Saturday, October 16, 2010
Nobu
For a long time, I've been dying to go there since it first opened in Melbourne.
Finally, my cullinary dream came true when Michelle decided to have her birthday lunch there, yay! :)
Hungry people to appease - myself, Amanda, birthday girl Michelle, Connie and Beck.
Heads up before you proceed with the following - I'm very impressed by the food, in fact, I was absolutely blown away! But I shan't oversell it, I shall let the photos do the talking.
Had some beans sprinkled with sea salt before we decided what to order.
For entree, we had the following:
Sashimi with jalapeno.
Tacos with salmon, lobster and crab fillings, accompanied with a salsa.
Crispy rice with tuna salsa.
Everyone was flabbergasted by this, it was simply amazing!
Salmon tataki
Beef tataki
It was shortly followed by miso soup but I forgot to take a photo of it.
Moving along, main course:
Prawns cooked in a creamy lemony sauce
Scallops and asparagus with spicy garlic sauce
Soft shell crab kara age
Gyoza with a ponzu sauce
Beef sirloin steak with teriyaki sauce
As for dessert, I had a chocolate bento box. You may be curious as to what a chocolate bento box consists of. Well, ladies and gentlemen...
.... a chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream and goma disc!!
Molten chocolate oozing out, gosh I'm in cullinary heaven! One of the best chocolate fondants I've had!
Japanese doughnuts filled with a chocolate ganache with almond ice cream and toasted pistachios. Both Amanda and Beck had this.
Michelle's sorbet and ice cream. There was one very interesting and unusual flavour - Thai basil ice cream! @_@
So, did the above photos successfully sell Nobu to you? LOL
Either way, I was very happy with my fine dining experience there, would not hesitate to go there again!
*********
Btw it was my last day at my current position on Friday. To my pleasant surprise, got a very special delivery courtesy of my lovely colleagues...
... in the form of beautiful roses!!
Look at them, they're just so pretty!!! *swoons*
I know I'm not a flower person, but, like I said before - what girl wouldn't love receiving a massive bouquet of flowers every now and then? So boys, it really doesn't take much to impress us girls haha.
Besides the roses, Lara also made us her famous tiramisu. You can't get more authentic than that! (She's Italian you see)
Awww, I love roses~~~
For a long time, I've been dying to go there since it first opened in Melbourne. 
Finally, my cullinary dream came true when Michelle decided to have her birthday lunch there, yay! :)
Hungry people to appease - myself, Amanda, birthday girl Michelle, Connie and Beck. Heads up before you proceed with the following - I'm very impressed by the food, in fact, I was absolutely blown away! But I shan't oversell it, I shall let the photos do the talking.
Had some beans sprinkled with sea salt before we decided what to order. For entree, we had the following:
Sashimi with jalapeno. 
Tacos with salmon, lobster and crab fillings, accompanied with a salsa. 
Crispy rice with tuna salsa. 
Everyone was flabbergasted by this, it was simply amazing!
Salmon tataki
Beef tatakiIt was shortly followed by miso soup but I forgot to take a photo of it.
Moving along, main course:
Prawns cooked in a creamy lemony sauce
Scallops and asparagus with spicy garlic sauce
Soft shell crab kara age
Gyoza with a ponzu sauce
Beef sirloin steak with teriyaki sauceAs for dessert, I had a chocolate bento box. You may be curious as to what a chocolate bento box consists of. Well, ladies and gentlemen...
.... a chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream and goma disc!! 
Molten chocolate oozing out, gosh I'm in cullinary heaven! One of the best chocolate fondants I've had! 
Japanese doughnuts filled with a chocolate ganache with almond ice cream and toasted pistachios. Both Amanda and Beck had this. 
Michelle's sorbet and ice cream. There was one very interesting and unusual flavour - Thai basil ice cream! @_@
So, did the above photos successfully sell Nobu to you? LOL Either way, I was very happy with my fine dining experience there, would not hesitate to go there again!
*********
Btw it was my last day at my current position on Friday. To my pleasant surprise, got a very special delivery courtesy of my lovely colleagues...
... in the form of beautiful roses!! 
Look at them, they're just so pretty!!! *swoons*
I know I'm not a flower person, but, like I said before - what girl wouldn't love receiving a massive bouquet of flowers every now and then? So boys, it really doesn't take much to impress us girls haha. 
