Argo on the Parade

I rarely eat sandwiches these days but when I do, it often reminded me of my school days. I would always have a sandwich for lunch, be it with tuna, egg or even peanut butter and jam (which might explain why I was a chubby kid back then). During my year 12 examination in Malaysia, I had to wake up at 5am-ish and head to my college to sit for my exam in the wee hours of the morning. I can still recall having a chicken sandwich made by my dad which I happily stuffed myself with whilst cramming my brain with some last minute study notes. Even at college, I find myself crawling to the nearest Subway cafe for a quick bite.

At Argo, all these fond memories filled my mind throughout the meal. I was, once again, cramming my face with bread but with family members who have embraced the sandwich-lunch era with me. Some may find that the menu is rather extensive but if you dissect it, it is a simple choice between bread-based options (burgers, wraps, focaccias, hot dogs) , traditional breakfast, salads or sweets.

Having been there before last year, I instantly knew that I wanted to have delicious sandwich prepared by the efficient Argo kitchen team. As usual, the cafe is packed with the brunch crowd but thankfully, we were able to secure a decent table in the cafe. The front counter had a beautiful display of fresh ingredients which is an inviting sight for diners.

The sister opted for a cuppa of coffee to kickstart her day.

Argo Club Sandwich~ two slices of toasted bread sandwiching crunchy lettuce leaves, tomatoes, caramelized onion, roasted chicken breast, grilled bacon, fried egg and wrapping everything up with a good dollop of Argo's homemade mayonnaise. The fried egg still retained a runny yolk consistency and we could taste the freshness of the ingredients used. Judging by the amount of fatty ingredients incorporated, one might think that the bread is over soaked with oil, which, it was not. Bread slices were still crisp :)

Mary had a little lamb burger~ marinated lamb, bacon, tomato, spinach and rocket leaves and fried egg. The lamb pieces were still juicy and succulent. Mary sure had good taste haha.

Argo Benedict ~ poached eggs, bacon, baby spinach leaves on brioche bread topped with Hollandaise sauce. No matter where I go to have egg benedict in Adelaide, I rarely find myself faced with a horrible plate of it and most of the time, I find decent fare which doesn't burn a hole in my wallet. This would be a great example of the egg benedict served at Argo. Theirs may not be the most masterchef-ish ones you have tasted but it still is a pretty good plate that I am happy to have anytime:)

Rose Garden Thai Restaurant

Rosegarden is probably one of those rare treasure spots that few have discovered over the years. I do not know when was this restaurant established nor am I familiar with the kitchen staff. After hearing a couple of raves about this place, I thought to myself, why not?

As I was not sure if I should rock up without a reservation, I decided to ring for a table booking just in case the restaurant is fully packed on a Saturday night. Upon arrival, I was surprised that the restaurant had ample of seating area for diners and I was quickly seated. We could not decide on what to have for dinner and hence, requested the waitress to recommend to us a few of the restaurant's top hits.

First up was the seafood tom yum soup. The soup was piping hot and had a good balance of acidity and sweetness to it. We were given generous amounts of fish fillets and prawns in our bowl of soup which is a bonus. Although the fish fillets may have been bought frozen, we did not experience any diarrhoea issues.

Green  curry chicken was another popular item on the menu. It was a mild type of curry dish with, yet again, generous amounts of chicken fillets added in. This dish is best consumed with rice, which acts like a sponge, soaking up all the delicious gravy from the plate.

Salt and pepper squid was something we wanted to try as we rarely have fried squid rings when we venture out for food. The squid pieces had a nice crispy crunchy texture and was not over cooked. It is a nice contrast to the green curry chicken which had loads of curry sauce to go with it.

I could not see this dish on the menu but it was recommended by the waitress so we decided to go ahead with her suggestion. I am very impressed with this dish. Not only did it come out from the kitchen in flames (literally flames) and there was once again, abundant of seafood incorporated in the foil casing.

Upon unwrapping the exterior, we found ourselves with a mild curry type of sauce bathing the seafood pieces. It was very delicious and I can assure you, it was not expensive at all.

Despite a stuffed belly, we decided to have some desserts, knowing that it is our soul's weakness. We sampled their tropical fruit ice cream which had slices of jackfruit and some other fruit that I am unsure of. Rest assured, everything went well with the good ol' vanilla ice cream.

Mango with sticky rice and ice cream~ we loved this dish and wanted more of it but there's only so much sugar that we can handle for the night. A traditional Thai dessert which will always be in an authentic Thai restaurant.

Overall, the service is quite efficient and most importantly, friendly and accommodating. We paid about $56 for all the dishes and thought that it was a pretty good bargain considering that we had a fair bit of seafood on the table. I think I have found a new Thai favourite :)

 

Nanyang Cafe

As a uni student, I can often be seen scouting nearby cafes for a quick bite before I head to lectures/ practical/ tutorial classes. And you might even have seen me dragging myself to a few places nearby for lunch! One of these places would be Nanyang Cafe where affordable Malaysian food can be sourced.

This place can get VERY crowded especially during the infamous lunch hour and so, do ensure that you are not tight on time otherwise you might find yourself gobbling food just 15 minutes before lecture starts! The service there does tend to fluctuate so don't be too upset if you get rudely shoved around (happened to me before!).

Seafood wa tan hor~ delicious and goes well with the pickled green chillies. There is enough gravy to slurp up with your noodles.

Char kuey teow~ probably one of the most authentic ones I have tasted in Adelaide. You can opt to have your's spicy but if chilli hot is not your game, do let them know and they would accommodate to your palate. The noodles have a nice wok flavour to it and isn't overly oily.

