Baked Berry Cheesecake

This baked berry cheesecake is delicous and very simple to make. If even I can do it, I'm sure all you expert cooks out there can do it with your eyes closed.

Biscuit Base

* 100 grams of milk biscuits
* 80 grams melted butter
* 50 grams dry roasted slivered almonds

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Then pack the mixture into a round baking tin about 25 centimetres in diameter. I modified the recipe to add almonds in the base since I found the crunch and flavour of the nuts really worked well. However you can add anything. I've tried coconut before and that tasted nice too. Here is what the biscuit base should roughly look like.



Cheesecake Filling

* 500 grams mascarpone cheese
* 120 grams sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 2 tablespoon of plain flour
* 100 grams berries, I used blueberries and strawberries

Beat the mascarpone cheese with the sugar until well mixed. Add one egg at a time and beat it in. Finally, fold in the flour and berries gently so as not to break all the berries.



Baked in a pre-heated fan forced 170 degrees Celcius oven for an hour.

The final product should look something like this. Let it cool and decorate with some icing sugar and fruits. I ran out of icing sugar so couldn't dust the top.

Home Made Spring Rolls

Spring rolls, the Asian type and not those huge things that come in a plastic packet and completely made of cabbage, are a delicous food item. They are easy and inexpensive to make, compared to when you order them at a restaurant and a dish of 6 tiny cost about $8.

To make the actual spring rolls, here are the ingredients that you need, althought you can omit or add anything you like:

*Spring roll sheets
*Pork mince
*Prawns
*Water chestnuts
*Onions
*Cabbage
*Carrot
*Salt

You basically mix everthing together in a bowl and then put a bit of meat onto a spring roll sheet and roll together. A dab of flour and water mixture helps hold the whole spring roll together. Fry them in oil and they're ready to eat.



To eat the spring rolls, either eat them with sweet chilli sauce, or have it as a whole meal with some salad and vermicelli. To eat with salad, just your typical supermarket lettuce mix will do. Some sliced cucumber and some spring onions mixed into some hot oil to help keep the vermicelli smooth.



You have to eat the whole thing with the famous Vietnamese fish sauce mixture, called nuoc nam.

To make nuoc nam you need:

*Good fish sauce, about $4-$5 a bottle
*Lemon juice
*Chopped garlic
*Chopped chilli
*Julienned carrots a
*Water

Mix all the ingredients together to your liking.



Then you just put a bit of everything into a bowl and there you have it, your own home made spring rolls with vermicelli, salad and nuoc nam. Delicious!

Lazar Charcoal Grill - Encore

After a great time at Lazar's the first town round, and hearing that they were closing forever this Saturday, I had to go back for one last time.

This time, the meal and service were again excellent. We got a different waiter this time, but he was equally funny in his own less excited way compared to the other waiter.

As for the steak, it was once again delicious. The sausages were so flavoursome as I remembered. And this time, I left some space in my stomach so that I could taste the strawberry pancakes properly. The pancakes were indeed scrumptious.

This time I remembered to photograph the food. Hopefully I can find another steakhouse that is just as good.


The sausages don't look that different but they are tasty without that usual smelly after taste from most sausages. The pork sausages was better in my opinion but the beef sausages were still very good too.


Complimentary salad consisting of potato salad, green salad and sauerkraut.


My scotch fillet steak medium.


The food was beautifully accompanied by a Penfolds Thomas Hyland Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 vintage. It was wonderfully smooth with slight hints of flavour.


The famous Lazar pancakes with plump sweet juicy strawberries and ice cream. The strawberries must be freshly picked from the farm because they are always sweet and don't just look good with no flavour like the supermarket ripened ones.

It's a shame that Lazar's will be closing forver as the great service and steaks would have seen me go back there many times. If you read this before Saturday November 4, go to Lazar's and try out the steak.

East Dynasty

East Dynasty is located in Eastland Shopping Centre in Ringwood. It is one of my favourite places for Yum Cha, but after last night's meal, I will only go there for Yum Cha in future.

East Dynasty's interior looks like that of many other Chinese restaurants. There is the usual red colour in most of the decorations and lots of Chinese artwork such as shell covered wooden panels and embroidered artwork. It wasn't that crowded unlike at Yum Cha so was less noisy than usual. Despite not being full, the service was still extremely slow with far too few wait staff. The meal took forever to arrive. This has happened twice now when I have gone for dinner so I don't think it was a matter of a chef being sick. At least last time the food was good so it was worth going back. This time, it about 20 minutes to get entrees and a further half hour for mains. With the mains, one dish came out about 20 minutes before all the others, and we asked for rice a few times but it never arrived while the food was getting cold.

The only good dish of the night was the soft shelled crab entree. The crabs were coated in a light batter and fried and then cooked in the Chinese style of chilli and salt. The crabs tasted very nice and it was a weird sensation eating the whole crab without having to peel anything.



The mains were all very average Chinese dishes. There was sweet and sour pork which was alright since the pork wasn't the cheapest cuts that stink. However, good sweet and sour pork should be done with ribs and a light batter with an equally light sauce. The sauce shouldn't be too thick and sticky.



The dish of fried chicken ribs and fried battered milk was disappointing. I've had much better fried chicken ribs at Hoa Tran, and it costs a third of the price there. The fried battered milk was way too sweet and the batter much too thick.



The peppercorn beef in a sizzling hot plate was not really sizzling. The beef had been soaked in so much bi carb powder that it had lost all flavour and was just a soft piece of something.



Overall, the whole night was extremely disappointing. The food took forever to arrive, service was almost non existent and the price was expensive too. Compared to their excellent Yum Cha, the dinner experience is definitely not worth trying again. The funniest thing that happened all night was when an old lady was leaving and just walking past my table. The head waitress walking behind the old Chinese lady told her in Chinese to "step out of the way, you're blocking the whole walkway". How rude. Is that the way you speak to an old person and also a paying customer.

Overall Rating: 9/20, Food and service equally disappointing. Price is also too expensive for quality of food. Go to East Dynasty for Yum Cha as that is excellent but don't bother going there for dinner.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20: Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.

Misuzu's

Misuzu's is located on Victoria Avenue in Albert Park. Upon arriving at the restaurant, you are greeted by a large tree with lanterns all over it. Once you step inside, the dark room with various paintings and red and black decor really strike you. Since we didn't book, we got escorted to a table upstairs, which lacked a lot of the atmosphere downstairs. It was still nicely decorated upstairs but didn't have that buzz.



For entrees, we got the sashimi and Japanese salad. The sashimi tasted fresh and the Japanese salad was interesting with its mix of cooked tuna, calamari, sweet potato, corn kernels, red onions and rocket.





For mains, I got the Teriyaki Beef with Soba. I found the soba a bit too soggy for my liking. The teriyaki beef tasted like that at most other Japanese places.



The initial plan was to head off to Cacao for dessert and chocolates. They advertise their opening hours as till 10pm on a Saturday, but they lie. It closes at 7pm everyday. So upon finding Cacao closed (must go there some other day though), we dropped off at Acland Street in St Kilda instead. We wend inside the Acland Cake Shop, with its old style cafe decorations and I ordered the Acland Special. The Acland Special was a mix between a fruit tart, vanilla slice and sponge cake. It tasted like a fruit slice and wasn't too special.





Overall Rating: 12/20, Misuzu's is a nicely decorated restaurant and has good service. The food was not too different to other Japanese restaurant and was similarly priced.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20: Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.

Tomatoes

The tomato plant was not grown in England until the 1590s, according to Smith. One of the earliest cultivators was John Gerard, a barber-surgeon. Gerard's Herbal, published in 1597 and largely plagiarized from continental sources, is also one of the earliest discussions of the tomato in England. Gerard knew that the tomato was eaten in both Spain and Italy. Nonetheless, he believed that it was poisonous (tomato leaves and stems contain poisonous glycoalkaloids, but the fruit is safe). Gerard's views were influential, and the tomato was considered unfit for eating (though not necessarily poisonous) for many years in Britain and its North American colonies. By the mid-1700s, however, tomatoes were widely eaten in Britain; and before the end of that century, the Encyclopædia Britannica stated that the tomato was "in daily use" in soups, broths, and as a garnish. Tomatoes were originally known as "Love Apples", possibly based on a mistranslation of the Italian name pomo d'oro (golden apple) as pomo d'amore.

I like tomatoes.

Green Mangoes

I love eating green mangoes. They're actually not that cheap either, often more expensive than the ripe ones during mango season due to less demand for green mangoes so the price goes up since the sellers need to make more profit on them.

