Gold Leaf, Docklands

Hi everyone.

Sorry for the blogging hiatus!!!

I've been extremely busy with uni and work, so my mind is all over the place. 

I have so many pending posts that I need to complete and share with you all, but to begin, I'll start with Gold Leaf in Docklands. My first time there was last January for a friend's 18th birthday. She had a banquet with all of her closest friends, and the food and service was devine. I know I've already written a blog post about Gold Leaf, but each one offers a different experience. I recently went to Gold Leaf in Burwood and it left me walking out feeling disappointed and losing faith in yumcha. The best GL Restaurant would have to be in Sunshine. Exceptional hospitality from the waiters, delicious variety of foods and defs worth the travel. 

It's been a week since the asean ball. Time flies!!! Where does it go???
The day after the big night, we all went to the Gold Leaf in Docklands to tingle our taste buds with Yum Cha. Considering we didn't have a lot to eat on the night of Asean Ball...................................... we were all prettttttttttty hungry the next day. We paid $110 to eat bread, dip, dry chicken and Cacao Green froyo which I didn't even receive *shakes fist*

^ View from Crown Promenade taken with a miniature setting.

^ Table 25 right next to the dance floor

^ Main - chicken that wasn't even worth taking in a nice angle.

Reasons why Gold Leaf Docklands was better than Gold Leaf Burwood:

1. It's relatively bigger with nice interior

2. The waiters at Docklands are not rude

3. The food was NOT COLD. When we ordered Ha Cheung (the rice rolls with prawns and sweet soya sauce) at Burwood it was COLD. It is my favourite dish ever since I was young. To order ha cheung and have it served cold is a disgrace to yumcha and what it stands for.

4. It seemed as though GL Burwood were serving anything they could make out of the spare ingredients they had in their kitchen. I commend the chefs for trying to be creative, but serving mini burgers (which when I observed, no one wanted) does not comply with yum cha standards (imo). Just stick to making dericious dumprings and standard yumcha food. 

5. Docklands has better dumplings. What makes a good har gow dumpring? One that does not crumble when you try to pick it up. Even if you are incapable of using chopsticks, the skin should not tear apart or else that is an indication that it has been out for too long. 

^ Are you a fan of chicken feet? Cos I surely am not! 

^ chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, ha cheung and random bits and pieces of dumprings and pork ribs

^ yeyeye mango pudding baybeh

Gold Leaf Docklands 10 Star Circus Docklands Victoria 3008 (in Harbour Town, upstairs) (03)9670 1128

Bopha Devi, Docklands

Aha! Finally new month to look forward to. Can you believe we're caught the mid year bug already? So much for the world ending in 2012... *touches wood*
Apart from starting my examinlametions tomorrow, I highly anticipate being able to try many new and exciting places during these upcoming holidays. All the places have been listed in this trusty Marbig food diary, so keep an eye out as I will be updating v. v. v. frequently :-)

Today I will be sharing my lovely experience at Bopha Devi, located in Docklands. If you're looking for something refreshing and largely portioned, this is your safest bet. Expect high prices but you get your moneys worth because the food is delish! I do not eat Cambodian often (although I should because half of my roots is from that country) but Bopha Devi in Docklands is cosy, warm and has wonderful presentation in terms of the food. There is one located in Yarraville but it is A LOT smaller and the menu is slightly different which was really annoying when I was ordering on Saturday night. I guess it's always good to try something new every now and then.

The main reason why we went there was because it was my beautiful fwend's 20th birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A big, sloppy kiss and happy birthday to Joanne!!! You can find her here; she doesn't blog ver often, but when she does it is definitely worth reading. Pictured below are the three gorgeous J's with their fried rice, tofu curry and chicken rice salad.

The fry rye (pictured above, no. 30 on the menu) was definitely a winner. I don't really like vermicelli when it's not in watery/soupy substances. So the picture below was a bit bland for me. The fry rye had all the right ingredients, cabbage, carrots, chicken, bean shoots and egg. As if the sound of these put together isn't enticing enough! The service was fast as well, considering we had around 20 people seated for Jo's and the rest of Bopha Devi was full house! That's always a good thing to look out for when you're in a restaurant, try to check their ratings before you go. I remember having to wait for an hour at a uni restaurant, only to find out that they completely f*ed up our order! Never going back there again (*cough* eagle bar in Latrobe). 

As you can tell from the nicer quality of my photos, I have gotten my trusty camera fixed (luckily within a mere two weeks, tyvm Canon!!!). I'm so happy that I don't have to take photos on my iPhone anymore! But this really only means that I'm back on board of the 'asians constantly taking photos of their food' bandwagon! Woooohoooo! I ain't got nothing to be ashamed of... apart from my bulging appetite and constant cravings for food.  P.S happy birthday Joanne!!!