Foodie Ling

Product Review: AntiOx Chocolate and Snack Bars

2013-06-17T17:52:00.003+09:30

I was given the opportunity to review AntiOx Chocolate and Snack Bars. Anything that says chocolate I'm always interested! Apart from the fact that it is chocolate, what really got me was the fact that these bars have high antioxidant levels, low fat and are sugar free. They are sweetened with the natural sweetener Stevia. Vitality Brands has combined goji berries, acai berries, pomegranate and quinoa to make a healthy snack substitute to your regular fat and sugar laden chocolate bars.

AntiOx Goji Berry Chocolate Bar and Acai Berry Chocolate Bar

AntiOx Chocolate Bars are 70% cocoa which is also high in antioxidants. So, at this rate I think I might be able to stall my aging skin for a while with chocolate that has as much antioxidants as twelve cups of green tea.

The AntiOx Snack Bars come in Quinoa and Chia, Acai & Goji and they make a great healthy naturally sweetened snack that doesn't leave me feeling heavy or guilty. All the benefits and product features aside, it's time to talk about the taste.

The bars actually tasted quite nice. I'm not sure about you but I love dark chocolate. Admittedly it can be an acquired taste. Keeping in mind that it is in fact 70% cocoa chocolate, it is bound to be a little bit bitter but a lovely smooth chocolate nonetheless packed full of benefits. People often wonder what is the hype with antioxidants and think that it is purely to prevent aging. Well, well, well......*puts pharmacist cap on*

Our body consists of lots and lots of cells which face threats all the time be it from infection, unhealthy lifestyle, poor diet, malnutrition, exposure to harmful chemicals, carbon, smoking and so on. Our body generates something called free radicals naturally as part of the food to energy conversion process but we also get them from certain foods, alcohol, smoke, burnt food, pollutants, UV and other sources. Free radicals are basically ready to steal electrons from other compounds in our cells causing damage to DNA and disrupting the cell's original function and structure. What antioxidants do is clean up free radicals by neutralizing them to prevent it from reacting with compounds in our cells. It's something we will always have in our system but excessive amounts are believed to lead to diseases and aging. In knowing that, people are becoming more interested in antioxidant rich foods.

Antiox Snack Bars are avalaible from health stores and major supermarkets. The Snack Bars retail at $2.49 for a 40g bar and the Chocolate Bars are $4.65 for an 80g block.

These products were given to me to review. The opinions are my own and I have received no monetary compensation for this post.

Winner of 50 Shades of Chocolate

2013-06-11T22:15:00.001+09:30

And the winner is......... Valerie Appleyard

Congratulations Valerie. Please send me a message on Facebook or email me at foodieling@gmail.com with your postal address so we can send the prize out as soon as possible.

We hope you enjoy your new book!

Opie's Bakery Cafe @ Unley

2013-06-11T17:11:00.000+09:30

Situated on Unley Road, I've driven past this place numerous times and finally decided to visit this bakery. It really is quite clean, bright and simplistic inside with bright red chairs, red and white checkered table cloths just like on a classic picnic. On the wall you'll find proudly displayed nostalgic memorabilia and large pictures from the early days. Opie's Bakery gives a sense of tradition. Producing fresh, high quality bread, pies, pasties, pastry and slices, this place was well worth the visit.

We ordered our usual favourite drink to have at a bakery with pies - iced coffee! It's just natural to have iced coffee and pie in SA isn't it? The iced coffee was lovely and refreshing. First up we tried a Bacon, Egg, Cheese and Tomato Pie. The pie pastry was beautiful, the right texture and baked perfectly. The filling was ok but I think with egg in a pie, it was a bit on the dry side. I'm still slowly in search for the best Ned Kelly Pie in SA. I've found an awesome steak, cheese and tomato pie at Port Elliot Bakery!

We also ordered a Ham Cheese Tomato Roll. You could tell the roll was freshly baked, soft, delicious and comforting. We decided we couldn't leave the bakery without a croissant so next came a Pastrami, Tomato, Lettuce and Chutney Croissant. The croissant was flaky, didn't feel greasy and made a perfectly yummy sandwich!

I get the sense this place has a lot of stories to tell of which I am unsure. Maybe I should ask someone who grew up in Adelaide.

Opie's Bakery Cafe
378 Unley Road
Unley Park SA 5061
08 7120 2591

Go In Hotpot Train & Dessert Story @ Adelaide CBD

2013-06-03T14:49:00.001+09:30

I'm always in the mood for good Asian hotpot or as we call it steamboat in Malaysia. Be it winter or summer, I'll still have it but the hot boiling soup full of flavour especially after cooking assorted meats and vegetables in it makes hotpot a very desirable and enjoyable meal for cold nights. A while back I discovered Go In Hotpot Train on Hindley Street and have been back numerous times since. While hotpot is traditionally a sharing type of meal, Go In Hotpot Train is slightly different in that each diner has their own pot of soup. Pick from a range of pork bone soup, spicy tom yum, laksa to more "interesting" flavours like lamb spine soup. I've tried a few soup bases so far and they are all lovely. It's called a train because it used to be an old sushi place and the train was already installed with the bar and all. It's rather clever really that they managed to make use of that and turn it into a hotpot heaven. It's a long and narrow store, as you walk a great variety of sauces are on display for you to pick and bring back to your table. My favourite mix is always chilli bean sauce, satay sauce, sesame oil and coriander. Lots of coriander.

