[TRAVEL EATS] Melbourne - Da Hu Peking Duck Restaurant, CBD. Fortuna Noodles Express, Phillip Island. Hutong Dumpling Bar, CBD

Wow, it's  been a week already! I've been sick ever since Thursday and it just took a turn for the worse on Friday and Saturday so I'm really glad that I'm feeling a bit better now. Since I've been sick, I've been spending more time at home and so I started catching up on my anime and manga. Because of that, I started reading Tokyo Ghoul out of curiosity since I've been a bit more interested in the horror genre in manga. Strangely, I feel like when it talks about eating, it really reminds me of Toriko. Where Toriko is a manga that talks about the appreciation of food, Tokyo Ghoul really makes me question what I am eating in front of me. It doesn't change my standpoint but I guess it does make one shudder when reading about the gourmet restaurant in there. If you've read Tokyo Ghoul, I hope your stomachs aren't churning thinking about it! But however it is, after all, this is a blog that talks about food, so obviously I lean more towards Toriko's way of things.

Without further ado, let's get into what other places I visited in Melbourne!

Da Hu Peking Duck Restaurant, CBD

Actually, I visited this place the first time I went to Melbourne as well and didn't think it was anything special but I appreciate it now haha. The duck seems consistently good and it's in Chinatown so it's really convenient to go to! Located at 171 Little Bourke Street along with many other Asian restaurants, it can be a bit hard to find 'the one', however my sister and her boyfriend swear by this place and visit it every time for their Peking duck when they come to Melbourne.

I always like watching them slice it into pieces so beautifully and quick! Really gets you to start salivating when the duck looks so good being served in front of you! If you're curious, we ordered the Duck Special Banquet (for 2 people) - $69.80 which was called 'Duck four tastes' in Chinese and consists of an entree of Duck Sang Choy Bow, Duck Bone and Beancurd Soup, with the main course of Roast Peking Duck (whole) and Duck Meat Fried Rice or Noodles. We chose the fried rice because we wanted rice haha.

Although looking rather unappealing there, this Duck Sang Choy Bow tasted pretty standard. I personally prefer my dad's version that he made for me once when I visited his restaurant in the past but the sauce in this was very well balanced with the lettuce. There was way too much radish in this for my liking but the lettuce tasted very fresh and crunchy and accompanied with the strong flavour of the sauce made it taste very refreshing with a bit of savoury flavour. It's really the perfect entree to the start of your feast! It really gets your appetite going!

I was really looking forward to what this would taste like but unfortunately, this was the most disappointing dish in the banquet. Apparently, it didn't used to taste like this but well, maybe it changed :( This Duck Bone and Beancurd Soup sadly tasted like roasted duck cooked in water, mixed around for a few minutes with cabbage or lettuce (I forgot!). It was very lightly flavoured and so was a bit refreshing and not heavy but the duck pieces were rather tasteless because of all the water which made it even more saddening! The soup tastes like water and the duck pieces didn't have the nice strong flavour of the duck anymore making it lose its' essence. Well, the texture was still there I guess.

I don't know why, but I think we were so excited to eat the Peking Duck that I forgot to take a photo of it LOL. Well, I have the pancake! I used to think that all pancakes taste the same but boy am I totally wrong! The pancake here is amazing. I loved it. It was really super soft and warm and it was the perfect size and fluffiness! It wasn't too thick or too thin and there were plenty to share with four people! The Peking Duck this time around was a bit drier than the last time we came here but the skin was crisp and filled with the flavour of the roasted duck. Definitely loved this the most. The pancakes just made it taste so soft and tasty <3

I know what you're thinking! It looks like normal fried rice haha. But surprisingly, this tasted much better than I thought, I really didn't expect much from fried rice but this one was good. Like really good, I really enjoyed it. Since the fried rice itself was only lightly salted, you could really taste the duck flavour as the main highlight in this dish. The fried rice complemented really well with the duck and made sure to play a good supportive role for the duck in your mouth. Each bite made me like the fried rice more and more. Definitely have a duck piece in each bite, it changes the whole dish.

