Miss Chu's Melbourne

The wonderful memories of my night out at Miss Chu's in Sydney with Sydney Shop Girl, Sandradee and Kristy make me smile and so when I found out there was a Miss Chu's in Melbourne, I was so keen to eat there. So, last Tuesday night Heidi and I went to Miss Chu's (297 Exhibition St Melbourne). She brought her fiance Ben along and it was lovely to meet him.

 

It was an indoor/outdoor restaurant, unlike the street food arrangement in Sydney. The decor was cute - lanterns, pineapples and beautiful rice bowls made into lampshades.

Heidi and I both got these amazing drinks - frozen young coconut with lychees, cucumber and mint. I am not a fan of young coconut juice, or cucumber come to think about it, but with the lychees, it tasted so exotic. Heidi said it tasted like Vietnam. I will definitely try making these at home. So so yummy!

 

We ordered an array of food from the tuckshop menu.

Roast duck and banana flower ricepaper rolls. So plump. More filling than your average ricepaper roll.

 Prawn dumplings. They were very generous with the prawns. The dumplings were juicy. The sauce was so spicy.

Duck pancake. I seriously could have just eaten these all night. I think I said I could eat 17. The duck was tender, covered in hoisin sauce. Yummy times a million. We ordered another serve.

 Papaya salad. I wasn't keen on it. It was very spicy and the crunchy beans felt a bit out of place.

Crab eggnet vermicilli salad. This salad was fantastic! The crab eggnets were an interesting texture and the dressing was delicious. Still spicy but not overpowering like the previous salad.

 More dumplings. Pork I think. Juicy and delicious.

And this was a steamed custard bun! It wasn't keen on being papped. Oh. My. God. So good. I don't think I've had one of these before and I am so glad I got to know steamed custard buns better. And at $3 a pop, my dress size better watch out.

Overall the food was as great as I had in Sydney. It was delicious, complex flavours yet simple ingredients. Service was quick, but we were overcharged significantly, which was rectified quickly. Dress size, you have been warned. I will eat at Miss Chu's again, very soon.

Ethiopian with Heidi

I finally met up with the gorgeous food and nutrition blogger Heidi from Apples Under My Bed. We'd been planning a meal at The Abyssinian for a couple of months, and our dinner happened last week.

Heidi's blog is a lovely read - full of recipes, memories and retro-style photos. She tells food stories beautifully and I hope one day she compiles these into a book of memoirs.

I love Ethiopian food - it's spicy, meaty and great to share. We ate with our hands, our food scooped up with injera bread. Injera looks like a big flat crumpet and tastes tangy.

Heidi and I shared grilled eggplant marinated in chilli, garlic and olive oil for starters.

And for our main Derek Tibbs - lamb grilled with ghee, green chilli, rosemary and onion (top), and cubes of raw beef cooked in a warm spicy sauce (bottom).

I loved both dishes - the dryness of the lamb with the hot chilli and rosemary put a twist on the lamb I'm used to eating. I am definitely going to try cooking it at home. And the raw beef is nothing to be afraid of. It is nose runningly spicy, but so tasty and tender.

Heidi and I talked non stop for three hours. We both enjoy blogging and good food, so we had plenty of things to talk about. I was planning to make her healthy no-bake cookies over the weekend but I've been sick so I will save the ingredients for next weekend.

She is a really nice, caring person - very intelligent and has so much positive perspective on life. There was something that we discussed that resonated with me all week. We both agreed we only want to do the things that we enjoy and make us happy, because life is too short. I have not been happy in my job for a little while, and three weeks ago I spoke up. Fortunately I could be moved, and I start a new job today. I am so excited about the work and the end goal I'll be working towards. Heidi and my discussion got me through last week, looking forward to a brighter future.

I am really glad I met Heidi, and we are already planning our next food adventure!

You can read Heidi's post about The Abyssinian here.