After our overseas adventures, our tastebuds were sorely missing exotic food. So we arranged with some friends to drop by Shallot Thai in Malvern, one of my long time favourites.

I first visited about 6 years ago with some friends when I lived nearby, and since then i’ve been hooked. I’ve tried other Thai restaurants (including some rather expensive ones) but they still just don’t match up. Now I live on the other side of town, but I still visit. It’s worth it.

It was an overcast friday night, but the familiar green neon sign sent out its warm welcome. Upon entering we were shown to our table, and each given a menu.

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After relaxing for a couple of days in Langkawi, we returned to the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur. We arrived in the early evening, but had arranged dinner on the way back with a couple of Louis’ friends, Nick and Kelvin.

They picked us up from the hotel about 9pm. We’d let them decide where to take us for dinner, and we soon arrived at a place called the Purple Cane Tea Restaurant.

Nick explained that every dish on the menu has somehow been prepared with tea as a prominent ingredient. It sounded quite an interesting concept.

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After all our mad shopping in Kuala Lumpur, we relaxed for a couple of days at The Andaman, in Langkawi. While we were there, the well proportioned concierge recommended a restaurant called Lobster Palace, if we were ever in the mood for seafood. This was a man who looked like he knew his food, so we needed no further invitation.

The Andaman was quite a distance from Kuah, so by the time we arrived at Lobster Palace we were quite hungry. The menu was relatively simple, but when you have fresh seafood on offer, you don’t really need much else!

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We’re on holiday! Greetings from Kuala Lumpur. More specifically, Midvalley Megamall, in a restaurant called Madam Kwan’s.

Madam Kwan’s started out in a single shop along Jalan Imbi (one of the busiest main streets in KL), originally named ‘Sakura Restaurant’. They became famous for their Nasi Lemak, Curry & Assam Fish Head. Then they rebranded and opened new outlets (with an upmarket modern decor) under the name of ‘Madam Kwan’s’ which offered the favourites from the old Sakura menu plus new ones like the super yummy ‘Nasi Bojari’, aka ‘3 Colour Rice’.

We met up with Jin, one of Louis’ uni friends who was back in KL for the holidays, as well as another friend (and part time personal tour guide), Clayton. After a day of trawling through shops we’d certainly worked up a decent appetite, so there were no complaints when I suggested MK.

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On Saturday night we went out with some friends for some Korean food. There are a surprising number of Korean Restaurants here in Melbourne, although lately I noticed a few have disappeared.

After discovering Seoul Garden on Exhibition St is no longer open, (and the building has probably been flattened by now) we walked back a block and spied the sign for Seoul House, upstairs on the corner of Lonsdale and Russell.

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Last night we visited Okra in Hawthorn East, for dinner with John & Robert.

A couple of days earlier, I was once again scouring the net for a the ever elusive decent Malaysian restaurant. Miettas had a review from a couple of years ago for Okra, and I figured that if they were still around, they must have something going for them - so I recommended we take a look.

Okra has narrow street frontage so keep a sharp look out, but when it gets darker of a night you’ll be easily able to spot the neon sign.

There was ample parking in the Dan Murphy’s / Dick Smith carpark a few doors up, though with the amount of food we ate we probably should have planned a longer walk back to the car.

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Last night we took a trip up to Satay Inn (opposite the Vic Market) in Victoria St, for dinner.

From looking at their website, it looked like we would finally find some of the authentic Malaysian dishes we’d been searching for since we started this blog. Especially when I saw this claim - “…our cooking is done by a Malaysian chef who knows his craft well. Not a non-Malaysian who is doubtful about what the taste should be…”

Their website isn’t flash, but I hoped they put the real effort in where it counted - into the food. The pictures on the site had the feel of the kinds of dishes you’d be served at a Malaysian Mamak, so fingers crossed.

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Last week we were in the City around dinner time, so we wandered upto Red Silks, in Bourke St, for dinner. Well known amongst Melbournes’ student population for its large menu and fairly cheap pricing, it’s always busy.

Red Silks is situated upstairs in the Mid City arcade (above BreadTalk), so it’s pretty easy to find.

Upon entering we were shown to a table in the sunken ‘lounge’ area inside, (outside on the balcony is the smokers’ area) and were given a menu each. I noticed they’d just introduced a new menu, and were offering 10% off for their birthday special until the 7th. Bargain!

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A couple of months ago my work had a team lunch at the Melba Buffet. We each paid $28.50, which was reasonably priced (at the high end of the scale) and was quite enjoyable.

Louis’ Birthday came up recently and seeing as he loves seafood, I couldn’t think of anything better than a buffet of seafood to feast upon. We’d already been to (and been let down by) the Conservatory, so Melba sounded like a good bet.

Coincidently being Fathers’ Day, reservations were scarce - we were able to book the last table they had available. The buffet price varies depending on the menu and the day of the week (and time of year). When I went with work colleagues, we paid $28.50 p/p for the full lunch buffet on a Tuesday. The Weekend Dinner price was slightly higher, at $69.50 per person. We figured we’d just eat a lot to get our money’s worth.

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A couple of weeks ago, a friend of Louis’, David, took us to dinner at Loi Loi, in Richmond.

David is a self-confessed foodie, and describes Loi Loi as one of his regular haunts - so we had some reasonable expectations that we’d have a good meal.

Being a Friday night, getting from one side of the city over to Richmond was no easy feat. We were to meet at 7.00, but by the time I got through the traffic, it was about 7.15.

Parking wasn’t hard to find as Loi Loi is situated sort of down the ‘forgotten end’ of Victoria St (forgotten by me anyway, as i’d never ventured beyond Church St for food).

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