We visited quite a number of cathedrals around town including the Gothic Cathedral. Outside and in, there are gargoyles aplenty and other mythical creatures but it wasn’t just the features that added to the almost ‘End of Days’ movie set atmosphere, but it was the organs playing them damn cryptic tunes. I got chills and ahuh, they were multiplying.

The one thing all these #beautiful and sacred churches had in common were their gigantic multicolored stained glass windows filling even the darkest crevices with a splash of light. It certainly lifted my spirits during the below zero degree weather -  so much so that I vowed to make something to always remind me of my time in Europe, particularly in Paris and Spain. I immediately thought of a childhood favorite, cathedral jelly. When I was a kid, I remember looking forward to birthday parties for one thing -  in the hopes that someone’s mum would be bringing this dish along and when they did, I went mental. I would tug on mum’s hand asking her to if I could have the first piece!

More recently, I brought this along to Shellie’s retro party. I wanted to bring jello not your average jello. Cathedral Jelly solves the “But I want jello with cream or ice cream!” dilemma.

Notre Dame Paris
The roof of Sagrada Família

It’s made up of cubes of flavoured jello held together by a OH SO creamy binder made up of sweetened condensed milk, thickened cream, unflavored gelatine and in my recipe, evaporated milk. No sugar is needed *gasp* The condensed milk and the jello is sweet enough but go wild if you must.

Zee Ingredients

1 x Orange flavoured packet of jelly (85 g)

1 x Raspberry flavoured packet of jelly (85 g)

1 x Blueberry flavoured packet of jelly (85 g)

1 x Creamy Soda flavoured packet of jelly (85 g)

4 x sachets of unflavoured gelatine. I used Davis Gelatine at 10 gms per sachet

1 x can of sweentened condensed milk

1 x 375 ml can of evaporated milk

1x 300 ml thickened cream

1 x cup of apple (not cloudy) or pineapple juice+ 1 cup of water

Equipment – 2 x 20×8 cm jelly moulds, preferably silicone

Ingredients for the binder - creamaaaay! 

Zee Procedure

Makes 2 (20x8cm) jello moulds 

Prep

The jelly cubes need to be form so it is best that they are prepared the day before.

1. Prepare the flavoured jelly by following the directions outlined in the pack but also add a teaspoon of unflavored gelatine for extra firmness then pour into four separate bowls

2. Refrigerate overnight

The next day – off we go

3. Pour 1 cup of your chosen juice ( I went with apple) and 1 cup water into a saucepan on medium heat until hot – don’t boil. Pour into a bowl, add 3 sachets of gelatine and stir until powder is fully dissolved. Set aside.

4. Keep the saucepan on medium heat. Pour in the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and thickened cream and stir. When hot, add the juice and water set aside earlier and keep stirring until it all combined. Do not let it boil.

5. Turn off heat and let it cool for at least 15 minutes.

6. Take your flavoured jelly out from the fridge, slice them into cubes. Carefully place the jelly into the each mould. We want to spread the four colours out evenly. Fill each mould with enough jelly to come halfway.

7. Bit by bit, pour the creamy gelatine into each mould to the rim. The cubes should start floating to the top.

8. Using a spoon, carefully spread out the cubes to ensure there is an even spread of colours.

9. Refrigerate overnight.

10. I used silicone jelly moulds which makes it easier to keep the jello in good form.  Fill your sink with hot water index finger deep, place mould in water (but don’t submerse) and leave for 30 secs and remove. Start to fold out each curve detaching the top half of the sides. This has helped keep the form. Invert each mould onto a serving plate.

Step #4 - what makes this so creamy
Step #10 - One of two silicone jelly moulds 

You’ve been served!

Unless you’re planning on serving this straight away, put these suckers back in the fridge. So here it is. My tribute to the greatest architect of all time, Antoni Gaudi.

Up close

Down low

Up high

Filipino pride inside Gaudi’s Sagrada Família

The next day, I went along to the Bursaria “A touch of…” High Tea for even more boozing. I was initially hesitant about going because I’ve never really contemplated about going to a  High Tea (a blokey thing perhaps?) and I’ve only ever been once, but I’m not one to refuse any invitation when dessert is involved plus the Abbotsford Convent is the shizz. The last time I was here was for the Summer Bake Off judging gig which was a scorcher of a day.  As we walked in, there was the Sunday crafts market happening with vintage clothing and other tid bits on sale along with other new cafes and eateries I never knew even existed. What rock have I been under hey?! For reals.

We wandered around the premises like a pack lost puppies until we found where the party was at. A sign was perhaps the dead giveaway! Blind leading the blind. I blame Shellie and Agnes…but I’m sure they’ll tell you otherwise. We were greeted with a glass of bubbly but what was more interesting was who Shellie referred to as, Flossie. Big props on the costume and the fairy floss themed weave. I would wear that to a potluck as my contribution. So I like to wear fairy floss, so whaaat?!

I hadn’t eaten that day so I was starving and after thirty minutes, I was getting way tipsy so I stopped drinking and went on a search for a glass of  lemonade with rosewater and vanilla sugar syrup whilst I peered into the ballroom where all the food was being layed out and awaiting imminent high tea throwdown. Sorry, I’m such a bloke when it comes to these things. High Tea etiquette need not apply. I mean geeze, I came wearing chinos, my weekend shirt and flip flops. Best.

The set up was classy with a touch of swag – cue the retro fuck playing DJ . The Rosina Function Space is the perfect venue for this event with its large open space, surrounded by so much history and touches of nostalgic features throughout.

As we sat down, our eyes fixated on the boards of sweets laid out just RIPE for the taking. Being polite individuals, we started with some chit chat about the weather, our weekends but with our tummy’s growling as loud as freight trains, we cut straight to the chase and Joyce went in for the first kill and with no hesitation, the rest of us followed. I started with the quintessential high tea must have – scones (double cream!) then hopped onto the Rosewater meringues, seasonal berries filled with marscarpone cream then immediately followed that up with the fav so far, crème brulee, lightly scented with lavender.

As you can see, rather than being served in tiers, the sweets were served on boards – something I felt was way cooler and practical. Plus, you can fit more food!

The mini lemon meringue pies were abit of a let down. So pretty like a well formed soft serve cone as you can see, yet possessed a way hard meringue high top. The Organic chocolate pots on the other hand with salted caramel toffee and clotted cream were a hit and definitely required a second… or was a fourth serving. Who’s counting?!

#lemonmeriguecloseupwars with Shellie.

My fav? Gosh, let me think about that one. Hmm. *paces up and down the hallway* OK. I’d have to go with the flossy floss floss aka vanilla, rose and pistachio pannacotta with pomegranate syrup. All the falvours were so perfectly subtle it needed at least two servings to really take notice of the pomegranate plus, I was in need of more floss.

As the savoury boards started to arrive, our faces, though covered in chocolate, lit up and after the photo session, I attacked the herb and citrus prawn skewers which were wrapped in crunchy noodles. Loved the lemon aioli.

I recall gunning down several shots of the cream of mushroom soup with truffle oil and red pepper tapenade. It was great to see this point of difference. The soup helped break things up a little and was a perfect contrast to the sausage rolls, chorizo, spinach and ricotta pastry rolls and went well with the pillow soft poached chicken, almonds and celery crust-less sandwiches.

Aerial shot!

Overall, it was an enjoyable afternoon full of laughter, a beautiful venue that really suited the occasion and a good selection of items that I rarely see at a high tea. Additionally, the funky tunes whipped up by the DJ and the vintage theme was a unique point of difference, changing the game of high tea making it more appealing for big kids like me who also wants to have abit of fun.  Bursaria’s A Touch of… High Tea? Do it. In fact you can! It’s held on the third Sunday of each month until September from 2 – 4 PM at $55 per head.

They also have a Mothers Day shindig coming up on May 12 – with two sessions at 10am and 2pm that run in 2 hour blocks. I’d soooo be taking mum if she were into sweets! Although, come to think about it,  that does mean more for me..hmm. *cue evil laugh*

Zee Details:
Rosina Function Space (please note: not the Rosina Auditorium)
Address: 1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford
Held on the third Sunday of each month until September from 2 – 4 PM at $55 per head.
Bookings: bookings@bursaria.com.au
Ph: 03 9417 7771

Food Rehab attended as a guest courtesy of Bursaria and Zilla & Brook

Also check out my fellow blogger’s posts on the event: I’m So Hungree, MEL: Hot or Not, IronChefShellie

Have you signed up for updates from Food Rehab? Get on the list and I’ll do my best to keep us learning about none-other than glorious, GLORIOUS food! Also, follow me on Facebook or Twitter if you have either of those addictive things.

Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

So how did this recipe come about? After eating them addictive lamb ribs at the nearby Spicy Barbie Kitchen countless times, I just had to make something similar at home but not deep fried. Must cut down on fried foods…well, for now. As used in my previous meataaaay recipes, I decided to once again use Coke and rather than frying the ribs up, I’ve chosen the route of boiling them then blasting them in the oven until charred then caramelised. I tried doing this recipe minus the boiling part, going with the conventional way of marinating the ribs then roasting them. But it didn’t turn out as meltingly tender and at times and despite adding water during the roasting process and turning them every 20 minutes, they were way too charred for my liking and bereave me, I’m a dude who likes my meat charred. Plus, I’m not really all that conventional!

I was actually going to call this recipe : COKE ADDICTS GLAZED LAMB RIBS as I seem to be gulping this stuff down more often than one should be, but I prefer not to come up under any ‘drug rehabilitation’ or ‘drug addict’ Google results pages like I’m some cocaine addict blogging about glazed ribs. lol

Homer wants ribs

Zee Ingredients

1 rack of lamb ribs. Get your butcher to cut out any traces of the membrane but KEEP THA FAT!!!!

The pre-roasting marinade + glaze

1/2 cup of Coke

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of Sriracha sauce (add more of you like it real hot)

4 tablespoons of brown sugar

3 crushed garlic gloves

1 tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons of tamarind paste

1 tablespoon of oil

For the boil

1 sliced ginger and 4 cloves of garlic for simmering. You can just roughly slice these as they will be discarded.

Serve with…

1 red chilli for garnish

Sesame seeds

1 Lime

Zee Procedure

1. Fill a large stockpan with cold water and turn up the heat full blast. When at boiling point, reduce to a simmer.

2. Now, if you’re really not into all that fat, just grab your sharpest knife and start slashing. but don’t tell me about it. I will cry. Wash the lamb ribs, peel and roughly cut up 1 sliced ginger and 4 cloves of garlic then add them along with the meat to the pot. Cook for 45 minutes.

3. Whilst the boiling is happening, we’re gonna get to the pre-roast marinade mix. Add the Coke, soy sauce, chilli sauce, brown sugar, crushed garlic, honey, pepper, tamarind paste and oil into a large bowl and stir baby. Stir it up until it forms a slightly thick consistency. Add more tamarind if it needs to be thickened up. Set aside.

4. Check on the meat. Give it a nudge and switch positions of the racks. You will notice the fragrant aromas of the garlic and ginger – give it one big sniff and…get a ‘lamb high’. At this point I was found shakin’ my tail-feather to Brandy’s ‘Put it down’ - so whaat.

5. Once the meat has done it’s thing in the pot, carefully fetch them out and transfer into a large bowl to cool down fully

6. Add 3/4 of the sauce and set aside the rest to use as a glaze. Using you hands, rub a dub dub until all crevices of the meat is coated.

