.  Once you selected an item to your order list, it was considered ordered.  They really should put a final step in the end saying 'Please review your items and press confirm'.  You know, like an internet shopping basket.  There didn't seem an option for cancelling items either.  Oh well, minor gripes for a newbie, but now I've learnt my lesson.  

The food came quick swiftly.  Within five minutes of ordering my hot and sour soup, they had scooped it out from the (hopefully clean) vat and it was on my table!  Naice!  

My hot and sour soup.  I had a craving.  It tasted like how it should.  No surprises here.

Zhajiang mian.  The noodles didn't seem homemade and it was served with a peanut sauce.  I've never had it with peanut sauce before so I'm not sure if this is normal.  Regardless, I think added a nice flavour to the dish!  Pleasantly surprised.  I could eat China Red's version again.  I think it was better than Hutong's bland version.  

Steamed Peking dumplings which were dumpling-y.  They were ok but nothing memorable.  

Xiao long bao.  If it is true and that China Red is own by Hutong, well the XLB are pretty much on par!  I've definitely had far worse XLB.  I'd definitely come back for these.   

To finish, we had the pork floss bread pancake thingy.  I forgot what it was officially called.  I actually ordered this hoping it would come out as an entree but because it was an add-on, it came last.  Flaky, roti-like bread finished in a swirl and topped with pork floss.  The bread was sweetish and I really liked it!  Will be happy to eat it again.  

Ok, so as usual, we ordered too much food for two people.  I shouldn't have filled up on soup.  Overall, China Red gets a thumbs up.  It is what it is - a Chinese restaurant with minimal service but the food turns out decent enough for a return trip. 

I Can't Stop Watching This Dog!

So cute!!!

This dog has rhythm and knows how to chill to acoustic guitar.  *pat pat*

The Dog and the Chicken

Back in Melbourne now and here for V&A's wedding.  Set in Mantons Creek Vineyard, it proved to be a relaxing place to sip wine in the sunshine.  I even got burnt despite it being quite overcast :-/

Hello ladies!  Nice to see you!  More photos can be found on Kahuna's FB.

The vineyard also had some chickens wandering around.  This was especially stimulating for the beautiful Border Collie who spent the entire afternoon tail-gating one particular hen.  Seriously, it wasn't for like 10 minutes.  This kept going for a good 5 hours and continue as we left at dusk. 

It's so nice that the dog could be entertained so easily!  I *heart* dogs.  The chicken was so nonchalant.

Cheers to the newly married couple, V&A! *clink champagne flutes*

Kuranda

I had to drive pass the Skyrail many times on my previous stay in Cairns.  I was curious but didn't have enough time back then to take the ride.  So when I asked Spu what he wanted to do for our second day of adventure, he asked 'What's there to do in the Daintree forest?'  I said, 'It's a rainforest - not much.  It probably looks like any other rainforest in the area.'  So with that, we decided to go to kill two birds and check out the 'Skyrail Rainforest Cableway'.

We booked a tour which started with a ride up via the Skyrail cable car to the town of Kuranda.  We were given free time to explore the town and then a ride down back to Cairns aboard the Kuranda Scenic Railroad.

I will say one thing - This was frickin expensive.  A one way ticket on the Skyrail was $44!  What the hell, it's only 7.5km of cable and if you opt not to get off at the two stops and instead head directly to Kuranda, this ride would take about 30 minutes tops.  It definitely wasn't on the same level of value of when Moo and I each paid €41 (approx AU$51) to spend an entire day at Parc Asterix.  You could see why it wasn't teeming with tourists.   Is the money going towards conservation?  It better be.  Either that or it's paying off the debt incurred by it's construction.  

Spu in the cable car.  Me in the cable car.  Nice lush views.  

First stop - Red Peak.

Spuey enjoying the boardwalk path.  It felt just like the Daintree!

Treehugger.

Next stop - Barron Falls. 

The gorge/falls was not at it's peak today and the waterfall was more like a water trickle.  From the photos I've seen it looks pretty spectacular when in full force though.  Here at this stop was also a 'state of the art' interpretive centre, where the touch screen computers didn't really work and it more or less felt like a bad kiddie museum.  

