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Sea Sweet

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Whenever Sean and I are in the mood for sweets, there is one place that we turn to. We chanced upon it one day after taking an after-dinner stroll, and we are absolutely addicted to it. 

Besides the lovely staff who greet you as you come in the door, the inside of the restaurant is impeccably clean (never take that for granted!) and a welcome sight sits at every table – orange blossom and rose syrup. Now I know that desserts with the addition of syrup can end up saccharine-ly sweet, but there’s something about the smell and the sweet coating on my tongue that makes me feel all tingly inside.  

Something that we always order is the Knefe, served in a seasame seed bun.

Oozing cheese with a layer of semolina stretch and melts with every bite, tempered by the fragrant, crusty bread. If we’ve had dinner before, Sean and I tend to order this to share – it can get quite rich and if you’ve eaten just before, you might end up feeling jalak. 

The mix plate of Beklawa was lovely in its variety. Each mouthful was an absolute delight, and it’s great that the servings are so small – I don’t think that I could have handled large amounts of layers of sweet pastry, nuts and syrup.

And for those who like the more western cakes and pastries, there was the Choux a la Creme Chocolat.

It was a chocolate cream puff really. Good, but nothing really special.

And finally, my new favourite thing to order.

The Halawet El Jebn Kashta was just divine. Layers of soft, fluffy, but slightly chewy cheese were covered in syrup and another sort of creamy cheese, and then layered liberally with crushed pistachio. Again, very rich, but refreshing in an odd sort of way. It’s served cold, quite unlike the Knefe, and very good for a warm, balmy night. 

We ate at:

Sea Sweet
Shop 4, 354 Church St
Parramatta 2150
1300 90 80 70

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Taste Sydney 2011

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Ah, I love food festivals. And Taste Sydney is an excellent example of that. Not only can you get a huge variety of people showcasing their food-wares, you can also get to sample food from all the top restaurants in the one spot!

After having so much fun last year, I absolutely had to go again this year.

But first, we all know that I love free food, and I certainly got a lot of that this weekend!

Free Food!

Johnny Walker had a tent that held tasting sessions (to full tents) every 20 minutes. I would love to tell you more, but I am, quite unfortunately, allergic to alcohol. But it did look interesting though!

One of the sponsors was Regal Salmon, and there were little cups of awesome given out at various points of the festival.

What else can I say? I love salmon, and when you put fresh, raw, salmon, and salmon roe together, I believe that nothing much can go wrong. Seriously yummy.

Tabasco had a booth again this year, and I had to go again. (I am an absolute Tabasco fiend – I carry a small bottle in my handbag always – you never know when you need that burst of flavour on something!) They had dips made with all the different flavours of Tabasco, and Sean and I had a lot of balancing piles of dips on itty bitty crackers.

The omnipresent Pukara estate (I see them at practically every food festival/fair that I go to) had flavoured oils, vinegars and mayos up for tasting.

Little bits of bread on the end of toothpicks were dipped into every flavour and savoured. Most of the flavours were good, but not particularly outstanding, but the blackcurrant vinegar was definitely a winner. I could definitely see ripe, red, succulent strawberries macerating in it. The caramelized balsamic added a syrupy coating to the little cubes of bread, and it’s something that I can eat all day. 

Speaking of little cubes of bread, there was a fantastic selection of yeasty goodness from The Grumpy Baker.

Soft, fluffy sourdough were amongst other offerings, and my absolute favourite was the roasted garlic and olive sourdough. Chunks of smoky roasted garlic and bits of salty olives were threaded through each chewy bite. An om nom nom moment.

Another thing that I love about Taste is the ability to mingle with the chefs!!

Chefs

The crew at Aperitif were a hoot and a half. Miguel Maestre was his charming self as always, and early on in the evening there was quite a bit of friendly banter between Miguel and Manu, who own Aperitif together.

But the thing that makes Taste stand out for me is definitely the Chefs Table. It’s one thing to ask a quick question as you see a chef walk past you, but chances are, they would be busy, and it wouldn’t be nice to disrupt them in the middle of work.

And that’s where the Chefs Table comes in. The chefs take some time out of their busy schedules, and about 20 people get to sit around the table with them and have a chat. You can ask them anything you want, anything, and the answers are fairly candid, but some of the sessions are filled with hilarity.

The very extremely expressive Matt Kemp, who spoke about his start in cooking, working in Balzac…all with wild gestures and a very quick wit.

