Mini Pot Burwood Review

What better way to beat the Winter chills than by tucking into your own hot pot feast. Not one to shy away from my lazy tendencies I would love to be able to hot pot every week at home but there's the problem of buying all the groceries, making the stock and finally cleaning it all up. Mini Pot may not be the perfect solution but it's all-you-can-eat hot pot tag line remains embedded in my memory. Priced at $29.50, in my eyes given my small stomach that day, it is debatable whether it really is value for money (the most 'expensive' item that as part of the all you can eat is the frozen pipis). 

One thing that I really liked about Mini Pot was the fact that each diner gets to choose which soup they which to have- chicken soup is free of charge but others like tomato beef soup, lamb soup and trotter soup with peanut incur an extra surcharge of approx $3.50. At least with your own individual pot you're given the discretion of choosing which meats and vegetables you wish to eat rather than it being a collective decision.

Dipping sauces are a classic pairing for Chinese Hot Pots. It's practically not Hot Pot unless you get a dipping sauce. My favourite combination is Sesame with Peanut Butter, a bit of oyster sauce, coriander and garlic. It goes amazingly well with meat and just about everything. Otherwise if you have no idea what to combine (and don't try everything) there are some recommendations on the side.

Getting our share of the fish balls

Lamb and Beef

All in all, it's hard not to love Mini Pot with its no fuss all you can eat policy. I would recommend that you however make a booking because they don't have many tables. I went with a group of 6 but I think that that's around the most they can accommodate. 

Lobby Lounge Take 3

You know the saying: 'let sleeping dogs lie'? Well if we were to take this purely on face value then on the off chance that I am (arguably) afforded a 'sleep in' then there are few things in this world that will compel me leave my bed to travel 40min into the city. One of those things is dessert. Let's face it, part of the reason why I never seem to loose weight once and for good is because I binge eat when studying and post-exam celebrations are met with no restraint when it comes to eating out, dessert included.

So after a 70+ week spent working behind a computer all in the name of acing a finance assignment who am I yo say no to the Dessert of the Year 2014 by Anna Polyviou. And really being featured on MasterChef all but confirms the decision.

'Carrot Cake'- carrot cake, apricot & carrot gel, praline cremeux, yellow graffiti $8.50

Firstly I wish I was one of those kids growing up that hated vegetables because how awesome would it be to be fed this by your parents everything time you refused to eat carrot. If anything this cake is so far removed from the humble carrot cake that actually sits at the very bottom of my go-to cake list. Yes there is there definitely carrot cake and carrot in this creation but they're easily mistaken- take for example the candied carrot ribbon sitting a top the carrot cake cube or the carrot cake base which is disguised amongst the caramel-like-cremeux. Initial impressions may leave you slightly bitter at the small serving but the cremeux is very rich and dense and in comparison to other patisseries the price is actually pretty competitive. 

The Dining Room at Park Hyatt Review

So for my latest fine dining foray I decided to go to the Dining Room at Park Hyatt. I'm a bit unsure of the reason why I chose this place over others because there are so many options to pick from but obviously the rational person in me doesn't want to break the bank by eating out all day everyday. I've always had an affiliation towards the Dining Room maybe because whenever I frequented Circular Quay/The Rocks I would be secretly (more like openly) jealous of anyone eating there when I walked by. Stories aside, I decided to buy a Lime & Tonic voucher/meal for the Dining Room for 2- $69 per person for a 3 course meal.

Amuse bouche- Seared tuna with raspberry condiments

Travel Diary- Hangzhou

So for my second post of the day I'm sending you guys postcards from Hangzhou. If you're into picture perfect postcards minus a blue sky then Hangzhou is a city you must go to-and allocated 1-2 days. The best thing about the West Lake is that it is a great day trip and most of it doesn't require an entry fee. The next two photos are taken from a manmade island known as Island of Little Oceans; an entry fee is charged (best to package it with a ferry boat service). 

Main attraction: 'Three Pools Mirroring the Moon'

A bit dark in this photo but they look like water beacons but for being made out of concrete

Went a bit crazy taking photos of maples

....and goldfish. I mean if a lake had like thousands of goldfish in it, you will probably succumb as well.

Monster fish bearing in mind that all the fish are big in their own right

Lingyin Temple

Climbed many, many stairs (almost like climbing the Great Wall all over again) to reach the top and we were rewarded with what I dub 'Mountain water'. On the left is me collecting some water from the 'dragon's head' and honestly it was the best tasting water I have ever had!

Travel Diary- Zhou Zheng (Ancient Chinese Water Town)

Not going to lie when I say that it has been a while...AGAIN. In the meantime hope you enjoy some more photos that I managed to edit from my last trip to China. There is a massive backlog of photos and just stuff to attend to so I have no idea how I'm going to get through it all but in the meantime I'm just taking it one task at a time.

So Zhou Zheng is name of an Ancient Chinese Water Town, though much of it has been restored or rebuilt so that it resembles its former glory- think Ming Dynasty. In saying that, there are still some original buildings or parts remaining. As a tourist I think this place is one of those destinations that look amazing in photos but may be a bit lacklustre in person. The reason I say this is because the entire town itself is tiny, you could probably do an entire lap in 30min if you're not sightseeing. And as with any tourist hotspot, the place is cluttered with shops selling overpriced tourist trinkets- the usual.

Anyway, over and out. I promise that the next time you hear from me will be soon-very soon.