Shopping Trip!

Guess who's going to.......



Tonight!!! I'll be doing my bit to stimulate the Thai economy through its retail industry ;) Be back on Tuesday, have a great weekend folks! Cheers :)

The Crepe Cafe

During my trip to Perth, I managed to meet up with Ee Juen and her bf. Ee Juen was my first friend in school when I moved to the Subang school, old times indeed. The last I met her was in January. EJ was one of the earliest ones who left for Perth right after finishing her Pre-U in Malaysia and to date, has been in Perth for almost 4 years now.



I texted EJ when I was in Perth and it was such a coincidence that she lives nearby Yi Fang's place. Her bf, Wai Onn who is pure Australian (but born Chinese with family heritage from Penang) came to pick me up and we headed to, in EJ's text message verbatim, the biggest mall in Perth.

Which I later realized was a sarcastic remark.



We went to Westfields Carousel Shopping Center which was also coincidently where Yi Fang, her mom and her youngest sis works part time at a news agency. EJ and Wai Onn brought me to the food court for breakfast and recommended The Crepe Cafe.


Hawaiian Crepe

EJ and Wai Onn had a Hawaian Crepe to share, what lovebirds do. Light and soft, the crepe envelops a big slice of ham, pineapples and (I think) mayo. Taste pretty good too, not too heavy to kickstart the morning.


Breakfast set

I had the heavier item which is the breakfast set. The breakfast set consists of a crepe which contains mushrooms, and loads of mushrooms! There's a sunshine egg on top with some grilled tomatoes and a serving of baked beans. Finishing up the whole plate of goodies was quite a feat but the crepe was really good, so it only does justice that I finish it! The breakfast set was priced at $13 something if I'm not mistaken and comes with a cup of tea/coffee.

Thanks to EJ and Wai Onn for their hospitality of showing me around Westfields and Harbourtown and driving me right to Corica's doorstep to buy their famous Apple Strudels too!

Sorry, can't write much today as I'm too tired.



The Crepe Cafe
Westfields Carousel Shopping Centre
1382 Albany Highway
Perth, WA 6107
Australia.

Burswood Theatre Under the Stars

On my third day in Perth (sorry I know my posts are not in chronological order), Fang and her family organized a movie outing for me. This movie, however is not your ordinary cinema with popcorn movie. It's a romantic outdoor under the stars movie organized by Movies by Burswood.

The 'cinema' is at Burswood where it is also the center of Perth's entertainment area- known as Burswood Entertainment Complex. Within the same compound is the Burswood Casino, seven restaurants, eight bars, two hotels, a club and an auditorium. The whole area is also surrounded by parks and lush greens.



We arrived quite early to 'book' places but there were people much earlier than us. The movie was scheduled at 8pm but we were there about 7.30pm. As you can see, the sun does not set very early in Perth.



Upon admission to the 'cinema', there was an area where people who did not bring anything can rent a beanie sofa. It was $6 but if you return it after the movie ends, you get a refund of $2, which is quite worth it because it's so comfy!





It's quite a nice sight to see people bringing mats, rugs, picnic blankets, foldable chairs etc and making themselves comfortable for the movie. Most of them also brought food, which is quite nice as the authorities don't restrict you from bringing outside food and drinks and cameras as well.



Movie of the night was Bridewars starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. The movie was alright but the most awesome part was when the sky got dark and the stars appeared... the weather was cooling (actually quite cold) and snuggling under the blanket/sweater. It was such a wonderful experience!

I know we do have an outdoor cinema some years back called Nokia Starlights Cinema at Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club. I have never been to the Starlights cinema, but the experience here in Perth is totally different as you can hardly spot any stars in KL due to too much lights and it's so hot here.



After the movie, we headed home and I suggested to Fang that we should lie at the lawn and watch stars! I never had the chance to do this back home. It was such a nice feeling, to be able to travel 2586 miles to meet your best friend, watch the stars together and have the longest chat ever. To end the night on a sweet note, we even saw 3 shooting stars which we've never seen before!

Corica Apple Strudels

I didn't give this much thought but it just struck me that all the famous eateries in Perth starts with a 'C'- Cicerello's (Fish & Chips), Conca's (Chilli Mussels), Cold Rock (Yummy Ice Cream), and Corica (Apple Strudels). Is this a Coincidence or what?