And this year, the man whom I think is the sexiest chef EVER had been scheduled to speak. He talked about his son, Ready Steady Cook, Aperitif, the best places to eat in London…amongst a myriad of other things.

How sexy is that? And the best part of all is that he has such a wicked sense of humour – every sentence was followed by guffaws of laughter and giddy giggles.

I even managed to get a photo with him!

Other chefs who spoke included Alessandro Pavoni of Ormeggio at the spit and Alex Herbert of Bird Cow Fish.

They both shared insight into the culinary world, and they discussed their experiences in cooking. It was extremely enlightening to hear words of advice from the mouth of experienced chefs. It gave me some ideas and inspiration, which definitely helps with my obsession with food.

The Main Event

The Churros Con Chocolate from Aperitif were fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, and it was all coated with silky smooth chocolate.

The Regal King Salmon carpaccio with orange segments, citrus and chardonnay vinegar dressing, shaved fennel, salmon roe, baby herbs and crispy salmon skin might have been a mouthful to order, but it was a delicious mouthful nonetheless. it was all wonderfully balanced – my only gripe about it was that I felt the salmon skin wasn’t quite as crispy as I had hoped it would be, but in the grand scheme of things it was good.

The Regal King Salmon curado with chilli and star anise tasted good, but personally I couldn’t really taste the chilli nor the star anise. All I could taste was the dill with the firm flesh of the salmon, which, I’m really not complaining about.

To follow my salmon obsession, Balzac’s Seared Regal Salmon with a salad of pomogranate, mint and feta was light and refreshing, with the just amount of tang and sweetness. Very good for a hot and sticky day.

And how can I visit a food fair and not sample one of Manu’s creations. The Slow cooked shoulder of lamb, smoked potato puree and jus had the deep mature flavours that I absolutely love about lamb. Every bite just falls apart in your mouth, and the puree leaves a lingering sense of luxurious creaminess.

Dank Street Depot & Cotton Duck’s Stone fruit roasted with home cured pancetta, verjuice and chilli was glorious in all its succulent, salty, garlicky goodness. Every mouthful was an absolute joy, and Dank Street Depot never disappoints. I’m still dreaming about last year’s Watermelon Smoked Ribs.

Now if you’re in the market for a heart attack, then Balzac’s Saddle of suckling pig with baby garden peas is for you. According to Matthew Kemp, the suckling pig is smothered in duck fat, slow cooked in a vacuum pack, deep fried, then covered in a buttery sauce. Oh, and the peas apparently have bacon bits too. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then the road to coronary failure must be paved with mouthfuls of this delectable, melt-in-your-mouth dish. Definitely something I couldn’t get enough of.

On the lighter side of pork, Four in Hand’s offering of Confit of pork belly with Squid, Chorizo and Chickpea was a hearty dish indeed. It invoked memories of rich winter stews and the aroma of ripe, fresh tomatoes. Not quite as impressive for me as the saddle of suckling pork, but not bad at all!

And there were a couple of desserts that we absolutely had to try. 

The Ricotta Fritters with berries and honey were soft sweet balls of lovely. For some reason, they reminded me of very sophisticated jam doughnuts!

On a side note, Sean and I were just having a discussion about how many cultures seemed to have somehow have created a dish involving fried dough sometime through history. There are doughnuts, 油条 you tiao, roti prata, churros…Every culture seems to have come up with a dish that includes flour, moisture and hot oil.

But anyway, back to the food.

The final dish that we had for the day was Otto Ristorante’s Amadei milk chocolate mousse with salted caramel and fresh berries. The mouse was light and lovely, and an excellent foil to the rich, dense salted caramel that it hid within. This was a dessert to share for sure. It was one of those ones where we really felt like we wanted much more, but knew that we absolutely couldn’t have any more of the rich stuff.

As Sean and I waddled slowly out of Taste, patting our satisfied tummies, we made the decision that we absolutely have to go back next year. We had an absolute blast, and can’t wait for the next one!

And to leave you, I will end with this hilarious picture of the sexy Manu.

LOL.

Mushroom and Bacon Risotto

Recipe 5 Comments

I’ve finally had a moment to do a bit of cooking, and with Sean’s newfound love of risotto, it’s the new challenge that I’ve decided to put my efforts toward getting right.

I heard somewhere that how you know when a risotto is ready, is when your arm gets tired. Boy, is that true. But it’s all worth it in the end, as the result was absolutely yummy!!

