Tag Archives: coffee

10 UNIQUE F&B OUTLETS IN MELBOURNE

December 25, 2016 Big Roy Leave a comment

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Hey y’all!

I told myself to complete this write up before my next trip and here I am now compiling all the unique eating places which I’ve been to during my last trip in Aug this year (2016). There are definitely more hidden gems located in this beautiful city which I call my second home. Maybe I can unearth them up during my future trips there to visit my beloved God daughter and buddies.

For those going to Melbourne for the first time, this may not be a good guide for you because first timers usually go to the usual touristy and popular places. Follow a tour if you need to but if you like free and easy like me, maybe you might wanna check out my previous posts of the following:

Cafes and Eateries In Melbourne – Day 1

Cafes and Eateries In Melbourne – Day 2

Cafes & Eateries In Melbourne – Day 3

Cafes & Eateries In Melbourne Day 4

Cafes & Eateries In Melbourne Day 5

Cafes & Eateries In Melbourne Days 6-10

Ok let’s start this unique eating journey now.

1. GLADSTONE VIEWS FISH & CHIPS (CAR BONNET EXPERIENCE)

If you’re renting your cars from APEX like I did, you may be hungry after all the documentation. I found this little takeaway store not too far away, just to try some local fish and chips. It was surprisingly good, so was the burger. Just don’t look at how they prepare the food though, hygiene is definitely questionable. But after deep frying, no worries mate! Afterall, how often you get to enjoy lovely weathers and savour your food off your car bonnet? 😉

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/7fkKQd5uRF12

2. HELLO COFFEE (DOCKYARD EXPERIENCE)

Found this little gem when I was at Apollo Bay. Located amongst a dockyard area, Hello Coffee started less than a year ago. Very self-sufficient by roasting their own beans and getting supplies from the neighbouring farms. Totally envy them on the the freshness of these supplies! A very nice place to chill and would revisit if I have another chance.

Lovely fireplace which is a gem during winters

Coffee by the fireplace is just so warm at heart

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/z1kRSjfsiHC2

3. FOCUS COFFEE (RARE COFFEE BEANS EXPERIENCE)

Little do many know that this coffee joint imports their beans from the world renowned Ninety Plus Coffee whose coffees are largely sort after. Coming here you will definitely satisfy your caffeine cravings. You may wanna check out their daily specials as well if you’re feeling peckish, they change their menu frequently.

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/eEb9hZDzU9S2

4. LONGRAIN RESTAURANT (HIDDEN GEM EXPERIENCE)

Tucked at the end of Little Burke Street, this restaurant is always crowded with locals mainly and little do they know that the chef there used to work in Michelin starred restaurants. It was recommended by a manager at a whiskey distillery down at Apollo Bay area. The Thai-influenced fusion food was amazing all the way from appetisers to desserts and the wine selection was pretty good as well.

This tuna salad is really good. Gotta eat with the crackers.

This grilled squid was very well done and the dipping sauce it came with was the bomb.

Can’t remember the name of this egg net thing but it’s a big portion. Best for sharing.

Caramelised figs, aerated white choc, and Thai Milk Tea ice cream… What a way to end the dinner.

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/BtEmZaTm7Tw

5. THE VERTUE OF THE COFFEE DRINK (BEHIND PETROL KIOSK EXPERIENCE)

This one’s a winner. Finding this place is half the fun! I circled around a few rounds just to find this place. What’s even better is, they have awesome beans which are roasted in-house and the food is just to die for! Service wise is just excellent. Definitely needs a revisit!

Crispy Pork Belly ($22), served with soft duck egg, spiced sweet potato puree, black pudding and quince gel. A damn awesome dish!

Their signature blend, Sabertooth. Love it!

