Crazieapple reviews: Deadman Espresso

Along side with Market Lane Cafe,Deadman Espresso is one of the favourite cafenistas' hangout joint that serves fine house-blend espresso roasted by Seven Seeds. 

They say, Melbourne is a town of coffee.. Anyone who lives here long enough would turn into a cafenatic. I couldn't agree no more.. I was never the big caffeine fan but i'm a devotee noww!!

There are the days when you would just walk up to a random cafe next to your uni or workplace for a quick fix of daily needs. But there are always the days when you wanna savour your fine quality coffee while welcoming the arrival of spring (in melbourne, that is). And when these days come, you'll need a handbook of where to get the finest coffee. And Dead Man Espresso should definitely top your list.

The aromatic smell that hit you the moment you step in,

The intensity of the coffee blend once you take a sip,

The warm and friendly welcome of the staffs,

Well, Hello Heaven!!

A few perches along the window outdoor, and a couple of communal tables that are normally packed to the brim on weekends and peak hours. Lucky for me that i'm not a morning person. But be aware that kitchen closes at 4pm!! Trust me..You wouldn't wanna miss out on their food menu..

Some outdoor seats available on weekends or nice-weather days..

A usual order for me would be Latte and flat white for the company.

I love how the people there really know what they're doing with the coffee.. Well at least they LOOKED like it. They surely take their coffee business very seriously!! My cafe latte was pure bliss, a divine combination of perfectly textured milk and a rich espresso that was one of 7 seeds finest. What more can you ask for on a sunny Sunday morning??

The answer to it is....

their infamous BLT. Not just any BLT like bacon lettuce n tomato.. *yawn of boredome*

BLT Pork Belly & Spinach puree on brioche with gazpacho is one of their signature.

It's like going to KFC and order a beef burger (ok, i know they dont serve beef burger.. But u get my drift rightt??) It applies the same- going to Deadman Espresso and NOT order their BLT. Shame on you!!

herby-dressed pork belly brioche sandwich that's a truly toasty, decadent, fatty delight

First lesson learned: Please dissect your BLT with fork n knife. Using barehands to attack the pork belly will only result in messy dishplate and dirty hands and display of unladylike-ness!!

A shot of gazpacho (soup made of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, oil and vinegar that is served cold) helps us cleanse our palate and refresh our appetite while indulging in this sinful yet worthy pork belly. This herby-dressed pork belly brioche sandwich is a truly toasty, decadent, fatty delight. Who needs bacon for breakfast when you have pork belly??

Deadman Espresso

35 Market Street, South Melbourne,

03-96862255

Crazieapple Reviews: Tao's in Melbourne

Tao’s Restaurant is famous for its Set Menu concept of “One price, One Menu, Many Selections”. Their creative modern European and oriental cuisines are all presented with a touch of Zen in “Tao-Ci” pottery plates (thus the name Tao’s).

Tao Tzu plates in itself is a fine art, and most importantly, "Tao Tzu" has a high heat withstanding level which will help to preserve the temperature of the food in a very natural way. It integrates art into food, and food into art. An unique dinning concept that should not be missed.

The Tao's in Melbourne is inspired by the simplicity, sophistication, and elegance of Japanese cuisine. Tao’s “7 courses” menu features the best of Japanese and French cuisine with an emphasize on how each dish is presented. In comparison to the conventional degustation where the courses are already set, Tao’s presents customers with a choice of dishes for each course. AND the best part of all, it's only a whopping 58aud!! Yes, u heard me!! 58 aud for a 7 course set dinner!! What a catch right??

Chef's Seasonal Selection platter

Seasonal Sashimi Platter

The sashimi's were fresh and chilled. I can never accept frozen + thawed or warm sashimis.. It just spells

W-R-O-N-G!!

My choice of entree:

Tempura Soft-Shell Crab in Japan Style

The soft-shell crab is deep fried to its crisp, tasted even better if dipped with sauce. It was a pretty ordinary tempura soft-shell crab.. It's hard to go wrong with it..

Tao's Special Chawan-mushi..

Is not THAT special after all.. On a brighter note, it was topped with generous portion of fish roe which i LOVE!!! I could snack on just fish roe only i swear!! hehe and the steamed egg was cooked to its perfection, not too runny or too hardened.

Our favourite soup in the world: Teapot style Bonitto

With only a tiny slice of lemon dropped into the pot, it creates an instant uplift to the taste of an almost ordinary pot of soup. It's refreshing and soothing!! How we wished that the teapot was bottomless..

I'm currently in the process of trying to make this at home!! Probably might need to improvise a bit and use chinese teapot instead.. =P

Anyone has great reliable recipe for Bonitto soup, care to share??

In the midst of our 7 course meal, we were served a shot of sour plum (??) juice to enhance our appetite before our mains.

Admittedly, my choice of main course was a bad one. The rocklin sugita-yaki with miso cream was not up to my expectations. With 5 previous decent course previously served, i would have expected more from their main. There's just something weird about this dish that i can't explain. Perhaps it's its creaminess or lack of distinctive taste. Too much of the creaminess made me feel sick.. I found myself forcing the meal down my throat. It was THAT bad. =(

His Confit Duck leg with white wine sauce was a much better choice. The duck meat was tender and blend well with the white wine sauce. Extra points given for the innovative way of serving!!