Making our way to Kuranda, I crossed the Barron River.  So did Spu. 

Next stop - Kuranda.

Walking up the tree covered path to Kuranda - very nice!  Cooling too.  Spu never realised that trees could be so shady.  A dead amphibian.  Only in the tropics. 

The small community of Kuranda is fairly dependent on tourism with their markets selling plenty of souvenirs and knick knacks.  Good for people into that stuff.  Me and Spu?  Not so much.

Here's a store which has found it's niche between the kangaroo fur and hand made soap stalls - wine... derived from mangoes!  

Spu and I tasted everything Golden Drop had to offer.  All the alcohol was chilled so it all went down a  refreshing treat.  The mango-ey smell was a pleasant bonus on the nose.  I liked the cello least but I could have easily bought their entire range.  The main thing stopping me from doing so is that we didn't want to carry it and secondly ...maybe I should cut back on my alcohol??  So I just settled on a single bottle of the medium dry wine.  

Me and the miner. 

Spu and I decided to overload on tropical rainforests and followed Jum Rum Creek - Jungle - River walk nearby.

Creek pit stop. 

The walk brought us all the way back to Kuranda's train station where waited to board the next Kuranda Scenic Train down back to Cairns.  

All aboard the Hogwar...err. Kuranda Express!

Now at Barron Falls from the opposite side. 

The train curves around the mountain. 

I couldn't get a photo like this from the train, but this was the highlight of the ride.  

The train in total took three hours to get back to Cairns.  Not to undermine the significance of the train's history (it was built to shuttle miners up and down to Cairns) but after about an hour, the train ride got pretty damn boring.  Worse for Spuey, he sat on a seat which didn't get the window breeze (the train carriages weren't air-conditioned) and only realised so when we were about 15 minutes from Cairns!  He'd been sitting and sweating the whole time.  

We pulled into Cairns train station and after having a quick rest, we stuck to our promise of returning to Gunbaranba.

Spu had the cheesy ramen.  Yes it sounded a bit weird but that was part of it's appeal!  The flavours weren't conventional but it still worked!  I had one of the cold soup ramen.  Yum yum! 

Just to be extra greedy, we ordered a side of tuna salad and sushi rice.  They were just ok. 

That's it for the touristy stuff in Cairns.  Spu heads home tomorrow and I return to the work grind.  I'll kinda be glad to leave in a few days - it's nice to wake up in the morning without sweating! 

Snorkelling with Spu

When in Cairns, one must go to the Great Barrier Reef.  I had a most fun time swimming with the fishies last time, I really wanted to go again but not as a Nigel this time.  Cue the Spu.  

Spu was a bit worried that he wasn't a strong enough swimmer for snorkelling.  I said, 'I reckon I'm a worse Asian swimmer than you and if I could snorkel last time, you can do it too.'  We contemplated diving but the health restrictions recommended not flying within 24 hours.  Best not to risk it but anyway, it was much more expensive.

We examined a bunch of brochures and settled on the Moore Reef Cruise from Sunlover.  I had thought my previous tour had a big boat but this Sunlover boat was about double the size.  

Our boat.  Ok, it's a catarmaran. 

Spu sitting next to Mr. Green Sea Turtle.  

First pit stop.  Fitzroy Island!  This seemed more to be where locals got off with their BBQ and cricket bats.  

A good 30-40% of passengers got off the boat at Fitzroy Island, leaving Spu and I with a LOT of rowdy Mainlanders.  Of course we were mistaken for them too.  

Once we reached the Sunlover purpose built pontoon, we all jumped off ready for our chosen activities.  Spu and I decided to snorkel first.  

Spu and I channeling our inner ninja.  Stinger season peeps!  I don't need a stinger bite.  

The view from the pontoon.  Water so clear.  Fish so bright and pretty.  

These pics were taken by a disposable waterproof camera and the grainy appearance is genuine, not Instagram filtered.  

Fishies so close to me!!!  Spu and I each tried to touch them but they were too quick.  

