David's Restaurant

I don't enjoy eating at Asian restaurants that have a Westernised spin on it. I feel as though it loses it's sense of originality and culture (if owners do it wrong), but it is a good concept nonetheless. When you think of an Asian restaurant, you think of waitresses that can't speak English properly, but speak Money fluently anddddd you think of fast service, dirty kitchens and cheap menus. True?

Giraffe has been working at David's Restaurant for months, but I was yet to dine in. There had been the occasional visit here and there to see him, but tonight I decided to order something from the menu. It is safe to say, I was not disappointed. Truth be told, I have never been a fan of eating alone. I like to share my food and talk and laugh and talk and eat and talk during a meal. But over time, you appreciate that time alone. Eating and observing your surroundings... it gives you time to read a book or read the news on my iPad. Friday night was spent eating alone, even if Giraffe was working and floating around.

^ the corner of the paper menu, a fish eye effect.

^ DIY Shredded duck salad with four wraps. $14.

I didn't order a lot of food because I had already eaten some nibbles before work. The duck salad had a really strong taste that was too overwhelming. I really enjoyed the concept of making my own wraps, because I love going to peking duck places. At a small price of $14, you get the best of both duck and wrap worlds. I would endeavour to go back, the portion size was fantastic. Apparently they do a really good yumcha on a Sunday as well. The location (Prahran) of this place is a bit out of the way, off Chapel Street near Revolvers, but it's worth the travel. The interior is really nice and the waitresses speak english and are very pleasant people. 

1.2.

^ This is what got me REALLY EXCITED about the dining experience. I love ordering hot beverages with my meals. I'm used to seeing your mediocre white teaset with a boring teacup. But this design really blew my mind. It was a THREE IN ONE PIECE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As you can see from image 2, it is served as a plain teacup. It cost me $5.50 but I got another one for free from a different waiter, so I did not mind paying that price one bit :) When they served it, they mentioned that if I were to take the top piece out, put it back in slowly or else it would overflow. I was sitting around waiting for my teacup... until I started playing around with it. I understood what he meant by overflowing... The leaves are in a separate glass piece, as you can see from the image below. When the tea and hot water have finished infusing, you turn the lid upside down and place the glass piece with the leaves on top. And viola, you drink the tea from the base cup. I WANT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think they sell them at Oriental Teahouse because these restaurants are linked. I should probably go have a browse and get my hands on this versatile piece of genius. 

^ Jasmine and Lychee Tea. The best combination. IT WAS DELICIOUS.

^ERMGAGGHHGHHHEHHHRRRDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^ Instagram: badasiandriver

^ getting bored and playing around with panorama.

David's Restaurant

4 Cecil Place, Prahan 3181

(03) 9529 5199

The Gables

As you are well aware of, I was born with the curse of an unyielding sweet tooth. Therefore, high tea and me go hand in hand. Yesterday afternoon was spent at The Gables, located in one of the richest streets of Malvern, Finch Street. We drove under avenues where the gorgeous trees were swaying in the wind, and the experience felt so surreal. The sun was shining, I was surrounded by my girls, and the day was just so ideally relaxing. We were initially meant to go to Collin's Kitchen (in the Grand Hyatt), but I received a call from them, two hours before my booking, saying they had double booked me, and offered a weekend session instead for the same price. I was furious, and rejected their offer. I had to call up several different places that were either closed on Wednesdays, or needed 48 hours notice for a booking. FORTUNATELY FOR US, The Gables greeted us with open arms, and allowed a booking an hour and a half before they even open for their second session.

When we arrived, we were surrounded by tables of elderly people, which is the cutest thing to watch. We made a toast with our champagne (that we didn't finish) to stay forever friends until we were of old age and had grey hairs and saggy boobs. Cheers to that!

^ fruit and plain scones. yum yum yum.

They came out nice and warm, and therefore soft!

^ the "ribbon sandwiches" were extremely delicious!

Usually I love salmon, but the flavour of the capers were too strong for my taste buds.

^ mini quiches and mini meat pies.

Wish there were more of the mini quiches, because they were actually SO amazing.
Just melted in your mouth. There was not enough tomato sauce though.

^ assorted desserts, I was expecting macarons and cupcakes, judging from their website.

Some of the cakes were a bit dry, but my favourite was passionfruit.

^ Kimono by Maxwell & Williams.

Gorgeous colours and patterns - can be found at any House or homeware stores

^ can't have high tea without a little french bubbly ;)

So many people have asked me,

"Lisa, what is SOOOOOO good about high tea? You always seem to go, but it's so expensive..." 

