Dukes Coffee Roasters @ Chapel Street, Windsor

Dukes Coffee Roasters

There are two of these outlets of Dukes Coffee Roasters, one located at Flinders Lane in Melbourne CBD, and the one that I went to was at Chapel Street, a walking distance from Windsor Train Station. Around 11am, the shop was already full of crowds enjoying their breakfast or brunch for some people like me.

Interior

By the time we reached the cafe, we were very lucky and blessed to have only one table left for us. It was so crowded at that it was a bit hard to walk around inside. First thing I realized when I sat down was the ambience. The lighting was kind of warm and there was not a lot of natural light. Good thing today I brought along my Canon EOS 7D with a fast f1.4 lens. The staff there was not very friendly though, maybe it was because they were really busy, but in my opinion customer service should not be compromised. Having a look at their menu, it was quite limited for breakfast which is served up to 12pm noon. So to start with, we ordered hot chocolate and a coffee.

Hot Chocolate and Coffee

Once again, great coffee art and the taste of both drinks were very satisfying. The hot chocolate was not too sweet and rich with the right amount of chocolate. The coffee on the other hand was very aromatic. For our main meals, I ordered the "Baguette with Scrambled Eggs, Crispy Pancetta and Hollandaise Sauce". I was actually aiming for the Egg Benedicts however I did not come across them. Mom had the  "Hummus Avocado Toast with Poached Eggs & Candied Honey Bacon Bits".

Baguette with Scrambled Eggs, Crispy Pancetta and Hollandaise Sauce

I did not expect the dish to look like this but I was really impressed with the presentation when it was served. By just looking at it, it was able to stir up my appetite. The baguette was nicely toasted while the scrambled eggs had a great buttery taste. I had experiences where scrambled eggs was tasteless but this is just the total opposite. The texture was just nice and blended perfectly with the crispy pancetta and hollandaise sauce. 

Hummus Avocado Toast with Poached Eggs & Candied Honey Bacon Bits

I'm not a big fan of avocado but the hummus sauce really brought out a good taste together with the toast. Refreshing salad to go with as well. The main highlight of this dish for me was the Candied Honey Bacon Bits. It tasted like honey glazed pork meat. If you know what is "bak gua" or "肉干", it had the texture of bak gua and lightly glazed with honey.

Counter

All together we were really satisfied with our breakfast today. Altogether it costed around $40. Honestly aussie breakfasts are really expensive compared to Asian food. I guess it's because of the labour cost as well. Anyway, a good place to try out if you are out for some Aussie food!

Photography by Canon EOS 7D

Awesome Local Malaysian Dishes @ Man Ting Xiang, Bintulu

Looking for a place for lunch or dinner where you can order a few local Chinese dishes with rice at a reasonable price and yet tastes delicious? Well, this afternoon I visited "Man Ting Xiang 满庭香" cafe Assyakirin Commerce Square. They serve delicious "dim sum" in the morning where as for lunch and dinner you get to order from their menu. The place was clean and with good friendly service. We ordered four dishes and all of them came out with good presentation and an awesome fragrance.

Dish 1 : Salted Egg Sauced Pork

Salted Egg Sauced Fried Pork 咸蛋猪肉

Usually in Malaysia we hear about Salted Egg Prawns, sometimes also known as Golden Prawns. This is the first time we heard of salted egg prawns so we decided to give it a try. To our surprise, the sauce tasted exactly like the ones served with prawns and yet while it is served with fried pork, it tasted very different in a delicious way.

Dish 2 : "Cangkuk Manis"

Cangkuk Manis 蛋炒马尼菜

Another local Malaysian vegetable normally served with fried egg. I'm not a big fan of this Cangkuk Manis thingy but my parents love it so much. It tasted a bit sweet and it goes perfectly well with the fried egg. Sometimes this Cangkuk Manis is used in Fried Bee Hoon as a FooChow local delicacy.

Dish 3 : Deep Fried Yam Ring with Mixed Vegetables

Deep Fried Yam Ring with Mixed Vegetables

As a kid I loved this dish. The deep fried yam ring shaped like a bowl while inside filled with mixed vegetables and pork. Sometimes served with sweet and sour pork. What is special about this particular dish today was it was served with coriander which added an awesome fragrance to the dish. However some people dislikes that "fragrance", but for us, it was just what we needed.

Dish 4 : Sweet and Sour Fish

Sweet and Sour Fish 酸甜鱼

Nicely made sweet and sour sauce on fried Black Pomfret fish is one of the best combination you can get for this dish. The fish was fresh and we enjoyed the dish. Basically we finished the whole dish until so "clean" that what was left was only the non edible bones.

So those were the four dishes and I would say it tastes as good as or even better than restaurants. The price for all 4 dishes with plain rice and 2 drinks added up to RM69. Very reasonable price and definitely recommended!