Posts tagged review
Korean Barbeque at 火爐 Hwaro, Melbourne
Sep 3rd
Monday 9 August 2010
I actually laughed at my own stupidity thinking back on how we actually find this place. Walking in the opposite direction as well as figuring out which road is which road here and there takes us more than 30 minutes of walk.


Good thing we finally found this very place that was recommended by a friend. It was our first night there in Melbourne and the first dinner we had was Korean food!


Entering the place with a low light setting where i could see that 100% of the people there were Asians(Most Koreans), a very friendly efficient staff ushered us to this very place next to this wall. The wall full of scribblings – Not something new though but i was happy reading some of the stuffs written then, some by fellow Malaysians! Lol.

As usual, there’ll be the side dishes (ban chan) served in Korean BBQ Restaurants which includes the must have Kim Chi!

(Bul-Go-Gi)Grilled Marinated Beef AUD $18.90 – 4/5
Marinated Beef Pork Ribs AUD $18.90 -4/5
Mushroom AUD $5.00 -4/5
The Pork Ribs were pretty good and the marinated beef was just awesome! Perhaps it’s the sauce that they used to marinate them, but one thing i’m sure that the meats in Melbourne taste better than the ones in Malaysia, especially the beefs!!
Of course, it all depends on how you barbeque them.

The girlfriend did barbeque some of the meat herself too, prolly better to do it yourself sometimes to get more satisfied at the end of the meal Lol.
We had a staff helping us from time to time and the meats served were just nice. <3
Oh and you noticed the mushrooms? Mushrooms are our favorites so well, we loved it!

Tofu Soup AUD 25.00 – 4/5
We both love this Tofu Soup very much. With mushrooms and lots of tofu with assorted vegetables along with some spices, this single dish had us extremely full at the end of our meals. The portion was quite big actually but we were satisfied!

Steam Rice AUD $2.00
At the end of the day, we had quite a good dining experience with great customer service provided by the staffs. The food was good and i actually like it more if compared to Daorae Korean BBQ in KL.
*Maybe i should frequent Daorae more to try out more of their available choices.
Of course, the person you’re eating with often plays quite an important role and that makes the first dinner in Melbourne memorable for me personally. =)

Would definitely go back there if i get the chance to go to Melbourne again!
Melbourne 火爐 Hwaro Korean BBQ
Address : 562, Little Bourke Street Melbourne Vic, 3000
Phone Number : 03-96425696
review on Love in Disguise 恋爱通告
Sep 2nd

You know, i actually feel quite weird and out of the box when i was attending Wang Lee Hom The 18 Martial Arts Press Conference 2 weekends back. The reason being for i haven watch this movie back then and when the press were asking some questions, i don’t really get the full picture.
Anyways, i just watched it yesterday night and i like it quite a lot!


With Wang Lee Hom 王力宏 himself as the main actor on a character which is very very similar with himself in real life – A talented superstar, he appeared in a concert scene at the start of the movie. As far as i know, the fans were his real fans in real life and they all gathered for the film in making just to watch Lee Hom performing and according to news reports, the concert scenes were as good as Lee Hom’s actual concerts in real life.
From lightings to staging with dancers and different costumes.
One thing i find it weird in the concert is the fans were TOO organized which make the concert don’t look like a concert, that’s if you notice.


Chen Han Dian 陈汉典 is actually one of the reason i wanted to watch this movie as well. I’ve been a regular viewer of Kang Xi 康熙来了 (A Taiwan Variety/Entertainment show) and he’s been made fun of quite frequently on the show being said making friends with Lee Hom and action already & etc, making fun of him in a funny way of course.
Thanks to Chen Han Dian 陈汉典, this movie had a little bit more humor in it and of course, i didn’t expect that humor part to come from Lee Hom 王力宏 as well, he’s that kinda cool cool smile smile guy and i thought that’s all. Not bad!


How can i miss out Liu Yi Fei 刘亦菲!! Knew her existence a few years back but didn’t really get to see her act much as i’m not that interested in films/dramas from China but i’ve listened to her album before(A lot of times some more) and that was how i started liking her.



and so, it’s actually a simple story of a superstar realizing that he wants to live an ordinary life thanks to this random passer by girl who appeared out of no where where they eventually fell in love. The type of ordinary girl whom can be find anywhere, she don’t fancy mainstream music and her interest is more towards the classical ones.
The acting was quite okay and the storyline was a simple love story so nothing much could possible go wrong with that.


Quite nice i thought. Not TOO slow like how other Taiwan movies, just nice for me actually and i really salute Lee Hom for completing both his 18 Martial Arts Album and this movie on a same time frame where he emphasizes/promotes China Classical Music on both paths.