Mushroom and Bacon Risotto (Serves 4)
2 cups Aborio rice
1.5 L stock (I used chicken)
4 rashers bacon
Butter and Mushrooms to your taste
1 medium onion, diced
Parmesan

Start frying the bacon till it starts getting crispy. Add the mushrooms and half of the butter, and sauté till the mushrooms brown. Transfer to a bowl.

Start warming the stock. It should be just simmering, not a rolling boil. 

Next, sauté the onion on medium heat till translucent, then add the rice and half of the remaining butter. Fry till the rice is glossy. Start adding the stock – a ladle at a time – and stir till the stock is absorbed by the rice, before adding another ladle.

After adding about a litre of stock, start tasting the risotto to test whether the rice’s donen-ess is to your liking. It should be cooked, but still have enough of a bite to it and not just mush.

Serve with the mushroom and bacon mixture with a healthy grating of Parmesan on top. I also like to add thin shavings of butter to stir in as you eat.

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Risotto isn’t that hard to make actually, and with so many ingredients, it’s hard for it not to be tasty. Just make sure that you’re using good quality stock and you’re halfway there!

What about you? Are there any reputation-ally hard dishes that you’ve cracked the secrets to? 

Chinese New Year Part 2!

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There were festivities a-plenty during the Chinese New Year period, and there was also one down the street from my place!

So Sean and I met up with Miss Piggy and her other half to try some tasty food!!

First up was Char Siew (Bbq Pork) Siew Yok  from Sun Ming BBQ Restaurant. For $5 we got a takeaway container mixed with Barbecued Pork and Roast Pork.

It was incredibly cheap for a box of meat, but it was good meat. I’m generally happy when I go there to eat usually, and it’s great to see that the mixed meats were so popular that they were constantly replenishing with a freshly chopped supply.

The BBQ pork was sweet and firm and not too dry, but what I really enjoyed was the roast pork. The crackling. The mean might have been a little on the fatty side, but the crackling was absolutely divine.

It was definitely well worth the $5 a box.

They also sold really nice peking duck pancakes. They were nice, not as good as the Iron Chef ones, but still above average, especially for a festival like that.

And who can give up the sight of egg tarts!!

Personally I still prefer the Portuguese version, but these were still decent enough to satisfy my love/craving for them. The flaky pastry and the silky custard filling are a sure win for me anytime.

It wasn’t a large festival, but considering that it was down a short stretch of Church St South in Parramatta, it was still enjoyable enough, even with the offerings of gelato, spaghetti bolognese, and music that sounds like it came off a Zumba workout soundtrack.

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And so concludes the final part of my CNY bumper posts! I hope that you’ll have a good year ahead, filled with good food, good company, and good cheer.

So what did you get up to this Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year Part 1!

Review 2 Comments

Happy Chap Gor Meh!!!! It’s the fifteenth (and last) day of Chinese New Year today, and I thought that I’d do bumper posts highlighting some CNY activities this year!

Usually, I’d be in Singapore for CNY, but with the new job and other stuff, I didn’t manage to make it home this year. No matter though, since Sydney had plenty of stuff going on – much more than I could go to!

An impromptu trip to Cabramatta was rewarded with a Chinese New Year festival!!

There were people playing chess, playing music and there were beautiful decorations everywhere!!

And of course, the food.

After hearing so much about it, I finally get to try Iron Chef‘s Peking Duck Pancakes!

A succulent strip of duck is paired with spring onion and cucumber. The whole lot is encased in a soft floury pancake and drizzled with hoi sin Sauce.

It was so yummy, I really wanted more. The duck was really the shining star, and personally, I prefer my peking duck with plum sauce. I really really really felt like buying a duck home though – it was juicy and not too greasy. Next time…next time.

Sean and I then went to Dong Son, which had menus written in Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese! How’s that for a multilingual restaurant?

I just had to have the Pho. The broth was just so tasty, and the soft rice noodles soaked up all that flavour. The brisket was soft and melt-in-your-mouth, the tripe was springy…and did I mention the broth. That heavenly soup was just bursting with flavour and fragrance. For me, the litmus test for Pho is always the broth. If the first sip of the broth does not seranade you with flavour, then that is not good Pho.

The dish, of course, was served with a plate of raw beansprouts and lemon for you to add as you wish.

Sean, having a Salt and Pepper Calamari addiction, ordered just that.

The dish itself was quite unremarkable – the calamari was relatively fresh, but didn’t taste of the sea – but the sauce that it came with…wow. It had a salty, lemony, tastiness to it that just popped in our mouths.

