First Taste - Box Hill, Melbourne

Claypot cooking is a tradition arising out of cool evenings and the intent for capturing all the goodness and flavours of carefully chosen ingredients to be combined in a one serve dish. The outcome of such dishes, whether as double-boiled herbal soups, rice-based vegetable cuts and meat slices or as noodle creations, is often aromatic. At First Taste, one gets personalised servings, the feel of home cooking and the chatter of an informal community all gathered to enjoy such a common penchant for this style of cuisine. Originating from China, the dishes are as safe and reliable for young kids and elderly nannas. As with Oriental dishes, there are lots of cutting, assembling of the ingredients and consideration for the balance of sensations (sour, sweet, savoury and salty) for each dish created. Shallots, garlic, ginger and bits of red-black Cantonese sausage are often used for garnishing, together with various sauces, ranging from XO to oyster.

Suan and Elaine had accompanied me to Box Hill in the greater Melbourne area one afternoon for a drop by at the First Taste outlet. The chain has other branches in Footscray and Springvale in Victoria, and I had recalled how I had been also introduced to the Hurstville outlet in southern Sydney by Tom and Nae. The Box Hill entrance is unassuming, but promised and delivered much variety and choice in different kinds of claypot combinations. Visualise black skinned chickens (silkies), black fungus, smooth tofu sheets, quail, scallops and prawns. Whether you view such things as acquired tastes, or as an adventure not far from home, is up to you.

The cooked white rice at the bottom of each claypot can be burnt. The other caution is to be ready for really hot servings placed in front of you. Do we consume the little bits of meat found hidden amongst the rice pile or floating in the soup? Use discretion, depending on the type of meat and whether you reckon the taste from such meats has already been transferred to the soup or rice. It can be fun, digging through your order, to find delights, mysteries and that item you have seen Mum cooked before.

My Caucasian friends vouch for black pepper diced beef sitting on claypot rice, especially during the rainy weather that we have been having. Whatever they choose, do not steer them to the durian flavoured soup as it is definitely an acquired taste! Then there is the risk of chicken feet herbal soup, complete with skin intact but supposedly providing some nutrition benefits for those already convinced of the beneficial effects of this dish. My weakness is stewed pork claypot, on the fatty side but tasty and irresistible! I enjoyed the food choices in front of me and was so engrossed in conversation with both Suan and Elaine that I totally forgot to take pictures.

I could be mistaken, but I reckon there is another First Taste outlet at Campsie in NSW. I recommend you try their fare on a cool night and you do not have to spend much to transport yourself to an authentic Chinese experience. Claypots can also be obtained for your home at most Asian groceries, usually at the back shelves. Clay is a porous material and such cooking is not confined to Asia, but also practised in different styles in Morroco, Spain and Italy.
My impressions of First Taste at Box Hill in the Melbourne region are:

Atmosphere: Crowded and noisy

Location: Near to suburban rail station, always something interesting outside as well

Taste: Varying and wide choice, flavours depends on what you actually have and experienced before.

People Engagement: As a matter of fact, I reckon the staff are asked to churn customer turnover.

Service: Quick and no time for conversation with customers. Best to point to menu pictures even if you speak Mandarin or Cantonese.

Best Time to Visit: Avoid lunch and dinner time slots.

Fav Dish Experienced: Wolfberry double boiled with other herbs, good for eyesight!

Would I Return?: Yes, for what I see as comfort food.

A Longing, A Special Treat

Penang styled noodles, with prawns, chives and pork slices, in a prawn-based savoury soup, above image, taken at Albee's Kitchen in Campsie south-west of Sydney CBD.

Various types of light and heavy cheese, according to taste preference, accompanied with various types of crackers, dried fruits and bread slices from Brasserie Bread of Botany, Sydney.

Curry puffs with sweet potato mash, chicken curry fillings and half hard boiled eggs from Albee's Kitchen.

Vanilla bean ice cream with a slice of pie fresh from the oven from Charmaine Wan of From My Home website, accompanied by Easter egg chocs from Haighs of Adelaide SA.

Cappuccino with a big K from Vaughn Turner at Rush, Wollongong NSW.

Chili crab, cooked with a creamy egg-infused savoury and spicy sauce in Singapore. Image credit to Ms Auyong Kit Fong.