Roast it up!

8. Preheat oven to 180C (fan forced)

9. Grab a roasting pan. Lay them ribs meat side up on top of the rack (if you have one, fine without), pour in 1/2 cup of water to keep the meat moist and cover tightly with foil for 40 minutes

10. Remove from the oven, chuck out the foil and apply the remaining marinade

11. We want to grill the ribs so we can get them to a crisp and nicely charred state. Switch your oven to grill mode and heat for approximately 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t burn!

You’ve been served!

Drizzle over some lime, garnish with sliced chilli and serve it with Atchara (pickled green papaya) and homeboy, you got yourself a mouth party. OK, that’s enough, bai bai now.

Meltingly marinated lamb ribs

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Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

Anywho, I still can’t believe a year has flown since the release of my baby. *wipes tears* I still remember feeling that huge sense of relief when I finally announced its release right here which then quickly turned to joy as I received so much love from all of you. Many people were understandably shocked as I kept it under wraps for a longtime. I’ve never received so many emails and tweets of support not too mention many of you Intsagraming photos of dishes from the book. So here I am with open arms, ready to give you a massive virtual thank you hug.  I’ve stopped thinking about how hard it was to make it and have started to really appreciate the sense of achievement after all those years of work.  This very moment. You all made it worthwhile.

It’s been a crazy ass 6 months I tell you. Things started to really ramp up on the book front but at the same time, it also got real busy on the job front keeping me up all night like a trucker. I’ve been asked this on a number of occasions so for those who might be wondering ‘how-the-hell-does-he-afford-all-that-eating’, I work in digital advertising as Head of Ad Operations for a major online publisher, leading a team of freakin’ awesome individuals who make my day as awesome like they are. You know those ads that expand out and play videos, games and other interesting things that may be annoying to some viewers? My job is to make sure all that happens. Sorry LOL! It’s a real demanding job but I actually like the gig and have been doing it for over 6 years now, so it’s a part of me and has also taught me the valuable skill of multitasking. DUN DUN DUN! For a guy, that’s a big deal.  Juggling  the operational and marketing side of my book, the job and my beloved blog during whatever spare time I have alongside my loved ones, the pets, friends, me time which includes sleep, exercise and my other hobbies – is HARD. Did I forget anything in that very long sentence? Probably. I am writing this at at 3am but fortunately, it’s a Saturday night after attending a #retroparty with my fellow rad food blogger peeps. *munches on third kit kat*

So without further adieu,  here’s what I’ve been up to over the last 6 months from interviews, book reviews, the Gourmand Awards Gala, blog features to rising on the Amazon.com best sellers chart and even selling out at a few bookstores ending it all on a sweet note judging a a Summer Bakeoff when I got back from Europe. EEP!~ Sorry if I’m packing it in here!

Gourmand Cookbook Award Ceremony in Paris

Wow. When I had first announced I had won a Gourmand Cookbook Award a few months back, little did I know that my initial shock was nothing in comparison to being at the actual awards ceremony and cookbook fair in Paris, at the iconic Louvre Museum of all places! WTF?! I mean, the place holds the largest amount of art, the Mona Lisa being one of them that I got to see the day prior. The win also made way for an impromptu first time trip to Europe which I’ll talk about in another post.

The gala, which took place on February 23, was just out of this world and more than I had imagined it to be. It made for a perfect way to celebrate my birthday! I would go as to far as saying the night was magical because you know what, it was exactly that. It was even trickling with snow that night which was way cool.

Hurry up and take the pic…it’s snowing and I can’t feel ma face!

Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Chef Cookbook and entrepreneur guru, described the evening best saying “It was like an Olympic Village of flavor,” (source www.foodarts.com) There were over 1500 people in attendance but I believe there were over 2500 including those that attended the Paris Cookbook Fair. Anyone and everyone who had a footprint in the culinary world was there. Though I didn’t get a chance to meet Pierre Hermé who I heard brought over some of his infamous macarons, I got to meet so many fellow authors, publishers, Michelin starred chefs and industry folk from around the globe -  all incredibly amazing at what they do. I loved how their faces lit up when I spoke about Filipino food. They noted down recipes and despite being a first time author, they were so welcoming.

hihihi too shy too shy

Gourmand pulled out all stops that night from the red carpet, the endless cookbook exhibit (very cool to see my book next to fellow Aussie entrants), the food, the wine and OMG, props on the venue. I was so humbled and incredibly honoured to be representing both Australia and the Philippines at such a prestigious ceremony. Thank you again Gourmand!

For more coverage on the ceremony, the list of all nominees and winners, check out EATER, Food and Arts and the official Gourmand website.

Surrounded by cookbook greats inc @ottolenghi Jerusalem

Herald Sun Interview

I did an interview in the lovely folks at Herald Sun newspaper which published Saturday 19.1.2013. I was very chuffed to see that the piece was featured on the same page as Jamie Oliver (!) I listed some of my favourite places to eat in Melbourne, Filipino food, favourite cookbook, last  meal and of course, where I get my weekend brekkie fix.

SBS Food – Interview featuring my Arroz Caldo Recipe

Back in January, I was interviewed by Jasmin Newman of SBS Food Online featuring step by instructions for my recipe for Arroz Caldo  (Filipino congee), the history of the dish, childhood stories,  my influences and my cookbook.

A CHAT with ABC 702

Back when it was warm (December), I headed to the ABC studios and had a chat with Simon Marnie about my all things Filipino food, my Kamote Que (candied sweet potato) recipe, Filipino cuisine in Australia and why it should be bigger than what it is, popular dishes from back home including massively sized seafood, beaches in the Philippines and how my family celebrates Christmas with spit roast pig! Very cool guy. I can’t seem to find the recording though! Gah. Will update when found…

Food & Travel – Book Review

The lovely Sally Hammond of Food and Travel reviews What the Heck is Filipino Food

SBS Radio – Interview + Pork Adobo Pie recipe feature

I participated in a panel discussion with SBS Filipino radio about Filipino Food Fusion in Australia voicing my insights on the subject and took the panel through my Pork Adobo Pie recipe. How I see it currently and where I see it heading. You can also read my views in depth on a another post I wrote here

I’m so happy to see Filipino food take off downunder – shout out to fellow blogger, friend and entrepreneur Cherrie of Dahon Gourmet Tea Lounge who has also been leading the bandwagon here in Melbourne. Grab Melbourne’s best BBQ Pork Baguette and Deep Fried Pork Belly at Dahon pronto! Oh, and a couple of BBQ skewers while your there, you won’t regret it.

Interview with The Hungry Australian

The very rad and fellow foodie Christina from The Hungry Australian interviewed me fresh from the Gourmand Cookbook Awards. It was an awesome Q & A with such insightful questions. I had so much fun with it.

Check out some excerpts below or click here to read the full enchilada. Thanks Christina!

Featured on Food for Tina

The very rad Tina from Food for Tina ran an amazing piece about my book on her stunning blog full of nice things which I’m chuffed about hehe. It’s so cool to see a fellow blogger as excited about the book as I am. Thanks Tina!

Below is an excerpt from the post. Click here to read the full feature.

Cake Judge gig at the Melbourne Bikefest Summer Bakeoff

You would’ve thought that I’d be dieting after my eatathon in Europe huh? Nope. Not to be. I was asked to be one of the judges at the Melbourne Bikefest Summer Bakeoff alongside some other brilliant bloggers Suzanne (Essjayeats), Cindy and Michael (Where’s The Beef) so of course I gave it a big yes. Who could resist cake?! The theme was ’stone fruits.’

Man, it was a hot day, but that didn’t stop us. Plus, I appreciated the heat being icy cold in Europe just days prior.

Held at the Abbotsford Convent gardens, the atmosphere was certainly festive with cyclists chilling out on the lawn sipping on coconut juice.

Bakeoff Winner for Best Presentation  the Sticky Date Pudding

Winner of Best Taste – Plum and Hazelnut cake

OMFG! What the Heck is Filipino Food rises to #38 on Amazon.com!

What the Heck is Filipino Food jumped back up to #38 on Amazon.com in cookbooks as of January. As you could imagine, I was super excited and decided to make Chicken Adobo and Suman to celebrate.

Thank you to all of you who holds a copy of my book. It really means alot.

Until the next update, keep those recipe questions coming., I love the banter and helping out a fellow Filipino food lover. I love ya and I appreciate ya.

Have you signed up for FREE updates from Food Rehab? Get on the list and I’ll do my best to keep us learning about none-other than glorious, GLORIOUS food! Also, follow me on Facebook or Twitter if you have either of those addictive things.

Keep eating…LIKE CURAZAAY!

Adrian

Prior to jetsetting off, I did the most crucial thing. No, not packing. *wipes sweat* I mean planning each day so it’s exploding with meals, snacks, desserts and plenty of walking to ensure we could fit in as much as possible. By the third day, I even took some laxatives because I under estimated how much food there was like the unexpected treats we came across along the food trail. I could not simply walk away from a side of loaded fries. No way.

You know how much I likley likley my brekkie, so each place was carefully selected. There were a total of 30 places and only a rare few were shortlisted due to the time frame we had. Some tough decisions had to be made. It broke my buttered heart. A few factors were taken into consideration like – does the place do dessert? Will there be a long queue? Will there be any celebs randomly dropping in? Do they do tator tots? Is it located close to our travels that day?

I also had to adjust my expectations here. This wasn’t Melbourne so don’t expect Melbourne standard coffee let alone award winning barrista’s spinning single origin blends behind the machine, fresh produce or herbs picked from the rear garden and sourdough bread from blah blah region around every corner. Just give me a mug of filtered coffee and I’ll be my usual giddy self.

So as usual, we drove our Tranformers-mobile Chevy Camaro through the coast eating it up, Cali style.

Breakfast at Jack n Jills

Details: 510 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401 310.656.1501

Jack n Jills was a hop and a skip away from our hotel. To be honest, I actually put this down on the itinerary because after looking at their menu, I saw that they had Louisiana Banana Cream Pie filled with delilah shortbread cookies and whipped cream. Now doesn’t that sound just down right delicious?! Is that insane or what!

Anywho, the place spans over two levels and like many places we ate at in the US, you order and pay and the counter which I actually found to be quite convenient. We’d normally fuss about who should flag down the front of house staff  for the bill let alone who should go up to the counter and pay so you’d might aswell do it all upfront. I know that this isn’t new, but it does force your damn friends to bring in the correct change preventing the inevitable “Can anyone break a fiddy?”

I grabbed a Peach Lemonade which was made with real peaches and tasted like one of those Japanese peach drinks I had in Japan – a southern treat indeed and a black coffee. Just because everyone else in the place had one LOL.

Their menu is extensive and I was still trying to get my head around the mega list of sides available with each dish – we don’t get that in Australia! Damn it. Take my order of the House Scramble for example – you get a choice of blueberry muffins, Texas cheese toast or corn bread and a choice of homestyle potatoes, tator tots, fresh fruit, cottage cheese or cheese grits. O.M.G. You get my drift? Mind boggling at first but when you get used to it, like me,  you’ll end up craving corn bread.

I gotz me some old skool golden tator tots on the side alongside the Texas Cheese Toast. We also ordered a stack of their buttermilk pancakes that came with a pot of maple syrup, whipped butter (oh help me) a mountain of scramble and BACON.

