[Melbourne 2022] Queen Victoria Market

 

It was one of my to-dos for Melbourne. Visiting a morning market!

We were going there to grab a quick breakfast, but the weather was a tad gloomy. My friends had warned that unlike South Melbourne Market where it has a food hall, the area for hungry diners to sit and eat at Queen Victoria Market was rather limited.

fancy seeing Musang King here

Ivan wanted to grab a bratwurst for breakfast, while I wanted to try borek. So off we went to get our stuffs. Hence went to queue for the donuts.

Bratwurst Shop & Co

The Borek Bakehouse

The staff at the Bratwurst Shop was lovely. She was patient in handling customers' preference on the toppings and sauces etc.

The queue for the Boreks may be long, but it moved quickly.

that familiar van

cute packaging

American Doughnut Kitchen - 5 for AUD7.50

fluffy and lovely jam

bratwurst

hot and yummy

Cheese & Spinach Borek @AUD4.80

tasty savoury breakfast

All the food that we tried that morning, tasted good. Key thing was, eat it fresh. Borek portion was good for one if you have it as a main. But best to share amongst two pax if you want to try some other foods. The bratwurst sausage was bursting with flavours and the sauerkraut was likeable. Donuts was the perfect ending to the meal. Jam was sweet but not overly so.

We had to run as it rained soon after we were midway through our breakfast.

American Doughnut Kitchen

Website: https://www.adk1950.com.au/

Business Hours:

Mon and Wed - Closed

Tue, Thur, Fri -  7AM–3PM

Sat:                          6AM–4PM

Sun:                         7AM–4PM

Bratwurst Shop & Co

Website: https://www.bratwurstshop.com/

Business Hours:

Mon and Wed - Closed

Tue, Thur, Fri -  6AM–3PM

Sat:                          6AM–4PM

Sun:                         9AM–4PM

The Borek Bakehouse

Business Hours:

Daily

Tue, Thur, Fri -  7AM–5.15PM

Wed:                        7AM–4.30PM

Sat:                          7AM–5.15PM

Sun:                         7AM–5.15PM

[Melbourne 2022] Supper Inn 宵夜店 @ Chinatown Melbourne

Hence, Tracy and Ivan says this place brings back memories. It is an establishment that has been around since, well, almost forever and thankfully, we manage to get a table in this restaurant on a Tuesday evening, for our late dinner.

Supper Inn

The place was certainly bustling. The place was pretty packed with diners enjoying their dinner with a bottle of wine.

menu

jasmine tea

We placed our orders for congee, and a few other dishes. The congee was lovely and only AUD12 per bowl. We shared amongst the 4 of us. Good flavours, and with adequate ingredients.

century egg pork congee

 

yummy smooth Cantonese porridge

The appetizers were good too. Deep fried food with congee? That's a power combo right there! The salt and pepper squid was lovely as the squid was tender and the batter pretty flavourful plus not that greasy.

Salt & Pepper Squid

baby octopus and jellyfish

On the other hand, if you like chewy, then go for the baby octopus dish. Not sure what was the actual name of the dish but I preferred the smooth and thick jellyfish over the chewy octopus. The sauce was soy sauce based.

prawn hor fun with egg

The prawn hor fun was basically wat dan hor (flat rice noodles in egg gravy) (滑蛋河). The prawns were of a good size, bright and firm. The eggs were awesome as well. Overall, tasty but the rice noodles could've enjoyed more time on the wok for more of that smokey flavours.

stir fried beef in black bean sauce

The Stir Fried Beef in Black Bean Sauce was lips-smacking good too! Strong flavours and the beef was nicely tender. Addictive and can't stop eating even when stomach space is full. Just don't look at the oil on the plate after you've done eating.

Overall, the food was tasty and staff was efficient. Expect to spend about AUD35 per pax.

Supper Inn

Address: Level 1/15 Celestial Ave, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Supper-Inn/153690991329647

Contact: +61 3 9663 4759

Business Hours:

Daily: 5:30pm–2:30am

[Melbourne 2022] Diner on Franklin (Korean Kitchen)

I was staying nearby, and this place is just 5 minutes walk from the hotel. To read more on the hotel experience, click here. Actually, Diner on Franklin is just a few minutes walk from Queen Victoria Market. But be careful as you might walk past without realizing it. Reason being, there wasn't any signage that indicated the restaurant name.

shopfront

The system here is pretty simple. Have a look at the menu, decide what to eat and order at the counter. Pay for the meal either by card or cash, have a seat and the food will be prepared and served to you thereafter.

owners busy preparing the food

sitting by the window

The menu had limited items but one could find Korean street food like tteokbokki 떡볶이, gimbap  김밥 as well as bapsang 밥상. The rice dish came with a main such as tofu stew (spicy), kfc (korean fried chicken), beef bulgogi or stir fried pork, and accompanied by side dishes.

Contemplated for a bit and decided to try kfc, and one could choose the sauce for the chicken. Sweet chili or soy garlic.

kfc bapsang

Wow, the rice portion was like alot! I think the rice could feed 2 pax. Loved that the meal came with kimchi, salad and cauliflower.

one serving of vegetables

yummy cauliflower

eat this rice skewer (떡꼬치) before it gets cold

fried chicken

The boneless chicken was chunky and fried to a golden crisp on its exterior. The inside was juicy. But the soy was a tad sweet, so on hindsight, a spicy sauce would be better to go along with the rice. The kimchi was the type that I liked as it was mature and tangy. Helped to cut through the sweetness. The spicy sweet sauce from the tteok kochi was also good with the purple rice.

