Malaysia!!!

The Nasi Lemak I had at the White Rajah....mmmm

Hi everyone,

I hope you guys enjoy reading about my food adventures in Vietnam! I definitely miss Vietnam hehe

Malaysia was the next destination on our itinerary! I have one word to describe the food in Malaysia....awesome!!! I was only there for 2 days so even though I didn't get to try street food from the street Vendors, there was plenty of delicious and cheap food around!

What hit me first in Malaysia was the mugginess...it sure was humid there...the air was thick, but somehow it didn't bother me as much after being in Vietnam hehe

OMG did I tell you how many different asian desserts and cakes there were...I was crying tears of joy when I saw how many variety of desserts there were...too bad we didn't have enough time or room in my stomach to try everything...oh and did I mention there was Pandan Chiffon cakes everywhere....it was food paradise for me...I'm such a sucker when it comes to asian desserts or any desserts for that matter hehe

We stayed at JW Marriot, right opposite to the Pavillion Centre where there was heaps of shopping and food around. On the first day, we decided to play it safe and eat in the food court Pavillion (my stomach was still unstable from being in Vietnam lol)

Below are the many varieties of food you can get from the food court:

So much variety to choose from...all of which tasted as delicious as they looked in the bain marie! mmmm if food in the food court tasted this good, what will the ones in local restaurants taste like?!?!

We did manage to eat at one small restaurant called White Rajah.

 Beef Satay sticks

 Chicken Rendang

Laksa

Food was amazing there, everything we ordered was awesome....authentic or not I don't know but it tasted delicious hehe

Oh I love being in Asia!!

Keep following my blog as I will soon be posting about the many awesome Yum Cha places to eat in Hong Kong!!!!


Lots of Love,
Fat Pom Pom

My Food Adventures in Vietnam - Part 3 - Soc Trang and Can Tho

(clockwise: small apples, sugar cane drinks, Rambutans) 

Hi everyone,

Its been a long while again since I last posted.

The journey continues down south where we headed to Soc Trang, a small city way down south of Vietnam (about 6 hours drive from Saigon). My home town. My grandma's house is another hours drive from Soc Trang to another small town that probably doesn't exist on the map of Vietnam hehe. It is as far away from modern city as you can get, dirt roads, rice fields, and plenty of banana trees hehe yet there is one familiar sight...plenty of motorcycles.

It was definitely different to Saigon and Nha Trang, but in its own way my home town was just as beautiful.

While staying at my grandma's house we had plenty of fresh fruit, drinks and delicious home made food cooked by my uncles and aunties.

clockwise: Vietnamese jelly, Banh Gio with sweet coconut fillings, coconut icecream, and jackfruits!

This a specialty noodle dish of my home town, Bun Nuoc Leo Soc Trang, its made of a salty fish broth, served with rice noodles, bbq pork, fish, and shrimp and a whole heap of herbs and bean sprout! mmmm

Congee with salted eggs and pork floss....mmmmm delicious, very homey!!!

This was our last meal in Vietnam while on our ride to the airport hehe not Vietnamese at all hehe

We were lucky enough to be in Vietnam at that time as my cousins were holding their wedding at the same time we were there. I've have always been told that weddings in Vietnam are huge....I only believed in when I saw it through my own eyes, the wedding spanned over 2 days, with church ceremony, tea ceremony and many other Vietnamese traditions! There were over 700 guests but heres the crazy part, there was no reception or restaurant...it was all held at my grandma's house, all 700 guests!!! There was over 70 banquet table (serving 10 people each) all spread out in my grandma's front yard, backyard and side of the house...any place possible! It was a truly amazing effort and to be honest...alot of fun!

There was plenty of food and drinks! The wedding banquet consist of Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab, A PorkTerrine of some kind, Roast Chicken with special sticky rice filling, Seafood Hot Pot, Prawns in Vietnamese style caramel sauce, and Ice-cream for desserts. Overall, the food was delicious...though I must say I prefer the home cooked meals and local street food over the fancy banquets, it just feels more satisfying and comforting to eat!!! hehe

Not to our surprise, there was lots of food left over so we had to eat the same thing for lunch the next day hehe

On the last day in Vietnam, we drove 2 hours to a city called Can Tho, in 2 mini buses with over 40 of my family and cousins. It was a nice city, very modern after having spent 3 days in the country side hehe we were lucky enough to be able to book all 40 people onto a massive floating restaurant that served food and live entertainment while their restaurant sailed the river for a few hours!

