Bites: Toto @ Victoria Park

Yessh!! The semester finally ends today and its time to celebrateeeeeeeee!  Time to go clubbing, movies and just do nothing xD! :P Okla I would be lying if I said I’m in the celebration mood T.T!  The end of the semester signals the start of a very limited 1 week study break.  Nonetheless the mind does not work well with a hungry tummy.  Before dinner we did some grocery in Broadway, and the uncle at the oriental shop told me that Korean instant noodles stimulate the brain which is good for studies =.=”!  Not that its true or anything but I did buy 1 packet of it ahaha. After doing the essential groceries we went home to have some rest before getting Jim and Kelvin for dinner.  We ordered dishes this time instead of the usual noodles because my sister told us they had some pretty good dishes to go with rice!

And that is well hmmm, partly true?  Luckily enough, 3 of the 5 dishes were worthy of being put up on here:

The crispy fish with ToTo’s fish sauce.  Not sure what its name is but I do know there is a picture of it ahaha. Oh yeah and the sauce is clear by the way :P  Fishman’s dream come true.  He hasn’t had his fish for ages now..!

Butter Prawns.  While its name and picture on the menu portrays all the characteristic of a classic liquid-y butter prawn, be fooled not.  Its really something different.  There is a lingering fragrant of butter all over this dish but its does not taste like it should.  Not as nice as the classic if you’d asked me =X!

Jim’s fav and probably my favourite as well.  The mayonnaise spare ribs were killer stuff.  With the exception of its serving.  Pretty small :(!  I think I had two pieces, Jim had two and the rest only had 1 :(!  But it tasted nice although the sauce was not as thick as the normal Peking ribs coated with mayonnaise.  It was the best of the lot :)!!

Overall, Toto is a good place to eat if you come knowing what you’re looking for. I came here and tried 5 dishes only to find 3 are OK and the other 2.. disastrous.  Horrendous horrendous.  Their sizzling supreme chicken is disgusting and all their stir-fry vegetables are nothing more than a bad joke.  Really a put off seeing the way those two dishes were done.  If you’re here for noodles, I’ve tried the beef hor fun, and the pork & prawn noodles soup which is OK only.  I would have preferred Viet Nosh @ Hampden Road and Tra Vinh @ Northbridge if it was nooodles soup that I wanted.

Ok enough of food talk now. 10 days to exam. 1 month to Melbourne.  Now we’re talking. It’s countdown.

WenY

Back to Basics: Eastpak Core Series Floyd!

After many years of having to lug my messenger bags around, I’ve finally fallen back to the basics.  I realise that having a messenger bag is no help when you have a sore back that feels like a 1000 needles prickling your back or a constant burning feeling =(!

My new backpack finally arrived from the UK today! It carries a 15 inch laptop happily along with some books if required!  Weee~~  The price is ok too! About 70 bucks compared to the $120 price tag in Australian shops!

 

Now all I’m needing is a new laptop to replace the ageing Toshiba which died twice in one day on a cold winter night. OMG?!  Nonetheless a cheap one would suffice!

 

WenY

Bites: Terrazza @ Applecross

It might just be a fortnight ago from my last entry but it feels like forever since I last blogged.  Many things has happened.  From me falling sick to the insane thesis weeks + + loads of other things happening.  This is all too much from my brain to take!!! *fizzles*!  Important dates to remember 7-12-15-18 of June – 2010.  Finals are coming up!  Nonetheless, I’ve been craving for a lot of yummy food this week which… did not turn out too well!  Yesterday I booked Kanta for 6 people.  But I had 7 people in total. My gawd @@! They refuse to sit us.  So we left VERY UNHAPPILY.  The biggest issue was not the fact that we needed to wait.  But it was caused by the fat bitch who so unfriendly replied my requests for an extra sit.  Its not called hospitality for nothing mate.

