Review About Anything

Three Bags Full, Abbotsford

2010-04-26T03:23:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try Three Bags Full for ages. I drive pass this cafe on a few mornings. I was excited when I arranged to catch up with a girlfriend for lunch here. I ordered the Egg Benedict and my usual soy mocha. My girlfriend had a toast with avocado spread & a regular cappuccino. The coffee was awesome! It's really strong and yet not bitter. I enjoyed my Benedict very much too. I also love the decor. The service was quick and friendly.

Pellegrini, Melbourne

2010-04-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

After living in Melbourne for 3 years, I had not tried Pellegrini! Finally, we went to Pelligirini to grab our (late) morning coffee while waiting for a table at Hutong. I like the place. It does feel very Italian :)
Coffee was alright ... I think they should use gourmet coffee beans instead of Vittoria.

Daniel Burt - the Yes Man Syndrome

2010-03-30T00:38:00.000-07:00

We watched Daniel Burt at the Trades Hall. He was recommended by Wil Anderson, whom we watched the Saturday prior, which I have not written a review about yet. Daniel wrote for the 7pm Project and the Letterman show, which made us decide to watch him. I think he was nervous at the start, but got better 2/3 through the show. For a first timer at the Comedy Festival I think he did pretty well. I wouldn't however pay more than $20.

Auction Rooms

2010-03-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try Auction Rooms for ages. Heard good things about it, so I was looking forward to having breakfast there. It was busy as expected, but we managed to get seats within 15 minutes. We sat at the big table and had to share with 3 other groups, which is okay because we didn't sit too closely to each other. Despite the fact that it's so busy, we got served on time and our food arrived in a reasonable amount of time.

The Auction Rooms is pretty spacious.

I like how they write your name on the board ... that way you know how far/behind you are in the queue.

Good coffee ... Tick!

Ordered the 'Counter bid', which has two poached eggs, a toast smothered with heaps of avocado, sun dried tomatoes and greens. It was recommended by a Foursquare user. I enjoyed it very much. Almost finished everything except for the crust.

Service: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 4/5

Bukit Timah Market, Singapore

2010-03-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

Ezard

2010-03-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

To celebrate my boyfriend's birthday, we went to Ezard. It's supposed to have really good degustation menu, so I was expecting a really good dinner. When I first stepped into the restaurant, I was mildly disappointed. The restaurant was small and has no character. It looks pretty generic. I didn't manage to take good photos of each dish as the place was dimly lit and flashes weren't allowed. (Yea I know ... my friend didn't get it either)
Overall it was pretty disappointing for me. I'm not saying it's bad, but for the price I paid, it wasn't worth it. Maybe I shouldn't have picked Asian/Fusion restaurant for fine dining.

It wasn't the best start I have to say. We both don't like oysters ... we practically gulped down the oyster quickly so that we don't have to smell or feel the texture.

The tempura zucchini flower. It was okay. Not a fan of tempura battered vegetable.

The dumpling. It was good, but I think being Asian, I wasn't overly impressed by a solo dumpling served on a huge plate.

The dessert.

Service: 4/5
Food: 2/5
Ambiance: 2/5

lb. , South Yarra

2010-03-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

"lb." or "The Pound" is a small cafe hidden on a street off Chapel Street. I ordered the standard bacon & egg on toast. My boyfriend was feeling adventurous and ordered french toast with bacon and syrup. The food, coffee and service were great. I will come back to try their pide ... seems like that's what they are famous for.

The menu board

Mixing sweet and savoury? You're breaking your own rule mister!

Boring compared to the french toast with bacon!

Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 4/5

Strawberry and Champagne Sencha

2009-12-31T22:27:00.000-08:00

I visited the Salamanca market in Hobart over the Christmas weekend. I bought a packet of 'Strawberry and Champagne Sencha' from the Art of Tea stall. Finally brewed a cuppa today. I loved it! I'm usually not a fan of fruit teas as they can taste weird. This blend is fantastic. It has a sweet scent of strawberry. Can't really smell/taste the champagne, but it makes the blend sounds that little bit fancier!

It's 'Rhu Bru' bro!

