We’ve started bringing our own lunch to work again in an attempt to cut food costs. Most of our packed lunches were left-overs from the night before and it has worked out so far. However, I’ve been scouring the web for other lunch box ideas.

Since we’re avid fans of having rice for lunch, the best ones I’ve found involves Japanese bento boxes that typically features rice. My search also led me to a new craze called Laptop Lunches, which is like the west’s answer to the bento box. I love that it looks like the food tray you get on airplanes, only with all the goodies that you pack yourself. If images of me flying to a far-off place is not motivation enough for me to bring my own lunch so that I could save for our next trip, at least I would be nourished by food that I’ve prepared myself. I also found a Flickr pool of other people’s laptop lunches that are really inspiring!

Check out the links below to see what I’m raving about.

• Cooking Cute
• Bento Lunches
• Food Fare
• Bento Yum
• Lunch in a box
• Bento Challenge
• Japanese Food Recipes
• Flickr Laptop Lunches Pool

In our quest to find the best Japanese restaurants and take-away shops around Melbourne, we were bound to have a few hits and some misses. The following were some of the places we’ve been to in the past couple of weeks that didn’t exactly meet our expectations.

First up is Iseya at Crown Casino’s food court. We didn’t specifically seek this place out but since we found ourselves at the vicinity during lunch hour last week, we decided to give this place a try. Aside from the croquette (korokke) from the bain-marie, we ordered the Beef Teriyakidon and Chicken Oyakodon.

Hubby had to wait about ten minutes to get our food, which looked like it wasn’t prepared fresh at all. The food look like it has been sitting in a pot all day and was just microwaved. You’d think that they would have at least made sure that the egg on the Oyakodon was partially cooked but it was served to me raw with the lukewarm rice and meat. The croquette was too starchy and only mildly tasted of potato (methinks maybe it has more flour than potato?), the Teriyakidon was too sweet and the Oyakodon was just so-so. Definitely won’t be eating there again.

Next is Teppansan Japanese Cafe (179 Russell Street, Melbourne). We’ve read positive reviews about the tasty Japanese Pizza and everyone who’d previously reviewed it has been amazed at how cheap the food here is. Our lunch-time experience there started well enough, I liked their calligraphy-inspired drawings on the wall and we were served our soup and drinks promptly after sitting. We were given the main menu (which consisted of almost 150 items, including drinks) and the lunch set menu. I ordered the Beef Pizza set with the takoyaki while hubby had the Chicken Pizza set with California rolls. Half an hour later and after watching the people beside us eat, we were still waiting for our food. Hubby asked the waitress about our order and a couple of minutes later was served our pizzas. It took several more prodding from Gj for us to get our spring rolls, California rolls and finally the takoyaki. I think the servers need a reminder that appetizers should come before the mains and not the other way around.

The food was good but nothing spectacular and certainly not authentic (I guess it should be expected when their menu is in Chinese rather than Japanese and their set meals are called bendon instead of bento). The final bill wasn’t so bad ($11.50 each for the set meal plus softdrinks) and would be great for the budget-conscious but the terrible service and lack of attention to detail ruined the experience for us. This could be a good place to dine if they could address their haphazard ordering system (pieces of paper placed everywhere on a table) and hiring more hands during the busy lunch hour would be a good idea as well.

Lastly, there’s Yu-U (137 Flinders Lane, Melbourne). Again, everyone seems to be raving about this difficult-to-find place so we finally booked a table for today. We found their nondescript door easily enough and noticed that a sign posted on the door warned would-be customers that they only serve set meals during lunch time, today it’s pork hamburger with tonkatsu sauce (click on third photo below for a schedule of set meals for this month). We walked down the flight of stairs and were immediately impressed with the simple but elegant interior. The lights were strategically placed and dimmed, creating an intimate atmosphere. We were seated at the bar and immediately served our green tea, with our set lunches arriving soon after. I was about to take a photo of my lunch when the server came up to me and informed me that taking photos is not allowed. I apologised and quickly pocketed my phone, wondering why they don’t put up a “No photography” sign outside if they don’t want guests taking photos. Needless to say, it sort of put me off the dining experience.

The set meal turned out to be cold soba noodles for starters, a small serving of pickled vegetables, tasty broth, steamed rice topped with burger steak in sauce and a small piece of pineapple. The meal was okay but nothing to write home about. We’re not big fans of cold soba noodles so that kind of detracted from the whole meal and the burger steak was average and the BBQ sauce a bit too tangy for my taste. At $15 a pop, this is one of the more expensive lunches we’ve had. Hubby and I agree, this place is way overrated and we probably won’t be dining there again.

