Osso Bucco

Anyone still reading? Hahah.

Sorry for the sporadic posts. All I've been doing was go to school, come home and cook, TV, assignments, sometimes have a little bit of fun over the weekend (movie, brunch, chocolates) and that's it. We've been working on our PR visa and trying to get everything sorted out as soon as we can. 

Speaking of cooking... I've been watching Masterchef a lot lately. Hrm... 'a lot' might be an understatement. Maybe I should say I watch Masterchef religiously? Hahah. I watch every single episode I can and I've been watching the previous season whenever I'm free. They have it in their website and everyone can watch for free! And it even has all the recipes of the dishes shown in the show! How nice right! These days you can find just about ANYTHING in the internet.

Ok anyway. I've been cooking a lot and venturing a lot as well. The thing I really like about cooking here is that you can find almost any ingredient you need. There are so many things available, there are so many things one can make!

I found this cooking method on Youtube that shows how fried chicken can be done using an oven! How freaking convenient! No need to use up cups of oil and not knowing what to do with it afterwards. And as well as the sauce... or I would rather call it the glaze. So easy to make yet so tasty.

Tried making chicken schnitzels, with sides of supposingly spaghetti Aglio Olio but I went a little heavy handed with the parsley so it turned out looking weirdly green. We didn't have enough breadcrumbs so we used some of our expired, frozen bread. If you're wondering, the breads here expire in about 2-4 days, so to keep it edible we freeze it. To eat, just toast it and eat it immediately, prefectly fine. In our case, chop/blend it up, season it and use it as breadcrumbs! Worked out alright.

Tried this recipe I saw in Youtube, Curry Carbonara. Not too bad but tasted funny. Probably because I went overboard with the curry powder... it tasted a little powdery.


This was just a simple spaghetti with chilli tuna. I tried twirling the pasta like how chefs do (as seen in Masterchef, of course) to give it a better presentation. Quite fun playing and decorating with food :)


Today, I tried making Osso Bucco (modern version). It's just like lamb shank but instead, this one uses veal shank. Braised with stock, herbs and vegetables until the meat is tender. Garnished with gremolata; made of parsley, garlic and lemon zest. We prepared sides of mash potatoes and baby spinach. Have to say, the gravy was really good but some of the veal shins weren't tender enough. And in my opinion, I personally prefer the texture of lamb shanks but this was worth the try.

Finally you know what Osso Bucco is! Hahah. I talked about it in my Facebook and Twitter and a couple of people came asking me what that is lol. I would be too. I've seen this cut of meat in the market and have been wondering what it is until it's introduced and cooked in Masterchef. It's a popular winter, slow cooked meal.

Lastly, I made these:

Pretty little cupcakes!

Naah. Joking. Bought this earlier this afternoon when I saw it in the shop. There's this cupcake shop at QV, The Cupcake Family which makes amazing cupcakes. I like to eat cupcakes but honestly, not many I've tried were good. The cakes were either too dry or bland in taste, or the frosting wasn't smooth and not sickly sweet. Maggie first introduced me to The Cupcake Family and I've been hooked since!

Their cupcakes may not look the prettiest but its taste will make you go back for more. It's not like you'll be blown away, but it's addictive. Especially when they make new flavours, it makes you wanna go back and see what new stuff they have and you wanna try them all.

Recently they released some deluxe flavours for this winter which after getting these 2 I've officially tried them all; Chocolate Peanut Butter which omg is to die for, Raspberry White which is the white one above, Sticky Date and Chocolate Orange which is the dark one in above. All taste super good, especially when the cupcakes are warm.

They also have mini cupcakes which are cheaper and smaller, which is a good way to test out different flavours. And also macarons, which I found out recently they tasted a lot better than before. And they increased the price of the macarons! Probably because it was selling well...

We were on the way to get groceries when we passed by the shop and I was staring at the cupcakes on display for 10 minutes with that "aww" face and Wk decided to buy me one. And I got another, hee hee. And while waiting for my Osso Bucco to cook I couldn't resist it, I ate both. In the end I was feeling so full I couldn't finish my plate of Osso Bucco lol.

Alright enough about food. Time to sleep. By the way, please don't ask me what I'm studying because I don't feel like revealing yet. Thanks for understanding. And those of you who know, you know I told you because I trust you.

Forgot to mention what we did today. This blog is not my blog if I am not ranting, is it?

We went to Medibank for our visa medical check up, which basically is a health check required from immigration when we applied for our visa. Basically you'll have to do a health check when you apply for whatever visa in Australia... except for traveling visa. Anyway, we had to do blood test and omfg I almost fell off my chair when the nurse took the needle out. I've never done a blood test in my life (except for the one where they use something to prick your finger and get a drop of blood) and today just scared the crap out of me.