I waited for a sign from above to tell me that what I was about to do was a SINNY SIN SIN. It didn’t come, so cracked my knuckles, undid my belt and too a deep breath before I entered my zone.

A balanced mix of healthy vs bad fats hehe – ‘balanced’ being the operative word.

Considering how lucky we were with the weather, it was a gorgeous sunny day with a light breeze which made our walk back from a hefty meal that much easier.

No we didn’t get the bus…I swear we walked!

Santa Monica Sunset Interlude

Breakfast at Jinky’s Cafe

Details: Jinky’s Café 1447 2nd Street Santa Monica

By mid morning, we hadn’t spotted any celebs waling around in their PJ’s so we did another brekkie at Jinky’s Cafe, known for attracting stars like Jessica Alba. That, along with a glance at the menu was reason enough.

I was really getting used to the brewed coffee with no milk in the states. No magics, picollos, lattes, soy this, skinny that. Gosh, sometimes, I just want a damn coffee like how it used to be. NO frills!

Set amongst a causal atmosphere, it attracts both locals and travelers alike.

The menu was filled with pages of and pages of choices. It was like a dictionary. Every time the waitress came around to ask if we were ready to order, we tested her patience with another “One more minute please.” We finally settled on some goodies. I was also distracted by the show that was on TV – called The Chocolate Guide or something along those lines.

Menu at Jinky’s – waffles!!

French Toast with a side of my new BFF tator tots and scrambled eggs. Just so you know as I certainly didn’t – what they mean by a side of something, actually means a whole plate of something. It might as well be ‘a second meal with that?” Not that I’m complaining because it was too oisome.  It all went well splendidly together especially with the maple syrup pouring ceremony.

There was something on the menu called Flaky French Toast which is dipped in ’special batter’ and covered with Kellogg’s Honey Nut Corn Flakes – with blueberries, strawberries or bananas and is enjoyed by Miley Cyrus. I was that close to ordering it but it sounded far too excessive when I knew full well that regardless what we order, it won’t gonna be small. Plus, despite my OOC imagination, Miley Cyrus won’t be making a special appearance just to serve us a plate of pancakes. Although, if it were New York, Dave Letterman gets his guests to do that sorta thing…

French Toast with ahem…some sides.

Venice Beach: A long walk and breakfast at Fig Tree’s Café

Fig Tree’s Café, known for their chicken-apple sausages,  has been serving up ‘make your tummy smile’ breakfasts along Venice Beach since 1978 and is situated right near the famous outdoor muscle gym.

The alfresco area was a perfect spot for soaking up the sun and people not too mention cute dog watching moments. I counted at least 15 poodles and 13 American Boxers. If you’re gonna eat here, dining outside is a must.

In the mood for more Mexican to go with my ‘just how I want it’ brewed coffee, the Breakfast Quesadilla for $10.95 sounded like a deal. Again, so massively huge and spicy.

A warm soft flour tortilla set amongst some scramble, chilli, feta and sour cream. An absolute gem and a generously sized one at that. With so much flavour, it was the fantatsic deviation to the usual brekkie dishes in Melbourne and well done on the extra chilli. No need for coffee after this hit but I got one anyways as well as a side of a phat scone. It had to be done…

Turkey bacon!

And…we also ordered the brekkie omelette with a side of seasoned potatoes. I swear, as I ate half of this and I could feel the food creeping up to my neck  *inhale, exhale*

Details: 429 Ocean Front Walk  Venice, CA 90291 Ph: (310) 392-4937 Web: http://figtreescafe.com

We drive to meet Ken and Barbie at their beach house

Well, really just to check out the beach that Baywatch was filmed at. Pamela, where art thou Pamela??

A Mexican breakfast at Lily’s Cafe & Pasteries, Malibu

OKI, I’ll be upfront. The reason why we went here was because we wanted to see  a few celebs that happened to live in the area. But of course, we also did some research and found out that Lily’s Cafe & Pasteries was the shiz when it came to breakfast burritos.

Inside? No frills, keeping their marvelous food as the primary focus. It was suggested we have their signature house brekkie burrito. I’m sure we ordered the ’small’ size but I swear this small small size could either be used as a toddlers pillow or feed a family of 3 with scraps to treat the dog. Amazingly good and very authentic giving is fuel to keep driving. I also reclaimed my soft spot for filtered coffee with French Vanilla milk that seemed to be littered across Cali.

Unfortunately, we also didn’t see any stars despite also making a trek to the local supermarket – don’t judge! I thought I saw Jennifer Anniston but it was just some woman with the exact same hair. So misleading LOL But at least I got but my beloved Cinnamon Crunch cereal that I knew I wasn’t gonna finish but SO WHAAAT, Peter Pan peanut butter and several bags of a sweet and spicy variety of Hawaiian BBQ chips. Addictive was the operative word. No other chip has lived up to it’s charms since. I must find a way to import this!

A roadtrip down the coast en route to Santa Barbra

And we finally arrive at sunny Santa Barbara

That’s right. This is ma ride bitchez…

Waking up in Vegas to Cajun Kitchen’s cornbread and catfish, Santa Barbara

Aaah, how I bloody love Santa Barbara. From it’s palm tree lined roads, the sunny skies, the cool night breezes, the nostalgic vibes of it’s quaint town centre (old skool theatres, boardwalks) to the people dancin’ in the street all added to it’s romantic charm. I can see why it’s the ‘getaway’ destination of the state where couples listen to D’Angelo and get down like it ain’t nobody’s business.  But aside from the baby making allure of Santa Barbara, I also dug the restaurant scene. People, mostly holiday makers and locals loved to eat. They don’t seem to skimp on the good life.

After last night’s French inspired dinner with a bunch of really nice locals, I wanted corn bread and catfish. Cajun Kitchen was my answer. One of my favourite movies of all time is Soul Food for it’s ability to bring out the drool and ignite my passionate about food. Well, who can’t get passionate about Fried Chicken really?! Roaming the streets, we found our savior which came in the form of a diner. Tables treated to a plethora of jams, creole seasoning, sauces and tabasco.

By this time on the trip, I was way over tator tots and Mexican inspired breakfasts… They were awesome but maaa gaaasssh, my buds needed a break like Ike and Tina. My mouth started to feel kinda weird, like a new layer of fat was forming. LOL. I ordered something I’d never eaten before – catfish and grits plus a side of cornbread because I wanted to use my butter for something. That’s right!

How did I likey? Well, the catfish was better than I expected it to be. Slightly charred and sweet with a crispness to it revealing tender succulent flesh. I wanted seconds! The grits? Hmm. Perhaps like us Aussies with our Vegemite, you probably have to grow up with it to bear it. It was bearable with butter in each spoonful but it didn’t make sense to have a heart attack right then and there.  I think I’ll stick to – champorado – a Filipino chocolate rice porridge or just plain porridge. The cornbread? Gawd this was perfect. No amounts of butter can ever be enough to cover it though. Having the last brekkie at Cajun Kitchen was the perfect ending to this pitstop.

Did I mention how amazing their smokey sausages were? And the potato rosti…OMG…

This was our final day in sunnyside up Santa Barbara. A perfect ending to an enjoyable trip. I’d like to thank the locals of this amazing town. Thank you for being so hospitable and real friendly to us Aussies. I hope to be back soon. I’m missing it already! Wah.

BONUS SWEET STOP!

My Cupcake Angel offers her heart at Crush Cupcakes

I was saving this for another post but I just couldn’t resist writing about the awesomeness had at Crush Cupcakes – a local fav. Why? Yes they have great cupcakes but my experience, it was more than just dessert.

It was Valentines Day (yayayay!) so the place was packed. I grabbed a couple of varieties – red velvet of course and plonked myself on the table as I waited for my dining companion to finish ordering when a lady came up to me and placed a heart shaped chocolate cake on my table. She must have seen I was alone and offered her ‘heart’ to a perfect stranger as her way of doing a kind Valentines Day deed. Now before you get any ideas, I swear she wasn’t hitting on me or anything of that nature. She just genuinely wanted to do a nice thing. So touched by her kind gesture, I offered her one of my precious cupcakes but she invited that she wanted nothing in return. She was my Cupcake Angel!

It’s so touching to know that there are still incredible people out there in this crazy world with nothing but love and the most sincere of intentions. I have made it a pact to offer the same kindness to a complete stranger next Valentines Day. I’m hoping they don’t get the wrong idea though….eeek! Watch out, it could be you!!!

Its been real

After gorging on 5 breakfasts in 2 days, we hopped back into our yellow Tranformers- mobile and drove to The Bay Area aka  San Fransisco for even MORE cafe hopping! Living this life like it’s golden. GOLDEN – just like a tator tot all fluffy on the inside.

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Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

As you can see, he also loves going off tangent and rarely takes himself too seriously! I’ll introduce you beautiful people to him.  His name is Adrian aka DJ Drizzle who made this beloved Lemon Drizzle cake (adapted from the BBC Good Food’s version dated 10/12/2007) for his friends – six times over the last year by request – one time adding lemon juice to the batter which didn’t really work out…eeep – but fortunately, has since refined the recipe resulting in a very popular cake due to the following differences:

1. round instead of the traditional rectangular

2. added double cream

3. added Frangelico

4. more butter

5. a sticky lemon plus Frangelico Glaze as well as frosting

You too can make DJ Drizzle’s cake. Check it out after the jump.

Zee Ingredients

1 cup of caster sugar

1 3/4 cups of self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs, whisked

Zest of 1 lemon then save the lemon juice for the frosting and glaze

300g softened butter

2 tablespoons of double cream (ahuh!)

2 tablespoons of Frangelico

Sticky Glaze

1/2 cup of icing sugar + 2 tablespoons of Frangelico + 1/2 lemon juiced

Frosting:

1 cup icing sugar + 1 tablespoon of Frangelico + 1 tablespoon of lemon juice + 2 tablespoons thickened cream

Zee Procedure

1. Preheat zee oven to 180C fan forced OR  160C gas. Butter and line the base of a 20cm round cake tin, set aside. Grab a large bowl, drop in the butter and caster sugar then beat (Beat it! Beat it!)  until it all combines and smoothens out. Oh, use an electric hand mixer here! Drop it 3/4 of the lemon zest, whisk YO eggs, drop it in the mix and beat baby, beat…on a low setting!

2. Sift the self raising flour cake into mixture, drop in the baking powder and beat on a low setting. Add double cream and continue beating until combined. Spoon it all into the cake tin you greased up earlier and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out without any raw mix on it. No one likes raw cake…except for me.

3. Put the cake tin onto  a wire rack to cool for at least an hour. Calm that temptation.

Sticky Glaze

This cake wouldn’t be as awesome without the glaze. Everybody knows I love me some glaze. It adds that extra sticky layer from the top to the sides makin’ you wanna lick your fingers. To make this, grab a small saucepan, set to simmer, add lemon juice, frangelico and icing sugar and stir until clear. Add more icing sugar or lemon juice until you get a nice syrupy consistency.  Set aside until luke warm.

Grab a basting brush and apply to the top of the cake and the entire perimeter until it shines bright like a diamond. Urgh..cannot get the song outta my head!

Frosting

In a bowl, add the soft icing sugar, lemon juice, thickened cream and frangelcio and stir with a spoon real fast until it becomes a smooth paste. Don’t worry if it’s a little too runny – I like the frosting to be a tad drippy for the ‘effects’. Apply frosting to the top with dripping effects on the side…just for the nostalgia. I like it looking a little messy actually – you ain’t making a cake for the Queen fool.

