Mamak thoughts..and on food in Melb
A thought struck me today. I was making coffee and realized somehow this year, I don't miss mamak as much as I did a year ago. Usually its during late quiet nights in Melbourne that I tend to go "ahh if only I'm at mamak now..."
Maybe when I was back over the summer, we didn't go mamak-ing that often. At least not Murni (SS2's infamously-always-super-crowded-mamak). Always ended up somewhere else because Murni was just way too packed and it was always difficult to find a table and enough chairs. Although their garlic cheese naan is still a fave of mine, by no means its unobtainable over here. Coupla weeks ago, a housemate's mother made some "flat bread" which actually looks/tastes exactly like naan. So much for mamak-style when China-style tastes just as well. Come to think of it, naan is everywhere. We had it with dips for my birthday dinner at Soul Mama (vegetarian restaurant @ St Kilda Sea Baths), where even the the steel plates look just like Murni's plates (the one used for naan/other roti). Weird eh..
Sitting for the Japanese exam in a few hours time, weather's been freezing cold at night keeping everyone up and me moody.. The whole week was pretty much a waste, felt like hibernating under my warm quilt and fortunately my schedule allowed for it. Thursday we actually took the intercampus shuttle to visit Berwick campus. We'd always meant to visit other campuses but never got around to doing it, till now. Its not as far as I thought and only took 20 minutes one-way. Took some dreary pictures and had a look around their uber-small campus. Landsize-wise its some 55 hectares I believe, but built-up space isn't much to talk about. Design was relatively "clean" but we went "aww" when we saw the positively tiny library! Quite quaint with lotsof land, but only 1 cafe and a McDonald's across the road. I still prefer Caulfield :)
Over the past weeks have tried out some restaurants/cafes in Melb. Some have been good, others nothing to shout about..
~ Seoul (city, the one upstairs not the one at Little Bourke St) - Korean food. Disappointed they didn't have "dok pok ki", service was quite bad (they kinda forgot our food), the kind where "tak berapa layan". Food was alright, but could've been better. Give me Kimchi Grandma / 7&7 anyday! (both in Carnegie, highly recommended!!)
~ that new Vietnamese restaurant on Swanston St, opposite Trampoline I think - prompt service, friendly folks with very decent prices. I speak nicely of this place cos first time we were there they gave us complimentary desserts :P Food was the standard fare, not too bad. So far have tried their broken rice and the standard beef noodles. Just like Springvale's. If you're in the mood for wine, they seemed to have a fair variety.
~ Bento in QV (i think thats the name, else look for the signboard) - mix of Japanese/Korean-style food in bento boxes. Its located at the food court area, prices are reasonable but find it abit too oily for my liking. But convenient if you want a quick take-away.
~ Kimchi & Bab, Caulfield East (easy to find. Just turn left at the Caulfield train station) - another Korean place! yupp Di likes Korean food. But a note of warning, their service is absymally slow, compared to the other eateries around. Lunch specials are bento-style bulgogi (stir-fried beef/pork/chicken) but I'd recommend going for the Kimchi-Tchiggae (stew with pork/tofu/kimchi/other bits 'n pieces). It comes with the standard side dishes, perfect for winter! And I must add, the tchiggae is better than Kimchi Grandma's..
~ De Los Santos @ Brunswick Street, Fitzroy - Spanish restaurant (remember to book as seating is limited). We had their tapas (the calamari recommended), paellas (tried abit of both - seafood mix and duck & sausages mix) I personally prefer the latter, washed down with a nice glass of sangria :) Service is prompt, dessert range isn't very wide though. Better to go with a bunch of people and you'll get to sample more dishes, like what we did.
~ Lemongrass @ Lygon St - Thai restaurant at the corner you won't miss it, its diagonally across the road from Casa del Gelato/Koko Black. We were there for dinner last weekend, ordered 2 curries, 1 mixed stir-fry, tom yam goong (essential le) and their coconut rice. It wasn't exactly fantastic for the kind of price we were paying, but I suppose Melburnians think its an institution since it caters to their tastebuds (most of the patrons were non-Asians). Food wasn't spicy enough for the group's liking, but imo the service was good. They have a different menu for lunch so perhaps one day I'll drop by again for the laksa.