Besides the roses, Lara also made us her famous tiramisu. You can't get more authentic than that! (She's Italian you see)
Awww, I love roses~~~Labels: food, fun time, special occasions
♥ When you think of happiness, I hope you think of me.
6:02 PM
0 comments
6:02 PM
Monday, September 06, 2010
Yet another birthday!
So, before the birthday dinner, went to KBox on La Trobe Street for a karaoke session, was looking forward to it very much. Last time I went there was probably three years ago? With Alex, Ying, Sookie and Cynthia. Ah, how time flies...
Anyway, love the place! Hmm, on second thought, there might be just ONE tiny little detail that has yet to be improved...
... and that is the menu screen! Given that touch screens are common now, I was quite baffled by its rather 'primitive' technology - you actually have to navigate the selection menu with a freaking remote control! (In fact, all the other karoke places in Melbourne that I've been to so far have touch screens.) -___-
And oh, check out the mics too - all the other karaoke places have cordless mics except KBox! See what I meant by 'primitive' technology? I hereby rest my case LOL. With all due respect, I remain flabbergasted by its outdated equipment albeit the rather swanky interior. Oh this is Anna btw.
Having said that, I was VERY impressed by its plethora of songs - they even have Malay and Indonesian songs!! ^.^
Needless to say, I totally enjoyed myself there ! :)
David and Han popped by later to join us before going to the birthday dinner together.
So, birthday dinner was at La Camera in Southbank. Btw good on you Jack for popping in the picture out of the blue! -___-
Wonder why most of us were in black and white, how uncanny.
With Laisa the birthday girl.
So, while the girls were busy camwhoring...
... David was also busying himself with my camera!
Honestly David...
You're too funny! -__-
My uber delicious dinner - Fusilli Bucati alla Pescatora, it was THAT awesome! (Well, guess the photo sort of speaks for itself haha)
It then occured to me that I actually forgot to have lunch. Needless to say, I had no trouble at all to polish off the plate!
Went bar hopping after dinner which turned out to be rather interesting - because I was quite tipsy in the end! Now this is embarrassing because I only had ONE drink!! Oh dearie me.
Voila! Behold, my sole drink of the night - Lustrous Crusher. Ok, in my defense - I'm not a big drinker myself (in fact, I hardly ever drink) and unbeknownst to me, there were actually 5 shots in that cocktail! So shut up, don't you dare judge me, haha.
This was at another bar, check out the amount of cameras!! >_<
Ah happy day! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend too. :)
So, before the birthday dinner, went to KBox on La Trobe Street for a karaoke session, was looking forward to it very much. Last time I went there was probably three years ago? With Alex, Ying, Sookie and Cynthia. Ah, how time flies...
Anyway, love the place! Hmm, on second thought, there might be just ONE tiny little detail that has yet to be improved...
... and that is the menu screen! Given that touch screens are common now, I was quite baffled by its rather 'primitive' technology - you actually have to navigate the selection menu with a freaking remote control! (In fact, all the other karoke places in Melbourne that I've been to so far have touch screens.) -___-
And oh, check out the mics too - all the other karaoke places have cordless mics except KBox! See what I meant by 'primitive' technology? I hereby rest my case LOL. With all due respect, I remain flabbergasted by its outdated equipment albeit the rather swanky interior. Oh this is Anna btw.
Having said that, I was VERY impressed by its plethora of songs - they even have Malay and Indonesian songs!! ^.^
Needless to say, I totally enjoyed myself there ! :)
David and Han popped by later to join us before going to the birthday dinner together.
So, birthday dinner was at La Camera in Southbank. Btw good on you Jack for popping in the picture out of the blue! -___-
Wonder why most of us were in black and white, how uncanny.
With Laisa the birthday girl.So, while the girls were busy camwhoring...
... David was also busying himself with my camera!
Honestly David...
You're too funny! -__-
My uber delicious dinner - Fusilli Bucati alla Pescatora, it was THAT awesome! (Well, guess the photo sort of speaks for itself haha)
It then occured to me that I actually forgot to have lunch. Needless to say, I had no trouble at all to polish off the plate!
Went bar hopping after dinner which turned out to be rather interesting - because I was quite tipsy in the end! Now this is embarrassing because I only had ONE drink!! Oh dearie me.
Voila! Behold, my sole drink of the night - Lustrous Crusher. Ok, in my defense - I'm not a big drinker myself (in fact, I hardly ever drink) and unbeknownst to me, there were actually 5 shots in that cocktail! So shut up, don't you dare judge me, haha.