So there's also another urine test, which if there's things like blood in it, you're required to redo the test. Naturally, they detected blood and they told me to go see another doctor and have my urine tested (cultured and blablabla) and have the doctor send a report to them. Which means I'll have to pay an additional AUD 60 for consultation and another sum for the pathologists who will be testing my urine. And for the medical check up I already had to spend almost AUD 400! And not forgetting how I had to do another x-ray even when I've already done it a month ago when I applied for my student visa. Which I paid freaking AUD 200+ for it.

SO. DAMN. RIDICULOUS.

I paid so much I would think I have the rights to keep a copy of my x-ray results, no? With that, I can use it and not have to do it again for another health check (for another visa application)! And why the hell can't they let me do the urine test again in the place? Why the hell should I go elsewhere and have it checked, and have to pay more for it??!

In total I would be spending a minimum of AUD 500 (RM 1500) for a very basic health check of urine test, blood test and x-ray. In Malaysia, I would certainly not need to pay RM 1500 for all that. Which makes me even more furious thinking about it. But oh well. Life sucks.

MoVida Next Door: A Beautiful little corner bar in Melbourne

Finally had the chance to visit this frequently talked about Spanish tapas bar. There's a total of 4 MoVida in the city, we went to MoVida Next Door which is next to the original MoVida, in Hosier Lane. It's hard to miss the lane cos the walls are covered with overwhelming graffiti. I heard to dine at MoVida (original) you need to book weeks (some said months) ahead! MoVida Next Door does not take reservation, only walk in. So if you try your luck you most probably will get the chance to eat there. 

I wasn't (still am not) into alcoholic drinks so I had a cranberry juice. Aileen and Wk had Sangria (Spanish wine punch) and they both loved it.

 

Right after we ordered, we were served complimentary bread and olive oil, and a slice of tortilla de patatas, which is a Spanish tortilla or omelette, made of eggs and potatoes. That bread and olive oil is one to be remembered cos the olive oil actually tasted like GOOD olive oil! Which reminded me how I've never actually enjoyed having bread and olive oil this much, most of the time I eat it only because it's on the table and meant to be eaten. 

The 3 tapas we ordered:

Queso Idiazabal - Smoked sheep's milk cheese. I love to eat cheese but I won't say I know a thing about them. I just enjoy the flavour. This one to me tasted a lot like parmesan. It's served with some dried fruit but I don't know what it's called. I know I used to eat this when I was a kid and I quite liked them.

Bomba - Chorizo-filled Catalan Potato Bomb with a spicy sauce. It's the ones which look like boobies in the picture. I first saw this on Masterchef Australia 2010 and I had to try it. Honestly, quite disappointed. It's nothing fantastic although I quite liked the spicy sauce that goes with it.

Croqueta - Fried Croqueta with wild mushrooms. THIS. IS. TO. DIE. FOR! It looks boring and not appetizing but once you bite into it, you'll be blown away by the rich, creamy taste of mushrooms. It's like eating deep fried cream of mushroom, a really good bowl of cream of mushroom. Every one of us had this surprised expression on our faces when we bite into the Croqueta. It was unexpectedly delicious.

Dig in!

Anoter tapas we had was this fried whitebait served with a lemon wedge and dip. I can't remember what it's called cos it's not on the menu, it was one of the specials on that day. Very nice! 

Raciones are basically a larger portion of tapas, meant to be shared. We ordered the Lengua, which is ox tongue, chargrilled with chorizo and chickpeas. I didn't know what to expect but I can say I quite like it but it's not something mind-blowingly good that I will want to eat it again.

I saw the table behind us ordered this and I got really curious and wanted to try it as well. It's called Alcachofas, fried globe artichoke with almonds and lemon. Very very salty and dry. I always see artichokes when I shop for groceries but never knew how it taste like. It's a vegetable by the way, looks like a flower. It was alright, not a fan.

Lastly, of course we had to try some churros, Spanish doughnuts dipped in hot chocolate. You may say we had it as dessert but actually churros are usually eaten for breakfast in Spain. I can't help but to compare this with 'yao zhar guai', or 'you tiao', Chinese doughnuts. They're both made of flour, deep fried, and eaten for breakfast. Mmm I miss eating yao zhar guai. The ones here in Melbourne sucks. Anyway, the churros tasted alright, I think I prefer the ones in San Churro. The hot chocolate wasn't smooth and thick, which is how I prefer it to be.

It was an enjoyable dining experience, in my humble opinion I think this is a great place to get the taste of authentic Spanish stuff.

Betty

Quite pissed.

