Wednesday 24th November 2010

Last night I baked a few batches of cupcakes to bring to work as it's my last day in the office today. I cheated with the baking by using the premade flour base mixture but I altered the recipe to make it taste better. I used a chocolate mixture for the cupcakes and added some crushed walnuts and substituted half the milk required with buttermilk. The cupcakes turned out deliciously moist.

I made two sizes - regular size and smaller 'calorie conscious' size.


BOUCLA
349 Rokeby Road, Subiaco
Vince and I anticipated lunch here today, with hopes to finally taste the highly recommended eggplant dish. Alas! by the time we got there on our lunch break, it was all sold out. I was trying not to stare at the luckly patrons who managed to get a slice.

Nevermind, we decided to stay and have something else. There was a spinach and fetta pie that Vince chose but I decided to just have some salad - some baked potato wedges, lima beans in tomato sauce and Greek salad. We ordered our lunches and coffees, paid, and squeezed between people and tables to find a seat.

We got our coffees - hurrah!

Half an hour went by and there was no sign of my plate of salad or Vince's pie. Surely it couldn't be that busy that they couldn't scoop my salad? I started to worry - it wasn't a good sign when I saw the cafe staff begin tidying up tasks behind the counter. Where is my lunch!?

We managed to get the attention of who we assume was the owner - she went to find out where our lunch was and came back to tell us that there must have been a mixup or they couldn't find us. They ran out of the potato salad that I wanted. She offered to make us fresh salads but I was a bit unsure. I was torn between staying or just going and grabbing someone quick to eat back at the office. She mentioned steamed asparagus and I decided to stay.

Five minutes later, our salads arrived. Vince had his spinach and fetta pie with a pile of mesclun. I had this:

Lima beans and Greek salad.

There was no sign of any asparagus! It was just the lima beans and Greek salad, which was what I had said I didn't want. This salad cost me $12. Which is why I just can't justify buying salad when I'm out for lunch. I could throw one together for a few bucks. Yes, the ingredients were lovely and fresh. The dressing was nice and tangy. I love the lima beans but I know they came from a can. The only reason I ordered the salad was because I wanted the potato wedges to fill me up. I can't feel full on a plate of salad! I need some meat or carbs!

Anyways, just as we were about to really start grumbling over our situation, we were offered some free cake and coffee. Vince leapt at the offer and so I asked for one of the muffins that I thought looked tasty on the way in. Although I would have preferred my lunch, this gracious attempt to soothe things over did appease us and I would be happy to go back. I really do love their coffee.

In face, I'm considering taking up some shifts there...I do miss the hospitality game. Who knows, I might be the bright, happy, friendly smile they need to brighten up the place. All the girls who work there are always so rude, unattentive and never make eye contact when they're serving me. I just googled some reviews on the place and I see I'm not the only one who thinks so.


ESS BAR
531 Hay Street, Subiaco
I caught up with a few friends tonight and after a few drinks at the Subi Hotel, we ambled down the road to the Ess Bar for more drinks and some food.

My first time here and we were some of the very few people there. Either it was too early, too late, or just quiet for a Wednesday.

Fish & Chips

Sarah had the Steak Burger

Saturday 20th November 2010

Morning Tea at Work
Mini Pizza with Chilli Salami, Black Olives and lots of Mozzarella


TO TO VIETNAMESE
875 Albany Highway, Victoria Park
After a mad rush getting home from work, showering, changing and getting picked up, we made it to the restaurant in hopes that it would be a better experience than the last time we were there. Kong found a hair in his chicken and the service was pretty bad.

Well, we were not impressed this time around either. We were shown to a booth that seats four people, despite our reservation being made for five people. One of us has to sit on a chair at the end of the booth, which was in the way of people walking past. Actually, with the chair there, no one could have walked past. They would have had to go around.

After about fifteen minutes of perusing the menu and catching up, we were eager to order as we were all hungry. (Aren't we always!?)

