Finally, the time has come for me to stuff my mouth full with sweet and juicy blueberries. As blueberries normally cost a bomb to enjoy fresh (125g for $5), I would chose to go for the frozen ones (1kg at $5.50). However, frozen ones are definitely no match when compared to the fresh ones.
Having heard a lot about blueberry picking from my uncle Silvio for years, I finally got the chance to go for the Blueberry picking this year. Located near Geelong in Melbourne, Australia, Tuckerberry Hill Blueberries offers a nutritious low-calorie snack, suitable for everyone. Having no entrance fee, this is a pick-your-own blueberry farm with a take home price of $16 a kilo. This year, Huckerberry Hill Blueberry had a new addition to their farm, a Blueberry Cafe serving Blueberry themed muffins, yoghurt ($2 a serving), ice-cream ($2 a serving), chutney ($5.50 a jar) etc.
Address: 35 Becks Rd, Drysdale Victoria.
Phone: 03 52513468
Open during Blueberry season: from Dec 26th, January (everyday 9-5pm), February (weekends only 9-5pm)
Labels: Australia, Blueberries, Fruits, Melbourne
posted on: Thursday, December 31, 2009 @ 6:56 PM
veg-spiration
Fireworks from Melbourne, Australia, 1st Jan 2010New year,
New decade,
New hope,
New surprises,
May your new year be filled with lots of joy and thrills.
Remember to go veg!
Warmest Regards,
Yvonne and Jamie.
veg-spiration
We revisited this restaurant near the Crown Casino recently. Standard was almost the same compared to our previous visits, though still far from the high standards of veggie restaurants in Malaysia. Nevertheless, this is a good pick and is so far the closest to home compared to the other veggie restaurants in Melbourne.
Mixed Claypot
tofu, "char siew", veggies
Natural dish. I prefer the dish without the "char siew" though.
Fat Put - Yam Basket
"Basket" made from yam, cashew nuts, capsicum, mushroom, veggies, water chestnutsMy best pick of the night. basket was almost done to perfection,
exactly how I would want my 'basket" to taste
Fried Rice
quite worth it considering one bowl of white rice is $2.20 a bowl.
Beef in Black Bean Sauce
taste was so-so, quite bland, prefer the kung po version.
Labels: Australia, Enlightened Cuisine, Malaysian, Melbourne
posted on: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 @ 8:59 PM
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Summer is here! Although I despise the heat and the aussie flies very much, but there is also a lot of things to look forward to, from perfect sunny weather that's warm enough to hit the beaches, to fun-filled bbq parties in the sun. For me, I look forward to berry picking the most. After strawberries and cherry picking, this time we found a hidden gem. Raspberry picking!
At only $16 a kilogram, these beauties are definitely a thing to look forward to every year.
Labels: Australia, Fruits, Melbourne, Raspberries
veg-spiration
Barking Dogs! I would never be able to discover this place without my good friend Melissa. So, here's to Melissa, and hope that she'll be ever so radiant and jovial, and of course a very smooth sailing career ahead of her.
Back to Barking Dogs. Yes, it's unanimous that this place serves the best Western food that I've ever tried, the opinion is 'second-ed' and 'third-ed' by my parents.
Vegetarian Pizza
with fresh cubed pumpkins, basil, tomatoes and PINE NUTS
omg the Pine nuts definitely brought my standard of good pizza to a new level
Vegetarian Risotto
unlike other risotto i've tried, this one is not creamy at all,
making it a very healthy choice,
though the flavor is still intense with fresh herbs, goats cheese, etc.
A must try dessert
Sticky Date Butterscotch Pudding with a generous scoop of vanilla ice-cream
YUMMY to the very end.
I would definitely drive from Melbourne to Geelong again for this.
Yes, that's how good it is.
Barking Dogs Wine Cafe Bar
Address: 126 Pakington St, Geelong West VIC 3218
Tel: +61 03 5229 2889
Labels: Australia, BarkingDogs, Dessert, Melbourne, Western
posted on: Thursday, December 17, 2009 @ 5:07 AM
veg-spiration
This is what I call straight from the tree. Freshness guaranteed. For 4 years now, I have been picking cherries straight from the tree and popping them into my mouth as I pick them. As the juice squirts out onto your tongue as you sink your teeth into the crunchy cherries, that's definitely the most fulfilling feeling ever! And to add to the already joyful outing, we found wild raspberries, now that's a rare sight, not to mention that they're so sweet too!!!!!!
Cherries!
Plums
Raspberries
Location: Red Hill, Victoria, Australia.
Labels: Australia, Cherries, Melbourne
posted on: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 @ 1:43 AM
veg-spiration
A non-vegetarian restaurant that offers authentic Malaysian Char Kway Teow (Stir-Fried flat rice noodles), nasi lemak (coconut rice with blended chilli sauce) and Curry Laksa (Curried Noodles enriched with Coconut Milk). I've tried their Loh Mee in the past and also found that rather delicious.
You would be asked the level of spiciness for both the Laksa and Char Kway Teow, and I found medium spicy to be just right for my pallete. The portion is so big that 3 big eaters found it difficult to finish the whole plate of 2 items.