There is no wonder why I felt super duper full after this meal. Not only there was big portion of purple rice, there's the rice skewer and cauliflower and all these are really filling. One could never be hungry after this meal!

The dressing on the salad was pretty strong towards the bottom of the dish. 

fried dumpling

While I was munching on my fried mandu, I saw the other tables had fried shrimp ontop of the fried dumplings as their side dish. Why I didn't get one? =(

The small burnt cheesecake was cute and a good finale / dessert to the meal.

one bite cheesecake

First day and first meal in Melbourne, successfully completed.

Do you think I had dinner/supper that night? Here's a hint.

Diner on Franklin

Address: Shop1/245 Franklin St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diner_on_franklin/

Business Hours:

Monday: Closed

Tue - Sun: 1:30am–8pm

Homecooked Food in Kajang

Finally went home in July after years of absence. My younger sis showed how much she missed me, by cooking up delicious food. Actually, this is my conjecture only. Haha! Truth is, she has always been the better cook since, I don't know... forever, I think. At the moment, she is the only family member that cooks on a daily basis. Eternally grateful to her for being there with and for our elderly parents.

Here's a collection of the good stuffs I had for that few days when I was at home recently.

Day One (Dinner)

fried rice

radish pork ribs soup

The grains of the fried rice were well defined, and texture of the rice was good. Diced french beans and carrots gave it a crunchy texture and some colour. Of course, must have egg. Pair this with a hearty bowl of soup. Chunky radish and carrots as the base, meaty flavours from the pork ribs and a tad of umami-ness from the dried oysters. Throw in one or two honey dates for the natural sweetness.

We have some homegrown chili padi, so cut chilies was a must for my meals.

Day 2 (Breakfast)

Penang-styled char kway teow with clams

Impressive plate that had legit awesome flavours. The generous amount of small clams and chinese sausage provided savoury-sweetness to the plate. Kway teow was bouncy and each strand was well coated with the dark sauce. Sprouts were juicy and the chives 韭菜) added authenticity to the plate. My sis said she use special sauce and sambal meant for ckt for this.

Day 2 (Dinner)

three dishes (三菜)

brinjal petai in bean sauce

turmeric baked drumlets and wings

steamed white pomfret in soy sauce

All these dishes actually made me wanted to have more rice. But, need to control... 

Day 3 (Breakfast)

chicken feet wanton noodles with char siew

Day 3 (Dinner)

stir fried lettuce with garlic

simple panfried fish

Hakka zhar yoke with black fungus (客家黑木耳炸肉) 

This meal was double wow! The zhar yoke was lovely as the pork belly was tender and so easy to (over)eat. No funky porky smell. The black fungus is one of my favourite foods and it pairs well with the zhar yoke (Cantonese) or zhar bak (Mandarin).

Panfried fish is a simple delicacy that I had always enjoyed. Just rub some salt all over the fish and panfry each side till cook. Take extra care for the head and usually need to baste it for it to be a little bit crunchy. The drizzle lightly with soy sauce and drop some chopped spring onions to garnish. Pour over a bit of the hot oil over the spring onions.

My sis said we have some white chili padi and asked if I'd like to try. Ok, although I've never heard of it before.

white chili padi

Turned out that it was not exactly white, just a very very pale shade of green. But it was indeed more spicy and more fragrant than the normal birds eye chili. Hmm, 1.5 times more spicy I'd say.

Day 4 (Breakfast)

Taiwanese-styled breakfast of shou zhua bing (手抓并)

I think my sis missed travelling and this breakfast was reminiscent of Taipei. Home version means you could add more greens (shredded lettuce) and a thicker piece of spam. Yums!

Thank you sis!

6ixty 7even Restaurant & Bar @ 67 Neil Road

Went back with a group of friends as promised. Read more on our previous visit here. This time round, we opted for the upstairs dining experience.

table for six

Got ourselves a bottle of red, while some of us were having cocktails to start.

cheers~

Fries and wine, why not? Our small bowl of truffle fries were so delectable as it was served piping hot. Yums!

Truffle fries with gruyere cheese and truffle aioli @$15

Korean Yangyeom Style Crispy Chicken Karaage @$14

Pan Roasted Foiegras, Caramelised Granny Smith Apples, Mulled Wine Raisins, Feuille de Brick @$26

Loved the chicken karaage as it was well fried and not too tiny to bite. The foie gras was a tad challenging to be shared amongst so many of us, haha! 

Kurobuta Pork Chop Bone In, 250g @$42

For mains, we ordered the pork chop, chicken roulade and braised beef cheek. Everyone loved the mash that came with the roulade because it was so naturally sweet. The beef cheek was the standout dish for it was so flavourful and tender. Hits all the right spots. Loved the pork chop as well but it was just 250g. Limited edition but was good enough for everyone to have a taste.

Crispy Roulade of Farmed Chicken @$28

Signature Connor Stout Braised Beef Cheek @$32

To end our meal, we had the Basque Burnt Cheesecake. It was lovely.

Basque Burnt Cheesecake @$20

Cosmopolitan @$16

Had fun hanging out with the monthly buddies. Cheers and see you again!

Expect to spend about $80 per pax, inclusive of a drink.

6ixty 7even Restaurant & Bar (67 Restaurant)

Address: 67 Neil Rd, Singapore 088898

Website: https://6ixty7even.com.sg/

Contact: 6988 6767 

Business Hours:

Closed on Sundays.

Mon - Sat: 3pm – 10:30pm