Carven's Table

Due to recent disappointing dim sum experience at Dim Sim Cafe , which didn't really satisfy our craving for dim sum, we were back to one of our favourite dim sum places 4 days later for a guaranteed dim sum fix. This is definitely not my first time here. I have been back since their opening, bringing different groups of friends, families and overseas visitor each time. This is because the place is spacious, no queue, clean, attentive, good quality crockery and tableware and best of all, it offers a huge variety of dim sums. Also we almost work out what's best to have here and what's not. Clockwise from top left: Steamed prawn dumpling, steamed prawn and chive dumpling, steamed pork & prawn dumpling, steamed spare ribs. Above mentioned are pictures of some of the top 10 you-must-try-items at Dragon Palace. Steamed prawn dumpling (Har Gao): Fresh bursty prawns with a crunchy bite, wrapped in rice flour dumpling skin that wasn't too thick nor too thin, it was...

Cappuccino - $3 Just last week, there has been a dispute (it might just be overly strong, let's just say an article in The West) over expensive coffee price in Perth as compared to Melbourne. I may have to agree, a regular cup of flat white in Perth might be $0.10 or $0.20 higher than Melbourne or Sydney, but Hannah from Mooba Espresso  beg to differ. Also on the same day of the said article being published, I discovered Perth's cheapest coffee in the CBD. I ain't kidding, a regular flat white cost me only $3 and a short mac or espresso is only for $2.50. I almost had the shock-of-my-life, when the barista asked me to pay $3, I froze for a while and couldn't keep the smile away from me and said "that was cheap!". Low Down Espresso Bar is a very small, almost kiosk size like cafe hidden inside Cloisters Arcade, I did doubt when I was walking through Cloisters Arcade whether there's gonna be awesome coffee inside this old fashioned building. It was a...

Taurus Hawker Foods should be one of the few places for Malaysian or Singaporean to get homesick hawker's food fix. They offer a huge variety of hawker foods, it usually takes me a long while to figure what I want to eat. If you're having the same dilemma like me, it's best that you decide as quick as possible because the queue during peak hour can be quite scary. Prawn Noodle The prawn noodle that I was having was quite authentic, the only thing that is lacking is the spicy kick from the sambal which usually come together with it in Malaysia. Nontheless, the prawn were bursty, the pork slices were soft, and most importantly the prawn broth was full of prawn flavour.  Assam Laksa  Assam Laksa though was a disappointment, it was too red to begin with thus it was way too spicy for a person to enjoy it. The canned pineapple didn't add authenticity into it, as it was too sweet probably from soaking in the can liquid. Assam Laksa is supposed to be salty, sour, spicy, s...

Some says Como Hotel serve one of the best pub food south of the river. We were there on a Thursday night, without a reservation and was quite confident that we will get a table. We arrived at 7pm with our friends, later to find out that they were actually fully booked that night, unless we don't mind sitting out at the verandah (it was a very cold night) or at the bar. With that, we chose to dine at the bar, but we wouldn't get any service from the restaurant staff. We didn't mind as we were expecting a to go for a late night movie. So, no table service, no fancy table set up nor comfy chair and we have to order food at the bar. It was our fault entirely as we didn't make any reservation, so remember to make booking next time when you're planning for a dinner at Como Hotel. Kangaroo loin (med-rare), with truffle oil and portobello mushroom risotto with plum chutney and pepperberry sauce ($26.90)   Their menu shown a good mixture of cuisine influence from India ...

ABC soup is as easy as ABC or 1,2,3! It is one of the most common soup in an Asian family, and well accept by kids too. I think this is also one of the best way to trick kids into eating vegetables or getting their daily nutrition. Why ABC, one may ask. Dad used to tell me that's because you'll get Vitamin A, B and C at the same times while having this soup.   To make this healthy, hearty and full of nutrition soup, it's very simple. Ingredients: 2 big brown onion 4 carrots 3 big potato (preferably floury potato like Coliban or King Edward, if not Royal Blue should work) 3 tomatoes (in my case, I've used 5 roma tomatoes) 1 chicken carcass (in my case, I've used 2 chicken drumsticks and 2 chicken wings plus some chicken bones found in the freezer) approx. 3lt water. 1 tbls white peppercorn (alternatively, it can be quite peppery, not suitable for kids) Steps: 1. Blanch chicken with hot water for about 5 mins, strained and set aside. 2. Boil 3lt of w...

