Mantaray Bar and Restaurant @ Novotel Ningaloo Resort Hotel, Exmouth Australia

Breakfast at Novotel is not a buffet style. You will be pleasantly surprised by their ala-carte breakfast which include coffee or tea and fruit juices. Although choices were limited to about 8, I enjoyed the two I tried; namely their Eggs Benedict as well the Big Breakfast set.

Their Eggs Benedict come with two soft poached eggs dressed with creamy Hollandaise sauce. They are lovingly spread out on a generous slice of ham on top thick brioche. Two stalks of asparagus brightens the plate. I love their eggs and the yolks just oozed out once the knife cuts through them. Asparagus was slightly too hard for my taste but otherwise, this was a good dish.

The Big Breakfast was huge and I couldn't finish everything even though I was famished when I ordered. I had mine with scrambled eggs but you can get your eggs any way you like them. The whole shebang includes sausages, bacon, mushrooms, hash brown, roasted tomatoes, baked beans and bread. It's VERY filling so make sure you are hungry if you want this!

I usually wash down my breakfast with a cup of hot latte but they do offer tea as well.

If you are in the mood for a light lunch, their Snapper Salad is excellent! White, flaky fish with a bed of greens dressed in an amazing mango? sauce I finished every last bite. I especially love the nuts and seeds mixed in the salad!

Dinner was alright but we took ours in the open area. I have always hated cockroaches and the wooden bench we were sitting at for dinner was a breeding ground for them! Throughout our dinner, there were more than 3 even though some of my colleagues bravely killed a few. Ugh!!! And their sizes were bigger than the usual Malaysian ones!

I had the chocolate milkshake which was creamy and quite thick although it was on the too-sweet side.

The garlic bread was dressed with balsamic and would be excellent if the garlic were not burned. I liked the slight tang from the vinegar which contrasted with the buttery bread.

I had the burger which was quite disappointing although its size was very generous. The patty was a little undercooked and I remember thinking that it smelled like uncooked beef. Please don't get me wrong. I love rare steaks but this is a little too under for me.

Dining in Mantaray was pleasant enough except the last night when we sat outside. I would probably sit in the restaurant next time and their service was excellent. Despite a full restaurant, food arrived rather promptly.

Colonial Tramcar Restaurant (Revisited), Melbourne CBD

This is a late post actually. Yes, AGAIN. LOL. Life's pretty busy after the wedding so finally, I only got time now to slowly go back in my back-dated posts. We went back to Colonial Tramcar Restaurant some time in December last year and I only finally got to get these uploaded. It's hubby's first time and he's happily taking shots of the tram! Haha. Adorable!

If you asked my opinion, I would probably recommend the luncheon menu compared to the rest; mainly because the price is pretty decent compared to the rest and had four courses. The menu is the same as my previous visit (I don't think this will ever change :P) and so we had the hummus and capsicum dip. 

"Hummus dip: A smooth blend of chickpea and tahini with a hint of mint, served with crisp lavosh

Roasted Red Capsicum Dip: Fresh roasted capsicum blended with Australian cream cheese and tapenade, served with golden baked water crackers"

It was really nice and we both agreed that the capsicum dip far surpassed the hummus with its smoky flavours and creamy texture.

I recommended the duck terrine to Hubby but I don't think he enjoyed it much. LOL. I probably should let him make his own decision without influencing them :P Sorryyyyy

"Duck Terrine: Tender confit duck terrine wrapped in prosciutto, accompanied by a wild berry relish and cornichons
Smoked Salmon & Avocado: Smoked Tasmanian salmon and avocado mousse, dressed with baby capers, red onion and tomato salsa"

Anyway, I liked the cold confit and when eaten with the relish and bits of the gherkins, I find them very enjoyable, especially on a hot afternoon. I guess this is pretty subjective and believed that Hubby probably would have enjoyed the smoked salmon better. :D

The following were some of the drinks we took during our lunch. They offer unlimited flow of drinks and liquor so don't go too crazy okay? ;)

Mains were a fillet of steak each and I love my steak medium rare. On this occasion though, somehow I felt that my steak was not as good as my previous visit. I am not sure whether its the seasoning or the way it's cooked. It is still pretty decent but I would not be raving about it after I am done.

