Make your own drink challenge !!

So recently, we just came up with a challenge and we take a video about it. We hope you enjoy our video and maybe in the future, you will be able to see more of our challenges !!

Korean noodles

Today's Korean food is noodles! 

Many Asian countries have noodles, but Korean style noodle have difference taste as others. There are two types of noodles which are noodles with soup and fried noodles.

In my opinion Korean enjoy noodles a lot with soup than without. Also we enjoy noodle cold and hot either way.

In Korea noodle is a cheap food so everyone could have it especially during economic crisis or during Korean war. 

This noodle is the typical black bean noodle. 

the price is around 2-8 dollars depends on the quality.

This is the cold soup noodle that Korean usually enjoy with Korean BBQ or in Summer 

Meet Fresh - Taiwanese Dessert Restaurant Review

Meet Fresh

Today, I will talk about one of my favorite dessert restaurant - Meet Fresh, the Taiwanese Dessert Restaurant. Meet Fresh now has a variety of branches in different suburbs of Sydney such as Burwood, Campsie, Eastwood and Cabramatta. 

The interior of the restaurant has that asian decoration as well as atmosphere which make you feel warm and relaxing as the same time. 

Therefore, once you sat down comfy there with a group of friends, you will just go on chit chat and you won't even notice how fast times fly. 

  

The restaurant has a variety of dessert dishes from taro ball, herb jelly, crushed ice to traditional tea, purple rice porridge, whipped cream tea, etc. However, the one that stand out the most and my personal favorite is the " Duo Deluxe Pudding". It's a mixture of ice cream, pudding and jelly, which create a really sweet taste for those love sweet stuff like me.

Overall, it's a really good dessert restaurant to go to with your friends on the weekend.

I rate it 10 out of 10 for my personal enjoyment.

-Son

Zongzi - Traditional Chinese rice-pudding

Zongzi is a traditional Chinese food made of glutinous rice, stuffed with different fillings, and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, before being steamed or boiled. These sticky rice dumplings are the most popular food of the Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi differ in shape and taste from one place to another across China. There are mainly two tastes to Zongzi: sweet and savoury. Nowadays people even make Zongzi with mixed sweet and savoury fillings. Such a variety of tastes makes the Zongzi family a splendid legacy.

Le Pub

Last Christmas, me and my friends went to this awesome restaurant. This is my first time trying this restaurant in the city. It is a French cuisine and we loved it :)  

Escargots

 This is my first time trying escargots. I think that the taste of the escargot is really unique. The snail is baked with butter, garlic and some herbs. The texture of the snail is a bit chewy and it taste really good with the butter garlic sauce. I will probably try it again next time.

Roasted Duck 

This is the one of the famous dish in this restaurant, Roasted Duck. This dish is serve with some smash potato and roasted duck on top. The roasted duck taste really good because they roast it with some special spice. The sauce of the roasted duck is the juice of cooked fresh berry. It taste sweet and has a bit of sourness in it. If you ever go to this restaurant, I recommend you to try this dish.

Creamy Chicken

This dish is serve with roasted chicken and creamy mushroom sauce. The skin of the chicken is really crispy and the chopped bacon adds up a bit of saltyness to it. There are also some boiled potato and spinach under the chicken. Overall, I give this dish a 8 out of 10.

- Ivy Lee

Moon cake

Traditional Mooncake Fillings
the mid-autumn festivalMooncakes with sweet bean paste
The types of filling vary according to the region's tradition. The most used fillings are as follows:

Lotus seed paste (I bought this one): It is made from dried lotus seeds. Lotus seed paste is considered by some people the most delicious and luxurious filling for mooncakes.

Sweet bean paste: There are several types of sweet bean paste: mung bean paste, red bean paste and black bean potato paste. Red bean paste is the most commonly used filling for mooncakes.

Five kernel: This filling consists of 5 types of nuts and seeds. The types of nuts and seeds vary according to different regions, but commonly used nuts and seeds include: walnuts, pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, peanuts, sesame seeds, and almonds.

Egg yolk: A whole salted egg yolk is placed in the center of mooncakes to symbolize the full moon.

Jujube paste: A sweet paste made from the ripe fruits of the jujube (date) plant. It is dark red in color.

Where to buy Moon cake?
In Macquarie shopping centre, level 3, MIRACLE SUPERMARKET

Gift of Nature

China have the world's most strange natural landscapes, plateaus,mountains and forests, lakes and rivers, coastline. Such kind of geographical span is very good for the growth and reserve of species, which any of other countries don't have a lot of potential raw of food like China. To get the gift of nature, people collect, pick, dig, catch all year round.

China has diverse natural, conditions across its land. As a result, Chinese people living in different areas enjoy absolutely different but rich staple food. From the south to the north, the diverse staple food provide energy for human bodies. Moreover, they influence people's feelings towards the change of four seasons and enrich the lives of the Chinese.

