Hi I'm a Food Blogger! And Oh I'm Asian Too!

I love the Internet. I love food blogging. I love food bloggers. Where else can I talk about something one night and find out that 1000km away, the same thoughts are being permeated in the minds of others. I was reading Chocolate Suze' post about how she is a food blogger and how she is Asian. Go read the post for the full details. Then come back and continue with this post.

Reading that post made me smile, because the previous night at The Langham Christmas In July Pudding Class, a group of us food bloggers were invited and had the exact same conversation.

So let me set the scene. The Langham was holding their annual Christmas in July pudding class. Food industry personnel and a handful of food bloggers were invited to the event. When we all got there, we were lead into a nice room where we stood around, drank champagne, ate canapes and chatted. When the canapes arrived, we all whipped out our DSLRs and started snapping. This prompted one of the non food bloggers to comment what big cameras we all had. Michele then said that she came even more prepared, and had on her wonderful food blogger t-shirt. Obviously, I loved the t-shirt as I'm a food geek too, and said I'd wish I wore my Yoda Says "Blogging This, I Am" t-shirt.

We all laughed and joked about what massive food fans we were. Then I looked around the room, and asked Michele, "How come there are so many Asian food bloggers?". Besides Michele, who is "of Asian descendance" as they would describe on TV, there was also Sarah, Agnes, Joyce and Penny, all of who are also of "Asian descendance".

Michele and Joyce thought that it was probably because Asians love to eat, more so than many other cultures. Then I asked why are there also more woman food bloggers. Agnes and Michele said that it's probably because woman like to share their stories more than men. Both these statements I would agree with. We all laughed at that and left it there.

Things got much funnier later on in the night though. As we were all in one group, we tended to stick together a bit and chatted, as we didn't really know many of the industry people. Finally, when the class was over, we just happened to be standing next to the editor of a major food publication in Melbourne. The editor turned to us all and asked "Are you all South East Asian food bloggers?". We all laughed, and Sarah politely replied, "I mainly blog about Melbourne." The editor then repeated her question, and again Sarah said "I've blogged about Vanuatu and Germany when on holidays, but I live in Melbourne so mainly write about Melbourne things". It was totally hilarious and I had to stop myself from laughing. Here was the editor of a major food publication having no idea about food blogging, its influence or the people who wrote them. Agnes and myself had to explain that we had full time jobs, were all very different from each other, and didn't make any money from our blogs. It is just a hobby that we love.

I then proceeded to asked the editor what their opinion on food bloggers was, and mentioned this article, which their publication may or maynot have written. (Is that how I should phrase it Joyce, to not incriminate myself? Joyce is a lawyer). The editor had never heard of the article and said that their publication would love to do an article about food bloggers. I think the fact that the editor knew very little means they have to do a lot of catch up with how the Internet operates nowadays and the distribution of information. The world is a-changin', and food blogging is just a small part of the democratisation of the control of information. I'm not saying that food blogging is better than traditional media, merely another outlet in which one can consume and further improve one's decision making.

So it brings me back to ChocolateSuze's post about how she is a food blogger and she is also Asian. Yes, I too carry a big camera around and snap photos of what I'm eating. But why should I be singled out as opposed to a Caucasian male? What differentiates us? I'm courteous and do not use flash in dark restaurants, I don't shove my camera in people's faces without asking and I never (ok hardly ever) post embarrasing photos of my friends on my blog. Haha.

The question of "we need variety" from ChocolateSuze's reader (who apparently is Asian so hence instantly is not racist) makes no sense. If all the bloggers in Australia were Caucasian, would there be a complaint that we need more variety? I thought the fact that Asians, as a whole population in Australia, are less represented in the community and over represented in the food blogging community is a good thing. Where else can you hear more from a minority sector? Surely, the views of Asians about food, and inevitably about other aspect of society, is a positive thing. And this request for variety, does it mean that because I'm Asian. I'm exactly the same as the next Asian? Huh? Am I not an individual with different points of views established from my upbringing, social influences and personal experiences? The fact that I grew up in Australia for nearly all my life means that my views also incorporate much of the Australian culture, meaning that I provide more variety than a Caucasian food blogger as I can see things from an Eastern and Western point of view.