Vegetables are on the conveyor belt so take your pick of Asian vegetables and mushrooms such as enoki, wombok, bok choy and more. Meat however, you have to order from the menu. Their sliced meat is thinly sliced frozen so it is fresh and cooks very easily. Brilliant for hotpot. They also have dumplings, house made fishballs, chicken balls, fish tofu, variety of noodles, seafood just to name a few.

My favourite sauce mix, laksa soup base, fishballs, dumplings, gai lan and tofu

It's always a satisfying meal and as long as you don't order fatty meat slices, it really is a healthy meal with everything boiled and fresh. Be careful with those marbled meat slices though, you will soon realize what you have done when the fire goes off and the soup starts to cool down with a wobbly film of saturated fat settling at the top. I absolutely love this place!

Go In Hotpot Train

38 Hindley Street

Adelaide SA 5000

08 8212 1858

A while ago I visited Dessert Story in Melbourne and found out they were opening in Adelaide. Well, it's here now on Gouger Street near Cafe Kowloon! Pretty excited about it just because we like shaved ice desserts. This place serves Hong Kong and Taiwanese style desserts with grass jelly, taro balls, tapioca pearl, red bean, puddings and smoothies being regulars on the menu.

My mango shaved ice dessert was humongous it was still too much for two of us. I ordered an iced tea for myself but ended up taking that away with me to slowly sip on in the car. Love iced tea! I'm glad something like this has opened in Adelaide.

Dessert Story
118 Gouger St
Adelaide SA 5000
08 8231 5805

Stirling Autumn Garden Festival Market

2013-05-24T16:11:00.001+09:30

I'm sure I have mentioned that at this time of the year I love going up to the hills, Hahndorf is my favourite in autumn as the leaves turn red-brown and the breeze is cool but not too cold with rays of sunlight still peeking through. I was up at Stirling the other day and came to a road block. It was then that I found out the Autumn Garden Festival Markets were on, this wasn't the usual Stirling Markets. I had to go have a look!

The Stirling Autumn Garden Festival celebrates seasonal gardening and sustainable living with entertainment, activities, healthy and organic eating, local produce, food and wine and gardening equipment. On this particular Sunday there were wine stalls set up for tasting and purchase, live entertainment and family friendly activities. Local traders also took the opportunity to set up food and craft stalls.

Beautiful flowers and native plants at affordable prices were on display.

This was a community activity really to weave leaves, there was a basket of leaves and anyone could pick one up and weave it where ever they wanted to. I thought it was kinda cool. Small things!

The kids took part in a music performance using very different style instruments.

Locavore had their specialty Wagyu Burger on offer. I've had their house made Wagyu burger at the restaurant before. Locavore means eat local and they strive to use ingredients from within a 100km radius. Using local and quality ingredients, they make some pretty darn good food! I've previously done a review on Locavore.

Jimmies is another great place I've had the chance to visit before. Jimmies is famous for their incredibly delicious wood oven pizzas and I remember we had such a great time drawing on the table at the restaurant. Well, it wasn't the table itself we were drawing on, at Jimmies their tables are covered with drawing paper and you get your cup of crayons so doodle away while you wait for your pizza.

This is only the second time ever I've come across these guys. The first time I bought two venison pies. This time, bought venison pies again. Bull Creek Bakery make awesome venison pies! You'll just have to take my word for it. They have a great range of traditional favourites and delicious creations but it really is awesome.

I had a seafood paella from Stirling Hotel which was really fresh and delicious. Fresh prawns, mussels, clams and squid - I absolutely love paella. It was pretty cool watching them make it in the big paella pan. I got bits of crispy chewy rice too!

Big game of chess anyone? Really, you can have ten a side.

Earthy goodies! I love the organic look.

I also came across Provi to You Dore which I thought was a very clever play on words and great name for the business. What they do is, you can order a weekly box of food and have it delivered to your door. You could just get organic fruit and veg or the full shebang of a meal plan with all the required ingredients delivered right to your doorstep. Don't even need to think to eat healthy! Could not be easier. They were giving out samples of Lamb Kofta with Lentil Dahl as an example of things they have on the menu. It was pretty tasty.

It's ironic that I am writing this now, in the last days of autumn. Winter will be here soon and I'm sure I'll be hunting out restaurants with fire places. Until next autumn, I wanted to share this cute set up by one of the coffee and cake stalls at the market. Goodbye autumn! See you Mr. Scarecrow.

Crust Dinner Party - Cowabunga, Ninja Turtles!

