1. You’re still able to log on to WG (wordpress)
2. Migration process may take a while, depending on how fast we’re able to source for good hosts. Yeah, cheap but good. *blame it on my roots lol*
3. You may begin to edit your URLS to point to http://www.wanderinggourmet.net
4. I was pissed off when http://www.wanderinggourmet.com wasn’t available. Bugger!
5. Our contact emails will be changed shortly in the “about us” page.
6. We’ve decided on a logo but due to the “shortage” of time that I’ve been facing of late, the unveiling of the logo might take a while
7. Our own branding will give us better flexibility on what to put here and what not to put here to reach out to our wonderful readers

That’s all. Yeah, 7 pointers….7 is a magical number, the most powerful number in the wizarding world! ROFLMAO or why would Lawd Voldermort create 7 horcruxes? Ok ok, I was merely teasing you.

Not quite a grand welcome but please, clap your hands to our new url

—->> http://www.wanderinggourmet.net <<—-

By now you SHOULD have received an email from me to inform you of the upcoming gathering for the month.  If you haven’t, check your junk mail, it may have filtered through. For those who are completely and utterly absent-minded and disorganized, here are the details:

I’ll keep you updated should there be any change.

Have a nice week!

Penny

This is just a note to let members know that the next Wandering Gourmet gathering will be held on the 18th August, which is a Saturday night. I am currently sorting out the details, so I will let you know closer to the date where it will be held and how much it will be. I guess it would also be handy to mention that it will be at a Japanese restaurant. If you have any input or connections let me know.

Also for September’s gathering, I was thinking of either a picnic or BBQ for two reasons. The first being that September marks the arrival of Spring here in Oz, and it is also suppose to be a gathering where are are required to participate. So what better time to have an outdoors activity?! If you have any ideas as to where to have this picnic/bbq, group games we can play or how we should organise it, please email me what you have come up with.

I’ll be in touch! 

But first of all, my comments on the food:

ENTREES

Team BRFT beautifully presented their entree, which was Prawns in 3 Ways. The three different ways that they were presented were Marinated Spring Roll Prawns which is prawns marinated in chilli, garlic, ginger, fish sauce wrapped in a spring roll skin and deep fried served with spicy chilli sauce. I thought this was quite nice, except it wasn’t so crispy after a lot of talking.

The second way was ‘Prawns Classic’, which was prawns marinated with good Australian extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, with snow pea sprout salad tossed in orange and chilli vinaigrette. I felt the prawn here was slightly overcooked.

The third way was ‘Panko Crusted Prawns’ which was prawns encrusted with Japanese panko bread crumbs and deep fried, served drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice and Japanese mayonnaise. I thought this one was the best overall out of the three prawn styles.

Overall, this dish was quite good and I would imagine it would be more flavoursome if served warmer (which was out of our control). I would probably rate it 4 out of 5 because of the quality of the food, presentation, and that it was quite a different idea.

Team DDJM presented two dishes for their entrees – Salt and Pepper Chicken, and Bruschetta. Unfortunately, I am unable to tell you much about them apart from the Salt and Pepper Chicken was coated in flour, salt and pepper and they fried it in my wok. There were also a lot of vegetables, so extra points for the thought of balancing out the dish with vegies! However, I found the Salt and Pepper Chicken a little under cooked – but the next day after I heated it was perfect. I would give particular dish 3.5 out of 5 (lost points for the undercooked chicken and that it was cooked in my house).

The Bruschetta was quite flavoursome, except it was a little soggy – but this could not have been helped because of the talking. However, they did have an advantage that they cooked the dish in the house as opposed to the Team BRFT’s Prawns 3 Ways. I would give this lovely food for the soul dish 4 out of 5.

Mains

Team BRFT created Strozzapreti with Sautéed Squid and Mushrooms. This consisted of Strozzapreti pasta with sautéed North Western WA Squid and mushrooms, coated in a smoked cheddar and parmigiano reggiano butter sauce tossed in fresh chives and Italian parsley. I thought that this dish was well made; and once again very well thought out. I would vote this dish 4 out of 5.

