Meet at Our Table

Posted January 19th, 2015 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

Our Table

I had a playdate with my girl friend and her baby last weekend.  It had been awhile to be alone with my baby since my eldest son stopped going to daycare, so it was a nice day out to be with and focus my attention to a 7 months old.  My friend picked this place “Our Table” in Bedford to be our lunch place.  I had never been to nor heard this place before, but googling gave me some positive impressions.

When I arrived to the address, all I could see was big road and just a few shops on the side.  I checked the address couple of times to make sure I was in the right place.  Am I going to have lunch here??  I wondered as I headed to the shop with a sign board “Our Table”.

Our-Table

As soon as I stepped inside the place, I was blown away.  …. I LOVE the decor!  Beautiful floor, chairs & tables, lightings, wall clock, display shelves….  everything is to my taste.   I did not expect this from outside the building!!

 Our-Table-decor

Our-Table3

Our-Table2

Beautiful.

There was a playpen next to our table, so I put my son inside there after he woke up.

pasta

 

The owner chef is Italian, and the menu had a good variety of food.  I ordered Prawn & Calamari Linguini and latte, and my friend ordered Chicken & Mushroom Penne and iced coffee.  The food was nice, and the staff were really friendly.

 

creme brulee

After meal, we had creme brûlée to share.  Oh boy, it was great.  I thought the sugar coating was little bit too much caramelized (tasted bit bitter itself) but it actually matched with the sweetness of the pudding.

With their atmosphere, interior decor and friendliness of the staff, I will definitely come back here again!

Our Table
180a Grand Promenade Bedford, WA 6052
08 6162 6620
Open 7 days, 8:00am-9:30pm
menu
website  (still under construction)

 


Nikomi Hamburg Steak

Posted January 15th, 2015 in Food | No Comments »

hamburg3

One of my son’s book shows typical Japanese food for kids such as curry & rice, omu-rice and spaghetti Napolitan, and it made me want to eat hamburg steak tonight!  Hamburg is one of typical kids meal in Japan.  Most family restaurants in Japan have hamburg steaks on their menu, and there are restaurants specialising hamburg steak (e.g. Bikkuri Donki) too.  There are few different types of hamburg steak, like melted cheese hamburg steak, curry hamburg steak, wafu (Japanese style) hamburg steak, etc.  Yummo!

hamburg5

I decided to make nikomi hamburg steak with fried egg.  Nikomi means “stew” or “simmered”, but the cooking method is more like “braised”.  The hamburg steak is first seared, then cooked in the sauce.

hamburg6

Hamburg steak covered in thick shiny sauce… I recommend to serve this with steamed rice but it also goes well with your choice of bread. 🙂

Here is the recipe:

hamburg2

 

serves 4

  • Pork mince .. 360g
  • Onion .. 1
  • Egg .. 1
  • Breadcrumb .. 1/4 cup
  • Milk .. 1/4 cup
  • Tomato sauce … 4 tablespoons
  • Sugar … 4 tablespoons
  • Soy Sauce … 1 tablespoon
  • Vegetable stock cube*  .. 2
  • Water .. 500ml
  • Cornflour .. 3 teaspoons + Water 2 tablespoons

* I use MASSEL salt reduced Bouillon stock cubes

 

  1. Chop up onion finely.  Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, and sauté the onion until it becomes transparent.  Transfer the onion to a plate or tray to cool.
  2. Mix breadcrumbs and milk.  Set aside.
  3. In a bowl, mix mince, onion, breadcrumbs+milk, egg, salt and pepper very well until the mixture becomes sticky.
  4. Divide the mixture into 4.  Shape them into flat ovals.
  5. Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a deep pan (wide enough to place all 4 patties), and sear the patties both side.  Absorb any extra oil with kitchen paper if required.
  6. Add water, sugar, and stock cubes.  Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to medium to simmer.
  7. Add tomato sauce and soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  8. Mix cornflour + water.  Turn up the heat, and pour the conrflour mixture into the sauce. Stir lightly, then simmer for another 2 minutes.

 

Fried eggs, baked potatoes and vegetables are optional.  Serve with steamed rice or your choice of bread.

 

 

 

 


Hayao Miyazaki Family Movies

Posted January 3rd, 2015 in Ume's Interests | No Comments »

Ghibli

 

There was a series of Studio Ghibli movies on SBS2 for 5 nights (apparently tonight was the last one!! sigh) – My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo.  On their website, it shows that the current top movie people have voted as their favorite is Howl’s Moving Castle (32%) followed by Spirited Away (31%), My Neighbour Totoro (22%) and Ponyo & Kiki’s Delivery Service (both 6%).

ponyo

As you know there are many other Ghibli movies including Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, The Cat Returns etc.  What’s your favourite? I’m surprised that Howl’s Moving Castle was voted more than Ponyo and Kiki’s Delivery Service.  It’s, of course, people’s choice, but to me Kiki’s Delivery Service is one of my favourite.  I love My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke (I went to a cinema to watch that!), and Grave of Fireflies.  My son loves My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away.  I thought Spirited Away is far more difficult for a 3-year-old to understand, but he seems to enjoy the whole story.

Apparently, the top Ghibli movie (which made most profit) is…
Spirited Away!
Followed by…
Howl’s Moving Castle
Princes Mononoke
Ponyo
The Wind Rises
The Secret World of Arrietty (I don’t know this)
Tales from Earthsea
The Cat Returns
Porco Rosso
Pom Poko
From Up on Poppy Hill (I don’t know this)
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Only Yesterday
Whisper of the Heart
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (I don’t know this)
My Neighbours the Yamada
Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind
My Neighbour Totoro
Castle in the Sky
(ref: matome.naver.jp)

Have you watched all of them???

I left Japan in 2003, so most of the movie after that year are not familiar with me.  (Hawl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, The Wind Rises etc)  This ranking is based on the profit.  The newer ones seem to be in the top ranking (because people know Ghibli brand well) .  I’m sure Totoro, Nausicca and Laputa (Castle in the Sky) are some people’s top list!

I missed some Ghibli movies on SBS2…  I would love SBS (or any other channel) to show more Ghibli movies sometime!!


Hello 2015

Posted January 1st, 2015 in Ume's Thought | No Comments »

playdoh-kagami-mochi

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR~~~~!!!!

As always, it didn’t feel like New Year’s Eve yesterday to me as my “New Year” always (used to) involves snow and Japanese New Year’s songs playing across the city.  I wanted to do something “New Year” so I made kagami-mochi (a traditional Japanese New Year decoration) using my son’s Playdoh.  …. it’s too small! And it doesn’t look as nice!!  So my son helped me making real mochi instead.

mochi

 

We have a toy mochi maker we bought from Japan couple years ago.  The machine is kept at the very back of kitchen cabinet and we haven’t used it for a long long time.  Yeah I think it’s about time for this toy to be out of the cabinet.

We made white mochi and green mochi.  My son helped me shaping mochi into balls and coating in kinako (soybean powder).  Very sticky!!

kagami-michi

We didn’t forget to make kagami-mochi to put near the entrance door.  It looks flat, but as long as they are real mochi (and hand-made!)

shogatsu

 

Made some food to munch on New Year’s Day.

* * * * *

Today, New Year’s Day was a fine day in Perth.  Not too hot, not too cold.  I was going to just relax by eating  mochi today, but ended up going shopping.  Shops open on New Year’s Day… even Perth zoo was open!

My 2014 was a big year for me.  Wish 2015 to be a great one too.