This was at another bar, check out the amount of cameras!! >_<Ah happy day! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend too. :)
Labels: fun time, special occasions
♥ When you think of happiness, I hope you think of me.
8:57 PM
0 comments
8:57 PM
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Happy Easter!
So, did everyone have a good one? I know I did. To start with, I had a uber long Easter weekend (from Good Friday to today), how cool was that!
Then, I had an amazing road trip! I shall let the pictures do the talking (think I may have uploaded a tad too many photos, oh well, bear with me).
Good Friday. We started the day pretty early, left Melbourne around 6ish in the morning, then stopped halfway to have breakfast whilst mapping the day's itinerary.
By the way, joining us in this trip was this lovely couple, Yuan and Chinwee. I was told Yuan is one of our PhD students, in fact she recognised me as soon as she saw me, what a small world!
Brendan's biggish brekky.
My eggs Benedict, strangely, I was actually craving eggs Benedict beforehand.
Pulled over at Lorne, went to the information centre for some ideas as to some possible destinations.
Someone sure is hyperactive...
I totally forgot where this was (besides my struggling up the stairs, yes I know I'm physically unfit, shut up)! Well, there was this waterfall behind us, didn't get to take a good shot though, it was drizzling.
Pulled over at this beach along the Great Ocean Road because I was feeling nauseous (and Wai too). Love this shot btw, Chinwee took a better shot with his SLR though (that reminds me, must get my hands on his photos). Just in case you're wondering why we had our hands behind us, it's because we were hiding our camera pouches.
Went to Otway Fly (let's call it 'the fly' in short shall we?), which also has this prehistoric path. Check out the sign. Lame.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the 'biting' dinasour displays. -___-lll
Up the fly, that's Chinwee at the back btw.
Brendan looks like he's contemplating to jump off.
What a majestic structure!
Up the spiral staircase.
Standing at this shaking suspended deck (I'm sure it has a proper name but I forgot what it was). Apparently, you could fit 14 elephants on it and it wouldn't collapse, yeah right.
A family was actually having a picnic in the middle of the fly, how random was that!
A breathtaking modern structure amidst the ancient jungle, love the juxtaposition.
Was puzzled to see coins lying on the tree.
Until I saw this. Was flabbergasted though, how the heck were they going to retrieve the coins?!! We all had a go at it, only Wai succeeded to have his coin landed on the tree, bravo. Believe me, it's actually harder than it looks.
The boys were attempting to spot the 'white flowers' high up this gigantic tree, which I daresay they spotted nothing, the tree was simply too tall!
Dinner time!
And I managed to 'manipulate' everyone to have Mexican, hehe.
Finally, my burrito Del Mar, God knows how long I've been craving this!
The next day, rise and shine. Breakfast at the apartment (we stayed at this cosy apartment at Warrnambool, Olde Time Maritime I believe it's called).
At Tower Hill (think that's its name).
Well, apart from the name, at least I'm sure it's an inactive volcanic crater.
Lighthouse at Port Fairy.
Chinwee, our designated 'paparazzi'. Hmm, actually thought he epitomised the typical tourist - backpack and a fancy SLR.
Spotted a wallaby on the way back to the car.
Popped by the Crags.
And everyone seemed to be interested to know how the Crags was created (well, maybe besides myself, hehe).
Lunch at Portland. Brendan's fettuccine chorizo.
Wai's seafood risotto.
My fettuccine marinara.
Apparently, Portland is famous for its old buildings, according to a staff at Portland information centre (whom I heard from the boys was awkwardly unenthusiastic to promote his town). Anyway, exploring old buildings is totally my thing! For example, this town hall was built in 1863, it's now a museum.
The oldest house in Victoria, built circa 1840s. Can you imagine how much would have changed since it was built? If only the house could talk.
The second oldest house, circa 1850s.
Lookout at Portland, which served as a water tank for a long time. It now consists of WWII memorabilia.
A panoramic view of Portland from the top of the lookout.
Yuan looks so cute in this shot!
I honestly can't remember where this was again, pardon me.
Dinner at Images, Warrnambool. We were very curious to try its food after driving past its fully packed tables the night before. Quoting one of the boys, "Looks like everyone in Warrnambool dines here."
This is Brendan's seafood platter btw.
Wai's salmon.