Somewhere Along the Way Again

At home: I am watching the clouds roll in outside the window.  Cooking on the stove whilst trying to progress on a book.  The television is on, but being ignored by me whilst my on-going attention is on to a more mobile device. At times I wonder why there is a need for me to be in another place, when I can be doing all these things in the comfort and familiarity of home.  The price of petroleum has gradually but surely gone up in the past three months, and captive vehicle users like me suffer in silence. The human condition may have a wander lust, but also treasures knowing where things are, letting our own space nurture our inner selves and having the satisfaction that we can plant where ever we want (like I did, with a magnolia).  And nothing compares with the beam from a full moon shining into a corner of our own special space.
In Campsie, greater Sydney: The lady said she is a Chinese from Samoa. We were looking at the steamed pork dumplings (bao) displayed at a counter in a small shop in Campsie's pedestrian mall, south-west of Sydney CBD.  She asked me if these dumplings had sweet fillings - she was looking for something savoury, as she had them on the islands.  I reckoned it depended on the sauce they used. She asked further if these were like what they served at yumcha in Sydney restaurants. I give an affirmation. The shop we were in was run by China Chinese and the staff spoke Mandarin. I said to my Samoan acquaintance it may be better to source those dumplings she had in mind from a Hong Kong dominated suburb. I am reminded once more about the diversity and complexity of what it means to be Chinese or to be referred to as Chinese.  In a world of easier trans-migration, better availability of various foods and multi-cultural societies, what is homogeneous, what is traditional and what is perceived is not that easy to perceive, digest and realise any more.

Near Campbelltown, greater Sydney: The day has increasingly warmed up, till the sun was as radiant as in summer, even if that season had not offered many such blue sky days as this. I smelt like the lemon grass flavoured mixture I was regularly slapping on the grilling chicken satay skewers sitting over the hot beads.  There was an unsaid system going amongst the three of us - Anthony would get the thawed skewered meats going, I would transfer them to commence the crisping process and Jana would decide on the finality and readiness of the cooked meat. Each of us had to focus on what we wanted to achieve and became oblivious to what was going on around us - the passing crowds, the chatter and the music, the exchange of monies and the aromas emanating from various cuisines. Our throats longed for drinks which we knew can quench our very thirsts.  We moved the direction of the exposed wooden skewers used, we separated and we evaluated the cooking meats and we aimed for a memorable bite of the satay in the mouths of our customers.   Each of us knew we were somewhat contributing to an experience.  We may have put in place a personal expectation on what chicken satay should taste like, but we looked forward to a restful evening, even if we really may not know what was the perception of such satay in the minds of our customers.

Cafe L'unico, Warrawong NSW

Since this blog post, Cafe  L'unico has relocated from Fairy Meadow to Warrawong, a suburb south of Wollongong CBD.

My first introduction to Italian dolce was in a Rome piazza and then later occurred late at night on a back lane in the inner west Sydney suburb of Leichhardt. This was my first encounter with tiramisu in the form of a piece of cake. In Wollongong, the almost weekly routine in one year was with biscotti, especially almond flaked versions. (picture above) Sorbet, tartufo and gelato were alternatives to full bodied ice cream flavours from New Zealand and made me withdraw from hokey-pokey. Then came the ricotta cheesecake. I never took to chocolate mousse but could not refuse the mascarpone. So when Peter Cappetto, a neighbour, mentioned about the Cafe Lunico in nearby Fairy Meadow and that their pastries, biscuits and cake creations came from Mezzapica in Leichhardt (another hub of Italian-Australian cuisine and culture), I had to visit the cafe, not far from a string of interesting retail outlets along the Princes Highway. The banner above the cafe proclaims not offering Italian goodies but also French cakes.

The Italian term lunico, if I am not mistaken, signifies the only one, special and unique. So the Cafe Lunico does stand out in offering a variety of their specialties - Italian and French inspired sweet stuff to lighten the palate and accompany with coffee. Oh yes, I was recently told never to take latte beyond 10am in the morning, for latte has milk, and one does not take milk late in the day, especially in Rome. But as for chocolate (like tartuffi and truffle) I reckon that is an all rounder, whether throughout the year and especially better as a night cap. The nest of chocolate above from Lunico is more intense and more crunchy than most I have tried in Harberfield or Petersham in Sydney. The vanilla flavoured slice below was a huge serving, easily cut into three parts, with a very agreeable icing top.