I just say no, no,  no. You have got it all wrong. I can't really answer this question for you guys, it's something that you need to experience yourself. It's something to do with the girls, it's a different way of eating, it's a culture, a celebration, an eating foodgasm. And no, high tea is not expensive. It can range from $35-$95. You get what you pay for. The most I've spent on high tea is $70, and that will probably be the first and last time I do something like that. You might also think that it isn't a lot of food, but trust me, it is. 

^ me trying to act like a lady in the bathroom.

I wish I had a bathroom like that, it was absolutely beautiful. Like a model's change room.

^ Instagram: badasiandriver

No, I did not use any frame apps for this, I just took 19 photos, and print screened my camera roll for this effect. Don't you just love watching milk being poured into tea? It's one of my favourite moments.

^ finito

The Gables

11:00am -1:00pm and 2:00pm - 4:00pm

$45 on Wednesday, $55 on Sunday

16 Finch Street Malvern

(03) 9571 6631

ChangGo

Whatchu know about Korean BBQ?

Mondays are the worst days at work. Fortunately we were let off early tonight, so the work girls and I headed to ChangGo, a Korean BBQ restaurant, open until 1am! It is seriously Melbourne's hidden gem. The waitresses/waiters were EXTREMELY SWEET and very good looking. The girl who served us was such a babe! You definitely have to visit ;)

I did not realise that I have been there before for my best friend's birthday last year (until I saw the massive castle-like gates), but the menu has definitely improved since! They didn't have the eight flavours of pork belly when we went... unless they did but we never noticed it.

^ fried goodies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yum yum yum

Something unusual to order at KBBQ, but delicious nonetheless.

^ pork belly and mushrooms. 

^ the chef / owner that gave us free soju because we were some of the first to come in his new store in October 2011! I love a good freebie :)

^ strawberry tarts from Bread Top! They were amazing.

***********************************************************************************

One year later, the menu is more and more exquisite.
We ordered "Palsaik Set" which was a pork set for a small price of $58.80.
The set came with two bowls of rice, a bowl of soup (we had the choice of changing the soup, usually kbbq places are not flexible with the set menu) and kimchi, bean shoots and the other veggie bits and pieces you need. The menu states that this set serves 2-3 people, but we managed to finish it between four, whilst ordering a massive pot of Topokki. We were even able to take some of the leftover topokki home! Talk about fantastic service!

^ I was wayyyy too excited and took a blurry picture. Poor effort, Lisa. 

You get the idea... a stone gril with lots of veggies on it. 

This place didn't give us a lot of kimchi though... I LOVE KIMCHI SO MUCH.

^ Whatchu know about Korean BBQ?

This is EIGHT TYPES OF PORK BERRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, eight epic flavours. I thoroughly enjoyed them all, but the one that stood out the most was wine and herb. Just looking at these photos makes me want to go back and eat!

^ Topokki (rice cake with assorted veggies)

WARNING WARNING WARNING! IT IS SPICY!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was only $24 - and we were even able to take away! 

Of all the times that I have been to kbbq, I have never taken food away before... so this was a pretty big deal. Rice cake is so damn delicious! I can't handle spicy food though :(

I took the liberty of uploading a photo of the location. It's a weird little place. You can find parking on Elizabeth Street on a quiet night. 

ChangGo

70 Little LaTrobe Street 

(in between LaTrobe and A'Beckett St)

Opens 5:30pm to 1:00am! YES, AM!!!

0433 379 100

Lazy Moe's - Maribynong

Wow, what a wonderful day it was has been. Sundays are usually spent at home, cleaning my room or catching up on last minute tutorial work for the week. But today, it was spent with Giraffe, watching Madagascar, eating our hearts out, and watching cheerleading at MSAC. The sunshine was so lovely.

I drove my new car to Charlie's (dat place in Footscray)... only to realise that it opens at 5pm. I wasn't even aware of this! I was craving a huge steak for weeks now, so we went to the only alternative - Lazy Moe's. I was very disappointed that we didn't get to eat at Charlie's. However, Lazy Moe's was so cray cray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hadn't been there since September 2011 (I had to look through old Facebook photos to find the date, my memory isn't THAT good...) because I was pretty disappointed at the time, so we never went back. Today our stomachs were screaming to be fed, and I will tell you now that we walked out with food baby twins. Lazy Moe's is not the fainthearted!