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/Y4mStF9jQXS2

6. AUNTY PEG’S (NO MILK EXPERIENCE)

Aunty Peg’s is a spring off of the famous coffee roaster/cafe Proud Mary. This premise not just roast for their own branches but supplies to other cafes as well. so what’s so unique about this place? They only serve black coffee… meaning, they do not have milk at all. So if you love coffee as it is, you can order your filtered coffees and espressos here like I did. Nightmare to milk base coffee drinkers. Heh heh…

The bar. If only I can buy these good machines. Sigh…

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/Lg1taTM87zy

7. IZAKAYA DEN (UNDERGROUND EXPERIENCE)

Like some of the places listed here, half the fun is finding them. I came across this place by chance and was indeed quite hard to find. Service is excellent, food is damn good. A little pricey though, but the quality is what you are paying for. Check out below how I found the place.

Not a very big signage so quite hard to spot

First flight of stairs downwards is a yoga studio

Second flight of stairs to the restaurant

Den Fried Chicken ($14) is nice and juicy… prep and fried on the spot.

Kale Agebidashi ($11). Deep fried, not too bad.

Grilled Cheek Barra ($17). Quite nice and fatty.

Fried Black Rice ($12). Quite a unique dish offered.

Pork Yakiniku ($19). Love the part meat part fats combi. Yums!

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/EgTSuduZkEG2

8. BROTHER BABA BUDAN (CHAIRS OVERHEAD EXPERIENCE)

Ok this place is not exactly hidden but I have not written about it for my previous trips. But the unique thing about this place is that they hanged all the chairs up on the ceiling! But of course their coffee is good as well… Seven Seeds is a little hard to go wrong. 😉

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/xjs4JQ3P8LE2

9. MART 130 (TRAIN STATION EXPERIENCE)

This is another unique place which is introduced by a friend. Love this old train station converted into a cafe. The food here is actually pretty good! Coffee is ok. Best place for brunch but can get super crowded.

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/na5uw1rjXKt

10. EASEY’S (TRAIN CARRIAGE EXPERIENCE)

Easey’s is one of the most unique places I’ve been. From the above train station, to eating in a train carriage. Not a common place for tourists but definitely a great place to satisfy your burger cravings.

Melbourne Madness ($23). Really satisfying!

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/aKHBsFnq47s

Alright that’s all for now, Melbourne never fails to amaze me with new stuffs with every visit. Feel free to ask me about Melbourne if you’re planning a trip there via eatwithroy@gmail.com. I’ll reply as soon as I can. Till my next post, Merry Christmas y’all!

Gastronomically yours,

Big Roy

Cantonese, Media Invite, Singapore, Vegetarian

[FOOD TASTING] Samsara Gourmet – Novena, Singapore

February 9, 2016 Big Roy Leave a comment

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I apologise for not writing much lately as I was pretty swarmed with work as I do not have any part-timers helping me since school reopened. At the same time, I was planning for my upcoming coffee pilgrimage and food trail in Medan and Sumatra. Updates will be more frequent on my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/eatwithroy/) so if you guys like, can follow me there.

Recently I was invited for a hosted dinner at Samsara Gourmet, a hidden gem serving excellent authentic Canton cuisine at reasonable prices, with a head chef formerly from Tunglok Group. This humble 50-seater restaurant with a private room is owned by Ms Violet Lee, who was Miss Singapore in the 1980s, came back to Singapore after spending more than 2 decades in China building an empire.

After much checking out online, Samsara Gourmet is seriously out of the radar in the social media circle although fellow bloggers like Maureen (www.misstamchiak.com) and Derrick (www.sgfoodonfoot.com) have written on them some time ago. Location could be a factor and also lack of publicity, which is why I am writing this blog entry. The food here is so awesome that I really need to share it here.

Vegetarian Abalone Lou Hei. As mentioned in my instagram post, the veg are cut daily and really fresh and refreshing. An alternative to the regular sugar coated ones. The sauce is also made in house, a very nice rendition to the Lou Hei.

Vegetarian Platter. The mock char siew in front was really good, the middle mock goose with shrooms fillings was delicious and the top mock kidney was really crunchy and tasty. Great starter dish!

Fish Maw Soup. Served in individual bowls of $8 if I am not wrong. Full of ingredients, fish maw and chinese mushrooms sourced from HK and hand carried back. I didn’t even put any vinegar and white pepper which I usually do.

Samsara Gui Fei Chicken. Meat was very tender and skin was so smooth, it was pretty hard to kiap with my chopsticks. A must-order!