Rice of the day: Enoki fried rice

Creme Brulee for dessert

Caramel top burn to its perfect crisp. Do u know how hard issit to master the blow-torching act??

Just enough sweetness, creamy- just the way i love it!!

Hazardous to waistline but totally worth it!

Ratings:
Food: 6/10
(There are definitely some hits and misses. The only disappointment i had was the main.. But it's not gonna stop me from giving it a second chance)

Ambience: 7/10
(They have different settings of rooms catered for different parties and amount of guests. Do call up for bookings!)

Service: 8/10
(Waiters are pretty attentive and friendly)

Overall: 7/10
(Price is also considered in this case. Seriously, $58 for a 7 courses meal is pretty darn good!!)

Tao's Restaurant
20 Bulleen Rd,
Bulleen Vic 3015

Contact:Tel :               +61 3 9852 0777        
(BYO wine only: corkage charge is $10/ bottle)

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Overseas Restaurant @ Jalan Imbi

There are large quantities of Chinese restaurant in Kuala Lumpur that I can’t begin to name them. Each has similar settings and food offerings. But those among the cliques often go to the same ones, so it was very common to bump into the industries players whom most are very typical china man who still prefers Chinese cuisine among the rest.
Overseas in Jalan Imbi has been one of those establishment which has been around forever (over 30 years) and yet there seem no end to their business fostering. But I could not say the same for their other outlets for I’ve only frequent this particular one since young. From what I’ve heard their other outlets did not flair as well.
Good thing about this restaurant is that they offer many private rooms (about 20+ of them), not that there’s anything wrong with having dinner in the main dining room. It just gives people a sense of exclusiveness and privacy so naturally these rooms are very much in demand.
The problem with this place is the parking, with very limited space along the main street, your best bet is to hand over the keys and let the valet do the job, why make yourself suffer no ends when the valet only cost you RM4.

Although I frequent this restaurant for the past years, my orders often did not steer away too far. The usual suspect on the table would be their Char Siew, Claypot Pork Belly with Salted Fish, Baby Duck, and steamed fish

Oversea’s Char Siew is one of the MUST order during each visits, and pre-order is advisable. One could not get enough of the sticky gooey but yet wonderfully fattening meat. There was a good balance between lean and pork fats, being not too fat and not too skinny is one sense of achievement. I should know as I’m still trying to achieve the very thing with my own body weight. =P

P.S. My absolute favorite dish in this restaurant is a well-kept secret to most. “HOI SIONG YONG LAM” a translation to lamb stew above the sea. Does that even make sense? No bother because this creation will bring you totally over the sea and under. With not many ingredients inside apart from some beancurd skins and lamb pieces, it was the soup base that we enjoyed very much. Filled with aroma and flavours of “FU YU”, the soup combines well with lamb as the heavy flavours of fu yu overwhelmed any lamb after taste that some dislike. The time I introduced this to some friends during one of our dinners there, they loved it so much that they demand for more soup. (Which was allowed by the restaurant with no additional cost)

We’ve always enjoyed the roasted baby ducklings here. Glossy Crispy Thin Skin, and I thought to myself, this is few very skinny duck here! Not much flesh, but the meat were mostly lean. It doesn’t bother me much as I’ve always prefer duck with less meat and more Skin! It was one intense battle on the table once being served, naturally everyone wants to fight for the best part. Family or not, this is no exception.

Braised Mexican Abalone. For RM250 it was O-K but it was definitely not the better ones I’ve had. Braised with superior sauce with steam broccoli as a side, This Mexican abalone has a slight softer texture and lacks the bite so eminent to a good abalone (my opinion) Flavor wise did not blew me over the top too.

Steamed Soon Hock Fish was very delicious. Mom commented that the fish steaming technique in Overseas has been consistent over the past 20 years and I couldn’t have agreed more. The doneness of the fish was just right, and the flesh was tender and not at all flaky. The soya sauce was at a right level of saltiness that does not over whelm such a fresh tasting fish.

Dark Soya Prawn is one of Oversea’s specialty too and is a favourite for my baby twin sisters. Roll up your sleeve, and napkin on your lap, because this is going to be one messy eat. (unless you are a seasoned prawn eater like me who just uses fork and spoon) OKOK, minus the perasan-ness, the flesh was juicy and rich in flavours that you can’t help to lick your fingers dry.

“TIN HA DAI YAT” Fried Rice aka World No. 1’s. Wow, this is one huge claim and I had to see whether they lived up to their name. This fried rice would be a hit with the vegetarians, filled with spring onions and yam, with the use of overnight rice. It was very well prepared. I wouldn’t call it as World’s No. 1, but good enough to be Jalan Imbi’s No. 1. *laughs*

Ratings:

Food: 8/10

(One of my favourite home-cooked chinese cuisine, food delivery is always consistent) 

Note: dishes that requires pre-order, roast ducklings, lamb stew, char siew, and dark soya prawn

Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 6/10

(good for casual dinners with family)

Presentation of Food: 6/10

Overall ratings: 7/10

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Overseas Restaurant

84-88 Jalan Imbi

KL

Tel: 03-2148 7567