We also saw a Green Sea Turtle :D  I couldn't get a photo but I'm so happy to have seen one especially as I was quite disappointed at missing out last time.  I can die happy.  Content with our snorkel adventure, Spu and I decided to hit the buffet lunch and of course missed out on the fresh prawns because they'd been attacked by the Mainlanders.  Grrrrrrr.  

Next actvity - the semi submersible tour.  It's almost a submarine.  

Spu decided that it was too hot for a shirt.  Mainlander demonstrating a Camera Stance. 

Next activity - Glass bottom boat.  It's so dangerously close, it's a wonder they don't hit any of the coral.

My view through the glass bottom. 

Better idea of the view through the glass bottom.  My favourite coral is there too!  The spaghetti looking coral.  I like how it wafts in the water.  

Next activity - petting zoo.  Ok, it's not a zoo, it was a touch tank.

Spu not enjoying the big black sea cucumber.  Me enjoying it too much.  It was slimy and squishy and we were discouraged from squeezing it.  It would spurt water otherwise. 

Another sea cucumber I think.  It looked like a loaf of bread in the water, but when removed became deflated and bit sad :(  Me so happy to have a baby starfish in my hands.  It was alive! 

Next activity - presentation on the Great Barrier Reef.  Held on the pontoons underwater theatre.  This was very pretty and an excellent way of seeing up close the fish you didn't get to meet while snorkelling.  I could sit here for hours just staring at them..... or I could stare at a screensaver.  Nah, real fish are better.

Look at the parrot fish!  It has human buck teeth!  

I was pretty satisfied that Spu and I did EVERYTHING available on the pontoon bar the extra optional activities.  So with our fours hours up on the reef, we boarded the catamaran and headed back to Cairns.

Now for dinner.  I had eyed a ramen bar near my work and even though it's never soupy weather in Cairns, nothing was stopping Spu and I from scarfing up some tonkotsu goodness.  Hearing Japanese spoken within the restaurant is always encouraging and we were seated promptly.  Spu and I had popped in at a good time because shortly afterwards, a queue formed.  Also, when a ramen bar gives you the option of stipulating how 'hard/chewy' you want your noodles to be.....well that's a good thing.

I ordered the Tonkotsu I think whereas Spu, feeling the heat ordered a cold soup ramen.  He was a bit apprehensive but happy with his very tasty and refreshing choice.  We also ordered a serve of the homemade gyoza.

The reviews for this place are generally positive and while it's probably not the best bowl I've had (soup was tasty but some more topping wouldn't have hurt) I was pretty happy overall and Spu (being the less fussy eater) was super happy.  We shall return!  

Spu's here!

Spu arrived last night with an hour delay *groan* but that didn't really matter because I was only staying a 10 minute drive from the airport.  

Anyway today I worked while Spu spent the day exploring Cairns CBD.  He bought a new mobile phone, checked out Rusty's Markets, took a dip in the lagoon and then lounged poolside reading Harry Potter.  Aaah what a life.  

Then we went for dinner and took advantage of the several Japanese run joints in Cairns by eating at Sushi Train.  I'm still annoyed that no Japanese person has taken this franchise to Melbourne.  It's probably not the best but the quality is decent and consistent.  

Some of our dishes.

Fried salmon skin.  Mmmmm omega three goodness.  The Volcano roll.  It looks like an erupting volcano!  The roll itself was not as spectacular as the appearance.  Karaage chicken (yes fried chicken) and takoyaki balls.  Yum! 

Yah I must make the most of having an eating buddy while in Cairns.  

Cairns - again!

I thought I'd guarantee myself a bit of a Summer and headed up to Cairns for work once more.  I really liked the vibe of the town last time and was more than happy to return.  As usual, I've been supplied an apartment (a much better one than last time) and also a car.  

Here's a tour of my abode.  

Open plan lounge and kitchen.  

Off we go upstairs.  Upstairs.  I have a two level apartment.  

Main bedroom and second bedroom.  Both had ensuites.  Apartment - too big for little old me.  

My rental car for the next two weeks.  Never driven an Hyundai before and will probably never buy one, but given that it was brand spanking new, it was a pretty sweet, zippy ride.  

