There are totally some things that we take for granted. Need to make cookies? Better put butter down on that shopping list!
Well it’s so dead simple to make butter at home, and you know what? It’s a great way to prolong the life of that cream you can’t finish!
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Never since the renaissance has there been a revival so rampant like that of the humble doughnut. Mostly made with yeast leavened dough that’s been deep fried and coated in sugar, the humble treat with a hole has now been refined and expanded to gastronomical proportions, with every filling, frosting, and topping you can get.
In other words – in this day and age – there’s no reason to produce a bad doughnut.
Pretzel and Peanut Butter Doughnut
So when I saw The Whisk and Crumb at the Parramatta Lovers Markets, I instantly caved to my sugar cravings. After all, who can resist chocolate topped doughnuts with popcorn, peanut butter, milky ways, and other delicious things designed to trigger an insulin spike to end all insulin spikes?
Milky way and chocolate doughnut
Unfortunately, these doughnuts are better conceptually than in execution. And expensive, to boot. Two tiny doughnuts cost $10 (or $5.50) for one, and while the toppings were inventive, the texture of the actual doughnuts were cakey, and dry. And if I wanted to just buy candy, I would’ve just gone into the confectionary aisle and bought candy.
So much promise, so much disappointment. D’oh!
You know that stereotype about Asians never being full on rice? Well, I’ve eaten upwards of 15 plates of sushi without signs of being full, and well, whenever I’m not feeling 100%, rice is always the answer.
…or noodles. You know, carbs.
And you know what’s better than carbs? Cheap carbs! Yes. I give you permission to lick the screen. LICK IT.
Ontama BBQ Beef Don
Oiden in the CBD is basically the rice version of udon bar Mappen, conveniently located, well, right next door. It has the same system: pick a rice bowl (donburi) off the menu, then choose from a variety of sides – mostly deep fried – and they tally it all up at the counter!
Selection of Fried Sides
And if you have analysis paralysis (like me!) with too many choices, well, you can also choose the $9.90 combination of three mini rice bowls, because we have a need. A need for speed variety.
Curry Don
Hash Beef Don
The thing about Oiden is that it’s the very epitome of cheap and cheerful, and fast, too. It’s such a basic idea, and is a favourite with the students in the area for its value for money! I really especially like the set meals – like the mini donburi sets – that give you lots of variety, and it’s actually really decent food.
If you’re going to spend $10 at a fast food joint, you really might as well spend it here, IMO. I highly recommend the hash beef bowls if you like your sweet/savoury type flavours, or the Japanese curry for something more hearty! If you also happen to have your Washoku Lover’s Card, you also get a free refreshing honey lemon drink – and you know how I love freebies!! =)
Don’t say I’m not saving you money!
Washoku Lovers is a free membership programme that gives you perks to many Japanese restaurants in Sydney! We also have visited other restaurants participating in the Washoku Lovers programme, Suminoya like and Izakaya Yebisu! To find out more about the programme and sign up, visit www.washokulovers.com.
Wayyyyy back in the day, when my parents gave me a disposable camera so that I could take pictures on a primary school zoo trip, I took some really badly composed pictures. I took my mother’s advice to “put people in the middle” too far, and it turns out that it really didn’t quite work when composing a photograph.
So fast forward 10 years, and I get my first lesson in photography: The Rule of Thirds. The golden rule of composition that is taught to all beginners, and still works for me, even to this day!
Nitrogen frozen treats seem to be all the rage right now, doesn’t it? And with good reason: the low freezing point of liquid nitrogen makes the ice cream super smooth, and the clouds of vapour provides a dramatic way to watch your ice cream getting made!
Located near the new Chatswood transport interchange, Celsius Dessert Bar has a small range of nitrogen-frozen gelato to choose from, coupled with thoughtful toppings to create a full-fledged dessert.
Because ice cream can always use some topping. 😉
Watermelon Splash
Monkey Magic
Simon and I shared a Watermelon Splash and Monkey Magic, and we were about to go for a third, but…well, we really shouldn’t. Haha. The Monkey Magic really reminded me of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, except a little lighter. The chocolate cookies and the bruleed bananas were a very nice touch, and made for a fantastic dessert.
The Watermelon Splash on the other hand, would have been much better off without the topping – the honeycomb had a very slight burnt flavour to it, and made the whole thing taste…savoury. The gelato itself was really refreshing, and light, and tasted of fresh watermelons, which is, well, a good thing.
I really wanted to go back and try the other flavours, but I don’t know if I can go past the Monkey Magic!
Banana flavoured anything is my kryptonite. Go figure.
I must say that I’ve been very lucky: growing up in Singapore, I’ve been able to consider Thailand as a “weekend holiday” destination, and enjoy all the culinary delights that come with it! Since moving to Sydney, I’ve clearly had less easy access to Thailand, but I must say, Thai food in Sydney is actually quite good.
And with that knowledge, I was super excited to be invited to Tall Lemongrass, in Crow’s Nest!
Mieng Khumm, $12
Owner Wendy greeted us at the door, and then proceeded to completely spoil us with her extensive menu – this was a whole book and a few laminated sheets worth of menu – of Thai classics with a modern slant.
We start with 2 entrees, because…well, do we actually need a reason?