Finally, as with the freedom that is afforded us in Australia, if you don't like reading someone's blog, don't visit it. You have that right, as is my right to write a food blog, despite being Asian.

Old Town Kopitiam Mamak at QV

Level 2, Shop 11, QV Square
210 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9654 2682
Email: contact@oldtownkopitiam.com.au
Website: Old Town Kopitiam Mamak

Old Town Kopitiam Mamak is a Malaysian hawker style cafe in the QV square. The cafe actually sells mamak style food, which I love.

The menu is very varied and has rice dishes, noodle dishes, roti and satays. A Mee Rebus comes with beautiful prawns sitting alongside a boiled egg, fish cakes, tofu, greens on top of noodles in a thick sauce.


The Maggie Goreng was a glorious dish with stir fried prawns and fish cakes amongst thin egg noodles. Fresh cucumber and fried shallots add not only garnish but some crunch and flavour. The Mee Goreng was very similar to the Maggie Goreng, but with different noodles and a more liquid sauce. I preferred the Maggie Goreng with it's drier noodles. Both dishes had some nice kick with a good amount of chilli.


Roti is served in various styles, with the Roti Telur Bawang (egg and onions) being a bit too sweet actually. Even dipping into the curry sauce didn't mask the sweetness enough. The Roti Canai with Curry Chicken was much nicer, although the chicken pieces were really small and I could have eaten twice as much. The sambal is hot hot hot and brilliant if you can handle it or used sparingly if you can't. Rice dishes can be ordered with a variety of different pairing options. A Jasmine Rice with Curry Chicken and Sambal Egg makes for a good pairing, although again the serving of chicken is quite small. All the food can be washed down with a hot or cold teh tarik, which is served in an attractive teacup for the hot version or a big robust and interesting square cup for the cold version.



The cafe is very big and can handle large crowds. The area is nice and bright and service is efficient. The room has a nice buzz in terms of noise levels without being so loud that you can't hear your dining companions. The large tables help separate you from other diners, but also are just a bit too big that you feel slightly separated from your friends. However, it's a small quibble as I'd rather have a larger table than a tiny one where you can't fit everything onto it. I would recommend this restaurant for a quick casual meal with friends.

Don Don Ramen at Don Too

340 Little Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: 03) 9670 7113

I've never been to Japan, but I love ramen. This love of ramen started when I read Dan's post about ramen. He had gone to Japan for a holiday and fell in love with the stuff. I, from just reading about his description of ramen, also fell in love with it. It's moment like those that I never underestimate the power of a food blog.

When Dan came back to Melbourne, he started to look for good ramen here. He tried and suggested many places and I followed in his trail. From those suggestions, I've found good ramen at Momotaro Rahmen, Ajisen Ramen and Ramen-Ya. Recently, Dan suggested Ramen at Don Too, so of course I had to go and try it out.

Don Too has only recently opened their stores at night, and all they serve is ramen (hooray). The menu says that the broth is made meticulously in a traditional way, gentling simmering ingredients like chicken, shellfish and seaweed for hours. The noodles are made fresh everyday and you even get a choice of how much noodle you want, 250g or 300g. I chose 250g and even that was too much for me.

I ordered the Kuon Ramen, which consisted of charshu pork, seaweed, golden egg and beanshoots. Ling had the Miso Ramen, which had miso paste in the broth but otherwise was essentially the same. They also do two seafood ramens, one with pippis in a seafood broth (which I can't wait to try next time) and one with prawns, calamari and seafood in a tomato broth. Lastly, a fusion Laksa ramen also adorns the menu. Side dishes of either salmon sashimi, gyoza or salad finish off the whole menu.

