Les Boucheries @ Toorak Road, South Yarra

One sunny afternoon, I decided to go have a quick lunch with Ms Tinymouse.



She suggested that we go try Les Bouscheries Pariesiennes on Toorak Road.



I eagerly agreed, as their Lunch Menu looked really enticing.. and I was definitely up for some, "feel good" food...



There were about 4 tables seated when we arrived at 1.00pm (we made a booking).

There were a group of 10, and two groups of 4.

We were the only "couple" seated.



I should have known, what with the French being infamous for taking the time to enjoy the meal, that this was going to be a long sordid affair!

It took the waiter (there was only one waiter and 2-3 chefs in the kitchen [open plan kitchen]) around 5 minutes to serve us the menu, a further 10-15 minutes to take our order, another 5 minutes to serve my wine...

The whole meal took 2.5 hours (with Ms Tinymouse having a near heart attack, as that was way over her lunch hour!)

That was my only gripe. The lenghth of time it took to get the whole lunch through.




The food was absolutely delicious, and the waiter extremely polite.. (I have a thing for French accented waiters *dreamy*)

We went of the 2 course Lunch Menu $28.50 each (choice of any two Entree, Main or Dessert with Wine or Coffee/Tea)

Ms Tinymouse ordered an Entree of "Duck liver parfait, toasted brioche, pineapple & vanilla relish"

Absolutely delish...



THe bread rolls came in cute little bags...



With a choice of either a white roll or an olive roll...



I decided to just put my hand in the bag and try my "luck!"... and got the Olive Roll which was really soft and fresh... (so was the butter!)



I ordered the Main, which was, "Chicken breast, butternut pumpkin mousseline, lemon bread & butter pudding"

The chicken was tender and the mousseline complimented the bread pudding perfectly...



And Ms Tinymouse had, "Atlantic salmon, crab & chive risotto, pea sauce, petit salad"

The fish was just cooked.. which is the best!!!... Liked the pea sauce, and I might try and replicate it.. very creamy and smooth.



Absolutely delicious!!! I love the simplicity and complexity of it altogether (yes it is contradictory)

At this point, Ms Tinymouse was on the verge of a panic attack (okay, I lie.. but it was close!!!).. and she had to run off...

I got to experience the Dessert all on my own!!

I had the, "Assiette of chocolate, white choc parfait, dark choc crème brulee, milk choc doughnuts"

Again, another fabulous dish...

The parfait was smooth and creamy and I really liked the orange zest it came with.

The Chocolate Creme Brulee was a dessert that I had died and gone to heaven for.



Don't ask me why, a French restaurant was serving a Spanish Styled Doughnut... it was so good, I didn't ask questions...

Light, soft and crispy, with a soft dark chocolate ooze in the middle... a Brilliant showcase of sugar, flour and cocoa (and cinnamon of course!)



Because I had the white wine with my meal, and Ms Tinymouse had none...

I finished off with her, Latte ;)

I had to take a picture of it, as it came with really cute cubes of raw and white sugar...



Altogether an extremely pleasant and satisfying meal (which took a total of 2.5 hours)... if only it didn't take quite so long...

Definitely will be returning here with The Boy one day...

Also checked with Cousin A... he said that they were still hungry after their lunch here... (the servings are quite small...but the quality was excellent!)

Overall Food Rating: 9/10
Restaurant ambiance: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10 (we went with their Lunch special, and not Express Lunch sets... but it was good value...$28.50 for a two courser and a choice of drink)

Address:

268 Toorak Rd
SOUTH YARRA
VIC 3141

Tel: 03 8256 1636

Fax: 8256 1635

Cafe Cervo @ Crown

On one of the rare beautiful sunny weekends that visited Melbourne, the Boy decided to enjoy the sun.



We were attending the Home Buyer Expo at Melb Exhibition and decided to go have a bit of lunch and sun at Crown (casino).

The Boy wanted to try Giuseppe... but I figured that it might be too expensive, and passed on. Plus I wanted to enjoy the SUN!.. and not sit inside, tucked away in a dark restaurant!



I wanted Greco's, but he wanted to try something different.

Surprisingly, we've hardly ever tried any of the cafe's located at Crown... and decided to give Cervo a go.



They had the usual cafe styled menu, but we went in because they had lunch specials.

Considering that it was 4pm, we just made it!



Service was exceptionally slow...



Late afternoon, where customers are just enjoying a drink or a light snack... our food took almost 40 minutes to arrive!






As you can see, the place was pretty empty!



There were 3 cooks in the kitchen that I could see. 3 Waiters and 3 bar staff, and yet the wait was long!



The Boy ordered a Chicken Risotto, which turned out really nicely.



I ordered a Lamb Salad (40 minutes for this!), which was merely passable.

Edible, good, but not anything special.



The French fries ($6.90) were good. Lightly salted.

When I asked the waitress if they had any sour cream, sweet chilli sauce, she looked at me blankly, and replied, "We don't do that sort of thing here"...



Sigh... good effort, but could have been way better. Considering it's located in Crown Casino, tourist, gambler and explorer destination!


Overall Food Rating: 6/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10
Value for money: 6.5/10 (

Address:

Crown Ground Level, 8 Whiteman Street

Southbank, VIC 3006

10% SURCHARGE APPLIES ON PUBLIC HOLIDAY S & 15% on NEW YEARS EVE

Tel: (03) 9292 7824

Fax: (03) 9686 1488

Email: manager@cervo.com.au

How to get there:

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You Can Do It!

You Can Do It! You will Pass!!

