Melbourne escape part 2: Shoya Japanese Restaurant

First and foremost, I have to apologize for the horrible picture quality at this restaurant. There wasn't enough light and I didn't want to use flash (might just annoy all the cashy kids there) so I did what I could. Decrease shuttle speed, increase ISO (without compromising picture quality).

Anyways, Shoya was our fourth (???!!) stop in Melbourne on day 2. You can pretty much guess that all of us were roughly 40% filled with food but we had to give Shoya a go after hearing much good feedback from everyone:)

Plum cocktail with subtle hints of sake~ surprisingly not very alcoholic and very strong plum taste.
My friend and the boy were adventurous enough to opt for degustation but I've chosen a seafood chawanmushi. Our table attendant was very pushy and kept insisting that serving portions are small so one would need to order at least 4 mains to be full. Little did she know that we had our pre-dinner somewhere else hahaxD

Appetizer 1a: Salmon Carpaccio Shoya Style

Murray River Salt-cured salmon, thinly sliced served with Salmon roe,

Truffles, Sour plum sauce and Wasabi mousse

(my friend rolled up his salmon before I could even snap a picture-.-)

Appetizer 2a: Unagi Canape

Grilled miso marinated eel canapé topped with crab meat salad,

Salmon caviar and truffle

Appetizer 2b:Golden Perch

Lightly grilled miso flavoured perch topped with tomato mousse,

foie gras, and semi dried Mullet Roe

Appetizer 1b: Kingyo

Steamed chicken mince mixed with Japanese sweet plum,

with a sweet sauce glace, and topped with lentils

My crabmeat and truffle chawanmushi~ appeared after the guys had 2 appetizers served. If you're wondering, yes, I did end up waiting for them to finish up-.-

Appetizer 1c: Petit Tempura Lobster

Tempura Lobster tail topped with Cream cheese,

Hokkaido clam, spiced miso wrapped with Witloff

Appetizer 1d: Hatching Ocean Egg

Steamed savory egg custard, spinach pureé

topped with tempura scampi tail

Appetizer 1e: Daiginjo Sake Poached Oyster with Hatcho Miso

Poached Tasmanian Pittwater Oyster in a Daiginjo Sake

served with Pink Peppercorn and Hatcho Miso sauce

Main 1 & 2: Assortment of Sashimi

Kingfish shaped into a rose bud:)

Freshly shredded radish from Tasmania~ tastes so much better than the powder version^^

Main 1b: Uzura Bamboo Mushi-Age

Quail thigh in a Green tea scented Bamboo leaf encrust

with a side of Soy Ginger sauce

Main 2b: Beef Spinach Roll

Stewed Ox Tongue wrapped with spinach soufflé

served with lemon, basil yogurt

Main 1 & 2c: Alaskan Crab tempura

Although it may have been frozen whilst travelling to Melbourne, it was fairly fresh as the meat pieces were easily removed from the shell.

I had to have some *nomnomnom*

Main 2d:Fish Steak

Fresh fish fillet,

served then laid on a bed of teriyaki sauce and sesame vinegar

Main 1d:Venison Kyoho Medallions

Pan seared Sirloin Venison Medallions on a base

of steamed Eggplant with a soy kyoho sauce

Main 1e: Sauteed Awabi with Nasu Miso

Poached then sauteed Abalone with on Apple

onion Soy sauce topped with a Eggplant miso paste

Main 1 & 2: Wagyu Beef Steak

Wagyu premium sirloin topped with a piece of foie gras

Fried rice with miso soup~ very simple and plain. Nothing too heavy:)

Dessert 2: Black sesame cream with chocolate mud cake. Average tasting dessert platter. Definitely can't go wrong here

Dessert 1: Soya and green tea jelly, black sesame cream, sea urchin cake and chocolate mud cake. The cheesecake was nothing much to boast about. Entire dish was fairly dessert (although I did have higher expectations)

25 Market Lane

Opening hours: Mon-Thurs, Fri-Sat (6-11pm) and Sun (6-10.30pm)

Apologies for the non-personal food descriptions..I've forgot how most of them tasted by the time I got back to Adelaide:P

Melbourne escape part 2: Old Raffles Place

And so, the journey continues as we venture out into Fitzroy. First impression? Small lanes, lots of outdoor tables with dim lights and sights of oven-baked pizzas aplenty. We searched high and low for this little Singaporean outlet (of which, had recently moved locations so be sure to call to query). We did passed by Shocolate, home of Melbourne's best chocolate macarons but due to time constraint, we were unable to pop by for a visit. Perhaps next time?:)



Lots of vintage pictures of Singapore pre-and post independence:)

Hokkien mee~ not your average Malaysian version! Wet noodles served with chilli paste. Absolutely heavenly (but I had to share!!!). A definite must have:)

Chicken rice~ According to my Singaporean buddy, this version is quite similar to the one's served in Singapore but if you don't have much tummy space, opt for the hokkien mee:p

Curry laksa~ well...not much could be said. It wasn't overly impressive but it was a decent meal. Not spicy, mainly to cater for the local tastebuds:)

70 Johnston St, Collingwood (03-94174450)

*Remember to call if you don't want to end up wandering the entire Fitzroy

Melbourne escape part 2: Laurent boulangerie patisserie

After brunch, some of us separated and decided to head their own way whilst the rest of us headed to the DFO located near the casino. Unfortunately for most of us, good bargains can hardly be seen, mainly because it was towards the end of sale season. Nevertheless, it was still great fun browsing around:)

Within 3 hours, we find ourselves on Little Collins St aka the Paris of Melbourne CBD. The lanes were filled with people sipping coffee or tea and the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans lingered. We stopped by Laurent Boulangerie Patisserie, a little sweet shop recommended by a friend.

The interior reminded me of French cafes with every hint of romance despite the number of customers the shop caters for. There's a wide array of desserts to choose from, of which, all looks temptingly good:p

Pistachio creme brulee topped with strawberry jam and biscuit crumbs~ the creme brulee was superb but not so much could be said about the macaron. It lacked crisp although it was moist.

Bora bora double layer mousse cake~ an eye candy piece. Lovely colours and not overly sweet:)

306 Little Collins St
Melbourne, 3000

Opening hours:
Mon-Sat 8am-6pm
Sun 9am-5pm

French desserts are love^^

Melbourne escape part 2: Sharkfin house

Our second day in Melbourne kicked off with early brunch at a recommended restaurant. Reservations are necessary as the restaurant tends to be filled with customers especially during peak hours.





Duck feet~

Loh mai fan~ delicious!

Chee cheong fan~ although the pastry was a bit thick, the filling was still good:)

Har gao~

Siew mai~ am still on the lookout for good siew mais

Tofu with prawn filling~ random item picked up by my friend

Span??

Random item 2# :crab stick with prawn filling, wrapped in seaweed

Random item 3# : Fried prawn wanton?

Pork filling enclosed in pastry~ I liked this particular dish although the pastry was kinda butter-y

Fried radish cake~yummmyyyyyyy:D

Lotus paste bun~ sooo good *drools* Fresh off the steamer^^

Char siew bao~ good filling but not the usual ones I normally eat. I reckon it's more Hong Kong style?

Overall, good food served, fast service and decently priced compared to some of the yumcha restaurants in Adelaide. This place is certainly not overpriced:D

Sharkfin House

131, Little Bourke Street

Opening hours:11.30-3pm and 5.30-11.00pm daily