Melbourne escape part 4: Press Club

Heading here would be the climax of our trip. We were initially intimidated by the setting's elegance but serving staff made us felt at home asap:)

72 Flinders Street, Melbourne

Bread~ kinda tough for me..was extremely difficult to tear so I ended up not eating this at all-.-

Our experience began with the Symposium degustation ($120 for 5 meals which is not very expensive considering the quality of the food).

Pumpkin consomme with scampi~

Poussino~ a mushroom affair..extremely tasty..you have been warn:)

Pan-seared salmon ontop a bed of potatoes ~

Pork served with vegetables, a slice of potato and mushroom~ apologies for the lack of description..had obviously forgot about the food details after sooo long:(

Veal with chocolate sauce~

Chocolate compote~

Chocolate souffle served with an alcoholic tasting sauce and candied orange peel~ very good although I prefer the Aphrodite;)

Rose scent:)

Aphrodite~ one of the most beautiful desserts I have ever laid eyes on. Pannacotta with rhubard jelly, white chocolate, pomegranate, sugar dusted rose petals and passionate sauce. Looks good, tastes superb..words cannot describe the beauty of it:) A MUST TRY!!

Overall, fast and efficient service although some staff were quite impolite (had expected better service coming from a fine dining place. Food is extremely delicious and reservations is a must. There's also a little Press Club next door although no celebrity chefs working there:S

Best part of the whole visit? I didn't manage to speak to Callum or George because I was in the washroom!! Apparently they came to our table for a short chat but I was stuck in the toilet (apparently cleaning my shoes from rain splashes)!!!

p.s: if in Melbourne, do not take the taxi because service is horrible and rude...some drivers are nice but MOST of them are fussy with their fares...imagine not having any future customers!

Melbourne escape part 4: LuxBite

Reasons why I love LuxBite:
- super friendly staff

- yummy range of macaron flavours

- brightly lit interior

-peaceful surroundings as it's outside of CBD

Watermelon yoghurt macaron~ sooo yummy :p

Wholemeal waffles with poached pears and butter cream~ not bad at all;)

Meringue monster~

With 3 fantastic layers, each boasting a unique mix of sweet and sour taste~ Very creative and beautifuuul~~~^^

p.s: I wish I was in Melbourne during summer...I wanna work in LuxBite:((

Melbourne escape part 4: Tiamo

Day 4 was yet another hectic day but this time, we were at the museum. Why? Tutankhamun's final world tour ends in Melbourne before heading back to Cairo. Being a huge fan of Egypt since young, I wouldn't want to miss this opportunity despite the pouring morning rain:))

The museum exhibited a vast variety of artifacts (but no mummies) and visitors were given an insight of the pharaoh's life. Lots of myths going on:)

We exited the museum after 2 hours (yea, there were heaps to read) and walked to Tiamo, another recommended outlet by a Melbournian friend. Service was excellent and this outlet can get busy fairly quick.

Coffee~

Caesar salad~ average standards although I was expecting more..

Pizza with olives, sliced pieces of ham and mushrooms~ oven-roasted to perfection:)

Tiramisu~ strong coffee essence but the cream was unnecessary though...I think the cake stands fine by itself:)

Melbourne escape part 4: Coconut House

Dinner with the twins! Coconut House is one of the Malaysian students favourite makan spots and they sure know how to eat:)


Chicken rice~ recommended by the twins. Fragrant rice and perfectly cooked chicken. Looking at this picture's making me drool all over again:))

Nasi lemak with sambal, sunnyside egg, curried cabbage, fried anchovies, cucumber slices and fried chicken~ I apologize for the very yellow picture but I can't help it if the surroundings influence the picture colour:( Sambal here is awesome btw^^

Melbourne escape part 3: Koko black and Petaling Street

We embraced the third day of our Melbourne trip with a stroll along Bourke Street Mall and Swanston Street, my favourite eye-candy lookout of the city:) We then stopped by Petaling Street, a very popular stop for students. Fast and efficient service.

The most popular dish. Steam or fried fish topped with fried garlic and slices of scallions. For only $12.80, inclusive of rice, this is a clear crowd favourite. One can get sooo full just from one serving of fish:S

Pattaya fried rice~ apparently the recommended dish from a certain website. Not the best tasting fried rice so far but presentation's okay..I would still recommend the fish:)

After lunch, we decided to stop by Koko Black, another favourite chocolate outlet in Melbourne. Extremely crowded during peak hours. Best is to get here before lunch time:)

Chocolate shake~ I like how the chocolate syrup drizzles down the glass nicely:) Reminds me of some vintage autumn wallpaper.

Chocolate tart served with a citrus syrup, pistachio pieces and vanilla ice cream~ very very dark chocolate but doesn't taste like dark chocolate. Goes extremely well with the chocolate:) yummilicious

Shall update more soon. I have a big big plan coming up so wish me luck. Ohh.. and wish me luck for my placement portfolio. It's taking longer than necessary to sum up everything=/

Melbourne escape part 2: Max Brenner

But first, a picture of the Churros with chocolate dipping sauce (for supper lol)

Peanut butter milkshake~ shoooo good and very peanut-y.

Chocolate souffle~ more like a chocolate fondant to me but heck, it still tasted awesome:)

Filled with chocolate-y goodness for the chocoholics:)

Dessert pizza topped with marshmallows, cornflakes, coco pops and some white chocolate buttons~ very sinfully yummy. There's 8 pieces for sharing so do order this if you happen to love pizza and chocolate:)

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