Yuan's steak.
Chinwee's special steak.
My chicken camembert. Frankly, I was expecting velvety camembert oozing out from the succulent chicken breast, sadly quite the contrary.
The next morning, chef Wai and sous-chef Chinwee. I was so impressed that the boys got up early and busied themselves over cooking breakfast in the kitchen. (Note that it was actually 8.25 am, end of daylight saving).
Tadah! A delicious spread of brekky, thank boys. =)
A failed 'eggy in a basket', not too shabby actually.
Explored Warrnambool before leaving. It was a nice warm day.
A funny shot of the couple.
The boys were busy navigating.
Lunch at Camperdown, my duck risotto in an orange glaze. Love the duck but the sweetness of the risotto was rather overwhelming.
Brendan's cannelloni (it's basically pasta stuffed with cheese and spinach), what an interesting dish.
Inside the Camperdown clocktower.
It's actually slightly daunting climbing up the clocktower, mainly due to its narrow and old stairs.
Apparently, the clocktower is only opened on the first Sunday of each month, it must be our lucky day!
Once again, can't remember where we were, love the flowers though.
A very gay Wai... -___-lll (Ok, in his defence, I actually 'coerced' him in doing so, didn't think he would comply though.)
Somehow, standing next to the flowers makes Brendan looks kinda gay in this shot, hehe...
Think this is a nice shot of Yuan and I. =)
At Red Rock, another volcanic crater. Love the background!
Absolutely love this shot! Felt as if I was sitting amidst an aura of serenity.
Ok, was just being cheeky. =p
And what better way to end such a wonderful trip than a steamy hot dinner? It's literally steamy hot though, had dinner at a Chongqing restaurant (重庆诱惑) in the city, its spiciness is definitely not for the faint-hearted! Btw, this is 'husband and wife ox lungs' (夫妻肺片), my favourite dish of the night, simply splendid.
Chongqing chilli chicken (重庆辣子鸡), a trademark dish apparently. According to Yuan, it's not a Chongqing restaurant without this dish.
Chilli fish.
Shredded tofu with shrimps, the only non-spicy food we ordered.
The aftermath, it was a very satisfying dinner indeed.
Needless to say, I had an insanely wonderful time. Thanks guys for being such a great company. =)
Hope everyone had a great Easter break. Back to work tomorrow!
So, did everyone have a good one? I know I did. To start with, I had a uber long Easter weekend (from Good Friday to today), how cool was that!
Then, I had an amazing road trip! I shall let the pictures do the talking (think I may have uploaded a tad too many photos, oh well, bear with me).
Good Friday. We started the day pretty early, left Melbourne around 6ish in the morning, then stopped halfway to have breakfast whilst mapping the day's itinerary.By the way, joining us in this trip was this lovely couple, Yuan and Chinwee. I was told Yuan is one of our PhD students, in fact she recognised me as soon as she saw me, what a small world!
Brendan's biggish brekky.
My eggs Benedict, strangely, I was actually craving eggs Benedict beforehand.
Pulled over at Lorne, went to the information centre for some ideas as to some possible destinations.
Someone sure is hyperactive...
I totally forgot where this was (besides my struggling up the stairs, yes I know I'm physically unfit, shut up)! Well, there was this waterfall behind us, didn't get to take a good shot though, it was drizzling.
Pulled over at this beach along the Great Ocean Road because I was feeling nauseous (and Wai too). Love this shot btw, Chinwee took a better shot with his SLR though (that reminds me, must get my hands on his photos). Just in case you're wondering why we had our hands behind us, it's because we were hiding our camera pouches.
Went to Otway Fly (let's call it 'the fly' in short shall we?), which also has this prehistoric path. Check out the sign. Lame.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the 'biting' dinasour displays. -___-lll
Up the fly, that's Chinwee at the back btw.
Brendan looks like he's contemplating to jump off.
What a majestic structure!
Up the spiral staircase.
Standing at this shaking suspended deck (I'm sure it has a proper name but I forgot what it was). Apparently, you could fit 14 elephants on it and it wouldn't collapse, yeah right.
A family was actually having a picnic in the middle of the fly, how random was that!
A breathtaking modern structure amidst the ancient jungle, love the juxtaposition.
Was puzzled to see coins lying on the tree.
Until I saw this. Was flabbergasted though, how the heck were they going to retrieve the coins?!! We all had a go at it, only Wai succeeded to have his coin landed on the tree, bravo. Believe me, it's actually harder than it looks.
