Mama Sita, Melbourne

If you know that I'm going to Melbourne and you really need to catch me but can't reach me, chances are you will have a good chance to see me at Mama Sita. I discovered this amazing Mexican restaurant on my 2nd trip to Melbourne, introduced by my high school bestie, nicknamed Babian. She knows her food. That is one of the reason why she is my friend. I don't think I have friends who don't love and know their food...

Their homemade salsa is one of the best things in life. On my second visit, I think we had about 3 or 4 of these... The staff thought we were behaving badly... But they were just TOO good!

Anyway, three things you MUST order when you are here are: elotes callejeros (street style chargrilled corn with cheese, chipotle mayo and lime), tostaditas de pollo (fried tortilla topped with chargrilled chicken, avocado, fresh cheese and chipotle mayo), and tacos de camarones (soft taco with marinated prawns, habanero chillies and chipotle almond salsa). Ohhh God, I am drooling as I typed those!

Nachos dip: red salsa and guacamole

I raised my eyebrows when Babian raved about the grilled corn on the cob that we just have to order - but she said to trust her and despite my doubts I did and was totally blown away. It is simply the best chargrilled corn on the cob ever. I think it has to be the combination of the chipotle mayo and the cheese. Sweet, sour, savory with that crunchy corn.... yummmm

elotes callejeros (street style chargrilled corn with cheese, chipotle mayo and lime)

Babian ordered me (she did not let me order) tostitadas de carnitas, which was slowly braised pork shoulder, encurtidos and jalapeno. I liked it, it was spicy, but my favorite was tostitadas de pollo. Considering chicken is my least favorite meat ever, it's definitely amazing. On my second visit to Mama Sita, we ordered 2 servings of tostitadas de pollo and a mixture of others as we had new people. I made sure I had 2 of the chicken one tho hahahaha, benefit of hindsight ;)

Tostitadas: pork (left) and chicken (right)

Here, they only serve soft tacos. So don't go in ordering crispy tacos. Again, I never had prawn tacos. I usually go with beef or pork. And again, I was blown away. The prawn tacos were simply the best kinds of tacos I've ever eaten. Light and fresh, it killed my hunger without making me feel like I just stuffed myself with a whole cow. On my second visit, the boys and Babian ordered a 2nd round of the prawn tacos... I would too if I didn't have such a late lunch that day. It's that good, trust me.

Pulled pork tacos

(i heart) prawn tacos

On my first visit, I had the sangria which was yum. However, on my 2nd one I had margaritas which was also amazing. I had 3 of those. I can't decide which one is better, I think it will depend on what you feel like having. I didn't bring my camera with me on the 2nd visit, but we tried the helado de maiz (sweet corn ice cream cone and caramelize popcorn) and frituras de manzana (apple fritters and vanilla pear sorbet). Both were yum.

Sangria =)

All I can say is that I am currently plotting another trip to Mama Sita... that's right, NOT Melbourne, but to Mama Sita. Oooooopa!

Mama Sita

Level 1/11 Collins St

Melbourne, VIC 3000

+61 3 9650 3821

Click here for website

Brunetti, Carlton (Melbourne)

People watching and drinking coffee is the best way to catch up with an old friend

With 2 weeks away from my first exam, I went on a study break to Melbourne. I thought about this long and hard, pondering if I would have enough time to study, procrastinate and if it's worth the stress. Then I remembered my 2 years stint working where my vacation days were limited to 20 days a year and at the mercy of my boss. That decided it. Hello Melbourne.

Cakes, cakes, cakes and oh, more cakes!

A friend gave me a list of a top 5 must go places for coffee but I only managed to go to this one with a childhood friend. I was blown away when we first enter the shop. Rows of cakes, everywhere my eyes could see! Did I die and go to heaven? Did I go to Wonka's chocolate transformed into cake factory? Thank God I didn't lose my cool and drool.

Our two mochas

I love the expansive space, windows, and choices of cakes in Brunetti. We decided on a couple of mocha while we wait for our lunch to settle and make room for dessert. We sat facing the street to people watch and play a game. The mocha was really nice and balanced. I love it when I don't have to add sugar. I think that is how I judge the baristas' skills - if they can make coffee that is just right where I don't need to add anything. I always take my coffee as is, so if I don't like it, I don't go back.

A nice sweet stuff that I forgot the name of...

An hour and a half later - almost fully caught up with our lives stories and had fun at playing our game, I trawled the cakes display in search for our dessert. Still feeling my lunch up to my neck, but feeling guilty as one of the shop lady already explained every single cake to me, I ordered this canolli like dessert. I apologize I forgot the name! If you show this picture though, I'm sure they can tell you what it is hahaha... It was tiny but good. The custard has some rum in it (love it!), the pastry light, crumbly and savory. And! There was some cherries on it! I love cherries.