The Kuon and Miso ramen broths actually tasted quite different. Both were good, but I think I preferred the Kuon one just a tad more. The pork wasn't as fatty as you usually get in other ramens, but it was still beautifully soft and flavoursome. I like the larger amount of seaweed I got and not too much beanshoots. Those ratios were just right I found, where as Momotaro Rahmen, it was the inverse. And lastly, how can you fault that egg. It was like a salted egg that hadn't been fully salted and then boiled perfectly. The noodles were a great bouncy texture and did not stick together at all. A final mention about the hot chilli ball they give you really has a brilliant hot kick as I like it and the gyozas were tasty too.



The restaurant is fairly small and cosy. The chairs and tables are a variety of heights and shapes and spread out quite randomly throughout the restaurant. It's good for small groups as there aren't too many larger tables to accomodate a large group. During that night, it was only about one quarter full so the noise levels were quite low and felt a bit sparse. I guess as more people find out about the place, it will fill up and have a good vibe. All in all, the restaurant serves a great ramen in a nice environment that I would go back for.

Duck Duck Goose Launch

31-37 Artemis Lane
QV Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9005 0888
Email: bookings@au-ddg.com
Website: Duck Duck Goose


Duck Duck Goose is the highly anticipated new restaurant that has opened in the Melbourne QV complex. The Kam Food group (owners of numerous large scale dining establishments in Sydney), have opened up a similarly large scale dining establishment in Melbourne, with Duck Duck Goose seating 200 people.

The name Duck Duck Goose aptly describes the new restaurant, as the duck represents the Chinese influence, whilst the goose represents the French influence. The restaurant is billed as a unique blend of Chinese/French cuisine, encompassing a fast style Chinese Yum Cha on one side, with a fine dining French restaurant on the other side.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the launch event, and it was a large scale party. The guests easily numbered into the hundreds and filled out the beautifully BURO designed building. You are wow-ed at the entrance via the grand arches before being led into the sophisticated bar area. Patrons can have a drink at the large open bar or sit at the sumptuous lounges whilst waiting for their friends to arrive. Once you move from the bar area into the fine dining area, you are greeted by a tranquil pool of water in the centre of the room, surrounded by tables. Moving past that area, you go through the "birdcages" adjacent to a state of the art kitchen that has independant air extraction systems. Lastly, going past the kitchen brings you into the clean open spaced area with lots of round yum cha tables.





The head consultant chef running this whole show is Harunobu Inukai, head chef at Blanc Haru. Chef Inukai, along with Chef de Partie Yoshitaka Kojima and Dim Sum Chef Takaaki Harada head a large team working in the kitchen to serve food to a large number of guests both on that launch night and during normal service.



A large and varied array of guests were invited to the launch, with some familar faces that I knew, and some that I knew of from the world of media, gastronomy and sport. I spotted some fellow food bloggers in Ed and Sarah talking to Fiona Brook from Harvey Publicity. I also noticed some footballers in Wil Minson from the Bulldogs and Brendon Goddard (second from left in below right photo) amongst the crowd.


There was lots of glamour at the event too, exemplified by the very beautiful Samantha Lane from Before the Game and model Chelsea Butler.


The world of food was also well represented, and I spotted the wonderful Elizabeth Chong, who I used to love watching on Good Morning Australia. I also spotted one of the chefs of the moment, the enthusiastic Paul Wilson from Middle Park Hotel, flanked by Ling and Sarah. Both Elizabeth and Paul were very generous with their time and answered my questions about their current projects.


Whilst the champagne and wines flowed freely, an assortment of food was brought out in the form of canapes. The food definitely was an ecletic mix of Eastern and Western influences. The BBQ Pork Skewers below was a big winner for me, as I loved the soft pork with a hint of sweetness. I also especially loved the Crab Balls, which I would say was the best dish of night. A host of other dishes were presented throughout the night, with examples being Risotto, Roast Beef with Avocado, Mashed Potato, Potato Wrapped in Ham, Siu Mai, Watermelon Wrapped in Prosciutto, Beef Balls, Pickled Vegetables and a dessert of Ice Cream in Cucumber.





