Pink Inspired Tea Party

I had some girlfriends over for afternoon tea and decided to decorate the house in pink. After a few minutes of browsing in the cupboard, I managed to pull out a bunch of pink teacups and decorations.

These are mostly from my wedding last year:

a) Pink tea cups & saucer were used in the Chinese tea ceremony. I decided to go non-conventional with pink instead of the traditional red or gold. We are a multi-cultural couple, so it’s a perfect reason to get away with tradition.

b) Pink petals were originally bought for the table decoration at our reception, but we ended up using fresh petals instead.

c) Pink butterflies were originally bought for the wedding invitation in Malaysia. However, we were told by a Malaysian florist that butterfly represents the story of the “Butterfly lovers”. It is the Chinese version of “Romeo & Juliet”, thus not appropriate for weddings. How silly is that! In really upsets me that people make up foolish traditions from movies. Anyway, we ended up using pink ribbons instead because it is less pointy and easier to insert into the envelope (and of course more economical). At least is for a practical reason rather than a nonsense tradition.

d) Pink ribbons were reused from the presents I received in the past.

e) Pink bouquet of fake roses was bought from Lovely Lace in Malaysia. This was meant to be our throwaway bouquet, but I liked it so much that I decided to keep it. Thankfully, our florist gave us a free throwaway bouquet. So, problems solved.

I even made my very own pink sugar. It was a trick shared by the lady from Teas & Niceties up in Mount Tamborine.

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Spicy Chicken Stew (Dak Doritang)

I have recently added another Korean dish to my repertoire. We have had this a few times in the restaurant and loved the taste. It is unbelievably simple, yet tasty.

Here’s how to make Korean Spicy Chicken Stew in 4 steps.

Ingredients:
500 grams of sliced chicken thigh (or breast)
3 potatoes sliced in cubes
2 carrots sliced in cubes
1 onion sliced in cubes
2 cups of water
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoon of hot pepper paste (gochujang)
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
Few drops of sesame oil
1 tablespoon Korean chilli flakes (optional)

1. Add in water, potatoes, carrots, onion and meat in a pot and bring it to boil.

2. Mix garlic, hot pepper paste, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil on a small bowl.

3. Add the mixed sauce to the pot when it starts boiling.

4. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes, or until carrots and potatoes are cooked. Stir occasionally.

This can be eaten with rice, but we had ours with glass noodles. Simply tasty!

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Seafood Banquet at The Thai Orchid Restaurant

We have always loved Thai food but rarely venture out from our local favourites. Last week, we decided to try Thai Orchid Restaurant at Mt Gravatt – And boy, are we glad we did!

We were celebrating our 1 year anniversary, so what else could we do but go for the Seafood Banquet. We were blown away by the entrées and their mains were marvellous!

Our entrée of Coconut Prawns, Calamari, Fish Cakes and Scallops were droolicious. Prawns, Calamari and Scallops were cooked to perfection and the home made Fish Cakes are the best we’ve had so far.

For mains, we were served Moreton Bay Bugs Salad instead of Crab Salad as stated in the menu. The waitress told us they ran out of crabs, so they had replaced it with Moreton Bay bugs. The taste of fresh bugs mixed with herbs, lemon juice, coriander, mint and coconut milk is heavenly. We were glad they ran out of crabs!

The two other mains were Fish Fillet Curry and Combination Seafood Stir Fry with Vegetables. We couldn’t fault it at all!

Our banquet ended with a choice between Deep Fried Ice Cream and Mixed Tropical Fruit with Ice Cream. Dan & I both went for the Deep Fried Ice Cream. As far as dessert go, this is pretty average, but still a good way to end the night. We will definitely be back for more.....

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Meat Feast at Mundo Churrasco

After being silent for over a month, I figured the best way to make a comeback is with a feast. We have also wanted to try Brazilian cuisine. After a few missed opportunities in Montreal and Sydney, we were excited to find this Brazilian restaurant in Brisbane.

Mundo Churrasco, 63 McGregor Tce, Bardon

Mundo Churrasco is definitely not for the faint hearted. It offers an all-you-can-eat meat feast with delicious and tender cuts of beef, lamb, pork and chicken.  All meals include accompaniments such as Brazilian rice, potato salad, cheese bread, tomato salsa and chips.

Everyone is given a small cylinder with one side painted green and the other red. If you have the green side up, food will keep coming. Once you have had enough, or needed a break, just turn the red side up and the waiter will stop offering you food.

The waiters walk around with big skewers of meat. If your cylinder is turned to green, they will stop at your table to offer you some meat. Using a long, sharp knife, they skilfully carve the meat right in front of you.

For the amount of meat you get, $34.50 is a fair price to pay. It is $10 less for Vegetarian, but honestly, why bother going to a meat buffet if you are a vegetarian?!?!?

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Lindt Café

This is one of my favourite dessert places in Sydney. Upon entering the cafe, we were enticed by the collection of beautiful looking cakes. It was a difficult decision on what to order. I wished we could taste one of each without burning a hole in our pockets. A slice of these gorgeous looking cakes cost somewhere between $12-14. Some cakes cost more for dine in.

We went to the Lindt cafe in Martin Place last year, so we thought of giving the one in Darling Harbour a try this trip. I might be biased but I think they are equally as good. The only difference is indoor vs outdoor dining.

The other specialty is their “Delice Collection”, which is also known as Macarons by the French. Out of the few Maracons I have tested before, Lindt’s Delice is definitely the best by far! Full of flavour and melt in your mouth texture. We ordered a Strawberry Delice (for me) and Passion Delice (for Dan). It is so delicately delicious that I could easily have eaten half a dozen. It is also reasonably priced at $2.20 each.

There are other delicacies from their Connoisseurs Collection and Ice Creams which we did not try on this trip.

Now I am hoping that they will open a cafe in Brisbane......still wishing~


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