Petaling Street & OldTown Kopitiam Mamak, Melbourne

Having spent my teenage life in Malaysia for three and a half years, I've definitely built a strong bond with the country. Not only the people and culture that attach me to the country, but it's also my love to Malaysian food. Malaysian food has become a part of me since then.

I always think among all the cities in Australia, Sydney probably has the best selection of Malaysian restaurants to choose from. But I was wrong, I must admit Melbourne is now the place to go for Malaysian cuisine. Especially when there are two authentic Malaysian restaurants opened up their branches in Melbourne, i.e. Petaling Street and Old Town Kopitiam Mamak.

My first meal after touching down Melbourne was Petaling Street. It was around 9 when we arrived and we were worried that the restaurant is already closed, but my bro in law told us no need to worry because this restaurant open until 3 AM. The real malaysian style! When I reached the restaurant and looked at the menu, I felt like home.

Malaysian Food is never complete without their chilli condiment - Sambal and to soothe your burning mouth, a cup of icy cold Teh Tarik (Milk Tea) will do the job.

We had the delicious Petaling Street Style Steam rice roll ($5.80), served with the perfect sweet dark sauce.

 Then, we had the Herbal Chicken Soup, it was rich with ginseng flavour. It's perfect to warm up the body in Melbourne's freezing weather. (Sorry I forgot how much this soup cost)

The Mamak Mie Goreng ($8.90) was so good and it's really authentic. Back in Malaysia this is a very popular Hawker type spicy egg noodles. What you'll find in this plate of noodle are seafood, chicken, bean curd and bean shoots. We ended up ordering one more plate of this yummy fried noodle, because one is just not enough.

We also had their Asam Laksa ($9.90). Another popular hawker food in Malaysia. The thick vermicelli noodle is served with cucumber, red onion, pineapple in hot sour fish soup. Even though, the flavour was there but we found the soup too thick and overpowering.

Lastly, we had the Cuttlefish Salad. I have not seen this dish in Sydney. This is a very unique salad only to be found in Malaysia. The boiled Cuttlefish was served with water spinach topped with peanuts and dark sweet sauce which I have no idea what it's made of, but it was really delicious, taste exactly like those back in Malaysia. So glad to find it here in Petaling Street!

Next day while walking around the Melbourne city, me and my husband found another Malaysian franchise restaurant purely by chance. Nested inside QV square is the Old town Kopitiam Mamak. Famous for their milk coffee, milk tea as well as their traditional Malaysian food, my husband and I made a stop here. Even though we were still feeling full from lunch, we just couldn't go pass this place.

My husband had their special Old Town Teh C Special 3 Colour tea ($3.90). The drink consists of layers of tea, milk and brown palm sugar

I tried the Ice Cendol ($6.00). Ice cendol is a refreshing drink with a blend of brown palm sugar, red bean, green jelly coconut milk and shaved ice. But this cendol was quite dissapointing, the coconut milk was too thick. I guess we can never find cendol that is as good as the one in Malaysia, because the coconut milk in Australia is mostly packaged, where in Malaysia they serve it with fresh coconut milk which taste so much lighter and fresher.

Finally, one of my favourite food - Roti canai ($4.50). The roti canai is definitely the best I've had in Australia, my husband actually thought it is even better than the one he had in Malaysia. The bread was crispy and it had the perfect texture and flavour. We were not surprise it's this good, because it's made by the real Mamak (Tamil Muslims of Malaysian nationality), who is known for their specialty in making roti canai.

I couldn't be happier with our meals in these two restaurants. Now, the question is "When are they going to open a branch in Sydney?". I'm highly anticipating for the day to come!

Petaling Street

600 Station St, Box Hill 

Melbourne 3000

Ph:(03) 9890 0972

 

Oldtown Kopitiam Mamak

Level 2, Shop 11, QV Square
QV Building

Melbourne 3000

Ph: (03) 9654 2682

Pacific Seafood BBQ House, Melbourne

My Favourite Chinese Restaurant in Melbourne

The first time I came to Pacific Seafood BBQ House (mostly known as Pacific House) was probably 3 years ago. It was also the first time I had their Singapore Chilli Lobster. Since then, I've been longing to come back and have their lobster again. I've came back for other dishes but not the lobster so, before I fly to Melbourne last week, I asked my sister to make a booking because, I need to have their Singapore Chilli Lobster badly! Actually, apart from the Lobster everything else is really good too.

This is a very popular chinese restaurant among the Melbournians. You can expect long queues most of the time. Hence, booking is highly recommended. Food is superb and fairly priced. Service is really fast too, however don't expect any friendly service here.

This meal is a very special meal for me, as we were celebrating my sister, her husband and my birthday. It was a birthday fiesta! 

We had one of their very popular dishes, The deep fried chicken covered with salted egg yolk. This is so good! but like my brother in law said, this is the perfect recipe to heart attack, high in fat and salt. But we couldn't care any less, it was too good to say no to.

