Storm in a Teacup

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Viva latina!

I don't think I can ever get enough of Spanish/South American cuisine! The totally addictive tapas culture of taking little bites here and there, the invigorating flavours and the sweets... :D We discovered Churrisimo (839 High St, Thornbury), a newcomer to the never-ending row of long time pizza shops and Greek cafes while searching for coffee one Saturday afternoon. The cafe only serves tapas and desserts for now and tries to recreate an atmosphere of Spain and her flamenco culture.

A yummy afternoon snack of freshly made churros and thick Spanish hot chocolate!

La Plaza de Mercado is a popular Spanish/South American festival held around end April at the Queen Vic Market. There are performances aplenty and a Brazilian batucada band was working the crowd when we got there :)

Of course, our noses led us to the food stalls - we shared Seafood paella and Potato pancake.

Leche asada - a sweet milk and cinnamon custard pudding similar to creme brulee.. YUM!

Lots of churro stalls, all claiming to be the original! I also found a stall selling homemade Argentinian alfajores... sorry, no pic!

Labels: chocolate, churro, latina, spanish

stormiii at 8:30 pm

1cups of tea

Sunday, April 20, 2008

J Cafe

Another cheap and good authentic Japanese bento cafe in the city. J Cafe (167 Exhibition St) seems to be rather popular as the cafe was packed at lunch time Saturday. I had the Sushi Burger set with prawn & avocado, korokke and miso soup for A$15 :D

Labels: bento, japanese, korokke, sushi burger

stormiii at 9:57 pm

0cups of tea

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Manic weekend!

What a weekend :P Here's a peek into what I get into (sometimes!) when the weekend rolls by... Friday evening - I caught up with Hui Yi at Kimchi Lunchbox (652 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn). The food is cheap and good - yummy Sundubu jigae (thick kimchi soup with tofu) and a Pork Bulgogi set.

Saturday was a very big day for Felix, Endang, Eka and myself :D We flexed our stomach muscles and started with lunch at Kota Raya (Shop 12/ 2107 South Princes Hwy, Springvale). Apparently this is one of 3 or 4 Kota Raya restaurants in MEL serving cheap, hawker style Malaysian food. Everything about the place feels like it's stuck in the 80s!

Most of the dishes are priced at $7.90. I had Roast Chicken Rice, a dish that delights the senses when one has a mighty craving for it!

Time for afternoon tea! Following Emi's blog entry, we visited one of my favourite suburbs - Fitzroy :) Babka (358 Brunswick St) which means grandmother in Russian, has cute matreshka dolls painted at the entrance.

The cosy cafe/bakery has a most inviting atmosphere and I'd wished I had the time to sit and people-watch after a satisfying meal :)

Babka has a womanly feel with pretty waitresses in black aprons and a gorgeous flower display at the coffee counter.

The menu features mainly Russian and a little Hungarian/Polish fare. Here's our order of Blintzes filled with cottage cheese, honey and lemon... YUM!

Horses on the road when we stopped at the lights!

Dinner at TGIFridays at the Jam Factory (Chapel St). Bring on the margaritas! Unfortunately, they were pretty weak margaritas :P

Jack Daniel specials - steak and sampler including chicken, shrimp and ribs. Jack Daniel refers to the dark sauce, which tasted suspiciously like kecap manis :P

Let's not forget Sunday - the weather turned cold and we returned to Coco Lounge at Kingsway (Glen Waverley) for their cococino (hot choc with coconut). Coffee and cake go together and I couldn't resist the white choc cake :P

Labels: cafe, cake, eat, melbourne, weekend

stormiii at 9:46 pm

0cups of tea

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Cheng Teng

I missed this soup/dessert big time during the Chinese New Year celebrations here :D Finally got down to making it at Margie's kitchen - another taste of home for us!

Made with the hearty goodness of home - a bowl of longans, dried persimmon strips, barley, lotus seeds and gingko nuts.

Labels: chinese new year, dessert, soup

stormiii at 9:43 pm

2cups of tea

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Hausfrau Bakery

Saturday afternoons at Yarraville in Melbourne's west must be the best time to explore it's many delights :) A small but hip suburb with a touch of bohemian, one can find unique fashion labels, the art deco themed "Sun" theatre and yummy shops tucked into tiny corners. We decided to have afternoon tea at Hausfrau Bakery & Cakes (32A Ballarat Street, Yarraville). And yes, that is an apron hanging at the entrance :D

The locals undoubtedly know where to head for their tea fix, as the cafe was buzzing and the smells of freshly brewed coffee drew us in. They even have giant sized cutlery!

Everything is kept quaint and old fashioned from the staff's head scarves to the cute crockery. Popular Austrian/European cakes such as sacher torte, madeleines are sold.