A Table For Two

Food Photography Workshops in Perth & Melbourne

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:52:36 GMT

Roll up! Roll up! ATFT is coming to town near you!

Thank you to all who registered for my Food Photography Workshops in different cities, finally we are able to move forward and the first few workshops will be held in Perth and Melbourne in July. For those who already paid a deposit should have already received an email from me with all the final details and finalise your payment to secure your booking for the workshop(s) you have chosen. Thank you to those who already responded to the email and fully registered for the workshops, I can't wait to meet you in your beautiful city! It will be a great day of learning, sharing and of course, lunching!

And if you haven't already do so, I urge you to finalise your registration as soon as possible because here I am releasing the last few seats to general public to fill them up. It will be a first in best dressed policy. If you can't commit to these dates, then I will put you back in the list and reschedule for another workshop in future once we have enough of people. I hope that makes sense.

MELBOURNE WORKSHOPS

Date:
13 July - Food Photography Workshop for Beginners
27 July - Food Photography & Styling Workshop (DSLR users only)

Time:
Arrival at 11.30am for 12pm start. (Please do not be late)
Finishes at 3.30pm

Venue:
Private dining room (upstairs), Charcoal Lane, 136 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, VIC

Lunch:
Included. ** Please advise immediately if there is any dietary requirements. (Alcohol can be purchased at your own discretion)

What to bring:
Camera (DSLR or compact) and an appetite to learn!

Choose a workshop(s):

Food Photography for beginners - $150 [5 spots left]
For this workshop, anyone can join. Just bring along your camera either a compact or a DSLR, I will show you how to achieve the best result from the camera you have. This theory class will show you the basics of composition, how to control white balance, and post processing in Lightroom to bring your photos to life.
REGISTER - food photography for beginners

Food Photography & Styling - $190 [6 spots left]
This workshop is for intermediate and advance photographers who would like to take a step further in their food photography skills. In this practical workshop we will have a brief lecture in the private dining room, then we will get hands-on with photoshoot using natural lighting and also studio lighting (if space allowed). We will also play with props and learn how to food styling.
REGISTER - food photography & styling workshop

Attend both Workshops - $300 (save $40) [5 spots left]
To maximise the whole experience, I encourage you to join both workshops.
REGISTER - attend both workshops

Can't make it to these workshops?
If you can't make it to these workshops but would like to attend our future workshops, please register here and you will be the first one to be notified of our next workshop.

PERTH WORKSHOPS

Date:
20 July - Food Photography Workshop for Beginners
21 July - Food Photography & Styling Workshop (DSLR users only)

Time:
Arrival at 11.30am for 12pm start. (Please do not be late)
Finishes at 3.30pm

Venue:
McAlpine Dining Room, Terrace Hotel, 237 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000

Lunch:
Included. ** Please advise immediately if there is any dietary requirements. (Alcohol can be purchased at your own discretion)

What to bring:
Camera (DSLR or compact) and an appetite to learn!

Choose a workshop(s):

Food Photography Workshop for beginners - $150 [3 spots left]
For this workshop, anyone can join. Just bring along your camera either a compact or a DSLR, I will show you how to achieve the best result from the camera you have. This theory class will show you the basics of composition, how to control white balance, and post processing in Lightroom to bring your photos to life.
REGISTER - food photography for beginners

Food Photography & Styling Workshops - $190 [2 spots left]
This workshop is for intermediate and advance photographers who would like to take a step further in their food photography skills. In this practical workshop we will have a brief lecture in the private dining room, then we will get hands-on with photoshoot using natural lighting and also studio lighting (if space allowed). We will also play with props and learn how to food styling.

REGISTER - food photography & styling

Attend both Workshops - $300 (save $40) [2 spots left]
To maximise the whole experience, I encourage you to join both workshops.

REGISTER - attend both workshops

Can't make it to these workshops?
If you can't make it to these workshops but would like to attend our future workshops, please register here and you will be the first to be notified of our next workshop.

Soup Base Pan Mee VS Chilli Pan Mee Recipe

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:53:49 GMT

Beaten by a nasty flu for the last five weeks, and shooting two cookbooks (not mine) back to back with very tight deadlines, the last couple of months were a total blur for me, is crazy to think that we are already in the winter season! But life is good, I like keeping myself busy rather than sitting at home doing nothing. There were lot of things happened, and there will be lot more things going to happen, very exciting projects ahead and I am sure all will be unfold eventually.

As promised, some of you were asking for the recipes that I did for the Home & Decor Malaysia Magazine in May issue, here I finally can share the recipe on how to make your own Chilli Pan mee at home. However, I will also share the original soup base Pan Mee recipe from my cookbook with you.

Original soup base Pan Mee (photo from Have You Eaten? cookbook)

Personally I love the original soup base Pan Mee which is served in a clear anchovy broth and the noodles are usually just hand stretched and pulled in organic forms. It is not rocket science, everyone can make it with just a few ingredients, I think it is a great alternative winter comfort food, something easy to prepare for a Sunday lunch, or it will be breakfast in Malaysia. Whenever I go back to visit my family in Malaysia, I will still go to my favourite cafe in Ipoh Garden to have my Pan Mee fix in the morning. If you are from Ipoh, I am sure you'd know which cafe I am talking about.

For those who like it hot, then the Chilli Pan Mee is the way to spice up your life. Think about it as the Bibimbap, but in Malaysian version and no doubt the core ingredient that makes the dish is the dried chilli mix. With only a few dried ingredients that can be easily sourced from any asian grocers, add some patience and constant stirring in the wok over low heat, this fragrant chilli mix can be your next best friend that you can't help but sprinkle on everything not limited to just Pan Mee. Usually I'd say it will keep fresh in the refrigerator for a month, but believe it or not, I still have a jar in the fridge that is still potently strong without losing any of the flavour and texture. So long you top the jar with a layer of oil and fry the ingredients well to make sure all cooked and dried out (especially the dried shrimp), it will happily add some sparks to dishes for many months to come.

The noodle itself is nothing more than a pasta dough really. If you are familiar with making pasta, then just mix them, laminate and roll them in a pasta machine like you normally would. If you are making the original style, then make sure to stretch the noodle between your thumb and index finger as thin as possible before tearing a small piece and drop them in hot boiling water. As when it cooks, it will firm up, shrink and become thicker again, you definitely do not want to chew on a lump of dough.

Original soup base Pan Mee or Hot Chilli Pan Mee, it will keep you warm and content this winter.

Soup Base Pan mee (hand-pulled flat noodles)

Serves 4

200 g (7 oz) pork loin medallion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons light soy sauce, plus extra to serve
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
4–5 dried shiitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
30 g (1 oz) ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
1 bunch of sweet potato leaves, washed (see note)
handful of garlic chives, cut into 5 cm (2 inch) lengths
3 bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped

Ban Mee Dough
300 g (101/2 oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
pinch of salt
1 egg
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Anchovy soup base
2 litres (68 fl oz/8 cups) water
30 g (1 oz) ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
185 g (61/2 oz/1 cup) dried soya beans
3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
1 tablespoon sesame oil

1. To make the noodles, combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, then make a well in the centre. Crack the egg into the well, then add the water and sesame oil. Using a fork, slowly stir the mixture until everything comes together to form a dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until it is smooth. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, to make the anchovy soup base, pour the water into a large pot, then add the dried anchovies and soya beans and bring to the boil over medium–high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil to taste, then strain the stock into another clean pot, discarding the solids. Keep the soup warm over very low heat while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

3. Combine the sliced pork, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornflour in a bowl, then cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 20 minutes.

4. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes until softened, then drain. Remove and discard the mushroom stalks, then thinly slice the mushrooms and set aside.

5. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium–high heat and fry the dried anchovies until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel and set aside to cool.

6. Bring the soup base back to a rolling boil over high heat. Divide the dough into 4 portions, then lightly dust each with flour so it doesn’t stick to your hands. Using your fingers, slowly pinch one end of the dough until it is about 2 mm thick, then pull off a bite-sized piece and drop it into the soup. Repeat the process until the dough is used, pinching off one dough piece at a time and dropping it into the soup. Cook the noodles for about 1 minute, or until they float to the surface. Ladle them out and transfer to a serving bowl. Repeat the process with the remaining 3 portions of dough.

7. Place a few pork strips in a small wire sieve and drop them into the hot soup. Cook for 1 minute, then add a handful each of sweet potato leaves and garlic chives and scald them for 30 seconds. Drain and transfer the cooked ingredients to the bowl. Repeat with the remaining pork, sweet potato leaves and garlic chives to make another 3 portions. Ladle some hot soup over the noodles, then garnish with some mushrooms and the fried anchovies.

8. Combine the chopped chillies and extra soy sauce in a small dipping bowl and serve on the side with the noodles.

Note: Traditionally ban mee is served with sweet potato leaves, which are available from Asian grocers. They can be substituted with any leafy green, such as choy sum, water spinach, English spinach or en choy.

Chilli Pan Mee

Serves 4

Chilli Mix
30g dried whole chillies, soaked in hot water for at least 1 hour 35g dried shrimps
85g shallots (eschalots)
6 cloves of garlic
3g belachan paste
250ml vegetable oil

Pan Mee noodle
350g plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting 1 egg
200ml water
pinch of salt

Pork mince and mushroom topping
300g pork mince
6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for at least 1 hour then cut into small pieces, keep 1 cup (250ml) of the mushroom water for later use.
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornflour
pinch of ground white pepper

4 large eggs, poached
1⁄2 cup ikan bilis (anchovies)
A handful of fried shallots, for garnish
2 sprigs spring onions, finely sliced
vegetable oil, for frying

1. To make chilli mix, put all ingredients and 125ml of vegetable oil into a food processor and blend into smooth paste. Heat remaiming oil in a wok on high heat, add paste into the wok and keep stirring. Turn the heat to low, and keep frying for 5-10 minutes until the mix is dry and crispy. Once ready, remove chilli mix from heat and pour into a heatproof and let it to cool completely.

2. To prepare pan mee dough, add flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in centre. Then add egg, salt and start bringing all ingredients together while adding water a bit at a time into the mixture until it all comes together and forms a rough dough. Tip dough onto a floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes until it is nice and smooth. Wrap dough in cling film and let it rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes or until ready to be used.

3. To make pork mince and mushroom topping, add all ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir to mix well. Wrap in cling film and let it marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. After marination, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok on high heat, stir fry the pork mince until cooked, about 2 minutes. Add mushroom water and let it simmer until the liquid has been reduced by half and thickens. Remove from heat, set aside and keep warm.

4. Heat 4 tablespoon of oil in a wok on high heat, fry anchovies until they are golden and crispy, about 1 minute. Drain fried anchovies on paper towel and set aside.

5. Remove dough from refrigerator, use a pasta maker and roll the dough into noodle strips. Else, use a rolling pin and roll the dough to 2mm thickness, then cut into 5mm strips with a knife.

6. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a rolling boil. In batches, cook the noodle for 2 minutes then ladle them out and transfer to a serving bowl.

7. Top the noodles with poached egg, pork mince, anchovies and fried shallots. Sprinkle with spring onions and serve chilli mix on the side according to one’s heat tolerance.

And for the June Issue that just came out, I whisked up two recipes for the magazine that are focusing on 'sauces' - BBQ pork buns with soy sauce and Sambal Belachan Mud Crab. Which one would you choose to be featured on this blog next month?

Franschhoek, South Africa [Part 4]

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:39:46 GMT

Travel memories may slowly fade away, but a friendly smile lasts forever.

[WARINNG - some graphic images in this post some readers may find offensive]

Funny that I am still writing about my trip to South Africa that was almost nine months ago. This beautiful country has somehow captured my imaginations, snapshots of memories will still reappearing in my dream now and again; whether is feeding an elephant, ended up in a police station, or dining with the locals, these events are still fresh and vivid in my head. I can't thank South Africa tourism enough to make this trip one of my favourites of all time.

The last leg of our trip in South Africa find ourselves discovering the food and wine capital of this country - Franschhoek, literally means the "French Corner" of South Africa. The inaugural VINDABA had some of South African wines touched our lips and make us wanting more. Whilst we have already sampled a few wineries on first day, yes that's just a few wineries out of the 50 odd wineries in this town we've visited. The rest of our trip see ourselves tasting a few more local favourites, dining at one of The World's 100 Best Restaurant to a simple meal in a shack.... and also how I ended up in the trunk of a ute delivered back to hotel. I did mentioned that the trip was a memorable one, didn't I?

Franschhoek

The oil-painting like landscape of Franschhoek is simply breath-taking, in another words - is ridiculously gorgeous! Behind these mountain slopes settled more than 300 years ago by the Huguenots, who brought with them the most crucial things, you've guessed it - age-old French wine and food culture. Only 45 minutes from Cape Town, Franschhoek Valley has since became the heart of the Cape Winelands.

The Tasting Room

Award-winning restaurants, art galleries and craft shops dotted along the main street of Franschhoek. We were also very lucky to have an exquisite dinner at The Tasting Room, which is awarded the Top 53 in the San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurant. I will blog about it eventually as I think it deserves a post on its own.

Babylonstoren

Our first visit in the morning is Babylonstoren, one of the best preserved farm yards in the Cape Dutch tradition. But it is their fruit and vegetable garden/farm that makes this place a must visit. Spanning eight acres, the garden is divided into fifteen clusters spanning vegetable areas, berries, bees, indigenous plants, ducks and chickens and includes a prickly pear maze. Every one of over 300 varieties of plants in the garden is edible and it is grown as biologically as they can. I swear no one will leave this place without a hint of garden envy.

Dove cotes on bamboo stilts

Prickly pears maze

Puff Adder

Puff Adder walkway, the snake-like structure was created to house a collection of the famous indigenous lilies of the region known as 'Clivias'.

Clivias

I find the bee farm fascinating, different types of beehives were built as an experiment to see which one works best and what type of honey they will get.

A touch of Australiana in this garden corner - beetroot, and Australorp chicken.

All the fruit and vegetables picked from the garden are used at their own restaurant, Babel which is a former disused kraal, where they kept the livestock. The immaculate white dining room is flooded with natural light, they offer a menu that emphasises simplicity, most harvest from the garden are often served with their skins on.

Our walking tour leads us to the Green House, perfectly positioned under the oak trees at the back of the garden. This greenhouse-cum-tearoom is a beautiful setting where guests can relax and enjoy some light refreshment after completing one of the garden tours.

We have a taste of the garden, re-energised with freshly squeezed beetroot juice and a decadently moist carrot cake that makes everyone swoon in satisfaction. The use of indigenous spekboom bush gives the cake a sour tangy note, love it.

Wine tasting at Vrede en Lust

Charcuterie and cheese platter; fried battered olives

Vrede en Lust

Wine tasting in Franschhoek can be an extreme sport and definitely need a strong stomach. We spend the rest of the afternoon visiting a couple of the wineries and then a couple more the next day. Vrede en lust has a good love story to go with their smooth wines. Vrede en Lust, derived from the Dutch “Peace and Eagerness” is a modern wine farm, building on a 320 year old foundation, on the eastern slopes of Simonsberg.