XL + Me

Today on the other hand we craved for Italian.  We headed to Ciao Italia @ 8 pm hoping for a short wait.  But that ain’t happening buddy.  A table for 6 is a minimum wait of 45 minutes.  Feeling that there was no need to wait, we headed straight to our backup place.  Terazza @ Applecross.  Funny is it not?  I had Ohnamiya at my door step, I went to Applecross.  Now I have Terazza Nedlands, but I am in Applecross for it.  However, it is today that I found a new love.  So what did we order?

My noob sister.

Kelvin’s  Spaghetti Ambrusco. 

He think it is OK only.  I can not help but second his statement.  This noodles lacked taste so badly.  The flavour is so subtle it caused a certain dissatisfaction within me. =X!

Sister’s and Yv’s Penne Mafiosa with Penne being replaced by Spaghetti. 

Top grade pasta @ Hampden road but the quality is not as good here at Applecross.  The tomato taste was too strong for my sister’s liking and the asparagus were on the raw side!

Xin Ling’s Penne Gondola with the Penne changed to Fetuccini.  I can’t help but love the girls.  Their choice to not have Penne is something I agree with so much.  I hate Penne @.@!

She liked her pasta.   But she could not do it justice and so I finished her bit.  I loved the mixture of sundried tomatoes and mustard when I had it.  Yumms!

My love:

The lamb shank here is kickass.  I never thought I would order this considering the disastrous shank I had @ the one in Nedlands.  This was definitely different.  The lamb shank here is so tasty and oh, the ever so lovely mash that came with it was fantabulous @.@! My sister and Xin Ling thought it was a yummy dish as well.  I bet they were jealous they did not order this hohoho!

Another view of the lamb shank!

We were done for after the meal.  Or at least I was done for.  I had the lamb shank, some of XL’s fettuccini gondola and my sister’s ala vodka.  Filled to the rim!! But the girls look like they’ve just started after the meal and were craving for some tiramisu.  XL on the other hand opted for a cheesecake to share!

Tiramisu @ Terazza!

Mmmm, may the Fat be with you. xD!  It was too bitter for Xl and I.  Probably signifying an alcohol overdose.  But my sis seemed fine with it.  She and Yv finished two of this Tiramisu.  Once each!

The Pina Colada cheesecake.  As its name suggests, this cake had a tropical intent with a liquor weapon.  While I am a fan of tropical, I’m not quite so keen with liquor.  The Pineapple tasted like its been swimming in alcohol its whole life and gosh, even the shredded coconut was liquor-ed!  @.@!  It should be nice to some people, but just not me!!

Terazza is a place that I would come to eat quite a fair bit every semester.  Maybe 2-3 times?  The food here is always decent although the pricing is a bit more expensive than other restaurants.  The one in Applecross is no exception.  Yummy food.  Oh, but note that the covered outdoor sitting was crap.  It suddenly became a waterfall during the rain @@!  Glad we sat just at the border between the alfresco and the inside dining area.  One thing I realise is that the quality of the food varies from one location to another despite being the exact same thing.  The Ala Vodka is usually superb @ Hampden while this one is just “OK” only.  The lamb shank here is awesome when compared to the one @ Hampden road.  OMG! Dilemma dilemma.  Next time:

If you’re feeling like pasta –> Hampden

And if you’ are feeling like Lamb Shank –> Applecross.

WenY

Weekends: Korokke & chilling @ Green Co. @ Leederville.

The time has come again.  Exam is exactly one month’s time away. Gosh @.@! Time is simply ticking away! However I was inspired enough to wake up early and prepare some potato croquettes for brekkie.  The croquettes were divided into two very unpopular choices.  Salty with perfect texture or mild salt with bread texture fk!

Nonetheless, after making the first horrible batch which did not have the correct texture, I braved myself for one more try with garlic salt (in which I put a little too much).  But it was PERFECT this time.  Just the way the Japanese love their Korokke.

My work space.

Hand pressed and shaped! Om nom nom nom!

The end result of these salty ones were delicious in texture and flavour but it just a tad too much salt!  After that I begin my assault on the never ending assignments :(!  But god I cannot let myself be slave to the books can’t I?  My sister dropped by and we headed to Leederville for a drink after my dinner of fried noodles and chicken in which YH prepared nicely!