Sundays Everyday is no stranger to uni students and the local community living in city of Melville. Despite going to the same Oriental groceries shop for all these years, I've never been to Sundays Everyday which is just opposite the oriental shop. Probably because the name sounds silly and it didn't give me the impression to take them seriously. Relatively small size cafe, selling an array of Donburi (Japanese rice bowl dish), Udon & Soba and Sushi , they were all pre-packed and ready to go. Open only for breakfast & lunch, and during lunch hour, the queue can get quite long but service was fast , you might have to wait for table if you're intending to dine in, on the upside, quick table turn over didn't take too long to wait. Friend of mine told me that they were popular among the locals due to its generous serving and really cheap price. I had Karaage Chicken Don because my friend kept raving about it and said that this is the best karaage in town....

Walking down on William Street on a Saturday arvo, you'll see groups of people waiting outside this litttle dim sum eatery for 30mins waiting to be called for available table. This is not an unfamiliar scene here in Northbridge on a Saturday or Sunday, needless to say I love eating dim sum and I have my favourite dim sum place not far off from Dim Sim Cafe. I went to Dim Sim Cafe when its first opened its' door and I remember it being average, sure the crowd wasn't as crazy as these days. But being a true Asian I am ( kiasu ), I can't help but wanted to give it another go just because they seems to be doing pretty well these days as the queue is getting longer each day. Due to its tiny size, the table were all crammed up together, noisy and crowded, one should expect that kinda buzz from a Chinese restaurant especially eating dim sum. While we rubbed shoulder with the patrons next to us, hot chinese tea and steamed trolley were already there. We picked the usual...

Elixir Coffee opened its door earlier this year in January, has since gain great amount of respect from Perth's coffee buff, they are even rated as 1st in Top 20 Cafes in Perth by members of Perthcoffeescape . Well, I've only just get around to this little chic cafe last week to check it out. We could literally smell the perfumy coffee once we get out from the car, and we can't wait to order a cup of flat white and cappuccino. Because we were there close to closing time, most of their cakes and pastry had all sold out. I can see why they are able to call themselves a coffee specialist, our coffee came out looking great, the milk was smooth, velvety and sweet. They were using their own blend for milk coffee when we were there, and the blend they were using reminds me of - MEN (it has nothing to do with men's body odour). It was the taste of the coffee, it was strong in flavour and masculine in character but it wasn't bitter nor sour at all with a smooth finish,...

Last weekend was the 3rd Good Food & Wine Show in Perth (if I'm not mistaken), one of the most looking forward event of the year for food lovers. I went to last year's show without a game plan or so to speak a proper planning, thus I wasn't that well prepared for last year's show and totally missed out on a lot of stuff on offer ie. didn't bring enough cash, didn't expect so much wine and beer to sample, didn't know there were so much to see. With much anticipation and expectation, I'm more prepared to go to the show this year, GFWS is like the Royal Show to me, very excited. Before departing for the show, I double checked if I've got all my gear ready. Cash checked, mini wine glass checked, green bag checked, camera checked, tickets checked. Off we go to the train station and head straight to Perth Convention Centre. This year's show is bigger and better and definitely have more crowd than last year, thanks to the constant reminder fr...

Comfort food, what's your comfort food especially during the winter? Some may go for a Nonna's Bolognese, some opt for a hearty casserole with mash, the Indians have curries as their comfort food, some may even munch on hot fat chips. For me, I love eggs and I love egg sauce based noodle. Whenever I feel rather sick or lost of appetite, egg sauce noodle (or famously known as yin yong ) will put a big smile on my face. Perth's weather had been rather cold in the past fortnight, some serious comfort food is much needed. It was my housemate's turn to cook us dinner the other day, and she cooked one of my favourite comfort food - Fried Kuey Teow with Egg Sauce , it was loaded with abundance of egg sauce cooked with chicken, prawns, fish balls, choy sum, carrot and tofu. It was very much comfort indeed. Loved it! Egg sauce base noodle is pretty fun to play with, if you like a more luxury version, try adding in marron or crayfish, it gives better flavour. So, what...

Whenever we drove past Ninniku Jip on Albany Hwy, me and my friends always laugh at it's name, simply due to the fact that it's sounded like erm... female body part in Cantonese! For all these years, we just laughed at it's name but never actually thought of dining at Ninniku Jip. Well, we finally give it a go today. We then learnt that Ninniku means Garlic in Japanese and Jip means House in Korean, so Ninniku Jip means Garlic House , that sounds better! Just like it's name, Ninniku Jip is a restaurant that offers both Japanese and Korean cuisine, but most of their dishes are of Korean influence with little Japanese twist such as Miso soup, Tempura and Udon. I'm not very familiar with Korean cuisine but I'm a huge fan of Japanese cuisine. When it comes to picking what to eat from the huge menu that Ninniku Jip has, I'm just like a headless chicken taking as much time to read every single description on the menu. Despite going for the more common d...