"Grilled Chicken Breast: Marinated in herbs on a bed of sautéed spinach served with seasonal vegetables and a rich reduction
Victorian Farmed Eye Fillet of Beef: Paired with a rosemary and thyme scallop potato, fresh seasonal vegetables, onion marmalade and red wine jus"

PS: I love their onion marmalade by the way!

The meal is concluded with a cheese platter. I simply love their quince paste! I cleaned them off their bowl during my first trip and the second one wasn't any different.

"Chef’s Selection of Local Cheese: Matched with a quince paste, golden crisp water crackers, and a spiced fruit loaf"

The fruit loaf was not my favourite but Hubby seemed to like it LOL. It felt slightly dry to me but I could probably blame that on the nuts and biscuits. Anyway, it was pleasant enough a dish.

Coffee and baileys rounded off my lunch perfectly. Chocolates were handed out at the very end too.

I have always enjoyed my experience with Colonial Tramcar probably because of their excellent service and the quaint environment enhance the dining experience even more. Definitely worth visiting, even after the first time.

Sofia Restaurant, Melbourne

If you are in Melbourne CBD and wanted the biggest bang for your buck, you definitely shouldn't miss this place. They have one of the biggest portion for Italian food at very reasonable prices in the CBD.

It was almost always packed, so reservations could be a wise choice if you do not want to wait for your tables. The service was usually prompt and good (probably to clear off tables as soon as possible for the next customers). We ordered TWO of everything and even with 10 of us, we couldn't finish all of them.

We had the garlic bread to start. It was basically a really cheesy and garlicky pizza (not complaining as the dough was fluffy and pipping hot-straight out of the oven!).

The salmon salad was HUGE. I have never actually seen such a big plate of salad served in a restaurant. LOL. Most people who opted for salad are probably aiming to lose some weight I think so I was so used to seeing a small plate of salad that this big platter of it threw me off a little. They had beets and lots of capers inside, so be prepared so some Zingggg when you are having those little morsels of greens. ;)

The seafood pasta was excellent. Lots of fresh succulent seafood, creamy pasta, what more could you ask for? It was a little too rich by the time I finish a portion of it so maybe sharing would be the best way to go here.

I think this was the meat lovers' pizza or something along that line. It was packed full of meat. Minced beef, some ham, chunks of chicken, lots of cheese. OMG! One slice and one portion of pasta would be enough to fill up anyone's stomach. If you are super hungry, maybe two...
Haha. The photo did not do this pizza true justice because it was also really humongous!

They have my favourite Brown Brothers and it was my first time trying Cienna here. But they give complimentary Port after the meal too! Lots of sweet wine, just my kind of place.

Reasonable and filling. Worth going especially if you have big appetites! Address on the very first picture! :)

Petaling Street, Glen Waverly

Yep, it's called Petaling Street, like the one in Malaysia; maybe because they are selling Malaysian food. LOL. It's one of the Asian restaurants in Glen Waverly and we were all here for our dinner before leaving for the airport. My in-laws visited the shop so often that they were like friends with the waiter already. -.-""

We had the XO Sauce Clams (lala) with Yao Char Kwai which was acceptable but  the amount of lala given were not really that much.

The kangkung blacan was really nice with the fragrance of shrimp paste (blacan) imminent in each bite! Excellent!

The fried chicken was not especially outstanding in my opinion. Granted, it was tender but a little under seasoned. Skin was still crispy so it's a borderline pass for me. It came with a small rice though so there's extra for those who wanted more rice in our table! 

I like the bean sprouts with salted fish. Slightly crunchy with lots of crispy salted fish, I enjoyed this dish the best!

The crispy fried fish with petai was delicious too but the petais given were so little that I felt a little disappointed. The sauce reminded me of sweet and sour sauce but the muddy smell of the river fish was still present. I didn't mind it much but according to hubby who took the "fish belly" told me it was quite horrible there. LOL. 

