The Sushi Bar- Far East Plaza

Finally met the cellie/ ex-cellies for dinner in town :-) The only ones I'd travel out of school to meet even if for only 1.5 hours. 

Headed to The Sushi Bar cos gie was raving about it! :) 

Located on the upper floors of FEP, it was situated in an unassuming corner- nothing fanciful or glamorous (but probably also not representative of the prices of the food!)

The interior! Dont be fooled by the sparseness though! We got there really early, and by the time we left there was a long queue outside! It was a small space, so making a reservation is recommended :) 

Maguro Sashimi- 4.9 came in really thick slices! didnt try this cos im generally not a fan of other types of sashimi (apart from salmon!) 

Grilled & Roasted Sirloin Steak- 14.9 for 100g, 28.9 for 200g. This was so, so good, the meat was nicely charred on the outside, while rare on the inside and extremely tender. The seasoning allowed you to enjoy the steak on its own (no need for the accompanying sauces!) Enjoyed it very much even though seafood > beef is always my preference!  

Scallop Mentaiyaki- 13.9 was another favourite! fresh, juice scallop sashimi with mentaiko sauce & fish roe! could probably polish off a whole plate of this. 

! what we came here for (and have heard rave reviews of) Soft Shell Crab Salmon Aburi Roll- at 16.9 for 8 pieces, the prices are definitely steep. but definitely worth the price; we savoured the sushi extremely slowly (very much in awe) and deeply satisfied. The soft, seared salmon paired with the crunchy soft shell crab and creamy avocado, topped with mentaiko sauce truly made each bite so gratifying hehe. :-) 

heh as you can see i ate a part of the salmon off before taking a picture- the salmon is really really good. 

we also ordered the Salmon Aburi- 14.5 with salmon sashimi, crabmeat and avocado. however, we agreed that the lack of texture made the soft shell crab a better option! Although sashimi lovers would definitely enjoy this (I did :)) 

we also ordered the Tofu Cheesecake to share (after calculating our expenditure up until that point!) The tofu cheesecake had a nice hint of tofu, while being sweet and firm. But I think what we enjoyed also was the nice thick base! :-) Worth trying! :)   

The Sushi Bar
#03-89 Far East Plaza14 Scotts RoadDaily: 11.30am – 9.30pmNearest Station: Orchard

Don Don & Fairtrade Coffee in Melbourne CBD

This is my first food blog post from Melbourne! I don't eat out as often since I live in college and food is "part of the package". Especially since school has been demanding enough such that I don't have the luxury to explore Melbourne as much as I would love to.

But today marks the first day of the much needed mid-sem break! So hopefully I will be able to travel around the city a little more!

We planned to drop by Heroes, a sandwich bar, for lunch but somehow ended up at Don Don instead. We don't regret it a single bit since the service was EXTREMELY quick and food was simple and good!

I got the Sukiyaki Don (AUD$6.30) which was so yummy! The meat to fat ratio was just right and the amount of gravy given was sufficient to keep the rice moist yet not too salty. I find that most Jap places are rather stingy with their meat such that I always end up eating plain rice with the gravy alone. This is not the case for Dondon though, there is definitely enough meat to go with your rice and yummy enough to make you wish there was more!

The seating area was rather cramped and conversations were loud enough that we had to raise our voices to hear each other. There was also a sparrow that kept flying around the cafe! It was quite distracting, but don't worry it doesn't attack your food!

The service was amazingly quick, even faster than at Maccas (that's what Aussies call their McDonalds). The food was ready even before I was done keeping my change. The casual Jap food available here is definitely affordable at $6-$10 for the rice bowls and bento sets! I think I will be back soon to try the rest of the menu!

Dondon

198 Little Lonsdale St

Melbourne, VIC

03 9670 7113

After lunch, we crossed the road to 2Pocket Fairtrade Espresso Bar to satisfy a coffee craving and we were pleasantly surprised by the very interesting interior design of the cafe.

I didn't poke around but I'm pretty positive the products sold here are vegan (vegan shoes?!).

