Thai Lucy

After the disappointing food at Asia Joe's the previous night, I decided to take the other guests' recommendations to check out Thai Lucy instead.

I didn't get a chance to have a proper sit down meal but decided to get a takeaway instead.  Boy, the green curry was nice and tasty and it was so good that I went back the following night and bought the red curry!

Must be Ground Hog Day for one of the staff... as he commented "... the food must be THAT good, huh?"

Asia Joe's - not authentic

After reading the reviews about this restaurant from TripAdvisor, I was quite excited to check this place out, taking precedence over its neighbour, Thai Lucy.  This restaurant is situated in Bay Lane which also has a number of restaurants next to each other.  

The restaurant is not big, probably only sits about 40 people but it was a buzz given it was the long weekend.  We didn't have to wait long to get a table as the tables turned over pretty quickly.  It's BYO so, one could hop across the street to get a bottle to go with the meal.

We ordered a Chicken Pad Thai and a Tom Yum Soup.  While the serving was quite substantial, we were totally disappointed with the taste.  The Chicken Pad Thai did not taste like the Pad Thai I was expecting while the Tom Yum Soup was bland and tasted just like water...

Would not recommend this place at all unless ... this is your first foray into Asian food.

  

Monga Sweet Cafe

I love walking around in Melbourne, there are plenty to see even late at night and you could be lucky to stunble upon this treasure.

During my last trip to Melbourne I was walking around looking for supper and I saw this read door on Russell Street.  The red colour was really striking and this sign post was at the bottom of a stairs.  Hmm.. I was not sure what was up the stairs and hesitated for a second.  During the second, there were quite a few people going up and down the stairs.  I thought, it must be worth checking out.

Heading up the stairs, it's as if one has stumbled upon Aladdin's cafe.  This sweet cafe is quite small and is decked out in typical Hong Kong style although the lighting was a bit dim.  The kitchen looked neat and clean though and is open for those waiting to take a look.

I took a look at the menu and wished I had come with a group of people to share and sample the food.  The menu consists of a selection of desserts.  For the sweet soup, there are choices such as red bean soup with lily bulbs and lotus seeds; black glutinous rice & sago sweet soup with coconut; black sesame / red bean / peanut filling rice ball with ginger soup.

Additionally there are also a great selection of grass jelly desserts, double boiling sweet soup, basil seed desserts, sago desserts and a drinks menu.  For those looking for something a bit more filling, the sweet cafe also offered double boiling rice set, or set meals.

I think the name Monga is synonymous with Mango as their specials included Mango Sago Dessert with Pomelo, Mango Sweet Soup with Popping BoBa, Pomelo, Sago and Grass Jelly (very nice but costs $9.50!).  

This Monga outlet also has a dessert lounge in Box Hill, a Sweet Express outlet at Glen Waverley and soon to be opened Sweet Lounge, also at Glen Waverley.

Sigh... how I wished we had this type of a dessert lounge in Sydney which not only offers great Asian desserts but stays open until 3am!