Chinese cuisine can be divided into eight main regional branches:

Sichuan: with characteristic rich and spicy.
Shandong: which is particular in its selection of ingredients for dishes.
Suzhou: its carefully presented steamed crucian carp.
Guangdong: with distinctive sweet and crispy dishes.
Fujian: famed for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
Zhejiang: which emphasises fresh food and natural flavours, particularly seafood.
Huizhou: which favous delicacies from the land and sea.
Hunan: which features rich foods with strong colours like cured meats.

Traditional Chinese food part 2 :Tangyuan

When we will eat and meaning

Tangyuan are a traditional Chinese sweet usually served at festivals or Chinese New Year, or anything that is celebrated with family. They are little glutinous rice balls that may be unfilled or filled with sweet or savory fillings, and served in syrup or broth. The little dumplings nestled together in the bowl represent togetherness！

Differences type in China

This type of glutinous rice flour dumpling is eaten in both northern and southern China, but the name "tangyuan" is more common in the south while the older name "yuanxiao" is still used in the north. The fillings differ regionally: in the south, sweet fillings such as sugar, sesame, osmanthus flowers, sweet bean paste and sweetened tangerine peel are used, while in the north, salty fillings are preferred, including minced meat and vegetables.

Cultural significance

For many Chinese families in mainland China as well as overseas, tangyuan is usually eaten together with family. The round shape of the balls and the bowls where they are served, come to symbolize the family togetherness.

Famous French Food

The French are known for their fine ways of dining and exquisite food as well. Every region in France has its own specialty, which is probably why we have different types of French food that are popular all over the world. Here is a list of all the food items that are a delicacy of French cuisine.

Croissants

Croissants are crescent-shaped bread rolls made from dough in a manner that is similar to that of making bread; however, it has some additional ingredients, such as eggs, butter, sugar, and milk. The dough is first applied with butter, and is then folded and rolled before rolling it into a sheet.

Camembert

Camembert is a type of soft cheese, first made in 1791 by a farmer from Normandy. The version of this cheese known today is probably credited to the various cheese-making processes, and their industrialization during the 19th century. 

Valençay

Valençay cheese comes from the Berry province of France, and is made from unpasteurized goat's milk. Known for its truncated pyramidal shape, this cheese has a soft texture and flavored outer layer. The cheese gets its blue-gray color from the molds and is later dusted with charcoal to give it a darkened appearance.

Roquefort

Roquefort cheese is a blue cheese made from sheep's milk. According to the French laws, only that cheese, which comes from the French region of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon can be termed as Roquefort Cheese. This type of cheese is a tad moist, and gets its taste from the addition of blue mold during its preparation.

Beef Bourguignon

Originating in the region of Burgundy in France, Beef Bourguignon -- a classic French recipe -- is a type of stew. The stew is cooked from beef prepared in wine (typically, red Burgundy) with beef broth, along with bouquet garni, onions, and garlic to taste. 

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is a fish stew from the region of Provence in France. The name originates from two words; bolhir, which means 'to boil', and abaissar, meaning 'to simmer'. As per the regional tradition, a Marseillaise bouillabaisse includes at least 5 different kinds of sea fish, such as scorpion fish, shellfish, sea robin, and European conger. It can also include octopus, mussels, velvet crabs, or spider crabs.

Cassoulet

This is a slow-cooked casserole, coming from the south of France. Typically, a cassoulet consists of meat -- either from pork sausages, duck, or goose, and rarely mutton. Named after a traditional, circular-cooking vessel casserole, this dish originated in Castelnaudary and has been adapted into several variations. The cassoulet is also sold in cans, and the prices vary with the ingredients.

Crêpe

Crêpe is a thin pancake made from either wheat flour, or buckwheat flour. Originated in Brittany, crêpes are filled with different fillings, which can be sweet, or savory, and are served with cider. With the sweet fillings, crepes are served as breakfast, or dessert, while savory-filled crepes can be eaten for lunch, or dinner. The sweet fillings can include sugar, maple syrup, whipped creams, and custard, whereas the savory fillings consist of eggs, ham, mushrooms, cheese, and other products of meat.
--Starry(Wenqing Wang)

Arisun - Korean Restaurant in Sydney Review

Arisun Restaurant

Last weekend, I have a chance to try out this Korean restaurant called Arisun in China town. The restaurant's address is 1 Dixon st, Sydney, which on the same street with a chain of other restaurants. 

The first impression I have for the restaurant is that is always crowded with customers but luckily, me and my friends didn't have to wait to be seated. Inside the restaurant, you can feel the enjoying atmosphere as well as the hospitality of the employees there.