The space inside

I really wish they have this in Sydney. I could soooo see myself having regular coffee with my books and people watch when catching a break. Oh we also saw Chelsea from Masterchef when we were people watching. We saw this girl walk by and we were like, why does she look so familiar? 3 seconds later it dawned on us that she was from Masterchef. A quick phone call to my Masterchef fanatic friend revealed that Chelsea is supposedly working in Lygon st, just a stone's throw away.

Brunetti

194-204 Faraday St

Carlon, VIC 3053

Click here for website

Diving for food

Amazing viz, underwater landscape and a cute seal

I've been MIA for a while. I realize that and I do feel guilty about it. It's a good thing that I went to Chocolatesuze's birthday party/food blogger gathering last May 21st as I got to meet new food blogger with whom I could go eat out with and enforce me to actually blog. Fingers crossed this will work. Thanks for the invite btw!!

Lately, I've been into scuba diving and underwater photography (click here if you wanna check out my photos). So that has been taking up my spare time. Also, this year thus far I have received 6 or 7 wedding invitations. Hence the pressure to fit on my dresses and keep the calories away are on. Anyway, I'm gonna share with you the food related part of scuba diving.

Last Easter, I went on a dive trip with a group of photographer divers, one of them is a food diver or hunter gatherer diver. Whatever the term you prefer, it basically means he dive, he takes food. Good right? Fresh seafood! Mmmm.... Mind you, if you do wanna try this make sure you have proper fishing license and know your catch limit. You don't wanna get in trouble with the department of Fisheries.

We wanted some crabs, but there were none. So we ended up with abalone (black lipped) and sea urchins. Yay uni sashimi! It was definitely one of the freshest uni I've ever had. I am so glad that I didn't have to crack it open though haha...

Sea urchins in their original form

Collecting the roes

And the final products!!

Plated... Not the best, but it's not Masterchef here! We just care about taste, taste and taste!

The abalone was so fresh too. It was boiled for a bit, sliced up then sauteed with butter, salt and pepper. We had some thinly sliced grilled eggplant to eat it with. To say it was really good would be an understatement. Freshly caught and prepared, enjoyed with some good cider and cool people...

Sauteed abalone in butter, salt and pepper

Mmmm... I wish I can turn back the time...

Grilled eggplants that we used to wrap the abalone before unceremoniously plonking them in our mouths!

A taste of Hong Kong part 3

After we ticked off dim sum from our list, we were on a quest for the infamous Hong Kong wonton noodles. We were looking for a local cafe that serves wonton noodles whose patrons are locals. That's also what I told the concierge who promptly pointed out Hing Fat on the map, a mere 7 minutes walk from our hotel. Provided you don't get lost of course.

Assorted roast meat

The menu shows that there's more than just noodles and roast meat, such as seafood and other Cantonese dishes. It took me a while to find where the utensils are!

We were greeted by the assorted roasted meat hanging on the open kitchen glass window. Mouth-watering huh? Well, for some definitely. I can't help but remembering this random guy's comment one day when I was waiting for a friend back in Sydney. I was standing in the corner of Goulburn and Sussex street, opposite BBQ King, when all of a sudden this guy who was standing there walked up to me and said "gosh, look at that (pointing to BBQ King assorted meat)... doesn't it look like house of the dead? Carcasses hanging like that". His comment, however random it was, made me realized that cultures are so different and if you don't grow up with these kinds of food, it must look kinda weird... Anyway, I liked his different point of view and appreciate his directness in approaching a stranger and said that. Hahaha, ok maybe it was a little overshare, but still it was kinda funny.

Hot and sour pork noodle

Shrimp wonton noodle

Back to Hing Fat, soon we were seated inside and given menu to peruse. Cg decided on the wonton noodles and while I was tempted, I don't really like soup on my noodle - unless they are ramen. So I decided to have the diced pork in hot and sour sauce noodle where the soup is separated. The egg noodle was super thin but flavorful. I quite like the hot and sour sauce as the topping. I think what would make the dish better is if wontons were included.

Suckling pig and crispy roasted pork

Since we're already at a roasted meat restaurant, we also ordered a combination plate of suckling pig and crispy roasted pork. I confirm that they are as delicious as the look on the picture above. Crispy, juicy, and tender. Oh and value for money too. We spent less than AU$20 for everything including drinks.