2013-05-19T12:54:00.000+09:30

Recently I was approached by Crust Gourmet Pizzas with a very exciting opportunity to host a themed dinner party serving food from Crust Gourmet Pizzas. Thinking of a theme turned out to be the most challenging part because here was a chance to do something different, something that I'd probably never go all out to do for a dinner with friends. This also became a personal challenge to be creative. So there we were going through ideas, first the seasons - spring, summer, autumn, winter, then Christmas in May??? (didn't make sense), then Super Mario because pizza = Italian = Mario except Mario eats pasta. I wanted something to do with pizza so then we went down the track of Italy, Chicago and New York. Lo and behold, who lives in the sewers of New York? Come on 80's kids! These guys are making a comeback now but the 80's version is way better. I mean, the original! None other than the heroes in a half shell - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

We got excited about the nostalgic idea for about 10 minutes then it dawned on us how the heck are we supposed to pull this off without looking like a complete kid's party. It got worse when we realized it wasn't easy to find Ninja Turtles stuff. But, we did it anyway because sometimes, the best stuff doesn't have to be bought. So here is my Ninja Turtle Themed Crust Dinner Party!

Turtle colours? Green. Turtles live in sewers. Need sewer lid and pipes. Turtles have shells. Mr. Foodie likes spray painting. Put them all together, we had a fun afternoon keeping the dog away from the spray painting area.

First we got the lid off an old bathroom exhaust fan (dusty donation thanks to my elecitrician Mr. Foodie). With the grids we could make it look like a sewer lid. What was white then got spray painted black followed by a light mist of silver paint to create a gun metal like look. All I had to do now was write NYC in the middle.

We did the same with tins! Suddenly I had to eat baked beans and diced tomatoes, luckily there are only four turtles so we kept the lids and peels the paper of the tin and sprayed it the same way to make them look like sewer pipes.

I managed to pick up a couple of BBQ aluminium foil trays of which the back of it kind of looked like a turtle shell. We got some dark green spray paint and tube of light green acrylic paint and went to work. First, the back of the tray was sprayed with two coats of dark green.

After it has dried, you can use a brush if you like, Mr. Foodie finger painted the raised bumps with the light green acrylic paint and blended a few light streaks in around the sides. We have two swords in a sword plaque which we hung on the wall and stuck a "turtle shell" on it for the ninja and turtle theme.

Being in New York, I managed to get some New York canvases to bring the theme together. We also hunted around for second hand figurines because it ain't Ninja Turtles without the turtles. We found this guy who was selling all his figurines with the baddies and side characters as well - perfect! I decided to set a mini scene in the corner just to add to the theme.

For some reason it was hard to get green lanterns so I only managed to get one which was hidden at the bottom of the pile and unwanted because the light was broken on it. Oh well, one will do. I haven't got a big dining room anyway. Got the green lantern and purple streamers (you can also use crepe paper in any of the ninja turtle colours) to make Donatello! Just wrap a strip of coloured crepe paper around the lantern and cut out two pieces of paper in the shape of eyes and stick them on. We got trigger happy and made a mouth too. Wonders of paper, scissors and texta!

Shopping is always fun for a girl. I bought green napkins, green plates, a green pizza cutter, green table cover, black table cover, ceramic mugs with silicone green holders, traffic cones and then list goes on. I decided on a black and green theme because I thought the green would stand out more plus, sewers, grungy dark, so black. I used a black table cover and the green one as a runner down the middle for strategic placement of my decorative items. At the end of the day, it was a pizza party so we went for a bit more casual but fun and not too kiddy.

I managed to get some bright orange traffic cones to place with the sprayed tins to make it look like the roads of New York with turtles coming out of the sewers with Master Splinter, April O'Neil, Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady placed near the cones.

I also got some green sashes for the chairs and when I set the cutlery down I decided to place them in an X position to look like ninja weapons. It was quite fun once all the work was finished. I even bought Mountain Dew and Appletiser because they were green!

The final reveal

Guests were arriving soon so I got some popcorn out in a green pail I found at the op shop for them to snack on before we got the lovely pizzas.

My nearest store was on Brighton Road, Brighton. Off we went to collect our dinner. I had been to Crust in Norwood before and loved it so I was excited to try new flavours this time. The lovely staff at the Brighton store were friendly and promptly prepared my order.

Hard at work

Our dinner

Our order was four large pizzas, one pasta, one salad and dessert. We decided to try one of each meat group because we are such carnivours. Crust Gourmet Pizza prides themselves in using healthy and fresh ingredients, not leaving your feeling greasy and guilty. They produce restaurant quality gourmet pizzas with a fast food service. Their ingredients are of quality and the flavour combinations are interesting, gourmet and delicious.

The Turtles would have gone crazy for this!

Tandoori Chicken - Chicken breast fillets marinated in Tandoori spices, shallots and crushed cashews on a tomato base, topped with mint yoghurt.

