Saboten Shinjuku Tonkatsu

Saboten
7F Isetan (opposite to Kinokuniya Bookstore), Central World
Bangkok, Thailand

I saw lots of people queuing in front of this shop and my friends also told me that their tonkatsu (japanese deep fried breadcrump pork) is good, so I want to try :)

We ordered Tenderloin Tonkatsu set, Sirloin Tonkatsu set, and Tonkatsu sandwiches.

They served us free green tea, hot or ice one. I chose the ice one for the weather in Thailand is so hot now (welcome to Thailand summer!)

For the set menu, they served it will refillable cabbage, rice, and miso soup.

They had 2 choices for salad dressing; sesame dressing and Shoyu dressing. Both are good, but I preferred the sesame one. The cabbage was so crispy and cold. It refreshed me and prepared me for the main dish.

Sesame, for the tonkatsu sauce. You have to crush it yourself and you would get the fresh aroma of sesame. I am the sesame lover, so I love that they provided this.

What is in this?

Tonsatku sauce.

After crushing sesame, you have to mix it with the sauce.

My mom's Sirloin Tonkatsu set and my aunt Tonkatsu sandwiches served with french fries. (If you order Tonkatsu sandwiches, it will not serve with rice, cabbage, miso soup, and sesame)

My Tenderloin Tonkatsu set.

Another picture to show the pork.

It was good. Breadcrump was so crispy and not oily. The pork is so tender. For sauce, as I love sesame, so I like that they didn't serve us just the sauce, but with the sesame. The sauce itself is just normal, the taste is like the brand one named bulldog.

Miso soup with seaweed and beancurd. Just normal or maybe I was too full from the pork, LOL.

Complimentary dessert, green tea ice cream. Not too sweet, just a bit sweet and bitter as my like. I love this one. Maybe the reason I will go back to this shop again is not for Tonkatsu, but for complimentary dessert, LOL.

Overall, I love this shop. The food is good. The location is good (Central World is the huge department store located in the center of Bangkok). I can go there to shop for cloth and books (it's opposite to Kinokuniya) and drop here for lunch or dinner :)

Le Normandie

Le Normandie
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
48 Oriental Avenue Bangkok Thailand 10500
Tel: 66-2-659-9000
website: http://www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok/dining/restaurants/le_normandie/

Mandarin Oriental is known as one of the best hotel in Thailand and Le Normandie is known as one of the best luxuary restaurant in Bangkok.

I went there with my parents and my grand-father's friends (so it was quite hard to take photos when they were around but I really want to do the review, so I pretended that I was busy with my mobile, LOL)

Start with butter, quite nice and of course with good quality (because it is Oriental Hotel!!!) but they had us to share one butter for 2 persons. I shared with my mom.

For the bread, they had various kind of breads for us to choose. I chose Brioche, quite nice.

This is the pre starter. Tuna rolled with spinach served with beetroot jelly. The presentation was good. The waiter came to introduce this dish to us (which is good because I want to know what is inside but for other dish, they stopped doing this, quite disappointed). The dish was good as it looked and it was a good start for the meal.

My entree is Gelee de saumon a la tomate et aux courgettes (Salmon and tomato jelly with fennel and zucchini). It served with salad and mayonnaise. Interesting dish but the taste was just normal.

Another picture for this dish.

Move to main course, I chose Les noix de coquilles Saint Jacques poelees, mitonne de poireaux et pomme de terre aux moules (Seared scallops with leek, potato, and mussels). Quite good. Potato was made in gnocchi and it was the cream base dish which is my like. The best thing in this dish was mussels (not scallop, sorry) for the mussels kept the creamy sauce inside and it splashed out when I bited it. Scallop (don't put "s" on the menu because they served me just one scallop, LOL) is a bit too thick to my like. The sauce was good and gnocchi was normal.

For dessert, we can choose from the dessert trolley or the dish. On Dessert trolley, they had around 5 types of cakes, e.g. berry mousse cake, fresh cheese cake with fruit on top, and chocolate cake with macaron, cookies, and fruit. You can get 3 slices of cake for 1 plate. But for me, I chose this one, it is Le Mille-Feuille croquant aux fraises de Thailande et citron vert, glace au fenouil (Strawberry and lemon mille feuille with fennel ice cream).

Look from the side.

Actually, it was strawberry and rubarb mille feuille...for i found rubarb inside which was quite nice, i think they used both strawberry and rubarb from the Royal Project. Mille Feuille was a bit different from my thinking for i always think that mille feuille needs to make with puff pastry.

For ice cream, I can't taste fennel that much, but the glace fennel was good...like the crispy candy.

Cafe Latte. It was good comparing to Thailand standard. For Melbourne standard, just so so. Nice milk frost and good coffee.

Petit Fours to accompany with coffee. We had 5 persons and they gave us 2 plates to share, so I can't taste everything...but all I tasted was good.

In conclusion, the meal was good but I think the service was a bit worst than their standard several years ago but it was still good compare to other restaurants.

Jasper Coffee

Jasper Coffee
Fitzroy
267 Brunswick Street
Open daily 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Sat 9 a.m.)
Phone: 03 9416 0921

If you are really into coffee, Melbourne is one of the place you have to visit. And if you are really, really into coffee and in Melbourne, I think Jasper Coffee is the place you should come.

I tried my first 100% Jamica Blue Mountain (if I'm right, it is 220 AUD per kg.) here (unfortunately, I can't find the photo and of course, I tried the espresso). Good that I don't like it, haha. I think it's good for blending, not using 100%.

My latte, looks good and taste good. They provide 2 blends daily. You can ask them which one suits your drink.

Staffs here love coffee so much, ok, talking in other way, they are crazy about coffee. You have around 30 kinds of coffee for your selection to buy back home. I even bought 2 bags of coffee, 250 g each, back home: one is Blend 9 (I am on this bag now) and another one is Indian Yelnoorkhan (both are 44 AUD per kg.). I just used my nose for smelling and asked for their help, LOL.


*editing
Finally I found the photo of my 100% Jamica Blue Mountain Espresso (6AUD) :)

+39

+39
362 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
Phone 03 9642 0440


What they said on their wall is true, Life is too short to be eating average pizza, so I came to +39 :)

I know this one from Tummyrumbles (again, LOL) and within a week, I think I went there for more than 5 times, for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Post-dinner dessert.

This one is taking on my lunch. It is pumpkin and stringbean pizza. Quite good, actually. But my favorite one here is the one on my sister's blog http://nutmegscafe.blogspot.com/2009/04/39-part-ii.html it is lobster and cavier pizza...this is really, really good.

For dessert, I tried Pannacotta, Tiramisu, Nutella and Strawberries Pizza (complimentary from Carlos, thanks ^^) and Ricotta cheese one.

This is Pannacotta, we can choose to have the berries topping or chocolate topping, both are great. I tried it for several times and each time it tasted different. My favorite one is strawberries with lemon peel with the pannacotta without bitter red liquor (I can't remember the liquor name but that one is sooooo bitter).

This is Tiramisu. The mascapone is soooo good, so creamy. The first time I tried I think it contained not enough coffee but it is good accompany with my cappuchino. The next time I tried is perfect...more coffee inside with the creamy mascapone :)

This is the complimentary Nutella and Strawberries Pizza after I told Carlos that I came to his shop 4 times during Friday to Monday (and they close on Sunday), LOL. It came in hearted-shape. I saw from other tables that this one came in half-fold with Nutella and Strawberries inside. Inside the rim of this pizza is ricotta chesse. I think it's quite good but that day we are too full.

This is the ricotta cheese dessert. Honestly, I preferred Pannacotta and Tiramisu. This one is so good with one of the dessert liquor (at first we think it was too thick and the chef heard that so he explained to us and gave us some liquor to prove and it's true).

I also have espresso chocolate tart here. Quite tasty and thick. But it is so good with latte or cappuchino. (my method to eat this is putting milk frosting on top of the tart, yummy!!!)

Ok, the real reason for me to keep coming here is coffee...as they are italian, you can guess that they are crazy about coffee...and trust my, their coffee is sooo good. The milk frosting is so thick and creamy (ok, and the price is good, 3AUD for everything).

Another style of Cappuchino...

This is the one for breakfast. Bowl of caffe latte with ladyfinger...so good as always

Vue de Monde

Vue de Monde
430 Little Collins Street
Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia
Tel: +61 3 9691 3888
Fax: +61 3 9600 4600
Website: http://www.vuedemonde.com.au

This is my second time that I visited Vue de Monde. My first time is such amazing, so I totally forgot to take pictures of food :(

Before the meal, they asked us if we have any like-dislike...we just told them that for main course, we didn't want it to be chicken or pork, that's all. (just because I would like to taste the meat or fish as the main course)

Butter, pepper,and salt.

Petit Clair-de-Lune oyster served with seaweed consummé, caviar and grapefruit air. Even I am not oyster big fan...this is still amazing for me...so refreshing and preparing me for the meal.

Gnocchi aux Truffles d'Alba: Liquid Cep gnocchi with mushrooms, tarragon emulsion.

It's amazing that when you bited gnocchi, it transformed from gnocchi to liquid...quite impress...but the taste is not as my like.

Pain Perdu et Foie Gras: French toast, green apple puree, and foie gras flavoured with eight spices and Jamon Iberico Gran Reserva

This is my most favorite dish. All are great. French toast seems to be not hard to make...but this is the perfect french toast...the crispy and everything is just perfect. Foie gras is amazing as it should be. and everything in this dish is the perfect combination.

Filet de Merlan: King George whiting, seared with a sourdough skin, shimeji mushrooms, white asparagus and reserved lemon noodle.

As it came after the foie gras dish, it didn't impress me as it should be. But this is also good because of the combination of everything is good. The most i like in this dish is reserved lemon noodle...quite interesting.

Assiette de Veau: Veal assiette with black bean sauce and a bread and almond puree.

It's good, according to Vue de Monde standard...but the almond puree was not the good combination in this dish for me.

Frozen juice to clear the palate.

Salade des Fruits: Fruit Salad

This is the great dish to switch to dessert...the frozen kiwi lollipop is amazing :)

Biscuit au Chocolat: Michel Bras' classic self-saucing Valrhona chocolate biscuit with mocha sauce, coffee and milk powder and ice double cream.

This warm dessert is great...I love it. Normally I love self-saucing chocolate cake, so it's quite predictable that I would love this one.

Petit-four: from left to right..salt caramel truffle, pine apple lollipop coated with mint jelly, passion fruit pavlova, carrot nougat, and blood orange jelly.

My tea. I can't remember the name of my tea, it is lemongrass tea with something :)

I can't write much about tasting note as everything as I had this one since december 2008 and writing this blog on february 2009. and another reason is how can you descripe the delicious and most amazing restaurant as Vue de Monde...it's quite the experience that everyone should have once in a lifetime :)

Sunny Ridge Strawberry

Sunny Ridge Strawberry
http://www.sunnyridge.com.au/

I'm not sure if I can call Sunny Ridge's strawberries the best strawberries I ever taste or not. (because actually Japanese strawberries are also great, LOL) but this must be the best strawberries in Victoria as my friend told me on the first time I saw Sunny Ridge Strawberries at Slow Food Melbourne Farmers' Market at Collingwood.

This is the first grade strawberries I bought from farmers' market. All of them look like strawberries in advertisement, all red, juicy, and sweet. One of my friends asked me why I don't do something to them, such as coated them with chocolate...I told him that these strawberries are too good. The best way to do with them is eating them fresh like this and you can get the real taste :)

I also bought raspberry jam. (ok, I know that you are doubt why I did not buy the strawberry one. I have to tell you that it's the hard decision, both of them look great.) The taste is also good...with nice toast, yummy :)

And another interest thing is their wine. I bought the strawberry sparkling wine...as I am not the wine expert, I found that it's good but it depends on the likeness of each person as my sister does not like it that much.

They don't have only strawberries, but also have raspberries, blueberries and cherries. Besides visiting their farm, you can also get their fruits and other products (except ice-cream) from farmers' market. Please check more information at their website.

On December 2008, I even went to their farm, haha, as I can't stand just buy them from farmers' market without pick them up by myself...the trip was soooo good. Strawberries were amazing as always. Another thing that you have to taste here is the award-wining strawberry ice-cream....soooo good. but i forgot to take a picture of it.


Be happy with strawberries!!!