Myohmy sounds like all we do in Melbourne is makan makan makan eh.. oh well there isn't much to do here at night anyways. Anyone wants to join our weekly "outings" leave me a mail/msg :)
Maybe when I was back over the summer, we didn't go mamak-ing that often. At least not Murni (SS2's infamously-always-super-crowded-mamak). Always ended up somewhere else because Murni was just way too packed and it was always difficult to find a table and enough chairs. Although their garlic cheese naan is still a fave of mine, by no means its unobtainable over here. Coupla weeks ago, a housemate's mother made some "flat bread" which actually looks/tastes exactly like naan. So much for mamak-style when China-style tastes just as well. Come to think of it, naan is everywhere. We had it with dips for my birthday dinner at Soul Mama (vegetarian restaurant @ St Kilda Sea Baths), where even the the steel plates look just like Murni's plates (the one used for naan/other roti). Weird eh..
Sitting for the Japanese exam in a few hours time, weather's been freezing cold at night keeping everyone up and me moody.. The whole week was pretty much a waste, felt like hibernating under my warm quilt and fortunately my schedule allowed for it. Thursday we actually took the intercampus shuttle to visit Berwick campus. We'd always meant to visit other campuses but never got around to doing it, till now. Its not as far as I thought and only took 20 minutes one-way. Took some dreary pictures and had a look around their uber-small campus. Landsize-wise its some 55 hectares I believe, but built-up space isn't much to talk about. Design was relatively "clean" but we went "aww" when we saw the positively tiny library! Quite quaint with lotsof land, but only 1 cafe and a McDonald's across the road. I still prefer Caulfield :)
Over the past weeks have tried out some restaurants/cafes in Melb. Some have been good, others nothing to shout about..
~ Seoul (city, the one upstairs not the one at Little Bourke St) - Korean food. Disappointed they didn't have "dok pok ki", service was quite bad (they kinda forgot our food), the kind where "tak berapa layan". Food was alright, but could've been better. Give me Kimchi Grandma / 7&7 anyday! (both in Carnegie, highly recommended!!)
~ that new Vietnamese restaurant on Swanston St, opposite Trampoline I think - prompt service, friendly folks with very decent prices. I speak nicely of this place cos first time we were there they gave us complimentary desserts :P Food was the standard fare, not too bad. So far have tried their broken rice and the standard beef noodles. Just like Springvale's. If you're in the mood for wine, they seemed to have a fair variety.
~ Bento in QV (i think thats the name, else look for the signboard) - mix of Japanese/Korean-style food in bento boxes. Its located at the food court area, prices are reasonable but find it abit too oily for my liking. But convenient if you want a quick take-away.
~ Kimchi & Bab, Caulfield East (easy to find. Just turn left at the Caulfield train station) - another Korean place! yupp Di likes Korean food. But a note of warning, their service is absymally slow, compared to the other eateries around. Lunch specials are bento-style bulgogi (stir-fried beef/pork/chicken) but I'd recommend going for the Kimchi-Tchiggae (stew with pork/tofu/kimchi/other bits 'n pieces). It comes with the standard side dishes, perfect for winter! And I must add, the tchiggae is better than Kimchi Grandma's..
~ De Los Santos @ Brunswick Street, Fitzroy - Spanish restaurant (remember to book as seating is limited). We had their tapas (the calamari recommended), paellas (tried abit of both - seafood mix and duck & sausages mix) I personally prefer the latter, washed down with a nice glass of sangria :) Service is prompt, dessert range isn't very wide though. Better to go with a bunch of people and you'll get to sample more dishes, like what we did.
~ Lemongrass @ Lygon St - Thai restaurant at the corner you won't miss it, its diagonally across the road from Casa del Gelato/Koko Black. We were there for dinner last weekend, ordered 2 curries, 1 mixed stir-fry, tom yam goong (essential le) and their coconut rice. It wasn't exactly fantastic for the kind of price we were paying, but I suppose Melburnians think its an institution since it caters to their tastebuds (most of the patrons were non-Asians). Food wasn't spicy enough for the group's liking, but imo the service was good. They have a different menu for lunch so perhaps one day I'll drop by again for the laksa.
Myohmy sounds like all we do in Melbourne is makan makan makan eh.. oh well there isn't much to do here at night anyways. Anyone wants to join our weekly "outings" leave me a mail/msg :)
posted by xaverri at 3:05 am
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