Saturday, September 15, 2007
Chilli Padi
Menzies Alley, Melbourne Central, VIC 3000
Chilli Padi, located at the end of a laneway in Melbourne Central shopping centre offers a selection of modern Asian cuisine. I wouldn't have thought so till my 2nd visit to this place. Little is known about the place, the 1st impression cast on it was 'must be one of those suited only for westerners'. This is absolutely incorrect. This place has 2 separated dining areas; along the laneway, in the shop itself and there is a staircase that will lead you up to the 1st level. The menu served on both areas are different. The upper level is a fine dining area, a more exquisite selection and more pricy. Who would have thought that there would be a difference?
My 1st visit was right up at the 1st level, it wasn't because i have an expensive taste but because there weren't available spaces along the laneway and was directed to the 1st level. No one explained to me about the difference, was given a good service, quite surprised by the selection of food and its price. Needless to say, the fine dining area is quite impressive, classy in its interior.
I had the 'hor fun' with beef, a huge plate, which reminded me of the 'hor fun' in Asia. This tasted really good. Well presented too, for a typical cheap meal certainly has been presented well enough (upgraded) to make it as a fine dining selection.
When i left the place, i realised that the menu selection is different if you dine along the laneways and inside the shop. I decided to come back for the 2nd time. This time round i sat along the laneway, i was surprised by the menu. There is a 17 dollars package meal (entree, main and a drink). Wine is one of the drinks selection. Cheap! Obviously, it has to be a budget wine. I doubt you get Penfolds, Brown Brothers, Taylors wines. I couldn't help watching what others were eating, the fried koay teow was impressive, roti canai and even the fried rice was tempting. I had the chicken curry (main), a bowl of spring rolls, wonton and samosa (entree) and a glass of red. The plate of fried eggplant with chilli and mayo dip was tempting, it did sound weird but it tasted good. The mayonaise was a Japanese mayonaise.
The restaurant also serves hawker-style food on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights after 10pm. I'm not sure of the food on the list. Will certainly visit this place again to taste some of its other impressive appearance food.
Monday, August 27, 2007
testing the taste buds
I had an interesting task at work earlier today, did a stock take with one of the shop floor staff. I'm glad that i hadn't lost my taste buds. What do i mean by this? It has been quite awhile since i last put my taste buds to the test or being invited to a sensory tasting. I enjoy sensory tasting sessions, taking pride in commenting what i think about a particular food. I'm known for my thoroughness. Since it has been quite a while, i have lost my confidence and wasn't sure about the accuracy of my buds.The purpose of the stock take was to identify the unused processed products and noting down the age of it. I was able to pick up a batch of roasted peanuts tainted with smokey flavour and this was really obvious. A great start! As i progressed on, picked up another batch of peanuts which is two months old from when it was processed to find that it is starting to go rancid. The final identification happened to be roasted cashews which didn't taste fresh at all. Took a sample of each of them to get a 2nd opinion.
I'm glad someone agreed with me. Therefore, i can say my taste bud is reasonably well.
What would i do if i couldn't taste anything? A year ago i had my wisdom teeth extraction. I had a complicated case and was referred to a maxilofacial surgeon for extraction. One of the tooth was embedded in the gum, angled and closed to one of the sensory nerves. During the consultation, the surgeon explained to me the complication and the potential consequences involved. One of the consequences if great attention wasn't given during the surgery was i might loose my taste buds. I didn't think that it would had a huge impact, of course being in the food industry, a good taste bud is important and not having able to taste anything is absolute bizarre. The surgeon was great, attentive and went well.
Stay well taste buds.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
round 21 @ the 'G'
It was good to be at the 'G' earlier tonight with the magpies and swannies supporters. The weather was great, not frigging cold. Its always good to have 4n24 pies and some hot chips while watching footy. I was good without any beer.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
andrew's hamburger
144 Bridport St, Albert Park, VIC 3206
Andrew's hamburgers which need no introduction at all to many of us. One of the known, voted good (a big tick) hamburger take-away in town. It's name after the founder of the business, which is Andrew. I've met him, and goodness me he's such a talker, outgoing, humourous person. He told me apparently he's very famous in Japan, and sounds like he's used to his popularity. This made it an easy task for me to take pictures. It is a relatively small shop, do not underestimate it, you will be surprised with the constant people strolling in and out.I had the lot, good old traditional hamburger without any creativity added, no alteration. Bacon, melted cheese on top of the pattie, tomatoes, lettuce. Mouth watering.
Yummy! Stop staring at the pictures! Tuesday, August 21, 2007
mc donald
McDonald's, I'm lovin it "M" have served many of us well haven't they? Let it be the ever popular McValue meal (quarter pounder, fillet-o-fish), the Breakfast at 6am (bacon and egg muffin with hash brown, hot cakes with syrup), McHappy Meal to the selection of Deli Choices. The easy quick fix to one's hunger. McDonald's despite being a fast food provider, is cautious about the choices of meal provided. This is demonstrated by the nutritional information provided on the individual meal with some of the choices outlining the grams of fat in them. Would one care about the energy serve or amount of fat that they're pumping into their body when buying the meals from McDonald's? Would chips ever taste good without frying them in oil?I must admit that McDonalds are creative with the offered selection of meals and you would notice that the dessert range changes all the time. As for the Happy Meal, it suit the children. The constant release of different toys, toys that resemble the characters from cartoon movies certainly tempt the children and some young adults. *Marketing scheme*
There is a McCafe in McDonald's depending on which store you visit. The small range of 'sweet' cakes or desserts are quite impressive: ranging from donuts, to muffins, to truffle roll, to cakes (mini cheesecake, banana and walnut slice, chocolate torte).
Creative!
Monday, August 20, 2007
spare the rod,spoil the child
It goes with the saying, spare the rod, spoil the child! This is indeed true! This is well demonstrated to me at work with the bunch of people working on the lines i'm responsible for. I've spare the rod and in return i've spoil them. I've been too easy going with them for the past months, in return i get excuses from them when i needed them to get serious about their work. Even when it comes to minor cleaning required, i received a classic excuse, 'oh why do we need to clean, this is a messy product, it will be dirty again'.
Looks like the honeymoon period is over for them, time to bring out the whip and educate them a little bit. It will be painful, but if i do not educate them i will be in a more painful position.
Isn't it a hard task to play miss/mr nice person role? Time for them to listen to their mama.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
my little pet
I've recently kept a little creature in my workplace lab. This little creature was brought to my attention by some fellow workers in manufacturing area. I'm glad not many people knew about this and lucky enough my supervisor was too busy to realise that i've fed it with an almond and an apricot. Surely, it need some sugar to survive. Who knows?Few days ago, while i was observing this creature, few of manufacturing workers saw me and were intrigued with what i was looking at. I showed them and can't believe they were afraid of it. They think it will die soon which i agreed.
Just in case if you do not know what this is, it is a maggot!