The banquet was for 2 people, so we thought that we might need an extra dish just in case. We ended up being so full from just the banquet though haha! Anyway, this Braised Pork with Soy Sauce in a Clay Pot ($25.80) was really juicy. It was very soft and tender! It literally melted in my mouth. If I  didn't have so many duck pancakes, I definitely would have eaten more of this! If you're a fan of fatty pork, you'll probably like this. It was filled with fat and flavour haha. It's definitely best accompanied with plain white rice because the taste is rich enough to stand by itself. It really doesn't need extra flavour in the rice to fight with it.

Final verdict? I'd come here for the pancakes again the next time I come to Melbourne!

Fortuna Noodles Express, Phillip Island

As a tourist visiting the penguins (they were so cute!), we really didn't know what restaurant to choose to eat at. We ended up walking around until we found this restaurant at Shop 2, 96-100 Thompson Avenue, Coves with some seating and it was run by Asians so we decided that they've gotta know their stuff! (Hopefully..) I mean, I'm an Asian that only eats haha!

As a lover of Hokkien noodles ($12.50), I couldn't resist the temptation of picking it from the menu. I think the best thing about this place are the reasonable prices and the big portions! I really thought it tasted exactly like ones I could find in Sydney! I loved how saucy this was. Every string of noodle was literally soaked in sauce! It was a tad bit too sweet but the texture of the noodles were cooked to perfection and the char siu was tender. I was very satisfied with this dish!

Yuum! I really liked this fried rice! It was spicy and sweet at the same time making it a really good combination with the gigantic pineapples and well tossed rice! In addition, all the greens and meat makes it have a good balance of veggies and meat.

Another favourite of mine was the Satay Chicken Chow Ho ($12.50), this one was a bit too spicy for me after I ate a quarter of it but the satay sauce was really fragrant and flavoursome. It had lots of carrots and other vegetables tossed with chicken thigh meat which was really tender and soft. Chicken thighs have always been the best part of chicken for me and it's satay sauce so I definitely enjoyed this even if it was a bit too spicy.

Last to the fray was the Nasi Goreng ($11.50), it was a bit spicy but still tasted pretty good. It really had the feel of normal fried rice packed with ingredients. 

I personally loved how big the portions were and was very full and satisfied after we finished.They weren't stingy at all with the ingredients and everything tasted just like an average Chinese restaurant here in Sydney. It tasted kind of like home.

Hutong Dumpling Bar, CBD 

Due to us coming home very late back to the CBD after our trips to Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island, we failed to secure a place at this bustling dumpling restaurant twice. Thus, we were determined to try Hutong (14-16 Market Lane) before leaving Melbourne no matter what. There's quite a few seats but it's probably best to book if you want to ensure there's a spot for you.

A staple to any Shanghai restaurant is Siu Long Bao ($11.80) with 8 pieces to share. There wasn't anything special about this one, pretty standard. Maybe the skin was a bit thicker and was filled with lots of soup but I think the taste was rather average. Well, it's siu long bao so I'm satisfied as long as I get to eat it haha.

These were my favourite of the bunch. The Wontons with hot chilli sauce ($10.80) consisting of 8 pieces was really nice. It wasn't extremely chilli because it also had a tinge of sweetness in the sauce making it perfect for me! I always like a tinge of chilli in my food even though I can't take heaps of chilli, it really adds to the flavour! The skin was quite thin and tasty making it very easy to swallow and enjoy. A must try!

These were the biggest disappointment for me. I was looking forward to these Pan-fried Dumplings ($13.20) but the skin was really thick and very moist and sticky. I really didn't like the texture of it. I personally prefer a more crunchy but soft texture so I didn't like these. I feel like they were so soft, as if they were steamed for too long.

We were a bit excited to try Duck Meat Dumplings ($9.80) since you don't get to see this at every restaurant and it was pretty average. I really liked the skin though, it tastes like a thinner version of the skin of prawn dumplings at yumcha. The duck made it an interesting combination but I would personally eat other buns instead. But I do love these types of skin where it's thin and soft. 

We were going to order more dumplings but then we realised that the State Dumplings and Braised Beef Brisket in Claypot ($24.50) house boiled pork dumplings in it and so we chose this. This wasn't really what we expected. The flavouring was more like soup rather than sauce and the meat wasn't as tender as it should be. After eating my dad's super soft version at home so many times, I couldn't like this. I guess this is what happens when your dad's a chef lol! In addition, it was very chewy! I was literally chewing for a minute on each piece. The soup was nice though..until we found a hair in it lol. These dumplings also had very thick skin but the pork inside was really nice so I didn't mind it that much.