Seafood Pizza - Marinated tiger prawns, scallops, mussels, sundried tomatoes and bocconcini on a tomato base, garnished with fresh herbs and lemon

A lot of seafood pizzas end up being dry with shriveled seafood but this particular one was fresh and still succulent. Their ingredients are definitely of a certain quality.

Mediterranean Lamb Pizza - Slow cooked marinated lamb, tomatoes, green capsicum, Spanish onions, feta and oregano on a garlic infused base, garnished with mint yoghurt and lemon.

Philly Steak - 4+ Marble score Wagyu beef, roasted and fresh capsicum, caramelised onions and mushrooms on a tomato base, garnished with Dijon mustard and wild rocket.

The meat pizzas were a lovely balance of flavour with juicy lamb and steak and well complimented toppings. It definitely wasn't too much or too rich. Just the right amount of gourmet ingredients.

Spicy Spanish Seafood Pasta - Marinated garlic tiger prawns, scallops, shallots, caramelised onions and thinly sliced spicy chorizo served with Chilli infused extra virgin olive oil.

I love anything spicy so the pasta was a nice spice and biting into the chorizo gave me a bit of a kick! The chilli infused extra virgin olive oil was a nice touch.

Vietnamese Salad with Wagyu - 4+ Marble score Wagyu beef, roasted red capsicum, mixed leaf, Spanish onions, fresh herbs, snow pea sprouts tossed in sweet chilli servied with chilli infused extra virgin olive oil

My awesome friends who came to play with us! It's pizza time!

Everyone really enjoyed the pizzas and we had a good time reminiscing about Ninja Turtles and childhood cartoons and weekend TV time. Mr. Foodie even managed to get some episodes of the original Ninja Turtles cartoons to play on TV in the background - just to set the scene, because there's no stone left un-turned in this house!

Pizzas, popcorn, crisps and Appletisers later, it was time for dessert! Yes, a dessert pizza is always a gamble but this one was good.

Black Forest Crumble - Dessert pizza layered with custard, mud cake, black cherries, topped with baked crumble, drizzled with berry coulis and dusted with icing sugar.

Seriously, how can you get this stuff at a takeaway joint! It's madness. The dessert pizza was everybody's favourite. Delicious, not overpowering, well balanced with all the favourite elements in a dessert. It was a fantastic end to our dinner party. Easily the best dessert pizza I've had.

The Aftermath

Everyone had a really good time and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner. It was a fun experience for all with the theme and definitely fun for me to decorate. Thank you to Crust Gourmet Pizza for this great opportunity to bring out the inner kid in me.

For more information on Crust, check out their website here.

Check out my previous post on Crust Pizza Bar Norwood

50 Shades of Chocolate Giveaway

2013-05-15T14:18:00.000+09:30

Foodie Ling is having a giveaway with 50 Shades of Chocolate

Do you love chocolate? Everybody loves chocolate right? We have an exciting giveaway!

50 Shades of Chocolate contains 63 amazing chocolate recipes and discusses the aphrodisiac powers of chocolate! Author Claire Preen is an award winning chocolatier who believes chocolate is a true sensory experience that should never be rushed. Claire has a unique take and intimate knowledge of all things chocolate, allowing her to provide sensual and exquisite recipes. I was fortunate with a chance to ask Claire a few questions.

What do you enjoy most about working with chocolate?

The possibilities are endless! In my book 50 Shades Of Chocolate, there are sexy, sweet, savoury and snack recipes. You can make almost anything a little bit better with chocolate. Plus, chocolate is enjoyed by almost everybody and nothing rivals that sensual feeling of slipping a piece of chocolate into your mouth and letting it melt. Yum!

What gave you the idea or made you want to write this book, combining chocolate and sex?

Both sex and chocolate should be enjoyed guilt-free, so why not join them together? Sex sells and these recipes are beautiful and fun ways to spice up your life and add a bit of difference to the everyday, whether that be in the sheets or while entertaining friends. I just love chocolate and wanted to share this love with everyone.

What is your favourite recipe out of the book and why?

I have many favourite recipes, but the one that gets the most interest is probably the OMG Edible Massage Oil, because it smells divine and can be used by yourself or with a special someone.

Milk, dark or white chocolate?

Different ones for different occasions! White chocolate is great with fish, milk is a popular favourite for most recipes and people, and dark is just that little bit more expensive and exquisite – best for special occasion dishes.

How to win? Simple!

Must like 50 Shades of Chocolate on Facebook here
Must like Foodie Ling on Facebook here
Leave a comment below with your full name and that you have liked both pages

Terms and conditions

This giveaway is open to Australian residents only
This giveaway ends on 9th June 2013 at 11:59PM AEST
Winner will be announced on Facebook and Foodie Ling blog. Please check back to see if you have won. If there is no response from winner within 72 hours, it will be redrawn
Entry is limited to one per person
Contestant must like both pages for a valid entry in the draw
Winner will be drawn by random.org

Jack Ruby @ Adelaide

2013-05-09T08:00:00.000+09:30

On a cold weeknight I had the pleasure of discovering this amazing new destination right on King William Street in the heart of the city. Taking those steps down to the basement was like walking through a time warp and portal to an American soul and blues bar. I'm talking about Jack Ruby, the new underground bar, diner and live music venue in town. I absolutely loved the vibe. There was no doubt about it, the music, the interior, the bar. It was relaxed, chilled and welcoming. I can't find the words to describe how I felt but I was smiling.