My overall impressions on visiting the Cafe Lunico are:

Atmosphere: Village and Euro continental

Location: Suburban

Taste: More than Satisfactory

People Engagement: Natural and gives you space

Service: Purposeful

Best Time to Visit: Morning Tea

Fav Dish Experienced: Cannoli

Would I Return?: Yes

I found the friand (images above and below) a bit dry for my taste but the flavours held their ground. The cannoli, on the other hand, is a sure winner - it melts in the mouth, the cream is sinful but there is no resistance and the skin so delightfully a contrast to hold everything together. (picture below)

Here I go again - I did not expect the melting moment biscuit (below) to be that hard, for I was waiting for crunchy and bitey sensations instead. It was a huge offering, enough for two. Once I got through the outer layers, the filling was good.

Melting Moments Cookie Recipe from Squidoo:

Ingredients:1 cup soft butter (can use half margarine, if desired, but butter is *always* better)1/2 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar1/4 tsp almond flavoring3/4 cup cornstarch1 cup white flour1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugar, add almond extract.

Sift dry ingredients together and add to butter mixture gradually.

Do not over beat.

Chill dough for 1 hour.

After chilling, shape dough into small balls, approximately 1 inch in diameter.

Place on cookie sheet about two inches apart.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

After baking, remove from sheet to a cooling rack.

When the cookies are completely cool, whisk together one cup of powdered sugar with just enough *fresh* lemon juice to make a glaze.

It doesn't take much lemon juice, so add it a teaspoon at a time.

If it becomes too thin, you can add a bit of powdered sugar to thicken it back up.

Drizzle or spread the glaze over the cookies.

I love this tart frosting so I slather it on.

Next, open mouth and insert cookie. Ooh in pleasure. These have a wonderful soft texture.

Once you try one, you will understand why they are called Melting Moments!

A Certain Joy and Flow

I had to confront getting done a task which I avoided for long, tried to rationalise that it would be right if they are still left unattended and have virtually done nothing about an evolving situation. Once I got to gradually chip at the bricks, so to speak, I moved on to a synergy that was unstoppable - and results began to show and shape out. In between the commencement and completion of this task, I also had some passing insights of things, which did give me an inner glow of a certain joy and flow.

Re-discovering the strength of survivors. Our inner passions and determination are not to be under estimated. A roadblock or distraction cannot undermine a solid purpose. Even if we are totally discouraged at one point in time, the core of want and aim are like roots and seeds hidden underneath the soil, ready to spring back to reality and growth. In the movie Hugo, the child characters wonder why they stumbled into mysterious leads, and reasoned that like machine parts, they were there to serve a purpose, even if not fully understood for most of the time.

Coming across the same old types of culprits, like bad old habits from the past. At times, there is a rhyme and reason, a pattern and a trend plus the adage that leopards cannot hide their spots. In figuring out what happened, even when we have some facts and evidence hidden from us, for whatever reason, I often reflect on past cases and experience. Culprits and troublemakers, if we try to follow and understand their motivation and path of thoughts, either do not veer from the familiar road or do so in a significant way. The eureka moment is to reckon their reasoning, what drove them and who made them like this. Then they are easier to read, even if they try to hide behind shadows, anonymity and manipulation of what is kosher.


Matter does get decomposed, once you have left them long enough. Baby boomers used to say "Take care of the big things, and the rest will be fine". To me, I take this as a judgement call. At times we have to pay attention to the details in order for the big things to work okay. For other scenarios, the big and smaller parts do have to synchronise. And yet on some other occasions, to our delight, if we ignore and procastinate, it may not matter. Do not be surprised though, that on matters involving love, kindness and friendship, they do get decomposed if one of the parties do not play their part - and may live to regret them. So never take some things for granted.


Some things, if nurtured right from the beginning, do keep on growing. Some people do not bother with manuals or guidelines. They prefer using instincts at the start, but when they encounter the proverbial storm or problem, it may get difficult to withdraw. The right beginning, the optimal conditions and the proper way to do things may sound boring or challenging, but once you have got them right, there is no looking back - the legs kick for a streamlined swim, the gait of the run is second nature and the hunch of the shoulder at the gym grows most perfectly.


Weeds thrive in niches, where they instinctively know are the last places to be noticed and culled. Most investigative and detective stories emphasise a solution in places, angles and corners that no one would ever look at. There is some thrill and fun in navigating from the obvious to the unobvious, and this is the stuff behind entertaining books and movies. Some professions, bodies and institutions are pretty good at carving exclusiveness and mystery, so that they are totally self-governed and do not have to handle the mess from others confronted in the name of equity, equality and fairness. Others make an apparent complicatedness and indignant righteousness about interference to fend off unwanted, prying eyes and ears. Some others use money and self-gratuitous titles as the barrier to unwelcome intrusions.