Pumpkin Prawn Ball is also another winning dish. Love how the sweetness of the pumpkin coated the large de-shelled prawns. Lovely!

Pork Knuckle Mee Sua was so good, I wish there were more. The mee sua is not clumpy and really delicious. Pork knuckle was really tender with the skin jellyfying in your mouth! Another must-order!

Claypot Chicken Rice. Wow this really wraps up the night. Rice was cooked to al dente, chicken was boneless thigh meat and very tender. Chinese sausage (Wing Wah) and mushroom were hand carried back from Hong Kong. Missing this quite a bit!

Rating: 5/5.

Taste: Truly authentic Canton food. They can also cater for vegetarian options. Really good.

Portion: Good.

Service: Very attentive. I hope it’s not because the boss was there.

Ambience: Nice and pretty chill.

Price: Considering the quality, very reasonable. At least much better than my reunion dinner at another restaurant.

RTE: Definitely!

Location & Hours:

Add: 38 Irrawaddy Road, #01-05, Singapore 329563 (On the right side of the lobby of Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre @ Novena)
Tel: +65 67343138
Hours: Mon-Fri: 9am – 9pm, Sat: 9am – 6pm, Closed on Sun & PH

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/cDvZw1JtNRS2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Samsara-Gourmet-1519293228391002/info?tab=overview

————————————————————————————-

*** CNY PROMOTION ***

Show this blogpost to enjoy a 30% discount off all a la carte dishes with min $50 spending for dinner only from 6-9pm. Valid till 29th Feb 2016!

Da Nang, Vietnam

Top 5 Cafes In Da Nang – Vietnam

December 31, 2015 Big Roy 2 Comments

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Currently transiting in Ho Chih Minh City’s airport so I’m taking the opportunity to write this before I’m back to hectic schedules.

Vietnamese coffees are still pretty much using robusta beans and roasted till very dark with margarine and sugar. Sounds familiar? Yeah a little like Singapore’s Kopitiam coffee but this is pure 100%. No adding of corn or any form of fillers. That’s why the taste is always super bold, coupled with a nice caramelized finish. Arabica coffees are rare as they are usually double the selling price but most of the time, the baristas fail in their extraction. Anyways, holidays are meant to chill, hence I was cool about it. 😉

Anyways, my Top 5 list is base on mainly coffee, ambience and service. May differ from yours so just use this as a guide. You can check out my videos uploaded on my Instagram (@eatwithroy or #roydanang) or FB page.

No. 5 – Gopatel Hotel Coffee House

Ambience: Yes, it’s the cafe at hotel that I was staying in. Yes they have buffet lunch, tea and buffet dinner too. So you can go try if around that area. Not much of ambience but they do have full window seats looking out. Free wifi but slow.

Service: Service is ok.

Coffee: Vietnamese coffee brewed in batch. Served daily at the buffet was just really rich with flavour, really nice even with fresh milk mixed into it.

Add: 202 Nguyễn Chí Thanh, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

Tel: +84 93 5007707

No. 4 – Rafew Cafe

Ambience: I was debating with the guys if they meant ‘refuel’ or ‘review’ when naming this place. Anyways Rafew is tucked away within the city, walking distance from Gopatel hotel. Very instagrammable ambience, there’s a second storey overlooking the backyard. When I was there, it was very nice and windy. Really chill. Free wifi.

Service: Service was absent after the first order. No one came back to check on us. We had to pay our bill downstairs.

Coffee: No espresso based drinks, no Viet drip coffees. Only those pre-maid and iced coffees. Tiramisu can skip.

Add: 58 Hoàng Văn Thụ, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

Tel: +84 90 5773721

No. 3 – Coffee Namu Namu

Ambience: Love the interiors of this place, very modern, has 3 levels and obviously I climbed to the top level. At the rooftop, you can see the Dragon Bridge afar and also the Ferris wheel. Very chill especially when the weather is as chilly now. Free wifi.

Service: Very good and always smiling.

Coffee: Finally some espresso drinks but latte was a little on the weak side. Not cheap though as beans are said to be Italian. Banana bread could be more moist though.