The menus were on the table and on the board behind the bar, you could sit at the bar if you wanted to or have your own private corner. We picked a high table in front of the bar. As we sat down we got a glass of popcorn to nibble on while we look at the menu. Introducing some boutique and imported beers from USA, it has a decent beer list and wine list that is something different but what got me was their Spiked Shakes and Cocktails. I'm not a drinker and yet, it was calling to me with the most delicious sounding description.

We ordered the Pie Lover spiked shake - Applejack + rhubarb + cinnamon ice cream $12. It was a dessert bomb! Delicious and a very smooth easy drink. Dangerous! We also got a Jack Rose Cocktail - Applejack + lemon + grenadine $17. Refreshing and too delicious for my own good.

The menu was very interesting and I wanted nearly everything on it but alas, we are only two stomachs and two stomachs can only be stretched so far. We ordered mainly appetizers to sample as many things as possible. It eventually ended up as a tactical strike operation as we found ourselves selecting what we would order next time because we can order this today and then try that next time which would go with that and that and this is.....unbelievable. But that's truly what happened. So here goes our dining experience at Jack Ruby.

Wisconsin MAC 'N' CHEESE Balls $9 - Served with truffle aioli. Take one bite into this delicious crowd pleaser and old time favourite and savour the crispy crunch and creamy cheesy mac inside all with a touch of delicious truffle aioli. It's heaven in a bite. Absolutely delicious.

New Jersey POUTINE $15 - pulled pork + mozarella + veal jus. I have never had Canada's national treasure poutine in my life but Mr. Foodie has and absolutely loves it. Though not authentic, this dish is definitely very, very, very, very delicious. The veal jus is amazing and just makes it a class above. The pulled pork was absolutely delicious we demolished the poutine and were about ready to get in a fork fight.

Trio of Sliders $20 - Pork Belly Crab, Slaw and Mayo - Charred Lamb Tongue, Beet, Frisee and Horseradish - Sunset Strip Cheeseburger, Pickles, Onion, Mustard and Ketchup.

The charred lamb tongue was the one I was most apprehensive about but even that tasted good. The Sunset Strip Cheeseburger Slider is a flavour explosion with a beautiful juicy, quality beef patty topped with all the burger favourites. Pork Belly and Crab Slider? Amazing. Crispy pork belly and crab with lovely coleslaw and my favourite Kewpie Mayonnaise. Seriously, what could go wrong. I loved the buns, soft with a slightly crispy top and very much like Bread Top buns.

Black Bean & Corn Taco $8 - Tomato, Chilli, Cheddar, Sour Cream, Iceberg Lettuce. We pretty much are so carnivourous we never order anything vegetarian but this was one of the staff's recommendations and I decided we should bite the bullet. It was beautiful. Lovely flavour combination and once again, another flavour explosion. Delicious soft taco, very delicious.

Deep fried Apple Pie with Butterscotch, Honeycomb and Tonka bean ice cream $12

First, I imagined a McDonald's apple pie. Second, what is Tonka bean? Note to self to look it up when I get home. Then dessert arrived and any traits of McDonald's apple pie was no where to be seen. I loved the presentation! The fried apple pie didn't taste greasy and the lovely apples inside were still a bit tangy which was perfect when paired with the butterscotch and honeycomb crumbs. Now, the tonka bean ice cream. That was really something. It was superbly creamy with lovely flavour! I'm guessing it's house made but anyway, it was fantastic. I wanna buy tubs of this stuff now. When I got home I found out that tonka beans are the seeds of a Kumaru plant of the pea family. They are black and wrinkled and carry fragrance resembling vanilla, cinnamon and cloves, something sweet and spice like.

Cinnamon coated Churros wih Chipotle Caramel and Bourbon Spiked Shake $16

This was also a lovely twist from the usual Churros with Chocolate or Dulce de Leche. The caramel sauce served here is chipotle infused! Chipotle is basically a smoke-dried jalapeno used primarily in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines. It provides a lovely spice. It sounded weird at first but I was intrigued. The caramel was delicious, sweet with a little hint of spicy and the churros were crispy to bite into, then soft on the inside. The Bourbon Spiked Shake was a lovely touch but the cocktail had given me quite a hit by now so Mr. Foodie, lover of all milkshakes, lapped it up.

Time for dessert!

Jack Ruby is something I've been waiting for, for a long time and I think they've got the formula right. I also found the staff were attentive, friendly and service was excellent that night. I do genuinely hope this place will hang around for a long time and it adds good value to the culinary diversity we have in Adelaide. I guess I'm also excited because I now have another place I can eat and hang out after my late work shifts.