At the time of writing, the exact menu of the restaurant was still unknown, but I assume it would follow along the lines of the dishes presented at the launch, a mixture of Eastern and Western dishes depending on which section of the dining area you are in. The industrial design and furnishings of the restaurant make for a beautiful location right in the heart of the city in which to dine at. I'm sure you'll never be short of something to eat at Duck Duck Goose.

Thanks to Eugiena Pratley, Clemence Harvey from Harvey Publicity and Duck Duck Goose for inviting me to the launch party.

Moortangi Estate Wine Tasting Event

Postal Address:
Level 7, 224 Queen Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9600 9401
Email: info@moortangiestate.com.au
Website: Moortangi Estate


I think one of the most cliche, but yet accurate phrases, uttered by people about wine is "I don't know much about wine, but I do like drinking it". The image most associated with wine is that of rich older people drinking it in their fine dining restaurants. However, this isn't entirely true as wine is enjoyed by people of all ages. I think it's just that with anything in life, the more you learn about it, the more you know. So obviously, if you've been drinking wine for a longer time, you'll inevitably know some more about the complex nature of wine.

The aspect of wine that scares most people, myself included, is that there are so many varieties, which all vary in their taste, what foods they match best with, how long you can store them and of course, the price range. Tasting notes are a good tool, but sometimes you almost feel like they're made up by people in the industry to keep you confused so that you will overpay for a wine. Hence, it was with great delight that I was invited to a bloggers wine tasting event by Moortangi Estate.

Moortangi Estate is a small family run business, headed up by Nina Schultz as Director and Sandra Kärcher as Marketing Co-ordinator. The winery is a small vineyard in the Yarra Valley, with it's first vintage being released recently. Due to the vineyards being affected by the terrible bushfire, their first two wines released are actually sourced from Heathcote. The released wines are the 2005 Cambrian Shiraz and the 2005 Heathcote Old Vine Shiraz.

The wine tasting night consisted of tasting both wines and pairing them with cheese. Wine and cheese are definitely always a good combination so I was looking forward to trying to pick up the various flavours, as that's what I always have trouble doing.

Cheese from bottom: Roy de Vallees, Pieffe Reggiano, Quickes Farmhouse Cheddar, Carles Roquefort

We started with the Cambrian Shiraz, which had tasting notes that showed a bouquet of ripe plums and black cherry, with cardamon and vanilla. The palate was to contain the cherries, plum, cloves and cardamon. So we all swirled our wines and had a good smell to try and catch the flavours. Sarah has a good photo of everyone sniffing like hound dogs into the wine glass. For myself, I couldn't pick out too many flavours, but definitely noted that it was a much sweeter Shiraz than I normally have. It had a nice softness to it, without being bland. For me, I thought this wine paired best with all the cheeses, especially the Roy de Vallees. The cheese really did bring out more flavours from the wine, which I had trouble picking, but could taste on my tongue.


We next tried the Heathcote Old Vine Shiraz, which was a much bolder wine and quite tannic when I swirled it in my mouth for a while. For me, the flavours that I kept getting from the wine made me think of Chinese Five Spice Duck. I'm not sure this is correct, but I don't profess to knowing much about wine. The tasting notes said this wine should have a bouquet of red berries and spicy, earthy undertones, giving way to liquorice and white pepper. The palate should consist of red berries and plum, again with earthy flavours and hints of mint and violets. There is the influence of the oak barrels and also a hint of spice. So maybe I wasn't entirely off, as I'm probably picking up the spice. This wine tended to overpower the cheeses, and should probably be drunk with a nice red meat, or maybe even a Chinese Five Spice Duck.


