Fish wraps recipe

One of the easiest meals I have made up and also one of the more nutritious ones in my books. Fish fillets can be cooked in the oven for convenience and if so, would probably take 10 to 15 minutes depending on the oven's temperature settings.

Literally just made this a couple of hours ago and am thinking of remaking it again next week or so.

Ingredients
500g whiting fillets (or any other type)
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Massage paprika, tarragon, salt and pepper onto the fish fillets.
2. Pan fry fish fillets and set aside

Coleslaw mix:
200g A mix of green and purple cabbage
100g shredded carrots
250g cherry tomatoes
2 avocados
Juice of half a lime

1. Toss the salad together with lime juice, making sure to have the veggies evenly distributed.

The finale:
Missoni wraps

1. Place cooked fish fillets in the middle of the wrap and top with a good serve (about 4-5 tablespoons of salad) on top of it.
2. Wrap fish and salad mix firmly and serve warm.

Absolutely loved this easy to make dish and it is extremely versatile because you can add whatever veggies you prefer or even marinade the fish in cayenne pepper or stronger herbs like thyme. I like the idea of having something refreshing like lime juice as the salad dressing as it's also not oily.

P.s: If you plan on using oily fish like salmon or rainbow trout, use less oil when pan frying them.

Claypots Evening Star, South Melbourne MELB

My usual Sunday routine includes a visit to Agathe in South Melbourne market for some fresh croissants followed by a cup of coffee from Padre and strolling around the market to pick up some groceries. I have walked past the restaurant corner of the market numerous times before and alas have decided to walk into one of these restaurants for lunch.

Extremely crowded and can be difficult to find seats - we walked into this busy restaurant and propped ourselves at a vacant area at the bar, right in front of the kitchen staff. Staff were quick on their feet, from balancing table orders to juggling large jugs of frothy beer to cracking salt and pepper to a sizzling pan of seafood concoctions.

I cannot help but recall on my trip to Portugal as I glance around the bar with its ship motif tiles and inhale in tomato, garlic and olive oil fragrances. At midday, we were delighted by the performance of a singer, dressed in casual attire, bolting out tunes in a jovial tone.

To sum up, one would pick a choice of seafood be it fish, crustaceans or octopus and this would be prepared to order. Seafood is definitely fresh but be careful with ordering as it may be expensive when added up together. The squid dish costs us a whooping $30 and a medium sized cooked prawn came up to $10 per piece. Pricey in my opinion and I do suggested planning on what to order before heading to the cashier.

Exploring Sydney day 1, 2 and 3: Sydney fish market

It must have been a while since I last uploaded a picture heavy blog post. But because we somehow managed to squeeze in time to go to the Sydney fish market, I felt it was only appropriate to dedicate an entire post on it with minimal distractions. Yes, I was reluctant to come here everyday but eventually gave in because I couldn't think of anywhere else to go and for a fact that it is fresh seafood after all. Let's be honest. There's less calories in a fresh piece of fish or oyster compared to a slice of cake.

On the first day, we made a mistake of arriving at around 11am where we must have encountered a few truckload of tourists and locals. It was not a pleasant sight at all. Imagine trying to comfortably eat your food but somehow is constantly knocking your back every few minutes and there's just so much noise floating in the warehouse.

We did not eat a lot on the first day as it was way too crowded but we did bought ourselves two trays of oysters and a small serve of salmon sashimi. I am not a big fan of oysters and so, can't really comment much on it but the salmon sashimi made my day. At the sushi restaurants in Adelaide, I would have paid $10 more to have the equivalent amount of salmon sashimi at the fish market. Mental note to self, bring soy sauce and wasabi next time because they do charge an extra $1 per tiny pot of soy sauce infused with wasabi.

We then had more fresh seafood sashimi such as scallop, abalone and scampi sashimi. They were really fresh and did not wreck any fishy scent whatsoever. Although, I would caution you against sitting outdoors because as soon as we left the table that we shared with a few strangers, the hungry seagulls made a quick attempt at grabbing whatever seafood morsels they could lay their beaks on. It was a very frightful moment and we were lucky to not be in that situation :/

On day 2, we had more seafood. But this time round, we made an effort to purchase a mudcrab, lobster and a few kilos of clam that were prepared for us at $10 per seafood. I think it's a bit costly to get them to cook the seafood for you but if you are planning on having a mega feast, then it would be worthwhile.

We had the Singapore chilli crab and it was good albeit not as spicy as I would have liked it to be. The XO clams were not too bad and I actually preferred it. The garlic lobster was alright though, not sure if it was incorrectly prepared due to the rush.

