FIRST TASTE

• 
First taste is an authentic Chinese/Asian restaurant in Footscray, it’s got an extensive herbal soup and claypot range; majority is good if you like the bitterness in soup. I’m not a fan of soup or hard, crunchy, crusty rice in claypots but my partner loves this stuff. Other than that they have added crab on the menu, and if you are going to order dishes to share with steamed rice, overall, dishes here are good and prices are very decent especially for cooked crab (about $50 a pound depending on the season, but its always top quality grab).
I like dinner here for price, service and quality, do try it.

Claypot and Chinese herbal soup is the most renown here, but at lunch people tend to order the wonton noodle soup as well (good too)

Black Pepper Crab, it's really good even better then Chef Lagenda but not as good as Omah (the best in my opinion)

Chilli Crab is delicious too, but they don't provide roti or bread so B.Y.O (you are allowed to hehehe, we do it all the time). I've tried this crab mixed with egg noodles but it made the crab more boring and you get full too quick

Stir fried beef eggs and veggies - don't know how they make the beef tender and crunchy, its good. I wouldn't order this if I didn't eat with a group of people.

Boring Mie Goreng - don't try it, make the 2 min packet at home cheaper and you get the same result.

Chilli shrimp paste stir fried Okra - gooeyness, saltiness, fishiness, chilliness ...yummy, hehehe may turn people off but this makes a good dish with steamed rice. 

Cupcake Central

In no means am I stating that these are the best cupcakes in the world, but this is definitely my favourite cupcake place in Melbourne thus far (its even better then Cupcakes By Paolo which I was pretty impresses with).

This place has the perfect bite size cupcakes and an abundant of flavours to chose from. I don't have a favourite flavour, all has been very good, the texture and moisture is perfect. They even have special flavours only on particular days of the week. If you are vegan or have a special diet, they might have something just for you.

And as for discounts, they have coupons inside the Melbourne Entertainment Book ... buy one get one free - or something like that. Sometimes they have online coupon code or specials as well.

Besides the yumminess, I love their packaging, logos and store decor. Yep this place is certainly in my good books

Old Kingdom Glory

Hi! How are you doing?

Another Chinese/Asian restaurant in the heart of our iconic Collinwood suburb, so don’t expect that exceptional welcoming gesture and greetings from your usual restaurant visits. On a good day, the guy that serves you may be humorous other days you may just get a man whose attitude is “I did my job, can I go now?”

I hear most complaints are from take-away customers, maybe they are not ordering the specialty on the menu.

TIP: order restaurant’s specialty dishes, not boring stir fried rice and spring rolls with honey chicken and sweet sour pork then expect to be “WOOWED”.

Old Kingdom is known for their “Peking Duck” (another term for Beijing, just old fancy English), oven spit roast duck specially blown out skin to give you that extra succulent crispy skin.

A whole duck would feed at least 2 adult, and its only $55… for 3 separate dishes (literally 3 course meal).

$55 deal includes:

1. Whole Peking duck + pancake + plum sauce + cucumber + spring onion root.
2. Duck soup with tofu
3. Stir fried duck with bean sprouts

this is Stir fried duck with bean sprouts - it was tasty =)

At the speed of the service and the price combined it’s like a Peking duck fast food joint without the derogatory sense. Well the place does look run down but it’s an icon in Collinwood.

the catering guy was cutting duck with awesome knife skills – my camera couldn’t even capture a good shot (may have had it on the wrong mood).

Above is my pictorial to how to eat Peking Duct.

1. The pancake is paper thin so I didn't get sick of it, it complimented well with everything else on the table
2. Cucumber and spring onion root, isn’t necessary but it gives it a refreshing and crunchy contrast
3. Succulent juicy, crispy skin, no fat duck meat, well cooked and marinated to perfection
4. Best Peking Plum Sauce ever 

Then Fold, Fold, Fold and Wrap

Extras that was order:

Sweet, hot sour soup - average didn't tickle my fancy

Fried rice was ordinary, nothing spectacular

the reason why we usually order extra stir fried veges/ fresh veges in general is because it goes hand in hand with most meat and helps us digest our food more quickly so we can eat more without getting sick of the same meaty taste in our mouth.

My final worlds: I dare say this is the best Peking duck in Melbourne and many restaurants in Beijing (I have eaten in one of the best Peking duck restaurant in Beijing and must admit for something in Australia to be so authentic its great!!!) A MUST EAT. I always go back to enjoy this goodness.

Can you recommend me a good Peking duck restaurant?

Enjoy the rest of your days… ladies and gents stay beautiful, healthy, wealthy and wise
xox take care :)

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with anything above, everything on my blog is my honest opinions, so I am not being paid or given free products to review or promote. My opinions are of personal experience and thoughts, so feel free to comment if you agree or disagree so I can also learn more from you.