The restaurants offer a wide range of dishes with different sizes as well as prices. The prices vary from $13 to around $35 depend on the dish that you order but as can be seen from the menu, a single serving dish is $13 whilst the 2 to 3 people servings is around $20 to $30. However, there is one small thing that I don't like about it is that the amount of food for single serving dishes is kinda small, and you can't really feel full by just having a single serving dish.

Picture taken by The Hungry Plum.

Me and my friends decided to ordered a hot pot to eat together and then we will order other dishes to eat separately. The hot pot we ordered is called "Marinated Beef Hot Pot" ($35) and I have to say it was one of the best hot pot that I have ever tasted. The beef was well-done and the hot pot soup was just perfect, in other word, the hot pot is very delicious.

Overall, Arisun is a good restaurant to go to if you want to have excellent hot pot as well as Korean's food. However, if the amount of a single serving dish is a little bit bigger than it's better. I would recommended this restaurant to you to come and try it out.

P/s: I rate this restaurant 9 out of 10 for my personal enjoyment.

-Son.

Traditional Chinese food part 1 :Moon Cake

Mooncakes are traditional Chinese pastries generally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The festival typically involves family getting together to share mooncakes while watching the moon.

Mooncake Come from

Mooncakes are named after the moon goddess (Chang'e), who is said to make this kind of cake in china myth.

What is Mooncake

Chinese mooncakes are a traditional dessert of Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important festivals in China. They are round in shape, like the full harvest moon of Mid-Autumn Day. Most mooncakes consist of a pastry skin enveloping a sweet, dense filling.

Mooncake Packaging

Mooncake boxes can be very beautiful, and sometimes the boxes are more expensive than the mooncakes themselves! Different brands have their own unique designation of packaging, mostly colorful tins and card boxes. Mooncakes are generously packaged in their small-case-sized gift boxes. Typically there are several small boxes on a piece of yellow or red silk. Each small box contains a mooncake in a transparent air-tight wrapper, with an anti-oxidation sachet to keep it fresh.

Traditional culture Cantonese food :Yum cha

Yum cha is a southern (mainly Hong Kong) Chinese style morning or afternoon tea, which involves drinking Chinese tea and eating dim sum small dishes (steamed, fried or baked sweets). There are various ways in which the food can be served. In highly patronized restaurants, staff will commonly wheel around heated trolleys serving small yum cha dishes that have been prepared in advance in the kitchen; this manner allows customers receive hot, fresh items quickly. In less busy places, ordering dim sum will typically involve marking an order sheet with the desired quantity of items to be ordered; this practice eliminates unnecessary preparation of dishes which may otherwise not be ordered.

Sushi Zento

Trying Sushi Zento for the very first time!!!!! :)

Last year, I went back to Malaysia during my semester break. My family and I went to this Japanese restaurant to celebrate my brother's birthday. Had a lot of great food here and i can't wait to share it with you guys!!! 

COLD GREEN TEA NOODLE

This is my favorite cold noodle dish, cold green tea noodle. the one thing that's really cool about this noodle is that they serve it with ice. The noodles are being placed on top of some small ice cube when serving to the customer. It is usually serve with a dipping sauce on the side and some seaweed slices, sesame on top of the noodle. Before eating the noodle, you need to dip it in the dipping sauce. The dipping sauce taste a bit salty, so that when you dip the noodles in the dipping sauce, it adds up a salty flavor to the cold noodles and makes it more delicious. 

SUSHI

This is the bbq sea eel sushi. The sea eel is grilled and wrapped around the rice roll and there are also some cucumber and Japanese egg in the rice roll. I really like the sauce of the grilled sea eel, it tastes sweet and a bit of saltyness. I think that you should try it if you have a chance :)

SASHIMI

These are some raw salmons and other raw fishes. The raw fish will usually be served either with the rice or by itself. I like dipping the raw fish in the soya sauce while eating sashimi because it helps to get rid of the fishy taste of the  raw fish. Besides, I also like eating it with the wasabi.

- Ivy Lee

Taiwanese cuisine

Today, I would like to introduce delicious taiwanese food for u guys.
Taiwanese cuisine itself is usually associated with great influence from mid to southern provinces of Mainland China, especially from the province of Fujian. Meanwhile, a notable Japanese influence also exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule.
The following are certain typical dishes:

A flat, clam-shaped steamed white bun with soy sauce braised porkbelly, picked mustard vegetables, peanut powder, sugar, and cilantro inside.  Chewy omelette made with eggs, oysters, tapioca starch and Garland chrysanthemum leaves. It has a soft, sticky texture, and is eaten with a sweet and mildly spicy sauce, topped with cilantro. This dish is very common in night markets as it is the most popular snack in Taiwan. Minced, cubed, or ground fatty pork, stewed in soy sauce and spices, then served on rice. A grilled Taiwanese pork sausage, salty, sticky rice sausage. Usually wrapped with garlic and basil. Customer can also choose the flavor they want, such as black pepper, garlic, chili, butter, and chocolate. A Taiwanese snack, common in night market. A chicken dish which literally translates as "three cups chicken", named because the sauce is made of a cup of rice wine, a cup of sesame oil, and a cup of soy sauce. Alternatively, the sauce can also be made of a cup each of rice wine, sugar, and soy sauce.

