Food Rehab wants to see what y’all been eating. This post has been sitting in my dusty drafts folder half baked since May (LOUD OMG!) so through my words, you can probably sense my sigh of relief now that it’s out. From now on, I’ll be putting together my Top 5 Eats on rotation (and perhaps smothering all over my face! Aw Yeah Aw Yeah) and some of my favourite posts from fellow food bloggers that I’ve enjoyed reading because my eyes feast too. It will be similar to my Breakfast Indigestion posts where I’d compile my eating adventures into one post  but within a much longer period rather than a diabetes inducing 2 day period. To give credit where it’s due, it was also inspired by friends and super cool bloggers Agnes’ This week in a Brief and Sarah’s Unblogged Files that I seem to feature in quite regularly because I tend to feast with them alot LOL.

I may be curazy but this also actually reminds me of the time when I used to tape my fav songs back in the day from Rick Dees and the weekly top 40….on a cassette tape! But the main point of it all is that because I’m such a food perve, I genuinely want to know what everyone eats so I can keep the ‘appetite momentum’ going to and to see what foods are out there that I still haven’t tried.

I’ve tried to keep it simple and short like the way I used to blog back in the day. I’m not about to go all Billboard Charts on yer ass. I would also, at times, visit any featured places more than once to ensure consistency. It could be something you’ve cooked or eaten at a restaurant. Anything. Hell it could have been some muesli bar or cookie you had during your 3:30itis at work.  Though I do ask of one thing – anything but a can of tuna at work please! Geassh.

So it goes a lil something like this: I’ll tell you my secret eats, if you tell me yours. Ooh la la. Reeeowr. OK I’ll stop now. Drop a comment or if you wanna tweet it, use the hashtag #top5eats

#2 Gold from Argentina – Havanna Alfajors (Cookies filled with Dulche De Leche)

A good friend went traveling across South America – like everyone seems to be doing lately (lucky bastards) – but the most important news is that she brought me back some goodies which included a box of the infamous Havanna Alfajors or what many people refer to as alfajores. I’ve heard so much about them but never in maa life did I think I’d ever get to eat one. That’s what I get for reading travel blogs! Way too many edibles being added to the “If I ever get to travel here…I would eat” wishlist.

What makes it so unique is that there’s nothing like it, well, nothing you can get locally anyways. Wrapped in a gold wrapper and so carefully housed in a box in a similar fashion as Cuban Cigars, I couldn’t wait to see what was inside. Not being such a huge fan of white chocolate, I tried the dark chocolate version first. One thing I noticed is that these suckers melt real easy so it’s best to gobble it all up – which no doubt you will anyways – unless you take pleasure in licking melted chocolate off your fingers. Not that I’m into that or anything…

Inside, there are layers of gewy dulche de leche set in amongst two crumbly cookies. It was surprisingly light and airy. The chocolate isn’t as thick so you don’t feel like you’ve eaten a double coated Tim Tam. Which reminds me…yes, yes! That’s it. Havanna Alfajors actually reminds me of a wedge between Tim Tam and an Oreo. And yes, you can soooo dunk it it  a glass of milk. Though, I dipped mine in some leftover dollop cream. I like cream….SO WHAAT.

#3 Bangin’ Dessert at The Estelle Bar and Kitchen

A group of us bloggers ate ourselves silly (again…cheers Thanh!) at The Estelle for a five course degustation that certainly ended with a bang. The dessert or should I say desserts – because we ended up having two. The first in particular, really shone through.

The frozen sour cream concoction was refreshing allowing you to enjoy the sweetness of  the remaining inhabitants from the the spongy olive oil infused island to the salted caramel swirls. It made for an unexpected but ‘so glad we had that for dessert’ kinda dessert.

#4 Slicker than your average Filipino chicken at Chad’z Chickenhaus

Another Filipino eatery has opened up shop closer to my hood – they aso have aCstrong>So it goes a lil somet name suggests, they are a chicken joint BUT with a point of difference – they also cook up Filipino food! Yepa. There are the usual traditional dishes like sinigang, BBQ Pork Skewers and dinuguan but they also make my my ultimate fav drink sago at gulaman. For those who don’t know, it’s basically sago, gulaman (agar-agar), caramalised sugar dissolved in water, Arnibal (brown sugar + water to sweeten and to give it colour) and shaved ice served in a tall glass. Some also add vanilla and milk to make it all creamy. It sounds awfully sweet but it’s not. It’s the bomb.

Chickenhuas also grills the already hot butterfly chicken again when ordered so they can baste it with their signature sauce that sends all the right messages to REPEAT! Many friends make it a mission to grab some weeknight takeaway at least twice a week and I can now see why they were going ape over it.  Make it your mission! It’s worth the trip and it’s definitely better than your average charcoal chicken. Though, don’t come complaining about lickin’ your fingers till they hurt afterwards!

Details:

Sunshine: 475 Ballarat Rd, Sunshine Facebook page

Werribee: 51 Synott St, Werribee

#5 DIY Pork wraps at new Hidden Japanese Bar, Hihou

Newbie on the Spring Street block, Hihou (which means secret treasure) is a Japanese bar sitting above Nama Nama (known for their real good bento box), both of which are co-owned by Simon Denton of famed Izakaya Den.

A friend and I were looking for a place to grab some nibbles and a drink but on a Friday night, most bars were jammed packed and way too noisy so we kept on walking towards Parliament station when we looked up and saw what looked to be a open bar. When my friend realised that it was above Nama Nama which she actually wanted to take me for lunch one day, she yelled “This is the place! This is the cool Japanese bar I was talking about!” It was like fate had brought us there. Only problem was – how the hell were we supposed to get up there. You see, the entrance is like a fortress and the only way in is to ring the buzzer, wait for a beacon of light to be shone on your face and then wait for someone to let you in. To our surprise, a very friendly Simon Denton welcomed us in (I guess we passed the inspection!) and seated us.

At first I thought the entrance was a bit much, but then thought that it would make as a great ‘bogan/feral people who can’t handle themselves in public‘ deterrent and stepping inside, you do feel that sense of calmness and intimacy that is getting much harder to find in the CBD bars but not at all pretentious in any way. In fact, the service was very personable, attentive and having traveled to Japan, I can say that it was in true Japanese standard. The atmosphere from the lighting, to the bar fitout, the multicolored candles that blinged up the communal table to the overhanging dimly lit storage unit that held all that precious booze made up of thick planks of  wood were a stonegroove. From where we were seated, it created a sense of separateness from the bar and chatter almost feeling like you had your own personal space.

Next time I’m bringing the DSLR camera!

We sat next to the window and sipped on their large selection of shochu and sake. We spent more on alcohol then the food but they were equally as impressive. Standouts that night were the chilli miso edamame (peeled) that we had a blast trying to grab the each piece without chopsticks…way tipsy and of course, their DIY pork wraps. The pictures don’t do it justice (damn that amazing mood lighting) but the tender pork slices combined with the shitake mushroom, pickled veg the delicate crepes  made for a premium bar snack I was happy to get my hands dirty with as I licked off the dribs of that spicy Japanese mustard.

Details: 31 Spring Street, city, 9639 9500 (ring the buzzer!)

So they were my Top 5 Eats of THA moment. What are yours?

Drop a comment or if you wanna tweet it, use the hashtag #top5eats

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Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

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