Coffee Concept Store : Sensory Lab (Melbourne, Australia)

We slept in on our second day in Melbourne so we decided to just have coffee to give us the good wake up that we deserved on a holiday.  Our feet led us to David Jones because I read about a coffee concept store called "Sensory Lab" that can be found inside their store.

The moment we arrived, I knew we were going to have a very interesting (if not unforgettable) experience.  

We were greeted by servers dressed in lab coats---how cool was that?  And the interiors of the cafe?  Very lab-like!  I felt like I had been transported back to 3rd-year high school attending Chemistry class.

They served us water in a laboratory bottle.

Their sugar in brown small bottles.

Their menus in clipboards.

Very science geeky, aye?


They have a comprehensive list of coffee blends and single-origin beans and offer four types of brewing one of which is the siphon method.  The siphon method is an intensive way of brewing coffee with the use of a coffee syphon or vac pot.  Thru this method, it preserves the taste of the beans and minimizes the bitterness.

They recommended the Tanzania blend to us and when they served our coffee, they advised us to wait two minutes before we drink them.  It is also recommended not to add milk or sugar to truly appreciate the flavour of coffee. 

The Tanzania siphoned coffee had an aggressive sour taste.  One thing I learned about coffee during my time at the Sensory Lab was that coffee beans are the seeds of a cherry-like fruit, hence, it is but normal for coffee to be sour.
 
For the first time, we were able to experience tasting pure coffee and I loved it! 
 
Sensory Lab
David Jones, 297 Little Collins St,
Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9643 2222

Recipes: Chicken Arroz Caldo and Tokwa't Baboy (Tofu and Pork)

Two of my favorite Filipino dishes: Chicken Arroz Caldo and Tokwa't Baboy.  I grew up eating these dishes cooked by my mom on rainy days when we'd all stay in at home.  Now that I live here in Sydney, I find comfort in these dishes during cold winter days.

Chicken Arroz Caldo

What you need for cooking:
Chicken breast cut into strips
1 cup of Glutinous Rice
2-3 cups of water
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp canola oil
1 whole onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
3-4 tbsp fish sauce
Pepper and salt (to taste)
Slices of Calamansi or Lemon


What you need for garnish:
6 cloves of garlic, diced and fried til golden brown
Chopped green onions
Boiled eggs, sliced
Chicharon (fried pork rinds), crushed


What you need to do:
1.  Saute onion, garlic and ginger in oil.
2.  Add chicken breast strips and stir til juice oozes from meat.
3.  Throw in the fish sauce, season as you stir.
4.  Add glutinous rice and wait til it turns brown in colour.
5.  While stirring, add chicken stock then water, one cup at a time.
6.  Bring to a boil, cover and let it simmer until grains start to crumble.
7.  Season with salt and pepper. 
8.  Keep stirring once in a while to make sure that the rice won't stick to the bottom

Once your Chicken Arroz Caldo is finished, serve it in a bowl and add garnishes mentioned above. Squeeze the calamansi or lemon on top of the Chicken Arroz Caldo for more flavour.

Note: You can use other parts of the chicken for this dish: chicken wings, thighs or drumsticks.  Some also add chicken liver.  I choose chicken breast strips so my Arroz Caldo will be less fatty and oily.

Tokwa't Baboy (Tofu and Pork)

What you need:
1/4 kilo pork shoulder or pork belly, sliced into little cubes
1/4 kilo firm or extra firm tofu
1 onion, diced
4 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp vinegar
2 cups water
1 tsp brown sugar
Pepper and salt (to taste)
Canola oil

What you need to do:
1.  Boil pork in water.  When water runs dry, pour 2 tbsp of Canola oil and fry til golden 
     brown.  Set aside.
2.  Fry tofu til crunchy and golden brown.  Drain the fried tofu in paper towel.  Cut into
     cubes then place in a dish together with the pork
3.  In a saucepan, combine vinegar and soy sauce then bring to a boil.
4.  Add sugar and onions then stir.
5.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6.  Pour the sauce over fried tofu and pork.

Note:  You can also add green pepper or red chili unto the sauce to make it spicy.