Sprinkle on the remaining lemon zest and shazaaam, you have a way pretty cake yo mama would be proud of.

You’ve been served!

I’ve made it without the Frangelico but based on feedback so far, it’s way better with the booze! The nutty nuances coupled with the zesty lemon go hand in hand in redefining the traditional Lemon Drizzle cake.

Fluffy, fragrant and slightly dense all in the right spots and what did I tell ya, dripping effects for the nostalgia.

EAT ME

Judging at the 2013 Melbourne Bikefest Summer Bakeoff.

On the baking topic, I’ve been asked to be one of the judges at the 2nd annual Melbourne Bikefest Summer Bakeoff. How oisome is that?! I can’t think of anything better than tasting cake after yermy cake! It will be held at the Mercator Lawn, Abbotsford Convent on March 9, 1:30pm. If you would like to submit an entry, the theme is stone fruits. Entries are accepted from 11:30 – 1pm.

For more information on the event and the Bikefest Village Picnic, run your mouse over here: www.melbournebikefest.com.au/village-picnic

I’m in Europe!

My beautiful ones, by the time you’re reading this or if you’ve seen my Instagram updates, I would have eaten my way through Barcelona where I spent my birthday and have just arrived from a few days in London where I finally got to eat at Dinner by Heston and am now back in Paris representing Australia, Philippines  and my cookbook at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Gala which took place at The Louvre last night!! I was surrounded by cookbook greats and even though I didn’t win the world title, I still won Best Asian Cuisine Book in Australia and made the Top 7 finalists which was out if this world exciting. Just being there was an honour and a night I will never forget. Even publishing this blog post from Paris feels so spesh! I tell you what… it’s been a whirlwind of a trip so far (loved Disneyland!)and I can’t wait to fill my tummy up in Amsterdam and Brussels and of course, blog about it all.

Did I mention how rad the French are?!

My cookbook on the big screen! Ignore the Austria notation – I’ve asked them to change LOL

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Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

From what I remember, we were talking steam mops (don’t ask) *cough April* and then randomly switched to a round table discussion on the best chocolate ice cream in town. Each of us had a strong favourite – a few Ben & Jerry, Connoisseur and Movenpick voters. With our creative minds put together, we formed Voltron. I wish. But, we had the next best thing -a Chocolate Ice Cream Battle which was perfect considering I haven’t done a Food Battle in yonkers it was screaming neglect!

There were two rules:

1. Bring along a tub of yo favourite chocolate  ice cream

2. Though add-ons like choc chips were fine, the base must be chocolate.

How ironic. My name on an ice cream tub.

Of course, we couldn’t just survive on ice cream, so I was initially aiming for a simple menu of pizzas and typical dude food but knowing I was expecting a house full of Food Bloggers who eat like they have worms LOL, I cranked up the volume and thought, why not do a Filipino BBQ?!! Gosh. With so many dishes running through my mind, I shortlisted a few of my favourite BBQ items and ranked them by complexity and cooking methods until I had a workable menu with a variety of meats. I didn’t want to cook everything on the grill considering its compact size. So I got in my go go mobile and headed to South Melbourne Market to buy a tonne of meat then to the partay shop for themed supplies including an ice cream shaped balloon which was way cool and lolly bags with ice cream flavoured candy.

I LIKE ICE CREAM I LIKE ICE CREAM I LIKE ICE CREAM

Filipino BBQ Menu

Entree

Pandesal – native sweet bread rolls, good with a hefty amount of butter baked the day before

Mains

BBQ Pork Skewers – marinated in Filipino goodness for 2 days then charred to perfection on the grill

Chicken Tocino Wings – cured overnight then blasted in the oven

No bake, No marinade Twice Cooked Cola + Tamarind Spicy Pork Ribs – recipe here

Lolly Bags! It had to be done. I got a variety of ice cream themed and retro candy and piggy tattoos.

The Chocolate Ice Cream Battle begins…

As the mains started to dissipate,  we moved indoors for the judging. I actually bought a blindfold as I went OOC in the party supply shop and bought everything I thought was dope. I seriously envisioned us literally blind tasting  each ice cream brand, giving it a rating and deciding on the best. It would have been hilarious to see! But of course, sometimes my imagination belongs in another era.. so whaaat! We opted instead, to get Josh, who kindly volunteered, to bring us a rounds of each ice cream at a time as we gave our ratings on the brand. OMG there were so many tubs of ice cream it took up my whole freezer!

It was good to see how different our tastes were. Some liked the darker, more bitter variety whilst others liked a sweeter milk chocolate flavour. One thing is for sure. Despite us thinking we knew our ice cream brands, there were a few surprises I tell you.

The Brands

Below is how I would have thought they would have ranked according to my tastes. But of course, the results proved otherwise.

1. Movenpick Swiss Chocolate
2. Gundowring Chocolate
3. Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie
4. Kohu Road Dark Chocolate
5. Connoisseur Belgian Chocolate
6. New Zealand Natural Chocolate Ecstasy

Zee Results

#1  Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Verdict:  50.5 out of 60

As soon as I had my first spoonful, I knew it was Ben and Jerry’s for sure. I mean, who else in the market has that much brownie chunks plus they have quite a distinct taste to their brand. I had my first B & J’s in New York five years ago and dreamed that one day they would come downunder and bam, they did! In fact, their first scoop shop just opened up in Melbourne a few weeks back in South Yarra along ‘doof doof’  Chapel Street. So close to work too!

Yes, this won all of us over but come on, they certainly had the clear advantage with all that chewy chunky goodness amongst that closer to  dark chocolate creamy base. You want your kid/partner to sit and behave, give them a tub of this and they’ll even clean after themselves.

#2 Gundowring Chocolate

Verdict: 49 out of 60

I recall this being quite different texture wise compared to the others. It didn’t come across as melted/runny or anything but reminded us of a light chocolate mousse. I actually liked it but was initially thrown off. After the guys left and having a few more hours in the freezer, I tried it again. Funnily enough, despite the texture hardening back to standard ice cream form, I f0und myself craving the previous softer texture!

#3 Kohu Road Dark Chocolate

Verdict: 45.5 out of 60

I bought this one from the local IGA. I hadn’t seen Kohu in the freezer isle before so it made for the perfect choice. Packaged as dark chocolate, it definitely lived up to its name. It had a hard texture so each mouthful had to do the twist around the tongue but remained smooth throughout with no annoying icy bits. It was also quite sharp and wasn’t as sweet so the dark chocolate was able to just cut right through and state its presence. Great quality from NZ!

4th: Connoisseur Belgian Chocolate

Verdict: 45 out of 60

The Connoisseur was our dark horse – I’m pretty sure it was the cheapest tub and since it only just inched into fourth, it represented the best value. It scored  and was fairly smooth and bitter sweet dark.

5th: NZ Natural Chocolate Ecstasy

Verdict: 34 out of 60

Usually a fan of the brand, this was the first time I tried their chocolate variety. I usually stick to their creamy vanilla and hokey pokey. It may have been a bad batch but it was icey and not as creamy as the others. It also didn’t have that indulgent chocolate flavour you want when you grab a spoon and dig into a tub of choccie ice cream on the couch wah. I would have loved to see this score in the top 3.

6th: Movenpick Swiss Chocolate

Verdict: 33 out of 60

This was the real shocker! The shockers of shockers. Believe it or not, more shocking than my table manners.  It may have been due to the amount of dark chocolate ice cream consumed, but for some out of this world reason, none of us recognized it. For someone who forks out the premium ‘dollar dollar bills’ this brand demands at the supermarket, I was expecting it to score the highest so I had it again later that night and was in love with my beloved once again. Phew…

DUN DUN DUN….

As you can tell from the results,  Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie takes home the prize.

To conclude the judging, we all went bizerk and added chunks of April’s addictive chocolate peanut butter brownies to the other varieties. The best combination ever of salty and sweet and then worked off some of that sugar with a few rounds of fake tennis and archery (PS3 Move).

I started writing this post days after the party, then got distracted by other life happenings which included going back and forth to the freezer as I finally dusted off the remaining tubs of endless chocolate ice cream.

Pork Gangstaz

I also grabbed a couple of Piggy tattoos! We ate like pigs and ate a whole lotta pig too so I thought these tats were very fitting. Don’t mess with the #porkgangstaz cuz we’ll come over to your house and eat all the pork and ice cream. LOL

I’m looking forward to the next ice cream party when I around to organising another date (yes, we need a round two) but I unexpectedly had to pull the plug due to a good friend’s farewell. Life happens you know what I’m sayin’! So we did a farewell cookoff where we cooked up a massive feast of Beef Asado Ribs, coconut chicken, baked eggplant with 3 cheeses and lamb, baked a cake where I got to use a KitchenAid for the very first time (OMG I want one! It made everything so seamless), pasta and o

f course, a gigantic trifle.

Too Hood.

And den?

Have you signed up for FREE updates from Food Rehab? Get on the list and I’ll do my best to keep us learning about none-other than glorious, GLORIOUS food! Also, follow me on Facebook or Twitter if you have either of those addictive things.

Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

More awareness is needed, especially within the educational system and parents should also be part of the program to instill healthy eating habits at school and at home. It’s one thing to educate our kids to eat healthy but for many of these youngins, all that goes out the window as soon as they get home. Whilst there are many driving factors, this needs to be addressed at the very core – home. Mum made sure that pizza once a week was the shizz and definitely didn’t have any mega strict junk food protocols  as this would have had the opposite effect – rebellion.  I could picture my brother and I hiding stashes of whizz fizz and redskins in our Voltron robots or comic book boxes! We went through some tough times so we were only given a certain amount of pocket money just for a few lollies at the Milk Bar – so we couldn’t buy anymore even if we wanted to. Phew…

White chocolate tennis balls by The Press Club with filling made up of Swisse Active bars (I had some today after my workout – yes I do exercise – and they were geeeeewd)

Zee Feasting Highlights

Gosh, now I feel real bad about writing up how much I ate. Look, I exercise like hell OK! My piggy dreams turned into reality as soon as we walked into the main ballroom. All I was thinking was OK, where is the nearest surgeon, I want my second stomach. If I had to compare it to something, it was like Taste of Melbourne but in a more formal setting without the lengthy queues or the need for crowns which meant Ash, crew and I went back for seconds (or was it fourths…) as we gorged our way through Melbourne best restaurants.

To get the crowd buzzing, draanks by the infamous Silk Road mixologists were flowing…literally.

After gunning down some Sydney Rock Oysters in the auction room, we didn’t know what to eat first. There were so many stellar choices. We were like “Oooh, edible tennis balls!” “Oh, we should try Pei Modern first!” “OMG a Movenpick cart!”

It was hilarious seeing our foodie meters go off the chain but one thing I just couldn’t go past was – DESSERT! And by dessert, I mean Moveinpick. I wanted to try all the flavours but one can’t be too greedy so I opted for the Creme Brulee and Pannacotta being the two flavours I hadn’t yet tried so I thought, why not get experimental now then I’ll have my usual flava flav combo later?! After the crew had watched me in disgust dusting off the last few scoops ice cream, we descended down the stairs and attacked starting from the right of the room.

DESSERT COMES FIRST FOOLS!

Spread your wings and prepare to fly…Greeting us at the entrance was this massive Wolf Blass ice sculpture

First of the rank was Mama Baba (Kevin Middleton) which was great because we’ve been wanting to go for ages. I keep passing the place on the way to Two Birds One Stone. Hot off the boil was tortellini. Simple but fresh and with the contents (tomato, mustard and prawn) nice and firm. If they had a stall along South Melbourne Market’s Cecil Street, this as a snack would be a worthy contender for the  infamous Dim Sims.

As we walked over to the next table, I spotted a friendly face – Justin Wise, Head Chef at The Point – who are known for their legendary steaks as well as their splendid events that they put on like the Beef, Butter, Truffles & Wine evening I attended. Justin, as always, meticulously plated up one of their signature entrees -  Kingfish Crudo. A lightweight and refreshing dish with little nuances of horseradish with a crispy array of pommes pailles.

I loved the look of these pizzettas. Headed by Ian Curley of The European, toppings were anchovy and sobrassada passiladiere – I didn’t get t try it because I was eating dessert but Ash seemed to dig it.

This was not the time to explore new horizons. I mean yeah XYZ restaurant was serving something that sounded extraordinary, but when you have such a solid dish like Saké Restaurant & Bar‘s Kingfish jalapeno double crunch sushi roll, you stand there, look pretty and keep coming back for more. An intermission is warranted i.e. toilet breaks, more wine, dessert but hurry the hell back for more sushi eating business. Come to think about it, Japanese cuisine seemed to have been the consistent highlight of the evening as OCHA also brought the tastebuds down giving us a choice between made to order eel or smoked salmon Crispy Hand Roll Sushi and by crispy, they really super dooper crispaaaaayyy and thank fully, there were two servings.

Kingfish jalapeno double crunch sushi roll

Crispy Hand Roll Sushi at OCHA

Our eyes fixated on the very tender cubes Wagyu beef on a  being prepared by Grand Hyatt Melbourne’s very own Jason Camillo.

Murray cod, light flavors of smoke, Soy cream, Stefano’s (Jim McDougall)

Perfect was the Wallaby tartare, samphire, oregano rice bubbles by Riccardo Momesso of Sarti -I missed out on seconds dammit!

I’ve never had coffee cured salmon before, so when I saw Scott Pickett of Estelle Bar & Kitchen preparing this, I came running. There were a few steps in the process before one could take the dish – the final being a sprinkle of coffee. Sweet and fragrant with subtle bitter notes throughout. I loved taking whiffs of it taking on the persona of Cookie the beagle.

By this time, we were thirsty but didn’t want to drink too much for the fear of getting full! So we took an intermission, took a few sips and checked out the tennis players. I saw Llyeton Hewitt, Pat Cash, Tamira Pszek and a few other players which was cool.

We got to hold it (with gloves and security nearby) and take pictures on the red carpet pretending we were tennis stars

Miso Marinated Tajima Wagyu beef, crisp sesame vegetables on shiso roll, Delaware North Companies

Philippe Mouchel (PM24) in the flesh, who was very calm amidst all the buzz, prepared Confit pork belly (AHUH!), shallot/ginger confiture and raw cabbage salad which was reminiscent of  mum’s glazed Christmas Ham. Loved it.

Matt Germanchis from another restaurant I haven’t been to -  Pei Modern – served up a simple combination of pulled Lamb, Lemon, Radishes. It was just enough to keep our appetites burning without filing us up.

zee sweet stuff

As you may have guessed anyways, I had dessert first. Though I started with Movenpick and ended with Movenpick, I of course tried out the other creatively designed and tennis themed sweets.

He’s been shot…by chocolate! Tennis player down

My favourite was the Mandarin Velvet, Licorice, Valronha Dark Chocolate by Perry Schagen of The Graham Hotel. Little hints of licorice, sweet v.s. bitter battles, crunch and jelly textures at the bottom. It was a sweet adventure so to speak as I scooped up the remaining bits before I dashed off with my second serving! JAJAJAJAJJAJAJA!

If that weren’t enough, there was more. OK. *exhales* Quinoa, coconut organic blueberry, raspberry by Pierrick Boyer of foodie favourite, Le Petit Gâteau

Keeping in line with the theme, Tim Clark of Cacao Fine Chocolates & Patisserie brought in the armory of cute little tennis ball halves called  ‘Balle de tennis’ made up  of Vanilla crème legere with Raspberry jelly and Passion fruit punch soaked Coconut daquoise. So many elements for something that was devoured in 2 seconds! Gone…GONE!!!!

I was left to mind all the ice creams as the crew went for a toilet break. I swear I didn’t eat any… *puts on innocent face*

Me and my amigos. Such posers…

All the head chefs and founding masterminds from each restaurant really got into the action and were so passionate about the cause as they pumped out what seemed to be a gazillion dishes and personally handed them out to all the guests. It would have been super hard to make such quality dishes for the masses but you gotta hand it to these talented chefs – they gotz this. Props to my companions who ate like the world was coming to an end. It all added to the fun filled atmosphere and made for such an enjoyable evening . The only hard part was walking back to the car. I was thinking that I should have booked a room at the Grand Hyatt so I could just go up the elevator and walk right into comfy bed LOL. I can’t wait for the Australian Open to begin and to finally get to the restaurants I haven’t been too – now that I’ve tasted what they have on offer.

2013 has so far made it clear, in fact so clear that it’s bathing in Windex – that diets are just silly. SILLY! What’s silly? Diets are silly. But of course, continue to exercise and to set a good example, will TRY and watch what I eat. Don’t laugh!

More Information:

Date: Thursday 10 January, 2013
Venue: Grand Hyatt Melbourne, 123 Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000
Tickets: $200 (includes access and transport to the after party)
Web: www.swisseactivetasteoftennis.com.au

Also check out Ashely’s post on the event here

Please help support the following charities:

Diabetes Australia:  www.diabetesaustralia.com.au

National Institute of Integrative Medicine: www.niim.com.au

Food Rehab attended courtesy of Taste of Tennis Australia

Just getting the cookbook out there was enough for me, but this…THIS has made my year and would definitely go down as one of my most greatest achievements. With so many things going on right now, it didn’t actually hit me at first. I kinda just sat there in awe. This is like winning the Oscars, the Grammys even (minus performances from Beyonce) – for authors like myself which is why I couldn’t function properly days after I had found out. It means so much to little ol’ me that I was even considered because not only was I up against established cookbook geniuses whose works I really admire,  but because in addition to being a comic/cookbook, it ain’t exactly your traditional cookbook covering a mainstream cuisine. I’m really honored and happy to see that Gourmand embraces creativity and understands that authors evolve.

The prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, which has been running for 18 years, was created to “help readers find the best out of the 26,000 plus food and wine books produced every year.” According to Gourmand’s website -  there were 171 countries competing in the Awards this year, against 162 last year, and 156 the year before.  It is the only sector of book publishing that benefits from such an Awards event with so many countries. The gala night is held in Paris at Carrousel du Louvree and from what I could tell, it’s all pretty swanky indeed so I’d better tidy up my swag in case I bump into Michelin Starred greats like Alain Ducasse and Michel Roux. OMG. If I do end up going, I’ll also be attending the Paris Cookbook Fair festivities and hopefully meet some fellow authors.

Image source: www.cookbookfair.com

The judging panel - Edouard Cointreau, Chairman of the Awards Committee / Sara Baer-Sinnott, President of the Oldways and Exchange and Trust Foundation (USA) / Jean Jacques Ratier, Director of Hospitality School of Dordogne.  Their enormous task every year is to sift through over 8000 cookbooks to decide who in each country wins the national competition which was just announced (YAY!) who will then get to represent their country in the Best in The World competition at the awards ceremony in Paris, 22 – 24 February 2013.

Going off last year’s awards, it looks to be that I’ll be up against three other winners chosen from around the globe to compete for the world title in the Best Asian Cuisine Book category. *GULPS*  I’m literally looking at flights to Paris right this very second! I’ve never been there but all I can think of is all things edible of course….but most importantly their butter and bread. Carb alert! Please send me tips!

My heart literally stopped then went BOOM BOOM BOOM when I received the above email

I’m so thankful for this moment.

For being able to share it with you, with those that have TRULY supported me. Having dreamt about about making it all happen was one thing, but actually taking action then finally getting enough funds to complete the cookbook,  distribution, marketing and managing all the other things that continue to churn away in the background whilst balancing it with my day job, the blog and LIFE has been the most challenging thing I’ve done but at the same time, most fulfilling. I’m nervous as hell about the awards night (deep breath) but I feel like I’m making a difference in the bid to spread the word about Filipino food and have ensured my mum’s legacy continues. I’m getting a  little soppy but so whaaat!  To everyone around the globe who holds a copy of What the Heck is Filipino Food and to those who give me encouragement to keep going despite the setbacks and those pesky naysayers -  thank you. Your emails  filled with so much heart and quirky anecdotes that literally made me ‘LOL’ – inspire me. To think the book made such an impact on so many wonderful people from  places I’ve never heard of is just so damn cool.

{giveaway to celebrate} $100 voucher to go towards your next Summer getaway!

This goes down as zee best Christmas present I’ve ever received so to pay it forward, I would like to giveaway a $100 Groupon voucher to go towards your next Summer getaway! Ahuh! How Oisome is that?!  I’m already picturing white sandy beaches and mojitos by sunset for you. The voucher can be used with any Groupon holiday deal but of course, if you feel like treating YOself  to something else on the site, go for it. What are you waiting for?!

How do you enter? Simple. LIKE my Facebook page and tell me what your favourite holiday destination is by leaving a comment below.

*************GIVEAWAY CLOSED**************

Thank you to everyone who entered the competition  and for your kind words of encouragement. I wish I had more vouchers to giveaway.

The lucky winner is Cook by night – congratulations! You will have received an email requesting further details. Enjoy the getaway!

Excerpt from my cookbook (about my country chapter)

For travel ideas and further information, check out: http://www.groupon.com.au/coupons/travel

Terms and Conditions

Open to Australian residents only and is randomly chosen. The winner will be notified via email and announced on my Facebook page. Competition closes 11:59PM AEST January 11, 2013. Giveaway courtesy of Groupon.

I love ya and appreciate ya. Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the summer yo.

Eat like curaaazaaay!

Adrian

Having lived in the area for some time and seeing the developments take place, I was thinking that if an eatery were to open in this spot, that they were going to name themselves Barber Shop – paying homage to the previous long time inhabitant of this now sweet spot. Think Coin Laundry. But when the signs were finally erected reading Candied Bakery – I thought it was genius. It’s on point and totally inline with their offering so to speak. The once, lonely strip of shops is now turning into one foodie pit-stop.  I love it. I must have some hidden treasure chest, overflowing with gold in my karma bank because one thing I’ve been craving for since my road trip across California this year, are them sugar bombed baked goodies like the custard cream doughnuts and flaky pastries found at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco.  At Candied, who pride themselves as being an Aussie bakery with an American twist, you’ll also find your Aussie favourites like massive lamingtons and you can’t go past their Chocolate Croissant filled with wait for it, wait for it…NUTELLA! Oh, and did mention warm bread and butter pudding and apple pie shakes?! *covers mouth*

My weekly visit to the shops has now turned into a progressive brunch starting with Duchess of Spotswood,  treats at Candied Bakery, coffee at Mies and a cupcake fix at A Bunch of Cakes and drinks at the recently rejuvenated pub, Spottiswoode. It’s like dayem. At this rate, my ass is about to turn into a big ol’ jelly doughnut for sure! Help!