(that was made by the Boy)

That was what I woke up to in the morning. I had my drive test today.

I PASSSSSEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am officially on my Green Plates!!! Lalalalalalaaaaaa...

I texted several people on this...

Ms Tinymouse and Babycakes called me immediately.... Ms Tinymouse, telling me how wonderfully proud she is of me and Babycakes declaring, "oh No! Another mad Asian on the roads!!!"

The Boy: "See!! I told you. Congrats!"

Big Sis: "Congrats! I'm so glad 4 u."

Mum: "Ya. Gd. Congrats. U hv 2 drive now n then, if not like che. haha"
(My mother makes her own abbreviations which provide many hours of good fun deciphering her coded language sometimes)

Gigolo: "Oooo! Chun. Can let u drive now while I relax"

IBF: "YewNewflash: Melbourne road accident figures UP for 4Q09!!"

BFF: "You already are a menace on the roads! CONGRATS! Remember, the second time is always the charm! :-) So proud of u! now u can drive ME AROUND :-) hehehe!"
(so sweet yet so demanding at the same time!)

Dapeng: "Congratsss!!! Vroommmm!!"

LX: "OMG. GG. Stay away from the CBD!"

Fantasticnya my friends. The feeling was wonderful. The whole time I figured I was going to fail again.

But I DIDN'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even the Devil Spawn was encouraging.. although it did add in another comment to not drive in the Northern/West suburbs... *sigh*...

I follow speed limits okay! I'm not a HOON!!... Yet... *evil laughter*

To celebrate, I made myself a huge lunch of lamb chops, long beans and toast.... and went to have a long nap =)

Crystal Jade Melbourne @ Little Bourke & Russell Street, Melbourne

Due to the name of the place, I easily assumed that this belong to the Crystal Jade Group (Singapore), but after visiting the website, I'm not too sure now.

But they even have the same "Crystal Jade" font used.... hmMmmmm... (Makes a note to post up the Hong Kong and Singapore review if I can find the pictures)



Anyway, if they can use the same name, I expect the same quality of food and service. So when Ms Tinymouse suggested we go there for dinner and celebrate "the Mooncake Festival", I said YES!



It's definitely not a restaurant you can go as a couple... bar 1 table(the Boy and I tried to look for a table for 2, but there were none that we could see from where we were seated, but from the pictures, I've found 1!!!)



When we got there, the place was packed! So booking is definitely recommended... which is what Ms Tinymouse's boy did... *phew*



They had interesting decor (old school Golden carvings) on the walls...



And I really liked their chopstick rest/sauce plate... really cute!



We started off with the roast port, roast duck, jellyfish and chicken dish... (which came with 3 types of sauces)...

Amazingly, the waiters announced each dish as they arrived (true to Crystal Jade style... so another, "Are they? Are they not?")



Deep Fried Salted Egg Prawns ... which happens to be my favourite...



Steamed Barramundi... (very soft, juicy and tender)



I have no idea what this was... I'm assuming, Chinese Mushrooms, Beancurd, and Fish Maw... (or sea cucumber)



Spinach, because we do need some greens... (despite SL saying "NO!", vehemently. And we all ignored her)



Chicken and cashewnuts in a yam basket (Kong Po Kai Ting)...



We did however miss their famous Snow Crab dish as well as their Duck Pate dish.. Oh well, there is always time for another visit =)

Overall Food Rating: 8/10
Restaurant ambiance: 8/10 (typical Chinese Restaurant, with a touch of class)
Value for money: 8/10 (Minimum charge of $18 per person (printed on the menu))

Address:
154 Little Bourke Street
Cnr of Little Bourke & Russell Street (the old King Bo yumcha place)

Phone: 03 9639 2633

(Don't get confused with the websites on Google.com trying to place you at 11 Waratah Place (they moved, I think)

How to get there:

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Pan Fried Salmon with Tomato and Chilli Salsa Dressing Recipe

Interestingly enough, I had an extremely slow, and boring day at work... which gave me ample time to figure out what to cook for dinner tonight.

I told the Boy that I was going to cook fish, but I wanted to try something different and not just a simple pan fried dish.

So I trawled the Nets to find how to make salsa... the kind that is so delicious that vegetable haters (that's me) would put their hands up for more!

This is my version of a Pan Fried Salmon with Tomato and Chilli Salsa Dressing

The ingredients:
2 salmon fillets, extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, sugar, salt, cracked black pepper, basil, red onion (half), tomatoes (2), 1 Lemon, 1 chilli, 2 cloves of garlic and some asparagus (all these were on special... minus the onion and lemon =))



Marinate the fish fillets with sea salt and pepper and set aside... (pat them really dry first)



Chop the tomatoes into small pieces (1cm) and wash away all the seeds.

Chop the chilli and the garlic as well into really small minced sized.



Squeeze 1 lemon into the chopped tomatoes whilst you are chopping everything else up



Add in all the chopped bits, including the red onion (I only used half because the Boy hates onions)



Add in the chopped Basil, and mix well.

Add about 2-3 tablespoons of extra olive virgin oil and continue mixing. Set aside and allow to sit for around 30-40minutes (to infuse).



Heat up the griller, and add some olive oil and butter.

Add the fish and start sizzling!



Whilst the fish is sizzling, start preparing the plate.

I had extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar drizzled around the plate, and a tablespoon of the salsa on the middle of the plate :>



Set the cooked fish onto the plate



Grill the asparagus stalks as well and decorate with the salsa...



Voila!

Delicious and extremely healthy in my opinion... even the Boy who hates raw food ate everything up =)))