We have been fans of Japanese cuisine even before we even set foot on the Land of the Rising Sun. Since coming back from our holiday there, we have a better appreciation of Japanese food and have been trying some of the fast food shops and restaurants serving Japanese food around Melbourne.

First off is Ajisen Ramen (130 Bourke Street, Melbourne). A well-known Japanese franchise serving up ramen and other donburi dishes, the pork broth they use for the ramen is tasty and would warm you up on any cold day. I had high hopes for their ramen but the noodles itself was nothing out of the ordinary. They serve ramen with some seaweed, hard boiled egg and vegetables with whatever meat you choose. I recommend the Paiku Ramen. If you like lots of garlic with your ramen, a lavish sprinkling from the bottle of red garlic powder at your table should do the trick.

Other than ramen, we have also tried the Omu-raisu (Omelette Rice), which was massive. The rice stuffing turned out to be fried rice, it was okay but not spectacular. Hubby’s favourite is their Sizzling Chicken, which is buttery chicken served on a sizzling plate with some vegetables in soy sauce and rice. Prices are reasonable ($10-12 for mains) and the service fast, if not hurried. The decor is sparse and I think they could benefit from adding more lighting inside. But hey, if you want some comfort food on a rainy day, the decor certainly shouldn’t stop you.

Another great place tucked along the Causeway lane is Sushi Monger (Shop 17, 309 Bourke Street, Melbourne, (03) 9663 0899). Serving mostly bento boxes and sushi, the place has always been crowded everytime we wanted to try it. We went in for some early lunch one day and were lucky to get some seats. Staffed by a Japanese family, the service was quick and polite. Prices were very affordable too, with rice dishes ranging from $7.50-$9.80 and bento boxes at $8.80-$9.80.

I had the Ebi Fry Bento with a choice of two sushi while hubby had the Sukiyaki Bento with rice. Both were quite good and we finished off everything, including the seaweed salad and fish cakes! If you’re very hungry and feel like a spot of Japanese curry, they do a very good katsu curry. Arrive early if you plan to have lunch here as they only have limited seating in their small space.

Last but certainly not the least is Horoki (19 Liverpool Street, Melbourne, (03) 9663 2227). Although I wouldn’t classify this restaurant as strictly Japanese since they also feature Western inspired dishes, it’s Japanese fusion at its best. Their limited lunch menu offers the diner a lunch platter consisting of 3 dishes of your choice to be served with either bread or rice. We love their Hamburg steak with mashed potatoes as well as their lightly crumbed chicken schnitzel (katsu).

Although each serving look like it’s small, it’s well presented and would fill you up quite nicely. Dishes are made-to-order so they are served to you fresh and warm, although it may mean several minutes of waiting. It’s well worth the wait though and the service is quick. The interiors are modern and relaxing, with the big, disc-shaped ceiling lights illuminating the cosy space. You would have to book a table or just sit at the bar if you’d like to just walk in and have lunch. The lunch platter would set you back $12.90, a bit pricier than what we’d normally spend for lunch but hits just the right spot when we feel like treating ourselves to very good food.

After spending the whole of Saturday outside (played badminton, went shopping, attended Elmer’s and Greg’s birthday party — Happy Birthday, guys!), me and Raquel planned to just stay in the house last Sunday. Didn’t happen that way though.

Around noon, we didn’t have any food to eat so we decided to eat out. Then we remembered Smorgy’s, the all-you-can-eat restaurant we saw the past weekend in Geelong. I was in a mood to drive to see the ocean anyway so Geelong it was.

It was surprisingly good value, actually, at only $14.95 each for the buffet lunch. I liked best the honey chicken, fried rice, rissoles, lasagna and the stir-fry vegies. Here’s the rest of their menu: Click here.

As expected from having eaten all we can, we were feeling very guilty. We definitely needed to walk off some of that food we’ve taken in. Fortunately, we have yet to see the remaining bollards we’ve missed from the weekend before. According to the tourism literature, the rest of the bollards are on the other side of the beach going to Rippleside Park.

Click here to view photo album

I think we got all of the bollards this time though.