Hing Fat

10 Ashley Road

Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Hong Kong, China

A Taste of Hong Kong Part 2

Characterized echina dim sum HKD 30

On our first day in Hong Kong, we decided that we were going to have some dim sum for brunch. After all, it would be a cardinal sin to go to Hong Kong and not have some dim sum! The concierge recommended us to cross over to the Hong Kong Cultural Center to have dim sum at Serenade. Once we were inside, we discovered such opulent decor that bespoke of Hong Kong style. The restaurant is overlooking the Star Ferry terminal, over the Victoria Harbor, still on the Tsim Sha Tsui side.

Sorry about redness here, I forgot to change the white balance till later...

Unfortunately we didn't get seated near the windows, but soon after we saw the menu we got uber excited nonetheless. Why? Because Serenade offers characterized dim sums that are shaped in cute little animals! The animals are: goose (baked pastry stuffed with mushrooms & goose meat), goldfish (shrimp & bamboo pith dumplings), garoupa crystal dumplings, jumpie bunny marshmellow, echidna (deep fried creamy yolk buns) and cuttlefish (baked pastry with mashed red beans). They had "Dim Sum in the cage" for HKD 188 (approx. AUD 24 with 1AUD:7.8HKD) which includes cuttlefish, goose, echidna, goldfish, steamed abalone and pork dumplings and steamed shrimp dumplings (all 3 pieces each). No, we did not order this as we wouldn't be able to finish and we wanted to pick and choose. However, if M from Love my foods and sugar and O from ieatsweet were my travel buddies at the time, I would not have a say this decision-making process and we would have dim sum in the cage on the table pronto. If there's enough interest, I will scan the menu once I'm back in Sydney, so let me know if you want to see the menu.

Staging #1: Echidnas in the garden

Staging #2: fish pond and the creative director herself

So what did Cg and I ordered? We got the echidna (on my insistence as they look way too cute!), goldfish, garoupa, BBQ pork buns, and conpoy (dried scallop) with chives dumplings. The echidna was the first to arrive and we almost squealed with delight. To have the scenes replayed in my mind right now we must have looked like lunatics as we busted our cameras and shot these echidnas paparazzi style. Cg being her creative self got the idea to rearrange them so that they are kissing each other, then making an echidna garden on a separate plate. Yeshhh, we did the same with the goldfish and the garoupa. No, not so much with the other two non characterized dim sums.

Garoupa crystal dumplings HKD 35

Goldfish HKD 35

Conpoy and chive dumplings HKD 18

Now, taste wise, I know you are curious. I have to say that for the characterized dim sums, as expected they looked better than the taste, especially with the goldfish and the garoupa. I liked the echidna though, the buns were sweet and the egg yolk inside was quite nice. The BBQ pork buns were standard and so were the conpoy but since conpoy are not readily available in Sydney, I was a happy camper. We drank a lot of tea then, they kept on refilling our pot and Cg really loved the taste of the tea. I appreciate the service and the waitresses restraint in not laughing over us when we were staging the characterized dim sums. I think they are used to the patrons uber excitements by now.

View of the harbor from Tsim Sha Tsui promenade

View from the Peak

Lonely Boy, my friend who works in Hong Kong, recommended us to go to the Peak, the highest point in Hong Kong - a scenic point. As we were pleased with his earlier suggestions so far with Sevva and Wagyu, we decided why not take up this advice. So we took the MTR to Admiralty and head to the tram station. I love the old school-ness of the tram. Riding the tram to the Peak felt like riding the roller coaster slo-mo. The steepness gradient was between 4 and 27 degree. It was really cool and I felt like I was transformed back in time as the tram was very colonial-esque. Usually I'm always a bit skeptical about going to touristy places, but I had to commend Lonely Boy again on his choice, the view from the Peak was spectacular! We were lucky that the weather holds up that day as well. The sky was blue, the air crisp with early winter chills and breezy without being too cold. Vertigo people beware! I'm not afraid of height, but standing too close to the railings definitely gave me the chills.

After taking enough pictures Cg and I wandered back down to the mall and to the back where we found ourselves at New York Fries. I had to laugh at Cg when we ended up here as she originally said she wanted ice cream and the choices I laid out to her were hagen dazs, some gelato shop or movenpick. Long story short, we ordered one small "The Work" to share. The fries were awesome, it tasted like a combination of wedges and fries, tasty on the outside and soft on the inside. What impressed me the most was the condiment bar where you could get all sorts of toppings to add to your meal. I was happy to see cajun seasonings there and decided to get some despite all the toppings that were already in our fries. Cg is a convert of cajun seasoning now.