Clearly this apartment is too big for one person.  Ma really wanted to come and visit but unfortunately being retired means that her diary is jammed pack with activities such as watching live Viet concerts.  Given that Spu is still a bum and has never been to the Australian tropics, I have forced him to come and visit me :D  Our adventures will follow! 

McDonalds in Asia Rocks

A shout out to SuBoo for showering me with some gifts from McDonalds.  SuBoo just happened to be flying in from Hong Kong for the weekend and these toys were just released before her arrival so I think that it's fate that I should be the recipient. 

 Hello Kitty on the side. 

McDonald characters on the other side.  What the hell is Grimace anyway?  

The back of the boxes.  So much effort.   

Hello Kitty dressed up as the McDonaldland characters.

These 'toys' are just too good to unwrap so I am going to be a Comic Book/Star Trek/Star Wars nerd and leave them in their original packaging, never to be opened.  Fanks SuBoo!

Snag Stand

A list of some of my food vices: 

• poison pork rolls
• hamburgers
• fried chicken
• moist cupcakes with icing
• (good) macarons
• jamon
• anything custard-like (e.g dan tart, creme brulee, pannacotta, snot blocks etc)
• hot dogs  

It's a surprise I'm not very fat.  I stick to the 'in moderation' principle as much as I can, even though that's very hard to believe if you read the food related postings on this blog.  Anyway so it was a blessing in disguise that DOP Pasta's portions were not excessive.  That meant there was room for another item on our To Eat Hitlist - Snag  Stand.

With a name like that, how could I not buy a hot dog!?!

I first saw Snag Stand in the newly built Westfield Sydney a few months ago.  I didn't managed to sample any of the 'haute dogs' - as they like to call them - but I had been told they were good-diddily-ood. 

After spending about five minutes deliberating, Spu and I settled on the following two dawgs.

Spicy cheese kransky with semi dried tomatoes, sriracha chilli mayo, cheddar cheese on a toasted brioche roll ($8.90).  Greek (lamb, rosemary and oregano sausage) with fresh tomato, onion and olive salsa, feta and tzatziki served on a toasted poppy seed roll. ($9.90).  

When reviewing the menu for this blog, I noticed that while the menu in Melbourne and Sydney were identical, some of the hot dogs were $1 more expensive in Sydney.  How do they justify that?  Higher rental at Westfield?  

The spicy cheese kranksy oozed cheese from within and it definitely had a chilli kick.  Not too hot for me but maybe for some folk who can't tolerate chilli.

These hot dogs were definitely good.  Some might not be able to approve of the $7-10 price tag, but hmmm yes, I would happily pay for this again.  I mean, if I ate two, I would be completely stuffed for $14-20.  The brioche hot dog bun was enough for me to want more.  So light, so fluffy, so yellow!  I know that certain Europeans (ohai moo) would have a fit at paying such a price for these hot dogs but Snag Stand do have a fairly extensive menu and offer some alternative toppings that one wouldn't normally get from a hot dog stand in Germany/Austria/other hot dog stand nations.

Snag Stand's location on the corner of a busy intersection means that it is poorly equipped for those wanting to sit down and eat their dawgs.  A few stools are supplied by why sit there when you can just take the escalator upstairs and enjoy the Melbourne Central dining hall/food court?  That's exactly what Spu and I did.

Then that gave me the opportunity to buy dessert from Cupcake Central.  

Choc-mint cupcake and a boysenberry cupcake.  Yum. 

So yep, Snag Stand.  I'll be eating some more hot dogs from them in due course.  

D.O.P Pasta

Another night, another eating mission to complete.  Tonight's dinner was at D.O.P Pasta, more officially known as Carlton Espresso and brought to you by the same peeps who own D.O.C Pizza.  Sticking to their rustic food policy and (suspiciously fake) Italian-accented only waiters, Spuey and settled into our wooden stools and waited for our pasta.  

Erm, I can't remember what my dish was but it had pancetta in it (rigatoni amatriciana??) and I paid $1 extra for rocket lettuce.  Spu had the lasagna.  Each dish was about $18. 

