Oriental Teahouse

RNIS was invited to dine at Oriental Teahouse on a $25 voucher.

This was the one at Lt Collins st as this was one of their favourite places to eat. On a Saturday early dinner they were not too busy which was great as it was more intimate.

Whilst waiting for tea and food we tried some of the other lovely tea brews such as Iced Mango sparkling which tasted like brut as it had that strong champagne flavour. The other teas didn't have a lot going for them except for the Iron one.

Our food took a little while to come. We came around about 5:50pm and didn't get our food until about  6:15pm. But its the goodness that matters.

To start off with we had a gunpowder green tea ($4 and aids your digestive system). This was followed by chilli fish ($6.80 for one serve), rice ($3.80) for a large and vegetarian dumplings ( $5.50 for three dumplings which were small but moreish).

The chef did a really good job with the chilli fish as it just fired my belly and melted in the mouth. It was a new twist to an old favourite of poached fish.

The rice was just ok. It was those long grain jasmine rice which worked well with the fish.

And we needed a little something that was vegetarian and we got the vegetarian version of bao which was just fabulous.

Rating: 15/20. Do improve on the service though as there was a lady who served us who did not smile one bit.

Ramen Ya and 1000 WAT

They are in the Emporium and I had wanted to check both out for some time now. Ramen Ya and 1000 WAT are both in the same shop and are both owned by the same owner. They both have the lunch meal sets but Ramen Ya is slightly more pricey. 1000WAT is a Thai place.

Ramen Ya has Japanese staff and Japanese drinks. I was served by a Japanese waitress.

And they share seating with each other.

But on one Tuesday that I went there was hardly anyone until after 12:30pm where all the hungry workers came.

Miso soup

From Ramen Ya I had a bento with green tea, extra salad and miso soup. Its great for a person like myself who is trying to stay healthy. I got a terriyaki tofu bento for $16. Here I really loved my salad, rice and seaweed salad. The lettuce salad didn't have too much dressing which is just great as you can taste the freshness of the vegetables. The tea was just ok, I have had better. The miso soup was of the powered kind. But the rice though was Australian which I liked. Its not often that you see this in Asian restaurants.

The terriyaki tofu was of the firm types. But what I didn't love was the fact that they put too much sauce on this. I would have liked it better if it was on the side.

The coconut cha yen (soft serve for $2.50 from 1000WAT) was a bit on the very sweetish side. And sadly they don't do cups with this.

I would love to see what else 1000WAT has to offer us. I have heard many good things about this. Hmm not too sure about Ramenya though. Will have to wait and see.

Middle Fish

RNIS was invited to this restaurant by Zilla and Brook and they had the liberty of meeting Confessions of a little Piggy, Noveau Potato, Almost Always Ravenous and The chronicles of I-Hua. Plus they also caught up with Ruki and Theresa from The Plus ones.

Menu

Love the Blackboard sign

RNIS invited Leandro along since he is a meat eater and RNIS is not. RNIS loves fish and vegetarian foods. RNIS also was hooked on their coconut dessert which is a must. This was in the form of a soup filled with mango and dark pink balls.

Middle Fish is relatively hard to find for someone who is new to Melbourne, but for a true Melburnian Berkley st wasn't hard to find. It is in between Swanston and Elizabeth Sts(Haymakret side), just off Queensberry st.

The store is your average typical warehouse, but inside it is quite nice

Middle fish's motto is "Cook for fun" And that is exactly what Pla showed us when she demonstrated the yellow Thai curry in which you can serve with rice or noodles.

Vermicelli

Yellow curry

Curried vegetables

Buns

Mushroom spring rolls

Desserts and sauces

Balls

Ginger ale(left) and lemonade (right)

Egg

Coconut pudding

RNIS also loved the spiciness of their curries. But for those that hate spice, this is not for you. There are their lovely baos for those that can't stand spice.

We also enjoyed their salads which were made freshly and had that zing from the chilli and the lime. The lettuce leaves were very fresh.

Their desserts were to die for. I really enjoyed these handmade goodness.

My drink (watermelon and lime juice) had that fresh fruity flavor to it which I enjoyed.

Many thanks to Zilla and Brook for the invite.

Metamucil's 14 day challenge

As part of Bupa's best blog awards for 2015

RNIS purchased this for $1 at Fitness first.

Metamucil is a supplement which is meant to provide you with fibre for wellbeing. Many Australians particularly students don't get enough fibre each day and Metamucil is one way to do this.

It is relatively easy as it is just one sachet and some cold water in a glass. Give it a stir and enjoy. Or otherwise if you don't like the taste you can put it into a smoothie or juice.

I took the 14 day challenge. At first I did not sleep so well as I was getting used to feeling hungry at night and getting used to the supplement trying to clean my bowels.

After four days I was a lot happier and a lot cleaner. I was not so hungry.

After 10 days my gut was a little bit cleaner and I didn't mind the taste after all.

After 13 days I was feeling fuller for longer.

So what did RNIS learn about the product?
They learnt that it was good for you and good for your digestive health especially seeing as RNIS felt very sluggish all winter.
They also felt that they needed to get more fibre into their system seeing as in winter they ate too much fried food.

Do take the Metamucil challenge for yourself and see if you can feel the difference within 14 days. The sampler is available at Fitness first and other places, e.g: supermarkets, pharmacies and health food stores.

Kenshin- the legend ends

RNIS had a free ticket to this movie due to volunteering for JFF so they didn't have to pay.

The session started at 6:45pm at Hoyts and there were trailers and lovely ladies walking around in kimono which added to the authenticity of the movie. We were late due to Oriental Teahouse dinner so we didn't have the opportunity to take the photos with them. A lot of people came to this session.

The story follows on from the last Kenshin where there is a lot of battles going on. It is 1863 and Japan has just gone into battle. There was a bombing in Tokyo which scared many people.

I thought that the actors were good, but the storyline wasn't so great. One minute they are at war and the next people were laughing. Was it supposed to be action or comedy?

Of course all our usual characters are there: Kenshin, Miss Kaoru, Mako etc.


In the first hour of the film Kenshin is training hard under his former master, Heiko Sajiro who encourages him to try harder. At the end of the last episode Kenshin was washed up on the beach and was rescued by Sajiro. Miss Kaoru is in hospital recuperating and she remembers the last fight which is on a ship.
At the request of a new government in Japan, unrest insures and there is a new enemy who is a crazy menace. Kenshin must kill him.

In the second half, this is where all the action begins and the fight scenes were really good. This is where the big explosion was.

Do see the film for yourself.