I always order Peking Noodles with Meat Sauce ($13.80) whenever I go eat Shanghai dumplings and so we definitely had to try their version! Personally, it was a bit too wet for me and the taste was a bit plain compared to the usual I eat back in Ashfield in Sydney. It tasted better with hot chilli sauce but yeah pretty standard.

We were really hyped up about this place and so we were pretty disappointed overall. For me, I believe I like Ashfield dumplings much better. Price range is more reasonable at Ashfield and I prefer their buns and dumplings more. I personally didn't think this place was anything special.

Well then, the next post will be a bit different from my usual because after being inspired by my friend, I've decided to do a favourites post! Yay! It's probably going to end up being very long because it's a 2014 favourites but hopefully it'll be an interesting read! Until next time!

[TRAVEL EATS] Melbourne - Mr Pilgrim, Chadstone. Il Gambero, Carlton. La Roche, St Kilda.

Apologies for the lack of updates, I've been juggling with having more shifts and working longer hours due to it nearly being CHRISTMAS TIME!! Which is an exciting and depressing time since you're probably spending as much as you're earning. Anyway, I promised last time that I'd talk about the places I went to in Melbourne so here they are! Beware that it might be a long post since I'm combining a few restaurants and cafes I visited in order to not drag on these posts.

12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road

Wee! I had the chance to visit the 12 Apostles! Naturally, a few of them aren't there for us to see anymore but it was still a beautiful sight to admire, especially with nice blue skies! It's a quick walk with different spots for you to take photos and if you want to enjoy the scenery even more, you can book a scenic helicopter ride for an even better view!

Mr Pilgrim, Chadstone (1341 Dandenong Rd)

Located on the rim outside of the shopping centre is Mr Pilgrim which is a nice little cafe with quite a few options for brunch. It's convenient when you're tired and want a break before you start your shopping spree again (which is exactly what we did!). It has a quiet ambience with a good mixture of liveliness and peaceful chattering amongst the tables. Even though it's only a stone's throw away from the shopping centre, it really takes you away from the hustle and bustle.

Do these make you drool!?! No? Well, they did for me! The moment I placed my eyes upon them, I vowed that I would get dessert no matter how full I might be after my meal. Well, it was brunch, so why not?

You've ordered at the counter and are now waiting for your food, so why not entertain yourself and others by playing tic tac toe? Actually, more than the game itself, I just had to take a photo of this because of the moustache pieces! They're so cute and funky! Needless to say, I played with the moustache pieces and lost most rounds haha!

Ever since I met my overly obsessed mango friend years ago, I've had this tendency to order a Mango Smoothie ($6.50) when my favourite option of rockmelon isn't available. However, this disappointed me. It was thick, creamy and milky with a nice fluffy and frothy texture but it had a really subtle mango taste that if you didn't know it was supposed to be mango, you wouldn't even notice that it was there. Although, this wasn't the best, it was cold and refreshing for a nice warm day.

After scrambling through photos on the Internet, we opted for Mr Pilgrim's Favourite ($15.50) which was gluten free. It's essentially their big breakfast option on the menu with mushrooms, sausages, eggs, bacon, tomato served with bread, Unfortunately, the bacon was slightly charred and the bread was a bit burnt and hard to cut. But the most unsatisfying part was the fact that the eggs were cooked thoroughly and so there was really no egg yolk oozing out the way I like it. Other than that, the sausages were soft and delicious and the mushrooms were amazing! I liked how thinly sliced they were and how juicy it was!

We've all got a soft spot for eggs, so when we chanced upon this photo on the Internet, we HAD to get it! This is the Spanish Baked Eggs ($14.50) which tasted wonderful! I would definitely recommend trying this! It was a tad bit oily and had way too many onions for the onion hater me but surprisingly, the onions didn't taste too bad. But the best thing about it was the soft and fluffy texture! In addition, every bite was so filled with flavour! It was slightly spicy with the chorizo sausage taste, which was wonderful and it complemented beautifully with the egg and cheese. It definitely tasted even better with the bread on the side! Be warned though, it can be slightly sickening after eating half.

