My Last Dental Dinner, at the Victoria Park Golf Complex

Victoria Park Golf Complex
www.victoriaparkgolfcomplex.com/



I've long ago given up any desire to remain mysterious/secretive on this blog. Yes folks, I am a flesh and blood human with a real life outside of writing restaurant reviews and amateur cooking attempts on the internet. At the moment, most of my time is taken up by uni but if all goes to plan, that will come to an end after 5 exhausting and long years.

HELLO GRADUATION.

Between now and then, I'm knocking down small milestones. Last written exam, ever. Last day at the dental school, ever. So on.

L: writer and R: head chef of this blog ;)

This past weekend contained my last dental dinner. This is an annual event for all students and staff of the Bachelor of Dental Science and Bachelor of Oral Health at the University of Queensland. I think I missed one in first year but have attended religiously ever since. My social life has now disintegrated to the point where dent dinner and my birthday are the only 2 occasions per year that provide an excuse to dress up.

DIY Indian Banquet

Curry Feast at Home
Home Cooking



A week ago, we went to Malaya Corner and 3 of the guys ordered Nasi Lamek. This is, in short, a smorgasbord of Indochinese curries, garnishes and sides, all on one plate and served with rice. A reader of this blog told me this was a traditional Malaysian breakfast. Those lucky people :).



Regulars of this blog should know that we love our curry. Mostly Indian, but occasionally Thai. We like eating curry out and we like making it at home. Byron came up with this idea of making a selection of curries and accompaniments and creating a sort of Nasi Lamek experience, but with Indian food.

Yum Cha at Big Gun

Yum Cha at Big Gun
Shop 7/2922 Logan Rd, Underwood



When I last wrote a post for Big Gun, I had a huge response from friends and blog readers alike, claiming that my experience wasn't representative of their standards. The resounding statement was 'but their yum cha was good'. I was nearly so put off by the poor quality of dishes we ordered that I thinking 'STUFF THE YUM CHA' but my duty as an accurate (not rageful) food blogger drove me to give it a go.

All in the pursuit of the truth.

So, last week when mum and dad were thinking about where to go for lunch, I threw Big Gun into the mix of options and that's what they ran with.

Japanese Cheesecake

Japanese Cheesecake
Home Cooking



I'VE BROKEN YET ANOTHER CAMERA.

It's official. My history with electronics is POOR. Very, very poor. My 2 previous ones were destroyed from being waterlogged in the kitchen. This recent incident involved me pushing my camera off the kitchen bench. This is usually not a fatal accident (I would know since I do it quite often) but this time, the lens were out and got knocked a bit. As a result, it screwed up the mechanism that shifts the lens in and out. Bye bye zoom function. No hope of focusing on anything besides a set 'x' distance away from the camera.



I got into a frenzied panic and immediately researched and paid for another one online. Within 2-3 hours, my purchase was finalized. I'm now waiting for it to come in the mail. I call THAT impulse buying.

West End Gardens

West End Gardens
http://westendgarden.com.au/



With these posts, I've been trying to alternate between 'Dining Out' and 'Home Cooking' to keep things interesting. I really wanted this to be a cooking post but the fact is, I haven't made any food in a long time and am unlikely to do so for a while. This is what happens when you live with generous parents. I come home after a tiring day of clinic and think "I COULD spend time/effort making food OR eat what's prepared OR go out for food with friends".



This is why I have 2 restaurant reviews back to back. And not only that, they're both about places in West End.

Night Out at West End

More Monkeys' Cakes and Char Char Yiros
Cnr Russell and Boundary Streets, West End



Cakes at the Three Monkeys have become an unfortunate regularity in my life now. I say unfortunate not because I am against the delicious sugary creations or have anything against the cozy/quirky interior of the cafe but because slices of cake = diet killers. I've already blogged the Monkeys twice now and there's not really much point in me continually writing new posts just to upload fresh photos of what I order.

Having said that, I find that food photography is a habit I've developed that's almost addictive/compulsive in nature. When I'm at a restaurant and I've forgotten my camera, I feel like someone's chopped off a limb and that the whole experience is 'wasted' because I can't capture and blog it. Also, when I return to places I've already blogged, I can't help but rephotograph the food even though I know it's unlikely that I'll have any use for the photos.

This happened at Three Monkeys the other night so I'll put the piccies here (thus avoiding wastage).

Dad's Special Meatball - Yang Zhou Lion's Head Meatballs (Shi Zi Tou)

Yang Zhou Lion's Head Meatballs (Shi Zi Tou)
Home Cooking



There's a dish that I think of as Shanghainese which is a bit like a meatball casserole. They are pork meatballs and they are huge. We call them lion's heads and here's a good example. In a bid to increase my knowledge/experience in making cultural cuisine, I asked my dad if he could make some and show me how.

Initially he debunked the idea as too involved. Apparently he made them once before unsuccessfully. I forgot all about my request until one day, at the butcher, he says "I'm planning to make the meatballs this weekend. Make sure you're home for dinner or I won't bother, because it'll take a long time to do". I gave my word that indeed I would be and so, the process commenced.

2002 Cyber City

2002 Cyber City
206 Wickham Street, Chopstick Arcade, Fortitude Valley



The first time I was taken to this place, I was drunk as a skunk and don't recall much. It's pretty much Byron's favorite place to eat and after my recent failures in showing him good Asian food in Brisbane (Big Gun and Bamboo Basket were both a 'miss'), he decided to take matters into his own hands. He nominated Cyber City as his guaranteed good, cheap Asian feed and we've since been twice (ironically, the second time was today, mid-writing this blog post so as a result, I have an extra dish to post).



Cyber City is located at the end of what I now know as Chopstick Arcade (thank you, Google). The adjacent shops are usually boarded up and closed when I go past so the area has a, for want of a better word, 'dodgy' vibe. What if I say 'authentically Asian'? Does that make it sound better? Just remember, we are talking about the valley after all.

Mars Bar Cookies

Mars Bar Cookies
Home Cooking



I made these cookies a good couple of months ago for my end of Semester 1 clinic party. I hadn't baked anything in a while so it was a bit rusty getting back into it. You can probably see the result of this in that my cookies are ahem... 'unattractive' to say the least. Thinking back, I actually made them in the share house I was living at and I've since moved. How fast time flies by...



When I first started baking, I had a recipe up my sleeve for 'Subway-style' cookies made with condensed milk in the dough. They were so easy to do and came out perfect every time. The result is this sticky, chewy cookie with a slightly crunchy outside. The recipe is just for a basic dough and you can get creative and add whatever you like to it.

Cafe 21

Cafe 21
Level 1, Treasury Casino, Brisbane CBD



Cafe 21 used to be one of my favorites in the city because it's a casual but 'clean' atmosphere (well-dressed waitstaff and plush napkins) with a hearty menu (meatloaf was my pick) for low prices, open 24hrs. I hadn't been in AGES... nearly a year... but decided to give it a go again recently.

The menu had changed completely and prices had gone up but the place was extremely popular. It was a weekend, around dinnertime and there was a queue to get in. For a few moments, we toyed with the idea of heading up to Marco Polo to beat the rush but somehow couldn't justify upgrading the dinner to 'Fine Dining' just for the sake of impatience.

Banana and White Chocolate Mud Cake with Caramel Frosting

Banana and White Chocolate Mud Cake with Caramel Frosting
Home Cooking



Time flies.

It seems like barely a few days ago when this semester of uni started but in reality, it's been over a month and I've already finished my first clinical rotation. I loved it there and the only bad part (which is really a good part) was that most days, someone would have brought along a cake or some sweets for everyone to share. Other days, my classmates might run out and bring back $5 worth of chips (don't let that small figure fool you, it would be a MOUNTAIN), which was equally as bad in its goodness.



On our last day there, we took these teatime traditions to the next level. Each of us who were there on placement were to bring along a food item. I took this as a chance to bake something fun.

Up until the last moment, I was planning to bake a chocolate banana cake. That was until my friend said she was going to bake chocolate banana cookies. In an effort to avoid repetition, I made a switch to banana and white chocolate.

Bombay Dhaba

Bombay Dhaba
http://www.bombaydhaba.com.au/



In 2009, I ate Indian food out almost every week. This routine got scrapped coming into 2010 when I culled my frequency of dining out in favor of a more manageable credit card bill. It's a shame because curry runs (oh dear, just realized the unfortunate play on words there... get your mind out of the gutter please) are great, especially if you're starved or hung over.



To me, there should always be a bit of theater with having an Indian meal. It's like Greek or Italian. I want abundance, quantity, multiple courses, little sauce pots and stuff to dip. I want to be able to use my hands and share and chat with friends.

Chicken, Salted Fish and Eggplant Claypot

Chicken, Salted Fish and Eggplant Claypot
Home Cooking



Can someone please tell me if the idea of chicken, salted fish and eggplant in one dish is weird? Or perfectly sane? I hear about chicken and salted fish combinations quite a bit in Asian eateries but I think it's exactly that: an Asian thing. I can definitely understand if this sounds gross but I've always been attracted to the idea.

I ordered a chicken and salted fish claypot at Shangpaign Kitchen not too long ago but it wasn't anything like I expected. Inspired to do better, my dad came up with this dish.

We buy salted fish in oil and it comes in jar-form so check your local Asian grocery store. Dad says they vary in saltiness so it's important to taste first to get an idea of how much to put.

Elio's Osteria

Elio's Osteria BYO Carina
http://www.elios.com.au/



Last Thursday, mum and I revisited Elio's in Carina. By revisited, I mean that my family got takeaway pasta from there maybe upwards of 6-7 years ago. We always had a really good impression of the pasta so as time went by, whenever people asked us for pasta restaurant recs, we'd direct them to Elio's. I'd say that by 2010, our measly 1 visit hardly gave us any authority to rate the place but it goes to show how far a good impression can go.



When we got there, the place was closed. I was ready to give up (was starving that day and in no mood to wait around for a restaurant to open) but mum ran out of the car to ask and came back to say they were opening in 2 min. There were a few other people hovering outside for them to open too.