By the end of the night, we were all probably a bit tipsier, but having learnt a bit more about wine. I shall try to pick out more flavours in my future wine drinking by using the very helpful taste chart provided. We were also treated to a nice surprise when Sandra made some red wine cupcakes. Finally, we were all given a nice bottle of the Cambrian Shiraz to take home and sample. Both wines are definitely worth checking out at the following restaurants around Melbourne: Attica, Ezard, Cutler & Co, The Stokehouse, Asiana, Comme, Lamaro’s, The Chambers, Sapore, and The George Melbourne Wine Room.

It was great to catch up with some fellow food bloggers who I knew, and some new ones who I now know.
Sarah Cooks
Syrup and Tang
Off The Spork
My Food Trail
Jeroxie (Addictive & Consuming)
Half-Eaten
Tummy Rumbles
My Kitchen and Gym Diary

Thanks to Nina Shcultz and Sandra Kärcher from Moortangi Estate for inviting me to an enjoyable wine tasting night.

Middle Park Hotel Breakfast Launch With Paul Wilson

102 Canterbury Road
Middle Park VIC 3206
Ph: (03) 9690 1958
Email: info@middleparkhotel.com.au

Chef extraordinaire Paul Wilson, of Radii and Botanical fame, has recently turned his attention to The Middle Park Hotel. The pub had a launch event for its breakfast menu, and I was lucky enough to be invited. The aim of the new breakfast menu is to bring back the classic indulgent breakfast, and the canapes of the breakfast items definitely proved this to be true.

Chef Paul Wilson is a tower of a man, but it was amazing to see the skill and dexterity he had in plating up some stunning breakfast items. The kitchen staff were working harmoniously together to pump out canape after canape of exact size, texture and taste. Consistency is not something the hotel struggles with from what I was able to sample. And you can trust me on this, as I made sure I sampled at least two (and maybe sometimes three) of every item for quality assurance purposes.


The pub is quite large, fitted out beautifully with lush carpet, a rich wooden bar and lots of beautiful stainless steel. The bottles of alcohol were backlit by the sunlight streaming in through the windows and made for a sparkling display.


When you mention breakfast, instantly you would think of eggs right, because what would breakfast be without eggs? The hotel does eggs in abundance. Below you can see the Scramble Eggs with Herbs, served stylishly in the shells and on those cute little plates. The eggs were perfectly scrambled so they still maintained a slight runny-ness and were not all curdled, the worse thing that can happen to scrambled eggs.


Another way to have you egg is in a Smoked Salmon, Salmon Caviar and Hollandaise Egg. Basically, a runny egg coated the smoke salmon and was finished off with salmon caviar and hollandaise. The Rare Breed Pork Sausage were so full of flavour, and served with the old HP Tomato sauce.


Yet more eggs featured in an Omelette with Smoked Haddock, Leeks and Gruyere Sauce. I ate three of these and they were so good that I forgot to photograph a single one of them. Another case of the mouth being faster than the camera finger. I have to brush up on my karate kid skills and train my shutter finger to take the photos faster. However, I did remember to photograph my favourite dish of the morning. It was simply called Egg and Ham on Toast, but what a delight it was. The tiny egg had a dollop of tomato sauce in middle, sitting on two pieces of crisp buttered toast sandwiching some prosciutto with what tasted like a pate. The whole flavour and texture combination was sensational.


If a hot breakfast is not your thing, you can try the Porridge with Fruit (photo above right). The porridge contained pears, and I also tasted nuts at the bottom of the porridge. There is also the Fruit Salad with Yoghurt and Passionfruit (bottom left) and Lemon Cake (below right) if you want some really sweet foods. The fruit was refreshing whilst the cake is purely indulgent as the lemon sugar syrup was rich and sweet.


The breakfast menu definitely looks to be a winner, with the dishes all being rich and indulgent, matching the Middle Park Hotel motto of "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper." I would definitely recommend going there for a sit down indulgent breakfast, savouring your coffee and reading your newspaper.

Thanks to Jenny Brookes from Harvey Publicity and Paul Wilson from Middle Park Hotel for inviting me to the launch party.