MmmmYumCha!

Sunday afternoon at the Powerhouse Museum Youngblood Design Markets and so close to chinatown we could smell the szechuan pepper! Then discovering that my desk buddy, Skye, had never had Yum Cha!
Oh the horror! How she has got through 27 years without knowing the pleasures of this ultimate cuisine, I just don’t know!

Off we went quicksmart over to the Dragon Star Seafood Restaurant (formerly Kam Fook) on the top floor of Market City, after a quick powow.

As it was fairly late, after 1pm, we weren’t hopeful of getting a decent seat, let alone the full complement of dishes. But on arrival, we only had to wait minutes for our table.

We sat and explained the process of catching the staff as the ran past with their trolleys of goodies and trying to understand what some of the dishes were…

We were soon in stitches as Skye was shocked by the use of scissors to cut the serving of spring rolls in order to serve all four of us…The meal was excellent and Skye found the experience hilarious and delicious. I especially wanted her to try the pancakes stuffed with ice cream and mango, a favourite of mine that was an unexpected sweet surprise the first time I tried it…next up was the custard tart..a classic…the pastry on this was superb, flaky and light..just perfect..

$20 per head for a feast! Brilliant! We were all stuffed silly!

Yum cha gets me excited and I enjoyed this place immensely. To me, yum cha is like that old saying about pizza; “Even when it’s bad, it’s still good”

A Little Lunch and Fratelli Fresh

Ah bliss! A whole day, no plans, mostly all to myself…couldn’t ask for anything more….

The day started with a minor disappointment when I headed over to EQ Markets to grab some eggs from Cornucopia and they weren’t there! Bugger! It was a nice ride anyway….So on to Fratelli Fresh in Waterloo.

This is my favourite fruit and veg place. Why? Well, first it’s seasonal. If it’s in season, it’s there, cheap, and fantastic quality. Also, they have a range of very tasty Italian specialty groceries, such as oil, vinegar, pasta etc and awesomely cheap Vittorio coffee. In addition, they stock meats and poultry from AC Butchery, as well as great range of cheeses….

But wait! There’s more! Also in residence is Cafe Sopra upstairs next to the Italian groceries. To top it all off, they also host cooking classes that are free!!!!! Though rather inconveniently at a time when I can’t make it (4-5pm)

So today I grabbed whatever took my fancy, and now I just have to figure out what to do with it!

• 1 Large Eggplant
• 1 Fennel
• 2 Carrots
• 1 head Broccoli
• 1 Leek
• 1/2 Butternut Pumpkin
• 3 Spanish onions
• 1 stalk Lemongrass
• 1 bunch Coriander
• 1 Red Capsicum
• 2 Packham Pears
• 2 Zucchini
• 200g Green Beans
• 1 punnet Cherry Tomatoes

Unfortunately I only managed two photos before I was asked very politely to put the camera away. A shame, as everything looks so good…

I’ve also recently checked out their new place in Potts Point. A very small condensed version of Waterloo, but the cafe was packed, really packed, and all the cool young things had made the brown paper Fratelli bags a fashion statement.

So home with the goodies, and to think about what to make for dinner…..

Fratelli Fresh
7 Danks Street
Waterloo

Lunch - Le Pain Quotidien (Daily Bread)

I’m very lucky that I have Le Pain literally on my doorstep. So once home from Fratelli, and before popping over to Woolies a spot of lunch seemed appropriate:

I love these “Tartines” (literally “slice of bread”), open sandwiches. This one is prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, sun dried tomato, pesto…

I also grabbed a half loaf of wholemeal sourdough…I know you’re not supposed to have them pre-sliced, but I find that it makes it last longer as the slices are much more slim and even than I could manage at home…

Le Pain Quotidien
414 Bourke Street (Entrance on Foveaux)
Surry Hills

Gundowring Ice Cream

mmmyumicecream……I’ve been trying to be good and back on my eating plan, have my pedometer strapped to my hip and keeping a food diary…but all that doesn’t overcome the need for chocolate!

My boyfriend was demanding dessert, so I stopped into Healthy U and grabbed some very expensive Gundowring Finest Ice Cream. I really wanted to try a bunch of the other flavours like Spice and Orange & Cardamom, but thought I’d go for the classic

$10.50 later, and post dinner, I cracked open the tub…gorgeous consistency. That really light, yet creamy, fluffy thing that happens. Probably as I didn’t have it in the freezer for very long.

It was very tasty ice cream, and very sweet, but didn’t have as strong a chocolate flavour as I was expecting for the price I paid. Though it will certainly not be a burden polishing the rest of this off…perhaps an affogato tomorrow?

The Australian Hotel

A colleague at work is leaving soon, and as we reside on different floors we don’t get to see each other much. So we decided to go have lunch at the Australian Hotel, not too far from our office. We’ve all come here before and are familiar with the menu.

