[Noosa] Mod Oz at Berardo's on the Beach

Berardo's Bistro,
on the beach resort,
hastings street,
noosa heads, q 4567

opening hours
monday - sunday
breakfast from 7.30am
lunch from 12pm - 4pm
dinner from 5pm

Web: http://www.berardos.com.au/Bistro/Berardos/Home


Stunning view over Noosa main beach


Linguine, Local Prawns, Mussels, Scallops, Chilli, Garlic & Parsley $24(entree size)

One of the mussel had beard and hurt my tooth filling, ouch!! The dish came out less than warm, I heard the service bell rang three times before anyone bothered to walk over and serve the thing. Truly disappointing service.

Board special: Duck in filo served with olive tapenade and sweet potato mash

This was also entree size, tastewise, not agreeing with my palate. I like clean and uncomplicated flavours. But sometimes complicated can be good, all depends on the chef's skill.

Kid's menu: Fish and chips

This was horrible, the fish was cooked to death and had a rubbery texture. Very weird.

I read so much about Berardo's, all good things and came with HIGH expectation but left without bothering to try the desserts (a first for me!) eventhough the lunch hardly filled our tummy.

The idea of visiting the restaurant was quickly scrapped after this.

I am not saying the food was below par, well, except the fish, just you know, not my type of food.

呵呵相見不如懷念; 美食可是非常主觀的.


Lazed on the beach after lunch.

The only sunny day in two weeks. Started raining again the following late morning.

If GOD has a voice...............

I always thought he would sound like Andrea Bocelli.

Until I heard Miljenko Matijevic.



Such a talented man with a hauntingly beautiful voice, no-one/nothing in the world over can compare (in my opinion, of course) with. Pushed Freddie Mercury right off my top vocalist of all time with a vengeance.

The man should be doing greater things than just cover albums and receives/deserves so much more accolades than the world has bestowed him.



It's the sort of sound/voice/music I think the world should be filled with. Well, my world, at least.



震撼 again and again.

THIS IS the voice of GOD. Period.

[Eumundi] Chocolate overdose at Cocoa Chocolat

Cocoa Chocolat Pty Ltd
Etheridge Street
Eumundi
Queensland 4562
Australia
T: +61 7 5442 7841

Open Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 2pm

Website: http://www.cocoachocolat.com.au/index.html





The shop was empty when I entered. But a succession of customers suddenly started to stream in and the spacious shop was suddely full with hardly any moving space after five minutes.

Lucky I was there first and got served immediately after quickly scanning the selection and making my choices.

Quite a number of customers looked and left without buying. I reckon it's the biggest loss of their day!!


The shop was so busy, the owner herself came out and helped to serve.


There was a good selection and I brought home quite a few to try.

They were all very good. My favourite chocolate shop so far in Australia.

I recommend the passion fruit chocolate in either white, milk or dark chocolate. Princess liked the strawberry cream. The flavour was intense and quality of chocolate was superb. Big King liked the boozy ones.

[Brunei] Random dinner at Chempaka

Dinner with friends in a make-shift eating place set up in owner's backyard.


Fried chicken wings coated in salted egg yolk.


Deep fried chicken fritters served with lettuce leaves and sweet chilli sauce.


Steamed spareribs.


Stir fried eggplant with minced pork.

[Singapore] Ramen Santouka

Ramen Santouka
Central
6 Eu Tong Sen St, SG 059817
6224 0668

Subway: Clarke Quay

Open Daily 11am-9:30pm


Very busy at weekday lunch service. We waited for 20 minutes for a table. Some valuable time was lost looking for the restaurant which was tucked in an obscure corner of a side elevator. So we didn't manage to beat the lunch crowd :-(. It didn't help much the place is tiny, only about 20 plus seats.


The restaurant overlooked Singapore River. It will be a plus if you score the window seats.


Fried chicken with shoyu (soy sauce) ramen S$23

I had the fried chicken ramen set with a regular sized ramen portion, original set is a small bowl. I was rather shocked when the fried chicken came out looking overdone and each piece the size of my palm!

I needn't have worried, the chicken pieces were well marinated and juicy. For an extra dollar, you get a komi tamago, braised egg. It's good but I wished the yolk was more runny.


Tokusen Toroniku Ramen S$19.50

This was what drawn me to Santouka, grilled pork neck, limited to about 60 portions a day. I was curious about it being the restaurant's specialty and limited. Worthy of the price tag?

It didn't look much when arrived. I put a piece in my mouth (I know, extravagance much!), a wave of euphoria washed over me. Oh my gawd, the meat was soooo tender and melt in the mouth, it was so good, I wanted to swallow my tongue. I even ate the fat attached (I never ever eat fatty meat, I remove every bit of fat from meat before putting into my mouth), I don't like the taste and feel of fats in my mouth. But the fat on the grilled pork neck was so tasty, it didn't taste like fat at all. I can't believe I am talking about 'fats'.

Ooooh, I'll be back.

Mmm, on my next top ramen haunt list is Ippudo. I hope it lives up to its hype.

Eumundi Market

School holiday in september 2010, weather was horrible, much more so than the last few weeks. It rained throughout the whole holiday with some scary thunderstorms on certain days.

No matter, we still feel like a beach holiday.


Road to Sunshine Coast, weather was dark and gloomy in the morning with some drizzle.


If you are travelling from Brisbane or south, you will definitely go past Ettamogah Pub at Aussie World.