The condiment bar

The Works: fries with green onions, real bacons, sour cream, cheese sauce and chili

Around 4pm, we made our way back to our hotel as Cg was to meet her relatives and I could use some rest before meeting a friend for dinner that night. After much debate, I decided to left my camera for dinner as my shoulder were aching from carrying my dslr all day. Dinner was amazing and I was sorry I left my compact digicam at home. If you find yourself in Hong Kong, you might want to try this little tapas restaurant called Enoteca on Elgin street in SoHo area. The best way to find it is to find the mid level escalators and take it all the way up to Elgin road and turn right, walk 15 steps and the restaurant should be on your left. My recommendation would be the chicken pesto risotto balls and the beef sauteed with garlic and chili. The food was amazing, but service was a different story. If you are looking for a place to relax and talk for a while, the host won't be happy. She let us ordered dessert then after we had a bite, she came to tell us that we need to finish up as the next seating party has arrived. Well, lady... if that was the case perhaps you should have told us before we ordered dessert - no? Anyways, that was my rant.

From there, Cg joined K and I. Then, still on Elgin street, we hop in to a Greek restaurant and got a half jug of sangria while we waited for D to join us. Too bad K was leaving for her vacation the day after, but luckily D promised to take us out for the weekend to this private club called Prive. Didn't I tell you how I didn't know that Hong Kong could be THAT much fun?

Serenade Chinese Restaurant

Hong Kong Cultural Center (1st Floor)

Restaurant Block

Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, China

+852 2722 0932

New York Fries

Shop 1B, Ground Floor

The Peak Galleria, Hong Kong, China

+852 2849 7968

Enoteca

47 Elgin street

Hong Kong, China

+852 2525 9944

A taste of Hong Kong part 1

Harbor view from our room; view from Sevva

I have a confession to make, I am a chronic traveller. I can't seem to stop traveling, even if I was already on vacation. This trip to Hong Kong, was one of those trip within a trip. I got sick once on this trip and I was so tired as this was my second mini trip on my overall summer (Australian summer) vacation, but I did not regret it one bit. I didn't know that Hong Kong could be THAT much fun.

We arrived in Hong Kong pretty late, the dusk was settling already but it was perfect as we discovered that our room was facing the harbor overlooking Hong Kong island from Tsim Sha Tsui. At 8pm sharp, we were entertained by the symphony of light with synchronized song from a radio. I was happy to have brought my tripod!

A quick phone call to a friend who lives locally gave us a couple of destinations for the night: a drink at Sevva, a rooftop bar at Prince's Building and Wagyu where we will get some food for supper. Off we went to the Star Ferry terminal to catch a ferry to Central, where we only paid HK$ 2!!! So cheap! I can't help but reveling how pretty Hong Kong is at night and how I was hopping from one harbor city (Sydney) to here.

Cg's mojito like drink and my dark chocolate martini - check out those shredded chocs!

The walk to Prince's Building from Central ferry station took a good 15 minutes, but we didn't mind, we needed to burn the calories anyway. Once we were at Sevva, we were surrounded by bankers and financiers locals and expats alike whom you can tell from their full suit. We sat by the bar first to absorb the atmosphere and read the menu. Cg decided on a mojito like mixed and I couldn't resist their dark chocolate martini. If you love chocolate, you MUST order the dark chocolate martini if you're at Sevva, it was totally loaded with not only liquid chocolate but also shredded chocolate. From the balcony we could see the view of Central at night and it was very cosmopolitan. What struck me the most was the fact that we were on the top of a 25th floor building and yet, it didn't seem that tall because we were surrounded by other higher buildings with 50, 60 or even 70 floors! I don't think we have those in Sydney! To describe Hong Kong in a few of words would be, Asia's New York City.

Scenes from Sevva's balcony - you can see other buildings towering us on the 25th floor!!! The last one is the view of Tsim Sha Tsui harbor from Hong Kong island

After we finished our drinks we made our way to Lan Kwai Fong, the fun/expat district for dinner at Wagyu. We got lost for a bit but managed to find our way there. As we waited for our table then our food, we were amazed at how crowded it get as the night goes on even though it was a Wednesday night! Anyway, by this time we weren't that hungry so we ordered a salad and appetizer - which unfortunately I cannot remember what! Sorry! I loved the appetizers, the shredded beef were cooked with some almonds and dark sweet sauce, and you eat it wrapped in lettuce. I could still taste the juiciness of the beef even though it was coated in the sauce. The salad was good, but we would have been happier to have more meat in it.

Here we also ordered some drinks, Cg got the watermelon martini which was absolutely delicious! I tried the pimms mix which was good, but if I could do it all over again I'd go for what Cg was having.

To "Lonely Boy" in Hong Kong, thanks for the insider tips!

Sevva

25 Floor

Prince's Building

Central, Hong Kong - China

+852 2537 1388

Wagyu

60 Wyndham St

Hong Kong - China

+852 2525 8805