Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

07 November 2013

Great Chefs at Angliss | Tony Twitchett of Taxi Dining Room

I’ve been very busy lately since I have family visiting me from overseas. Trying to juggle keeping them entertained with work is difficult and added to that, my boyf (Chris) has his aunt and uncle visiting as well!
It’s been a busy month and will continue to be a busy month when another group come to visit next Thursday but it’s always lovely to see my cousins after such a long time.

I recently had 5 days off work due to the Melbourne cup public holiday (actually I took Friday off). On Friday, Chris and I went with his mum, her friends and his aunt and uncle to William Angliss for lunch. My brother and his girlf were on another table (Sorry to crash your date hehe)

William Angliss is a school specialising in culinary and hospitality. For their final year student chefs, they have a special restaurant – Angliss restaurant where they host various events. Occasionally, they’ll have themed buffets cooked by the students and attended to by their hospitality students. Everything is presented like an actual restaurant; it even has a bar connected. Wasn’t a fan of the buffet last time we went, everything seemed a little overcooked.


On Friday, they had their last Great Chefs at Angliss Program. This program attracts many big names in the cooking world (all of whom have their own famous restaurant in Melbourne) and gets their top chefs to lead and teach the students how to cook their specialty dishes. Lunch has 3 courses with wines for each course and dinner is 4 courses with wines to accompany. I was so excited!

We booked for the Friday lunch session – the head chef was Tony Twitchett from the famous Taxi restaurant in Melbourne’s Federation Square and wines sponsored from Tahbilk winery.

We began with a fresh bun with butter, the bun was so well made and very fresh. The outside was a little crispy and the inside was super soft. I love fresh bread! 


This was then followed with our entrée, Smoked brook trout, horseradish cream, capers and salmon roe. Omgoodness, this was delicious! I’m usually not a fan of fish but I literally ate everything off the plate! It was that good. This course was paired with a Rosanne-Marsanne-Viognier, which is a white wine and our favourite wine for the afternoon.

The staffs there were so well trained, so soon as something is empty, they’ll take it away or fill it up for you. We also ordered a lemon lime bitters because Chris had to drive that day and wasn’t allowed to drink too much. The great thing about this place is that all drinks are included in the $50pp cost. So cheap!

The main was a crispy Szechuan duck, pumpkin daikon salad and 3 spice caramel sauce paired with a Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre red wine. The duck was melt-in-your-mouth delicious, it was really well cooked and the sauce was divine! The pumpkin salad added a good touch to it and helped to cleanse your palette so the sauce is not too overwhelming. Chris said this dish was very well put together.

We were all looking forward to the dessert wine – since the majority of our table likes our wines sweeter and usually dessert wines are sweeter but it let us down. The wine they paired with the dessert was a Tahbilk Chardonnay Pinot Noir which was nothing close to sweet. The dessert however, was not a letdown. We had a Myrtleford buttermilk, champagne rhubarb and strawberry foam. Presentation was beautiful and taste was just as beautiful!

Definitely will come back to Great Chefs at Angliss 2014, Chris and I already have two chefs in mind (Taxi chef – Tony Twitchett been one of them) so when the schedule comes out in February 2014, we’ll be rushing to book those two sessions.

Angliss Restaurant
550 Little Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000 


Tony Twitchett’s restaurant:


Taxi Dining Room
Level 1, Transport Hotel, Federation Square/Flinders Walk,
Melbourne VIC 3000

15 October 2013

Alex's Birthday

Chris has been recommending a Japanese Restaurant called Shira Nui to his friends for a while now. We finally had the chance to go there to celebrate Alex's birthday.

It's a small restaurant so we had to book earlier and thankfully secure the last table for 8!

The food there is melt-in-your-mouth amazing!

Happy Birthday, Alex!
Below is what we ate that night, seriously making myself so hungry now. Definitely coming again!

Was such a wonderful night filled with great food and awesome company! Going to come again to try the teppanyaki bench!

Shira Nui
247 Springvale Road,
Glen Waverley, 3150
Victoria, Australia

25 September 2013

Simon's Peiking Duck

Chris and I caught up with our friends, Cassy and Ethan for a dinner over Peking Duck. We decided to go to Simon's Peiking Duck. This is one of those places where their speciality is Peking Duck and everything else on their menu isn't all that great. The restaurant is really busy, so busy that they had to split into two dining sessions - 6pm and 8pm. We booked almost 2 weeks in advance for the 6pm session on a Saturday night. We decided to order 2 ducks for the night between 4 of us (as recommended by the waiter upon booking). You have to order the ducks beforehand otherwise they'll have no ducks for you and you'll have to order something from their menu. 


There are two duck sets available, one with noodles and one without. Duck soup, bean sprouts and peking duck is included in both sets. We decided to have one of each set. (Since it was Cassy and Ethan's first time dining at this restaurant, they wanted to try a bit of everything.) Ethan didn't try much since he came a whole hour late and had a super big and super late lunch so wasn't all that hungry.

If you're expecting 5 star service, this is definitely not the place for you. It's really loud - like a typical Chinese restaurant (also proven with the incorrect spelling in the name of the restaurant) and lacks service - no body cares about you unless you call them over. The owner, Simon does have a sense of humor though, he goes around table by table to teach you how to fold your peking duck - and don't you dare wrap it incorrectly!