We tried to get the attention of a staff member but they chose to ignore us. Finally, the guy who seated us, who we believe to be the floor manager, came up to our table and we were about to throw our orders at him when he barked out, "Let's go. Let's go, come on. Move to the next table. It's bigger and then we will take your order. Let's go."

I was appalled. I glanced across at Ling and I saw he wasn't too impressed either. We felt like we were sheep being herded. We gathered our things and moved to the next table. Now, under usual circumstances we would have kicked a fuss and brought to the guy's attention how rude he was being, but we saw that the booth next to us was indeed bigger so we would be more comfortable in it. So we kept quiet and shuffled over. We waited until the floor manager had gone before we burst out in incredulous disbelief at how we had just been spoken to.

On top of that, he did not come and take our order. We had to wait another ten minutes or so before we were able to catch the attention of someone.

Our food came out rather slowly, one after the other. The waitstaff were pretty unfriendly, unenthusiastic and overall just plain rude. We had some of our food simply dumped on the table without a word. My head was sore from all the head shaking I did.

We shared some Prawns.

Erm, this was Ling's dish. It looks like noodles and...I have no idea!

I had to say though, I did enjoy my bowl of 'Bun Bo Hue' but I think I will be boycotting this restaurant from now on. I'd rather drive a bit further and eat in one of the many Vietnamese eateries in the Northbridge area.

I think the only redeeming thing of our experience at To To's tonight was the fact that the staff member grossly undercharged us when he entered the bill total into the card machine. Now, being the honest people that we are and having worked in the hospitality industry, under normal circumstances we would have spoken up about being undercharged so much, but after the terribly service and the way we were treated, we saw this as karma evening out the playing field.


BILLY LEE'S CHINESE RESTAURANT
Shop 9, 66 Roe Street, Northbridge
Yes, we ate again later tonight. We went for supper!

This restaurant was a favourite haunt of ours back in the days of university. Now, we don't really go for supper often as we're all struck by exhaustion much earlier than when we were *ahem* younger.

We sat at a table outside in the slightly humid air in the alley way outside the restaurant. With all the younger, weirdly styled Asians swarming around us, it did feel like we were in Singapore or Malaysia, eating at a hawker centre.


Crispy Chicken

Ginger Beef

Crispy Garlic with Chicken

Sambal Kang Kong

All up, we paid for it what we should have been charged at our earlier dinner.

All in all, a great night!

Sunday 11th July 2010

THE WINDSOR HOTEL
112 Mill Point Road, South Perth
We went for a late, lazy lunch here this afternoon.

It was two guys, a girl and a pizza place!

We ordered wedges.
They came with aioli, sour cream and sweet chilli sauce.

We also ordered a couple of pizzas.



Alas! We misjudged our hunger and I have to say, I am rather shocked at how little we managed to eat. I asked to have the food packed up to take with us but the waitress said they were not allowed to do takeaway. I asked if it was okay if we took it home for the dog. She said no, rather apologeticaly.

We wasted a whole pizza.

How ridiculous is that?? I understand that there is a need to be careful with allowing patrons to take leftovers home because if the food is kept in adverse conditions, the patrons can come back to the restaurant and complain of food poisoning. However, I have been to restaurants where they simply ask you to sign a disclaimer to avoid such claims and this allows us to take leftovers with us. I have asked for bones to wrapped up for me to take home for my dog before and not been refused.

Not happy Jan.


Kok came over for dinner so I threw together something quick so we could make it to the movies in time.

Dinner
Spaghetti with Tuna

Wednesday 10th February 2010

I stayed home today. Mostly in bed.

I finally got up to make something to eat. Cooking is a release for me. No matter how cranky, angry or upset I am feeling, cooking is a happy distraction for me. I can busy myself chopping vegetables. Finding spices. Keeping time in my head of what I need to add next. It's therapeutic.

