Sugar Bun in Melbourne

For those people whom have travelled to Sarawak, a state of Malaysia on the Borneo island may have seen Sugar Bun stores in most cities there. Sugar Bun is a restaurant that serves a mixed of western and local cuisines in Sarawak. It now has a store in Melbourne!

I took my wife there to try the Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶) as she hasn't had it before. This is a Malaysian/Singapore chinese dish which is in Hokkien (a chinese dialect) that means pork ribs in chinese tea. The Sugar Bun version is served with what looks like wild rice and chinese donut. There are many variation of this dish in different parts of Malaysia and Singapore. The Sugar Bun version is one of the best I've tasted! My wife really enjoyed it too. I was pleasantly surprised that we could find such an authentic dish here in Melbourne.

For myself, I ordered one of the old favourite menu of Sugar Bun, the Fish burger with fries. YUM! This tasted exactly the same as the one I had in Sarawak. What makes it so good is the sauce. If one likes the McDonald's fish-o-fillet, this is a must try as I think it is way better!

In addition, the staff are friendly overall and the ambient is good. We'll visit again.

Sugar Bun's Bak Kut Teh

The interior - ground floor

Sugar Bun's Fish Burger with fries

Dinner at IONIO, Doncaster

Few weeks ago, we've decided to try IONIO after getting a $10 voucher after attending the cooking show presented by the friendly chef at IONIO at Knox shopping centre. We tried the recipe for open lamb souvlaki at home and really enjoyed it.

Surprisingly the chef remembered us and served us a complementary dip and bread. We were really grateful. I guess he remembered us as we were really keen learners and stayed for most part of the cooking show, especially the really delicious seafood Paella!

I ordered the lamb rack and my wife who is a seafood lover already had her mind set on having the seafood Paella after tasting the sample during the cooking show!

The food was great but the service is a bit chaotic. We kept getting different waiter or waitresses which most are friendly except for one. Unfortunately that did bring down our experience somewhat.

Overall, we did have a good time.

One of the best Lamb rack I've tasted

My wife's favourite Seafood Paella

Sunday Brunch at Chocolate Sensation in Belgrave

One weekend, I decided to take my wife to try the brunch at Chocolate Sensation at Belgrave. What a right decision to make!

It is a cosy small bakery where one need to order everything and pay at the bakery side of the shop and the food will be served in the dining area next door. We shared the big breakfast and a Cronut.

The breakfast was good but the Cronut was really something. It has a crunchy sensation on the outside, soft on the inside with cream in the middle. My wife really loves the different layers of its texture.

We'll love to come back and try the other pastries. 

A cup of latte for a cold winter

A Big Breakfast to share

A Cronut to share as dessert

Waya Japanese Restaurant in Glen Waverley

We tried Waya for the first time and really like the decor. It reminds us of a restaurant we went in Osaka. The food presentation was pretty good and portions are generous.

However, the beef in the teriyaki bento was a bit salty and the cold soba was okay. My brother who tried the ramen thought it was a bit bland. If one is after a reasonably priced Japanese food with large portions, Waya would be worth a try.

Cold Soba

Beef Teriyaki Bento

Sliced Pork Ramen

Parker Pies for dinner

Since it's been a long day, we bought some Parker Pies "ready to bake range" for dinner. My wife made a quick salad as side.

We tried four different pies - Parker pie, Venison, Chicken & asparagus and Rutherglen white. These pies are very tasty indeed! Our favourite is the Parker pie. If you want to grab a quick lunch or even take home pies (either cold or frozen ready to bake), we highly recommend Parker Pies at Rutherglen.

Chicken & asparagus pie

Weekend lunch at Pickled Sisters Cafe

We drove to Rutherglen for a day trip today and visited some wineries. At Cofield Wines, there's a nice cafe for brunch or lunch called Pickled Sisters Cafe.

Luckily we went early as guests that got there later could not get a seat because many people booked their tables in advanced.

Hint: Definitely worth booking in advanced so that one doesn't miss out!

We tried their wines - I had a glass of Marsanne Viognier and my wife had a glass of Sweet Ava. I had the Honey & Muscat Glazed Confit Duck with spiced oranges, braised red cabbage & Parisienne potatoes while my wife had the Beetroot Risotto with Milawa Chevre, toasted hazelnuts & mint.

Best Confit Duck I've had! The beetroot risotto was also excellent!

We shared a Poppyseed Ricotta Cake with Lemon Curd for dessert. Yum, definitely would come back again!

Interior of the cafe

Beetroot Risotto with Milawa Cherve,
toasted hazelnut & mint

Honey & muscat glazed confit duck with spiced oranges,
braised red cabbage & Parisienne potatoes

Poppyseed ricotta cake with lemon curd

Marsanne Viognier and Sweet Ava

Sushi Hotaru

We went to Sushi Hotaru with my siblings for the first time. There was a long queue and we had to take a number to wait for seat. Was it worth the wait? Definitely!

This place brought back memories of our first sushi train dinner in Osaka, Japan few years ago! All the staff are Japanese and the interior setup was pretty much the ones in Japan.

The variety of sushi were pretty decent. We strongly recommend the soft shell crab roll, crab stick nigiri, seared scallop nigiri, renkon chips (lotus root chips), takoyaki (octopus balls) and green tea ice cream! I was happy with most of the dishes except for the octopus karaage. I thought it was unfortunately overcooked.

Very reasonably priced! $3 per plate. $7.90 for gold plate as of the time of writing.

Hints: If it is your first time, make sure you click on the iPad to order drinks or specials not on the train. Also make sure everyone's present if you're going with friends as seat reservations are not allowed and your seat will only be given to you if everyone's present due to the high traffic flow of customers. You may need to ask around as it is difficult to locate the arcade and restaurant (it is on the first floor).

Sushi Train at Hotaru

Soft Shell Crab Roll

Seared scallop nigiri

Octopus Karaage

Renkon Chips

Crab stick nigiri

Salmon & Avocado rolls

Chicken & Cheese rolls

Green tea ice cream