Bryan’s birthday @ Nicholson’s Bar and Grill

I’ve blogged about Nicholsons Bar and Grill before (where I gave it 7 daitaoha ratings), so I won’t elaborate on the food (for once). Most of the pictures turned out kinda yellow-y due to the lighting and me refusing to use the flash so please be forewarned.

It was a big group of us with Brio the birthday boy being at the head of the table. We didn’t let him know that he was coming to Nicholson’s Bar and Grill before hand but I don’t think he was very surprised since it’s one of his favourite places in Perth. I think Nicholson’s is a great place for a big gathering albeit a bit too noisy, but the atmosphere is warm and lively and it’s a cheerful buzzing pub.

There were lots of couples that night,  the new couple WuiHau and Serena (too bad it’s a long distance relationship now that WH has gone back) were in for lots of teasing and the cute couple are back from their holidays! For some reason I didn’t get a good picture of Jo and HC.

Because it was such a loong table, there were separate conversations going around at different ends of the table. Xin Long and Ming Sian are very ‘hard to get’ people so I was glad that they could make it that night.

Some food photos! The Livingston steak ($37.00), which I’ve blogged about before (clearer photo in old post) was a popular favourite, I think people just can’t get past the description of ‘grilled scotch fillet covered with prawns, garnished with oysters smothered in a rich creamy garlic sauce’. I know Ming Sian really liked his steak and said he was never returning to Outback Jacks (another overpriced steak joint) again.

Calv’s beer battered fish and chips ($20.00) which always looks good and is probably what I would order if I return again. I think Nicholson’s is just the sort of place where they have big hearty servings of fried food and artery clogging steaks and ribs.

Xinlong wanted chicken so I suggested the chicken cordon bleu ($26.00). It’s chicken breast stuffed with ham and cheese covered in a creamy garlic sauce served with beer battered fries and salad, Xinlong really liked his chicken especially the part where cheese oozes out from the chicken, haha.

I opted for chicken too and went with the Wicked chicken ($19.00) which was a grilled chicken breast topped with bacon, avocado, cheese, lettuce and mayo served on toasted focaccia with beer battered fries. It was frankly disappointing, I could have done better in my kitchen, the chicken was tough and dry, even the bread was hard. I think it’s possible to cook juicy chicken breast but this one just wasn’t done right.

Luckily mine was perhaps the only disappointment of the night (except I don’t think Wendy really liked her seafood plate), Richard and HC both had the Atlantic salmon special ($26.00) which came with a creamy sauce, mussels and scallops. I was actually thinking the bar wouldn’t be good at cooking salmon, but it came out good and was possibly the best value of the night with three salmon pieces, mussels and scallops.

Adrian and the birthday boy both had the scotch fillet (33.00) served with beer battered fries and salad. Adrian opted to have mash potato instead.

Birthday cake time which Nicholson’s does sooo well. They take out the cake for you, light the candles,  place it in a nice plate, dim the lights, put on the bday song and even bring it out with a smile, the whole works. Fantastic service.

The yummy cake was a zebra torte with layers of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry cream. I love light fluffy layers of sponge cake and this one was delish.

The obligatory group shot of everyone. It was a fun night so thanks for coming guys!

Happy birthday Brio, hope it was a good one (^__^)Y.

Nicholson’s Bar and Grill
6 Birnam Road
Cnr Nicholson Road
Canningvale
Western Australia 6155
Tel: 08 9455 1800

http://www.nicholsons.net.au

Let’s go look at the boats

Sometimes my work and personal life is so emotional that even a Friday coffee doesn’t help.

I often joke to my workmates that working in my organisation has turned me to caffeine, drink and cakes. A told me that last night he went home, opened a large bottle of something and downed half a litre in a session.

I succumbed to a slice of cheesecake yesterday. (T___T).

It’s Friday today and I had my ‘start of the weekend’ good coffee from Velvet. But nothing seems to be helping and the caffeine fix doesn’t seem to be working. T my favourite colleague has gone home after causing most of us to tear with a tragic story. I bought her a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows but it doesn’t seem to have helped either.

Most of my friends have finished their exams and are gunning to celebrate tonight. But going home or going out after work has no appeal to me. I just want to go to Matilda Bay, walk a long long way, sit down by my favourite bench and look at the boats for a while.

The only reason why I’m upset both professionally and personally is because I really care about my work, my colleagues, my loved ones. Motto of the story is, I should be thankful and feel lucky that I’m still passionate about my work and people around me.

So I shall stop blogging, start working really hard and hopefully catch some time to look at boats this weekend. Happy weekend guys.

Puff pastry experiments

I’m having lots of fun experimenting with frozen puff pastry, and I hope my friends are enjoying being my puff pastry guinea pigs.

Nutella and banana puff pastry parcels. Nutella and bananas are the perfect combination, yums.

Tomato, basil and mozarella tart which I spread with tomato paste first, it was like a plain pizza only with flaky puff pastry base.

The problem with Project November is that I’m hit with this baking and cooking urge, I want to try everything, cook everything, it doesn’t help that my Ah Ma is enticing me with her recipes and stories of her different experiments everyday. Where to start, where to start. Mexican, Yorkshire puddings, laksas, tom yum and satays, pies, I want to cook them all!

Ok ok, enough about food. I promise the next post will be a birthday post with pictures of friends (and food) instead. And perhaps when I get round to it … I’ll finally blog about Perth Royal Show *hang head in shame* (T____T).

The weekend is over yet again

It’s Monday and I’m back in the office again. Boo. But obviously not working as you can tell.

Today I took the bus to work, which should be the norm but hasn’t been of late because dear HC has been sending Jo and I to work for the past month. Which I must admit is pure bliss and so super convenient. I am also reaching the office super early (as in I am the one who switches on the lights) and leaving work early, hiak hiak.

When my bus stopped at Grey Hoodie’s boy stop, I looked out even though I knew I wouldn’t see him (way too early for him). There was no little bubble of anticipation and as expected, he really wasn’t there. As the bus moved on, I felt happy that I made so many new friends including GHB this year.

In comes the new out goes the old. So many friends have left or are leaving. In fact out of the boys, there’s only Gerry and Bryan left. We celebrated Bryan and Wui Hau’s birthdays last week. Wui Hau is returning to Kuching for good today. He has matured so much from when he first arrived in Perth, I’m sad to see him go but I know he will be happy back home.

It’s Jason’s birthday today! Happy birthday Jaso in Gero. I hope things are going well in Geraldton and you’ll be returning for a Perth weekend soon. But even if I don’t see you in Perth, I’ll see you in Kuching! It’s so amazing that you’re finally coming after we’ve been talking about if for so long, I can’t wait to bring you around and rediscover new and old foodie haunts in Kuching.

Ok, it’s back to harsh reality and work for me now. Have a good week everyone J

Homecooking 101: Project October Last week

I wanted the last week of Project October to go out with a big bang, hoping to cook something that I had never tried cooking before, perhaps even attempting to use the oven for a change (0__0).

Monday we had unagi bento for lunch, I know everyone enjoyed this because who doesn’t love unagi on a bed of sticky vinegary sushi rice and sweet egg and onion omelette?

Tuesday Jo and HC cooked us pasta carbonara which was sinfully creamy and tasty.

Wednesday it was lamb chops on mash with homemade gravy for dinner.

Lunch bento was pineapple beef with kailan and steamed rice, a simple stir-fry.

This was my challenge for the week, Bouef Bourguignon which I cooked in a slow cooker overnight. Anyone who has watched the movie Julie and Julia will know why I wanted to cook this dish.  Chuck beef steeped in lots of beef stock and red wine with whole shallots, carrots, onions,mushrooms and lots of herbs, this was really flavourful only the beef wasn’t juicy enough for me, I think I prefer beef brisket as the cut of meat to braise for many hours.

Friday was another challenging task, my first pie which I baked in the oven. I need to get real pie bowls but I had to make do with a large shallow round foil tin.

My pie err… turned out more like chicken soup with a puff pastry lid. Jo and the rest really liked the soupy texture and found it really comforting. Still, I would like to make a real chunky pie with a more solid sauce texture, if you get what I mean. Something for the future.

With the left over puff pastry, I made some apple tarts which I drizzled with cinnamon sugar and honey. So easy and delicious too, I am planning to make more use of puff pastry in the future.

I’m happy to declare that Project October was a success! We were under budget, everyone enjoyed the cooking (though it was a bit stressful at times) and eating together. So… we held a meeting where I was declared President and Jo Vice President and decided that Project October lives on to become Project November!

I foresee lots and lots of homecooking ahead …

Holiday mood

It’s Friday and I’m typing by stealth in the office. I know I should be working (I can imagine my mum and Jaso shaking their heads and saying ‘Di, tan pok again?’, to be fair, I have finished all my work) but it’s Friday, the skies are blue, the spring weather is heavenly, everyone’s in jeans and looking cheery but most importantly, I have a skinny flat white on my desk.

Yes I know it’s a bit early to have my weekend coffee, but I’ve been so good the entire week. Wednesday I almost caved and actually walked out to buy a coffee when I realised I didn’t bring my wallet to work. I decided it was a sign from the heavens above to restrain from caffeine during the weekdays.

I’m only working for half a day and setting off for a road trip for the weekend. Then it’s the week of birthdays after that, Brio, Wui Hao and Jaso all have birthdays within the same week. Buzzing with exhilaration and anticipation is an understatement. My sis and brio-in-law are holidaying in Hawaii right now, can only imagine the fun they’re having right now, holidays and going away are the most glorious things don’t you think?

