Ing Doi

Here is the place to eat if you have never tried Thai food, there is a huge variety and it's very authentic. This place sits well on my taste buds and for $35pp all you can eat how can anyone resist? This place looks like an old cottage house next to a pub on Victoria street, it could easily be missed so if you find yourself in Richmond you are way too far.

I’ve been here many times and its mostly hits with rare misses. They offer menu orders, takeaway and all you can eat. Ing Doi all you can eat sessions are at 6pm and 8pm (2 hour intervals). Their menus don’t differ between single or all you can eat orders, everyone can enjoy everything on the menu with no restrictions, however all you can eat portions are smaller then when you order each individual dish. There is a catch, if you order too much and can’t finish your food; there is a penalty price for all you can eat leftovers.

Food are mostly spicy but not overwhelming, with salads you get to chose how spicy you want it to be, drinks and desserts are all inclusive in the all you can eat price. I didn't take any drink photos but you must try their Thai milk tea, order it in a jug to share, we always go through multiple jugs at one session. You'll find that Thai's love their sauce so there is a different sauce for each individual dish (thats effort). 

Staffs here are friendly but things can get hectic and messy so your dishes may stray to another table without you noticing, keep calm you’ll get your right order.

Seafood Tom Yum Soup: Spicy lemon glass soup filled with mushroom and seafood

Beef Salad: Thinly sliced charbroiled steak,onion and fresh roasted garlic on a bed of lettuce in spicy lime dressing

 Papaya Salad: Shredded green papaya topped with spicy garlic,lime juice, peas with/without added salted crabs (this give it the extra pungent taste, which some can't handle, but I love it). Your choice of having it Hot, moderate or mildly spicy. 

 Fried Spicy Chicken + Sauce. Kids will like this and theres no chilli in it. 

BBQ Pork + Sauce (sweet but nice)

Spring Rolls + Sauce

Fish Cake + Sauce. This is spicy so beware

Pad Thai: A traditional staple made with rice noodles, bean spouts, green onions and grounded peanut.

Crab in Curry Sauce with Veggies

Steamed Rice in a nice bowl. Fried rice is also on the menu but I forgot to take a photo of that. 

Fried Chicken on a Stick + Peanut Sauce

Green Curry

Crispy fried fish with special veggie sauce, this was delicious too.

 Banana in sticky rice + ice cream, this is everyones favourite dessert in my household. 

 Assorted Ice Cream

Fried Banana with Ice Cream

Royal Blue

I was attending "The 8th International Convention of the Vietnamese Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists of the Free World In 2014 Melbourne - Gala night" and wore this outfit for the night.
It was a night where Vietnamese health professionals and friends alike came together to celebrate their achievements, fun but the food wasn't good as I was waiting for 2 hours for food. The event was held at the Pullman Hotel in Albert park, this venue was beautiful over looking the lake and city, it was a 5 degree night with rainfall which made it all so more magnificent.

I would have titled this post differently, but stuck with the fancier name "Royal Blue", or else this would have been called "Something Recycled", as I have worn this dress over 4 times since 2012 heheheh.
I've worn this to 3 weddings and now this Gala, it was custom made from China. Inspiration came from Elie Saab and Carla Zampatti designs, I mixed and matched textures, materials and their designs to come up with this piece.

OOTD:

Dress: Royal blue with embellishments, high side cut dress (made in China, and after wearing it over 4 times I think it was worth every penny, I did pay about $250AUD with shipping for it). So sometimes asking around, seeing what you like and negotiating with a trusted Chinese company may not be too bad after all. I've had my fair share of bad experiences with Chinese sellers. Though I've said it was custom made to fit, I still had my mum alter the bust and length to fit better.

Accessories: "Love Bracelet" inspired by Cartier, and the Gold Chain belt is actually the bag strap detached from my vintage Salvatore Ferragamo bag which I always carry around hehehehe

Heels: Windsor Smith black thin sandal strap front with a golden heel - which was on sale for $25AUD as this was the only size 5US left in store

The main colour was Royal Blue to this outfit and my accent colour was gold, though blue is a cool colour and gold is more of a warm tone, in my opinion it collaborated very harmoniously.