We also ordered the Venison meat, I think it was stir fry with ginger and shallot (I wasn't paying much attention when my sister made the order). The Venison meat was unbelievably tender. Even some of the fine dining restaurants couldn't achieve tenderness like this.

Pacific House is also popular for their BBQ pork and roast pork.

We ordered a garlic stir fry vegetable to balance our heavy dishes.

Then, we had the legendary Singapore Chilli Lobster! The sauce was so tasty, accompanied with Chinese thin egg noodle, it was heaven in my mouth! This Singapore Chilli sauce can be cooked with crab too.

My sister bought us a birthday cake from Laurent Patisserie. It was a chocolate and passionfruit mousse cake. The chocolate was rich, the passionfruit was sweet and sour but refreshing at the same time. Yum!

Please note: All the dishes were priced around twenties, except the lobster which was pretty pricey. It was $365. We didn't expect the lobster to cost so much, but we all agreed that it worth every dollar of our money.

Overall, I love this restaurant, food was really good, price is reasonable (except for the lobster). Hence, one of my favourite place to dine and for many Melbournians too.

Pacific Seafood BBQ House

1/210 Toorak Rd

South Yarra 

Ph: (03) 9826 3838

The Press Club, Melbourne

It's not an easy thing to secure a table at The Press Club. Owned by one of the Masterchef Judges, George Calombaris, this charming Greek restaurant is definitely one of Australians favourite eateries.  My sister tried to make a booking for dinner one and a half months ago, but the staff told her the earliest she could get a table for dinner on Saturday is three month later, so with some luck she managed to secure a table for us for lunch last Saturday.

 

My sister said that their lunch menu is not as good as dinner. They do serve a la carte for lunch and they also have set menu which they called Kerasma (which means to treat and to share in Greek) for $55 per person, it consists of chef's selection of entree, main and dessert. We decided to go with the Kerasma.

 Complementary Olive and white breads

Wild olives in olive oil & Black Salt

Entrees (There were three types of entree):

1. Squid Salad and Pickle Cucumber. It was quite refreshing and light to start off the meal.

2. Pork and Honey Apple Press. The pork cube was surprisingly tender,the spices was flavourful and never knew pork goes so well with apple. 

3. Duck Croquette. The filling was rich and creamy and the skin was soft crisp. There was a prominent flavour of cumin accompanying the croquette. It was my favourite entree of all three.

Mains ( We were served two different mains, where we had one each):

1. Sword Fish with Tomato salsa. The fish was really fresh, seasoned well and cooked to perfection. The tasty salsa sauce gave the whole dish an extra flavour, it definitely complemented the fish well.

2. Braised Beef with Eggplant and Caramalised Onion.

This dish was mind blowing! Every single component of it was delicious! The beef melts in your mouth, it was really rich, sweet in flavour and it's aromatic, which highlighted the beef. The Eggplant has a pleasant smokey smell, it was really unique. The caramalised onions was probably one of the best I've ever tasted and it was a perfect match for the beef.

Separately, we ordered their famous chips to share. In fact it was really crispy and fragrant. We couldn't figure out why the chips smells so good and different compared with other chips we have in other restaurants, but it was just different in a very delicious way. I wonder what's the secret behind it. The chips were served with beetroot dip. I didn't like it cos I'm not a big fan of beetroot.

Desserts (There were three types of dessert):

I really enjoyed the choice of desserts they served, they were all refreshing and light. Perfect to end the rich and tasty lunch.

Icy cold Apricot Sorbet  &  Orange Cake.

Muesli Cube

I'm not sure what exactly this muesli made from, but it was so yummy! I loved it! I could taste the Pistachio and the muesli was topped with a layer of fruit jelly. The overall flavour was just unexplainable. I just couldn't love it enough. If only they have this kind of muesli bar on sale on the market. 

The Aphrodite

Finally, the reason we came to Press Club. We came to Press Club with a mission to try on their famous dessert, the 'Aphrodite' that was made famous by the Masterchef show. Elements you could find in this beautiful dessert are white chocolate mousse, cheeries, roses, soil and scent. 

While serving the dessert, the staff told us the inspiration of this dessert came from the Greek's Goddess of love who walks along the garden of roses. This is not only a dessert for your palate, but it was also a feast for the eyes and for the imagination. Savouring this dessert was an experience by itself. The flavour of this beautiful dessert was another glory. 

The waitress came and sprayed some roses scent before we started, it did awake our senses. The combination of the roses scent, cheeries, jelly and dark chocolate crumbs were perfect. It was a little sweet and a little soury. Just how I like my dessert to be.

Notice there's one thing missing in the Aphrodite? It was the smoke effect that was seen on TV. My husband actually asked them why it wasn't serve they way we saw it on masterchef. The staff explained that due to the high cost, the smoke was only serve for the purpose of the show and for function only. Oh well, it would have been better if we could experience that as well, but overall I still love this dessert very much.  