I got an Iced Latte (AUD$4.50) while my friends weren't in the mood for any. I like how in Melbourne, people rarely think of Starbucks when it comes to coffee. Just pop into any cafes along the streets and there is a very high chance you'll leave with a decent cup of coffee. Just because Melbourne LOVES its coffee. I wouldn't say this was the best iced latte I've had but it was a decent enough to curb the craving.

I really like the vibe of this cafe and I would love to come back to try their signature hot chocolate! It's quiet and cosy, just the right place to catch up with your closest friends and not think about books and assignments!

2Pocket Fairtrade Espresso Bar

277 Little Lonsdale St

Melbourne, VIC 3000

After strolling around the city for a few more hours, we headed back to J's house to make some S'mores! 

Just pop some Graham crackers, Lindt chocolate and marshmallows into the oven for a minute or so and you get some sinful gooey goodness! Perfect way to end the night and start the mid-sem break!

National Day Eats :-)

Headed to Tass' place for lunch with her & claire's fams, or more specifically for the highly anticipated crab pasta :) 

(my friends' parents cook so so well) 

loved that the crab pasta was so light yet crazily flavourful :) loved the egg bits inside!
there were hints of chilli that could also be identified from the chilli oil, but the pasta wasn't spicy at all which was : ))

probably had 4 servings of what you see on this plate so do not be deceived ;) hadn't had crab in such a long while!

also my second fave/fave (can't decide) dish- coconut jelly!! wish I had a whole tub of this so that I could eat one everyday. love the coconut flesh pieces inside :) heh wanna learn to make this although I think its reaaally time consuming!
cooking takes lots of dedication and effort I think : )

Had dinner with the cousins at Nana's Green Tea Cafe again!
didn't take many pictures,
only of my brother's pretty Locomoco Don, with meat patty and onsen egg (!!)

thereafter we had 3 parfaits! The choco-banana, greentea, and berry parfait!
quite liked the berry parfait, although my fave is still the green tea :)
the cornflakes in the middle really make the parfaits even more addictive with the change in texture :)

had a good time catchin up with the cousins who are hoping to find jobs in Singapore after living overseas for years.
hope they manage to : )

& happy 48th Birthday Singapore!
The survival of our nation is truly the work of God : )

Nana's Green Tea Cafe

Headed to Nana's Green Tea Cafe three nights ago with my sibs to satisfy our jap/ green tea cravings :-) 

Was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too crowded even though it was dinner time on a weekday in plaza sing! So we managed to get a table immediately :) 

(We noticed that Hoshino's had a long queue though!) 

Ordered their Avocado & Tuna Maki Roll that came with cream cheese as well. At $10 for 8 pieces, did not find this worthwhile at all, especially since the sushi was not very flavourful. The layer of rice was way too thick, and tasted pretty amateurish I think! Needed to slather mine with the japanese mayo provided, as well as shoyu & wasabi. 

We had one of their popular dishes- Salmon Don- sashimi slices over japanese rice, drizzled with japanese mayo and garnished with spring onions. This was a nice dish, although nothing spectacular.

My brother ordered their Salmon Udon served in cream sauce with broccoli. I really loved this dish even though I am not a fan of cream-based sauces for pasta. This broth, however, was extremely light, and I was quite happy to help myself to spoonfuls of it :-) The udon also had a great texture, making for a really lovely dish on the whole- would definitely recommend this! 

Lastly, what we came here for- the Matcha Shiratama Parfait! This had Kanten Jelly at the bottom, followed by vanilla soft serve, cornflakes, matcha icecream, mochi, azuki redbean, whipped cream and matcha syrup. We had a good time mixing it all together and enjoying all the different components, while the cornflakes provided great textural contrast :) Loved this dessert, and will definitely be back to try the others, especially the Hoji ones :-)
Brother ordered the Matcha Float- Matcha Latte with a scoop of Matcha ice-cream. The latte was very rich (not sweet, just intensely concentrated, which was nice).

Overall, a good place to checkout if you like green tea or japanese desserts :-) food is priced quite reasonably, will definitely be back! :)


Nana's Green Tea Cafe
Plaza Singapura 60B, Orchard Road
#03-80/82
S238891
Monday-Sunday: 11am-10pm