2009-12-26T00:45:00.000-08:00

I tried this Rhu Bru, rhubarb drink thing at (you guessed it) Tasmania.

Oh it was weird and sweet.

Hutong Dumpling, Prahran

2009-12-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

I was excited when I read on The Age about the new Hutong restaurant in Prahran. I love eating at Hutong in the city (on Market Lane). However, the branch in Prahran is a great disappointment.

We dined there on Christmas eve (not sure if this is the reason for the poor service and terrible food). We ordered the Xiao Long Bao, Sang Choi Bao and fried rice. We ordered two servings of the Sang Choi Bao, but was only served one. We had to ask them and wait for 10 min for the other one to arrive. There were another couple sitting on the table next to us and they weren't too happy with the service. They complained to the waiter how they have asked three times for a bowl of steamed rice. The fried rice was served to us next. We were q. surprised because we thought the dumpling should be served first. After waiting for 20 to 30 min, we had to remind the waiter about it before the Xiao Long Bao finally arrived. We also felt that the dumplings weren't as good as the one on Market Lane. The Sang Choi Bao is average and fried rice is quite bland.

Service: 2/5
Food: 2/5
Ambiance: 3/5

HTC Magic

2009-12-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

Finally, I upgraded my N95 to HTC Magic. I've been wanting to switch to an Android phone since 1.5 month ago. As a friend commented, there isn't seem to a nice hardware for the Android platform. I decided to get the HTC Magic after realising that the HTC Hero is not going to be available through telephone network provider(No, I don't like the Hero either. Yes, the chin is weird). I'm pleasantly surprised when I receive the HTC Magic. It is sleeker than it looks on photos.

I don't own an iPhone, so I cannot compare the Android ph with it. I've had the phone for about 5 days. I'm still finding the soft keyboard difficult to use (and I don't think I have fat fingers). Some reviews I read said that the HTC Magic can be a bit sluggish at time. I agree, but it's still pretty good. The only thing I'm disappointed with is the lack of apps that caters for the Australian market. Most apps (e.g. flight info, restaurant reviews) are designed for the US users. I'm sure as Android becomes more popular there'll be more apps for Australia.

The HTC Magic comes with a teeny weeny instruction booklet which only tells you how to setup the phone. I got a link to the full manual from Whirlpool forum.

Sensory Lab @ David Jones

2009-12-19T00:37:00.000-08:00

I was along Little Collins this afternoon on my way to check out a sale and felt the need for a caffeine boost. Found Sensory Lab @ David Jones by accident. According to an online article, the cafe staff can customise your coffee and it costs $15. I'm never going to spend that much on a cup of coffee, but I asked for my usual soy mocha ($4, thought it's a bit steep). It's pretty good. Strong flavour without the bitterness. The design of the cafe is uber cool, but I thought making all the staffs wear lab coats is a bit overkill.

Coffee: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5

El Borbollon blend

2009-12-16T03:16:00.000-08:00

A little disappointing. I thought it's supposed to be a strong blend but the coffee I got is quite weak. Although the tips card is helpful. I do find a difference between using boiling and cold water in an Italian percolator.
Coffee bean: 2 out of 5 (Weak and expensive!)
Service: 3.5 out of 5 (For the tips card and friendly staff)

Market Lane Coffee

2009-12-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

The Market Lane Coffee was recently featured on The Age. I decided to buy some fresh coffee bean from them.
The Market Lane cafe is located at a corner of the Prahran Market (Near Aldi). I ended up buying the El Borbollon blend. The description made it sound so good! It says '... with soft orange acidity, notes of honey, cherry and lingering cocoa finish'. I can't wait to try it. I told the staff that I use an Italian percolator and they give a card which gives you tips on how to make a perfect cup of coffee. Their coffee is quite pricey however. It costs either $16 or $26 per 250g. Ouch. Be back with my verdict on the beans.

Review About Anything

2009-12-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

Here it is, my first entry in my third blog. I couldn't decide what to blog about. Coffee, food, fashion, movies or random new products on the market. So I decided to just start a blog which reviews anything under the sun.