Yes, I wasn't kidding, we got dessert too! Well, we shared this between four people so it wasn't overwhelming but dayum this was huge! It doesn't look too huge in the photo but I can attest that it was. It really was!! The Tiramisu slice ($7) was really good, it was very very creamy and was super soft and moist (which I absolutely adore!). Maybe a bit too much mascarpone cheese and coffee syrup for my tastes after having a couple of bites but it really brought out the flavour of it really well so I ain't complaining. It's one of those that'd make you really happy and guilty at the same time haha!

Il Gambero, Carlton (166 Lygon St)

After walking around Lygon St wondering where to dine amongst the crazy amount of shops to choose from, we decided to come to Il Gambero. Surprisingly, Lygon St felt like a Westernised version of Chinatown in Sydney where there would be at least one person outside of each shop trying to reel you in and promoting their menu etc. It felt really weird and interesting at the same time lol!

We had a few different pastas we wanted to try and so we grabbed the Mixed Pasta Platter (m $42.9) where we got to choose our choice of three different pastas on the menu served on a platter. After some consideration and discussion, we decided on (from left to right), the Pollo fettucine (pan-fried chicken pieces, mushrooms, spring onions and cream), Il Gambero fettucine (tiger prawns, garlic, fresh chilli, parsley, olive oil and a touch of napoli sauce) and Marinara spaghetti (clams, mussels, prawns, calamari, and scallops with olive oil and garlic). 

The pasta here was quite good! Our undisputed favourite was the Pollo which had extremely creamy sauce that had a strong cheesy taste. If you're a fan of creamy cheese pastas, you'd definitely love this! The texture of the fettucine was well done and they were generous with the chicken, mushrooms and creamy sauce. I really craved for more!

It literally goes in order from left to right of our most favourite to the least favourite of ours haha. For the Il Gambero, it was a bit spicy but very refreshingly spicy which made it a big plus for me! It tasted like chilli mixed with tomato sauce and complemented well with the prawns as it didn't take away the freshness and taste of the prawns.

For the Marinara, we thought it came with napoli sauce but apparently that was optional and we didn't realise it and so this ended up tasting rather plain. It probably would've tasted much better if it had napoli sauce because the spaghetti was really soft and springy, it was basically the perfect texture! But as I mentioned, it had a subtle cheese and olive oil taste that really made it just taste like plain pasta with mussels.

After a long day of walking, we were famished by dinner time and thus we decided to get a Large Super Pizza ($20) as well. It had hot salami, ham, mushrooms, capsicum, olives, onions, prawns, pineapples and anchovies for toppings and we all thought it sounded really good but it was surprisingly unimpressive. I'm not sure if the olives had an alcohol taste or not but every time I bit into one, there was this strong and bitter smell and taste of some sort of alcohol that made this pizza very dissatisfying. I really liked that it was a thin pizza (I love these!) but the crust was hard and chewy. In addition, there sadly wasn't a prawn on every slice and the other toppings were a bit scarce as well. The sauce tasted just like tomato sauce mixed with some salt. Overall, I wasn't impressed with this.

If you're planning a visit here, I would recommend trying the pasta, especially the creamy one! But, overall, not too bad, not too good. I really wanted my pizza to taste better :(

 La Roche, St Kilda (185 Acland St)

If you haven't noticed by now, my family and I love going around and trying out the big breakfasts everywhere and anywhere we can find. This time, my sister and her boyfriend recommended that we should at least try this place since we're all the way here in Melbourne and I have to say, it was worth waking up and crawling here like a zombie.

Sorry for the blurry photographs! Just realised that they were blurry haha! Obviously, I was so engrossed with digging in that I forgot to check whether it looked good or not haha! The Big Breakfast (normally $18 but is reduced to $12 on Saturdays and Sundays!) comes along with poached/fried/scrambled eggs on toasted Turkish bread with bacon, sausage, tomato and hash brown. I opted for the poached eggs because I ALWAYS get scrambled but I totally regretted it after seeing my friend's one (below)! 

