White Mojo Plus, Glen Waverley MELB

One of the few brunches to end the year with and as usual, at a spot close to home. We waited for a good 15 minutes before we were seated. Service is rather efficient; no time wasted from taking orders to serving freshly prepared food at the table.

Iced matcha latte and pineapple juice - not a big fan of the pineapple juice as it tasted as though it came straight out of a commercially prepared bottle. Matcha latte was decent and would do much better with a tad more flavour.

Big brekkie - albeit costing slightly more than a few other establishments, the portion was decent but the highlight for me was the quality of ingredients used. Hash browns were crisp as opposed to soggy, bacon cut had a nice smoky aroma infused into it and the green mash made out of some sort of legume and veggie combination had pleasant aromatics wafting through it. Overall a good feed although big eaters might need to add extra toppings to get their fill.

Chips - just because it was there on the menu and surprisingly both of us love chips.

Mushroom ragout - the best mushroom dish I had was in Adelaide many years ago and since then, I have not come across one equivalent in taste. This one here is not quite as creamy in comparison although I was still pretty chuffed to be dissecting this dish. Excellent utilization of various types of mushroom, sprinkled with a generous grating of cheese and smoked almond crumbs. Vegetarian and carnivore friendly.

Bikanerwala, Clayton MELB

Of late, my laptop has been playing up to the stage whereby most of the external ports do not function despite numerous attempts at reinserting the USB plugs. To make matters worse, I can't seem to utilize gmail and so, have been away from the blogging sphere.

Nothing much I can do at this stage but to look at newer laptop options to hopefully resolve the matter but at least it gave me the freedom to wander off indulging in my many other hobbies. I have took a liking towards sports recently and being the overzealous person that I am, I thought it was a good idea to hit a few shuttlecocks followed by some ping pong balls, all in a two hour timeframe.

Dinner/ supper followed suit and as always, it would be a naughty treat considering that our session ended at close to 10pm. Clayton has a few late night Indian eateries and one could easily pick out the aromatic scent of herbs and spices wafting in the air from miles away.

Mango lassi - a must have in my books. Sweet but not excruciatingly overboard with it.

Goat curry, aloo gobi and palak paneer - ordering was off my hands especially in an area which I lack knowledge of and this was what we ended up with. Each curry dish differed from one another according to its sauce base but all were mildly spicy for us.

I didn't mind the aloo gobi which was a lightly sauteed cauliflower dish, given a small dose of spices in it. Goes well with a piece of warm garlic naan.

Miku Japanese Dining, Doncaster East MELB

Of late, I have been craving for Japanese food and quite specifically, sushi. After a brief introductory to Miku, I was blown away by the quality of each morsel served and knew that a second visit is utmost necesary to fully whet my appetite.

Nori chips - my best description of this rather addictive chips served upon arrival.

The sister opted for a sake tasting platter and albeit not being an expert in this field, I quite enjoyed the strong rice aroma of the dai gingo. From memory, dai gingo often refers to the highest quality sake in the house.

As an appetizer, we were served with pieces of halibut which had been lightly seared prior to being drizzled by a touch of lemon juice. Topped with fish roe and a small serve of seaweed, this got our taste buds excited for the other dishes to come.

Fried tuna fish wings - am not a fan of picking meat from fine bones knowing that my clumsiness could potentially be a hazard but I found this dish rather easy to dismantle as the flesh easily pulled away from the bones. The acidity from lightly dipping it into soy sauce balanced the fish's natural oiliness perfectly without masking any of it's natural sweetness.

Uni nigiri - As most of my family members and close friends would know, I can be extremely picky when it comes to seafood. Tainted by the pungent fishy smell that is often associated with seafood back in Malaysia, I tend to steer away from anything that screams fishy. Having tried uni at the Sydney fish market, a delicacy many describe as a taste of the sea, I recalled squirming at the strong fishy aftertaste. However, Miku managed to change my mind last weekend, serving me an extremely creamy and fresh uni nigiri. No fishy aftertaste and it left me wanting more.

Local tuna was used to prepare our otoro tuna nigiri and tuna nigiri. Being the fattiest part of the fish, the otoro felt smooth on our palate and it's richness was utmost divine. Not something one could indulge excessively in but definitely one of the freshest I had, more worthy than a few places I have visited in Japan.

Soft shell crab roll - I love a good crab roll and this one ticked all the right boxes for me in terms of size of each roll, proportion and freshness of each ingredient. Wouldn't mind finishing this myself had I not ordered other dishes.

Chirashi don - clearly my childhood dislikes had turned into a favourite of mine. Again, a faultless bowl of fresh seafood tactfully arranged atop of sushi rice, each still retaining it's own natural sweetness. If only Miku could be closer to my work place :(

Another light side dish consisting of crisp salmon skin served atop a small bed of sushi rice, dotted with fish roe. Ah how could something simple taste so good.

Sukiyaki udon - we decided to try this dish out of curiousity because traditionally, the thin slices of beef is best consumed with raw egg. A strange combination but somehow it works brilliants be it from the creaminess of the egg or the sweetness of the cooked beef. We made the mistake of letting it cool before we pounce on it tho.

Matcha cheese daifuku - starchy treats are no stranger to me and I loved every bite of this. Would have liked a little more cheesy taste but that could have been because the stronger matcha flavour had overpowered it slightly. Could still taste a bit of saltiness coming from the cheese tho.

Matcha daifuku - I loved their ichigo daifuku but sadly, that had already been sold out. This one is definitely for those wanting a strong kick of matcha for dessert:)

Matcha ice cream served with red bean - the only way to end an already satisfying meal.