サンドイッチでピクニック

月曜がLabour Dayなんで今日から３連休！明日から３月、早いなあ(>_<)日本ではもう春の兆しが見え始めてる時期で、ひな祭りの歌とかあちこちで流れてそう。こっちはこれからだんだんと秋に突入して、雨の季節である冬が始るよ。…って、まだ暫くは暑い日があるかもしれないケド。

３連休で良い天気なんで、ピクニックにでも行こうとサンドイッチを作り始めました。でも冷蔵庫にはあまり材料がナイ…☆今は車が無いから買い出しし行けないし、（まあサンドイッチの材料買うだけに車運転するのも面倒だけど）だから唯一あった卵を使ってカリーエッグサンドイッチを作りました♪

カリーエッグサンドイッチ(curried egg sandwich) って日本で見た事無かったけど、コッチじゃ普通に家庭で食べられてる一般的なサンドイッチ。何もスペシャルなモノじゃ無いんだけど、前に働いてたホテルのルームサービスでこのサンドイッチのオーダーもらって、私はこのサンドイッチの存在を初めて知りました（汗）実は最初はあんまり美味しそうじゃなかったこのサンドイッチ☆でも今では時々家で作って食べてます。

作り方は簡単！作り方載せるほどじゃないかもしれないケド一応☆☆☆潰したゆで卵にカレー粉とマヨネーズを混ぜて塩こしょうするだけ。レタスも一緒にサンドしてちょびっとだけでも野菜を摂取してマス。

あ、ゆで卵をスクランブルエッグに変えるのもオススメ♪卵にミルクかクリームを混ぜてスクランブルエッグを作る時、 well done になるまで火を通さずにちょっと半熟状態でストップ。しっとり仕上がるんでパンに挟んでもポロポロ落ちずに食べ易いです。カレー粉の他にマスタードとかアボカド、マヨやチャツネ etc をサンドしてもgood☆卵大好きな私はコレだけで充分なランチです(^^)v

Tra Vinh Vietnamese

I love Vietnamese food.  Well, I love any cuisine, but the Vietnamese food uses lots of herbs and vegetables, and they are not as oily as Chinese food.  I don’t get to eat Vietnamese food often in Japan, so I go out for Vietnamese quite often here in Perth.

There are few Vietnamese restaurants around Perth.  Viet Hoa is on the main street in Northbridge so many people should know this place.  (Even Japanese holiday makers know this restaurant)  But I haven’t been there for a while, actually.  I usually go to Tra Vinh (or Vinh Hong).

At Tra Vinh, the food is nice and the price is reasonable.  I, however, don’t really like the atmosphere of the place.  It’s just like a space with few tables and chairs.  I guess this style is normal in other Asian countries?  People just go there and eat, and leave…  I don’t think this place is suitable for a date, but I still come here with my fiance to enjoy the food        

The dish I always order is fresh spring rolls.  I love their sauce.  Yum!

Pork chop rice is my favorite too, but I ordered combination rice noodle soup.  I actually prefer hofan noodle (white, flat rice noodle), but this dish came with transparent rice noodle.  There seems to be many kinds of rice noodle in Asia, and I love them. 

Some Vietnamese noodle come with fresh bean shoots, coriander, cut chili and lemon wedges.  I just love eating the bean shoots with chili sauce!  The chili sauce is on each table in the restaurant, and it taste so good.  It kinda taste like miso paste, little sweet.  I keep dipping fresh bean shoots into the chili sauce and munch it :p  Can’t stop…

Theme Restaurants in Japan

This Ninja themed restaurant is located in Tokyo, and their menu looks so interesting, such as: Shuriken star-blades grissini, Turban shell bombs a la escargot, Ninja-style grilled lobster with black bean sauce etc…  Umm sounds delicious! (and expensive)  I would love to go to this restaurant.  

“Ninja” thing is not only their menu, of course.  The entire restaurant is designed in the image of a Ninja house, and waiters are dressed up like Ninjas too!  I’m curious.. how it feels like to be served by Ninjas?? :p 

There are many theme restaurants in Japan, like “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, “Cinderella”, “Prison”, “Hospital” etc.  

I’ve been to this “monster house” themed restaurant in Osaka before, and it was a frightening experience (seriously!).  First, the place seemed to be a normal restaurant except for their menu (cocktails in test tubes, weird naming for food such as “human experiment carpaccio”…)  I was about halfway through the meal, then alarm started ringing.  According to the restaurant staff, a “monster” from their basement escaped and was heading to this restaurant.  I hate scary things, I can’t even go to a haunted house in a small amusement park.  I was so scared but the “monster” (actor) came to me and tried to kidnap me.  I was seriously screaming!

I wouldn’t go back to the “monster” restaurant, but would love to try other fancy restaurants

Wondering around East Perth

This is one of my favorite walking spots in Perth  Peaceful environment, beautiful waterfront houses and cafes, the view of Perth city… it was a perfect day to walk around this area.  Watching people in the cafes drinking wines/coffees made me relaxed even more.  Lovely Sunday afternoon…

After a while of walking my fiance and I took a break at Antico Caffe.  Friendly wait staff served us just perfect coffees.  We had such a relaxing time there.  

And a slice of strawberry cheese cake.

Figs – Caramelized and Compotes

My friends gave me a basketful of figs from his garden.  I love figs, they are sweet and nutritious!  Fresh figs should be eaten asap as it drops its nutrition and flavor quickly, so I cooked them up in few different ways to enjoy the best of them.

I caramelized figs with a dash of marmalade jam, and served with cottage cheese + whipped cream and drizzle of honey.  It was a great night time snack.

<Caramelized Figs>

• 1~2 fresh figs
• 1/4 tsp marmalade jam
• 1 tsp cottage cheese
• 1 tsp fresh whipped cream
• honey, cinnamon

1. Halve figs.  Spread marmalade on the fruit.
2. Heat up a frying pan over medium heat, and place the figs face down (the fruit side).  Grill them for about 1~2 mins, or until it’s golden colored.  Do not try to move it around while grilling as it will break the fruit.
3. Mix cottage cheese and cream.  Serve grilled figs on a plate, top with the cheese cream.  Drizzle honey and sprinkle cinnamon if you like.

I left few figs for breakfast tomorrow, and used up the rest to make this fig compote.  This is a great way to preserve fruits