Anyway, I met Ee Juen, my high school friend who was also my first sitting partner when I moved to Subang Jaya school, and Wai Onn, her Australian born Chinese bf during my short stint in Perth. It wasn't coincidental, but rather a planned affair. We didn't get to hang out much as EJ had to leave for work after meeting up with me, but EJ being herself, ever so hospitable and nice got Wai Onn to bring me around shopping around Harbourtown and even drove me to Corica to get the superawesomefamous Apple Strudels!



Corica's Apple Strudels is really famous in Perth. It garners the same responses and effects when you mention the name Cicerello's or Conca's or Cold Rock. It's not surprising why.

Look at the picture above.

What do you see? What do you feel? Do you want to eat it? Are you salivating already?



The pastry is crispy, light and fluffy. It is lightly glazed and has two layers of cream and custard. There are also slices of caramelized apples in the filling of the custard and cream. The sweetness level is just right, not too sweet and not too bland either. It is most perfect for tea time or after-meal desserts.

Priced at $15.50 if you pre-order and $17.50 if you're a walk-in customer. It's worth every dollar spent, even after all the conversion cos it's just too good to be true! When I was boarding the plane home, I saw a lady with a huge box bearing the Corica's name! She had ta pau'ed what I think to be at least 4 loaves back to Malaysia! The best part is, Corica has even customized the box so that customers or tourists can bring a piece of Corica's back to their homecountry to share without breaking the apple strudels into pieces.

Corica also has an outlet in South East Asia but sadly it's not in Malaysia. It's at Jakarta :( Someone fly to Jakarta and get me a loaf of Corica Apple Strudels pleaseeeeee!



Corica
106 Aberdeen Street,
Northbridge,
Perth, Western Australia 6000.
Tel: +61 89 328 8196
Business hours: Mon-Fri 8.30am -5.30pm, Sat 8.00am-12.30pm

Nero's Italian Restaurant

On the day before I left Perth, Yi Hua and Denise took me to Nero's, an Italian Restaurant located alongside Albany Highway at Gosnells after finding out that I hadn't had my Chilli Mussels and Fish & Chips experience yet.



The setting at Nero's is a simple one, nothing fancy schmanzy like the Nero Vivo or Neroteca in KL, don't misunderstand though, these Neros are not related... though I'm just curious what does Nero means?? Anyway, as you can see from the picture above, the table setting is pretty simple too. There is a sheet of white paper that lines every table for patrons to...



... Draw! Scribble! Write! Color crayons are available. And as you can see, that's Denise's and Yi Hua's scribbles.



One of the things I noticed here is that the restaurants or eateries provide tables with a bottle of iced water and it comes refillable rather than having a waiter/waitress refilling glass by glass, table by table. The bottles are rather pretty too. I quite like the refillable water concept here, I shall do the same if I happen to open my own restaurant in the future!


Chilli Mussels- $11.95 (appetizer) or $18.95 (main)
Local mussels steamed in white wine, cooked in napoletana sauce with a hint of chilli

They say you haven't been to Perth if you have not taste the Chilli Mussels! Luckily I had the opportunity to have 'em before I leave or else I might have been accused of not been to Perth at all! The mussels look pretty big but opened to reveal an average size mussel. The sauce is excellent, alittle spicy and one can really taste the white wine. The mussels are fresh too. An excellent appetizer to open up one's appetite!


Venezia- $11.50 (entree) or $13.50 (main)
Ham, cabanossi, cheese, olives, mushrooms and green peppers

We had a Venezia pizza to share but unfortunately I was too stuffed that there wasn't any space left to fit in a slice of pizza. However, there were unrecorded testimonials from the other two ladies that the pizza was good. We even had leftovers which was subsequently ta pau'ed for Yi Fang and her mom and they too said it was good. So, yeah the pizza should be good.


Rump (350gm)- $22.95
Prime quality rump steak chargrilled to your liking with a choice of pepper or mushroom sauce. Served with golden chips and a side salad.

The affable Denise had the Rump Steak but I think she did a mistake by calling it for medium well. The steak came out... well. It was dry and a little bit stiff. I think steaks should be done medium rare to have that pinkish inside but brown chargrilled outside, like the one I had in Outback Steakhouse.


Fettucine Alla Carbonara- $10.95 (entree) or $13.95 (main)
Creamy bacon and mushroom sauce served with fettucine.

Yi Hua had the carbonara in entree size. The good thing about ordering in Nero's is the flexibility of allowing their patrons to choose whether they want their meals in entree size or main to allow for more variety of food for sharing or if you can't have a huge serving on your own although the price difference is only by about $2 to $3. The carbonara didn't receive a good response from Yi Hua as she said it tasted 'funny'. Hmmmm..... two misses and two hits so far.


Pesce E Patatine Fritte- $19.95
Freshly battered fish, lightly fried. Served with golden chips and a salad.

Don't let this less than English name of this dish fool you. It's actually only fish and chips lah. I'm a huge fan of fish & chips so I MUST HAVE IT after hearing from an ex-supplier that the seafood in Perth is really fresh and good. The Pesce E Patatine Fritte fish & chips came in 2 big pieces and was really fresh. The flesh was easily detachable.


Tiramisu

Though we were already very full, there was still room for dessert! Tiramisu was our choice that day. The Tiramisu was quite good, spongy and fluffy with an adequate taste of coffee. Pair it with the whipped cream and it was Buon Apetito!



Look at the amount of food we had to feed 3 girls!


Nero's
2328 Albany Highway Gosnells,
Perth, Western Australia.
Tel: 08-9398 2011
Business hours: Open 7 days a week, 11.30am till late
www.neros.com.au

Chinese Dim Sum in Northbridge, Perth

Perth is one of those places where you can find a lot of Asians, particularly Chinese, regardless of Australian born Chinese or Chinese Chinese or Malaysian Chinese... you get the drift. Perth is also a popular choice among Asians as a migration destination, especially Malaysians, pretty much like how the Hong Kees superlove to migrate to Vancouver, Canada- at least most of the TVB dramas tell us so.

I guess it's a universal thing that all major cities in the world has a Chinatown. The Chinese are probably some of the most commonly found people all over the world, regardless of whether they're pure Chinese from China or Chinese born. I saw from the TV once, on the Guinness World Records program that the most widely spoken language in the world is not English, but Chinese. Heh, beat that!



On the second day of my stay in Perth, we headed out to Northbridge which is within the city for a dim sum brunch. This particular restaurant is called Northbridge Chinese Restaurant but if you know how to read the Chinese name, it is called 'Luk Fook' or Six Happiness, but I guess for simplicity and not to confuse those poor ang mohs, the English name of it is just named after the area. It was a Sunday and the restaurant was already packed with people lining up outside.



We managed to secure a table thereafter. The tables are quite big, meant to fit 10 but there were only 5 of us, so kinda wasted half the table heh. There were waiters and waitresses (all Chinese who speaks Cantonese, suspect they're from HK or maybe students from Malaysia doing part-time) carrying trays of food and some pushing carts from table to table. Quite a comforting sight to know that some of the traditional ways of having dim sum are still around especially in a Western country.


Meat Floss Flower Roll Buns


Fried Lobak Gou


Fried Calamari


Yam Cake


Fried Fish Balls


Fried Triangular Fish Cake

There are some stuff here that are not seen back home, for example, the fried calamari. There are also the same stuff but cooked different ways, like the yam cake and fried lobak gou which is just plain lobak without eggs and beansprouts. The meat floss flower roll was pretty good and so are the rest although I find the yam cake abit weird and bland. I like the fried fish balls though as the fish was springy and hot from the frying wok! Shiok!


Siew Mai


Har Gao

What's a dim sum meal without the obligatory Siew Mai and Har Gao which are like the King & Queen of dim sum. The K&Q tastes not too bad, perhaps even better than some dim sum places in Malaysia. I notice that the size of the dim sums are quite big here, perhaps to cater to the ang mohs.



After our satisfying meal, we went walking around Northbridge and Chinatown which isn't really big. Here you will find Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, Indian and Chinese restaurants.



I was told that Bubble Tea is very popular among Asians here. It is like THE place and THE drink for Asians. So being a tourist, I had to see for myself the Asian culture in a Western country.



My tourguides brought me to their favourite bubble tea place called Utopia. Truth to be told, there's nothing great about the place at all, it's poorly ventilated and you won't catch me hanging around there. As if the sun's not hot enough, it was getting stuffy and warm in there. Anyway, from what I observed, ang mohs love bubble tea too. The counter is managed by Asians though. They say the cups are quite easy to notice though, spot anyone with an orange cup and you'll know it's bubble tea from Utopia.



