Miyako Japanese Cuisine & Teppanyaki, Southbank MELB

One of my last few meals in Melbourne before I go overseas, Miyako fitted the bill for a quaint, reasonably priced and delicious stop before we adjourn onto other places to indulge at. Service here is efficient and staff are very friendly so don't be afraid to chat with them if there are questions spinning in your mind.

We ordered the set meals as it worked out to be more economical and we could sample a wider array of dishes.

First up was the cold Japanese salad dish to kick start our palate. Thoroughly refreshing and was a good start to begin our meal.

As a side dish, we ordered a plate of oysters. Each oyster was covered in a different type of dressing be it with ponzu, red wine vinegar with shallot or worcestershire sauce with tomato.

Assortment of sashimi and nigiri~

To begin our teppanyaki menu, we commenced with a freshly cooked plate of beansprouts, shredded cabbage and carrots.

Afterwards, we were served with equal portions of lightly seared scallops, prawns and fish. Without a doubt, the seafood was immaculately fresh and required little additional ingredients to bring out their true flavours.

Up next on the menu was a medium rare steak that had been evenly cubed. As the meat was not overcooked, the steak still retained a good amount of its juices and was extremely succulent to taste.

To end our meal, we were served with Japanese pancake that is filled with red bean paste, served with a side of whipped cream and fruit. It was a little dry but we still managed to clean our plates!:)

Oh, and not to mention that we had a lobster tail prior to dessert. Lobster was cooked with a good serving of butter and fried garlic which enhanced it's aroma. The lobster flesh was silky smooth, sweet and easily pulled apart from the shell.

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, Glen Waverley MELB

I am not a huge fan of chocolates but when I do get the chocolate cravings, it's difficult to get rid of it. Consequently, I needed a quick overdose of chocolate to fix the problem.

Max Brenner has been around in Melbourne for a long time. Not surprising that it's an excellent place to hang out with friends until the wee hours of the night or for a quick chocolate-y dose.

The bunch of us were a bit "itchy" after dinner so I suggested a walk up the road to Max Brenner. The place was packed full of people on a Saturday night but we were fortunate enough to secure a seat and place our order before the kitchen closes.

Dessert pizza ~ pizza topped with marshmallows, cornflakes and slathered with a thick, rich layer of chocolate spread. This is not for the weak hearted as it is very sweet. I would suggest a slice per person.

Waffle with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and chocolate drizzles ~ can't say no to waffles served with a couple of my favourite ingredients. On the flip side, this was not overly loaded with sugar and would be a nice finish to a meal.

Quanjude Peking Duck, CBD MELB

If you ask me to decide on a favourite poultry, it will have to be duck. To be honest, I rarely consume duck back in Malaysia, probably only on special days where us kids have been good enough to deserve a bite haha. Having said that, I had a very memorable duck experience in Beijing 13 years ago and until today, I am hunting down for a place that serves something similar.

Which brings us to today's post, a little experimentation with peking duck at Quanjude. From memory, this was a guarded recipe from the imperial palace's kitchen and it was a dish that is famous in Beijing.

Traditionally, the duck's skin has to be shattering crispy. This is the most important criteria. When a piece of the duck's skin is wrapped with a few slices of spring onions and cucumber, topped with a teaspoon of hoisin sauce, perfection is achieved.

Now back to this place, the entire restaurant is decorated with miniature pieces of duck ornaments, just to remind you that they specialize in peking duck;)

We ordered a whole duck to ourselves and had to order an extra plate of steamed wrapper skins. The cost of the duck is at least $20 more than other places but for the experience, we gave it a try.

Sliced spring onions and cucumber pieces.

I was a little shocked when the plate of duck skin appeared on our table. From my understanding, we ordered a whole duck and so, we should be getting a lot more skin? Was very confused because we were advised to eat it by itself or alternatively, dip it into sugar.

A few minutes later, we were served with a plate of duck meat. The duck meat was succulent but I still couldn't understand why we had a tiny plate of duck skin because the heart of peking duck cuisine is the skin. Overall, it was a confusing meal and it made me doubt my knowledge in this area:/

On the other hand, their fried rice was very fragrant indeed. Simplicity at it's best!

Om Nom Dessert Bar, CBD MELB

Very rarely do I turn down dessert sessions and when I do, it's probably because I have been mischievous before dinner. I must have walked past this place countless of times in an attempt to secure a table.

Moral value of the story? Do not rock up without a booking. Good thing bookings were made and I can finally dine at this exclusive dessert bar. The surrounding is a bit too loud for my liking as it made conversations either really difficult or too loud for comfort.

Me being me could not decide what to have and chose the degustation option whereby I can choose at least three different desserts for a bundle price of $48.

Adelphi rose cocktail ~ could not decline a drink that night as it was celebratory in purpose.

Bombe Alaska ~ it was a show stopper upon arrival at our table. Unfortunately, the waitress who flambe-ed our dessert poured too much of the flammable liquid on our dessert, resulting in a burnt aftertaste on the meringue. Passionfruit, raspberry and grapefruit seems like a sour cocktail in the making but everything was well-balanced.

MagNOM ~ I can't say no to peanut butter inspired desserts and this was no exception. I liked the peanut dacquoise and peanut ice cream (plenty of nuttiness!).

Mango Alphonso ~ I liked the Asian flavours in this textural dish. Choux pastry was like the tie-breaker in this colourful dish where it brought all the individual elements together on a spoon.

Raspberry field ~ probably my favourite dessert for the night. Raspberry and lychee sorbet was a winner and those little baubles of rosewater and white chocolate were a pretty addition to the dish. Only downside was that I found it difficult to eat the meringue as it was quite solid.

Roast potatoes with duck fat ~ in case you're wondering, yes it was good and they do serve savoury food. Worth a try!:)