I've never seen such impressive spread of cheese and cured meat platter to go with wine tasting, but it is the battered deep fried olives that took me by surprise in a good way. Named after Vrede en Lust’s first owner’s eldest daughter - Marguerite de Savoye, this creamy full-balanced 2011 chardonnay not only come with a hearth-breaking love story, it is a delicious fine wine with toasted nuts and butterscotch aromas and citrus, almonds and pear fruit finish.

Lunch at Salmon Bar; ingenious use of wine glass as menu

Salmon tasting platter

Salmon Bar

Back to the main street of Franschhoek for lunch at Salmon Bar, a restaurant cum deli where you can taste anything salmon and trout which are their specialties. Following a sustainable aquaculture farming practices, they breed their salmon locally from hatchery to smoking house in Franschhoek. Our tasting plate of fresh salmon and trout prepared in many ways - cured, smoked, crusted and of course, the best way to really appreciate the freshness of the fish is to have it raw.

Wine tasting at Chamonix

German schnapps made with apples from the orchard

Chamonix

Next stop, we will not only taste a few good drops here at Chamonix, a few German style schnapps also made it into our digestive system, burning from the inside out, they were strong alright. Chamonix is one of the largest properties in Franschhoek, with 300 hectares but only 50 hectares covered in vines. What makes Chamonix different from other wineries is that they have started making wines from estate fruit whereas other wineries are still sourcing their grapes from outside the valley.

L'ermitage Chateau & Villas

We check into our final accommodation in Franschhoek at L'ermitage Chateaux and Villas, a four-star luxury hotel that showcases the eloquent design of France. Most of the peeps in our group are allocated into villas but a couple of us are staying in the suites in the main chateaux.

My room is tastefully decorated, luxurious and sophisticated; but the only downside of my room is it sits only one floor above the lobby and right opposite the conference hall where a wedding is taking place, hence it is inevitably noisy and lack of privacy at times. Nevertheless, the four poster bed is as soft as fluffy cloud, sure will sleep well tonight.

We have the afternoon to ourselves and believe it or not, I go out for a run. This is the first time I packed my runners in the suitcase and actually put them on. I managed to go out for a run almost every day whenever there is down time, the breath-taking scenery in Franschhoek definitely makes the run lot more enjoyable. Not to mention I have been so looking forward to dine at The Tasting Room tonight, so extra empty stomach space is much needed.

Our media group in the private dining room at The Tasting Room - Le Quartier Francais

L to R: Shots of Jagerbomb!; Kelly making friend with Denver Adonis, co-founder of Huguenot Chocolates in Franschhoek

Kelly making more friends.

Drinks @ Elephant & Barrel

Fast forward after the most spectacular meal at The Tasting Room (individual post will follow), some of us decide to hit the village pub, Elephant & Barrel and of course, a group of Aussies in a pub is not that hard to spot, oh... and also, the one and only Asian - me. Many rounds of Jagerbomb shots later, and don't ask me how, but I ended up dancing with two girls (pic above), grinding away to Beyonce.

Apparently taxis are scarce in Franschhoek, actually I don't think I see any taxis in Franschhoek. But then it could be because we left the pub at 3.30am! A friendly local who works at one of the vineyards offers to bring us back to the hotel in his ute which only have two extra seats, but there are five of us! It is a funny yet creepy moment when I join two other girls being shoved into the back of the ute while the other two take the front seat, without asking any questions and simply let this man we just met and trust him to take us back to hotel. I didn't feel scared or anything probably because I was off my face, but to think about it now, it can easily end up with another Wolf Creek scenario. It is dark, bumpy and wet in the back of the ute, but I am just glad we made it back to hotel in one piece.

Oww... my head hurts just to think about more wine tasting the next morning.

Solms-Delta

Four hours sleep, wine tasting at 9am, hooray!

A wine estate runs by a world-renowned neuroscientist seems like asking a butcher to build a rocket; but that's how Professor Mark Solms revitalised the historic Delta wine estate in 2002. And today, Solms-Delta is more than just a wine estate.

Our tour at Solms-Delta wine estate starts from inside the Museum van de Caab, a museum that tells the story of Delta farm through the real voices of individual people. All old farms in the valley will have similar stories and histories, starting from human settlement on the farm, through pre-colonial pastoral usage of the land, establishment of private ownership through colonial viticulture, the scars left by slavery and apartheid, to the establishment of democratic South Africa. But here at Solms-Delta, they decided to dig deep to find out more about the history of this farm.

Excavations started in 2005 when archaeologists uncovered the ruins of what they believe was the original farm dwelling from 1690. Early and middle stone age tools, broken shards of glass, ceramic and china are on display in the museum offer a glimpse of the past of this farm.

Many heartbroken slavery stories filled the somber room. Cathy MacFarlane, the general manager of Solms-Delta is a little choky in her throat as she retells us the sad love triangle story about a slavery girl.

Excavations continued at the wine cellar in 2008, where Fyndraai restaurant is now situated. The earlier walls and structures of this building can now be seen under the glass floor and show the evolution of the building since its construction around the turn of the eighteenth century.

I've watched the BBC documentary 'Wine' that featured Solms-Delta music band, Delta Optel Band, so it is such an honour to have them performing live for us. Music van de Caab is a project part of the Delta Trust with the aim to break the cycle of poverty and dependency among farm residents and employees. Through music, Solms-Delta able to create a more inclusive sense of Winelands community by providing financial assistance for education, healthcare at all levels.

In harmony, the Delta Optel Band tells stories through old folksongs that are unique to the Cape winelands. Traditional dance moves mimicking wildlife and farm animals are entertaining to watch, until I got pulled out for audience anticipation...

A little dance cures the hangover, but it is time to move on to our next destination before I embarrassing myself further.

That is not a wine cellar, now THIS is a wine cellar!

Plaisir de Merle

Plaisir de Merle definitely has that wow factor; everything is bigger and grander. Plaisir de Merle is actually located in the valley between Franschhoek and Paarl, makes it a compulsory half way stop for some exquisite wines. But the estate alone is worth visiting; take a stroll and admire the beautiful gardens, manicured lawns, and the historic manor house. We are offered a quick tour of the estate and the wine cellar itself (pictured above) is quite a sight you don't see very often.

The frieze or blazon that graces the Cellar's entrance pays tribute to the early pioneers who toiled to develop the land and leave the legacy for future generations. The intricate elements on the artwork symbolises abundance, pleasure and enjoyment.

If I have to put the wine in a scale, then Plaisir de Merle wines will be on the upmarket level. Each wine we have tasted is almost flawless, elegance and complex. Their commitment of chasing for perfection has won them a gold meal at the internationally respected 2013 Decanter World Wine Awards for their Sauvignon Blanc 2012.

Squatter Camp at Langrug

It is not all glamorous and flashy here at Franschhoek, five minutes out of the vineyards will see the different side of this township. Today we will be having lunch at the squatter camp in Langrug. Squatter camp or shanty town, is a slum settlement usually overpopulated with dwellers living in shacks built with plywood, corrugated iron, or even cardboard boxes.

Most of the squatter camps in South Africa might not be safe for tourists to visit without a tour guide, but thank to this man who has an entrepreneurial mindset and a big heart, and under his guidance, we are able to experience how the other half lives in this camp, and also get to taste a traditional lunch at his restaurant, Batho's Place, meaning "People's Place" in Sotho language.

And this man is Teboho David Molorane, people call him David.

As soon as we got off the bus, inquisitive and cheeky kids come running and posing for cameras.

