Bites: Mr Tulk @ Victoria State Library

Breakfast.  Whether it is a necessity or a growing trend, it has definitely  become increasingly popular over the years.  More and more creative chefs are coming out to invent their flavoursome dishes.  Its amazing how much they can come up with considering I myself have not done too much when I go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast .  It has always been kept simple for me.  Cereal with milk, big breakfast with tonnes of lard in the bacon, sausages and sautéed mushrooms or even sandwiches.  However I had something different when I came to Melbourne.  I went to a breakfast place where its chefs try to do breakfast like painting a Picasso.  The cafe is called Mr Tulk.  It is a highly esteemed place for having breakfast among bloggers and city dwellers alike.

The interior is aged.  I liked how it looks.  The mirror behind me was supported on books.  Some of it was tax law.  Can’t blame them cafe owners really.

 

I went there with Kelvin and Xin Ling after waking up wayyyy past our breakfast time.  We woke up at noon and only reached there at 1.  Luckily they still served breakfast.  We ordered a couple of ala carte dishes.

Xin Ling’s poached chicken with cos lettuce and herb mayonnaise baguette.

 

Kelvin’s flatbread with meatballs, cheese and sugo!  A definite winner.  Like chicken Parmagiana sandwich just got fused with IKEA meatballs but even better.

 

My hash with corned beef with poached eggs served with a dash of mustard. 

 

No matter which way I try to take a picture of it.  It always look miserably small @.@!  But I must insists, as small as it is, quality triumphs over quantity.  I was super sceptical about the whole Dijonnaise mustard thingy but in the end its pungent+peppery flavour really blended well with the starchy hash.  And the eggs were well poached unlike my failed attempts.  The crisp batter along with its hot yummy inside was wohoooooooooooooooooooo when paired with some mustard!

Chicken and lentil soup.  This one was average and it killed my appetite for the evening.  The lentils had me filled to the brim @.@!  It tasted a bit like a Indian styled soup if you’d ask me.  Even Xin Ling and Kelvin felt that way too! Ok put it this way.  Imagine the bread as prata(roti canai) and the soup as dhal. X_X

 

Hot Choc for the soul.  And gawd that layer of froth is thick!

 

Over all the breakfast at Mr Tulk is pretty yums but Kelvin and Xin Ling thinks another place does it better.  Hope I have enough time to make to try the other place they mentioned!  But I have to say, this place is quite good if you have to grab a quick bite before heading off to do something else like err… shopping?

 

WenY

Bites: Menya @ Melbourne Central & Big Mama @ Swanston St.

Speak of Japanese food in Melbourne and I will most probably diss its authenticity.  However, since I have reached Melbourne last Thursday, I’ve eaten at two of these restaurants. Some bloggers even label these restaurants as “fake Japanese”.  Hahah I really cannot withhold my laughter when I read these post.  But then again, in food its final judgement always lies within its taste.  Good or bad.  The first restaurant is a classic that the guys and I have liked since the first time we visited Melbourne two years ago.  This little outlet situated along the few Melbourne Central exits facing Swanston street has the most unauthentic Dons I’ve ever eaten but damn it tastes good.

The kitchen is not Japanese, its Chinese. And the logo, I recently noticed is a cute fat piglet! :D

 

The Gyu Don!  Not like I have not had better but this one tastes really good! And.. cheap!!

 

The Curry Katsu Don!  Mmm the fried chicken was nice but the curry was OK only.  Again, Samurai sets unachievable benchmark for half a decade.

 

Gyoza!  My first few picks since I ate at Menya! This was Chee Rong’s recommendation.  I liked it too!

 

Lastly,This Agedashi Tofu, is not your common fried bean curd with Soy and radish mix.  Instead they put use a sauce which tastes like Tonkatsu sauce and topped it with pickled ginger @.@! The old one tastes a lottt better I have to say.  But this one was not too bad!  Overall this place is a whole lot of love.  The only problem I had in my recent encounter was that the scrapped the burnt bits off the pot and served it :(!

 

The second restaurant on the other hand is something my friends in Melbourne introduced to me when we finally had a small reunion last Sunday.  Its called Big MaMa and its just located along Swanston St. near the old public bath area. And ohh yeah babehh!! Big Mama is big on taste!

Xin Ling, Kelvin and I visited the restaurant for dinner again today and we ordered several MUST TRY dishes according to bloggers and friends.  But before our dishes arrived, my friends and I found the appetizers served to be appealing to youngsters who are not too amazed with the Korean Kimchee.

 

Crispy crispy something that was yums!

 

This omelette was not salty but it was delectable!  So glad my buddies introduced this place to me :D!

 

After all the appetizers were out, the mains did not take too long to arrive!  Then comes judgement day!

 

The Good:Yumm!  The Chilli Chicken Kaarage!  Not the real thing but I liked how the chicken was all crispy and coated with chilli sauce!

 

The Mediocre:The Stone Pot Herbal Spring Chicken was the Mediocre dish.  The glutinous rice stuffing was poorly cooked and the herbal taste was not up to my expectations!

 

The Bad:The Teriyaki Chicken was a highly recommended by bloggers and I must assert that this is =X.  I did not like it even a little bit.  Its more of sizzling hot plate chicken rather than Teriyaki.

 

Other dishes I had in my previous visit include the Sweet and Sour fish, the Chap Ge (noodles) and the Beef with bean curd in Clay pot.  I loved the Chap Ge and the Beef in Clay pot soup in particular!

 

Overall its amazing how even the most unauthentic Asian food tend to be delicious when the combination is good.  Not the real taste but the flavour is definitely attraction!  Everyone loved it and I believe its going to have a lasting impression! (and that includes the horrible teriyaki chicken)

 

WenY

Melbourne Trip II: Queen Victoria Market

Its been a hectic week with little sleep.  But watching Spain advance from one stage to another, however makes up for that.  My first few days was spent around the city for shopping and eating.  One of the places where I had my very first meal was at the Queen Victoria Market.

Morning brekkie:

Bratwurst to share!

This place has been here for ages.  And that applies to the crowd too.  Its not the best thing ever but it tastes quite good.

After that Xin Ling and I had:

Does anyone else remember these little jam filled delights? At only 90 cents, these are Krispy Kreme beaters!!  But these dry guys need a refreshment which is easily found all over QVM:

xD.

Oh and in my last post I wrote about some Solo performance at the Moon which was totally emo?  There was this other guy playing music in the market and he was fabulous.  He added serenades the atmosphere with a happy feel.  So unlike the performance the other guy did at the Moon.

Ok folks, thats all for now.  Will continue updating as soon as I can because I have tonnes of pictures to post up!

WenY