Cheekily enough, we then ventured down the deep fried options with deep fried soft shell crabs, prawns and a lobster mornay. The soft shell crabs were not cleaned well but still tasted alright to me. Lobster mornay was a little too cheesy but still edible. Probably wiser to go with the fresh options in the future. Less calories involved too haha.

On the last day, we handpicked the best things to have at the fish market and arrived very early. Had more salmon sashimi, oysters and squid sashimi. Was too good to resist. Also had my first try at sea urchin roe which tasted very much like the sea, as quoted by the superior foodies. Not something that I can have often but it does have it's own distinct taste.

To end the trip quickly, we had stir fry clams with ginger and shallots and garlic prawns. The food arrived pipping hot on our table and the best part? No crowds to fight for seats. Double win never felt so good.

If I could give you a few pointers, it would be:

1. arrive early aka within 30 minutes of opening. Less crowd = more time browsing
2. do not sit outside unless you have to. Way too windy and crazy seagulls ahoy.
3. if getting seafood prepared by staff, order a bit more. It stretches that extra $10 you pay for preparing it.
4. if possible, best to buy whatever seafood you want and prepare at home. Always the most economic method.
5. prices across all shops are the same. don't waste your time browsing.
6. fresh seafood tastes so much better than deep fried ones. You have been warned.

Aberdeen Fishball and Noodles restaurant Hong Kong

After aimlessly wandering around the Ladies Market along Tung Choi Street, the gang and I decided it's time to feed out tummies with some food but trouble is, we have no idea where to go and would preferably avoid waiting in line. A few turns around the corner and voila, we found ourselves this place. We have never heard of this place before but according to my research, Aberdeen is the fishing suburb of Hong Kong so perhaps there's some yummy seafood inspired dishes there?:)

The interior decor is very modern and I hardly notice any seniors/ older generation groupies here. Most of the diners are young hipsters like us. Not that it matters on an empty stomach, just an observation hehe.

The menu has pictures which makes it easy for people who can't read Chinese order food. There were so many options to choose from and we decided on having something broth-y to rehydrate ourselves with.

Lemon tea ~ The teas in Hong Kong are very aromatic, perhaps because the tea leaves must have been infused in a particular pot of water for hours. One of my travel companies was so terrified of her previous experience overseas that she only opts to drink warm drinks (kills the bugs if there are any!)

I had to have nai chai/ milk tea with ice. So refreshingly yummy!

Toasted bread with butter and condensed milk ~ what a sinful combination but it was soo good. Fats obviously taste good, durh. Farewell days of running after work, hello sweet treats:)

Roast pork loin ~ this was our appetizer and it was also equally delicious. The meat was cooked well and was still juicy. So so good.

Fried grouper with tomato and cheese baked rice ~ I have tried something similar before in Adelaide but it somewhat did not leave me satisfied. This time round, I decided to give it another chance and this must have been redemption for it. My bowl of rice arrived piping hot, with loads of sliced tomatoes and fried grouper fillets topped with a small mountain of cheese. The fish was fresh, no stinky stench attached! Yeeeha!!!

Meatball with vermicelli noodles ~ a simple dish but look at the intense broth colour!

Fishball with vermicelli noodles ~ this must have been the best dish of the night. The fishballs were very spongy and well-seasoned. I am missing fishball noodles from Malaysia way too much after this excursion.

Do give this place a go if you are nearby! I am pretty sure you won't be disappointed..unless if you have actually went to Aberdeen as I have not so no comparisons happening yet!;)

The Oyster Bar

Goodbye cold winter days, hello warm and sunny spring/ summer days! Although spring started about a month ago, the weather was still a bit gloomy during the first couple of weeks but thankfully, it is improving and I am not going to miss this opportunity to go to Glenelg! The last time I was here was probably in March when the weather was transitioning to autumn.

A picture perfect view of beach houses, yachts, emerald green sea water and glorious sunlight

White wine to celebrate the spring season

What better way to relax by the seaside than to have a couple of fresh oysters.

Diners can opt to add a few drops of tobasco and a sprinkle of black pepper to their oysters for a more "awakening" taste:)

We ordered the fresh oyster platter which is nothing but fresh oysters. I am not a big fan of oysters but I can definitely tell that it is fresh as it did not have any strange fishy aftertaste nor were the oysters rubbery in texture.

Just because I don't like fresh oysters doesn't mean I would pass up the offer for some of these Kilpartrick oysters which were baked for a few minutes with a good amount of cheese and sauce. Trust me, the oysters were not overcooked and still retained some "juices" within the shell compartment.

Clean, empty oyster shells. Happy diners we were:) Mind you, there is an oyster bar branch in the city but I somehow prefer to travel the distance, just for the full summer experience, both in terms of sight and scent.