I promise that I’ll be writing about our trip home to the Philippines soon. Meanwhile, Raquel and I decided to try something different. That is, instead of her doing the cooking and me doing the cleanup after meals, I’ll take a stab at doing the cooking chores. And I admit that I’m actually liking this new arrangement. I always wanted to do something constructive and creative which I sort of get when I cooked.

Being a complete beginner, I made mistakes, I found it difficult to estimate the amount of seasoning needed in the dish I’m preparing and I prepare the food real slowly (to Raquel’s consternation). However, I’m very confident that, in time, my proficiency at cooking would improve.

As the new resident cook, I took the opprotunity to cook dishes that I love. To date, I’ve done the following dishes: Picadillo (with additional shredded cabbage), Beef Stroganoff, Chicken and Sundried Tomato Pasta Bake (with the help of a prepackaged pasta sauce), Chicken Longganisa and a batch of fudge cookies (see photo).

Up next this week is Bistek Pilipino (Filipino-style Beef Steak) followed by another variant of the pasta bake. I’ll try something with more vegetables next week though. I didn’t realise that most of the dishes I’ve done (and will do) don’t have much in terms of veggies.

What’s white inside but golden brown, breaded and crispy on the outside and goes well with tomato sauce? Nuggets, of course. We had some nice nuggets with last night for dinner along with some rice and tinned soup. What’s different about these nuggets though is that there is no meat in sight.

We first had our taste of Beer Tofu when we were invited for a homecooked meal by a vegetarian friend. I’ve been making it occasionally since then and had enjoyed having it each time. It’s easy, simple, cheap and delicious. Definitely a keeper!

After hearing Mass and watching our friends G and E act as commentators last Sunday, we headed off to the this year’s Spring Harvest Picnic at Werribee Park. There were lots of cars in the designated car park area when we arrived that afternoon. The car park area was basically just one big empty dusty field but it was a pretty big field as it could accommodate all the cars parked that day. There were so many cars that the parking spot we got was a few minutes walk from the entrance gate.

We went there basically for some food tasting and to roam around the Werribee Mansion. And that’s what we did. The yard in front of the mansion was circled with stalls occupied by food and wine companies selling their wares. In the middle of it all were the visitors who have set themselves up for a picnic. We should have brought our own blanket or chairs and enjoyed the wonderful sunny day right there.

They didn’t have to bring any food to this particular picnic because it could easily bought from one of the surrounding stalls anyway. And in some cases, you can get it for free like the free bowl of mixed fresh fruits from the fruits awareness stall. Feeling thirsty, “have a taste” of some of the wines and juices there.

The wonderful thing about all the free-tasting there was that I was at last able to have a small taste of some of the products I see on supermarket shelves without having the need to buy a whole box of it first. Take the variety of Waterthins twists flavours for example. Each box is worth about $4 in the grocery. I don’t want to buy a whole box of it just to find out in the end that I don’t like the taste of the flavour I’ve chosen. Should I then buy another box with a different flavour just to find out if I’d like it? There, I got to taste all their flavours making it easy to choose which flavour (if any) I was going to buy. What’s more was that they sell the products cheaper there, too.

After a quick round of looking at the stalls there, we lined up for entry into the Werribee Mansion. It was quite amusing to see the staff there walking around the court yard and inside the mansion wearing Victorian-era period clothes. There were lots of rooms to explore inside the mansion revealing different aspects of what life was like for rich folk back in the old days.

The most uncomfortable thing I noticed about the mansion was the obvious presence of dead animals. There were quite a few animal head trophies that hung from the walls. There were also a few animal rugs with the animal’s stuffed head still attached. There was a stuffed dog in a glass case, an elephant foot turned into a stool and a couple of knives with handles made out of dead animal limbs! But that was how it was like in the old days, I just told myself.

So, after exploring the mansion, enjoying the band that played in the open grounds, tasting the variety of food on offer and buying some of it, we decided to leave an hour before the end of the event in order to avoid the other people all leaving at the same time.

Unfortunately, we were too late. A lot of people also decided to leave then. There was just one road out of the park and all the cars have to line up to go through it. It took us over an hour just to get out of the park. It was the most horrible part of the day.

Next year, we’ll probably go back and we’d be better prepared for it. We’ll be bringing a big blanket, some chairs and a giant umbrella. We’ll also come in earlier and leave earlier to avoid the rush out of there in the afternoon. We’ll also invite our friends to come along next time. After all, the more, the merrier.