Petaling Street Malaysian Food

111 Kingsway

Glen Waverly 

Vic 3150

Australia 

Man Tong Kitchen, Crown Melbourne CBD

Crown Casino is like one of the attractions in Melbourne CBD, at least to a lot of Asian tourists. LOL. The amount of Asians who dropped by the area are mind-boggling, myself included :D There is actually a mall attached and an arcade within the same area (We went to the arcade and had quite a lot of fun on the previous visit). On New Year's day, the whole family decided to try the Chinese restaurant in front of the casino plus trying our hands on the casino tables. They are almost always fully booked so be prepared to wait or make a booking before you go into the gambling den. :P

The restaurant looks sassy with red color everywhere and a lot of Chinese-y carvings and decorations thrown in. Opulence would be a word to use to describe the place. They have gigantic bottles of liquor with gold flakes swimming in them at the door! @@

Anyway, we started off with Jasmine and the tea leaves used were quite nice. The tea was clear and fragrant.

There were a few of us so we basically ordered everything in twos. The spicy dumplings was my favourite! Even though they called it spicy dumplings, it really wasn't that spicy. The sour vinegar-ish sauce mixed with plenty of chilli flakes/chilli oil was very delicious and I think it is an excellent appetite piquing dish. I love the sauce so much that I mixed some into my fried rice too! Heh!

The "xiao long bao" was not bad but I guess it tasted like the ones you can get from Din Tai Fung in Malaysia too. Annoyingly, some of the "baos" were already "broken" and the soup inside was leaking out into the basket before we managed to get them into our mouths. A waste, really.

The fried rice was amazing! They had a generous amount of prawns and meat thrown in. However, the portion (waitress told us it was good for 4 pax) was not as big as you would have thought for the price they charged. :P

The stir-fried vegetables were alright I guess but nothing special to gush about in this post actually.

The dumplings here were similar to the "xiao long bao"'s fillings but the thick handmade skin used here was not my cup of tea. I felt that it was too thick and tasted pretty "floury" as well. I wouldn't recommend this dish when you could go for the spicy chilli dumplings above that I raved about. Haha.

For a snack/light meal, the bill went up to over AUD150, so it's probably a try-once type of place for us. Look out for them at:

Man Tong Kitchen
1, Crown Entertainment Complex, Clarendon St & Crown Riverwalk,
Southbank VIC 3006, Australia
+61 3 9686 9888

Spicy Fish Restaurant, Glen Waverly

Shanghai food is mostly spicy, salty and oily and this shop offers all three in their Szechuan specialty. Located amongst rows of Asian food in Glen Waverly, the food has to be good since there are so much competition around. 

It looked like the usual quissential Chinese café and the patrons were mostly Asian too! A good sign I would say of whether the food is good or not.

We started off with Pu-er Chinese tea (there's others too and even soft drinks etc).

The Spicy Fish was a very HUGE portion of fish fillet cooked in chilli oil with a generous amount of bean sprouts tossed in. You will definitely feel the heat if you chewed on any of the cracked Szechuan pepper or chilli hidden in between bites. It was a rather salty dish but I enjoyed it even with my low chilli tolerance.

PS: Do not drink the liquid. It's just salty chilli oil meant to cook the fish in.

I love this spicy number here. It's French beans cooked with spicy chilli flakes and crunchy dried shrimps. The fragrance of the shallots or garlic made this one of my favourite in the shop. However, the spiciness of this dish slightly surpasses the fish dish.

Out of all the spicy dishes we ordered, the Mapo Tofu below surpassed all of them. It was really spicy and I had just a spoonful or two and that was enough for me to down half a glass of water! Even then I can still feel the heat~ LOL. If you like your food really hot, this would be a good choice.

The mixed vegetable with mushrooms and asparagus was really delicious with plenty of different mushrooms inside: button, enoki, black, straw etc. I loved it although it is slightly on the oily side. Did I mention it is Shanghainese? 

The crispy duck was a very different one compared to what I was used to. The skin was still crispy, no doubt but the tender duck meat still held a very strong flavour of the duck; unhindered by any seasoning or spices. It was quite salty like most Shanghainese food but I guess this was a pretty good dish. I did not particularly like it though. 

Overall, dinner here was great and food was certainly above average. Portions were huge and worth the price paid. Definitely coming back for a second visit.

Spicy Fish Restaurant

97 Kingsway

Glen Waverley VIC 3150

Australia