Team DDJM created four different types of pasta – Multicultural Pasta, Chicken Cabonara, Olive and Basil Pesto Pasta, and some kind of Tomato Based Pasta.

The Multicultural Pasta was so named “because it had an Asian-influenced style of preparation, the veggies were stir fried in capsicum and stuff.” Unfortunately I didn’t have this dish on the night, but I did have it the next day for work. I would have to say this was good.

The Chicken Cabonara was definitely one of the crowning jewels in Team DDJM’s dishes, I felt. I think this dish was good over all.

Olive and Basil Pesto Pasta was also a strong contender from this team. The basil pesto was quite good compared to the last time I had basil pesto in a meal! That was at Rockeby’s in Subiaco by the way – and it was utterly appalling. I am certainly glad this one tasted much better than Rockeby’s!

Tomato Based Pasta – unfortunately I was unable to get any details about this dish although I did eat it. I remember it vaguely. I’m sure it was good – I haven’t died from it!

Over all, I would give the pastas from Team DDJM an average of 4 out of 5.

Address- 483 Hay Street, Subiaco

Makan2- The other place I really like going to is Makan2 in Victoria Park. I like the atmosphere, you can go in and sit and talk for hours on end, and the staff will pretty much leave you to it. They also have wireless net connection, I forgotten how much they charge as I don’t use it, but the place is more a hangout to chat and catch up with old friends. On most night they also have the music channel playing on a big screen. They make a fantastic Teh Tarik (Pulled tea) and a generous serving of roti parata. For a mere $3 you get a big steaming mug of teh tarik, and also for $3 you can get a giant piece of plain roti parata with curry sauce for dipping. Again the place is usually full of students and families looking for a halal meal, so if you want somewhere to have quite personal chat, this is definitely NOT the place to go. The main flaws with this place is that even with all the space they have, the cafe fills up pretty quickly, and as a result they have taken to cramming the rooms with lot of tables and chairs. navigating around these tables is real hard, and if you have small children with you, I implore you to leave the prams in the car!!!! The other thing is that even though the staff are really friendly, the service is really slow. I can understand this though as on a Saturday night in a place this big I only saw four people waiting on the tables. I would highly suggest to the owners to put two extra people to lighten the load during the rush periods. I don’t know what time this place closes, but it says till late and I have only ever been there till 12.30 at night, so I’m not too sure what the closing time is.

Address: 357 Albany Hwy, Victoria Park

Moon Cafe- I also like, Moon Cafe in Northbridge. They make a pretty good late night food stop, and the music is different. Though the staff are very friendly, a few of them, I’m assuming they are backpackers, look like they could do with a feed and a shower. LOL. I don’t mean to be rude, but the guy who serve us one night looked like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. I felt like giving him my dinner! But they do make a damn fine cookies and cream cheesecake!!!

Address: Shop 2, 323 William Street, Northbridge

Other places I can think of but not in detail are:

Funtastico (Subiaco)- I know how certain people see this place, but you cannot deny that they make the yummiest sticky date pudding!!!!!! It was gooey and warm like a good pudding should, but the pudding itself wasn’t sickening rich like how a lot of place make it. I felt that the lady/manager(?) can be a bit stuck up sometimes though, the rest of the staff have always been really friendly.

Address: 12 Rokeby Road, Subiaco

44 King Street- If you cannot find this place you need help! I love this place for the tables and chairs they have! It so cool! The food and coffee being good is a bonus. Hehehe. The kitchen stays open until 12, but I’ve only ever stayed there till 11, we tend to head up to King Park for a late night stroll after this place.