A cleverly designed and branded fitout with a minimalist approach – bright yellow signage highlighted by the grey polished concrete floors ensuring that the baked goodies take the spotlight. There is enough open space to accommodate the crowds as it will undoubtedly get real packed in on the weekends I tell you!

I popped in and met the crew and the very lovely and energetic Toula Ploumidis who opened Candied with husband Orlando Artavilla after moving on from their previous Brunswick East joint, Sugardough Panificio and Patisserie. Just seeing the hands on duo in action, it’s plain to see how much hard work  goes into the front and backend of the business with Toula ensuring the display is always well stocked to Orlando happily piping their delectable doughnuts with Zuppa Inglese. They took me through their extensive selection from your sweet to savoury delights where I pretty much decided I needed to buy everything…. Check out my interview after the drop.

A CHAT with Toula Ploumidis

How did the name ‘Candied Bakery’ come about and what made you choose this side of the west?

The name came to us after a while and we loved it and it reminds us slightly of our previous bakery’s name, Sugardough, still on the sweet side.

When you traveled to the US, where did you find the most inspiration that helped you conceptualise your new venture?

Our inspiration definitely came from visiting San Francisco and New York earlier this year. The Ferry Building in San Francisco was personally my favourite place. It is like a huge foodies heaven. Food trucks parked for miles outside the building and in the Ferry Building itself, stacks of quick food places to eat.

You have so many choices for your avid sweet tooth! For someone walking into Candied Bakery for the first time, what would your recommend? Any signature items that best represent Candied?

Definitely the Zuppa Inglese donuts. Zuppa Inglese is an old fashioned custard and it is very delicious. They are selling very well.

The French Puy Lentil and goats chèvre pie. Nuttela croissants and blue cheese croissants too. Oh! Soft serve too, of course.

Flavours change all the time. Today is ‘Milo’.

When I went on a road trip across the US recently, I went crazy over the variety of dessert pies from Key lime Pie to my favourite, Cherry Pie. Is there room for any good ol’ American style dessert pies on the menu?

At the moment we don’t have an actual fruit pie on the menu but we do an apple pie shake. It’s made with fresh apple pie, milk from Inglenook dairy and vanilla soft serve. I got addicted to apple pie shakes in San Fran.

We do make a chocolate brownie pie with a pretzel crust. We call it ‘Crusty Pie’. > YUM, I can’t wait to try that Toula! Adrian

Everyone should try the donuts first!

When you’re not busy baking, what do like cooking at home?

When we aren’t baking we love making fresh pasta and eating out a lot.

What’s next?

Next, we just want to settle in to our new bakery and enjoy it. This is where we hope to be until we retire. Finally, we really feel that Spotswood deserves a good bakery and we are proud to be here. Thanks heaps for coming in and we hope to see you again soon.

What did I eat?

I managed to bag three items for under $10. Good value for your hard earned benjamins.  I had to try their Jelly Doughnuts which knocked me senseless on the couch with a jelly and sugar dusted kiss. Not your average jam doughnut – more buoyant and light. You can squeeze it a little and like a stress ball, it springs back up to shape. Just don’t squeeze to hard of you don’t want jelly eye. : )

As soon as I cast my eyes on the chocolate chip cookies, I couldn’t turn away. A slightly salty base that just made everything taste better, finished off with a sticky splash of marshmallow.  A good mix of chewy and crunchy. If you go here with someone, grab two. Sharing this will be no easy feat. Again, grab two!

I thought it was fitting to have New York as the backdrop to this photo

Fruit Danishes- Light, airy, sticky, beautifully glazed but not overly sweet.

Details:
81a Hudsons Road, Spotswood (next to the Post Office)
Phone: 039391 1335
Opening Hours
Wed to Sat 7:30am to 5pm and Sun 8am to 4pm

Candied Bakery. Do it.

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Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

What the heck is it? Longanisa is cured sausage, native to the Philippines. My country was colonised by the Spaniards for over 300 years, so it has similarities to that of the famed chorizo but of course being such sugar fiends, it’s a sweeter version. It’s made up of vinegar, fatty pork mince, sugar to caramelise, packed with enough garlic to fend off any Vampires this Twilight season and in my version, tomato paste and paprika. If I had my way, I would also add tamarind, but that’s just being silly. Or is it…?

I decided to use green mango as the other core ingredient because they marry up so well together. The tangy and sour notes of the mango offset by the sweetness of the sausages, set on fiyah by the chilli and then a cool down brought to you by team breezey aka cucumber and mint. Have mercaaay! The salad doesn’t need any dressing apart from perhaps and sprinkle ‘O’ salt as there are enough flavours already happening here. Dressing will only outshine the core of this dish being tangy green mango, chilli and the caramalised Longanisa.

Zee Ingredients

Longanisa

1 kg pork mince (NOT LEAN!!!!)

1 egg

½ cup raw sugar

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of white vinegar

2 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon brown pepper

2 teaspoons of paprika

Canola oil

Green Mango Salad

1 Green Mango

1 Cucumber

1 Red Chilli

1 bunch coriander

1 sprig of mint

Zee Procedure

Curing  The Sausages

1. In a large bowl, combine the pork mince, egg, sugar, minced garlic, paprika, salt, tomato paste,
vinegar and brown pepper.

2. Mix the ingredients with your hands until evenly combined. Skinless in my opinion is much better because I’m lazy.

3. To cure, grab the largest square container you have and some non-stick baking paper.
Roll the mince into index finger-sized thick sausages and lay them on the non-stick paper, stacking
them up within the container. This will save you from having to do this later.

Refrigerate for no longer than overnight. If you’re stuck for time, 10 hours will do.

To Cook the bastards

4. On a flat surface, lay 1/2 cup of raw sugar and roll each piece into it to coat

5. On a low-medium heat, add canola oil to a hot pan then cook the sausages until they are
slightly charred on each side. They should caramelise due to the sugar content. Set aside.

The Green Mango Salad

We want to julienne practically everythaaang here, so let’s get to it.

1. Wash, peel and julienne the green mango, pat dry with a kitchen towel then set aside in a large bowl. Repeat process with the cucumber

2. Roughly chop up the coriander, slice the chilli and place them into the bowl

3. Depending on the ripening stage of your green mango, it may be delicate so using your hands, gently combine the ingredients. Slice the sausages into roughly 3cm wide pieces and plate it up alongside the salad.

You’ve been served!

And there you have it. A simple mix of meat and veggies perfect for the warmer months when all you want is something that’s refreshing, a little different BUT easy to prepare. Judging yesterday’s hot weather, I can’t wait for the summer roadtrips where I get to break out my ultimate men’s summer gear being shorts, singlets and flip flops having been shunned to the dark crevices of the wardrobe for the last nine months!

MIX IT UP!

Craving more delicious Filipino recipes? Grab a copy of my cookbook What The Heck is Filipino Food? A Beginner’s Guide to Filipino Cooking.

Have you signed up for FREE updates from Food Rehab? Get on the list and I’ll do my best to keep us learning about none-other than glorious, GLORIOUS food! Also, follow me on Facebook or Twitter if you have either of those addictive things.

Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

It may be the amount of ice cream I’ve just consumed, but I know you think I be trippin’ as I write these words describing this dish: No baking, No pre-marinating required yet still perfectly charred, smokey and sticky pork ribs. That’s right folka-listas! A quest for tender ribs had me running a muck in the kitchen as I, along with a bottle of Coke (not lemonade this time), experimented with ten racks of pork ribs until I got it right! Can you tell I take my wibs seriously?!

What else has been happening?! The last month has been real busy on the book/blog front. I was interviewed by SBS Radio to talk about Filipino food- a clip of this hopefully coming soon amongst other cool things which I’ll talk about in another post.

I’d take a bullet for tamarind + Lipsmackers

My love for tamarind goes way back. Together, we’re like Bonnie & Clyde, well, not really but when it comes to using tamarind, I get up to no good getting into trouble for using it in dishes that traditionally don’t include it.  If anyone went back home to the Philippines and asked if I wanted anything, tow things I’d always ask for were 1) fresh tamarind pips and all that snacked on whilst watching Thundercats and 2) Mammon and Cheese Ensaymada from the iconic Goldilocks Bakery. Most of the time they passed airport customs and when they didn’t, it was like hearing grim news. I felt like packing my Transformers backpack and buying a one way ticket to the Philippines so I could eat these two things all day long.

OMG Idea: Lipsmackers, listen to me carefully. You need to bring out a Tamarind flavoured lip gloss. I would buy in bulk!

Tamarind goes well with many traditional dishes. It’s most popular use is in Sinigang (tamarind based soup with pork belly or oxtail) but it also fills in many gaps for marinading meat. It’s sweet, sour and tangy so all you need is a few more additions to make a nice baste. I now add it to salad dressings, marinades, whatever. I find any excuse.

For this recipe, I’ve chosen the path of boiling the suckers then frying them up in a special mix of goodness until they’re nicely charred and camamalised rather than blasting them in the oven. When I first trialed this for a recent blogger potluck, I boiled them then baked them but it wasn’t as tender as I wanted it (plus it didn’t help that I had to reheat them) so frying them up was a much better alternative plus you still get similar charring results anyways. If at first you don’t succeed….you know the rest. I ain’t gonna lie, the meat didn’t ‘fall off the bone’ – gaaaessh, how many times have you heard that one? I ain’t gonna fool you into believing that one or say it for the sake of saying it.

Sit back and watch

Zee Ingredients

2 x American style pork rib racks

2 tablespoons of  soy sauce

3/4 of  cup coke

2 red chillies, sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 teaspoon of sweet paprika

3 tablespoons tamarind

For the boil

large pot of water

3 tablespoons white vinegar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons cinnamon or cinnamon bark (which I use for tea)

Zee Procedure

Boilin’- can I get a lil tenderness! The vinegar helps tenderise the meat. During this stage, we are not only getting the meat to a tender stage but also infusing some yermy flavours from the cinnamon and garlic.

1. Wash yer two racks of wibs. Remove the fatty membrane film underneath the ribs if you can. I just used a butter knife but it can get tricky but just leave it if it starts to get frustrating. Fill a large pot with enough water to submerge them and add the vinegar, garlic and cinnamon. When it starts to boil, chuck the ribs in

2. Boiling time should take no longer than 15 minutes considering the meat ain’t too thick. To test if weeady, prick meat with a fork.

3. Using tongs, remove each rack from the boil and place on a large cutting board. Rest for a few minutes .

The frying – this is where we will turn these mamas into sticky and  saucaaay ribs.Who needs an oven when you can char them on a wok!

4. In a bowl, add the coke, slices chilli,  soy sauce, tamarind, brown sugar, pepper and honey. Stir it all up and set aside

5. Heat up your wok or a big ass frying pan at medium heat, add canola oil and crushed garlic. Cook garlic until brown. Can you smell that?! YEEERM.

6. Carefully pour in the mixture and let it bubble away. Give the wok a few swirls every few minutes to combine the liquid until it starts to thicken and reduce. This process should take no more than 5 minutes

7. Gently slice up the pork racks into individual pieces and add to the wok meat side down first

8. Again, gently turn on each side every few minutes. Each piece should be turned at least 3 times on each side

9. By this time, the liquid should be reduced down to a sticky form and the meat starting to caramalise as it soaks up the liquid. We want to start charring them a little so increase the heat if need be to get them to that stage. Move the pieces around mopping up the remaining sticky sauce then remove them from the wok. You want to hear that sizzle as they start to turn a nice charred brown yet golden colour.