Strawberry mousse cake recipe

Managed to bake a decent cake for my friend's birthday last week. I have used a simple butter cake recipe and incorporated a strawberry mousse layer in between the cake layers, topped it off with some buttercream icing and added a bit of strawberries to achieve that simplistic look.

Ingredients:

Butter cake:
3 eggs
320g self-raising flour
118g butter
90g sugar
Vanilla essence

Simple syrup
60g sugar
80mL water
1 tsp vanilla essence

Strawberry mousse
325g strawberry puree
130g sugar
2.5 tsp gelatin + 3 tbsp water
240g heavy cream 25g sugar

Cream butter and sugar well before adding in eggs and vanilla essence. Fold the mixture into the flour and bake at 150C until set. Once it's nicely baked, drizzle the syrup onto the top of the cake. Allow it to cool before slicing the cake into half and drizzle more syrup onto the cake layers. This prevents it from drying.

I whipped the heavy cream until I obtained soft peaks. Do not overbeat this.

Weigh out appropriate quantities of strawberries before cooking it with the sugar. The strawberries would release water so I wouldnt be too worried if it appears dry. I then pureed the semi-solid chunks of strawberries and place it back into the pan to reduce.

Incorporate the mixture with the whipped cream and allow to set slightly (not too runny). Place one portion of the cake in the cake tin and pour the strawberry mousse before topping it with the final cake layer.

I let the strawberry mousse set overnight and had to smooth out the sides abit as it wasn't as even as I would have liked it to be. Smear your cake with sufficient buttercream and top it with fresh strawberries. Done!

Hong Kee

This is my 3rd or 4th post on this restaurant, simply because I can't get enough of this place. I am, afterall, a sucker for home-cooked food, especially after a tiring day at work.

Seafood omelette~ fluffy omelette with added prawns and some chives. Delicious.

Stirfry Chinese vegetables with oyster sauce and garlic~ another simple dish that pleases my tummy when I am not feeling too well.

Braised pork belly with pickled vegetables~ once upon a time, this used to be something we would often have whenever we dine out in Malaysia. And it is still a favourite in my books. Melt-in-your-mouth pork fats that falls apart easily. There is sufficient sauce to drench your rice with, if you like your rice moist like yours truly:)

Billy Baxter

One thing I missed the most whilst in Malaysia was the generous breakfast portions that is commonly served in most cafes or restaurants. Regardless of where you go, you can be assured that you will be served something decent and delicious. On the second day after arriving back in Australia, my sister and I could not resist having a hearty Aussie breakfast at a nearby cafe.

Thankfully for us, the Parade offers a vast variety of cafe choices. We can head to Cibo for a good cuppa or to Argo for a scrumptious sandwich or even Mantro for something a bit more brunch-ish. As we have not been to Billy Baxter's before, we decided, why not?

Green tea latte~ something different and a good way to kick start the day.

Plenty of seating space, ideal for people like us whom likes to randomly rock up at places.

The big breakfast~ nicely cooked bacon pieces, poached eggs, tomato and toasted bread.

Egg benedict~ I missed the vinegar-ish hollandaise sauce, best consumed with poached egg sitting atop freshly toasted bread. Delicious!

Publika in Malaysia

Today's blogpost is a bit of an elaboration about my foodie adventures in Malaysia. I am sure most of my friends have been to the places that I am about to describe and having been away for such a long time, I will need to stay in Malaysia for a few months in order to scout out all the tasty Malaysian fare!

Welcome to Publika, a newly opened (maybe 2 years?) food heaven for the younger generation. From Chinese restaurants to sushi bars to dessert cafes and places to have a good booze with friends, this outlet definitely caters for a vast variety of residents. My sister and I were fortunate enough to drop by despite it being the last week for us!

The Bee

If you have a group of friends just love to gossip and share secrets with each other, this would be the place for you. Plenty of seating area, both indoors and outdoors. The outdoor area is nicely decorated with flora and vintage-ish wooden tables and chairs were utilized. Not only do they serve hot food and drinks, but they do have a unique selection of ice cream flavours to choose from. Sadly, most of the flavours have ran out when we popped by:(

Not as creamy as the ones I get in Australia but it still tasted really nice. They do have interesting local flavours such as gula Melaka and Guinness so do give that a go if you're bored of the classic ice cream flavours;)

Overall, I found The Bee to be a tad pricey for drinks but for the sake of a good location and attentive staff service, it's probably worth the sacrifice.

Yeoh's Bak Kut Teh

We did not know where to go for dinner and ended up in the food court. Somehow there's this outlet hidden in the food court? Unorthodox indeed.

Fried you tiao is a must have with bak kut teh. It somehow brings a nice texture and oily element into the broth which makes it sinful and delicious at the same time.

Plenty of seating area as well and service is relatively quick.

Pork ribs in a claypot. Finger licking good despite the mess.

The notorious pot of broth, meat, mushroom and tou fu pok. I do enjoy a nice pot of broth when the weather's gloomy. I feel hungry now :(

Namoo

Quirky and adorable, anyone? Yes this place cried for my attention, of which, I happily obliged. Too bad for my fellow companions as this is a dessert cafe hehehe.


See what I mean? Why are the Koreans and Japanese always coming up with adorable items to attract my attention?

Modern and contemporary decor sets an easy going atmosphere.

A warm cup of tea to get those conversations rolling.

Korean pancake topped with strawberry jam and a dollop of ice cream...hmmm...

Potato cake. To be honest, this cake is more savoury than sweet. A little heavy as it is quite dense but yummy nonetheless.