Add: Q. Hải Châu, 180 Bạch Đằng, Hải Châu 1, Q. Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

Tel: 0511 3575808

Web: http://www.namunamu.vn

No. 2 – Pho Xua

Ambience: Super rustic and traditional Viet. Felt a little like entering one of the temples in Cambodia. There’s a second storey also.

Service: Not too bad and they stationed one person upstairs.

Coffee: No espresso based drinks, only Vietnamese drips or iced. This is probably one best local beans I’ve tasted so far; rich, bold, flavourful, brown sugar finish. Good place for food too.

Add: 17 Phan Đình Phùng, Hải Châu 1, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

Tel: +84 511 3894589

No. 1 – Cong Ca Phe

Ambience: Cong has a very nice rustic olden Vietnamese revolution decor and the name says it all. I totally love this place especially level 2 where you can see the Han River. Staffs are all don with green tshirt uniforms which fits in the whole branding very well. Free wifi. But people smoke inside the enclosed area which is bad for non-smokers.

Service: Pretty attentive and prompt.

Coffee: No espresso based drinks. Coffees are good and very creative. Love their Coconut Coffee Smoothie and iced coffee with fresh milk. Can try the coconut glutinous rice with coffee also.

Add: 1 hai chau 1, 98 Bạch Đằng, Hải Châu 1, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

Indonesia, Medan

Foodtrail in Medan Day 2 – Indonesia

October 19, 2015 Big Roy 2 Comments

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Ok it’s Day 2 in Medan when I went around with the driver and trust me, this day I ate nothing less of that of Day 1! Let’s get started!

Woke up to a nice buffet brekkie. Simple foods make me happy… as long as they have an egg station to make my omelette! With more cheese please!

Ok this egg plant sambal is BLARDY GOOD! I went back for 2 rounds of just egg plant!

Left the hotel, spotted this and I was told this is actually a landmark in Medan… It’s a water tank and will light up at night.

Railway tracks run through the back of some housing… Reminds me of a lot of places… Thailand, India, etc…

Chinatown… full of business activities… just like our Hong Kong Street in the morning.

Cybercafe… Singapore kids don’t know how lucky they are….

My first stop… Thirty Six Cafe. Came earlier but not opened, so went to get my SIM card first.

Love the ambience. One of the bosses at the machine.

Behind is a stage where local bands will perform on weekends.

Wow chillax seats and watch the performance! I need to lie on this the next time I’m there!

Wanted to check out this curry noodles but I have another place in mind

First you find this thing then turn left!

Bihun Bebek Akien (Duck Beehoon… Akien is the name of the owner) Wonder nice or not

These fatty pork belly just melts in the mouth. Remind me to order the whole bowl next time!

So good I emptied the bowl… #worldcleanplate

Coffee here is not bad. Aunty made this specially for me.

Aunty owner ask me to call her mama! I have a mother in Medan! Very very hospitable and I felt really at home with her!

Came here to buy the Kueh Lapis for home. End up only the lapis is nice, Kueh Ambon is bad. Can skip. Attitude of staff also need a little fine tuning.

Kueh Lapis sampling… I must say it’s really good.

Bought one lapis and one ambon. Ambon is sucky.

The street of kueh lapis, Jalan Moejopahit

Cheese with banana fritters and loads of chocolate! #fatdieme

This jar of Gila Sambal is damn spicy! Love it!

5th stop. Macehat Cafe. Pronounced as Mah-Cha-Hut. Highly recommended by friend.

Inside is compact man…Many tables and crampy.

Outside equally crowded and lots of smokers

Ordered the Avocado Choc with ice cream and espresso shot. Pretty good.

Ordered a latte takeaway. Typical dark roasted, same ol’ taste profile.

6th Stop. Kwetiau Ong. Spelt as Kway Teow in Singapore and Malaysia. Since 1914! Father passed to the daughter and old aunty is frying this darn good!

I shall conquer Jalan Selat Panjang! Famous food street in Medan! SPARTA!!!

Mie Tiong Sim’s Mie Pangsit. which is actually our Wanton Mee. Pretty good actually. Must eat.

