Travel Diary- Xuexiang

Finally!!! I apologise in advance for the photo spam ahead but there was just too many photos to share so this is my 'filtered' version. Having visited what I dub 'The Middle of Nowhere' it was certainly an experience I won't forget for a while. Aesthetically it is amazing but remember behind these glossy edited photos is an untold story which includes uncomfortable and almost monolithic (a bit of an exaggeration here) sleeping quarters (that were worse than at Xuegu) and lack of amenities due to Xuexiang's seclusion from the rest of civilisation. All-in-all, take these photos with a grain of salt. 

Jonga Jip Review

Once upon a time (think 2010, which I suppose classifies as a really long time ago), there were 3 hungry ladies (? a bit debatable on this point) who scoured Sydney far and wide in search of where they would next eat. At the time that was unheard of, people gave them strange looks when they whipped out their phones and digital cameras respectively but they knew that they were onto something. Fast forward 5 years and this is probably my 4th visit to Jonga Jip. If you're new to Korean food (you're missing out on so much), this is probably a really good place to become cultured (that and Korean Fried Chicken).

One of the great things about eating Korean is the amount of banchan or complimentary side dishes that you get with your meal. At times they can be a meal in their own right.

Above: the problem when you have too many plates of food and not enough space on the table, or in other words, the usual Jonga Jip experience. And as one of those people that shamelessly orders the same thing every time, my go to Jonga Jip essentials are as follows:

Front: Pan-fried Marinated Beef/ Bulgogi Chulpan $15

Back: Green Onion Seafood Pancake $20

You'll find that even though you could have the KBBQ experience here, a lot of diners opt not to. I mean with a minimum order of 2 meat dishes in order to use the charcoal, you're missing out on so many other options on the menu. My go to meet dish the marinated beef which goes amazingly well with onions, honestly you will not regret ordering this but for the small portion size. Note that this is a sweet sauce. 

What they lack in size for the beef, they overcompensated with regards to the seafood pancake. Finding space for this on your table and finishing it is a task within itself. 

Stir-fried Potato noodles which comes in two sizes, Medium- $25 or Large-$35

We ordered the large servings and despite having to go with the takeaway box option at the end of the meal, there were regrets in ordering this. Perhaps next time I shouldn't be so ambitious and order the medium instead. If you've never had these noodles before they're a bit firm with a bit of elasticity to them and are kind of like glass noodles. 

Spicy bone soup- $13

If a Korean restaurant has the word 'spicy' in it then BEWARE because spicy means spicy. Lesson learned. In saying that, you know how you have spicy food that makes you want to run to grab milk/yoghurt/whatever works best for you, but at the same time tastes amazing? Well, this is one of them, something ridiculously spicy that you can't stop eating. Ahh that dilemma. 

Travel Diary- Xue Gu

One of the must-do items in our Chinese itinerary, or at least for my mother, was to visit Xue Gu-Xue Xiang. I pair them together because in order to truly experience Xue Xiang- the bigger and more famous town- you have to go through Xue Gu, that is if you're keen to do the mountain hike. The 15km up and down trek may seem daunting especially given its inclines and elements (snow and lots of it) but when I post the next lot of photos in this series I think you will agree with me when I say that it was all worth it in the end. Of course you're welcome to skip the mountain hike entirely but if you're travelling all the way to Harbin (far North-West China) and then doing 1-2hr drive just to get here, I'm pretty sure you're just as keen as the next person to get your bang for your buck. 

Tip: if you want to do the joint two town experience I recommend joining a tour because you don't want to be carrying your luggage on the hike. Instead it is much easier to leave the luggage and accommodation organisation to a tour, at the very least they have connections. In saying that I do have to warn you that these towns are very remote, electricity is limited and so is hot water. For a place where you can expect -20 degrees temperatures you have to forgo the comfort of having a hot shower (they don't exist) as well as a large soft bed. 

Where I slept and yeah expect to share this 'bed' with other people. Oh and don't expect a plush bed, nope it is practically a rock.

Think of this as an electric blanket but rather than a blanket it is goes underneath a fabric where you would otherwise expect your mattress cover to be. 

I guess if anything, those 2 days were a big reality check for me and my Western sensibilities. 

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!