The poached eggs were tiny but pretty good. It would've been better if it was cooked for a shorter amount of time so that the yolk would ooze out more though. I was a bit sceptical about the Turkish bread at first but it went surprisingly well with the food! It was hard to cut but it was rather soft and fluffy. The hash brown was impressive. It was soft and lightly crispy on the outside, the way I love it! Bacon was pretty good, it was a bit dry but it was good with the fat hahaha! Surprisingly, the sausages were my least favourite because I usually love my sausages but this one tasted like one of those cheap sausages you buy that doesn't have much flavour and doesn't taste like any real meat was in it at all. However, it was nicely crisp outside and that made it taste a bit better.

This was the scrambled eggs version with a side of spinach!! Doesn't the portion look bigger and better?! I really regretted not getting the scrambled eggs after seeing it and once I tried a bit from my sister's plate, I wanted to cry! The scrambled eggs were so much better!! They were extremely soft and gooey and it felt like it was melting in goodness inside my mouth. I don't even know if that makes sense, but it was absolutely marvellous! I was really tempted to steal more from her haha!

Overall, I'd definitely go back to eat the big breakfast here when I visit Melbourne again in the future!

[FOOD RECOMMENDATION] Pine Inn Bistro, Concord

I'm back from Melbourne!! Well, I've been back for a few days but I've been exhausted and thus I haven't posted for a while but the Melbourne travels and eats will be up soon! I didn't eat anything really spectacular besides big breakfast though so that was a bit disappointing! But, I really enjoyed my 4 day trip! Nevertheless, back to the post!

I've actually talked about this on WeekendNotes before but I think Pine Inn Bistro (19 Parramatta Road, Concord) has definitely improved since then. It's around the Burwood area and easy to get to via car and there's even free parking! Space usually isn't a problem for a table for 4 and there's also seating outside. However, I generally opt for the seating indoors because others smoke outside. Environment is relatively clean and isn't very noisy considering the amount of people. It also accommodates a bar really close to the restaurant and so its convenient for some drinks too.

The appeal of this restaurant is the fixed price of $11 for any of the following meals such as Steak (T-bone or Rump), Fish, German Kranskey Sausage, Pork Chops, Lamb Chops and Calamari. They all come along with chips and salad, making it feel like a very balanced meal (to me!). Hahaha, I mean, if I'm eating salad willingly, it's good enough! Also, there's the choice of Spaghetti Bolognaise if chips and salad isn't your thing.

Doesn't this look amazing?! I haven't been here in a while and so when I picked this up from the counter and took it to my table, I was exhilarated! This is the T-bone Steak smothered with mushroom sauce with Chips and Salad ($11), it's definitely better than the rump steak and to my surprise, they really did cook it medium rare for me on this occasion! In the past, my call for medium rare mostly turned out medium well and it made me rather disappointed but this time, I was really satisfied! The meat was tender and maybe a tad bit too chewy but it was still very good. There's also an overflowing amount of mushroom sauce (which I love!) all over the steak and plenty to dip with your chips! It's got quite a few mushroom pieces and you can definitely taste the mushrooms! It's really tasty and definitely the best mushroom sauce for me. The chips soaked with mushroom sauce under the steak are very soft and mushy and the overpowering taste of the mushroom sauce will render the salt on the chips non-existent. I tend to alternate between chips with sauce and chips without so it's not too sickening haha. But a good choice for a break would be the salad. The salad doesn't have an overwhelming amount of dressing (which is great!) and it's quite creamy and a bit sweet. I think it complements well with the salad and keeps it refreshing but also tasty. I tend to stay away from any salad I see but I have to admit, I kinda like this one.

Yes! It's mushroom sauce again! But this time, it's the Pork Chops with Chips and Salad ($11)! If you're not a fan of steak like my sister, I would recommend for you to try the pork chops. I believe their pork chops have definitely improved as well, it's supremely tender, and very nice and soft. It surprisingly didn't taste weird with mushroom sauce because I was thinking my sister was a bit weird eating it with this sauce (sorry sister! lol) but it was actually pretty good. It enhanced the flavour of the pork chops and I have to say... I just love mushroom sauce in general haha!

I haven't tried the other dishes but I have tasted the German Kranskey Sausage with Chips and Salad ($11) and I would suggest that as another option if you're not into steak. But if you are, T-bone steak is the way to go! I'm in love! I always come around here when my brothers and I are craving for some fast, cheap and good steak. It's definitely the most satisfying steak I've had if we're on a budget and want a quick meal. Cheap and good food always makes it into my favourites after all! <3