I was so angry today. I got up thinking I could whack together a salad and cook the steak that I had in the fridge. But no. Mum has a really bad habit of pushing things to the back of the fridge. Where they FREEZE. I've told her countless times not to do this because once my steak freezes, there is no going back. It's okay if it's some chicken or some meat that she intends to use in a stirfry. But I eat my steaks medium-rare and once they're frozen and thawed out, they're not medium-rare-worthy. I buy my groceries with meal plans in mind, so when I go to the fridge to find that my chicken is a solid frozen lump, I get angry because I need to defrost it in the microwave to be able to use it right then and there. Aargh!!! I think I'll be putting my meat in Dad's fridge from now on. Yes, my parents have separate fridges. I am so tempted to go out and buy my own right now.

So, I was feeling rather shitty and had to calm myself down with the threat of my migraine returning. I made some soup for dinner instead.

I was leaning over the chopping board with the diced roma tomatoes and crushed garlic, when I got a whiff of both at the same time and a craving struck. I set aside some of the tomatoes to make a snack while I waited for my soup to cook.

Bruschetta
I toasted a sliced of wholemeal bread, then scooped some diced roma tomatoes, red onion, crushed garlic, dressed with with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Garnish with a few fresh basil leaves.

Dinner
Vegetable Soup with Pasta Shells

I sprinkled a generous amount of grated pecorino cheese onto my soup, but at my first bite, I knew something was wrong. I ran to the fridge and looked at the container of cheese. It was much fuller than it should have been.

Mum had topped it up with a container of cheese that she had found in the fridge - it was off!

I had to throw out my bowl of soup and the tub of cheese.

So angry.

Thursday 19th November '09

I was called out to work ALL night last night. After no sleep at all, I managed to drive home (I had to make a stop to get a can of V) without falling asleep at the wheel. Barely.

After having no sleeping for over 24 hours, I passed out for several hours until I had to get up and drive to the city for an induction seminar at the Australian Red Cross. I'm volunteering to help gift wrap at the Myer store in Carousel during December to raise money to go towards their Soup Patrol project. I've wanted to do this for years now, and this year I'm finally able to because my roster is mainly day shifts and I can squeeze a few hours in with the late night shopping hours.

Afterwards, I headed into Northbridge and had a coffee until it was time to meet friends for dinner.


ZAPATA'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT
155 James Street, Northbridge
Marie's back in Perth for a week and we were all eager to catch up with her tonight. A few of us were early but the restaurant did not have any record of our reservation.

Strike One.

They weren't fully booked so they found us a table and we sat down. The waitress handed us menus - they were the laminated sort but were rather sticky and the drinks menus smelt like they'd been soaking in beer.

The waitress was neither friendly, enthusiastic nor attentive. We gave her the benefit of the doubt that perhaps she struggled with English. Still, no excuse for her lack of customer service.

As soon as everyone arrived, we settled down and were soon ready to place our orders. The waitress seemed to struggle with understanding us. Even when you asked for no sour cream, she would repeat your order and ask if you wanted sour cream with it. She repeated our whole order afterwards, but all we could was nod and smile because we didn't know what everyone else had ordered, so we couldn't tell if she had gotten all our orders correct or not. *shrug*

Sangria. It tasted like watered down orange juice.

Drinks took about twenty minutes to arrive. Fifty minutes went by since we had placed our order and no food had arrived. We noticed - much to our annoyance - that other tables that had been seated after us had received food.

Strike Two.

Ling went to ask about our food. He was told they would check up on our order. In the next ten minutes that followed, we saw the guy walking around continuing to serve other customers, take their orders, etc. No one got back to us to let us know what was happening with our meals or to apologise for the delay or offer an explanation.

Strike Three.

We finished our drinks, then went to pay for them and leave. At the counter, they were trying to convince us that our food was ready right this moment but we had made up our minds we were leaving.

And we're out.