Vegetarian Curry Laksa $10.90
Vegetarian Char Kway Teow $9.80
113 Grattan St Carlton VIC (in between Lygon Street and Swanston Street)
Opening hours: 11am - 10pm
http://www.nasilemakhouse.com.au/
Taste = ****
Atmosphere = ** (quite cramped)
Service = ** (order at cashier)
Price = $$$ (around $10 per meal)
Labels: Australia, Malaysian, Melbourne, Nasi Lemak House
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Ambience is so warm and cosy in this restaurant. The staffs are pleasant and friendly and the boss who is a Singaporean is so courteous and cater to our every needs. Drive to this place if you have a car because they have a big secured parking lot at the back of the restaurant. Just let the staff know and they can get someone to open the gate for you and then you can dine in peace and parking is free. Not only is the boss a very nice person, his dishes servings are so generous that you can actually order two dishes for three diners.
Chinese Tea
Claypot Vegetarian Mutton
Sizzling Vegetarian Beef
Labels: Auatralia, Chinese, Enlightened Cuisine, Melbourne
posted on: Sunday, December 6, 2009 @ 9:16 PM
veg-spiration
Gallstones may not be everyone's concern, but we should worry a little as everyone has them. It's just a matter whether they're big or small or a lot or little. Statistically, older people or people who consume more oily food would have a higher amount of gallstones. Some researches show that gallstones may lead to cancer. Many of our friends from young to old have tried this method and have successfully passed out gallstones of different sizes and different amounts. Try to do this starting on a Monday and end up passing out the gallstones on a Sunday. Also get ready enough apple juice for the 5 days and the epsom salt, lemons and olive oil before embarking on this program.
Here is the method recommended by a Taiwanese, Dr Lai Chiu Nan, a chemistry dortorate holder and former cancer researcher in one of America's top cancer research institutions, who now teaches natural health. However, our background research on the net said that some gallstones that are big might get stuck in the gall bladder duct and this could be dangerous. This might happen, so, if you are afraid, don't do it or get an ultrasound scan before you do this. But the odds of this happening are quite small (considering the number of family and friends who have done it, more than 20 people around us have tried it and have turned out fine and relieved that the "little things" are out of our body. So it's up to you to decide.
HOW TO REMOVE GALLSTONES NATURALLY - For the first five days, drink at least four glasses of apple juice every day. Or eat four or five apples, whichever you prefer. Apple juice softens the gallstones. During the five days, eat normally.
- On the sixth day, take no dinner.
- At 6 pm, take a teaspoon of Epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) with a glass of warm water.
- At 8 pm, repeat the same. Epsom salt or magnesium sulphate opens the gallbladder ducts.
- At 10 pm, take half cup olive oil (or sesame oil) with half cup fresh lemon juice. Mix it well and drink it. The oil lubricates the stones to ease their passage.
The next morning, you will find green / yellowish stones in your stools. "Usually they float", Dr Lai Chiu Nan notes. "You might want to count them. I have had people who passes 40, 50 or up to 100 stones. Very many".
Even if you don't have any symptoms of gallstones, you still have some. It's always good to give your gall bladder a clean up now and then. Some friends noted a decrease in serum cholesterol levels after the cleanse and some have cured years of "gastric pain" that was actually caused by hard and stubborn gallstones.
posted on: Saturday, December 5, 2009 @ 5:11 PM
veg-spiration
After another satisfying very spicy meal in Ying Thai, what better way to cool the hot thickened tongue with some cool gelato ice cream. Just another three shops away is this gelato ice cream shop and I guess they are the only gelato shop in Melbourne and maybe the whole of Australia having the durian flavored gelato. The taste is fantastic - so creamy and aromatic - and one scoop of it will be able to satiate your crave for durians. I find that even though durians are on sale in the supermarkets they do not have any smell at all. Many international students especially those from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia throng to this shop to taste this ice cream. Other than durian, they also have mango, passion fruit, pandan, lychee............ and many other flavors.
Durian and chocolate gelato
Name: Il Dolce Freddo
Address: 116 Lygon St, Carlton VIC
Tel: (03) 9639 3344
Labels: Australia, Gelato ice cream, Melbourne
posted on: Thursday, December 3, 2009 @ 12:01 AM
veg-spiration
We went back for more over-the-roof spicy food at Ying Thai. This time, we decided to test our palette further by attempting the Thai stir-fried dishes. True enough, our "extra spicy" order sent our eyes watering and our hands were kept busy with everyone putting down their cutlery to reach for the glasses of ice cold sky juice. One of us left Ying Thai with a pair of red eyes and also a Rudolph nose to go with it, due to repeated tissue wipes.
Basil Themed Stir Fried Veggies with aromatic Jasmine Rice
$8.90
Ginger Themed Stir Fried Veggies with aromatic Jasmice Rice
$8.90
Extra egg $1.00
Location: 110 Lygon St Carlton VIC
Opening hours: 12 noon - 10pm (Closed on Mondays)
How to get there: Walk from Melbourne City / Trams (1, 8, and any other trams that travel to Melbourne University - Get off at Queensberry St) / Taxi
Taste = ***
Atmosphere = *** (quite cramped)
Service = ***
Price = $$$ (around $13 per meal) Entree: $7.70-$14.90 Mains: $7.90-$16.90 Dessert: $4.20-$5.90
Lunch menu ranges from $8.90- $14.90
Labels: Australia, Melbourne, Thai, Ying Thai
posted on: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 @ 2:59 AM
veg-spiration
Fireworks from Melbourne, Australia, 1st Jan 2010
At only $16 a kilogram, these beauties are definitely a thing to look forward to every year.
Chinese Tea
Claypot Vegetarian Mutton
Sizzling Vegetarian Beef
Location: 110 Lygon St Carlton VIC
Vegetarian Party
Pot Luck Party