Food for the soul

It has been a tough week. My grandfather passed away last Sunday night. He had been gravely ill for a few weeks and dad called early Monday morning with the sad news just as I was heading to the Chinese Consulate for an urgent visa back home.
I spent a few days at home trying to come to terms with things, and I realised I am not as strong as I would like to be, and frankly have no clue as to how I am meant to deal with such life events.

Today I decided to visit the Abbotsford Convent today to soak up some sunshine, clear my head and checkout the Farmers Market held there every fourth Saturday.

Arriving at the Convent mid-noon, I first popped into Kappaya for an early lunch before exploring the market.

I noticed the menu had changed slightly since my previous visit. I wanted to get the Saku Saku side dish that I had previously enjoyed but I also wanted to have something sweet afterwards, so I settled for the two onigiri + miso soup set.

Two Onigiris, miso and side salad set ($9.00)

The miso soup was simply beautiful. It wasn't too salty yet so so flavoursome, creamy and super hearty. It instantly warmed every part of my body and soul. I'm curious as to where they sourced their miso from as I don't think I have had better miso soup than this, even in Japan. If I could buy this near work, I would have it every winter morning.

Onigiri (rice balls) 

The onigiris I chose were Sake (salmon) and Takana (pickled vegetables). Both rice balls were just as delicious as I had remembered, the rice was well-seasoned and provided a nice crunchy texture. The side salad was refreshing, albeit the dressing being a tad too tangy.

Sesame Pudding ($8.00)

For dessert I chose to have the sesame pudding.

Yummy syrup!

Without the sugar syrup the pudding was smooth and creamy but a little bit too plain, it really takes the syrup to bring the dish to life. I assume the sesame on top was for decorative purposes and to provide another layer of texture, however I think the dessert would have been better without it.

Organic fruits and pistachios from the Slow Food Farmers' Market

No doubt it's been one of the most saddening, depressing week of my life thus far and I feel this lunch  has helped nourish my soul a little and replenish what was lost. Throughout this week, I thought of my grandpa quite frequently, and now thinking back, a lot of my memories of us involved food. Memories of the delicious congee he used to make, the way he would get up early just to go buy breakfast for the family, the love that we shared for all things sweet..every memory was a happy one and reminiscing my time in China only makes it harder to say goodbye. It was food that brought us closer together and it is food that is going to help heal the pain.

R.I.P. 外公, love you heaps and thank you for everything you did for me. I will miss you dearly.


Kappaya
1 St Heliers St
The Abbotsford Convent
Abbotsford
Ph 03 9416 0070

Hi World, I'm Back :)

I sat for my CFA level 2 exam on Saturday and thus concluded my months of recluse.
Right now I am a tad overwhelmed by just how much TIME I now possess to watch youtube videos hours on end, catch up on shows and have extended brunch sessions and Friday drinks without having a nagging voice telling me to head back to my desk to study.

Goodbye autumn :(

Anyways, having got my Sundays back I decided to spend it on two activities I love the most: brunching and going to markets. Since I live in the eastern suburbs, Camberwell is usually my go-to market if I'm in need of some retail therapy or just want to go and soak up the atmosphere. Usually I go there with coffee in hand and simply walk around aimlessly for an hour or two.

So given the weather was recovering nicely from the recent down-pour, and my soul was in dire need of any kind of nourishment, I headed off to Camberwell this morning for some relaxing "me time".

Another thing on my agenda was to check out Prospect Espresso. This little cafe near the Burke/ Prospect Hill junction had been on my wishlist since their inception last year but I always ended up eating elsewhere every time I was in the area.

The shop front is quite modest and low-key and without the outdoor dining tables on the sidewalk, one would easily walk pass the cafe whilst looking for it.
The small and compact cafe contains a long communal table at the front and  six or so individual tables in the rear. Its contemporary but snug and cosy.

My heart was set on getting a sweet breakfast to start my day, and the word coconut immediately caught my attention as I am OBSESSED with coconut lately. So I went ahead with my order of coconut rice pudding with kiwi, lime foam and puffed rice.

Warm Coconut Rice with Kiwi, Lime Air and Puffed Rice $14

And can I tell you, it was DELICIOUS. Prior to entering my cfa-induced recluse, I had hit a "brunch plateau"in some ways as I hadn't tasted anything with a wow-factor for so long. Everything seemed to be something involving poached eggs, baked eggs, lots of avocado, heirloom tomatoes or chorizo. Kind of repetitive and boring after a while and most brunch sessions ended with me wishing that I had gone to pig out on Snow Pony's Giddy Up or yum cha galore instead.

Up-close and personal with lime air!

But this dish was a breath of fresh air. The last time I had rice pudding was a long time ago and it was such a gluggy, over-sweetened affair. This was anything but. The coconut rice was creamy and hearty. It would have probably been too sweet if not for the tartiness of the kiwi and lime air cutting through the richness. The puffed rice added another dimension to the textures and the lime foam dissolved instantly in your mouth but not without leaving a trail of tanginess to offset against the sweetness of the pudding. I highly recommend this dish if you don't know what you want to order and happen to be craving something sweet.

I also had a quick chat with the friendly staff and got a takeaway soy latte to enjoy whilst wandering around the market, and it was equally delicious. I picked up some lovely roses from the market and then spend the rest of the afternoon shopping, catching up with a friend and hitting the gym for the first time in 5 weeks. I felt somewhat dizzy after the half hour treadmill workout, clearly an indication that I'm out of the game. ha.

So great to have my lazy Sundays back, no doubt I will be spending one of them again at Prospect Espresso very very soon :)

Prospect Espresso
2a Prospect Hill Road
Camberwell
Ph 03 9882 7359
Website