It was so much fun getting to know all my cousins in Vietnam better, how different your life is to theirs and what it would be like if my parents never came to Australia. There are not much opportunities in Vietnam for my younger cousins. We take for granted everything we have here in Australia, from fresh clean water to the quality of life and opportunities and options that we are presented with everyday.

Being back to Vietnam the second time has truly changed my opinion about it...I love it.

When it was time to say goodbye, it was a sad time. Everyone asked when we will return to see them again...who knows when that will be...

Good bye Vietnam, I hope to return some day soon!

Lots of Love,

Fat Pom Pom

My Food Adventures in Vietnam - Part 2 - Nha Trang

Nha Trang, a truly beautiful city. Walk along the streets of Nha Trang for an hour and you will be amazed by how many different parts of the city you will cross....beautiful beaches, modern city life and high-rises, coconut trees, dirt roads with plenty of street vendors and their delicious home prepared meals, and of course, plenty of motorcyclists.

Nha Trang was our second stop in Vietnam. My boyfriends home town. We had four days to spend in Nha Trang, visiting families and doing some touristsie things, we had one more important thing on our minds, the food. I couldn't wait to tuck into some street vendor food hehe

First night of arrival in Nha Trang, it was a cold and wet night. It was raining heavily in Nha Trang. We were cold, tired and hungry. Our cab ride back to the hotel wasn't much better, the drivers in Vietnam drove like nutcases and used their car horns like no tomorrow. I remember thinking to myself, geez these guys need to chill and stop with all their road rage. I later learn't that the horn was not use for road rage but rather a way of communicating to other drivers, that they were approaching, or wanted to overtake.

Anyways, after checking into our hotel (Spring Hotel in Nha Trang), we headed downstairs for our first meal in Nha Trang, Seafood Congee and Stir fried Seafood Noodles. Seafood is as fresh as you can get here in Nha Trang, straight from the sea to the restarants/street vendors. It was a small restaurant and we had to sit in little chairs and mini tables, but the food was warm, comforting and yummy so it didn't bother me that much.

Over the next few days we ate some of the best Vietnamese food that Nha Trang had to offer. One of them was the Vietnamese Pork and Pate Bread rolls (Bánh mì). I know what you're all thinking...Bread Rolls...whats so great about them? Believe me, it had to be one of best rolls I had in a long time (we had many bread rolls from all different street Vendors, and they just kept getting better :) hehe).

The many vendor stands you can buy awesome food from!

The bread had quite a different texture to what they have in the Vietnamese bakeries here in Australia. The outside of the bread is extremely crispy yet a little bit chewy, and the inside is extremely fluffy, whist filled with the right amount of home made pate, french mayonnaise, a variety of slices pork meats including Grilled Pork Belly and Cha Lua, coriander, spring onions, chilli and pickle carrots and their special home made sauces. Mmmmmmm just drooling now thinking about the rolls.

My boyfriend's family also took us to eat at a fresh seafood restaurant along the beaches of Nha Trang called, Bo Ke. We had many different dishes to share amongst 8 people:

From top left:
A cured fish salad (Goi Ca) which you wrap in rice paper rolls with fresh herbs and a special dipping sauce

Steamed Swimmer Crabs served with fresh herbs and salt/pepper/lemon/chilli dressing. Mmmmmm the crabs are so fresh you can taste the sea water in the crab meat.

Grilled Shellfish of some kind (never ate this one before so don't really know...it was ok, a little chewy)

And last but not least, Grilled Scallop served with spring onion oil (Mo Hanh). Who would have thought that something so simple can be so delicious, I will definitely be trying to make this myself some day : ) it  is absolutely delicious.

Another specialty dish in Nha Trang that blew us away is the Nem Nuong (Special Grilled Minced Pork). We went to a restaurant called Dang Van Quyen, which specialises in Nem Nuong. The freshly grilled pork is served with a piece of crispy rice paper roll, a piece of sour mango, a variety of fresh herbs and greens, all wrapped in rice paper roll and dipping into a secret homemade sauce.