The excitement level for my December holidays is also kicking in. Tickets have been booked. Plans have been made (though not entirely, Jaso and Brio, you guys need to tell me what else you want to do in Kuching besides eating!).

So Kuchingnites reading this (I’m guessing only LL and Fung), I’m open to brekky/lunch/dinner invitations for the period of mid December to Christmas ok? And Shirley, I’m coming to Singapore! With my mum, which is doubly fun. So please put aside the weekend of Dec 12 – 13 for us alright?

Holiday mood in the air. Oh I love Fridays.

Homecooking 101: Project October Week 3

It’s the last week of Project October, I’m going to have to hold a meeting at the end of October and decide whether we’re going to continue Project November. Either way, it’s been lots of fun cooking for Project October,  but a little tiring and challenging to keep within the budget and yet cook something different everyday.

Monday I cooked the chicken two ways. My mum’s tomato sauce chicken  (I can never cook quite the way she does it) which is what I cook whenever I want us to eat a mixture of veges with chicken.Goes well with rice.

Lunch bento was stir fried chicken and cucumber, soy braised hard boiled egg and spinach.

For dessert I baked us banana cupcakes ( pre mix and 98% fat free!) which I topped with a sweet banana chip, it was so moist and yummy, who says pre mix cupcakes aren’t good? It was so easy to bake, I am going to be making more of these.

Tuesday Jo and HC cooked Indian style mamak mee goreng, I’ve never tried the real thing so I can’t judge the authenticity but it sure tasted very Malaysian and was tasty. There were lots of ingredients in it including tomato, potato, beancurd and chicken.

I was sick that day and didn’t go to work so I had time to bake some cupcakes. This time it was vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting , I topped some with hundred and thousands (messy things, not going to use next time but so colourful) and others with sliced fresh strawberries.

Wednesday was Jamie Oliver day since I used all of Jamie Oliver’s recipes. This was his French baked potatoes which include layers of parsley onions and potatoes. Somehow the texture didn’t turn out the way I expected it to be, I guess I was looking for something more baked and heavy, but it came out quite moist and tender and light. Are french baked potatoes supposed to be like this? I don’t know.

The potatoes were served as  the side with the Parmesan chicken and lemon chicken being the main. Quite easy recipe, not too heavy and fresh tasting with lemon and thyme.

Thursday was a quick prawns, basil and cherry tomatoes fettucine topped with toasted pinenuts and parmesan shavings. A light and quick pasta, I marinated the prawns beforehand with garlic and paprika for some spiciness.

No cooking for Friday because it was going out night which is truly the best night of the week. I should really cook something special to round up Project October but I’m not sure what, any suggestions anyone?

The Miami Bakehouse: Sometimes you just need a pie … or two

Jan, I wrote this post for you because I know you like pies! Last Sunday we drove down to Freo for a supposed ramen outing. But the idea of waiting for two hours for a bowl of ramen wasn’t too appealing, so I suggested that we stop by the Miami Bakehouse which is located on Canning Highway about 10 minutes from Fremantle.

Apparently it’s flagship bakery in Falcon (that’s near Mandurah) is the most awarded bakery in WA and a must stop for travellers going down South. I have a feeling the pies in the original bakery must be even better, but it’s convenient that we don’t have to travel all the way to Mandurah for a piece of the award winning gourmet pies.

Look at all their awards, I noticed that they’re constantly picking up awards for their seafood pie and also sweet lamb curry pie. Their pies are pretty pricey ranging around $5 – $8 for a pie (I guess since they’re gourmet pies), at $7.70 for a seafood pie,  I was hoping their pies were really really good.

Pies galore. It was a nice fine day so we sat outside with our pies to soak up the sun.

Jo mistook the Big Breakfast as a real big breakfast with eggs, tomatoes and the works. I think she was quite surprised when it turned out to be a big breakfast pie instead. It looked really yummy and cheesy.

Her big breakfast pie had beef chunks underneath a topping of egg, cheese and tomatoes (probably had bacon etc. as well) and was tasty, only it was really a big breakfast and on the heavy side, Jo had trouble finishing it in the end.

HC has the beef and guiness pie which was beef chunks in a Guiness flavoured sauce, I thought it was quite nice especially for those that like their pies with a beer-ish flavour to it. My only complaint would be that the beef could be even more tender.

Richard ordered the seafood platter pie which was prawns, fish, scallop, crab in a lemon pepper sauce.

I’m not sure I could detect the separate seafood in the pie as it was all mixed up together but it was yummy. The lemon pepper sauce was light, creamy and went great with the seafood chunks. Richard said he would return to bakehouse to try the other pies based on this pie.

