My lunchtime obsession

I absolutely love this café. I fell in love with their smoothies and selection of gourmet sandwiches three years ago. They even have freshly baked muffins, pasta and a range of patties. And I am addicted to their smoothies. The best of all, it was just a 5-minute walk away from work.

Cajun chicken wrap with a strawberry banana smoothie. Perfect.

Just a note – I don’t think these are healthy, but they taste so good that it is just so worth it.

Healthy4U Café
35-37 Havelock Street, West Perth

Craving for curry?

If you ever crave Indian and are in West Perth, I totally recommend Royal India. I actually had Indian for two consecutive Fridays, but with different colleagues. Here's just some of the things we ordered from the ala carte menu:

Onion bhaji

Tandoori chicken

Lasani naan (i.e. garlic naan)

I apologise for the lack of pictures from my first visit (where are the curries?). Everyone was starving and I felt a bit guilty for holding them up.

For my second trip, we didn’t order ala carte and ended up with individual thalis.

Papadums: the best ever! Once seated, you are served a basketful with dipping sauces. Awesome!

I obviously ordered the vegetarian thali.

Clockwise: Chickpea curry; eggplant curry (yum!); cauliflower and potatoes; dhal curry; naan and basmati rice; and raita. Centre: Indian dessert (I have no idea what it is!)

Both my trips were satisfying! The thali was really good, but I didn't really like the dessert.

Royal India
1134 Hay Street, West Perth
www.royalindia.com.au

Chunky kit kats

The photos were taken on two different occasions AND it took me a while (its embarassing but I realised they were different till the third and last piece) before I discovered the different textures on the chunky chocolate bar. Hence, the photo did not do any justice to Kit Kat Chunky Chocolate when they have breakable chunks of chocolate fudge, chocolate crisp and chocolate sauce! I love the chocolate sauce bit best!

This photo is a clear effort of amendments but it did not appear as presentable as the previous. From left to right chunks: cookies crunch, vanilla fudge and cookies cream. I love the cookies crunch the most.

After all the ''I love"s, these products aren't the best for weekly indulgences or even monthly due to the high contents of fat and the obvious overload of sugar. It is clearly written 3 servings per pack- but who is going to stop just after one chunk! I wouldn't and obviously didn't *naughty in Jin's words*. They did, however, give me the best satisfaction after the three humongous chunks.

Spoilt by authenticity

For awhile now, I've been receiving *subtle* hints about not meeting deadlines and not updating. So, here's just a 'taster' of what I've been up to. [Note: there's more to come, I promise!]

I've been so spoilt lately, be it at home or at work. On two separate occasions, my colleague gave me these amazing (and so very delicious, might I add) homemade delicacies to try. (I'm actually quite disappointed that my photos could not capture the deliciousness of these authentic Asian snacks.)
This 'chwee kueh' topped with salty 'chai po' (i.e. steamed rice cake with preserved radish) was my surprise breakfast that morning. She even warmed it up for me!

My second surprise. A slice of yummy tapioca cake for that very much needed afternoon sugar hit in the office.

Yes, I am so lucky. ^_^

Another coffee cafe?

One of another destress girlfriend catchups! I have to say she is amazing.

I ordered a ciocolato- Italian dark chocolate and a rich chocolate mousse cake. Lesson learnt and always have to be remembered- Mich is no big fan of mousse cakes. I could not finish this rich cake and gave up halfway, I did finish the chocolate shavings and scrapped every little ganache I could possibly see.

A lemon cheesecake with a latte for my girlfriend. She could not pass a lemon cheesecake- but all she could say of this lemon cheesecake is "Not bad" She is an amazing baker herself.

Did you or did you not notice the contrast of food/drink choices we both made?

I have been here so many times over the years, but possibly only a single visit this year (this is THE one) and yet all I can say is I love their crispy wedges. Few girlfriends of mine are in love with their banana caramel pie. I have to say they used to be one of the better cafes around but appearred to have lost their popularity. Having said that, the place is still pretty packed on most days and definitely on the Sunday I went.

Cafe Bravo

140 The Parade

Norwood SA 5067

Andiamo!

To feed my emotional need.Andiamo = Let's go in Italian.

One of my ways to destress (=S) includes talking to my loved ones. Over a cup of coffee, on skype, through immediate replies of sms... I find great comfort knowing that God has planted awesome people in my life.

A humongous chocolate muffin to feed the emotional need, along with my usual order of skinny latte. The word is indeed ''humongous'' because I found it hard to go through the entire muffin BUT (there's always buts) the session lasted for more than 2 hours. I did clear the plate! Love the crunchy top of this muffin, alike other muffins, but dislike how it got dry in the centre and water was much needed to soothe the throat.

The friend ordered a little tart (she found it cute!) which had a shortbread texture to it and another humongous chocolate chip muffin. Just as much as we were watching our diet, we decided to break all rules. Anyhow, that was all we had for lunch and NOT on top of lunch.

It took me a while to find this little cafe, all because I misheard some information and messed up some bits. Nevertheless, a nice quiet place for a great catch up despite being there during lunch hours on a Sunday and the staff were friendly =) My bits cost me $7.50 and my friend $10. Although it sounds like a great value, we did find the mains slightly pricey and stayed away from them.

Eating in Italy

Myer Store ground floor.

175 North terrace

Adelaide 5000    

Yangbaechu kimchi for kimchi chigae

That happened on an evening I forgo gym. That was also an evening I decided to cross off an item from my to-do list (procrastinated this for months!!!). That was an evening where I attempted the emergency kimchi from maangchi. She is pretty awesome.

I have attempted her full proper recipe of kimchi and had success, however I thought to myself "Why not give this EMERGENCY KIMCHI a go?" It tasted similar to the longer process of kimchi but it took longer to ferment. In fact, it still hasn't fermented after a week. According to the many comments, it would take about 2-3 weeks to ferment.

I can't wait for my fermented kimchi! But this fresh kimchi is still awesome (esp for those who loves such) and suits my need to make kimchi stews in a wintery night. =)

Edited: This is the chicken kim chi chigae I made- however, the version I made is a little drier than the actual stew would be. Recipe again is taken from maangchi. 

One of those meals

Brown rice salad with roasted walnuts, roasted pumpkin, roasted carrots, diced bacon and a fresh roma tomato with an asian dressing (Jap soy sauce, sesame oil and lemon juice)

Totally sounds healthy, doesn't it? It is one of those meals perfect for dinners or work lunches. Trust your instinct to execute this dish, throw in anything you love and create this easily.

*recipe can be updated later if required