Just thought that there were a bit too much imaginary scenes, would prefer less of it but that’s just my personal preference and oh actually, the audio editing could be better as well.
Nonetheless, i think that this is a good film from the first time director Wang Lee Hom 王力宏!
My Rating for this movie is 7.5/10
*Thanks to Sony Music Malaysia for the tickets!
review on The Stool Pigeon 线人
Aug 29th

The Stool Pigeon 线人 is a quality Hong Kong Movie. That’s what i was thinking when i finish watching this movie. 1 hour and 50 minutes is quite a long time i must say but it was worth the ticket price.


Featuring Nicholas Tse 谢霆锋 and Nick Cheung 张家辉, both of which are talented award winning actors were somehow a boast for this movie i think. They are good at what they’re doing and in this movie itself they played their character pretty good as well.

Kwai Lun Mei 桂綸鎂 on the other hand was good at handling her role. Never did i imagine that she could take such role and i was actually impressed.



In this movie Nicholas is an informant reporting to Nick who plays a cop and in between the complications in their world, there were some other elements which supports the character showing a slightly different side of them.
In the world of an informant, nobody can be trusted and most of these people will end up in a very very sad state and this single point have been displayed through various movies especially by the Hong Kong movie industry in the past 10 years. Same goes to this movie.


What i like about this movie is they’ve got a good script & storyline along with the strong cast that made this movie entertaining for me, a complete storyline. But i must say that not many people would like this kind of film as there were quite a few scenes that were slow and draggy, scenes that further explains the characteristic of a person in the movie with a few flashbacks and such.


On top of that, because it’s a movie about the informant world, it’s one film which is quite dark if you know what i mean. It’s a movie that won’t make you relax and go hehe haha, so i’d figure out that some people will say no to such movie.

Some quality display i thought though. Definitely not a crappy movie. =)
*Oh btw, this movie is quite violent, with quite a lot of blood.
My Rating for this movie is 7.5/10
ShareQueen Victoria Market, Melbourne
Aug 26th

The Queen Victoria Market (also known as the Queen Vic Markets or simply as the Queen Vic or “Vic Market”) is a major landmark in Melbourne, Australia, and at around seven hectares (17 acres) is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere. The Market is significant to Melbourne’s culture and heritage and has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The Market is named after Queen Victoria who ruled the British Empire, from 1837 to 1901.
The Queen Victoria Market is the only surviving 19th century market in the Melbourne central business district. There were once three major markets in the Melbourne CBD, but two of them, the Eastern Market and Western Market, both opened before the Queen Victoria, closed in the 1960s. It also forms part of an important collection of surviving Victorian markets which includes the inner suburban Prahran Market and South Melbourne Market.
Source : Wikipedia

During my trip to Melbourne early this month, me and the girlfriend actually visited Queen Victoria Market twice. First time was just to explore the place and on the second time itself, we went there to hunt for souvenirs.


It was actually a huge open-air market with items ranging from raw food materials to clothings to fruits & vegetables and etc. If you are a chef and you love cooking, this would be a heaven to you because you can actually spend your whole day there looking and handpicking what you want.


The reason i said so is because the seafood there were so fresh and the meats are like summoning you to them and even someone like me who don’t fancy cooking would stop from time to time to just check out what have they got to offer.



On top of that, unlike the “Pasar” in Malaysia, Queen Victoria Market is really freaking clean and the smell isn’t that heavy as if you’re near a rubbish dumping site or something like that WHICH IS the case for the markets in Malaysia.

You have got to try this German Sausage there in the Market (I think there’s only one stall selling it if i’m not mistaken) which cost you like around AUD$5. Pretty delicious and juicy with the onions and sauces added together, a perfect breakfast if you ask me because i had it for breakfast the first time i was there! =D


These mini jam donuts were pretty good as well. I’ve read somewhere online that the American Doughnut Kitchen (In the form of mini van when i was there) have been serving the public at Queen Victoria Market for more than 50 years already.

With their hot, sugary jam fillings, this mini van is normally surrounded by people lining up to get their hands on the donuts. I think it’s AUD$1 for 1. Definitely a must try!



This was where we had spend most time seeking for souvenirs and of course stuffs for ourselves to bring back. Clothings, shoes, artsy items, and all sorts of stuffs can be found here and yes it’s still part of Queen Victoria Market!