Of the five of us, three go for pizzas, while two of the boys opted for the lamb shanks. It was pretty cool, but the little bit of sun in combo with the outdoor heaters provided enough warmth to get us through until our food arrived.

First up was the Queenslander pizza, covered in bacon…Bit too much bacon, it seems, as about 1/3 of it was left behind. However, the pizzas were exactly the right size.

Sparkle Cupcakery

I got up early this morning for a haircut. On the way back I stopped into the newly opened Sparkle Cupcakery on Foveaux Street, Surry Hills. This space most recently hosted a French/Viet bakery and previously Blondes, Brunettes, Redheads Hair Salon.

I’ve been watching with interest as the facade has been painted white with black trim. Looks great. Stepping inside the space is like stepping inside the poshest, chicest beauty parlour, but it’s cupcakes not skin creams that take centre stage. The room is long and narrow with a glass screen stopping the members of the public breathing all over the cupcakes, with another area dedicated to decorating, so you can watch the staff in action. The cupcakes are colour coded with small sugar dics to assist you in choosing and distinguishing your purchases later.

SBS launches “Food”

SBS Television has just launched their new food channel online. Looks great!

Lunch at Cafe Mint

Yesterday I was meant to be at work. I slept away a good chunk of the day, and then decided to go and eat. My first choice, The Book Kitchen, is closed on Tuesdays and the queue at Bourke Street Bakery is the usual shit fight. Where next? Cafe Mint!

Now this is a favourite of mine, and I’ve enjoyed the food every visit.

Now, the photo of my meal was taken with a mobile phone camera, not a real one, so apologies for the dodgy quality.

My boyfriend, who is not very adventurous, and who is not well at all, opts for plain old Vegemite on turkish, with a side of grilled haloumi with lemon! The haloumi is soft and unctuous and hot. Yum!

I, faced with too much choice, go with the spicy minced lamb with pinenuts on hoummous, with pomegranate roast onion, and turkish toast with za’atar.

Firstly, it doesn’t look too glamourous, but the smell is divine. I don’t know what spices they’ve used with the lamb, but I intend to find out! It’s such a wildly simple dish, yet it all works so perfectly. The onions being super sweet, balancing the tartness of the hoummous, and the hoummous balancing the spiciness of the lamb. The coffee is pretty damn good too!

UPDATE: I contacted Cafe Mint to ask about this tasty dish and was provided with some detail! Straight from Hugh Foster’s mouth (or fingers more correctly):

“lots of black pepper, cumin and a lebanese mixed spice which I know has some allspice (pimento) in it”

Cafe Mint
579 Crown Street
Surry Hills

Mmmm…Cupcakes…..

Over at Grab Your Fork, Helen/Augustus Gloop has published the best, easy cupcake recipe ever. I love it. I’ve made it three times in the last two weeks. The variation below is the basic chocolate recipe livened up with some frozen raspberries. I added the raspberries to the batter just before I popped them in the tin and they didn’t seize (I’ve had batter seize previously when frozen stuff was added)…The decorations comprised of mini m & m’s, the coloured icing stuff and cachous….

Degustation at Becasse

Ah! Where do I start?

After an unseasonably warm start to the day, the afternoon and evening turned cold and blustery…perfect weather for sitting around inside eating! As we teetered on our high heels down Clarence Street, we were heartened and warmed by the lovely greeting on our arrival. The main dining room at Becasse is all understated chocolates and beige’s, with a kitchen down one end and a mezzanine above.

After settling in at a table in the front part of the restaurant we were offered the special Truffle degustation, an offer that looked amazing, though far more pricey than what we were about to order!

The degustation is an experience. It’s not something you do everyday, and as such it’s pricey, and more so with matching wines. Though, without being a wine expert I’d hazard a guess that the matching wines at $120 per person is actually quite reasonable…? I don’t know, you tell me?

Ghirardelli Chocolate Premium Hot Cocoa

Ghirardelli Chocolate - Premium Hot Cocoa

Next up in the hot choc tasting, is Ghirardelli Chocolate. This American brand is just starting out in the Australian market and places itself at the premium end of the scale. The chocolate itself I’ve only seen for sale in David Jones Food Hall. This almost 500g (454g) tin of chocolate stuff, is big and heavy, and was purchased at my local Wooloworths. Reading the ingredients, I’m heartened to see that Corn Flour/Starch isn’t the second listed! The top ingredient is sugar. Lot’s and lot’s of sugar! In contrast to the La Bella, this hot chocolate, or cocoa to be more precise, is much more chocolate-y, and a lot sweeter. The recommended method is 4 tablespoons of powder into your hot milk. I stopped at 3. That’s how sweet it is. So sweet, that even me, noted and renowned sugar fiend, can’t finish my cup!

Ghirardelli Premium Hot Cocoa