Thanh Thanh

This place has finally reopened and we managed to satisfy our Vietnamese food cravings on a cold, windy Sunday afternoon. Who would have thought a sunny weather forecast could turn out to be sunny but yet freezing cold from the chilly wind!

When we were here the last time, the boy and I liked their broken rice dishes as it is as good as some of the other further away Vietnamese restaurants that we have visited. A plus point as we no longer need to travel miles from the city just for cheap eats:)

Apple custard smoothie~ not as sweet as I thought it was but it still had the refreshing fruity taste.

Jackfruit smoothie~ I am on a smoothie roll that day and this was a tad more sweeter than the apple custard version but still delicious overall.

Crispy skin chicken rice~

Not only is the skin crispy, but it is also extremely juicy once you bite past the skin layer. The thin layer of fat lends some moisture to this dish and one could almost feel subtle "popping" sensations in one's mouth from the skin layer.

Combination broken rice~ probably my preferred dish as you do get the complete pack. Roast pork chops, crackling roast pork, shredded pork skin, fried egg, steamed meat slice and a side of pickled vegetables.

The meat is not dry but instead, quite succulent and deliciously well- cooked. Thank goodness the restaurant's standards have not declined since opening up this joint in Chinatown. Stiff competition but I am sure they would fare pretty well against their competitors:)

Looking for a decent Vietnamese outlet in the city area? Look no further:)

Cafe Buongiorno

Sunday night dinner at an Italian restaurant not too far away from my sister's place, the ideal place to head to for something to help us wind down after a party-crazy long weekend (and hopefully get us tuned back into working mode!).

As usual, there would be a variety of cakes, gelati ice creams and biscuits to tempt you with.

House bread~ a must have at any Italian restaurants!:)

Fettucini with bacon in a cream sauce~ simple but satisfying at the same time:)

Buongiorno pizza~ pizza topped with capsicum, mushroom, olives and bacon pieces. Nothing too fancy but I am pretty contended with it:)

I guess I am lucky to be able to drop by my sister's place on most weekends as it is probably quite an ideal food location. There's so many places to choose from and if all the shops are closed, one can easily head to the late night bakery for a good pie or sugar-y bun and maybe a cuppa?

 

Chianti Classico revisited

Was here just last week to celebrate my sister's birthday and thankfully enough, managed to secure a nice table as it was pretty busy on that day. I have been here a couple of times in the past but this time, I have pretty pictures to showcase:)

Breadsticks~ the perfect snack to have anytime of the day:)

A bit of glam from the night. I like how my bracelet's colourful sequins complements the gold cuff really well. Just shows how much effort us girls put in when we go out;)

Complimentary appetizer~ smoked trout on toasted bread, garnished with pine nuts and chopped parsley leaves.

House bread with olives and olive oil~

Cape Sante~ Gently baked scallops with porcini mushrooms, butter, garlic and parsley, topped with parmesan cheese. Interesting textures going on but be assured that the scallop's sweet flavour is not lost amongst the garnishes:)

Mozzarella di Bufala~ fresh mozzarella with cherry tomatoes, vincotto and chargrilled piadini~ a really healthy appetizer but refreshing at the same time.

Rigatoni con Salsicce e Porcini Fresche~ rigatoni pasta in Napoletana sauce with Italian sausage meat, chilli and imported Porcini mushrooms. My brother found this a tad too salty for his liking and he was disappointed as it was a pretty small main dish which can probably do better with more meat and porcini mushrooms in it.

Can't recall the name of this dish but it was a lovely main. Beef was tender and juicy and goes quite well with it's condiments.

Pea risotto with scallops wrapped in pancetta~ this was one of the specialty of the night and once again, was a bit disappointed with the serving size and I found this a bit bland (in my opinion). However, scallops were well cooked and definitely fresh:)

Roast quail with grapes and polenta, served with jus~ this was my main and in terms of portion, was sufficient but the quail was slightly overcooked and I found it difficult to slice the meat off the bone. I resorted to using my fingers to savour the meat. Was a really nice dish though!

Overall, dining atmosphere was really good and I do compliment how attentive the floor staff is. Food was average and was slightly disappointing (had some grumbling happening among my guests) but would love to drop by again and hopefully, my dining experience would be as good as my previous one (as seen here)


 

My Friend Louis

I love starting my day with the right mood and ambience. Feeling positive and brimming with energy is a must have elixir otherwise one might end up feeling down throughout the day.

 I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this place in my search for nearby cafes and I was quite impressed with the interior decor of the little cafe. It was slightly quirky with a classy tone and I couldn't help but glimpse around at everyone happily enjoying the cuppa with friends. Feels good to be surrounded by so many happy people:)

Water and sugar or sweetener sachets available for patrons.

The room next door houses a few interesting furniture items of which, would certainly add a bit of glamour to anyone's living quarters;)

I love leather chairs. Comfortable at it's best.

Big breakfast~ a hearty breakfast of bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and poached eggs with 2 poached eggs.

Ham sandwich~ quite a simple and tasty brunch item but I would like a bit of salad to go with it..just my personal preference:)

Ham and cheese croissant~ Croissants are my absolute favourite snack item, anytime of the day. The delicious butter-y pastry flakes seems to soak up all the cheesy goodness well.

Although there was an extensive array of muffins, biscuits and macarons for the sweet tooth patrons, I had to resist the temptation to nibble on them as I have been misbehaving lately:( Hopefully I would be able to sink my teeth into them on my next visit!:D

Ginger creme brulee tart

I think I have finally overcome my fear of making tart casings. After watching ALL the Masterchef episodes, I have decided to try blitzing my pastry ingredients in a food processor. And so, on that very morning, I took a refrigerated block of butter, chopped it up into cubes and added it to my flour mixture. I then "processed" them and it worked brilliantly:) No uneven-ness at all!

So anyway, back to the spiced custard. I've obtained the recipe from here and after baking these that day, I am fully convinced that I need to get myself THE bourke street bakery recipe book (once I save up for it!).

I did not use their tart casing recipe (as I did not have any vinegar around). I used a random tart casing recipe and it turned out very nice although I didn't really have proper tart tins to bake.

I'm ebay-ing all these items as we speak lol.

Ginger creme bruleetart filling recipe:
360mL whipping cream
5cm ginger
1 cardamon pod
1 cinnamon stick
5 egg yolks
40g caster sugar

Whisk the cream slightly and bring to a gentle boil before tossing in your spices and allowing it to "marinate" overnight. Feel free to adjust the quantity of spices to your liking (I've used more as I wanted that really nice kick of flavours hehe).

On the following day, whisk egg yolks with sugar until sugar's dissolved. Simmer the cream over medium heat and remove to cool. Combine the egg mixture and cream in a bowl over boiling water and continue to stir until it thickens. By then, you can remove it from the heat and allow it to cool but do keep stirring it continuously for better cooling.

Put mixture into tart casings and refridgerate for a few hours. Top it off with some sugar (I've used demerara sugar because I rarely used them) and blowtorch/ heat until nicely caramelized.

The amount of spices I have used. Could have done with more cinnamon though:/

Yummmyyyyyyy! Can't wait to share these little masterpieces hehe:)