Address: 44 King Street, Perth

Gino’s (Fremantle)- Located along the Cappuccino strip in Freo, I like this place as once you have made your order they leave to to your own devices and they have a very relaxed and casual atmosphere, much like the rest of Freo. I feel however that whenever I go to order at the counter, the guy who takes my order has an opinion about what we get. I know we are sharing the food and we haven’t ordered much, but the servings are a bit too big for me to finish off on my own! Once we get over that initial discomfort the rest of the staff are great, smile a lot and very friendly. I know this place opens till pretty late, but I don’t hang out in Fremantle late at night, so I’m not too sure until when it remains open.

Cafe:1-5 South Terrace, Fremantle

I suppose late night cafe haunts are not complete with out a mention of the Fast Eddy’s Cafes. I love the concept of a 24hour place, and I love the decor they have at all of their franchises. They have lots of good greasy food and drinks to satisfy your late night cravings, and on many occasions I have gotten phones calls from many a friend who has ever wanted to go for a late night meet up at the last minute. Yes I still go, even with knowledge of the stories I’ve heard. :p Its become quite the place for late night food.

Addresses- 454 Murray St Perth 6000; Carousel Shopping Centre Shop R103; Albany Hwy Cannington; Walter Road The Galleria Morley; 13 Essex St Fremantle

Of course here is always a McDonald’s I guess, and the 24hr Maccas in Melville does a roaring trade from midnight-2am with the hungry late night revelers who are heading home/out. Then there’s bubble T at Utopia on James St in Northbridge, but bubble T isn’t coffee or hot chocolate.

So let me know where you go because I need to find somewhere new!

It took us nearly an hour (+traffic jams & +distance) between my house to this place, Bagan Hailam Restaurant. Getting there, in the heart of Port Klang itself isn’t a problem but finding the right place to eat is a HUGE problem. Upon arriving at this quaint little place, I’m aghast to find loads of restaurants of disparaging differences! However, fret not :p While this is my first time at that place, it wasn’t for those peeps.

“Oh this place is a rip off!”

“Food here isn’t that great”

“Lousy ambience in here”….etc

Ok, fair enough. You guys lead the way lol.

Finally after what seemed like eternity, we arrived at this place, with loads of jack russell terriers scurrying about their business and hush, I don’t mean their waste disposals but rather, eating scraps of anything. You have a pervo mind!

Restaurant Signboard

Entrance into that erm…eatery? Looks dodgy! Argh!

Interior of the restaurant, rather cozy and warm with breeze from the estuary blowingi n on us.

Yacht Club and a dinghy in the foreground

Mussel-like shellfish, looks weird but tastes heavenly! This was cooked in erm, I have no idea what but from the pics, I can make out a few simple ingredients.

. black looking sauce/gravy
. onions (no idea which type that is :p)
. mussel-like shellfish
. some celery-leaves
. salt + pepper + sugar (roflmao)

Vegemite Crab! Seriously! They use vegemites! :p It was vegemite with honey + something else altogether…OMFG heavenly!

Evidently, eating crabs left me with no other option to take pics of other food. Ah well, I’ll show you the aftermath of Hurricane Gluttony that unleashed its fury on food!

House on stilts, these were adjoining the restaurant that I was in. Interesting structure.

Primary school, rather dodgy looking though I must surmise.

Pros
Overall, food was good, pricing itself was stupendously good! It’s cheap even by local standards and will definitely be back for more. It was staffed by friendly people and the breeze, ah..oh-so-welcoming!

Cons
Distance though is another problem altogether but if you could carpool, it shouldn’t be a problem as there aren’t any public transportation that heads in that direction. If you must ask me, public transportation in the Klang valley or in Malaysia generally pales in comparison with their neighbouring countries. Another thing to take note of, it takes ages for your food to arrive. I wonder if I’m actually allowed to assume that they were fishing while trying to cook our meals? :p

>>> Goes back to reading Harry Potter’s 7th book <<<

Lets start with the entrees.  There was the prawn cooked three ways and the bruchetta. I love the presentation of the prawns, I thought it was very creative and I especially love the one that was crumbed on mayo. That was really yummy, and I wouldn’t mind having another one. The prawn with the spring roll skin, I liked that, but I think the spring roll pastry could do with a little more frying as it wasn’t crispy enough, but I also understand that any longer, and they prawn would have been overcooked. The final prawn which was peppered and on a bed of snow pea sprouts, I really enjoyed the citrus dressing it was tossed through. The only flaw I could find in it was that my prawn was a little too cooked, but as everyone else really enjoyed theirs, I think it may have just been my one. Overall I really loved this!