SORRENTO RESTAURANT
158 James Street, Northbridge
We crossed the street and were skeptical as to whether we would be able to find a table for eight people when the restaurant appeared to be full and bustling. Much to our surprise, they were able to accommodate us by shifting a few tables together inside.

We were met with quick, friendly service and our drinks and food arrived super promptly. We joked that since it was 9pm, perhaps the chefs just wanted to go home so they were rushing our meals. Regardless what the reason, we were so satisfied with the quality of the food, the portions, the competence and friendliness of the wait staff - just such an upgrade!

Garlic Bread

My much needed Campari & Soda

Myself, Shallen & Kong: Spaghetti with Prawns
with chilli, garlic & basil - $28

Ling: Calzone
Closed pizza with tomato, cheese, ham, mushroom & cabanossi - $20

The innards of Ling's calzone.

Karl: Veal Rib Eye
400g Veal rib eye served with creamy mash potato,
green beans, roasted tomato & red wine jus - $35

Yen Chen: Penne con Polpette
Pork meat balls in a garlic & chilli napolitana sauce - $26

Marie: Petto di Pollo ai Gamberi
Grilled chicken breast served with creamy garlic prawns
on a bed of roasted rosemary potatoes & sauteed spinach - $36

Meng: Gamberi Sorrento
Prawns pan fried with a pink garlic sauce & a touch of chilli - $36

Ling's food art.
Don't you love how the parsley in the meatball creates a face!??

Thursday 26th March '09

I spent the day being proactive and managed to cross a few things off my 'TO DO' list.

1. Remove the accummulation of clutter from my car
   
2. Vaccuum my car
   
3. Wash my car
   
4. Clean filters in aquariums
   
5. Top up water in aquariums

I also took Simba for a walk to the park and then came home and gave him a bath. Then I had a bath. Then I rushed to the shops to get some last minute groceries to make beef noodles tonight (bun bo hue).

I couldn't find the Vietnamese rice noodles at the Woolworths in Maddington, so I hurried to Thornlie Square to try the Coles there. In my haste, I must have not locked my car properly because when I got back to the car (empty-handed because I couldn't find the noodles at Coles or IGA), I noticed my bag of groceries was missing from the passenger seat.

I froze. I thought perhaps they had fallen to the floor of the car, so I had a quick look. I thought perhaps I'd lost my mind and put the groceries in the back. Did I put them in the boot!? I even looked in the glovebox! Nothing!

I got back into the driver seat and tried to retrace my steps - nope, I defintely brought the bag back to the car with me because I remember nestling it next to my handbag on the passenger seat. The only plausible explanation I can think of is that the guy I saw getting into his car when I was getting out of mine must have noticed that I didn't lock my car and decided to steal my groceries!!. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the thought. Even if it wasn't him...someone stole my groceries! I had in the bag some fresh mint, been shoots, grated pecorino cheese, chillies and a tray of pork belly rashers. Someone stole it out of my car. They didn't take my house keys that were in the cup holder. Nor the abundance of coins spilling out of my cointray. Aargh!

Anyhow, I got home and postponed the bun bo hue and made a steak dinner instead.

Dinner
Sirloin with Wilted Spinach & Prawns

I cooked the steak - turned out being rare! In the pan juices I wilted some spinach with ground cumin and ground coriander. The prawns were from the freezer. I had packed some in a zip lock bag with a splash of olive oil, lemon juice, julienned ginger, chilli flakes and fresh chopped coriander. I threw the prawns in together with the spinach and added more chilli flakes. I could taste the coriander and cumin flavours coming through the dish. Yum!

Later, Jocelyn wanted some chicken and corn soup. She didn't believe how easy it was to make, so I talked her through it. It probably took ten minutes overall and she still complained that she should have just heated soup from a can. *shakes her head*

Saturday 7th March '09

On the way to work this morning, we ran into a mob of cyclists who thought they were above the law and hindered traffic while they rode in both lanes turning off Riverside Drive onto Mounts Bay Road. I suspected this would happen and had my camera in my lap, ready to take photos. I've got quite a few photos from several different occasions now. I just have to find the time to head to the police station and lodge a formal complaint with my photographic evidence.