This glutinous rice chicken is damn good. Next trip must tapao this!

Pandan kuehs will be dressed with grated coconut

Medan chee cheong fun… yeah spreaded over a pan.

This Medan style chee cheong fun is damn blardy good. There are 2 stalls at Selat Panjang, go for the one who is same size as me… if not bigger…

This is known as Murtabak in Medan… yeah I also scratch head… but apparently this pancake is very common snack among the locals. Common toppings are chocolate, cheese, peanut and coconut. Same same.

This is the bamboo version of our Kueh Tutu… Didn’t buy this cos you eat one, you’ll be full… then cannot eat anything else!

This glutinous rice thingy has got coconut peanut fillings inside. It’s alright can skip though.

This purple glutinous rice cake with kaya is blardy good. another must try!

Can’t remember what this is but the sauce isn’t that tasty. The prawn crackers were crispy though.

Something like kumquat (honeyed lime) drink

Badak drink is like Sarsi… only available in Medan.

Sate padang looks good but had it the day before so didn’t order.

After dinner we headed to the night market

Meet Bob, the civet cat! No I didn’t look for his poop for kopi luwak!

Me with the owner of Bob. Cute right? ;P

Behind every big guy is a small civet cat.

The mother of the stall owner offered us nonya kueh while we were waiting for the rain to stop… So nice and warm the people here!

The makan gang… Thanks for the hospitality guys!

That ended my second day in Medan. Yes I did ate that much. Everyone had food coma after that…. haha… Day 3 was pretty much rushing to the airport and head back to SG. So that ended my whole short Medan trip. I promise I’ll be back for more good food! Till then Medan, I’ll see you guys soon!

Yours gastronomically,

Big Roy

Chiang Rai, Thailand

Foodtrail In Chiangrai Day 2 – Chiangrai, Thailand

September 1, 2015 Big Roy Leave a comment

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Began day 2 in Chiangrai pretty early by catching the sunrise at the rooftop of the hotel. Buildings in Chiangrai are not tall, maybe because of regulations on building heights. Anyways it was a pretty long day so be prepared to scroll down like mad. More of what I see, food wise was limited ‘cos I had very full brekkie at the hotel which lasted the whole day. Anyways, check out below:

Sunrise, what a nice cool morning at 14 degrees

Simple brekkie buffet, I’m ok with it actually.

Love it cos they have loads of veg for the brekkie

Trying this for the first time. Ok lor, black sesame with soy bean. Not too bad.

Something you wanna be equipped with when on self-drive mode. An USB car adaptor! Just in case your car doesn’t already have one.

And a lot of snacks, water and tissue paper!

How the roads look like in Chiangrai. This is heading towards the Golden Triangle.

Found a quaint cafe which caught my eye along the highway.

Simple set up which to me is sufficient for business.

All these are for sale… I don’t have access to opium so didn’t buy hahaha

Pano shot of the Golden Triangle. As you can see, the water is very choppy and that’s about it.

See how narrow the boat at the bottom? That’s the transport to head over to Laos for some casino action.

Continued my journey northwards to Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort

Arrived and check out the flower arrangements on the floor

Tried once, enough. Nothing special. No body, just like drinking tea.

Wonder if this is heading to the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. But no access so headed off.

Stopped by the roadside for some honey pineapples. Very very sweet and really delicious! I’m referring to the fruits lah. ;P

Spotted a cute resort opposite the road, made a u-turn and check it out

Latte came… extraction could be better but it’s alright.

Lady boss brought me around to view the resort

Simple rooms lah, cheap at 600 baht per night.

Lady boss decided to give me a tour around the vicinity of the resort by driving around in her pickup

Interestingly I thought this is a temple but it’s actually the school’s Chinese culture society.

This land will be cleared for some big hospitals

Protected area so cannot go in take pics

Even the roads they constructed all the way into their resort

Left the lady boss and drove on my own to check out this orphanage I found.

Fried chicken was ok but I love the sausages,

Favourite mango glutinous rice. Mango was sourish sweet though.

After dinner walk to check out other shops. This one sells loads of sausages. This is where I tapao my Thai sausages!