I've started class since this Monday. Slowly getting used to waking up early in the morning in the winter. Trust me, it is a huge pain to not be able to sleep in underneath that warm duvet in such cold. Tomorrow is a Saturday and nobody is allowed to wake me up before it's 10am.

Not pissed at the school, so far it has been alright though kinda boring. I'm pissed with the lady who is in charge of our attendance swipe cards. Why does she have to be so bitchy? She didn't even make it clear in the first place of how the system works and I'm considered absent because I didn't swipe my card this morning, when I was actually in the school the whole frickin day. I asked her about my card nicely, and she replied me quite rudely. What the hell? Maybe she didn't mean to be rude, but the way she talked, it's definitely not pleasing. I know she's trying to be strict and all that cos there are so many girls and there are also so many naughty girls, come on. It's my first time. Everyone has had their first times and blowing it up. Ok that didn't sound quite right... but you get what I mean.

Fuck your life lady, seriously. Fuck your life for screwing my mood this beginning of a long weekend. 

Anyway, I really can't bothered with this whole attendance thing. It's sophisticated, but at the same time too sophisticated that it's stupid. I'm serious with what I want to achieve in the school, that is all that matters. I want to learn some skills and I want to get the hell out.

It's Queen's Birthday next Monday. I can't wait to do something exciting like baking using my very newly purchased hand mixer! Or maybe just something lazy like sit on the couch and watch Supernatural the whole day... hmm...

 

 

Last weekend we made Hainanese Chicken Rice, with sides of bean sprouts, chicken soup, cucumber and steamed fish. It was surprisingly not too bad! We kinda overcooked the chicken so the skin and parts of the chicken were falling apart but the taste was acceptable. Who wants recipe hands up! =D Haha, there are plenty in the internet, not difficult to get hold of a good one. I'm not sure if poaching or steaming is the right way but we poached cos we didn't have a wok big enough to steam the chicken. Poaching's good cos then you get the stock/chicken soup which you can use for the rice as well as serving it as plain chicken soup later. You can also use it to blanch vegetables. 

 

Yesterday we made curry laksa. Well, it was more like Maggie made them cos she prepared all the ingredients and cooked, I was there helping out. TASTED SO GOOD. We did eat laksa in this place in Melbourne which is famous for it but I heard they use HEAPS of msg. Ours had NO msg at all, the chicken stock was fresh, home made, real chicken stock with no additives/preservatives. I'm surprised how easy it actually is to make curry laksa.

Ok, gotta go get ready to go out for dinner tonight.

Btw, if you're wondering what's with the title, it's the name of the damn lady I was pissed with.

Luxbite: Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.

What an apt tagline I must say!

Visited LuxBite which is this cafe at South Yarra very well known for its desserts and macarons. It was lunchtime and we were starving. Fortunately they serve breakfast/brunch/lunch too. I had the Toastie, which is this toast with super damn a lot of kuaci... er I mean.. pumpkin seeds omg the crunch. With bacon (mmm so smoky), eggs, gruyere and tomato relish which was really really good.

For drinks I saw this tea thingie in some website and thought it was really cute so I ordered one because I wanted to see how it looks like. The tea bag is so cute!

If you think it's not cute you are lying!

I also very smartly remember the person who blogged about the tea, she didn't know the tea bag served in the cup is supposed to be transferred into the teapot of hot water and instead she had it in her cup all the time. So of course I transferred mine into the pot ;-)

And then of course we had to have their desserts and macarons.

This one is called the Monster Meringue. Not a pretty name but it sure does look a little horn-y. Tasted pretty good. I love the mix of slightly sweet meringue and slightly sour berries mousse inside.

 

We had 3 macarons: Vanilla Creme Brulee which tasted VERY buttery but quite awesome, Salted Caramel which was a letdown and Kaya Toast... yes Kaya Toast I'm serious. It actually tasted like Kaya but not my cup of tea, too sweet.

Then we decided to order another because we a lot of people ordering it too lol. This... I actually can't remember what it's called. But it has coconut macarons, caramelised banana, pandan cream and... one more thing but I can't remember. This one's really sweet too but I really like it especially the bottom layer of macaron which has that thin layer of banana caramel. When mixed with the coconut macaron, it created this awesome almost sweet, nutty taste. I couldn't care for the pandan cream... tasted quite odd. 

They also have this tea set for 2 where you're served with 2 desserts of your choice, 4 macarons, 4 assorted finger sandwiches and coffee or tea each for AUD 21. That's a pretty good deal! Will definitely go there to try the other flavours of macarons and other desserts.