However, green mangoes are delicious when eating the right way. The way to eat them is to peel and cut them into little strips. Then you make a following sauce to taste for dipping the mangoes in:

Green Mangoe Dipping Sauce

*Good quality fish sauce
*Sugar
*Lots of chilli

Mix these three ingredients in a bowl to whatever taste you like. Remember to pound the chillis to really bring out the heat. I love it extra extra hot so that I'm sweating after I eat it. It's so addictive eating green mangoes with this sauce. The mix of sweet, sour, salty and hot is perfect.

I really recommend you give it a try before saying its digusting. This method of eating green mangoes is the norm in South East Asia and that many people can't be wrong.

The Power of Cinnamon

It is found that mixture of Honey and Cinnamon cures most of the diseases.

Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Ayurvedic as well as Yunani medicine have been using honey as a vital medicine for centuries. Scientists of today also accept honey as a Ram Ban (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases. Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients also.

A famous magazine named Weekly World News published in Canada dated 17 January, 1995 has given a list of diseases that can be cured by Honey and Cinnamon as researched by western scientists.

Arthritis
1) Take one part honey to two parts of Luke warm water and add a small teaspoon of cinnamon powder, make a paste and massage it on the aching part of the body slowly. It is noticed that the pain recedes within a minute or two. 2)Or arthritis patients may daily, morning and night take one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If drunk regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured.

In a recent research done at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week out of the 200 people so treated practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

Hair Loss
Those suffering from hair loss or baldness, may apply a paste of hot olive oil, one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder before bath and keep it for approximately for 15 minutes and then wash the hair. It was found very effective if kept for 5 minutes also.

Bladder Infections
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of Luke warm water and drink it. It destroys the germs of the bladder.

Toothache
Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be done 3 times a day daily till such time that the tooth has stopped aching.

Cholesterol
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, if given to a cholesterol patient, it reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10% within 2 hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken 3 times a day any chronic cholesterol is cured. As per the information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complains of cholesterol.

Colds
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon Luke warm honey with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder daily for 3 days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold and clear the sinuses.

Infertility
Yunani and Ayurvedic have been using honey for years in medicine to strengthen the semen of men. If impotent men regularly take two tablespoon of honey before sleeping, their problem will be solved.
In China, Japan and Far-East countries, women who do not conceive and to strengthen the uterus have been taking cinnamon powder for centuries.

Women who cannot conceive may take a pinch of cinnamon powder in half teaspoon of honey and apply it on the gums frequently throughout the day, so that it slowly mixes with the saliva and enters the body.

A couple in Maryland, America had no children for 14 years and had left hope of having a child of their own. When told about this process husband and wife started taking honey and cinnamon as stated above, the wife conceived after a few months and had twins at full term.

Upset Stomach
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root. Gas: - According to the studies done in India & Japan, it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

Heart Diseases
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread or chapatti instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat.

In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that due to the increasing age the arteries and veins which lose their flexibility and get clogged are revitalized.

Immune System
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

Indigestion
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food, relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

Influenza
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

Longevity
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly arrests the ravages of old age. Take 4 spoons of honey, 1spoon of cinnamon powder and 3 cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, 3 to 4 times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life span also increases and even if a person is 100 years old, starts performing the chores of a 20 year old.

Pimples
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

Skin Infections
Eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections are cured by applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts.

Weight Loss
Daily in the morning, 1/2 hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup water. If taken regularly it reduces the weight of even the most obese person.

Also drinking of this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

Cancer
Recent research in Japan and Australia has reveled that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month 3 times a day.

Fatigue
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful than detrimental to the body strength. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon power in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton who has done research says that half tablespoon honey taken in one glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3.00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts decreasing, increases the vitality of the body within a week.

Bad Breath
People of South America, first thing in the morning gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water. So their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

Hearing Loss
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder taken in equal parts restores hearing.

Sent by Dr. Quek Hwee Choo via email

Amusing Conversations at KFC

I remember once upon a time when I was young that KFC used to be known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. A friend told me they had to drop that name because there wasn't enough chicken content in their food to be called "Chicken". I don't know if this is true but would almost agree with it sometimes.

So I went and bought some KFC for dinner tonight. Sometimes fast food is just the easiest thing to eat when there is nothing else to eat. I know that its extremely bad for me and I react to it immediately. After eating it, I will get pimples within the next few hours. However, I do like eating it every once in a while.

Here is what I had tonight. Notice anything? A total lack of colour besides brown. Everything is fried in heaps of animal fat. Those skewer things on the left are the new "Short Time Only" Hot Rods. I got fooled by their marketing and got some. What do they taste like you ask? They taste just like their "Hot and Spicy" chicken they had only recently, just moulded into a different shape and stuck on a skewer.



While I was buying the KFC, two hilarious incidents happen. Firstly, a lady next to me asked for "A chicken burger without the chicken". Huh? Why didn't she just go to a sandwich shop? She wanted the buns with just mayo, lettuce and tomatoe but no chicken. Then the poor pre pubescent guy behind the counter goes "I'll check if we can do that". Of course you can do that, just pull the chicken out of one of your burgers. Then he comes back and says "Yes we can do that". He then turns around to the girl at the next register and says "How do I punch that into the machine?" I guess they don't exactly train for situations like this, or even how to think slightly outside the square. The girl told him that he could "Punch it in as a Twister with just Lettuce and Tomatoe." I guess since the Twister is supposed to be their slightly healthier option, sometimes people might want more salad in it rather than meat.

The second incident was a man who had brought back half a bag of bread buns. He said that they were still frozen and asked for his money back. The KFC manager gave him back $1.20. He said that he wanted all his money back even though two buns were missing. She said that since he only brought back four, she can only give him back the money for that. Also she said "I'm already giving you a discount, you got that as part of a meal and we didn't even charge you the full price for it." THis was totally hilarious to me. Here she was bargaining with him over how much money he should get back. In the end, he accepted the $1.20 and walked off. For me personally, I couldn't be bothered driving back for $1.20 but would make a point to check that the buns were not frozen the next time.

See how much fun you can have at KFC while you wait for you pimple inducing artery clogging cruelly raised chicken fried in heaps of fat. I think I might try the chicken burger without the chicken next time and see how that tastes hahahaha.

Hoa Tran

Hoa Tran Chinese Vietnamese restaurant is my favourite cheap eats restaurant. They serve very good food at insanely cheap prices. It only takes about 5-10 minutes for them to serve your drink and food. I've been so many times and they have yet to get my order wrong. If you want a quick good cheap meal, this is the place to go. It's always packed in the restaurant despite being in a very competitve market in Springvale where there are heaps of other similar restaurants. It's the quality of their food and service that separates them from the pack. They were recently reviewed in The Age Newspaper and the reviewer gave a very glowing review.

I went there to lunch today with 12 other work mates. Since it was so packed on the table, Tin and I decided to sit on another table, hence I have only taken photos of what we ate. There are so many dishes that I love at Hoa Tran. Just to name a few, I like the following: Grilled Beef Skewers with Vermicelli, Malaysian Style Beef with Fried Rice Noodles, Starch Noodles with Seafood, Lemongrass and Chilli Chicken, Salt and Chilli Chicken, Vietnamses Style Broken Rice, Seafood Fried Rice Noodle etc etc. I also like what I ate today and what Tin had as well.

I got a free soup since I ordered a rice dish. The soup is usually a chicken based soup with vegetables and various other ingredients which change from day to day.



Most soup based dishes are also accompanied with salad that you can put into it. The little bowl contains the Vietnamese Fish Sauce mixed with chilli, lemon juice, sugar, water and some carrot pieces.



I chose the Flame Grilled Chicken with Steamed Rice. This dish only costs $7 and you get the free soup as well. The chicken has a nice charred flavour and is still nice and tender.



Tin ordered the Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Spicy Soup with Vermicelli) is also only $7. This is a great dish as well, with strong flavours in the soup. I really like the cooked beef pieces and the pork leg. I usually get it without the pig's blood though since I just don't like the flavour of blood rather than being disgusted by it.



For drinks, Tin and I both got the Avocado Milkshake. It's so creamy and delicious. Usually I will get this shake or the Durian shake, the Jack Fruit shake or a Strawberry Shake. They're all made from real fruit and they don't put too much ice so that it's all watery.



Overall Rating: 14/20, The service is very efficient and the food is very nice and exceptional value for money. It has a very noisy raucous atmosphere and is great for general dining. If you want a quiet setting, do not go here.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20: Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.