Good and bad things about Lazy Moe's:

Good: Massive Servings

Bad: Massive Servings

Good: Menu with everything that you can think of, with breakfast being served until 4pm

Bad: Rude menu if you do not have a sense of humour

Good: Fantastic iced chai latte, the best I've ever had!

Bad: Expensive drinks, large drinks can be up to $8 - they are massive though!

Good: Value for money, the prices are decent

Bad: No split bill if you're going in a big group

As you can see from the first two points, massive servings can be seen as a really really good thing, and a really really bad thing. If you KNOW that you do not eat a lot, then do not order a lot. Simple as that. I HATE IT when girls who have small appetites order heaps of food, then end up leaving half the meal on the plate. Think about people, especially children, in third world countries. If you know that you're not going to eat a lot, then share with someone or ask for a smaller portion. Do not waste food!

With that being said, Lazy Moe's has massive portions. We hadn't eaten all day and managed to leave some chips and salad left over, so it was a fair effort. I ordered a medium rare steak (they only have one, porterhouse) and it was tender,  but too bloody for my liking. I also wanted more mushroom sauce, but the taste of it was perfect! Cravings satisfied. Giraffe ordered the calamari main, where he was given a mountain of calamari placed on top of a mountain of chips. His stomach just expands every time he eats (because he is a giraffe and he needs a lot of food because sometimes it gets lost in his long neck), but this time around he felt full from all the food, which was a first!

^ September 2011 date with our token couple back in the day.

Fish and chips with a standard coleslaw salad.

^ Steak sandwich on the left and delicious and fulfilling nachos on the right.

As you can tell, one year late and the portion sizes still haven't been reduced. 

^ Picture of both meals. If we had more time, I probably could have finished off the chips and salad... fat life argh!!!!!!!!!

^ Calamari main, $19.90

^ Porterhouse steak, medium rare. $27.90 

This price is extremely cheap, especially for the portion size and the delicious tasting mushroom sauce. If you go anywhere else, it would be at least $25-$35 and the portion would definitely NOT be this big and scrumptious!!!

^ Instagram: badasiandriver - follow me ;)

^ Saving the best until last. THIS IS SERIOUSLY THE BEST ICED CHAI LATTE I HAS EVER TASTED IN MY LIFE!!! I've had my fair share, the worst one being this joint on Brunswick Street which was too horrible to describe. Lazy Moe's has iced coffees, chocolates and chai lattes for only $5, and as you can see they even come with wafer sticks! Lovely!!!

Lazy Moe's are fortunately located in many places such as Forrest Hill and Tullamarine, but the one we went to was in Maribynong

Lazy Moe's 

401-419 Gordon Street, Maribynong VIC 3032

(03) 9318 5662

Enni Cafe

To me, Wednesdays and Fridays are the best days of the week. Wednesdays because it signifies hump day and pay day, Fridays because I just want to throw confetti and money in the air because it's the end of a long working and studying week, and I deserve a fantastic weekend. This Friday afternoon was spent with my girls, eating and shopping... two things that a girl does best. 

This week was my hell week at uni, I had a global health poster due at 5pm Thursday, two essays due on Friday at 12pm, and an oral presentation at 11am Friday. Knowing the procrastinating person I am, I left it all until the last minute, and regretted it wholeheartedly. 

Walking out of the uni doors after my presentation and knowing it my mid term break had begun was the most liberating feeling. I don't go to class often anyway, but NOT having to go makes life so much easier! More time to kill at the gym or studying for the assignments coming up. 

My stomach was grumbling throughout my presentation, but I ignored it because I knew I was having lunch with the girls that day! :) We stayed local, eating at a cute little cafe called Enni. It's located right near the massive tram intersection of Dundas Street, High Street and Plenty Road. Everything was homemade, and they and known for catering, so it was rather overpriced. But the food tasted fresh and delicious, nonetheless! There are no menus, they only serve whatever is behind the two glass cabinets. One was for sweet, the other for savoury. It varied from salads, quiches, spicy chicken rolls, cakes and macarons. Not to mention, freshly squeezed juice for $6! What a rip off.

^ Chocolate marble cake which was sweetness overdose, spicy chicken roll that wasn't even spicy, pumpkin quiche and a creamy chicken salad. Not to mention the macarons!

6 macarons for $16 - coffee, raspberry, rosewater, jaffa and salted caramel. I listed them in my most liked to least liked flavours. It was my first time trying rosewater, and I must say it tasted really weird... like I was eating incense sticks, a candle or licking perfume.

^ I whip my hair and fourth. I hadn't been shopping in a while so I went on a bit of a spree at Ralph Lauren, Oroton, Mossman and Glassons. 