Trademark of Green & Co.  the hanging balls of light.

One of the only drinks I would have at a cafe.  I NEVER drink coffee and it has been 21 years and counting….

Two drink and 1 cake encourages a good talk :D

Unfortunately…

As tilted as the picture is, I turned my head as much when I was tasting it.  Did not taste good at all :(!  No wonder I’ve heard complains about this place being crappy for cakes!

Back to reality.  TOmorrow is another Monday.

WenY!

Bites: Ohnamiya @ Applecross

Yesterday was a different Saturday for me. Instead of the usual sleep in, I got up around 8-ish before heading out for a session of tennis! And that was Super NICE!  After tennis I went home for a good shower before meeting up with Yobi for lunch @ Dim Sim cafe, formerly known as Hoi’s Kitchen which turned out to be yummy!  The squid tentacles were the crispiest in Perth.  Next time I’ll be sure to grab my camera and do a full review on it!

 

After that I came home about 3-ish and did some work until my sister rang me up and told me she was super hungry. Again it was time for so yummy food! My sister was fed up of Northbridge so she decided to try somewhere new.  Her friend recommended us a Japanese place called Ohnamiya @ Applecross which I blindly followed only to realise that they have a branch just outside my house called Oh Namiya… ohh gawd @@!.  I have just confirmed that the menu is exactly the same except for a few desserts which were not on Oh Namiya’s menu.

When we reached there about half pass six, the place was packed like canned sardines.  Pretty damn impressive for a “take away” place. On a side note, there was a pizza place next to the Ohnamiya which was empty.  Felt so sad for the dude that owns it.  Fortunately the wait did not take more than 20 minutes before the friendly waitress had us sitted.  Having waited for some time gave me a chance to decide what I will be having for my dinner :()!  Truth be said, it did not take long considering the Ohnamiya was famous for 3 particular dishes in which 1 of it included Mayonnaise for the win!  I am known to be sucker for Mayonnaise especially when paired with fried foods or teriyaki dishes.

Some of the food that we ordered:

My Chicken Terimayo  @$9.90!  Loved the Teriyaki sauce, loved the burned dollops of Jap Mayo, loved the dish!

Om nom nom nom!!

My sister ordered the chicken katsu curry.  Not sure how much it costs but I think it was about $12.   She enjoyed her meal of curry and crumbled chicken.  But YH and I was not fond of the curry because it was not sweet enough.  I think sweet Japanese curries are the only ones we like!

YH’s and Feng’s  both ordered Karaage with Sushi Bento @ $12.80.  He said it was nice but he felt that Toraya @ Subiaco does a better job with the Karaage :*(.  Not that it is was not nice, just not THAT nice.  At least he did not give it a fail like the Karaage @ Taka which he hates to the max ahaha.  Yvonne on the other hand ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Deluxe Bento @ $14.80 which is a two level bento meal.  Superb value and taste.  She said the food is an OK.

At the end of the meal, everyone was filled to the brim.  But two people were not finished. Hohohoho.. My sister and I decided to finish it with a popular specialty dessert of this place.  It was the Green Tea Panna Cotta @ $5 a serve.  A dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, before firming it gelatine mixture.

Arial view of my yummy dessert!

Yummy yummy!

There are several reasons why I liked this dessert and could have another 1 despite being filled to the bream.  Firstly the Penna Cotta is not that kind dessert that will have you frightened of sugar for the next decade.  A consistently smooth texture throughout the dessert made it a pleasure to the tongue. Also, the cream felt light and it did not make me feel sick.  Lastly it is just so pretty to look at :)!

Oh and believe it or not, my camera had problems taking a good photograph of the Panna Cotta because it was so smooth that the macro went bonkers!

All ended good for this meal even though we could have just walked to the one outside my place.  After all the discovery of a yummy Penna Cotta is well worth the distance ;-)!  Hopefully everyone felt the meal was good.  I know my sister liked it and YH was ok.  Hopefully Feng and Yvonne liked it too!!

WenY