The other team made bruchetta, I really loved this as the colours from the tomatoes, capsicum and the onion were gorgeous! However the bread was a little moist, and so taking into account the time it took for us to get round to eating it after taking the photos and discussing it. You guys are totally forgiven and I would have to say it was great!

Next was the mains. Although we did say to do one entree, and one main, one particular group made FIVE mains. LOL! I guess I should give them a special thanks. You guys really filled us up. LOL! the group with the prawn entrees continued their seafood theme with a pasta with calamaris. I must say I quite enjoyed it. The dish looked very simple yet it had alot of flavors to it. I should point out however, the pasta was a little overcooked. I suspect however that it may be due to the reheating. They served this with a nice salad which I must say had one of the yummiest dressings I’ve tasted in quite awhile! Please forward your salad dressing recipe to me!!!

The bruchetta group made a whopping four kinds of pasta; one with pesto, one tomato based vegetarian, one with a cheese sauce and one which they called the “multicultural pasta” which from what I could gather, was a combination of vegetables in pasta. LOL. As I am a proud “pea-hater” I wasn’t too impressed that there were peas in the last pasta. But I forgive you as you had not way of knowing that.   They also made a salt and pepper chicken which was presented to us covered with capsicum bits all over it. Very technical terminology I know. Of the five dishes, I really liked the pesto and the cheese pastas. I love cheese, so no need to explain that one, the pesto I felt was really delicious and praise worthy. The salt and pepper chicken, although tasted good, I think it could have done to have sit in the fryer for a little bit longer to further cook the meat. Not that it was so undercooked we are gonna end up with food poisoning or anything like that, one that it would have tasted better with a longer cooking time.

So of the two teams who fared better? I’d have to say it was a draw. I’m sorry but it is. The food was all really good, and I throughly enjoyed everything. I think everyone should be congratulated as you all did a fantastic job. Those who couldn’t make it you guys really lost out!

Congratulations to my Wandering Gourmet blogger team of Ben, Caroline, Esther, and Penny! You all rock!

Ok, I know that Chinese New Year has somewhat passed us like ages ago. But I remember taking some videos from my mobile of an event that left me
with ears that rang non-stop.

Walking around Chinatown in KL’s no easy task. You find people speaking a smattering of Chinese, Canto, Hokkien etc and so much so, there were times when I was at a lost as to which dialect to converse in.

Ok, lion dancing.

The first thing that is conjured up would be images of lions dancing in the
Serengeti  to hip-hop music or to whatever jazzy tune.
Think, Michael Buble or 50 cent :p But no, blame it on my brains that isn’t starved from the lack of sugar atm :p
*as of 6pm, I’ve had enough sugar to last me the entire night without having the need to erm, starve myself* :p

However, that’s not the point in this entry of mine. What I’m about to show you, is the importance of lion dancing in the Chinese culture. Lion Dancing was in the past and at present, used to usher in good fortune and to ward off evil spirits. Well, this was probably China, before Christianity said hello to them.

I cannot however, verify if evil spirits are indeed afraid of these lions,
seeing that they’re manned by human beings, but what I do know is that lions according to the chinese folklore are known to be guardian creatures. But that’s the basic thing you’d have to know about Lion Dances among the chinese. The variation of styles between Northern and Southern Lion Dancing is a different story altogether. This is atypical of chinese art, culture, food etc.

Till then, here’s a short video.  (pardon me but the video and audio quality is bad…and it’s loud!)