FINALLY: sprinkle over some sesame seeds to make all pweeety!

You’ve been served!

So um, do you pre-boil ya ribs? Do ya?

If you haven’t signed up for updates from Food Rehab, get on the list and I’ll do my best to keep us learning about none-other than glorious, GLORIOUS food! Also, follow me on Facebook or Twitter if you have either of those addictive things.

Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

I was destined to be an EATER. A big one. My life revolves around this activity. I liked food as much as I liked my Voltron toys. I was young as hell, but as soon as I attempted to master the art of flipping pancakes, I knew what I wanted (more pancakes!) and what flavours worked well with the things I liked to eat. Not one to sit there and demand or pant around until I got my way – I calmly negotiated with my mum and justified my reasons. In other words, I was a smartarse. But I didn’t win all battles – more on this later. It all started when I got real picky about what sort of birthday cake I wanted to what cupcakes I should bake to sell outside on my street and what frosting would go well with my edible Disney characters that lay on top like flat badges. All kinds of people from local kids to drivers passing through my hood would come by and ask what flavours I had. I would keep a tally of what was most juicy that day so I can keep making those flavours and watched the profits grow (though very tiny!).

blowing it up in the streetz

Some weeks later, I switched to selling imported bubblegum and candy to eliminate food wastage but still catering to the demand. I overheard whispers around the nearby bike track was my fellow rascals were longing for some cool bubblegum so I got thinking…. How could I get cool bubblegum, but in bulk and at a good price?! Costco wasn’t around back then ya see! Luckily, when my family took our first trip to the US, I came across the a huge tub of Bazooka Bubblegum. I hit the jackpot. I used the money I made from the cupcakes and the cash I scored from relatives in the States to buy me a bucket of gum. The kids around the neighborhood absolutely loved it! I sold it for 20 cents a piece making a 100% ROI. I guess my entrepreneurial spirit begun at an early age.

My kitchen BFF of Homer Simpson. It epitomises who I am when it comes to food…minus the beer gut.

start up to textas and how I grew up

After the last piece of gum was sold, I closed shop and just experimenting with various baked goods until I switched my focus on setting up an office in my bedroom as soon as I turned 8 – naming my company Adrian Advertising Inc with signage and all. Ha! I was so particular about what fonts to use and where my ‘receptionist’ aka my cousin should be sitting to take my very important phone calls from my mum who would alert us when lunch was ready. I took long lunch breaks and had set up urgent meetings aka watching my favourite TV shows Roger Ramjet, Monkey Magic, Transformers and Gumby. I also thought textas were way cool and had my ‘receptionist’ arrange them as part of her responsibilities  from lightest to darkest in preparation for our younger cousins to use. I guess that’s how I also ended up working in an office. I don’t own my own advertising agency yet, but at least I do get to lead an amazing team of individuals in my day job in the digital advertising space.

For a period, we lived in a house with no heating. There was a heater but it was shattered buy the previous tenants. Idiots. In fact, the whole house was vandalised so we all slept in the living room. I would look forward to breakfast because I got to warm up my hands above the toaster. I thought I was Ice Man from the X-Men. Like most kids, I loved attending birthday parties. Though, at the parties I went to, you didn’t find any party pies or fairy bread. Instead, they were pimped out with baymaries filled with an array of Filipino treasures from Adobo to a mammoth sized spit roast pig (Lechon) that sure did attract a flock of grown ups who also came prepared with take away containers. Geeze, was the party for them or for us?  No one cared about the birthday cake. It paled in comparison to the other traditional desserts.

Mum never tried to tried to force feed my brother and I brussel sprouts. She was much more clever than that. We had to eat them because at times, that was all that there was at the table. We ate them or went to bed with our tummy’s growling. Unlike my birthday cake or my cupcakes, there was no negotiation here. The same went for fish. I hated fish. It was a combination of the fear of bones and laziness. Like my fat faced cat Creamy, we both prefer steak and jerky (gawd we love jerky) over fish. But the one fish that hooked my carnivorous heart right in was rainbow trout cooked over a bed of charcoal during a summer’s day BBQ. M..mm…mmm!

feels like a teenage dream

In my teenage years, it became clear that second servings was the norm. I applied for a job at the local All You Can Eat Buffet. That’s right, ALL YOU CAN EAT. Let’s just say that my focus was like a broken compass. I knew I had to walk towards the plates piling up but I somehow ended up either in the kitchen waiting by the deep fryer to cook up a batch of fresh battered wings aware that I was knowingly burning my tongue to then ending up at the soft serve ice cream machine making myself a quick fix to cool my burnt taste buds. The owners weren’t exactly fans of my work giving me evil eyes throughout my shift but hey, I was a teenager who had only two things on his mind being food and fun. So I told the bossman where to stick it and got a one way ticket to work at Maccas with the one goal of being able to invent  my own burgers (think triple stacked with everything!) and a guarantee that I would always get fresh fries. By this period in my life, I was helping out mum in the kitchen more often learning  as time went on and having taken on board some kitchen etiquette at Maccas, I no longer left behind a messy food.  trail. It may seem like a small achievement, but HOMEBOY, that was a huge feat for the grotty teenager I was.

chips and gravy rolls, food rehab + my views on food blogging

Fast forward to a decade of shenanigans later, I still find solace in a chips and gravy roll like back in in high school and am blogging about the one thing that friends say I should be put into Rehab for due to my borderline ‘pyscho’ nature both in the kitchen and dining table – FOOD. I swear as my niece as my witness, friends can be cruel but in this case, enlightening, because without their good natured name calling and mocking, Food Rehab would have not been possible. And now I have even more friends that I’ve met through blogging that added to the name chart with spins like “Eating Machine” ” OMG Adrian you pig” “Food Junkie” amongst other rather interesting names. Pretty funny shit actually.

Through the ace people I’ve met from bloggers, chefs, industry icons to home cooks and the thousands of read blog posts, I’ve learnt so much. Practical knowledge that you won’t  find in a classroom. I love the fact that I’m still learning and my energy; properly engaged. I’m not just talking about cooking techniques, unexplored ingredients and cuisines but the things you learn as a blogger. Disciple is a biggie. Huge even, as you wrestle your day job and whatever you have going on in your life with your passion. Being a blogger shouldn’t take you from first class to coach. It should, if done with much openness and integrity, improve many areas like defining your own unique writing style, networking skills, flexing your creativeness whether it be blog/logo/template design especially if you’re self hosted, project management skills, organisational skills (ahuh), marketing (SEO, ad management if relevant etc..) and of course social media and technology. Every blogger is different. Everyone has their own goals and like me, yours may change as your blog evolves. Now that I’ve finally released my cookbook, I now focus on things I like writing about the most – Filipino food and the popular Cafe Hopping series that receive the most requests plus the recently launched, ‘Your Top 5 Eats of THA Moment?’ that I get all giddy about.

In retrospect, all I can say is, after nearly 4 years of being part of this growing and honestly, changed community, I have no regrets. I’ve created a blog that has yes, I’ll say it again, ‘evolved’ into something that is unique I can be proud of, have remained passionate about and therefore committed on doing for as long as I can mama jax! But like the conversation I was having with a friend in my industry, I feel that something else – another platform is on the rise. Just like social media began it’s mammoth leap more than five years ago or search it a decade ago, what’s the next chapter for us bloggers? A few things come to mind that I’ve mentioned before but we agreed that so long as your blog is written in your own voice, perhaps armed with a rad concept, are not so concerned about ranking, stats or fretting about being ‘polished’ amongst other things or if you’re doing just some of these whilst having fun and being genuine, then that will shine through and readers will respond. Don’t blatantly copy other blogs, their style of writing or impersonate them. Dare to be different. I mean, come on, we’re food bloggers not writers for TIME magazine so boo hoo, who cares what others think? Don’t be so judgmental. Support one another. Make mistakes. I did.  Pour your heart into it. I can go on forever about this topic but I won’t because this subject has been touched on many times in detail by other bloggers I admire. Perhaps a Part 2 specifically in that area in another post yah?

from that bazooka bubblegum moment on…

In conclusion, thankfully after all that, I didn’t turn into some uptight, overcritical and narrow-minded food snob. You gotta shake that right off! If I did, I would find it nearly impossible to blog about anything let alone feed my ferocious appetite that won’t quit plus it would make me the worst dining companion. Plus, I’m guessing my readers would be like “This shit ain’t right.” Being one to stick to the norm just aint in me.  I still have that same excitement where I’d randomly open my mouth as wide as Brandy’s over such minute details, like I’ve encountered something for the first time.  Mum led by example. When she was a kid, she also sold homemade sweets on the streets back home to feed the family and taught me to shut up and eat my damn food and to be grateful for everything put in front of me, whether it be bad or good. Despite our struggles as a family to make ends meet at times, from that Bazooka Bubblegum moment on, I ate, cooked and did anything I thought was possible and gawd dayem, I’m still staaaaaarrrrrving!

Thanks for tuning in. It was long I know, but luckily for you, I actually cut this post short by half! OMG < indeed.

Sky’s the limit…keep eating!”

How did you turn into the eater you are today?

If you’re not already signed up for updates from Food Rehab, get on the list and I’ll do my best to keep us learning about none-other than glorious, GLORIOUS food! Also, follow me on Facebook or Twitter if you have either of those addictive things.

Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

The above and the morsels highlighted below were my sunset when everything else seemed too hard. All I had to do was open my Luna Park sized mouth and whuuoopaah, nothing else existed, mattered even, for that precious moment of sugar bombed bliss.

The Sweet Corn Temale at Trippy Taco

Raspberry Tart from  Fatto a Manno, 228 Gertrude Street  Fitzroy

Now, onto the bizzur. I’ll give you a rundown of what I’ve been eating and you tell me what’s been feeding your tummy’s soul. Again, the rules are that it could be something you’ve cooked or eaten at a restaurant. Anything. Hell it could have been some muesli bar or cookie you had during your 3:30itis at work.  Though I do ask of one thing – anything but a can of tuna at work please!

Drop a comment or if you wanna tweet it to me, use the hashtag #top5eats

#1 EATS: Lamb Rack at Bistro Guillaume

For the second time within the last week, friends and I caught up for ‘Yea we’re on annual leave!’  lunches at Bistro Guillaume, located in Crown. If you’ve been seeing my tweets, you would have seen images of their beautifully seasoned Steak Tartare that had a group of once poised peeps turn into something Gangsta Gran won’t be proud of.  It was hard deciding what would make it to the Top 5 Eats, but as were were contently chewing on their sirloin steak (done very nicely mind you), but what had me spitting chips at yo face was Bistro Guillaume’s Lamb Rack on a bed of roses on ratatouille and tapenade. They ran out of zucchini flower that day but regardless of that subtraction, I was too caught up gnawing  the on the perfectly pink and perfectly tender ‘all fatty in the right places’ lamb that had my friends all envious.  Being such a good friend, I offered a piece. Only one. It was way too valuable to just share willy nilly.

I will not share you again…neveeeer again!