It’s a beautiful place in fact and if it’s your first time visiting Melbourne, i suggest you visit Queen Victoria Market as it is like an icon for the city already where you can hunt for souvenirs at good deals!
Last but not least, let me show you a video on the place itself. A video i found on Vimeo. Enjoy! =)
Address :
Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne
Corner of Victoria and Elizabeth Streets in the Melbourne CBD
513 Elizabeth Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Trading Hours :
Tue: 6am – 2pm
Thu: 6am – 2pm
Fri: 6am – 5pm
Sat: 6am – 3pm
Sun: 9am – 4pm
(general merchandise to 4pm – weekdays)
CLOSED: Mondays, Wednesdays, Good Friday, Anzac Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Official site of Queen Victoria Market
Follow Queen Victoria Market on Twitter.
review on Step Up 3D
Aug 25th

The fact that i did not watch this movie in 3D but because the movie title includes the word 3D so don’t get me wrong, this movie review is base on the 3rd movie of Step Up series watched in 2D.


Alright so i didn’t watch the first 2 movies and i have no idea on how was it but base on this movie alone, i won’t say that it’s awesomely great. The cast sure can dance no doubt but it’s a movie and it requires some level of acting, most of them aren’t good at it when it comes to acting.


Then again, the storyline was pretty predictable. Of course, the film uses a safe mode approach with the standard friendship, betrayals, love and rivalry stuffs in it. I mean like if it’s the first one then it’s still acceptable, but this is the 3rd Step Up film, it should be better.



The dance moves were amazing, with good choreography and arrangements. There were quite a lot of dance scenes as well, enough to make you happy going out of the cinemas if your main objective is on the battles alone and not the storyline.


Wished i could watch this movie in 3D though. Sigh.
*Thanks to Kel Li for the tickets!
My Rating for this movie is 5.5/10
ShareAwesome Vietnamese Beef Noodles at Mekong, Melbourne
Aug 22nd

Wednesday 11 August 2010
Our very 3rd day there in Melbourne that is. Waking up hunting for lunch under the drizzling rain on the streets of Melbourne. Mekong is one of the many food places recommended by a few friends when i was still planning on this trip.


The place was fully packed with mainly Asians and i could already smell the soup when we enter into Mekong. Only managed to find a place for ourselves beside the wall and ordered what we wanted.



Durian Smoothy – AUD $4.2
Rating – 3/5
Hot tea is available for free at every table and i really recommend you not to order any drinks and just go along with the tea if you’re on a tight budget. However if you want to order drinks, i’ve tried the Durian Smoothy and i think it’s nice. =D

Rice Paper Rolls (Chargrilled Chicken) 2pcs – AUD$4.5
Rating – 2.5/5
Don’t ask me why we ordered this but well i just think that it’s just so so only. With slices of chicken and lettuce with other ingredients, the sauce that goes along with it does not satisfy my stomach. Something is lacking i feel.

Broken Rice with Chargrilled Chicken – AUD $9
Rating – 3/5
This is what the girlfriend ordered and i tried thinking that it was just average. Nothing more i can say about it.

Beef and Beef Balls Noodles – $9.5
Rating 4.5/5
With a strong base of beef bone soup, this is one of the best food I’ve ate in Melbourne. Served with awesome juicy beef meats and beef balls, i couldn’t help but to finish it though the portion was relatively bigger than what i’ve expected! The soup was cooked pretty well and balanced where the meats are really tasty.

The chili there served little purpose though.
Anyways, in my opinion, if you were to visit Mekong in Melbourne, just order the Beef Noodles as i think that the other food available there are just average only, a few online searches would further justify why i said so.

I guess the famous personalities was there just because of that single dish only. Cheers!
Address :
Mekong 湄江牛河屋
Vietnam Original Vietnamese Rice/Noodle/Soups
241 Swanston Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone (03) 9663 3288
review on Grown Ups
Aug 21st

Grown Ups is a movie with an easy going story featuring the happenings (funny in most scenes) surrounding 5 friends who grew up together where they were reunited due to the death of the coach who leaded them to a basketball champion title during their younger days.




Along with the family members, the 5 of them attended the funeral of their coach with a series of entertain-able jokes/scenes. Nothing much to hoo-haa about though, just laughters from time to time.


Time were spent together at a vacation house where they did stupid stuffs. Some were too stupid to laugh at.


Basically, it’s a plain movie and if you’re those kind of people who somehow won’t get the jokes being shared in the movie, you’ll think that this is a boring one. It’s not that kinda action packed movies nor it will twist your mind like inception.


If you ask me, i would just say it’s an OKAY film only. Perhaps if you’re a big fan of Adam Sandler then you can head to the cinemas then.
My Rating for this movie is 5.5/10
*thanks to Nuffnang for the ticket