Um the pasta was good but nothing mind-blowing or memorable.  Spuey noted that his lasagna wasn't very oily which is a plus.  I was a bit, 'Yeah, ok' about it.  Portion size was modest and just filled our stomachs.  I guess the point is that if you've eaten any side dishes and/or entrees, you'd be full.  

So yeah, D.O.P Pasta - not stirring up the same reaction in me as their pizza counterpart.

Izakaya Den

I first ate at Izakaya Den shortly after returning from full time London life.  Moo was nowhere near to Muenchen and we went for lunch.  I recall the bar/restaurant being empty because it wasn't peak hour.  Like numerous Melbourne bars, it was not an easy find.  Poorly signposted, it was only found after descending a flight of nondescript stairs, pushing open the glass door and pulling aside a black curtain.  Oh yep, now you're in an uber-cool basement bar.  Kudos to the coolness.  

But I was there to eat and after paying $60 for lunch for two, I left underwhelmed.  Australia sure had gotten expensive in my time away and I was appalled at dishing out ~£40 for lunch.  Wtf.  We had the set lunch plus non-alcoholic drinks and it was probably the beverages which tilted the meal over into the expensive.  Food was average, portions teetered on the 'just enough to not be starving' side but at the time I recall not being in a rush to return.  

Anyway this place is lauded with rave reviews and I had been told that dinner was better than lunch, so I was happy to give it another bash.  Spuey again ready to help me out.  

Our water is served in cute cups.  

The menu is somewhat seasonal and there are daily specials.  I can't remember prices of some dishes we ate but I'll give it a go. 

Kingfish sashimi ($17), miso soup with clams ($10) and grilled pork belly ($15?). 

The kingfish went down a treat.  Nice and plump pieces of fish with a tasty dressing.  The miso soup was a huge serving and I guess the $10 price tag covers the cost of the clams.  Pork belly - well you can't really go wrong with a pig's tummy but not my fave dish tonight - a bit bland. 

Sweet corn kaki-age ($7), tuna tartare with avocado, sesame and ginger ($15) and quail three ways ($15?).

The sweet corn kaki-age were just corn fritters.  Tastes like what you'd expect.  Like corn.  Tuna tartare was yummy but I could have eaten an extra serving.  The quail was served with three dressings - horseradish, a salty chilli sauce and some herby, basil pesto like sauce (can't remember).  I had expected maybe three or four pieces of quail but maybe I'm a greedy guts.  I didn't really like the salty chilli sauce but Spu thought it was ok. 

I understand why dishes need to be small - it's an izakaya and they traditionally serve bar snacks, intent for sharing.  But $7 for a plate of corn fritters?  Reduce it to $5 and I won't moan.  Six plates between Spu and I was a good number to get us satisfied although much of the belly filling was due to the miso soup.  Nevertheless we of course had left room for dessert. 

Apple mille feuille ($10). Black sesame and orange creme brulee ($10). 

Watching the dessert chef make the mille feuille - wah much effort yet easy to do.  Spoon out a layer of apple sorbet, put on an apple chip, then repeat those two steps until you reach a desired height.  Top with honey.  Probably the healthiest dessert to have ever existed - it's an apple!  The creme brulee was super tasty and Spu cleaned out the ramekin to his best ability.  I don't want to ignore the effort required to make the mille feuille but it was essentially just.. an... apple and it tasted like... an... apple.  But that doesn't mean it wasn't good!  The creme brulee was just better with the intensity of sesame flavour undeniably potent.

I can't help but continue to think that Melbourne still has gotten the short end of the Japanese food stick.  The food definitely wasn't bad at Izakaya Den but it was still something that is in abundance on the Sydney Japanese restaurant scene.  At $70 a head it wasn't cheap and I'm convinced that I can get a similar meal in Sydney for $50-60.  I should probably stop the comparisons but I can't help it!  I am spoilt for choice in the Harbour City.  That being said, it seems as though new Japanese restaurants are popping up everywhere in Melbourne and I have yet to check them out.

In short, the Den deserves it's reviews but only just.  I'll be back for dinner again - the dishes were definitely better.