Tip: Don't be afraid to match cool and warm tones as this could give great contrast, and accessories such as belts could just come off a detachable bag strap, so seek and you shall find.

this pink gown has also been warn over 4 times, that's my twin sister in the pink! we look alike?

this is the detachable gold chain strap from my Salvatore Ferragamo bag 

food of the night (it didn't taste good and we were waiting over 2 hrs for it): lobster on egg noodles, snapper, fried rice, pecking duck and crab claws (full of flour, no real crab meat). 

ROTI ROAD

Hi everyone

I’ve recently decided to post something again, since all my studies have finally finished. This is a food post on the new “ROTI ROAD” Malaysian Chinese restaurant, which I have returned on several occasions.

 

Typically this is what we usually order:

Roti Canai - $5.90

These roti sheets are made in front of us so I guess they are freshly home made accompanied by three dipping sauce – curry sauce, dal, sambal.

I must admit I’m not a curry fan but this dish is a good introduction to Malaysian Indian cuisine.

Tom Yum Soup – we ordered for a table of 10, unsure how this was calculated; on the menu it states, “Serves two - $11.90”

I’ve had my fair share of tom yum soup, this had all the right ingredients but "it" compared to others I’ve had was ordinary. A little on the salty side, non the less this is my go to soup cause its got a sour savory taste which does help with my digestion for the upcoming dishes.

Satay Chicken - $9 for 6 skewers.

Another good entrée, chicken was smoky and went well with the amazing sweet peanuty satay sauce

the chefs doing their thing.

Traditional Three Coloured Milk Tea - $4.50

I am not a coffee drinker, so I wouldn’t know how to judge this one but it was recommended by my partner and he seemed to have liked it. I hate the bitterness in coffee, but this was weak with a hint of creamy cold sweetness, which wasn’t too bad to quench my thirst (water would have done the same for free).

Rendang Beef - $19.80

By this time I was getting full and seeing curry wasn’t appetizing, I had a piece and that was that. It doesn’t hurt to try but too much meat and curry mixed together isn’t what I personally would order for myself. If you are a heavy beef curry lover you might enjoy this dish.

Fried Chicken Berempah - $16.80

Got kids tagging along? If you like fried chicken this is yummy, the coating outside is salty crispy with tender unboned chicken inside (like KFC wicked wings but with different seasoning).

Belacan Kangkung - $14.80

This is water spinach stir fried in shrimp paste. This was over cooked which made the spinach too wet and soggy, and there was an overdoes on flavoring hence the overpowering saltiness.  I usually love this dish cause it's crunchy and refreshing with the minimal seafood aroma left behind in the mouth, but all was overdone that night. Lets hope it taste better next time, or maybe this is how Roti Road make this dish?

Honey Pepper Lamb Cutlets - $28.90 (don’t remember how many pieces)

All the right flavouring in my mouth, the bomb! Loved it, spicy sweet and salty at the same time which was well balanced out by white rice and steamed broccoli.

Banana Fritter with Ice Cream -  $7.50

My mum does some great fried bananas, but to compensate for not eating at home this was a good substitute, however for this price try the Roti Tisu (cause I don’t know many who can make this at home)

Roti Tisu -$9.90

This is thin crispy fried roti lightly coated with condensed milk and dusted with sugar. YUMMY! I could finish this whole thing myself even after having that much food, the portion looks huge but its deceiving to the eyes cause it’s like a thin upside cone of flour filled with nothing inside. It was not overly sweet because the bland thin crispy roti complimented well with the condense milk and sugar then dipped in the cold creamy ice cream it worked out just right.

FINALLY:

If you live in the western suburbs of Melbourne and love Mamak or Chef Lagenda, give this place a visit, it’s new and the fresh roti is like no other.  Highly recommended. I’ve visited Malaysia many times and have taken a few local Malaysians here, we all love the food and services here (quick, friendly and efficient).