Mmmmmmmm....yummmmmo...definitely one of the best Vietnamese dishes I've had. Great combination of textures and flavours...this dish has it all!

One other special dish in Nha Trang, or more particular to the central coast of Vietnam, is Mi Quang. A special noodle soup dish that I have not eaten before in Australia. The soup was full of wonderful and new flavour, the yellow noodles (either rice or egg, I couldn't quite tell) was just right, fresh herbs and greens and a variety of meats and other things inside.

A truly unique and delicious meal, one I will remember and miss, along with all the other dishes I had above.

And to think, this was only the beginning of my food adventures in Nha Trang. We spent many days and nights scouring the streets of Nha Trang in search of many wondering and delicious foods from the street Vendors, mainly in search of of the sweet homemade desserts which are cooked right on the spot for you, it can't get better then that.

This is a sugar cane drink served in a small plastic bag and a straw....

Of course we wouldn't have a clue of where to go and what to eat if it wasn't for the help of my boyfriends cousin, Tinh, who skipped school many days to take us around to find the most delicious things to eat and drink, and to see Nha Trang through the eyes of a local, which is truly beautiful. Thanks Tinh!

Oh and there was Vietnamese coffee too, how could I forget, I'm not a big coffee drinker but I know that if you are, you are in coffee paradise : )

It came too soon, but it was time to leave Nha Trang. It was sad to leave but it was time for us head south of Vietnam, to a small town called Soc Trang, my home town. Where my food adventures will continue.

Good Bye Nha Trang, you will be missed....
Lots of Love,
Fat Pom Pom

My Food Adventures in Vietnam - Part 1 - Ho Chi Minh City

Hi guys!

Its been a long while, I know, perhaps the longest time I went without putting up a post :( On the bright side, the reason I haven't posted for a long while is because I was on holidays overseas in Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong!!! Woo hooo hehe well and after I got back, it was Christmas after Christmas parties, finally have some free time to myself again : )

Its good to be back home in Australia. I have heaps to tell you about my trip : D One world to describe everything....AWESOME!!! Country...Awesome....Food.....Awesome....everything was awesome!!! hehe

Vietnam was my first destination on my three week trip. Home sweet home, where I was born, where my parents were born and grew up, and where half my relatives are still living. I haven't been back to Vietnam to visit for over 17 years, last time I was there I was still a kid and had no memories of anything else except my grandma's house in Vietnam (me and my five sisters had to stay home with our grandma while our parents were out "visiting their friends", which happened everyday for the whole month that we were in Vietnam that time :P ).

My first stop in Vietnam was Saigon, or better known now as Ho Chi Minh City. The city was hot, extremely humid, over crowded with people and vehicles of all kinds. Hmmm not what I'm used to here in Australia. I must admit it was very hard to adjust to the conditions there. On arrival, we took a cab to Cho Ben Thanh, and wondered around the streets till we found a decent looking restaurant called Ton Kin for lunch. Though Vietnam is all about street food, it was our first day there and we had three weeks of traveling ahead of us, I didn't want to risk eating street food so early on in the trip hehe

We shared a few small dishes:

Traditional Spring Rolls served to rice vermicelli and fresh herbs

Freshly Grilled Prawns, Cuttlefish, and Pork served to lemon, salt and pepper dressing.

Overall, very delicious and satisfying...a little pricey for food in Vietnam, but I was willing to pay that little bit extra for the clean and air conditioned environment! hehe

Next stop, a little Cafe near Galaxy Cinema, not too sure what it was called, but we ordered some fresh coconut juice served straight from the coconut, and some fried chicken wings served tossed in a fish sauce dressing to share. Mmmmmm....another yummy and satisfying meal.

After that, it was walking around the city to explore as many parts of the city as we can for the next few hours. Overall, we spent about 6 hours in Ho Chi Minh, enough to see the city central, but not enough to truly experience the best part of Ho Chi Minh, the street food served during sun down. It was a shame, but we were scheduled to fly to Nha Trang that evening and had to go back to the airport. We got hungry whilst waiting at the airport and ate 2 minute noodles....2 minute noodles always taste better overseas hehe

Till next time, I hope you guys really enjoy this post and be on the look out for my next post about Nha Trang which hopefully will be out in the next few days, its gonna be epic!! hehe

I hope you guys have an awesome New Years Eve, party like its 1999 and stick to your new years resolution this year ok....hehe im just talking about myself...gotta exercise more this year...and drink more bubble tea...