Lunch till late night bar and diner, great bartender and drinks list, great food and exciting menu. Their menu is well rounded with all the elements of Americana and I believe, modernized and creative. There was so much more I wanted to try like their Kingfish Ceviche, Scallop Tostadas, Popcorn Crocodile, Buffalo Wings, Cobb Salad, Snapper Burger, Beef Cheek Taco, Korean Chicken Burger, Soft Shell Crab Po'Boy, Chilli Fries and practically everything else on the menu that I haven't eaten yet. Gluten free options are also available as they have gluten free buns and tacos. We love good American style food. What a shame we can only eat so much at a time, we'll just have to come back very soon I suppose!

Jack Ruby
89 King William Street
Adelaide CBD SA 5000
08 8231 5795

Masha Potato Masher Product Review

2013-05-01T08:00:00.000+09:30

I was contacted by the lovely people from WordStorm to review a new product - Masha

I love mashed potato and Mr. Foodie likes pumpkin soup so when the opportunity came up to review this product, I took it because I was curious. I mash manually when on the blue moon occasion I make something and have used forks and potato mashers but it's never as smooth as the restaurants really.

Masha uses a patented Rotor Cone technology to gently squeeze the potato through an outer mesh to create restaurant quality mash with perfect consistency and no lumps. It is also easy to clean and safe for dishwashers. With no actual blade, it makes it safe for everyone to use and being plastic, there's no worry about using it in non stick pots.

It's time to test what it claims to be! First up quick and easy British India Mushy Peas. I threw in a knob of butter, some water and a bit of salt to cook off some frozen peas. After draining them I mixed some curry powder, cumin and pepper through then it was time to get the Masha out.

It actually did live up to its name, pureed in seconds, smooth and consistent all the way through.

British India Mushy Peas

Since it mashes anything, we can make baby food, yes? Yes. Next job was to mash carrots and it was a success, smooth consistency.

Mashed carrots

Final test in Ling's kitchen. Mashing my favourite - potato. My mashed potatoes can be a bit naughty and I've been known to take some short cuts in the kitchen. I boiled some low carb Bellita potatoes and drained the water ready for my final test. Before mashing I threw in a knob of butter, chopped spring onions from the garden and sprinkled chicken salt.

Voila! Smooth creamy non lumpy mashed potato. I'm impressed. I didn't use any milk and just a small amount of butter and yet, it tasted creamier than the mash I used to make.

Masha did actually deliver what it claims to and I'm glad I tried this product. It's quick and mashes in a matter of seconds to minutes. Washing up was pretty easy, the mashing bit can be detached and I just rinsed it in my sink of hot water, shook it around and it came off pretty clean. I like the fact that it's blade free and non stick pot safe because pretty much all my pots are non stick.

I think opportunities can be endless with this product in terms of making baby food, dips and soups as well. Looks like I found myself a new toy!

The Masha can be purchased online, at Big W, Harvey Norman or Myer from $59.95 to $68 so it pays to shop around.

This product was given to me to review and keep. All opinions are my own.

Thyme Cafe Restaurant @ Victoria Square

2013-04-26T12:31:00.000+09:30

I've often walked past Thyme Cafe Restaurant when I'm wandering around the city and this time I walked in for brunch. But I wasn't just here for brunch, I was here to try something new to me that sounded very intriguing. Thyme Cafe Restaurant is located on Victoria Square right in the heart of the city with outdoor seating for Alfresco dining and a very cosy restaurant inside. I had a chance to meet the owner, Anelle Bosch who is an established, multi award winning chef and a very lovely person. Her career started in New Zealand where she apprenticed and stayed on becoming an Executive Chef in just five years. Following that she opened a restaurant in Alice Springs before selling it eight and a half years later. The next two years were spent working on catering for a travel company but feeling more at home in a kitchen and restaurant, she knew it was time to move on and if I could say so myself, Adelaide should be glad she did because here she is with Thyme Cafe Restaurant.

Thyme Cafe Restaurant has a diverse and creative menu and the team's passion and enthusiasm shows through in the food. They pride themselves in using fresh local produce and making everything in house such as pesto, sauces and baked beans. Apart from the regular menu there's a specials board keeping the chefs excited and creative with the chance to show off the best seasonal produce.

On this occasion I was ready for lunch but Mr. Foodie still wanted breakfast but we both agreed on one thing. We want to try the Red Espresso. This was the first time I heard of using a tea extract to make coffee drinks but South Africa has long known about this. Using the very healthy caffeine free Rooibos tea with five times more antioxidants than green tea and fusing it with coffee style drinks has created a whole new culture. You could get Red Cappuccino, Red Macchiato, Red Latte, Iced Teas and more. Anything that you have had with a coffee can now be made with this 100% Rooibos tea extract. It may be an acquired taste to some but coming from Asia, I am no stranger to milk tea. We had the Red Cappuccino and Red Latte. It was actually pretty tasty and smooth to drink. Being caffeine free, it's suitable for everyone including the health conscious. If you don't like hot drinks Thyme Cafe Restaurant also offers iced fruit red tea or iced red lattes for that refreshing sense especially on a hot summer's day.

