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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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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Last weekend, the weather here in Melbourne decided to do its best to keep people at home. Drizzly rain and wind. Undeterred, we met up with a few friends and ventured upto King St, where there are more than a few restaurants popping up.

Amongst them, Taste of Malaysia beckoned with its bright red sign, a few doors down from the corner of Lonsdale St. Not yet having found a Malaysian restaurant we’d recommend to being on-par with real Malaysian food from a Malaysian mamak (despite obvious currency differences), we decided to give it a go.

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Lately, the quality of city yum cha seems to be a bit lacking, so last Sunday we ventured out to the suburbs with John & Robert for a decent feed.

We’d booked a table at Tai Pan in Doncaster for their morning session. As we got there on time right on 11, everything was already in full swing. As soon as we were seated, we were being offered goodies off a trolley - before our tea had even arrived!

Due to the design of the restaurant, the main eating area at Tai Pan is raised - which is the best spot to get a seat if you can, as the trolleys don’t go downstairs to the small eating area, so down there you rely on waitresses with hand platters walking around.

Even though we were on time, the main area was filling up fast. About 10 minutes later, the place was full.

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No trip to Sydney would be complete without sampling the local yum-cha on offer, so on Sunday we headed to Marigold Citymark with two of Louis’ friends.

Having very limited internet access I was unable to check up to see the general reviews on Marigold, but judging from the crowds packing into the lifts, it seemed to be quite a popular place.

We squeezed in with everyone else and alighted at the 4th floor, but evidently the 5th floor is the main restaurant level.

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On Saturday we went to Shark Fin House with two friends, Jin and Kian.

I rang up at 10am, expecting them to be booked out, but they had some room available for their late (1.30) session.

The only trouble with having yum-cha on a Saturday is finding a park. Most parks are 1 hour limit, and you normally need at least 1 1/2 hours to have a nice relaxed yum-cha. We were lucky and found a 2 hour park at the top end of Exhibition St, and filled the $3.50-per-hour meter with coins.

We got to Shark Fin on time, and joined the queue in the (cramped) foyer. Then, once the lift arrived back at ground, we were told to go to L2. So we crammed in the lift with everyone else.

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Once again, we set out in search of a decent place to have dinner. Tonight, we visited Golden Orchids, who proclaim to have been the first Malaysian restaurant in Melbourne.

This two-storey eatery, open since 1973, boasts three claims to fame: Its ’signature dish’, the Malaysian Chilli Prawns, its range of Malaysian Curries, and its Satays.

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