I really love the Toastie for a start. It's a good portion and the taste was just satisfying. I want to learn to make toast like that! Judging from what we had, the desserts and macarons were pretty and good. I wouldn't exactly say they're mind blowing good, but they did taste and look good. It's like being a kid in a little candy shop with so many different candies and you want to try each and every colour because they all look yummy and you're curious.

Making Bak Chang in Melbourne

A week ago Maggie suggested that we make some bak chang. A week later we did it! It was surprisingly not as difficult as we, or at least I, thought it would be. The fact that she has learned the wrapping steps from her mom helped a lot but anyhow, it was our first time and we didn't have any experienced bak chang maker with us so we definitely deserve that pat on our backs for what we accomplished at the end of the day :)

I know the rice isn't dark or looking appetising enough but it tasted ok. We could have stirred in more dark soy sauce.

Guys being the typical guys... lol

Ok lah, they did help out. We needed loads of chopped garlic and shallots and let me tell you, on top of cleaning up after cooking, I absolutely hate chopping garlic/shallots/onions. It's messy, it's boring and it's not fun at all. So, no prize for guessing who ended up with the job :P

From this experience, I can say it isn't exactly difficult to make these savoury dumplings but it is very time consuming to prepare both the ingredients and the dumplings. You need to soak the ingredients a few hours and days before cooking and also, it's not easy to estimate how much we're able to produce at the end because it all depends on how you assemble the filling and how big are your bamboo leaves. 

Since a friend asked me for the recipe, I'm going to share it here. This is how we did it and I don't claim this to be MY recipe. We grabbed ideas from recipes online as well as the recipes from everyone's mothers and grandmothers, and some basic cooking instincts. This isn't baking so there is no need to be extremely precise with the measurements.

I'll divide it into 4 parts: Leaves, pork, extra filling and rice.

LDR once more

I spoke to my mom on Skype earlier and I feel so relieved now. 

To cut the long story short, I have her blessing to do whatever I'm going to do and we talked like never before. I told her things I would not have told her if I was still living with her in M'sia, and vice versa. It's somewhat awkward and weird but it felt really good. I think I've mentioned before but you know how some people at some point in their lives they just stop communicating with their parents in the house, I'm one of them. I notice the situation changes once we're far away from each other; we start missing each other and we start communicating.

I've ended LDR with Wk, but I've started LDR with my family hahah! Bet you didn't get what the title of this post meant at first.

Also spoke to Esther on Skype and Wk was tossing and turning on the bed trying to sleep while we both were talking and laughing at silly things lol. 

Aaah. Feels really nice to be able to talk to some of your favourite people.

This is just my blog, not my mind.

Oh. My. God.

First, I was shocked to see an unusual high amount of hits in my blog for yesterday. Then I checked on the referals and found this link to this forum thingie. It all started with this:

And then someone replied:

If you're curious, it's this post he's talking about.

Seriously, when I saw the word "break up with her instead" I went "WTF?" straight.

But everyone is entitled to their own opinion so of course I will STFU.

This dude, or maybe girl, talked as if he/she knows me when clearly he/she doesn't. 

It is definitely true, I miss home. Come on, who will not?? Do I enjoy missing home? Of course not. But do I enjoy being here? Well when I don't face shits like financial issues or uncertainties, of course I do! Isn't that the same for everyone? 

All our years spent apart, Wk and I, we were looking forward to this day. We were planning and planning and planning. We have been together for almost 9 years now, we were in LDR for about 4 years before I came here. LDR is difficult but it's not impossible and it's not a complete pain in the butt if you and your partner stay strong. LDR to me wasn't a trouble, but a challenge. Trust me, when you can pull it through, it is the most rewarding feeling ever.

I don't think anybody knows what exactly I am going through, how exactly I feel, but myself. And of course, Wk. If there's one thing I need to say, it'd be I am happy to be here and yes, sometimes I do question myself if coming here was the right choice. If I'm happy, I'd say yes, it is the right choice. Not to say I wasn't happy being in M'sia but in life, you need to have some kind of objective, some kind of goals you want to achieve. I don't know what's my goal in the future yet but just 1 or 2 years ago, it's to end LDR and not live life like a routine. Today, I'm glad I've achieved it.

Seriously I'm amused, or rather amazed how people can just come up with their own conclusion or judgement about another person by only reading their blog. Do you really think I share/talk about every single bit of my life here in my blog? I wish people can understand the fact that they can read my blog, but they can't read my mind.

I know that dude didn't mean anything by linking my blog post and thinking that way about me but I still feel the need to clear things up. Coming here wasn't a rushed decision, it was planned for years. We knew it's going to happen this year. I didn't want to mention it in my blog because everytime I break a news about a future plan I'm excited about, it always never happen. It sounds crazy and ridiculous but I do believe it'll jinx it so I kept quiet.