#2 EATS: Dessert at Beef, Butter, Truffles & Wine Dinner at The Point

In amongst all the variety of shaved truffles (Manjimup, Braidwood) atop a brilliant Moondarra grass fed Tajima steak and single origin Pepe Saya Butter spread on bread then infused into poached prawns,  it was a very daunting task having to choose just the one dish to feature. It’s like choosing between whipped cream and strawberries, they must be served together dammit. Like most meals at The Point, all the dishes that night were solid. But, as you all know, I am and will always be, a dessert tragic. I speak in tongues lemon tarts and cream. The language of sugar fiends.

The last course, as part of the six part degustation at The Point called Beef, Butter, Truffles & Wine was the Michel Cluziel white chocolate and lemon ganache, mint, meringue and milk sorbet was the crowd winner that night. The table went ape.  We were already blown away by the prior courses but the refreshing milk sorbet paired with the ganache awoke our senses and prompted more sips of the final wine, and my fave of the night, the 2012 Oliver’s Taranga Moscato, Mclaren Vale SA. I like my moscato’s – light,  crisp, tasting like Summer and just the right amount of sweetness and for me, can go with any meal.

It was a fun filled night and was fantastic meeting each of the the producers. It’s all about the story behind each product that make them so special. It was also nice chatting to the always lovely Rita Erlich again who gave Ed and I a little sneak peak into her just released book Melbourne by Menu.

Little dollops of heaven. Like a cloud, we floated away into this sweet, sweet bliss

Food Rehab was invited as a guest to attend The Point thanks to The Point

Details:

The Point
Aquatic Dr  Albert Park Lake VIC 3206
Phone: (03) 9682 5566
Web: http://www.thepointalbertpark.com.au/

#3 EATS: BBQ Chicken Wings at Rose Diner

It was my final day of annual leave so I wanted to go out like a true glut. Tempted to visit yet another new cafe, my inner urge for comfort food took over and as expected, won. One place I’ve been wanting to go to was Rose Diner and Bar. The selection of meals here are actually inspired by Stephen Drake’s (Head Chef)  mum’s home cooking so I took one big pre-eat stretch before the fun began. Located on the corner of Bridge and Bay Street, Port Melbourne, I took this opportunity to also explore the area I once frequently roamed having worked nearby.

The menu is designed around sharing but also catering to those want their own meal. Berreeave me, I’ve got a few friends who refuse to share their meals. So sad but it doesn’t stop me from insisting they give me taste if I ‘likey likey’ what they’re having! Fortunately today. my homeboy agreed to share everything so we grabbed a collection of items like the Jaffles with corned beef and melted cauliflower cheese, the burger and hellow… BBQ Chicken Wings topped with blue cheese and two celery heart wands. For something so simple, It had so much depth and flavour. It was hella messy as I mopped up all the sweet and smokey sauce not too mention the slobs of cheese with each juicy piece but what warped my overdrive was dipping the hand cut fries that came with the burgers into the sticky situation turning them into semi-loaded fries! Genius comes when you’re in food ecstasy. Fact. Residents of the area must be waving their hands in the ayer.

#4 EATS: Chicken at Shed 5

As the name suggests, Shed 5 was indeed a shed. *duh!* Rewind a few years back, the South Wharf district was dead. And I mean, no one would have walked that way to eat! More recently, the area has been booming despite the winter trade with noteable restaurants like  Akachochin (try their miso eggplant, chicken wing dumplings, sesame pannacotta),  The Sharing House and The Bohemian just to name a few doing a good trade despite the ghastly weather which is exciting to see. But more recently, Shed 5 opened it’s doors and I was invited to attend a menu tasting. Going by the experience I had during a great progressive dinner at a number the surrounding eateries some months ago, I had no hesitation.

You would have thought I’d highlight the Spiced Halva Semifreddo with it’s bloody good salted caramel and ricotta doughnut but, the Bannockburn Half Chicken just blew me away. I loved everything about the dish from the roasted chestnut dolmades, the oh so crispy skin to it’s overall juiciness which I found hard to believe searching for that dry bit LOL. Not to be found! The secret? Soaking the chook in the brine for a few hours then setting it alight in the wood fired oven.

Details:

Shed 5
37 Dukes Walk (37 South Wharf Promenade)
South Wharf, VIC 3006
Phone: 03 9686 1122

Food Rehab was invited as a guest thanks to Shed 5

#5 EATS: The Queen Tier of all Tiers at The Terrace, Dilmah High Tea

Hosted by way cool Chef Peter Kuruvita, Monday’s High ‘Charitea’ was a chance for Dilmah founder Merrill J. Fernando and his son, Dilhan C. Fernando to talk about their MJF Foundation and Dilmah Conservation work. Apart from talking tea (of course), they spoke with so much heart as they inspired the whole room with their stories – how they help struggling communities back home in Sri Lanka.

It was unreal to know they help so many people become entrepreneurs in their own right rather than just giving money away hoping for the best. It empowers the recipient to take action and to make a living out of his or her chosen craft so they may become self sufficient.  Amazing guys. Spread the word!

High Tea at The Terrace Royal Botanical gardens

As part of the high tea, The Terrace in the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens served up an incredible tier filled with scones with vanilla bean dotted cream, macarons, baklava, chocolate coated sweet strawberries and more accompanied by Dilmah’s tea range. Loved the mellowness of the Uda Watte tea. No milk or sugar required.

aw yeah…

Food Rehab was invited as a guest to attend the Dilmah High Tea thanks to Dilmah

#Worthy of a mention: Fries and Corn Temale at Trippy Tacos

Randomly found as I was buying some bread at Fatto A Manno, was a joint called Trippy Tacos right next door yo. All I wanna say is the seasoned shoestring ‘Trippy Fries’ are way too good to not get a mention in my Top 5 Eats of THA Moment. A mix of slightly sweet and salty, one basket as not enough. We also grabbed a Sweet Corn Temale steamed in a corn husk – also a killer. Think piping hot mashed up sweet corn with a squeeze of zesty lime. WOOOP! My mission over the next few weeks? Venture down this way more often fools!

Details:

Trippy Taco
234 Gertrude Street  Fitzroy VIC 3065
Phone: (03) 9415 7711

Introducing the NEW Food Rehab Mobile App!

Some exciting news! Last week, I launched the new Food Rehab iPhone and Android App.

It’s platform is based on one that is developed by a New York startup – Appguppy who had emailed me asking if I were interested. I totally forgot about it until I started working on an iphone and Android app release project at my day job which prompted me to get started on creating one for myself. Appgubby didn’t pay me or offer any incentives to do so. After doing some research, my interest grew. I actually liked the process and the features of the app. In addition to integrating your blog updates, it also integrates your Twitter feed, Facebook Wall, Tumblr, Flickr and Youtube videos.

The whole idea is to distribute the app through your own social media channels rather than the traditional way of making it available through the itunes store. I know first hand about the tedious and at times, lengthy certification process of getting your iphone app approved in itunes so I quite like the idea of spreading the word about your app independently via your blog, Facebook, Twitter.

Left to right: blog updates, facebook wall, twitter updates and videos

I was chatting to Trisha from Sugarlace and we both agreed that this could be the blogger’s new ‘RSS.’ In fact, it’s much better.You get both the blog’s full RSS feed with images as well as their Facebook and Twitter updates all in one easy to access app on your snazzy ass smartphone. Another reason to bury your head in your mobile as you walk the streets bumping into people! LOL. Of course, much of your audience would still prefer to keep up to date with your blog’s happenings through their RSS feed, desktop PC etc…Building an app just gives them more options. Judging from my company’s success in the .mobi and app realm where .mobi page impressions are outdoing our competitor’s desktop sites, developing a mobile app for your blog or company is more than just a great idea, it’s a necessity.

Do it.

Click here to download my app for your mobile FREE.

So they were my Top 5 Eats of THA moment. What are yours?

If you’re not already signed up for updates from Food Rehab, get on the list and I’ll do my best to keep us learning about none-other than glorious, GLORIOUS food! Also, follow me on Facebook or Twitter if you have either of those addictive things.

Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian

Atchara is usually, depending on who’s making it, made up of  green papaya and carrots (julienned), onions, garlic, bell peppers, red capsicum, chilli, salt and ginger which is then soaked in pre-boiled vinegar combined with sugar and refrigerated in an airtight container for at least a week before consuming. Though, it doesn’t stop people opening it after a day claiming  that “It’s ready!” Sit down. Some even add pineapple which is also a welcomed addition but I steer clear to ensure the green papaya remains to be the star of the Sweet and Sour show.

I also like to add a few slices of chilli to my batch to give it some fiyaaah! It’s strange how your tastes change as your get older. Up until six years ago,  anything with chilli it in had me running for the hills. I didn’t grow up eating much spicy food but these days, I add chilli jam, chilli oil, chilli flakes, chilli blah blah to everything! Temperature is rising, can you feel the heat?! Woo. *fans himself*

Zee Ingredients

5 cups of julienned green papaya (approx 2 green papayas)

2 carrots julienned

1 red capsicum (sliced)

1 onion (sliced)

1 ginger (sliced)

1/4 sea salt (prework: to dry out the green papaya. use sea salt as table salt will cloud it up)

2 tablespoons of salt

2 teaspoons of black pepper

6 cloves of garlic (sliced)

4 cups white vinegar

3 cups sugar (+1 cup sugar depending how sweet you like it)

2 tablespoons of sultanas

1 red chilli – sliced up

Zee Procedure

Pre- work - start by preparing the green papaya for dehydration

1. Wash and peel the green papaya. Cut in half and julienne. If you have a food processor, great. If not, I’ve got a Julienne slicer I bought for $12 that does the trick. It takes approx 10 mins to julienne the two.

2. Add to a large bowl and toss with 1/4 cup of Sea Salt only

3. Cover and refrigerate overnight to fully dehydrate. If you’re stuck for time, an hour in the fridge will suffice

4. Chuck the green papaya into a colander or strainer and rinse it under cold water

5. At this point, we need to squeeze out  all the moisture out of the green papaya. If you have a cheese cloth, great. Otherwise, a clean teatowl will do the trick. Lay the green papaya onto the middle of the cloth, roll it up and squeeze away all the excess liquid.

6. Place it back into the large bowl

Now we get back to business

7. Julienne the 2 carrots then thinly slice the red capsicum, onions, garlic and ginger then combine with green papaya gently with your hands

8. Add sultanas and sliced chilli

9. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper

10. Using tongs, carefully divide the ingredients into 2 sterilized jars. Try to evenly distribute the ginger

The Syrup

11. Add the vinegar and sugar to a saucepan, stir then boil for no longer than 6 minutes

12. Turn off the heat and let it all cool down then pour the syrup evenly into each jar

13. Tighten the lids and refrigerate for at least 1 week before serving.

You’ve been served!

Sweet, salty, sour and spicy fragrant with garlic and ginger – Atchara makes the perfect accompaniment to to any meal. Personally, I love using it as a condiment to roast pork, roast beef sandwiches, BBQ meats, steamed and fried fish, salads, longanisa sausages, dried fish, tocino amongst other 100 dishes! You’ll love it.

Shot taken after 2 days of pickling

What have you pickled?

Craving more delicious Filipino recipes? Grab a copy of my cookbook What The Heck is Filipino Food? A Beginner’s Guide to Filipino Cooking.

Have you signed up for updates from Food Rehab? Get on the list and I’ll do my best to keep us learning about none-other than glorious, GLORIOUS food! Also, follow me on Facebook or Twitter if you have either of those addictive things.

Keep eating…LIKE CRAZAAY!

Adrian