Duck Salad Mouthfuls, $14
The Mieng Khum, $12, and the Duck Salad Mouthfuls, $14 show a strong emphasis on presentation, and sets the mood for a bit of theatre. Mieng Khum is a traditional Thai snack of ginger, chilli, onion, peanuts, and various other toppings, wrapped in a betel leaf. In Australia, with our abundance of beautiful produce, poached prawn is often added, making a delicious mouthful. Here at Tall Lemongrass, it’s served with an additional egg net and a delicious sweet/savoury dressing, in stunning glasses.
Told you that there was an emphasis on presentation!
Crispy Pork with Caramel Dressing , $20
Of the mains, we chose the Crispy Pork Belly with Caramel Dressing, $20, the Som Tum with Deep Fried Barramundi Fillet, $25, the Pad Thai with Squid, $16, and Green Tea Rice, $3.50, just to mop up all the deliciousness!
Green Tea Rice, $3.50
Som Tum with Deep Fried Barramundi Fillet, $25
Pad Thai with Squid, $16
The Crispy Pork Belly came out with an absolute flourish, as all crispy pork belly is wont to do, and the caramel sauce coated the tender-on-the-inside-crispy-on-the-outside pork belly chunks with an addictive sweet glaze. The Green Tea Rice was another delicious surprise – they fry the rice off with matcha powder, giving a very subtle and light green tea flavour that actually works very well with the traditional Thai mix of flavours of sweet, salty, spicy and salty.
Heck, I’d even eat the rice on its own. But we all know that I’d do that anyway.
Deep fried ice cream with filo sheets, $12.50
But the piece de resistance – DEEP FRIED ICE CREAM!!! Cold ice cream, hot crispy filo pastry, a delight for the senses. And check this: It’s better than Holy Basil. BOOM. There, I said it. And even though we were full AF, it was still the best part of the evening. Look, the other dishes were decent, but this dessert was absolutely excellent.
I really like how The Tall Lemongrass is trying to do something new, with very old culinary traditions. They’re trying to do something different with something so familiar to us, and I commend them for that. Unfortunately, not everything works – the Pad Thai, for example, while very cute in their little egg net parcels, was not actually what I’d classify as a main. And I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be if I thought I was ordering a stock standard full plate of pad thai, and 2 small parcels came out to the table.
BUT, I’m an avid supporter of creativity, and as with any restaurant menu – especially one so extensive – is bound to have some executional problems. And realistically, Crows Nest is an expensive neighbourhood, so I guess…well I’m not entirely surprised about the price tags of the dishes.
Great space for a group setting, and the waitresses are extremely friendly and helpful. If nothing else, go for that fried ice cream. It’s freaking amazeballs.
Source: zanita.com.au
Okay, so I haven’t actually seen Mad Max, even though I’ve seen so many cosplay ideas that really, I might as well have. And I heard there’s not much of a plot anyway, so it’s okay for me to just love the makeup and costumes right?
And my excuse is that I need to start working on Halloween early!
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I have something to admit: I’m not much of a pizza person. I mean, I like it as much as the next person, but I don’t live for it, like some people do. Heresy, I know.
The thing is, I enjoy a good flatbread more than the pizza as a whole, and it needs to have the right amount of chewiness, the right amount of pull, and the right amount of crisp. And this is where Just Man’oushe comes in.
Raw beef and cheese man’oushe
Man’oushe really refers to the flatbread, and is usually served with some melted cheese with a smattering of dried herbs like oregano and thyme. But like all delicious things, there are always variations, and it has evolved to pizza-like proportions, with a huge variety of options to choose from!
I know, #firstworldproblems right?
Beef sujuk and cheese man’oushe
The biggest difference to me between man’oushe and pizza, is that there isn’t a sauce requirement to go over the base. But really, with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of chilli flakes, it does not need it! We tried the Minced Beef and Cheese, which involves seasoned raw beef mince warmed on flatbread, and it was super addictive. The mince was laid on thinly, and wasn’t as chunky as the beef mince that you’d get from the store, making it more saucy than mincy, if you’ll excuse my uh, scientific terminology here.
If you’re not as adventurous, the sujuk and cheese – a spicy beef sausage and a light covering of cheese – also works as a delicious variation on the classic pepperoni pizza. But really, try the beef mince. It’s amazing.
The service has also been delightful, all owing to the young pizza chef. He clearly loves his food, and is always at the ready with helpful suggestions and explanations to create the best experience! We went there after a rainy afternoon one day, and he was the only one to notice that the seats were wet, and came out of the kitchen to get us dry chairs. Very thoughtful.
I’m looking forward to working my way through the menu at Just Man’oushe, and if what I’ve had so far is any indication, it’s going to be awesome.
So I think I’ve established just how much I love garlic – from my miso caramelised garlic bread, to making my own black garlic at home, I will endlessly try to find more excuses to have more garlic in my life.
I also really love mayo. The answer? Black garlic aioli.
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Part of what I love about fancy schmancy cameras and lenses, is the ability to shoot at wide apertures. It adds an extra dimension to my photos, and it allows me to do so much more than I could have with just a point and shoot.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
But aperture, like any other tool, can be heavily misused, and trust me, I’ve made those mistakes along the way. So after writing about how to start shooting in manual, I thought it might be a good idea to share a little bit more about what I learnt about Aperture, so that maybe it could help you in your photography journey too!