Lots of love,
Fat Pom Pom

Prawn Tempura

Hi guys,

Sorry its been a long while since I have posted, alot is going on in my life at the moment and I haven't had the time or energy to cook for a while : ( Been eating out heaps but nowhere special, just my usual favourite local restaurants hehe

During the week, I was craving for seafood and decided to make some prawn tempuras for mid week dinner. This is my first time making it. I didn't have a secret tempura recipe to follow hehe but I decided to wing it and use the same batter I use for my onion rings hehe only extra ingredient I used was Panko Breadcrumbs. I was very surprised by the outcome, it turned out better then I expected : )

Heres my awesome recipe:

1/2 kilo of large prawns peeled leaving tail, and deveined, I used Banana Prawns
1 cup of plain flour
1/2 cup of light beer
1 cup of Panko breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to season
Lemon wedges and Japanese Mayonnaise to serve
Vegetable oil for deep frying

What to do next:

Mix half the plain flour together with the beer in a small bowl until batter is smooth. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

Put the remaining half cup of plain flour in another small bowl, and the Panko breadcrumbs in a third bowl.

Heat oil on medium heat in a small saucepan.

First, dip one prawn at a time into the plain flour, second into the beer batter mix, and lastly coat plentifully in the Panko breadcrumbs. Repeat until you have coated all the prawns.

Deep fry 2-3 prawns at a time in the oil, it should take no more then 2-3 minutes to cook, it should be ready when the prawns are lightly golden brown. Adjust the heat of the oil if necessary (if your prawn becomes golden too quick, turn the heat down a tad).

Place cooked prawns on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve while hot with lemon wedges and the mayonnaise.

Enjoy!!

These are as delicious as they look : )

I had these with some rice and Miso soup for dinner, but they are awesome on their own also : )

Theses are really easy to make and are sure to impress your guests at any dinner party!! It sure feels good to be cooking again, hopefully I can bring you guys some more awesome recipes soon!

Happy Eating!
Fat Pom Pom

Cumulus Inc

My boyfriend took me to Cumulus Inc a few weeks ago to celebrate the earnings of his interest in his savings account. After years of my rambling nonsense about putting his savings into a free interest earning account, my boyfriend finally decided to open the account...a month later, he realised how much interest he had earnt in that one month. We decided to go to Cumulus Inc to celebrate.

Situated on 45 Flinders Lane, Cumulus Inc was a short walk from the main hustle and bustle of the cbd.

The interior was very contemporary and had unique decoration. I thought it had a very warm and friendly feel. We were seated at the bar table which faced the open kitchen. Being the foodie that I am, it was an awesome experience to be able to see the chefs at work. We got to spy on what they were making, and in a way, saw our meals being prepped and cooked before our eyes!

We started the night with a Slow Cooked Octopus with Aioli and Dehydrated olives (picture above). Absolutely delicious :)

Oh did I mention we had free bread also hehe

Foie Gras parfait with Toasted Brioche

Fried Soft Shell Crab and School Prawns, shredded cabage, honey and chardonnay vinegar

Grilled Yabbies, Aioli and Lemon

Mustard Crumbed pigs tail, Celeriac Remoulade and Caper berries

We finished the night on a sweet note with the Lemon Tart, blood oranges, home made icecream with meringue. Mmmmm fresh and deliciously balanced.

All the dishes were delicious, my favourites would have to be the Octopus, the Yabbies and the Lemon Tart dessert!!!
Overall, Cumulus Inc lived up to all its hype! I left with a happy and satisfied tummy :)

Fat Pom Pom rates Cumulus Inc:

Food:                     9/10
Atmosphere:      9/10
Price:                    $15 entrees, $30-$60 mains, $15 desserts
Service:                8/10

Happy Eating!

Fat Pom Pom

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Introducing the newest member of our family....Vanilla Tran!!!

 The first day...hello there

my first stick...

hello again

i'm sleepy...

....

and last but not least...

Vanilla meets B.B for the first time...