The boys were attempting to spot the 'white flowers' high up this gigantic tree, which I daresay they spotted nothing, the tree was simply too tall!
Dinner time!
And I managed to 'manipulate' everyone to have Mexican, hehe.
Finally, my burrito Del Mar, God knows how long I've been craving this!
The next day, rise and shine. Breakfast at the apartment (we stayed at this cosy apartment at Warrnambool, Olde Time Maritime I believe it's called).
At Tower Hill (think that's its name).
Well, apart from the name, at least I'm sure it's an inactive volcanic crater.
Lighthouse at Port Fairy.
Chinwee, our designated 'paparazzi'. Hmm, actually thought he epitomised the typical tourist - backpack and a fancy SLR.
Spotted a wallaby on the way back to the car.
Popped by the Crags.
And everyone seemed to be interested to know how the Crags was created (well, maybe besides myself, hehe).
Lunch at Portland. Brendan's fettuccine chorizo.
Wai's seafood risotto.
My fettuccine marinara.
Apparently, Portland is famous for its old buildings, according to a staff at Portland information centre (whom I heard from the boys was awkwardly unenthusiastic to promote his town). Anyway, exploring old buildings is totally my thing! For example, this town hall was built in 1863, it's now a museum.
The oldest house in Victoria, built circa 1840s. Can you imagine how much would have changed since it was built? If only the house could talk.
The second oldest house, circa 1850s.
Lookout at Portland, which served as a water tank for a long time. It now consists of WWII memorabilia.
A panoramic view of Portland from the top of the lookout.
Yuan looks so cute in this shot!
I honestly can't remember where this was again, pardon me.
Dinner at Images, Warrnambool. We were very curious to try its food after driving past its fully packed tables the night before. Quoting one of the boys, "Looks like everyone in Warrnambool dines here."This is Brendan's seafood platter btw.
Wai's salmon.
Yuan's steak.
Chinwee's special steak.
My chicken camembert. Frankly, I was expecting velvety camembert oozing out from the succulent chicken breast, sadly quite the contrary.
The next morning, chef Wai and sous-chef Chinwee. I was so impressed that the boys got up early and busied themselves over cooking breakfast in the kitchen. (Note that it was actually 8.25 am, end of daylight saving).
Tadah! A delicious spread of brekky, thank boys. =)
A failed 'eggy in a basket', not too shabby actually.
Explored Warrnambool before leaving. It was a nice warm day.
A funny shot of the couple.
The boys were busy navigating.
Lunch at Camperdown, my duck risotto in an orange glaze. Love the duck but the sweetness of the risotto was rather overwhelming.
Brendan's cannelloni (it's basically pasta stuffed with cheese and spinach), what an interesting dish.
Inside the Camperdown clocktower.
It's actually slightly daunting climbing up the clocktower, mainly due to its narrow and old stairs.
Apparently, the clocktower is only opened on the first Sunday of each month, it must be our lucky day!
Once again, can't remember where we were, love the flowers though.
A very gay Wai... -___-lll (Ok, in his defence, I actually 'coerced' him in doing so, didn't think he would comply though.)
Somehow, standing next to the flowers makes Brendan looks kinda gay in this shot, hehe...
Think this is a nice shot of Yuan and I. =)
At Red Rock, another volcanic crater. Love the background!
Absolutely love this shot! Felt as if I was sitting amidst an aura of serenity.
Ok, was just being cheeky. =p
And what better way to end such a wonderful trip than a steamy hot dinner? It's literally steamy hot though, had dinner at a Chongqing restaurant (重庆诱惑) in the city, its spiciness is definitely not for the faint-hearted! Btw, this is 'husband and wife ox lungs' (夫妻肺片), my favourite dish of the night, simply splendid.
Chongqing chilli chicken (重庆辣子鸡), a trademark dish apparently. According to Yuan, it's not a Chongqing restaurant without this dish.
Chilli fish.
Shredded tofu with shrimps, the only non-spicy food we ordered.
The aftermath, it was a very satisfying dinner indeed.Needless to say, I had an insanely wonderful time. Thanks guys for being such a great company. =)
Hope everyone had a great Easter break. Back to work tomorrow!
Labels: food, fun time, special occasions
♥ When you think of happiness, I hope you think of me.
8:21 PM
0 comments
8:21 PM