They sure put on quite a party to welcome us here at Langrug. The whole township is awaken to the upbeat singing by the Franschhoek Sinothando choir group.

Anthony joins in the fun

And you are more than welcome to join in.

Even the locals come out to enjoy the entertainment, kids dancing away to the rhythm and having a good time. But what's for lunch, you may ask? There are some cooking action going on the street and at the side of the restaurant. Something is being charred on the bonfire as the bad smell of synged hair is wafting through the air.

The sight is truly not for the faint-hearted. No doubt goat heads are the cheapest cut of meat that many butchers will probably just throw it out. But for the dwellers here at the squatter camp, goat heads mean a hearty stew, or simply grill it and call it a meal.

The heads are thrown into the fire pit but not directly onto the flame to burn off as much hair as possible. Long steel blades are heated up in the fire then rubbed against the head to get rid of any stubbles on the hard to reach areas. The smokey burnt hair smell lingers on my jacket for days.

But you'll be glad that goat head is actually not on the menu today, but instead we will be having chicken grilled on the barbie for lunch!

Batho's Place

Our visit was last September and Batho's Place has since moved to a bigger space that they were still building it at that time when we were there. The old place is literally a tin shed with only a few tables, fit no more then 10 people I would say. David actually had to remove the kitchen (hence cooking the chicken outside) and put a few extra tables to fit us all in.

What's on the menu today?

L to R: David offers us a glass of home brew beer, Umqombothi; Jamie Foxx's stunt double - Teboho David Molorane

David welcomes us to his humble restaurant and tells us a heartfelt story on why and how he started this restaurant. David's story is an interesting one, with very little education in his life, David can now speak English fluently plus six African languages. Apart from running the restaurant, he is also a qualified Western Cape tour guide specialises in village walking tours. But David is doing all these for good cause.

Batho's Place will not only offer tourists an unique experience of village life, but also play an important part on helping the community in Langrug by giving the children a better life and education. Soup Kitchen runs regularly at Batho's Place for those who in need, charity events are held to raise money so that they able to provide shoes and books for the children, warm clothes and old blankets to beat the winter months.

David offers us a taste of his home brew beer, Umqombothi. It is a beer made from maize, sorghum, malt, yeast and water. This traditional Xhosa beer is opague in colour with an acquire taste of fermented potato water, not sure I like it.

Our lunch today is a traditional Xhosa dish of Umleqwa and Pap, a big hunk of chicken thigh is heavily seasoned and then grilled on the barbie served in a sweet and sour sauce, and a puddle of polenta made from ground maize on the side.

With a quick search on Google, Umleqwa actually means the running chicken and if you have to chase it if you want to catch it. Hence, free range chicken is usually used for this dish.

As we are digging into our meal, another group of performers continue to entertain us with something a little more aggressive, rapping in Sotho language while waving a stick in quirky dance moves.

I am just glad to see Batho's Place is doing so well since our last visit, more tourists are now visiting the newly built restaurant, more income means more benefits to the community. If you ever happened to be in Franschhoek, please do pay Batho's Place a visit, and I can guarantee you that it will be an experience that you will never forget for the rest of your life.

Die Teesakkie

We can't have lunch without dessert, our next stop is to pay Ruth Paulse a visit at her tea house - Die Teesakkie. With a full time job at the hospital, Aunty Ruth loves to bake and we've been told that Amarula Carrot Cake is her signature dish that many flocks to her teahouse for a slice or two.

L to R: The boozy carrot cake waiting to be devoured; the simple stove that uses charcoals

Usually guests will be able to enjoy a cup of tea on the verandah overlooking the garden, but since the weather outside is a little chilly today and there isn't much happening in the garden during winter time, instead Ruth has decided to host us inside her home. I also managed to stickybeak into her kitchen, a simple set up of an old stovetop that still uses charcoals.

Ruth serves us a "normal version" of the carrot cake because she wasn't sure whether her boozy version will go down well with us. I am so glad that we convinced her to bring that one out as well because majority thinks the carrot cake that has been soaked up with Amarula is a winner. The cake is indeed moist, rich and absolutely boozy. I tried to replicate Ruth's carrot cake with my own recipe, it just isn't the same.

Of course we don't just have carrot cake with our cup of tea, Ruth's mum is also helping out in the kitchen frying up some doughnuts. Koesisters is a Cape Malay classic sweet fried doughnut, the soft pillow of doughnut is dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon powder, sometimes also with desiccated coconut.

Delaire

Our last night in South Africa is a free night, despite dinner has been prior arranged for the group, whilst some stay for the dinner, a few of us have decided to go back to Cape Town for a concert, but I myself have already made plan and heading to Delaire restaurant in Stellenbosch with a friend.

Stellenbosch is only a 25 minutes drive from Franschhoek, and the Delaire Graff Estate sits right on top of a hill within the fringe of the town. The estate can be hard to spot at night time, but the two rows of trees along the driveway well-lit with floodlights, all the way up the hill to the entrance of the estate simply can't be missed.

And what also makes Delaire a favourite dining spot for many is the spectacular view overlooking the whole wine region below. But don't come at night for it as you will not see a thing. The massive heavy wooden door pushes open as we walking closer, and a friendly concierge greets us and directs us to the restaurant.

The restaurant is designed in a bold orange theme, modern paintings and sculptures dotted around the restaurant but it is the bright orange wavy booth seating that makes quite a statement.

The restaurant offers a A-la-carte menu and also a 5-course tasting menu with the option of matching wine. For 395 Rand (equivalent to AUD$41), the tasting menu is definitely value for money and we decide to go with it. An amuse bouche of fennel chutney wrapped in pancetta offers a glimpse of what to expect this evening. The variety of housemade table breads is utterly impressive; there are sourdough, white, rye, wheat, just to name a few.

poached trout, roast fingerling potato, fennel bulb chutney, snoek taramasalata, chorizo

Our first course is poached trout with roast fingerling potato and fennel bulb chutney, the trout looks more like being sous-vided or confit in oil rather than poached, the delicate flesh is sweeten with the fingerling potato and the aniseed flavour of fennel. A few chorizo crumbs offer texture and a subtle heat.

farmed angus chicken & cider 'brawn', pickled root vegetables, sauce gribiche

Next course is a terrine of farmed angus chicken and cider brawn. It looks like a mosaic tile made with pieces of tender chicken meat, pickled root vegetables like radish and beetroot, all set in a clear cider gel. Dollops of sauce gribiche adds richness to the dish.

farmed kob, pickled radish, octopus, lobster, broad beans, pasta, lobster vinaigrette

This farmed kob is a beautiful clean flavour dish. The kob has the flavour and texture similar to baramundi, sweet white flesh with an oil skin, nicely balanced with pickled radish. Under a blanket of pasta is a mix of raw octopus, lobster and broad beans.

greenfields sirloin, braised shin, jerusalem artichoke, bone marrow, horseradish

My favourite dish of this evening, the meat course is perfectly cooked greenfields sirloin to medium rare and meltingly tender braised shin; served with jerusalem artichoke foam, richen with fatty bone marrow and a dollop of horseradish is just all I need to go with this beautiful cut of meat. Simple, but prepared beautifully.

Taste of desserts

And the last course is a taste of desserts. We get to try three desserts from the menu; the Taste of vanilla is creme brulee with vanilla yoghurt, toffee shard and blancmange; the second dessert is a decadent chocolate fondant with salted mousse, chocolate crumble and toasted almond ice cream ball. And the last one is banana tart tatin dressed in salted caramel sauce, with a scoop of peanut butter ice cream, it is indulgently rich.