Bon appetit!

Less Napkins, More Plants

When I moved to Sydney, I became more aware of how to be more earth-friendly.   Thanks to this country's numerous "green-friendly" advertisements on TV and to my office which has an Eco-Committee, the information I get from them not only made me aware of how we can help save the environment, it also made me a part of taking care of our one and only Earth.
 
I admit that I USED to hoard pretty looking table napkins from restaurants.  But now, not anymore.  I even get upset when the Husband grabs so many table napkins.  I really cringe and remind him to just get a few and if we need some more, we will just grab some again.

A few weeks back, I saw Starbucks' great reminder on saving napkins in order to help the environment:

Less napkins.  More plants.  More planet. Less napkins.

So every time you grab those plentiful of napkins, think of the environment too.  Let's us help each other in preserving our environment--it is the only one we have.

Exploring Chatswood

We were given gift certificates to use at Oriental Spa six months ago for a photography gig we did for a friend.  Since we had 3 days off from work this weekend (today being a public holiday in celebration of Labour Day in NSW), we booked an appointment for our Aromatherapy Massage on Saturday.

Oriental Spa is located in Chatswood, a suburb in the north shore of Sydney.  I've been here a few times but only to have lunch or shop but have never really explored the place.  There's a certain homey-and-cool vibe about Chatswood.  They have quite a busy CBD for a Saturday morning with lots of cafes and shops bustling with people. 

Good thing we booked our appointment with Oriental Spa early as the moment we stepped out of Chatswood train station, we found out that there's a lot of things we can do while we're here.

But first, we had to be in Zen mode at Oriental Spa.  I missed having spas, it's been ages since I've had a massage. 

The statue of Quan Yin can be seen as soon you enter the lobby of Oriental Spa.  She is the goddess of compassion, mercy and healing. 

The staff welcomed us with Ginger and Lemon Tea.

I love little details.

This was outside our room.

We had the Aromatherapy Massage.  For one hour, our body were treated with long stroke massage techniques combined with aromatherapy oils.  It was soothing and relaxing to the body.  We totally enjoyed it.

After our massage, we went straight to Westfield Chatswood and had lunch at Soban The Grill. 

Soban The Grill is a Korean restaurant that specializes in skewers and fresh-from-the-grill dishes.  There's another Soban restaurant in Level 6 of Westfield Chatswood that serve traditional Korean dishes.

The Husband taking a photo of me...

..while I take a photo of the restaurant.

They served garlic bread while we waited for our food.

The Husband's Pork Skewers with rice, green salad and mashed potatoes.  Mild barbeque flavor of the pork, not as tasty as it looked.  But their mashed potato tasted great.  We wanted more of it.

My Chicken Cordon Bleu with rice and green salad.  Chicken was crispy outside but tender inside.  I loved that they used asparagus and sundried tomato as fillings for the chicken.

The next time we visit, maybe we'll try the other Soban on Level 6.

Too full from lunch, we went around Westfield for a bit then moved on to Chatswood Chase (the other mall a few blocks away) and checked out the Apple Store there. 

Before we went home, we had dessert at Hello Happy, a Korean cafe and bakeshop.  We got intrigued by the name of the cafe (it sounded very positive!) and we wanted to try an authentic Korean cake.

Fresh and packed breads available for customers wanting to take home their products.

Their cakes looked yummy.

Little cakes for just one serve.

We just had hot chocolate drinks and a slice of their Strawberry cake.

It was delicious.  It's the kind of cake that I want: light, not too sweet and the icing not too overwhelming.

We decided to buy a Mocha Roll to bring to a party we attended that night.  The guests loved it too! 

A reminder from Hello Happy...

...and just because I love almost everything Korean....

Saturday was such a great day and exploring a new suburb is so much fun.  Because of this experience, we plan of going to suburbs that will catch our fancy once in a while. 

Oriental Spa - http://orientalspa.com.au

Soban Korean Restaurant - http://www.soban.com.au/

Hello Happy - http://www.hellohappy.com.au/
Chatswood branch: 345 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067
Strathfield branch: 22 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW