Melbourne

Had the chance to go to Melbourne for the weekend, this is the 4th time I've visited Melbourne and it is as beautiful as ever, except for the weather which hovered around 12 degrees. On the last night there was a event called "White Night" which is kinda like "Vivid Sydney", basically buildings are transformed with lights and projections and there's also live performances and other artsy stuff. But man, was there a crowd! Didn't end up seeing most of the stuff and just went back to the hotel so I didn't take any photos :(

Cumulus Inc.

A friend who lives in Melbourne had suggested this place for dinner, according to him, if a restaurant doesn't take bookings for under 6 people then that means it's a awesome place to eat, apparently. So we decided to give this place a go, went in at 7 and was told that a table won't be ready till 9. I guess most people would not wait for 2 hours but they have a very nice bar area where you can drink and eat as well so we decided to just sit at the bar. The bartenders really knew their stuff when it came to drinks and cocktails as well as the food. So we got:
Baked chilli mussels, Roast new season potatoes, confit garlic & sage, Corn-fed chicken breast, confit leg, puffed rice, avocado & sorrel, Flounder (I can't remember the full name as it was a special).

The mussels were delicious, baked in a tomato and chilli based sauce, chilli enough to feel a slight sting which was just right. The potatoes were crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside, the sage was panfried with the potatoes and give it that really nice aroma. The flounder was a big hit with the group, it was tender and moist, the sauce which was also tomato based with corn (and some other stuff which I have forgotten lol) really held the dish together, be careful of bones though. Then came the chicken which I must say was my favourite of the night, chicken breast can be tricky to cook as they can be quite dry but it came out a perfect 10. The puffed rice was a really pleasant texture, it just seemed to work in perfect harmony with the avocado. We did not have room for desserts unfortunately, it's funny how really good food fills you up even though it's in very small portions.

 

Hot Star Chicken

When I saw that blue sign when I was walking past my heart skipped a beat. I had experienced the awesomeness that is "Hot Star Chicken" in Shanghai when I went back last year but here in Australia?! My word!! For those of you who don't know the brand, they sell fried chicken the size of your face (ok, maybe even bigger than your face). You can choose different flavours (chilli, salt & pepper, plum, seaweed) and there are also sides like curly fries and fried sweet potato. After you had your first taste you'll want to keep going back for more. Just saw on their facebook that they're opening a store in Sydney in March, hooray for fried chicken! :D