It was a great meal, but my dining experience in South Africa has led me to believe that the food here is generally over salted. Funny enough, I found this article in the inflight magazine on the way home to Sydney. The statistic of salt intake in South Africa is alarmingly high, The World Health Organisation recommends that adults eat less than 5g of salt (a teaspoon) a day, but in South Africa some experts put the average salt intake by South Africans as high as 40g of salt a day. The tradition food culture plays a big part on the diet as South Africans tend to use salt as an agent to make simple bland stew or grilled meat to taste good. Unfortunately this tradition and a very salted palate had been adapted into the modern society and I was actually quite surprised to find even some of the fine dining restaurants in South Africa were very heavy handed with the salt seasoning. I do believe the diet and salt intake are slowly changing in South Africa but it will take quite some time. If the food is a little less salty, South Africa can easily be one of the top Food and Wine destinations in the world, but don't take my words for it, be there to experience it yourself.

Oh South Africa, you little beauty! Hope we meet again some day.

Places I visited in Franschhoek:

Babylonstoren
R45 Road, between Paarl and Franschhoek,
Franschhoek, South Africa
P: + 27 (0) 21 863 3852

Vrede en Lust
R45, Simondium - Western Cape 7670,
Franschhoek, South Africa
P:+27 21 874 1611

Salmon Bar
8 Huguenot Road, The Yard,
Franschhoek

Open daily from 8AM TO 7PM | Sundays 8AM - 5PM |
P: 021 8764591

Chamonix
Uitkyk Street, Franschhoek,
7690, South Africa
P: +27 (0)21 876 8400

Elephant & Barrel Bar
48 Huguenot Rd,
Franschhoek 7690, South Africa ‎
P: +27 21 876 4127

Solms-Delta
Delta Road off R45 | Groot Drakenstein
Franschhoek 7680, South Africa

P: +27 21 8743937

Plaisir de Merle
R45, Simondium, Franschhoek 7670

P: +27 (0)21 874 1071

Batho's Place
J40 Squatter Camp, Langrug,
7690 Franschhoek, Western Cape

P: +27 82 090 8660

Die Tee Sakkie
Dahlia Street, Franschhoek, 7690
Telephone: + 27 (0)21 876 3751

Delaire Graff Estate
R310, Helshoogte Pass | Banhoek Valley,
Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa

Tel: +27 21 885-8160

[A Table For Two visited South Africa as a guest of South Africa Tourism. Meal at Delaire was paid at own expense]

PappaRich - Chatswood, NSW

Wed, 29 May 2013 23:21:16 GMT

After opening five outlets all over Melbourne, PappaRich has finally crossed over the border and opened one up in Chatswood , Sydney. PappaRich is a Malaysian restaurant chains which actually started in Malaysia back in 2005 and today, it has grown extensively with over 70 outlets in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, greater China and now Australia. By locating itself on the lower north shore might be a wise move, as there are enough Malaysian restaurants in city already which can be very competitive.

The restaurant is still new and everyone wants to check it out. We meet up for lunch at 12.30pm and the restaurant is already heaving. There is a short wait before we are assigned to a table right at the far corner near the toilet. First thing we notice are the waitstaffs as we believe some of the seniors are flown in from Malaysia to train the staffs here - the accent dead give away - lah!

My dining companion couldn't wait for our lunch date today and came to the restaurant the night before so he knows what is good on the menu. The menu booklet offers a ridiculously extensive list of Malaysian delights.

Fresh lemon honey - 3.90; Milo dinosaur - 4.90

There are not one but six pages of drink concoctions on the menu to quench that thirst of yours. From refreshingly sweet iced lemon honey drink that soothes any sore throat, to the rich and addictive ice Milo malty drink which comes with an extra spoonful of Milo powder on top to crown the title - Milo Dinosaur. The drink isn't any bigger in size, which I was led to believe.

Soya milk with green tea ice cream - 4.90

Despite the drink choices are endless, one of my dining companion still somehow decides to concoct his own by ordering soy milk with black sesame ice cream but instead replacing it with green tea ice cream. The waitstaff isn't comfortable with the replacement, the request sends her back to kitchen twice to reconfirm that we are actually allowed to make the swap. Eventually she comes back and let us know that the kitchen agrees to change the ice cream but with warning us that the flavour combination may not work and they will not take any responsibility with our odd request. Our friend thinks he is onto a winner.

Nasi lemak with curry chicken - 12.50

The booklet menu offers many all-time favourite Malaysian dishes and ordering nasi lemak, the national dish seems to be mandatory. A white dome of jasmine rice seems lacking the coconut aroma, served with curry chicken which comes in big pieces of tender chicken smothered in a fiery hot curry sauce, it is delicious. A dollop of sambal on the side adds that little extra hot kick, whilst roasted peanuts, fried anchovies and half a boiled egg offers texture and some cooling relief from the cucumber slices.

Biryani rice with fried chicken, sambal prawns and eggplant - 13.90

The Biryani rice is possibly the biggest serving of them all. The fragrant turmeric yellow rice happily soaking up the spicy sauces of sambal prawns and soft eggplant, comes with a piece of fried chicken that is sadly missing the crunch and also a little tad dry.

Roti telur with curry chicken - 11.90

The roti are made here on site. Choices are aplenty, from simple Roti Canai, to Roti Telur by adding an egg, Roti Planta with margarine, or you can go for the sweet Roti Bom and Roti Kaya with coconut jam inside. The roti telur we ordered is a little lacklustre, it is stretchy and still doughy in parts. Nevertheless, we still enjoy tearing the bread into bite size pieces and mopping the curry chicken up. I can hear my friend saying, "I told you so, I still think so and so has better roti canai..." In this case, he might be right.

Satay mixed (12 pcs) - 20.90

The satay is on the expensive side, a mix of chicken and beef satay sticks are served the traditional way with spicy peanut sauce, raw red onion segments and cubes of cucumber. The satay are heavily coated in spices, particularly each mouthful comes with a hit of cumin. The beef satay are a little on the tough side, but then I've had tougher even in Malaysia.

L to R: milk tea with grass jelly - 4.90; Lychee grass jelly - 5.90

Our lunch turns out to be a long one as we staying back playing catch up, which means more drinks to be had. I still prefer to call my milk tea with grass jelly 'Michael Jackson', I particularly love the occasional big mouthful of grass jelly whilst slurping through the giant straw, it is satisfyingly smooth and chewy. The lychee grass jelly turns out to be one of our favourites. A mound of shaved ice is served inside a giant cup, soaking up all the canned lychee juice, topped with lychees and herbal grass jelly, and a squeeze of lime to give it a soury zing. A perfect refreshing drink for the summer; winter - not so much.

PappaRich is as good as a restaurant franchise will get; everything is systematic, the place is clean, food is decent, staff is efficient, we had a good meal but not the best. I don't mind and probably will come back again to try other dishes, but sometimes you just wish to sit on a plastic stool on side street, served by rude staff and food cooked from a well used wok over flaming charcoal, this kind of Malaysian hawker fare is simply irreplaceable and usually the food is a lot more tasty.
PappaRich
63A Archer St, Chatswood
New South Wales 2067
P:(02) 9411 3207

Opening Hours:
Sun - Thur 11.00am - 9.00pm
Fri - Sat 11.00am - 10.00pm

[VIDEO] Feast - Hamilton Island

Tue, 28 May 2013 06:06:54 GMT

As winter closing in, you can't help but craving for that little bit of warmth whether is from the comfort of home cooked meal, or the cosy snuggle with love ones, I hope this little video I filmed during the recent Hamilton Island's Ultimate Instameet of our final BBQ dinner on the beach will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Hope you like it.