After work, I headed over to Marissa's house where she put together some nibblies for us. I brought some of those stuffed figs and apricots. Just as I thought, they loved them.

goats cheese
olive tapenade
salami wrapped grissini
rice crackers
figs stuffed with mascarpone & drambuie
apricots stuffed with mascarpone & cointreau

Marissa made me a short black and we all had some of her dad's grape juice. He made wine on Marissa's birthday earlier this week. The juice is from the same grapes but before it's fermented. Some fermentation had begun though, as we could taste it.

We were having dinner out tonight.


LITTLE SAIGON on Beaufort Street

Upon our arrival, we were rather impressed with the interior decor of the place. It was small but cosy and the dim lights created a romantic, intimate ambience. I couldn't help taking this photo over my shoulder. We loved this feature wall. Despite the great looking modern decor, it didn't make me feel like we were going to get real authentic Vietnamese food though. It felt like I should expect fusion and I'm not a fan of fusion cuisine.

We ordered our entrees after having to get a staff member's attention. I'll try to remember the prices but I thought they'd have an online menu but they don't. The pictures are a bit dark too because it was so dim in the restaurant and I didn't want to attract too much attention with a flash.

Entrees
stuffed deep fried chicken wings - $12
stuffed deep fried squid
deep fried soft shell crab - $12
prawn wrapped around bamboo - $12

The stuffing tasted the same in the chicken wings and squid. They were both yummy but nothing extraordinary. The prawns wrapped around the bamboo...what a rip off! It was just some processed prawn paste and you can't even eat the bamboo. I'd rather pay $6 at the Royal Show to get a corndog. That's what it reminded me of. The soft shell crab was a bit on the pricey side too but it was enjoyable.

Mains
combination clay pot
prawns with chilli & lemongrass
goat & eggplant curry
green papaya salad with beef

We had plain steamed rice to accompany these dishes. The combination claypot was your typical claypot dish that you get whenever you go to a Chinese restaurant. I love ordering them though because it's a good balance when you're eating alot of fried foods and it also covers the vegetables. The prawns were delicious! I love green papaya salad, but I think when I've had it Thai style it's tasted better with more ingredients. The goat curry was divine! Delicious thick sauce and the eggplant had soaked up all the flavour.

The main course dishes must have been the highlight of the evening. We were very pleased with them. I they ranged from about $15 - $20 each.

Desserts
French influenced flan - $4.50
exotic fruit salad - $4.50
deep fried icecream - $4.50

What a huge disappointment and a terrible way to end our meal. Marissa was the most upset with her 'French influenced flan'. A flan has a pastry base. What she got was a thin sliver of creme caramel that was so small it looked like only a couple of tablespoons worth at most. They garnished it with one strawberry cut into quarters. I had one strawberry cut into quarters for my fruit salad and when the waitstaff set it down on the table, she dropped one of the quarters onto the table. Teresa and Teresa (yes, we had two of them tonight!) enjoyed their deep fried ice cream though. Some of us also ordered an authentic Vietnamese coffee but Marissa wasn't happy with it and didn't believe it was prepared in the authentic way, despite the waitstaff confirming it had been.

All in all, we had good company and the food wasn't all bad, but the desserts were just a bad way to end the night. We would have been better off going to a cafe down the road for cake. The restaurant looks nicely decorated but the staff lack experience and attention to detail. They wandered around aimlessly and we needed to wave them down whenever we wanted to order. Looks like they're trying too hard to compete with the calibre of dining venues on offer on Beaufort Street.

After dinner, we went to the Must Wine Bar for a drink before calling it a night and heading home.