Their menu is quite extensive and the breakfast menu isn't just your regular bacon and eggs on toast. With dishes like Pesto and Feta Eggs, Chakchouka Eggs (Spanish baked eggs), French Toast and Pancakes alongside the usual breakfast favourites, we had a hard time choosing. Mr. Foodie was pretty hungry by now so of course he typically went for The 'BIG' Thyme.

The 'BIG' Thyme - bacon, 2 free range eggs, tomato, mushrooms, house made beans and hashbrowns on toasted Vienna bread.

It was a delicious breakfast without the heavy feeling afterwards. Everything was done perfectly, the poached eggs were runny and their house made hash browns were delicious. I love homemade beans (when I can be bothered getting the slow cooker out and making everyone eat beans for the next 5 meals) so this was a lovely break from the tinned stuff and it was definitely tasty.

I went for the lunch menu which was equally hard to decide on. It was a choice between their Pork Belly & Apple Salad, Thyme Steak Sandwich on Rye, Cajun Chicken & Couscous Salad or Linguini Carbonara. I love pork belly but caved in for pasta in the end.

Linguini Carbonara - smokey bacon, field mushroom, parmesan, garlic cream, truffle oil, toasted breadcrumbs topped with a soft poached egg.

A typical Carbonara would have the egg already mixed in the sauce but this one was different. The poached egg was perfect and runny so piercing it and mixing the runny egg through the pasta myself was pretty fun. It's not everyday Carbonara has truffle oil and field mushrooms either so that sold the dish to me. It was a lovely flavour, pasta cooked al dente, the sauce was smooth, creamy and yummy plus I love field mushrooms. We also noticed how both our dishes were garnished with sprigs of thyme. How fitting and what a lovely attention to detail.

As we finished our meal Anelle sat down to have a chat with us and also introduced Tea Forte range of teas to us. It is a range of quality loose leaf tea blends in silken pyramid infusers. Thyme Cafe Restaurant offers the English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Green and Lemon and Peppermint Teas with the addition of special blends which changes from time to time. We were lucky enough to try the Raspberry Nectar and Belgian Mint tea.

The Belgian Mint was a beautiful herbal tea with hints of chocolate and mint using cacao beans and peppermint leaves, it had a rich aroma and lovely taste. I love fruity teas so the Raspberry Nectar was a slice of heaven for me. Yet another herbal tea range with handpicked raspberries, it was quite fun to watch the water turn bright red but most of all, the fruity aroma and sweet fruity taste was satisfying. I have since researched Tea Forte and their super extensive range of teas makes my heart explode! If I wanted them all I should think I will need to clear my whole pantry out not to mention my bank account.

The tea was a lovely way to end our brunch date and it just struck me that we didn't have any caffeine, not in the Red Cappuccino/Latte and not in our Tea Forte herbal teas. Thyme Cafe Restaurant delivered very delicious meals and drinks, I'm glad I came to try the Red Espresso and food. Think I'll be back soon, perhaps breakfast before doing my shopping at the Adelaide Central Market or even a takeaway Red Cappuccino, I love that stuff! Oh, and so does Anelle's dad, he said so himself!

Thyme Cafe Restaurant opens for breakfast and lunch Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to 4pm but are open to functions if requested.

Thyme Cafe Restaurant
191A Victoria Square
Adelaide SA 5000
08 8231 9093

Mad March Wrap Up - Waymouth Street Party

2013-04-16T12:02:00.000+09:30

My last wrap up about Mad March! I hope you also got the chance to head down to the Waymouth Street Party held on two Fridays from 5pm to 10pm where Waymouth Street was closed for party time basically! A great way to start your weekend, knock off work, loosen that tie and head down for some live music, drinks, food and laughter. This is yet another fantastic initiative of Splash Adelaide bringing Adelaide City to life in conjunction with the Adelaide Fringe Festival. It was a very vibrant and relaxed venue which was definitely buzzing!

Haystacks to sit on

Live music provided by five acts

Look at the crowd!

Side streets for a quiet drink? Mobile bar at your service

This was kinda cute, a bus bar. Get your drinks and choose your seat on the bus. Of course there are seats outside if you prefer to lounge about in the open.

The restaurants on the street have joined in the spirit and extended their restaurants to the street selling yummy gourmet food. The staff's enthusiasm and gleaming faces alone sold the food. It was a great atmosphere. Stax had this Pulled Pork & Slaw Burger with Smokey BBQ Sauce which was very yummy. Delicious flavour and melt in your mouth pork.

Next on the menu was a hot dog. You can't go to a street party and not eat hot dogs right? Press* food & wine made a pretty awesome one that kept Mr. Foodie quiet for a bit. Press Hot Dog with Sauerkraut Mustard and Tomato Sauce for $8.00. This house made hot dog was pretty delicious and filling.