At Yoddoi Coffee. Best view to watch the Clock Tower

Proceeded to Central Plaza. The only shopping mall which is pretty much what we have in SG.

Check out the colours from the glutinous rice!

At the supermarket and checking out the Thai bentos. I love bentos!

So that ended my Day 2. Feel so tired just writing this post! Ok stay tuned for Day 3!

Yours gastronomically,

Big Roy

Chiang Rai, Thailand

Foodtrail In Chiangrai Day 1 – Chiangrai, Thailand

August 31, 2015 Big Roy Leave a comment

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Alright this is a very late post but at least the stalls are still there last check. Chiangrai is a very nice place if you haven’t been. Less crowded as compared to Bangkok and the weather’s cooler especially towards the year end. This blogpost may be quite long due to so many things to write about. So maybe I should just stick to the food? Ok maybe food with some attractions that I reckon you should know lah. Anyways, you will be seeing a lot of food pics and please read the captions below them, and yes I ate most of them. So don’t judge ok? ;P

Lunch place during transit at Don Mueng Airport, Bangkok.

My lunch at Don Mueng Airport while transiting. Can’t remember the name of the place but it’s on the left side bside Taurus Coffee Bar. Not bad, not expensive.

Taurus Coffee Bar beside the Japanese eatery

Some cake that looks good but was just too sweet at Taurus Coffee Bar

Latte was really bad from Taurus Coffee Bar

Collected my car which will accompany me for the next 5 days.

Simple lah, cheap also at S$40 per night.

Checked out the room service menu. The description puts me in doubt… So off I go outside exploring!

Found this roadside stall on the road that leads to the Clock Tower. Locals eat here so I parked my car and try.

Looks like a mess but heck with hygiene, this could be damn good.

Put this and you’ll need a lot of ice water.

Not the glass noodles I like but this kway teow was alright. Love the broth and a must-eat whenever I’m in Chiangrai!

Roadside eating is very common in Chiangrai. If you’re not prepared for street food, then you may not be able to try what’s local.

This shop sells pau. I didn’t try because pau will take up my stomach space although I have a lot of HDD. ;P

Heard this stall is very popular due to the youtiao and pandan custards.

Most youtiao in Thailand are short cute ones, this one is what we normally have but at only 15 baht.

At first I thought is kaya but I was in for some surprise

Wah lau, this is some damn good Pandan Kaya custard lahhhhh

Think everyone knows what this is. Khao Naew Mamuang (glutinous rice with mango) Something I cannot resist.

Just sit anywhere and enjoy your coffee and desserts

They are selling some toast with a lot of condense milk. Very local which I avoided cos of sugar.

Not a very good machine but it works for them and no one’s complaining, So we are all happy!

My order of kafei yen (Thai ice coffee).

The Clock Tower. See tourists gather at the road divider to take pictures. There is light display at every hour from 7pm. One prime attraction in Chiangrai.

Packed this Khao Mun Gai for only 35 Baht. It is really tasty and fragrant!

So that’s all for day 1. Stay tuned for Day 2!

Yours gastronomically,

Big Roy

Flight Food

Emirates Flight Food – Singapore-Melbourne

January 18, 2015 Big Roy 2 Comments

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Hey y’all!

Sorry I haven’t been writing for the longest time because of my new venture. If you guys have been following my Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been to Melbourne, Japan and Chiangrai all in the month of December and most recently, I’ve also started a coffee bar BLACK&INK (www.fb.com/blackandink or Instagram @blackandink). It has been a very hectic 2 weeks since our opening, and we have been blessed with great support from friends, relatives and fellow food bloggers! And some friends whom I haven’t met since leaving secondary school! Seems like BLACK&INK is gonna be a great catch up place for my ex-classmates and ex-colleagues!

Anyways I will be commencing on writing on my trip to Melbourne and the places I’ve been starting with this post! Yes, plane food again. To be honest I like plane food. Especially the longer flight ones. This time I took a joint flight between Qantas and Emirates and I must say their in-flight food is pretty awesome. Love the additions of snacks in the middle of the tray to the usual mains and desserts. Check out the pics below.