Return 2 Paradise, Hamilton Island

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:54:04 GMT

Hamilton Island

The Reef View Hotel

Levitating at Hamilton Sailing Yacht Club

Sunset at One Tree Hill

Igers sharing tips on mobile device

Koala cuddling time before dinner

The swimming pool at Qualia resort

A special meal at Qualia resort

Beetroot, goats curd and walnut

scampi, pumpkin and sweetcorn ice cream

A friendly wildlife finds its way to the table.

Samara Weaving & Rob Moore

Samara Weaving

White sand

Luisa Brimble

Chinese supermodel Li Ya Hong

Leave nothing but footprints at Whitehaven Beach

Rob (@bobby_j)

Lindy and Michael Klim

Seafood lunch at Chalkie Beach

Local muddies

Prawns and Scallops grilled to order

Flower arrangement and table setting with Stephanie (@stephanierobiningram)

Our final BBQ dinner on the beach

If you have been following my instagram then you'd have known that I just spent the last weekend in Hamilton Island. Hamilton Island's Ultimate Instameet is back for the second year round and I was very lucky to be invited as one of the ambassadors to join a strong contingent of forty plus igers to return two paradise for a weekend of feasting, watersporting, relaxing and most importantly, instagramming.

The weekend was truly a memorable one, met so many nice people and made new friends, and strangely it didn't feel awkward to take photos of anything and everything with your mobile phones as everyone was taking twice as many photos than I did! I had to admire the pro-igers who actually taking instagram to a new level, creating beautiful images in their own styles, and some will even only post images on instagram at certain time so they know when to get more 'likes'. All in all, it was great to mingle with them and learn a few things by trying out a few different photo apps.

We did so much in the short three days, or should I say not doing much but just relaxing on the beach? The Whitehaven Beach was just as pristine and stunning as I remembered, snorkelling and finding nemo was always a highlight, then I even went jetskiing for the first time! It was thrilling but I was a bad driver and got thrown over into water - twice! The feast on the island were simply incredible, a dinner at the luxury Qualia resort, a seafood feast on the Chalkie Beach and to our final BBQ dinner on the beach - eaten but not forgotten.

Anyhow, here are a few images that sums up my weekend in Hamilton Island. Enjoy!

Thanks to @sophiehgbaker, @LuisaBrimble, @stefanierobiningram, @bobby_j, @paulyvella, @mattglastonbury, @miaglastonbury, @markseabury, @megansnedden, @tj_edwards and many more other igers for a fantastic weekend!

[A Table For Two was invited to Hamilton Island as the ambassador of Return2Paradise Instameet event]

Snap me happy!

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:30:15 GMT

It has been a little snapping crazy here at ATFT HQ. Funny how suddenly all photoshoot projects are happening at once and finding time to update the blog is almost impossible. Currently I am shooting two cookbooks back to back and having a stressful but fun time. But I am sure once the storm has passed, I should have some free time to breathe again and wind down a little bit before the next storm hits.

I am actually very much looking forward to some down time this weekend as I have been invited to join the Ultimate Instameet in Hamilton Island. I believe when you instagram enough of your baby, dog, flower, sunset and not to mention your breakfast, lunch and dinner, then I am sure someone will notice and actually invite you to paradise and sip cocktail. It is quite daunting to see the other instagrammers who got invited to this event have over 125,000 followers... and then me... a modest 3000 plus. I guess I will just have to be that token asian who takes photo of food this whole weekend.

On another news, I now have a little "food section" in the Home & Decor magazine Malaysia, where I will share a couple of my favourite Malaysian recipes for six issues. In this current May issue, it is all about using dry Chinese ingredients in cooking, for eg ikan bilis (anchovies), lap cheong (Chinese sausage), dried shiitake mushroom, goji berries (wolfberries), dried chillies and a lot more. And I simply have to share two of my favourite Malaysian dishes, the Chilli Pan Mee and the Lor Mai Kai (glutinous chicken rice). If you want the recipe, make sure to go and grab a copy of the magazine, there is also an i-mag version available on ipad that you can download.

In the mean time, for those who are interested in my Food Photography Workshops, please make sure to visit this page and register. I foresee we are getting very close to run a workshop in Perth real soon! Looking forward to be the other side of Australia!

Until then, I shall check in with you all from the sunshine Hamilton Island, in my swimmers, with a snorkels, and hopefully sneak in a few cocktails in between. Please do follow my instagram if you want to know all the mischiefs I will be getting up to in Hamilton Island.

Ciao!

Up, up and away in Hunter Valley

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:28:02 GMT

No doubt, Hunter Valley is a wine region and true that you do need to be somewhat into wine to really enjoy and appreciate this wine country. I've been to Hunter Valley numerous times and seriously thought that I'd only need to visit this region a couple few more times then I am done, I'd have seen it all and no need to come back again. Unless your name is James Halliday and have visited all 125 wineries in the region, if not then my friend, there are still over 6,000 hectares of vineyards for you to unearth.

Our recent visit to Hunter Valley was more than just wine and food. This time, we also got to discover the oldest wine region in Australia from a different perspective and learn about the early beginnings of Hunter Valley. Everything is a little bit different from how you'd imagined to spend a weekend in Hunter Valley, we even found our own little piece of Tuscany outside Rome.

Tower Lodge

Tower Lodge is a boutique retreat nestled amongst the Tower Estate property and vineyard in Hunter Valley. As part of the world's most prestigious hotel group Relais & Chateaux, you just knew you'd be treated like a Roman king and queen as soon as you step inside the hotel. The lodge comprises only 12 luxury guest rooms including two suites, guest dining room, bar and lounge room, gym and a roman spa bath for weaken souls, and the Mediterranean inspired central courtyard where guests can enjoy breakfast and take in the tranquil surrounding.

Our room is not shabby, not shabby at all! Andrea Bocelli's powerful voice was echoing through the stereo from wall to wall as we entered our room. The Mediterranean theme carries on with intricate decor in the room, terracotta tiled floor draped with Persian rug, furniture covered in rich fabrics, antiques and China dotted around the room, even our ultra comfort king size bed has a bed head plastered with a profile portrait of a Roman's historic figure.

The attention to details in the room is remarkable, Molton Brown amenities never fails to make me a tad special. But if there is one thing what I think can be improved is to have free Wi-Fi access in room. As I would have loved to be able to get online rather than only available in the lounge and the lobby.

We had a few hours to kill before dinner, so I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the lodge and got myself lost in the shades of Tuscan red.

As I walked through the corridors, I really felt like in a film set, imagining everyone should be wearing white togas, lying on the day-bed, drinking red wine out of goblets and getting fed with a bunch of grapes. Spartans battle in the courtyard for entertainment perhaps? Or maybe not. But all this food talk is making me hungry, time for dinner me think.

Robert's Restaurant

There is a fine dining restaurant in the Tower Lodge called Nine, as it is housed underground nine feet below the surface in a sandstone cellar. However, we wouldn't be dining here tonight as a table was already booked for us at Roberts, which is also located within the Tower Estate compound, walking distance from the lodge.

The name Robert Molines is no stranger in the Hunter Valley. He is the pioneer of the culinary scene who helped to shape the dining experience here in this wine region. Roberts was his first restaurant but had moved on over a decade ago and Molines at Tellvera Grove is now his new playground. Without changing the restaurant name, George Francisco is now the Executive Chef at Roberts, leading a team of passionate chefs to create a fine dining experience of modern European cuisine.

This restaurant itself is actually filled with history. As we opened the front door and stepped inside, we suddenly found ourselves inside a slab cottage, which is dated circa 1876. There is a lounge room where guests can enjoy a quiet drink in front of the fireplace, a bedroom which is now a private dining area; but somehow these empty rooms have an unsettling eerie feeling to it.

