flowers....

This was meant to be a food blog before, but I'm allowed to change my mind aren't I? These flowers were from around the gardens at Graham Court Apartments, where we're staying at the moment. Gorgeous place! Above, some daffodil like tiny ones just outside our window. If anyone knows the names of these, please comment below!
This one above is probably some sort of daisy.
These were really tiny ones that grew in clusters.
These look like hibiscuses but I think they're not. These ones below are like stars!

Chez Maria's in Oakleigh

This cozy little cafe in Oakleigh has a great selection of yummy but fattening things to go with fresh salads. Great service as well. Above, the stuffed eggplant was yummy, as anything with cheese on top always is. Next to it is a flaky pie with cheese and spinach filling.

I wasn't familiar enough with how these meals work so I didn't think to get any salads, I just pointed at whatever I wanted through the glass case.
The roasted potatoes, above had a tangy, tomato-ey flavour. The stuffed tomato had meat and cheese inside. I think everything must've been drizzled with olive oil because I felt so full after just eating a few mouthfuls.
I don't know what this was, but it was supposed to be a dessert. Something like a deep fried piece of pastry. I didn't like it that much but perhaps i just wasn't used to it.

All this with 2 coffees came up to $30.

char siu [chinese barbecued pork]

we were so lucky to have had this at Art's place. This chinese barbecued pork is marinated with a sweetish dark sauce, then grilled/barbecued till the top caramelizes, giving a great almost burnt flavour.
here it is, being sliced! the slices are usually eaten with rice, drizzled with more sauce mixed with honey. In Malaysian hawker stalls, it's often dry and coloured a sickly red colour, and not very juicy at all, but this one was so tender, juicy and flavourful, and without red colouring! So, I have to say, Art's char siu is better than anything i've ever had in Malaysia!

When I asked for a recipe, all he said was to marinade the pork with bottled char siu sauce, then grill it. But, I suppose if you wanted to make it from scratch, here's a recipe from a Malaysian site. Please omit the red colouring. Your body does not need any colourings.

The slices can also be put on top of noodle soup, as a garnish and as the meal's "meat" component, since all meals must have carbs, veg and meat. [In the malaysian world] Or, you could put them in a sandwich. Or eat them with mantou [chinese buns] and spring onions.

Cambodian noodle soup

This was just $5.50 at Thu Thu shop which is a food and drink kiosk at the centre of springvale plaza. It's right under the sun roof, a circular booth that has coffee and ice blended drinks on one side, and hot congee and noodle soup on the other. You can pick what type of noodle soup you want just by pointing at the pictures. We picked this Cambodian one, which tastes just like the vietnamese one but the noodles are much chewier. It was a generous serving, with slices of meat, pork paste, fish paste, crab stick and spring onions. The broth was very flavourful, especially after the lemon juice was added. Our order was put together in a few minutes, so it's great for a quick lunch!

my fridge

I don't have a proper fridge at the moment - this is what i've got. a little mini fridge. Jam, butter, yakult, kimchi and a tupperware of pasta with tomato and eggplant sauce on top.

maple syrup, chinese fermented tofu, ginger paste, soda, a jar of pol sambol, and on the bottom row, oyster sauce and tom yam paste.

world food at church

Today some people at church brought food from their country to share with everyone. Some even dressed up in their traditional garb. It was interesting to see some new things that I've never seen before, such as the south african rusk, above left. tasted like "roti kok", which is a crunchy hard, dried out bread. the green and white slices on the right are malaysian "kuih talam". The yellow slice, below is a Philipine corn custard slice.
and these colourful things on the bottom are korean glutinous rice cakes.

Polish Bakery - Rye Crust

After reading about this place in the Herald Sun, I wanted to come and try everything! However, I only made off with a few items. Half the store was a little cafe where you could sit down with a coffee and cake, and the other side was the bread section. Will be back again for the Polish cheesecake! Stepping into the store, I could hear everyone speaking [presumably] Polish and none of the cakes/desserts were labelled in English. The breads were, so I chose an egg and raisin bread [which the rosy cheeked lady behind the counter described as being similar to the French brioche] and a sourdough bun. I asked if she could tell me what everything was, so she did, in a very friendly manner. Above is the mini "babka" which is a marble cake.

Below, a Polish danish which is a nice rich bread with a sweetened poppyseed filling. It smelled of almonds.
and below, the sourdough bun with some slices of Polish ham. [I think!] We stopped by Uncle's Smallgoods [just across the road on Thomas St] for some Polish processed meat but nothing was labelled in English either, so we just pointed to what the other customers were having and tried it out. This ham was yummy, and not as salty as the regular ham we're used to.
Below, the egg and raisin bread - which was delicious toasted and spread with jam. I didn't know how to eat it, so i had to do a google search on how to eat brioche. [Well, it isn't really brioche since it's Polish isn't it, but I didn't know the Polish name for it] It has a really thick and rich texture. It didn't need any butter because it already has heaps of butter in it apparently.

At both places, all the customers and staff spoke Polish and we felt a little bit out of place because there were no English translations on their menu or labels on the items, but when we spoke to the staff and asked them what to do, they were friendly and accommodating. So, it's just a matter of speaking to them to ask what to get. I would like to go again and try the other things.

Rye Crust bakery

101 Foster St, Dandenong VIC 3175