But please note that the scent of the roses are quite strong, so if you don't usually like roses, you might not like this dessert.

Overall, I think the lunch in The Press Club was pretty good.

Did this two hatted restaurant live up to my expectation? It certainly did. 

For $55, I think it was a great value.

Just make sure you book early! 

Press Club

72 Flinders Street
Melbourne 3000 Australia

Ph: (03) 9677 9677

Giorgios, Melbourne

THE  MOST UNFORGETTABLE MEAL IN MELBOURNE

Finally, I'm back!!! Having been missing in action for so long, I'm finally back with this very special post. The main reason for my absence is due to the hectic workload during this financial year end, where I unwillingly put a temporary stop on my food/culinary adventure. But, I was lucky that even during this busy season, I managed to fly down to Melbourne last week to witness and celebrate my sister and her fiance's ROM (Registration of Marriage). I couldn't ask them for a better place to celebrate their special day. Giorgios is one the few places where I like almost every single food being served. Of course, the credit goes to my sister and her now husband, who picked the perfect selection of food for us to choose from.

My sister told me that she always come here for their dessert and after savouring them...I fully understand why.

Starter: Freshly Baked Garlic, Herb & Cheese Foccacia

A crispy mix of garlic and herb bread is always a great starter for Italian food. As a garlic lover, I really like the heavy flavoured garlic and cheese combination.

Selection of Entrees

Entree 1: Salt and Pepper Squid

The squid was lightly fried, marinated in lemon pepper served on iceberg lettuce, spanish onion, tomato, carrot and aioli. The squid was soft, with the perfect amount of salt and pepper that wasn't over powering. 

Entree 2: Vegetarian Thai Rolls

The rice pastry of the spring rolls is perfectly thin and crispy, with savoury filling of julienne vegetables, rice noodles and Thai spices. 

Entree 3: Souvlaki Mezza

The cubes of lamb are marinated with Mediterranean herbs, garlic, spring onion and served with fetta, diced tomato, black olives and cos lettuce with pita bread. For a lamb eater, you will definitely appreciate the tender lamb that's bursting in flavour. 

So far, the selection of entrees have been pleasant, I was looking forward for the next course.

Selection of Main course

Main 1: Spatchcock

We were impressed by the generous size of this twice cooked whole organic chicken. The moment this dish was placed on the table, we found the aroma really alluring. With the marination of paprika and lemon, the flavour was second to none. Served on the side were kipfler potatoes, orange, red onion & mixed Asian cress salad with orange jus.

Main 2: Prawn Risotto 

Cooking risotto is never simple, it requires perfect skill and a bit of practice to achieve the perfect texture, I dare say the risotto here is perfectly cooked! And Giorgios has make its mark by choosing the best type of rice for cooking risotto, the Aborio rice. This rich and creamy risotto was cooked with shallots, cherry tomato, napoli & marscapone. I also found plenty of tiger prawns in it. As much as I like to finish the whole plate, It was absolutely impossible. The serving was HUGE!

Main 3: Eye Fillet Steak

This was the highlight of the lunch for me and my husband. When the steak was served, I could smell the strong aroma of truffle. The truffled mash potato with char grilled vegetables were really delicious. The highlight was not only the truffled potato, but also the tenderness of the beef and the exceptional flavour of the porcini demi glaze sauce that drawn out the best of the beef. 

Selection of Dessert

Dessert 1: Pear & Lime Tart

The tart has a soft, smooth and tangy lemon filling. The balanced palate of pear and lime flavours, with a sensuous sweetness of the fruits left my mouth feeling refreshed.

Dessert 2: Tiramisu

When done correctly, Tiramisu makes a very impressive dessert. I found the mascarpone cream here really light, which is always a good thing.

Dessert 3: Sticky Date Pudding

Now, the highly recommended dessert by my sister, also her favourite here. The sticky date pudding was served warm with butterscotch sauce & double cream. I couldn't agree more with my sister. Their sticky date pudding is no doubt one of the better one I have ever had.This winter favourite cake reminded me to the one I had at Zellini's cafe in Randwick (Sydney). The moist muffin-like pudding is accompanied with the perfect butterscotch sauce that has a hint of salty after taste. This is one of those times when I couldn't stop stuffing myself until I clean the whole plate.

Gosh, what have I done? I can barely move after the meal.

Apart from my mum's cooking, this is undeniably the best meal I had lately.

Thanks to my beloved sis and her hubby for this wonderful meal. 

This has been the most unforgettable meal I had in Melbourne.

"This post is especially posted for you guys!

Hope you guys have a Happy Marriage!!!"

You can find out more on their menu here

Giorgios 

1235 High Street

Armadale- 3143

VIC, Australia

Ph: 03 9822 4664