The main dining area at the back is a new extension to the cottage, a huge open space built almost entirely in timber gives the atmosphere a country comfort, a perfect spot for wedding reception.

L to R: Capsicum tomato gazpacho with basil oil; Tower Estate Hunter Valley Moscato

Two glasses of Tower Estate Moscato arrived at the table as soon as we seated, followed by amuse bouche of warm capsicum tomato gazpacho with basil oil to open up our appetite.

Beef Carpaccio - red capsicum mayonnaise, olive, organic Arugula and Parmesan Beignets - 28.00

Charred garam masala scented Foie Gras - 30.00

We started the meal with entrees of beef carpaccio and charred garam masala scented foie gras. The wafer thin raw beef slices were velvety smooth served with rich red capsicum mayonnaise that had a subtle heat kick, and I simply adored the parmesan beignets that had gooey and moreish innards with crispy crusts on the outside.

Instead of goose liver, I believe the foie gras was simply duck liver coated in garam masala ground spices then charred to a blackened exterior. The richness of the liver lighten up with tangy cinnamony candied lemon peels and spiced jus, whereas pea shoots and rose petals added colour and texture. But how I wished I had a slice of toast to spread the liver on it.

L to R: Tower Eastate; Roulade of duck breast and Jamon - 43.00

Our meal tonight was accompanied by Tower Estate Pinot Noir from Tasmania that had the complexity of all spice and cherry to go with some red meat and the roulade of duck breast and jamon was a good choice. The duck was cooked to a perfect blushing pink, the sweetness of the tender duck meat was elevated with pickled baby beetroot and the creamy aioli.

Mandagery Creek Venison - 45.00

I purposely ordered the Mandagery Creek venison to go with the wine, it is a match made in heaven. The gamey red meat was meltingly tender, served on a bed of glazed savoy cabbage, while sweet potato crisps added crunch. There were also a couple of pillowy agnolotti made with pumpkin foraged from the garden that worked extremely well with the venison.

Two petite cream filled profiteroles were brought out to us as a little break to slow down the pace before hitting the home run with desserts.

Caramelised pineapple and passionfruit creme brulee Napoleon - 16.00

It was a little difficult to grasp the concept of a creme brulee in a Napolean mille-fuille style. Between the layers of thin pastries were thick slices of passionfruit creme custard, torched to a caramelised charred exterior. I really wish I could crack a toffee window into shards with the spoon like how you would with a creme brulee, nevertheless the passionfruit custard is creamy and smooth, and we wiped the plate clean.

'For chocolate lovers only' - 16.00

A dessert that named 'For chocolate lovers only' no doubt is deliciously sinful. The chocolate cake itself was comprised of chocolate ganache, cake and mousse, overlapping into seven layers of textural wonders. A heavy dose of chocolate heaven to conclude our meal this evening.

Our waiter offered us coffee to cap the night off, which to be served at the lounge room in the cottage where we can chillax in front of the fireplace. We asked her jokingly whether this place is haunted, immediately there was a twinkle in her eye and we were probably not the first to ask the same question.

Apparently the cottage is haunted by a lady called Elizabeth who still moaned over the loss of her child who was drown in the bath tub. The restaurant staffs have encountered a few phenomenons happening in the cottage, they came to work in morning and found the fireplace has been lit up overnight and set the fire alarm off, picture frames being knocked down off the wall and the occasional laughter echoing through the wall.

The spine shivering stories made our walk back to the lodge in pitch black a hell lot spookier. It would be an early night for us as the alarm was set for a 5am wake up call and ready for our next adventure, up in the sky!

Hot air balloon flight with Balloon Aloft

The 5am wake up call was brutal, but the thought of floating in mid air at 3,500 feet high was hard to resist. We made our way to Peterson's Champagne House to check in with Balloon Aloft. I am not lying if I wasn't feeling a bit anxious about open air flying inside a tiny woven cane basket, carries by nothing but a giant balloon! But I knew I was in good hand especially Balloon Aloft has over 30 years flying experience in Australia to reassure us that safety comes first.

After a short safety briefing, we were also given a few instructions on how to jump onboard once the balloon is inflated as you definitely do not want to miss the flight. Guests' participation were strongly encouraged to help setting up the balloon - we pulled, we stretched, and then someone volunteered to hold the chute as the balloon being inflated by industrial fans.

Hot air was pumped into the balloon from the ferocious flame shot out of the propane gas burners, eventually the balloon started to tilt on an angle and straighten up. "Climb onboard now!" As our pilot yelled out, everyone quickly climbed over the basket within a short time frame and we were off!

Our balloon slowly hovered over the misty lake was simply magical!

As our balloon slowly climbing to a higher altitude, it offered a spectacular view of the sunrise over the horizon. Suddenly the whole valley was woken up and came to life; misty fog slowly dissipating, roos were hopping in the woods looking for morning feast, tiny humans were out jogging and golfing. There is no steering wheel, our balloon just glided in the mid air and let the wind took us far and high.

There was absolute silence when we were floating at 3,500 feet high; no wind, no chirpy birds, but only the sudden bursts of roaring flames now and again to keep the balloon aloft and also keeping us warm. It was so serene and peaceful.

The basket can hold up to 16 passengers plus the pilot, it was actually quite cosy with no much room to move. Everyone was also quite transfixed with the incredible panoramic view of the valley, it was exhilarating and I was literally in cloud nine.

We spent almost an hour in the air, as the wind took us a lot farther than we had anticipated. The Balloon Aloft convoy followed us from the ground until we found a field that was safe for landing. Air vents on top of the balloon were opened to release hot air and slowly we were descending with a thud as we touched down. I was super impressed by our pilot's wind navigation skill and landed us safely, as it could ended up horribly wrong tangling at the power lines nearby by a tiny miscalculation.

Hopping out of the basket was just as funny and awkward as hopping in, eventually both feet touched the ground and I could let out a sigh of relief. We all joined effort to fold the balloon into a flat pack, all nicely fit into a trailer and towed away.

If only you could hear my tummy by now, you would know is brunch time!

Peterson's sparkling bubbly were poured, hearty hot full breakfast was served. I scoffed down within seconds, I felt elated and content, it could be the sparkling or it could be the flight, but either way, my head was still in cloud nine, imagining myself as the little fat kid in the Pixar film 'UP'.

[to be continued...]

Tower Lodge (Inside Tower Estate complex)
6 Halls Road, Pokolbin, NSW 2320
P: 02 4998 4900

Roberts Restaurant (Inside Tower Estate complex)
Halls Road, Pokolbin 2320
P: o2 4998 4998

Opening hours: Lunch Sat - Sun, Dinner seven days

Balloon Aloft P: 02 4990 9242
Operates daily

[A Table For Two visited Hunter Valley as the ambassador blogger for Wine Country Tourism]

Crouching Shandong, Hidden Sichuan, In Melbourne

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:46:30 GMT

As Shandong Mama chucks a garlicky hit, Dainty Sichuan retaliates back with a potent fiery chilli kick - no one loses, everybody wins.

As Chinese from mainland China are fast becoming the number one globetrotters, and according to Australia immigration's statistic, Chinese is also now the top 3 nationality that conferred as Australian citizens at 8%, after UK and India. The migration brought diversity to the culture, and no doubt including the food itself. While there are still sweet and sour pork or beef in black bean sauce lurking around at every street corner, many Chinese are now opening restaurants that offer authentic local cuisines from different regions and provinces of China; and good thing is - Australians embrace it all wholeheartedly. My last trip to Melbourne had me sampled two of the most talked about Chinese restaurants in this city, and I can see why all the ravings when I walked out both restaurants, clutching my stomach either in satisfying pain or in contentment.