Weather suddenly cleared when we arrived at Eumundi and we saw the sun for the first time in many days.


We came on a Wednesday, I was disappointed, there were lots of stalls but mostly arts, crafts and knick-knacks. There were only a few fresh produce and food stalls.


Spices and sweets stall. I bought some chocolates.


I bought only four to try. Heaven awaits me further up the road....

We bought churros with chocolate dip minus the cinnamon sugar. They were really good.


We saw lots of stalls of this kind in most markets we visited except of course the purely food and fresh produce markets. Those toddler's clothings were so cute. They are not cheap, most items selling at more than A$30.


We finished at Eumundi market after doing one round, the sun was shining bright and it got rather sweaty.

Next, we went up the road to look for Cocoa Chocolat.

[Singapore] The Buffet Hotpot @ M Hotel

M Hotel Singapore
81 Anson Road
Singapore 079908

Hotpot dinner at The Buffet, level 2.




Chicken broth and tom yum


Once we sat down, the server quickly brought over a bowl of drunken prawns for each diner.






Seafood was extremely fresh.






Homemade green spinach noodle is good.






Small selection of desserts including mousses, fruits, nyonya kuih, durian penyet and ice-cream.

[Brisbane] Era Bistro

Era Bistro
102 Melbourne Street
South Brisbane (Cnr Merivale Street)
phone: (07) 3255 2033

Before going out to a restaurant, I like to peruse their online menu (to death :^D) and always already know what I wanted before stepping into the door.

Recently Era Bistro's menu looks very inviting. I went to check it out and decided to try its pre-show dinner to get a little taste of what they can offer. The experience did not disappoint.




Pre-show dinner: $49 per person, in by 6pm and out by 7.15pm, choice of one main and one dessert from a seection of three respectively.

If I see duck or lamb on the menu, I look no further.

Roasted dusk breast and confit leg

The dish came out looking good and tastewise was good too. Breast meat was nicely pink and flavorful while the confit skin was crispy with tender meat. Sauce was savoury and smoky and it goes well with the duck.

Lamb loin with orecchiette pasta with jewel vegetables

The lamb was lightly marinated and then pan fried, delicious. Lamb was done medium, I breathe a sigh of relief when it came out sans the blood. Soup was tasty albeit a bit murky looking.

Dark Chocolate ‘Toblerone’ Parfait & Caramel Popcorn

Good parfait and ice-cream, smooth and creamy. Caramel popcorn flaccid and unnecessary. Something creative like a chocolate sand/snow or even praline would be more engaging.

Crème Brulee of Coffee, Milk & Cookies

This plate comes out boring but brulee was very well made with a crunchy sugar coating. Half the fun of eating brulee was the spoon hitting the coating and hearing that 'crack'. Milk ice cream like the chocolate version above was smooth and creamy and the 'sand' around it was a nice touch which lend another dimension to the otherwise plain ice-cream. Again cookies was unnecessary, they are quite hard and adds nothing to the otherwise perfect dessert but its great for the little one to graze on.

There is no children menu but the waitress said the kitchen can whip up some child friendly food. We ordered a ham and pineapple pizza for Princess and it came out big enough to feed two adults!! It was very nice of the restaurant willing to cater to customers need.

A good restaurant with good food and excellent service.

Oh, before I forget. A reader wanted to know where to get stroopwafels. You can get them from Pennisi Cuisine, 17 Balaclava Street, Woolloongabba, 4102 and certain Woolworths stores on the continental food section.

[Brisbane] Fishmonger's Wife

The Fishmonger's Wife
6/86 Lytton Road
East Brisbane QLD 4170
(07) 3891 6464
12pm to 8pm Sunday to Thursday
12pm to 8:30pm Friday and Saturday
Website: http://www.thefishmongerswife.com/




Crumbed seafood basket AUD17.90

You get 4 whiting, 3 calamari, 2 prawns, chips, lemon and tartare sauce. Add AUD0.50 for beer battered chips.

Battered king snapper (AUD13.95) with beer battered chips (AUD4.25)

If I see snapper or red emperor on the menu, I looked no further. The batter was deliciously crunchy but the fish inside was even better. Soft buttery smooth and melt in the mouth flesh, the cooking time was spot time, few seconds more, the fish will be overcooked and few seconds less the thicker part will not be cooked through.

Beer battered chips are equally good, none of the soggy chips you expect from regular fish & chips shop. Crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. They were still a little crunchy when cold, amazing.

Salt, pepper & garlic calamari AUD12.90

Cooked to perfection and nicely seasoned.

Kid's pack - 3 calamari and chips AUD5.95


Potato scallop @AUD0.95

Perhaps my favourite item from the shop. I have a soft spot for potato scallop.

******
The Fishmonger's Wife actually stopped by and asked me of my opinion on the food.

To be honest everything was soooo good, I refrained myself from saying too much (but has since updated with some comments, I do think people really want to know). If you read food directory sites or past reviews done, lots of angry voices from other states for the fact that The Fishmonger's Wife has won the coveted much-deserved Best fish & chips in Australia.

Now I haven't been to ALL fish & chips places in Australia so I don't want to form an opinion on that lest I start a war.

This place has become our family's regular fish & chip haunt and we don't even live in the vicinity. That says a lot when the other 2 members of my family are not even seafood eater.

You know, gotta try it to believe it.