The process to get your bubble tea is simple. They have a list of flavours and types of bubble tea on a sheet of paper at the counter. Take a pencil and tick what you want with what kind of jellies you want in your drinks, for ie. black pearls, rainbow jelly, pudding, chocolate pudding, honeydew, grape etc. Queue up to hand your forms and pay. Then wait for your drinks to be shaken and stirred and then you're good to go!

I had the Honey something flavour and they said it was bad even before I tried it myself! Such encouraging sneak previews, hmmph!



Anyway, it's Friday! Go partaaaay, have a cocktail or toast over a scotch for something good you've done over the week, can be whether you've done a good deed, perform well in school or got a job well done at work. I'll toast mine here for surviving the first week at work and finally getting my external email and internet access! (which loosely translates to... I can access my blog from work!)

Yay!

Best Chap Fan Award

New SS15 Subang Jaya market

This is a little deviation from the ongoing Perth posts as I'm too tired (from yawning at work) due to having to wake up early and reaching home late due to the jams at Federal Highway. It seems like I can never get away from being stuck in the jams even after changing jobs. What's worst was yesterday when I made a wrong decision and ended up having to make a huge turnaround only to end up back at office area and endure the whole jam process again! Really frustrating!





If you've been hanging around Subang long enough (ie. was/being a student at the nearby school or colleges, or work nearby) you'll probably know the existance of the Awesome Chap Fan at the market or pasar as we would all call it. It is quite famous and has established itself as the place to go to if you're on a tight budget but not so tight stomach. This chap fan stall has been around for years and has probably fed many of the scholars and graduates around the SS15 area. It used to be under the shabby dodgy atap zinc area near the old market but has been relocated to a better and cleaner new market. Beware though as the regular stray cats are still lingering around...





What I like about the chap fan here is that it looks like a buffet and you can help yourself like you're on a buffet line but you pay nothing like the buffet. Pasar chap fan is known to be cheap but they don't compromise on the taste. The signature item on the buffet line is none other than the Fried Chicken which is a MUST HAVE. It is always fried fresh from the wok, so you know the fried chicken is warm, tender and crispy. You can almost spot everyone's plate having a piece of fried chicken.

Another favourite of mine when it comes to chap fan dining is the braised potatoes in soy sauce. I love anything potatoes and especially that dish as it goes very well with white rice.



After selecting all the dishes you want (dine-in or takeaway), you line up to this mak cik and she'll tell you how much and also ask what drinks you want. This mak cik, folks, is a legend herself. Her classic, legendary, signature lines that you'll always remember after eating here at least once, after ordering your drinks, are,

"Leng Chi Kang satuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...."
"Hoi Tei Yeh satuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...."

If you hear anyone speaking like that from far, it must be unmistakenly her. But other than that, she charges quite arbitrarily but not too expensive.


Sea Coconut Ice/ Hoi Tei Yeh- RM1


Leng Chi Kang- RM1

Though eating in pasar means saving on money, it can become quite a put off when the sun gets very hot. You'll almost be sweating as much as you'll be eating, so sometimes people don't quite like to eat here. But hey, isn't this the Malaysian experience? To 'counter' the heat, have a bowl of refreshing sea coconut or leng chi kang at only RM1 per bowl. These two are quite often the default drinks for most chap fan eaters here.


Chap Fan Sample #1

My friend had the above selection with a drink (can't remember what but it's not the default drinks) and he was charged something between RM4 to RM5 due to the fried fish. Prices have gone up for fish I guess...


Chap Fan Sample #2

Another friend had a simple meal of just a piece of fried chicken and some cabbage with curry gravy and a bowl of sea coconut. He paid RM2.70, which means the plate of rice is only RM1.70.


Chap Fan Sample #3

I had the above selection- braised potatoes, curry potatoes, long beans with brinjals, some pieces of sweet and sour chicken and a piece of fried chicken. I also had a bowl of sea coconut. I paid RM4.50. Quite a steal for the variety of food I had.

I'm just thinking, if chap fan stalls had to do accounting entries and their accounts have to be audited, I think they would fail terribly as there is no proper guidelines to dictate how much should three pieces of potatoes or a scoop of curry gravy or two chunk of meat patty cost. Some chap fan owners are just so horrible!



I really miss having my meals here but it's better now as I can still have chap fan and it's for free at the cafeteria! Heh. The good people from HR is bringing A&W to our cafe tomorrow though, so coney dogs, rootbeer float and curly fries for lunch tomorrow! Awesome!!


SS15 Pasar Chap Fan
Jalan SS15/8A,
47500 Subang Jaya.

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]