Dear bank account, I'm sorry.
Love from, your reckless spender.

^ playing with panorama in my car... the girls look so scary in the dark

Enni Cafe

915 High Street, Thornbury 3071

(03) 9484 8288

Jackson Dodds

(SORRY FOR THE BLOGGING HIATUS, AGAIN. 

I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY WITH LIFE AND I GUESS I HAVEN'T BEEN EATING AT ANY INTERESTING PLACES LATELY. TIME TO WIPE THE DUST AND COBWEBS OFF MY BLOG AND FRESHEN IT UP A LITTLE BIT.)

Living in Melbourne can be a real pain in the buttox sometimes.

Why?
Because the weather is temperamental. One second it is sunny... nek minnit... it is pouring down rain (which makes me feel all agitated, especially when I don't carry around an umbrella to cover my newly washed/groomed hair).

Friday brunch was spent at Jackson Dodds, where we found love in a rainy place. The cosy little brunch corner is five minutes from my house, and has been there for two years. I discovered it today. Little did I know, that I had been MISSING OUT IN LIFE. 

The food was absolutely jaw dropping. Cheap prices, big portions and extremely friendly/fantastic hospitality. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to order. As you can see from the three page long clipboard (shown below), the menu varies from sourdough bread with eggs, to bagels, to muesli, to pancakes. Where do you even start?!!!

When I go to a cafe, I am usually content with a glass of water (or coffee/tea). But today I figured it would be nice to order a coffee to get me through the day. The girls ordered juice, iced coffees and I got a chai latte. The cinnamon really made my throat itchy, but the honey really blended all the flavours together. I don't understand how people do not enjoy the taste of chai. It's so exotic. I only recently tried a chai latte with SOY milk, and it was the best decision. I love soy milk, especially the sweet one you find in Asian grocery stores.

^ Loved the shadows of the bright/rare sunlight on the table.

^ MY MEAL: Jack's Breakfast  $15 with bacon $18

I cannot explain how delicious this meal was in words - so I'll just describe it with a song: omg

Omg omg omg. OMG!!! It was amazing, this photo does not even give justice to the fresh taste of the food. Poached eggs on sourdough toast. The sourdough toast was a bit annoying toward the end because it was hard to cut with a blunt knife. I ended up just picking it up with my hands and eating it caveman style. 

Other parts include avocado, grilled haloumi cheese (made from Goats cheese), spinach and rashers of BACON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Juicy juicy bacon. Yum yum.

Even though there was lemon and sweet tomato chutney on the side, there was no hollandaise sauce for the poached eggs. I was flabbergasted by this. And when I asked for some, he charged an extra $3 for it... are you kidding me?! That was probably the only downside to it, otherwise my meal was perf and left my waddling out of the cafe.

^ Chicken Waldorf Roll  $10

Just like Blair Waldorf's personality, this foccacia roll was a bit dry and unappealing to the tastebuds. I'm not too sure why it is even called a waldorf roll tbh. The filling tasted like tuna coleslaw mixed with a lot of mayo and chicken breast pieces. After the first bite, it was a little bit sickening. I wouldn't recommend you order this unless you really like foccacias. I only order foccacias when there are fries or salad served on the side, or else it would be way to hard to eat.

^ Sausage Omelette $15 with bacon $18

I'm not sure if the chefs used a frame to make the omelette, but it was awesome. The shape was rectangular and it although it was extremely eggy, it didn't have a sickening taste after the first bite. I wonder how many eggs they used to make the omelette THAT thick.

I will try and make it one day.

^ Great Northernn $17 with bacon $20

A great combination of chorizo sausage, tomatos, masssssive mushrooms, spinach, scrambled eggs and bacon. You cannot forget the bacon. The mushrooms were my favourite part of that dish because it was sweet and went really well with the eggs. Usually when I ordered scrambled eggs, it was just a small blob of egg which looked like they only used one egg. This place obviously doesn't hold back on their portions (which is a good thing, of course).

^ jacks breakfast with the addition of hollandaise sauce for my poached eggs. 

^ the light shades were teacups with saucers! creative!

^ written on the wall of the cafe. I didn't want to take a photo of the cooking/coffee making area because it was an open space and looked awkward. They're not joking though, the barista is free range and there is no wall between us and them. There is a kids table in the corner with toys and books. Definitely a place that is child friendly and warm.

Jackson Dodds
611 Gilbert Rd 
Preston, VIC

(03) 9471 1900