I also bought an apple turnover (which apparently has won an award too) but it was only ordinary and nothing to shout about. We’re not really pie fanatics so I can’t really compare the Miami Bakehouse pies with other great pies. But… I will probably be visiting another famous pie shop quite soon so I’ll remember to do a comparison post then. I only hope the pies don’t cost an arm and leg!

So verdict on Miami Bakehouse is, the pies are pretty good and worth a visit if you’re travelling down to Freo and want something besides the norm fish and chips. Definitely drop by if you’re a pie lover just to say that you’ve eaten at the ‘most awarded bakery in WA’ ,they have a great variety of interesting pies like a lasagna pie, emu,kangaroo and camel pie which I want to try the next time I go (^__^).

MIAMI Bakehouse
8/369 Canning Highway
Melville.
1300 655 729
Open 7am-7pm, daily

Home sick

This morning when I looked in the mirror, death stared back at me.

Determined not to do the ‘lie in bed and pass out’ sick mode, I tried to tidy myself (key word is tried, it didn’t work obviously) and put on my little miss sunshine happy jacket to cheer myself up. Really, I was more like ‘Little Miss Self Pity’ or ‘Little Miss Cough Germ’.

Couldn’t go out without my trusty pack of kleenex and also a handful of lozenges.

The weather outside was fantastic, blue skies, sunny, warm perfect Spring weather. Only weather like this also brings out the flowers and all those little things that trigger hay fever. So I sneezed and sniffled my way to the supermarket.

Jo’s and my favourite chemist, a.k.a. Voted Perth’s Cheapest Chemist as I proudly proclaim to all my friends and colleagues. I don’t know whether it’s really Perth’s cheapest chemist, but I’m always strangely drawn to the little neon flyers that scream ‘SALE’ ‘CHEAP’ ‘DISCOUNTED’, I believe them.

Came out with a pack of hayfever tablets, they won’t soothe the racking coughs but might help with the running nose and watery eyes.

Browsed around the supermarket and came home with this : Greens pink cupcakes mix for the breast cancer foundation. I like pink and for some reason, cupcakes seemed like a good idea ( I blame the headache and body aches).

Got out my cheap hand mixer, dunked in the mix with butter, eggs and milk and started mixing away. I don’t think my mixing bowl was a real mixing bowl and I ended up with flour all around the table. I was also starting to resemble a mini snowman, a coughing mini snowman.

All mixed up. Then there was the sugary pink frosting and I got to play with my new set of icing tools. I am not a baker like my mum and sister, so pre mix is as far as I can go I think. Maybe someday I’ll try making a tiramisu, just because i like to eat it, haha.

Final outcome? To be revealed in the next Project October post!

Homecooking 101: Project October 12/10/09 – 16/10/09

Project October is heading into week 3! I even baked muffins for dessert tonight (pre mix box mind you) and they were surprisingly nice and moist. But I’ve fallen ill at the start of spring, I don’t know whether it’s hayfever or just my usual seasonal flu and cough but it’s so maddening and annoying to be sneezing, sniffing and coughing, I feel like a giant walking germ (T______T).

Sunday breakfast bagels are such a luxury. I really like bagels, I’m not sure why, is it just the hole in the middle which is so convenient for melting cheese? I don’t know. I bought the bagels the day before from Lawleys bakery in Subiaco. With the plain bagel, I toasted it and topped it with smoked salmon, cream cheese and egg. The poppyseed bagel I grilled with ham, cheese and tomato.

I think this was Monday’s bento but I’m all mixed up now. Fried rice with honey five spiced leaned pork fillet. Drizzled with a bit of sriracha hot sauce for a bit of a kick.

My first attempt at lasagna after a long long time! I actually bought instant cheese sauce but couldn’t find the packet afterwards (daitaoha habits die hard) so I had to make my own cheese sauce. Luckily it turned out alright.

Served the lasagna with a side of avocado, tomato and lettuce salad with balsamic dressing.

Usually we just cook extra portions of dinner for our lunch bentos the next day. But when possible, I try to make different dishes for dinner and lunch with the same ingredients. Jo requested teriyaki hambagu which I turned into a burger with works for dinner. The hambagu patty was topped with balsamic onion relish, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and fried egg.

Lunch bento was teriyaki hambagu, tamagoyaki and a little salad of lettuce and tomato with rice.

Finale of the week was nasi lemak. I was too lazy didn’t have time to cook curry chicken to go with it so I cooked an easy ayam kecap manis to go with it instead. Usual condiments of sambal sotong, hard boiled eggs and cucumber. It was a cut corners nasi lemak but still pretty tasty all the same. Only problem was I ran out of basmati rice, why is basmatic rice so expensive??

Ok I’m going to lie down now and hope this stupid flu/cough goes away doubly quick *fingers crossed*