Steamed aburaage tofu stuffed with cooked cellophane noodles and covered with surimi.   --Starry(Wenqing Wang)

Bistro Nguyen's - Vietnamese Restaurant in Canberra Review

                                  Bistro Nguyen's Restaurant

Picture taken by FoodPornJournal

On my trip to Canberra recently, I have the chance to try out the food at this new Vietnamese restaurant. Bistro Nguyen's restaurant is located at 78-80 Alinga St, Canberra which is close to Jolimont Centre and right opposite of a Chinese restaurant - Red Chilli Sichuan.

The exterior of the restaurant is very clean, spacious and well organized which is a very good impression for other customers as well as me.

The interior of  the restaurant remind me of those Vietnamese restaurants that I used to go to when I was back in Viet Nam. For instant, there are 2 very old motorcycles model put at 2 sides of the restaurant which was used by many Vietnamese back in the old time but not much now .




The way the restaurant is decorated make you feel very relaxing as well as peaceful. For example, the graffiti painted on the wall of the restaurant show some "typical" Vietnamese things . Moreover, since the employees working here are all Vietnamese, you can feel the friendliness and welcoming atmosphere in the restaurant.

I ordered a "crispy chicken tomato rice" dish. As a Vietnamese myself, I found this dish very tasty and really alike to the one that I had in Viet Nam. The fish sauce is perfect and the chicken is well-done.

Overall, Bistro Nguyen's restaurant is a very cheap and tasty Vietnamese restaurant to go to when you visit Canberra and I, myself, have recommended it to my friends.




P/s: I rate this restaurant 8 out of 10 for my personal enjoyment.
-Son

HOME MEAL

Today's post is about Korean style home meal. in the past when we have house guest or in special day, they used to serve these foods. King used to have this meal everyday. Soup, hotpot, seasonal fish, Kimchi, and steamed meat was food they always serve. Other side dishes were changed depends on weather and season. every ingredients in the tables were given by farmer and ordinary people to tribute. 

It is not great as the king's meal but we have our own home meal as well. 

This is Korean home meal. The side dishes are vary depends on region but the basic dish are same. Basic side dishes can be a soup, rice, and Kimchi. Base these side dishes they add fish, marinated meat, hotpot, seaweed and so on. We can have this kind of table in Korean tradition home meal restaurant or some of people are still cook it at home as well. This food takes much times and effort to cook, so people cook like this in special occasion to people they love.           
                                                          

Finally this table is everyday bases meal. it includes soup, rice, vegetables, Kimchi, one main dishes and so on. This is not a fancy table as above but this is the meal Korean have everyday. This meal calls 'Mum's food'. 

It is also the most missed food among every other delicious food. 

This is my recommend Korean food! try yourself :) 

Yum food in Cabramatta

Good Vietnamese restaurant in Cabramatta. Friendly people, lovely food :) Will probably visit there again!!!  

Pho ( Beef Noodle Soup)

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, rice noodle, some herbs and usually served with beef.

I personally thinks that the soup taste slightly sweet. Vietnamese usually likes to add some chili sauce and sweet sauce in their soup before eating, but I like adding it with some lime juice to make the soup taste sour.

Papaya Salad

The salad is serves with green papaya(unripe papaya), prawns, peanuts and other ingredients.

This salad really makes my mouth watering. They use lime juice and mix it with some sugar as the dressing for the salad. Therefore, it tastes sweet and sour. I love the way they mixed it with the peanuts because it makes the texture of the salad more crunchy.

Rice Paper Roll

It usually serves with beef slices, cucumber , pork and other ingredients. All of the ingredients will be wrapped in a rice paper and ready for 
serve.

This is the picture of the ingredients that we used to wrap it in the rice paper. I really have fun while wrapping our own rice paper roll. Lastly, you dip it in a special sauce and you're ready to eat.

Durian Blended


This is a durian blended. Durian is a kind of fruit that has a really strong smell. Not everyone likes the smell of durian, you will love it if you likes the smell but if you don't, you will feel disgust.

I love the durian blended because I'm a really big fan of durian. This drink doesn't looks appealing but it tasted really good. It actually tasted better than i thought! I will recommend you to try this drink if you ever visit a Vietnamese restaurant that sells this drink.









- Ivy Lee