Shandong Mama

Officially opened in January this year, Shandong Mama uses its social media power and already fast becoming a popular dumpling haunt among food lovers despite its shy location inside Midtown Arcade on Bourke Street. The old saying of "when a Chinese restaurant that is full of Asians must be good" could be stereotypically proven wrong here, as I found there was actually more anglo-Australians than Asians having lunch at the restaurant when I was there. The skeptics will immediately jump into conclusion that the food must be designed for the western palates. Well, the answer is "no". 'Mama' will serve you authentic home-style Shandong cuisine; the food that she grew up with - no more, no less.

Meiyan 'Mama' Wang, opened the restaurant with her uncanny lookalike daughter, Ying Hou, hoping to share their love of Shandong food with friends and family. Wang is originally from Yantai, a fishing town on the Shandong peninsula where undoubtedly seafood is their specialty. That explains a lot why the fish dumplings is the signature dish here at Mama.

Sweet and sour shredded cabbage salad - 4.80

The menu is quite extensive, from dumpling assortments, staple of rices and noodles, to little plates for sharing; Mama has you covered. Sweet and sour shredded cabbage salad is a refreshing appetiser with crisp shredded wombok dressed with sesame oil which adds aromatic nuttiness to the salad.

Black Fungus tossed in Aged Vinegar, Sesame Oil and Garlic - 6.80

Shandong cuisine is also well known for its flavour derived from garlic and shallots and this dish is definitely not going easy on the garlic department. Black fungus salad does have a very similar flavour profile to the cabbage; frilly black fungus are crunchy, tossed in aged vinegar and sesame oil, but it is the garlic breath that lingers on.

wasabi spinach salad - 6.80

Suffering nasal congestion? No problem, Mama's wasabi spinach salad will sort you out in seconds. Don't be fooled by the simple stir fried of luscious green spinach; each mouthful is a slow gassy heat punch of wasabi that pushes up the nasal and makes your eyes watered.

DARYL - Noodles with Seafood & Vegetable Gravy - 11.80

"Daryl is quite a dish, isn't he?"

We are convinced to try this new noodle dish on the menu, a bowl of al-dante house made wheat-flour noodles is served with toppings of prawn, green bean, mushroom, pork, black fungus and egg in a gravy sauce. Mama has to make the noodles and the broth every morning to create this signature dish, it is ultimate comfort food made with love. She told me that she would much prefer to make the noodles by hand but it would be too time consuming and hard work to make such large quantity for the restaurant. Thanks to modern technology, the noodle is now kneaded by machine but Mama will still roll the dough out and cut into noodles herself.

Fish dumplings - 14.80 for 10 pcs

Dumprings!

And finally the piece de resistance, Mama's famous fish dumplings is quite something else. Most mornings you will find Mama at Footscray or Springvale markets sourcing the finest ingredients for her dumplings. She prefers to use mackerel for her fish dumplings despite costing a little bit more, but it is the fish that can produce dumplings that are very similar to those back at home in Shandong in terms of flavour and texture.

The dumplings are plump, the fat belly filling with the medium thick dumpling skin resembles a fat fan-tail goldfish. Each dumpling is filled with mackerel, coriander, ginger and chives, all mixed by hand into a fish ball paste like texture, springy and soft. Each bite is a pillowy warm hug from Mama herself.

Mama also revealed that sometimes she has to bring some of the ingredients back to Australia from mainland China as she believes they are much better quality. She laughed that it is always so tedious and embarrassing to go through custom with all the ingredients, but there's simply no other way. Things Mama has to do for perfection.

Shandong Mama Inside Midtown Arcade
200 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC
P: 03 9650 3818

Opening Hours: Daily, 11am - 9pm

Dainty Sichuan Food - Melbourne CBD

Not to be mistaken as the original Dainty Sichuan that is located in South Yarra, this sister restaurant situated right bang in the center of Melbourne CBD is just as feisty. Sichuan cuisine is notoriously well known for its excessive usage of chilli pepper and numbing Sichuan peppercorn in dishes, one must endure the most painful experience to really understand and appreciate why Sichuan food can be so delicious yet addictive.

I meet up with Sarah for lunch but the idea of having spicy hot Sichuan food on a scorching hot 38°C Melbourne summer day possibly isn't the smartest thing to do. As we are sitting down at one of the many booths in the spacious restaurant, I immediately noticed one of the diners who just finished his meal looks like he is in a hallucinatory state with rosy cheeks and sweaty foreheads. Oh boy, I am so going to burn in hell, I thought to myself.

Most of the Chinese staffs here are uni students and many of them can hardly understand English, but the pictorial menu booklet is straight forward enough. A chilli rating system on each dish posted as a warning on how much spicy hotness can one handle. We ask the waitstaff which one is their signature dish that we must order, she points at the 3-chilli-rating dish which literally covered in dried chillies and tells us that it won award many years ago, I assumed she meant it was featured on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation. We order it anyway.

A jug of soy milk drink to share among the three of us and we are ready to play with fire!

cumin lamb skewers - 24.80 (a dozen)

First to arrive at the table was a dozen of cumin lamb skewers. The lamb skewer is meaty and heavily seasoned in cumin and other spices, the meat has some chewy resistance from the grill as expected, then dressed in chilli oil to give the dish a lips numbing two chilli rating.

Kung pao chicken - 19.80

Pow! Pow!

Another two chilli rating dish, the Kung Pao (or gongbao) chicken hits you left, right, front and centre with its chillies. The portion size is overwhelming, a generous amount of sweet caramelised tender chicken pieces stir-fried with dried chillies, shallots and crunchy peanuts. At this point, there is already a burning sensation in my body as I wipe the dews of sweat off my forehead, keeping my cool.

Dry stir-fried beans - 19.80

The dry stir-fried beans with minced pork offers some relief from all the spicy hot dishes. Despite the menu says dry stir-fried, after some research looking at a few Chinese recipes of this dish, I believe the only way to achieve a glossy blistered skin while still keeping its crunch is by deep frying the beans in hot oil. It is deliciously salty, sweet and addictive.

fish flavoured eggplant - 17.80

The fish flavoured eggplant is a must order dish here at Dainty Sichuan. Yu Xiang (鱼香), despite the term literally meaning "fish fragrance" in Chinese, it actually referring to the seasoning mixture originated from Sichuan cuisine. This 1-chilli-rating vegetarian dish is lot more complex than it looks, perfectly cooked eggplant that is soft yet holding its shape, doused in a thick sweet chilli sauce that makes it mildly friendly to most palates.

Chong Qing Chilli Chicken - 25.80

The recommended dish finally takes the centre stage on our table. The Chong Qing Chilli Chicken makes my eye watered and my lips quivered, just by looking at it. There is a huge mound of dried chillies studded with Sichuan peppercorns on the plate, we have to dig through all the chillies with our chopsticks to reveal tiny chopped up deep-fried chicken pieces hidden here and there. It is a dish best enjoyed slowly, gnawing on the tiny bones and sucking out the salty chicken meat, let the fire burns from inside out and enjoy it, as there is no turning back now.

It is definitely a 3-chilli-rating of regrets the day after. You've been warned.

Dainty Sichuan Food Level 2, 206 Bourke Street,
Melbourne,VIC
P: 03 9650 2188

Opening hours: Daily 11.30am - 3pm; Sun - Thu 5-10pm; Fri - Sat 5-10.30pm

[A Table For Two visited Melbourne as a guest of Tourism Victoria]