Chinese dumplings

A little random on my behalf as I had this strange urge to prepare my own dumplings! I did not use an recipe for this nor did I accurately measure out each ingredient. Thankfully, everything turned out well despite me not being too well-prepared about it.

Dumpling skins from Chinatown~ I know I should be practicing my dough-making skills but I can't be too bothered at that moment! Besides, at $2.10 for a packet of 50 pieces, it saved me heaps of time:)

Minced pork mixed with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, salt, pepper, some sugar, finely chopped garlic and ginger, fresh coriander and spring onions. And yes, a little dash of sesame oil. Basic marinating essentials in a Chinese kitchen!:)

Wrapped and boiled until meat was cooked. Probably around 5 minutes in boiling water or before the skin layer starts to break out.

Dumplings in chicken soup garnished with spring onions and garlic oil. Craving satisfied:)

My brother also made some bolognese pasta with beef meatballs for dinner. In short, I had a very heavy dinner-.-" But it was goooooooood :p

Cafe Brunelli

Was here today for dinner with the family and friends. As we couldn't decide where to have a quick bite, we randomly came up here as no reservations were required and there's ample of seating space.

Service was a tad confusing as we were supposed to take our own menus, seat ourselves wherever we like and order at the counter. I am fine with all this but I would be much more happier if I was guided around a bit by the waiting staff:/

The vast variety of sweets at the counter~

Complimentary bread, butter and grated cheese~

Meatlover's pizza~ My sister was craving for something meat-y and hence, she ordered this. There were generous portions of ham slices but could do a lot better with some extra seasoning. Was a bit bland, in my opinion.

Chicken Parmiagana~ Large portion of chicken served with fries and a side of salad, considering that you do pay extra for it to be "really really big". Not too bad overall but could do with some sauce:)

Seafood pasta~ ermm...not exactly something that I would recommend diners to have. Lots of pasta but not proportional to the amount of broccoli and prawns added:( This dish also lacked seasoning.

Con Pollo pasta~ hrmm..where should I start.. it wasn't too bad but I have tried others which are better elsewhere. Wouldn't recommend this. Also needs more seasoning.

Overall, I am assuming that I have ordered the wrong items on the menu. I was not extremely satisfied as most of the dishes lack seasoning :( If you do plan to come here, do check with the staff on what's good to have/ ask your friends whom are familiar with this outlet. This place is ideal if you just plan to go somewhere on a rainy day for a gossip session over a cup of steaming hot chocolate:)

BBQ city

If you're in the mood for something meat-y and at the right price, do head over to BBQ city in chinatown. They do serve up a good selection of roast chicken, pork and duck (although can't really compare to some of the really good ones back in Malaysian, but heck, still edible!!).

Service is average but you do get served on time:)

The three meat combination~ siew yoke (pork with crackling), roast duck and soy sauce chicken served with a sweet plum and unknown dipping sauce. The duck's skin is very succulent and packed with juicy goodness..very sinful..

Stir fry chinese broccoli~

Salted fish fried rice~ average tasting fried rice:)

Overall, I would recommend coming here for the roast dishes. I have not tried everything at this place but from what I see across every table, it's decent enough:)

Home food during the final lap

As most of you may know, I was caught up with lots of revision to do for my final year at university. Although I did eat out sometimes (purely because I am too short of time to be bothered to cook), the boy and I did try our best to clear most of the edible items from our fridge.

Tasty or not, you be the judge.

Fried rice~

Don't underestimate the size of the bowl..

Asparagus with olive oil~

Pasta with minced pork and poached egg~ randomness

Herbal chicken soup noodles~

After finishing up with our last paper, we had a big feast (with my brother, that is).

Spring onions!

Smelly catfish-.-

Macaron!

Mangoes~

A box of peacherines for $3~ Bought this today (saturday) at the market. Had to brave a hoard of impatient, angry, pushy and not-so friendly Asian aunties. I'm proud of being an Asian but for heaven's sake, why can't all of us behave like the friendly and polite Caucasians -.-

Most of them look good! Can't wait to try it out:))

Macarons from Java Joint

Java Joint? What the heck is that??? Has somebody lost her mind after the MM test?

Well, no. I had a fantastic day today although I have this strange regret of not guessing a few questions for the MCQ test (guessing = negative marking) which I KNEW were correct-.- dammit, I'm such a contemplating freak.

As we were on our way home, we passed this little coffee outlet right next to the Hindley police station. I had some doubts about this place as it didn't look as inviting as Gloria Jean's or Hudson's Coffee. The boy decided to drag me in to try their macarons.

Much to my surprise. It actually looked decentO.O"

So he bought a few back home. Flavours are rose, pistachio, passion fruit, lemon, caramel and mocha.

It looks decent in terms of shape and consistency, right??!!

I've tried the pistachio flavour~ the macaron shell was slightly soft but it did have sufficient hardness (?) when touched. Melts-in-your-mouth goodness. I have also tried the caramel and lemon flavours which had really tasty fillings and fantastic shells (highly recommended!!).

I have yet to try the other three flavours but I am positive that they taste good. The owner's partner made the macarons (must get macaron shell secret from herT.T) and they do make different shaped macarons upon request:)

Apparently they have just started selling macarons in the shop, adding more variety to the other types of convenient food like sushi rolls, sandwiches, coffee, cakes and muffins. May pop by over one day to try some of their homemade cakes:p

Cheesecake and sundays

I am aware that there are assessments just around the corner but I can't stop distracting myself with things to doxD I am enjoying my final weeks at uni but I can't help procastinating still!

Here's a simple non-baked cheesecake, recipe adapted from Matt Moran (masterchef website). It's one of the junior masterchef's challenge. It is relatively easy to make IF no errors are committed throughout the process:)

Mango puree~

Biscuit base~

Cheesecake~

Not too sure about others but I still do prefer baked cheesecakes despite it being heavier than the non-baked version. What do you think?;)