Another thing I didn't like was that they tried to get us to eat faster so they can prepare the tables for the next session. We weren't even done with the first part of the meal and they kept piling the food on our tiny table. No time for us to sit around and enjoy the good food and the company.

Oh, and this place is cash only - another boo! But definitely worth trying.



Simon's Peiking Duck
197B Middleborough Road,
Box Hill South, 3128

12 September 2013

The Boatbuilders Yard


Chris, his mum and I went to attend an investors and home owners expo a few Sundays ago. It was pretty much a huge empty hall filled with mini white tents and individuals exhibitions. We scheduled our day to attend the talks that we were interested in. Most of them were talking about how to buy your first home/which location is considered the 'hot spots'. Pretty interesting day.

The talks were pretty much back to back so we didn't have much time to do anything else. We did however schedule some time to go to a nearby cafe - The Boatbuilders Yard - for a quick lunch. Chris' mum recommended this place. It was a wonderful choice, the ambience was great and the views were amazing (overlooking the Yarra River).

Chris and I both ordered the Wagyu Burger and Chai Lattes, Chris' mum has a beef pie and pumpkin soup. Their servings were huge! If I had known, I would have shared with someone. Regret max.. 

The cafe is situated on a pier and is designed like a Boatbuilders workshop, it feels like a cosy hangout - perfect to relax and share a cuppa with some friends. They even have umbrellas and blankets for you to borrow in case it rains or is too cold outside. So considerate

The one really unique thing about this place is that we had to wait for our buzzer to go off - indicating our food was ready and then we had to walk all the way out and around the cafe to reach a little window (resembling a canteen) to pick up our own food. That was something new for both Chris and I, we had no idea where we were going and had to look for and follow the signs.

I'll definitely come back here again on a day when I have more time so I can relax and not feel too rushed.

07 September 2013

Homemade Italian

It's not everyday I get to cook for my family. Usually, when I come home from work, my mum has already prepared dinner or I don't even make it home for dinner at all.

This particular day, Chris and I decided it would be nice to whip up something special for my family. We decided on a 3 course Italian meal - a bit ahead of ourselves there! Luckily, we had the whole Saturday evening to prepare. We decided that the menu would include: Pumpkin Soup, bruschetta and lasagna! All made from scratch - delicious!


Below are the final products, yummmy ~ Success!



 Notice: my dad's inner Asian - tomato sauce and chilli sauces to accompany everything! Even Italian --" 



26 August 2013

Ten Minutes by Tractor

Chris and I decided to go to a winery known as 'Ten Minutes by Tractor' to spend our Saturday. We have driven past this place many times but have never taken the opportunity to go inside as we thought it'll just be like the many other wineries that we have visited. Wine Tasting and a small store/café linked to it. We thought it would be nothing too special.


We decided we'll visit this time around because we heard some really great (!) things about this place. Chris' mum also recommended it to us after she went for dinner with her friends.


Their menus are seasonal - Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring - with an emphasis on fresh produce, sourced locally if possible. They have their own veggie patch out back and their vineyards are all within a ten minute tractor ride away - hence their name. We researched their chef, Stuart Bell and found that he has won many awards and has previously worked with many Michelin star chefs in the past. We were sold.



We had to book a whole 3 weeks in advance because they were so busy! Even then, we couldn't get a seating for the dinner session so we settled for lunch. Since we knew it was a dégustation menu, we skipped breakfast.

Chris decided to go for the 8 course dégustation whilst I went for the 5.



Here we go. Time to spam the food pictures.



We both started off with the still-warm multi grain bread with olive oil, pink salt and butter.


 Amuse Broche aka the entree before the entree to 'cleanse our palette'
 Trout - cured ocean trout, cucumber puree, horseradish and creme fraiche snow, baby cos, potato salad
 Goat's Cheese - Red Hills Somers Soft, red quinoa, beetroot, avocado, green beans, aged balsamic
 Chef's Selection - Scallops
 Whiting - King George roasted fillet, spinach and fennel, dill gnocchi
 Quail - roasted breast, confit leg pillow, spring vegetables, apple cider and quail consomme
 Duck - breast, sweet potato, cumquat espuma, citrus granola, spring greens 
 Lamb - roasted rump, Jerusalem artichoke, baby leek, pine nuts, golden raisins, leek veloute
 Avant Dessert - A dessert before the real dessert
Carmelised crisp on a vanilla and mandarin custard with pear cubes.
 Chocolate - torte, Michel Cluizel chocolate, raspberry espuma, crispy raspberry canoli, liquorice ice cream
 The amazing view of their vineyard from our table.






















Finished off with a chamomile tea to help us digest and not feel to heavy. Really impressed with the food quality and the service. Even their bathroom was amazing, they had hand exfoliate/cleanser, hand cream and individual hand towels. Was tough to pick a favourite dish, the duck and lamb were way up there. Also, because we both have a sweet tooth, we absolutely loved the avant dessert! 

Worth coming again but probably not any time soon. Burn a hole in our wallet. :( 
Thanks babe for spoiling me x


Did I make you hungry? 

Ten Minutes by Tractor
1333 Mornington Flinders Road, 
Main Ridge, 3928, VIC

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