And so ends Part 1 of my Chinese New Year bumper post. I hope the last 15 days have been good to you, and here’s wishing that the year ahead will bring you good health, and – quite importantly – all sorts of good eats. =)

We ate at:

Dong Son
44 Park Road
Cabramatta 2166
(02) 9724 4551

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I’ve got a present for you!

Competition 1 Comment
Image by kjoyner666

Don’t forget, the Ingredient of the Month for February is Jelly!! And together with Aeroplane Jelly, I’m offering the chance to win a large jelly hamper!! All you have to do is either email me your favourite jelly recipe, or write a blog post with about your favourite jelly recipe/jelly that you’ve had and post the link in the comments here.

Contest ends 1st March, so hurry!!

Valentine’s Day Easy Breakfast

Recipe 1 Comment

Seeing as how Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday this year, most people are going to be hard-pressed to spoil their loved ones on the day. So if you’re anything like me and want to make a day out of anything, you’re probably thinking, “Sunday brunch!”.

Well, because I believe that sometimes celebrating a romantic day with a loved one calls for something familiar and comforting – because it’s a day for you too. For the past couple of years I’ve been trying all sorts of fancy breakfasts and getting stressed out trying to get them right, so this year I’m trying for the familiar.

Sure-fire fluffy pancakes:

1 cup plain flour
3/4 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
1 egg

This one’s easy.

Mix all the dry ingredients.

Make a well in the centre.

Mix in wet ingredients.

If the mixture’s a little runny, add a little more milk. You can use a ladle if you want, but I used an old, washed out pancake shake bottle to pour out heart shapes in my medium-heated pan.

Serve with hulled strawberries and yoghurt, with a maplesyrupgoldensyrupicingsugaranythingyouwant!

And, if you have the cookie cutters/cupcake moulds, you can go nuts with the usual – bacon, eggs, sandwiches. Just remember to have a good day and enjoy yourself too.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!

Down the Yellow Brick Road of Sin

Review 2 Comments

The boys at work have introduced me to the weight-loss devil – a lovely little French patisserie across the street that bakes fresh, mouth-watering, buttery bites of heaven that are so addictive, one bite and it’s all down hill from there.

The first thing that greets you is the whiff of sin baking in the oven. When you walk in, golden-brown morsels of every shape and size greet you through a clear glass case.

The sensory overload is enough for me to abandon all sanity like Cassanova casting off an old lover and begin my descent into pure, decadent, food sin.

On recommendation, I’ve decided to try the Sour Cherry Danish and the Almond Croissant.

The Sour Cherry Danish is just tart enough to keep you from sinking into the flaky pastry. I do, on one hand, prefer my pastries with a little more bite, but I definitely can’t fault this danish otherwise.

And the pièce de résistance (for me anyway) has to be the Almond Croissant. The soft, doughy, flaky pastry is topped by a sweet crust on the top, with almond flakes proudly displayed on the top like the crown of the statue of liberty. Each bite is sweet, gooey…all the comforting textures exploding in my mouth all at once.

I’ll definitely definitely be back for more – I’m trying the Ratatouille quiche today. =)

I ate at:

La Banette
18 Glebe Point Road
Glebe, 2037

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Frozen Summer Treat

Recipe 1 Comment
Image by Bert Heymans

Inspired by the hot hot summer days that we’ve been experiencing, I decided to make some frozen yoghurt! That, and I’ve got some leftover Lime Jelly Crystals from Aeroplane Jelly that I used in my Australia Day post!

By the time I remembered to take a photo, the tub of yoghurt was all gone, so I guess you have to make do with a picture of this really cute baby eating yoghurt!!

This is a really versatile, basic recipe, and great to make to have on hand.

Paw Paw and Lime Frozen Yoghurt

300g Thick Natural Yoghurt
1 tsp honey
1 medium, ripe Paw Paw (Papaya)
1 packet Lime Jelly Crystals
1 cup hot water

Dissolve the jelly crystals in hot water and leave to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, cut the paw paw up and place in the freezer to cool. When the jelly has cooled to a slurry texture, place honey, yoghurt, paw paw and jelly in a food processor and blend.

Place in a shallow container, cover with cling wrap and freeze overnight.

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And that’s it!! A tub of creamy, frozen goodness in your freezer, and a healthy option to ice cream! Also, don’t forget to enter the competition to win a selection of jelly for you to make your very own edible works of art! All you have to do is write up a blog post on your favourite recipe using jelly and leave a link in the comments here. Work fast, cause contest ends 1st March!! =)