Chik's Crib

27 March 2015

Gâteau Victoire Recipe

March 27, 2015 1
Gâteau Victoire Recipe
Okay, so this isn't the best way to start a recipe blog post. Every time I read a blog recipe, the blogger gushes so much about the recipe, and how it's the most fantastic awesome delicious life-altering cake and how it's so worth dying for!!!! Well, bull. There's no cake in the world that I'll die for. And I'll think less of my life if one slice of cake can alter it. 

I still love chocolate cake, though after going through so many chocolate cake recipes in these last few weeks, I need a chocolate-free break. The good thing about trying all the flourless chocolate cake recipes is that I can say my favourite is the Valrhona Chocolate Orbit Cake from David Lebovitz, which has the creamiest, smoothest texture of all the cakes I've made. This one runs a close second, but you can use a mid-tier chocolate for this recipe.  
ELEPHANT. Just cause kekekekeke

25 March 2015

Coco Lounge

March 25, 2015 0
Coco Lounge
I used to have Reverse Sour Grapes Syndrome concerning restaurants. The further they are from me, the more I appreciate their food. After all, if I'm travelling so far for it, it must be good. There's an authentic dim sum restaurant just 5 minutes drive away from my place, but I rarely go there because, "Hey, I can go anytime..." . But with time, laziness descends upon us all, and I'm starting to take a new-found appreciation to restaurants closer to home.  

Coco Lounge is one place that I'm starting to wonder why I didn't visit more often. It seems perpetually open, whether you want brunch, dinner or desserts, and it's one of those restaurants that is at least half-filled at any given time. We had brunch there a few months back, and their popularity is indeed well-deserved. 

We grabbed a table outside to enjoy the last vestiges of summer, and the table next to us just got their food. I didn't know what drinks they ordered, but with one look, I told our server that I'll have whatever they were having. 

Mocha.

Eastern Dumpling House

March 25, 2015 0
Eastern Dumpling House
One of my favourite Chinese restaurants in Melbourne is Eastern Dumpling House, located just a couple of stores down from Mrs Kim's Grill and Huff Bagelry. I don't normally go gaga over Chinese food here, but I was blown away by the quality of Shanghainese pan-fried dumplings here


Their Pan-fried Pork Dumplings (6 pieces) was the best version I've ever had, with a crispy exterior and deeply-flavoured pork broth within. Be careful when biting into these dumplings; don't take a big bite or you might end up scalding your tongue on the soup contained in the dumpling skin. My way is to nibble off a piece of skin, and slowly make my way inwards. It helps if you get a spoon, and pour some of the soup out and let it cool. 


I particularly love the sesame-studded bottoms, which gave the dumpling such fragrance. 
There were a few other dumplings that were good, but not outstanding in the way the Pan-fried pork dumplings were. I often order another type of dumplings as well (One that comes in 12/15 pcs), and Xiao Long Baos. The xiao long baos are good, but their skins were a bit too thick for my liking when I last tried.  

If you can take spicy food, Szechuan Beef with Noodles ($9.80) is particularly outstanding, and surprisingly less spicy than it sounds, considering I'm a noob at spicy food.


Must Try:
Pan-fried Pork Dumplings 
Szechuan Beef with Noodles 

I tried the nearby Auntie Dumplings, which is more popular online. In my opinion, they have similar standards - almost indistinguishable - except for the Pan-fried Pork Dumplings. The ones here are sesame-studded, which was how I like it. 

22 March 2015

Ginger Spice Cake

March 22, 2015 0
Ginger Spice Cake
A couple of years ago when I first came to Melbourne, I picked up a bottle of molasses for a couple of baking projects that never materialised. I've been hanging onto the bottle for these two years out of thriftiness, but I wasn't sure if I was ever going to get around to using it. But my Asian thriftiness came through once again, and I was flipping through my recipe archive when I came across this recipe . I never cared much for ginger, but I've made this cake before and I liked it. Several reasons tipped my hand to make this: 1) It's one of David Lebovitz's most acclaimed recipes. 2) J and E hate ginger (but I was confident I could change their minds). And mostly because I really really wanted to use up the molasses. 





20 March 2015

Maisen Tonkatsu

March 20, 2015 0
Maisen Tonkatsu

There are many good tonkatsu restaurants in Tokyo, but the place that everyone seems to like is Maisen Tonkatsu. There are numerous branches across Tokyo and we headed to the main shop in Aoyama which was located in a convenient location- just a few blocks behind Omotesando Hills and within a walkable distance to Harajuku.  It is located near Omotesando station and on exiting the station, there were signs specifically directing us towards Maisen restaurant.