If I had to pick the most enthusiastic team of the night it'd be the lot from Georges on Waymouth. Their menu sounded tempting and delicious.

Pork belly with quinoa, peach, almonds and crisp shallots - Absolutely delicious flavour and crunch and tender, melt in your mouth pork. Beautiful broth with interesting combination of flavours.

Salmon ceviche, corn, cucumber, coriander & squid ink crumble - fresh, light and yummy!

It was a great street party and I think it's good that restaurants on the street were involved. Now that the summer days are over I really do wonder what's in store for the colder months.

Mad March Wrap Up - Summer Friday East End Markets

2013-04-12T14:18:00.001+09:30

The end of summer also marked the end of many beloved summer activities and events I have enjoyed. The City of Adelaide's livelihood is quite a bit different to when I first got here all those years ago. One of the little pleasures I miss is the Summer Friday East End Markets off Rundle Street right in the heart of the city. Here you will find stalls selling drinks, good, cupcakes, craft, jewellery, hand made quirky things, vintage clothes and decorative items. Just like your typical market but a lovely start as we wind down for the weekend.

Mr. Foodie messing about with his chocolate moustache next to "Luigi"

For now, I am starting to build my firewood pile and pushing to bring the throw rug out into the living room ready for the months ahead. Until next summer!

Mad March Wrap Up - Garden of Unearthly Delights

2013-04-08T12:06:00.000+09:30

Mad March in Adelaide was indeed mad and so was my social schedule. Admittedly that left a little less time for blogging but here's a quick wrap up of the Garden of Unearthly Delights at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2013. The food side of course.

I thought this was pretty cool and the menu actually looked yummy despite me being an absolute carnivore. Love the theme!

La Cantina Co and the Greek Palace Yiros were both very popular stands and are no strangers to this scene. I saw many chomp away happily on their tacos, burritos and yiros it must be a good sign! Pigs on Fire was something I hadn't yet seen and totally up Mr. Foodie's alley with live fire cooking and grilling, it smelt pretty amazing.

Cuban was actually pretty amazing. I had the Arroz Con Pollo and it tasted pretty good, chicken was well seasoned, the beans and yellow rice complemented it beautifully and best of all, you can help yourself to the salsas on the side with mild and spicy hot variety.

Although voodoo wouldn't be particularly associated with cute but I thought this burger stand was cute! Marrakech Express served up Moroccan cuisine and what I could smell was good but unfortunately they had no tagine that day when I wanted to order one.

It's great to see more and more mobile food vendors and also greater variety of cuisines available at festivals. Definitely gone are the days of just pies, sausage rolls and chips. Next wrap ups will be the Waymouth Street Party and Summer East End Markets which I miss terribly as we head into autumn but the autumn season itself is certainly my favourite time of the year. Time to make that trip to Hahndorf and Stirling as the colours change!

Grumpy's Brewhaus @ Verdun

2013-03-30T14:51:00.003+10:30

A birthday celebration brought us to this shack in Verdun just as you exit Princess Highway. Grumpy's Brewhaus is a brewery that serves pub style meals and lovely wood oven pizza. They are the first all-grain boutique micro-brewery in the Adelaide Hills where all beers are made on site by hand. They have about five beers and a cider on tap which changes according to season including pilsner, lager, pale ale and stout.

I had a craving for a parmi so I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana which was pretty decent and cheesy. Love anything with cheese! Seeing as they were famous for their wood oven pizzas we had to try one!

No Bull - Marinated Gulf Prawns with Spiced Chicken, Chilli Pepperoni, Sliced Tomato, Garlic, Chilli and Spanish Onion

It was a treat with lovely ingredients and the prawns weren't dried out like some seafood pizzas tend to get. The pizza was delicious but I'd say it's on the pricey side, not what we were expecting to pay.

For dessert we shared a Chocolate Pudding with Chocolate Sauce served with fresh strawberries from the local farm.

Grumpy's Brewhaus
115 Mount Barker Road
Verdun SA 5245
08 8188 1133

American Food Adventure Finale

2013-03-21T08:00:00.000+10:30

So I've been back for a while now and I think it's time to let go and slip back into reality after returning from a food heaven. Alas, my final post from my American adventure! Despite having quite a few pictures not making the cut, I think 5 posts is well and truly overkill as it is (but it's so hard because there were so many amazing meals in 5 weeks)!

Millions of Milkshakes is a popular milkshake bar frequented by celebs with milkshakes named after celebs and some created by the celebs. The shakes were pretty good, I mean, how can you not get a good milkshake in America right? They've glammed up the store and med it very red carpet like so you walk through the rails up to the counter to order. We got a Justin Mania Shake - snickers and banana, and for the life of me I cannot remember mine.

Then just to show you are a tourist, step over here in the little corner to take a picture and the very friendly guy will take one for you if you like so here's the Mr.Pink Millions of Milkshake "purple carpet".

This picture makes me look dead short! I'm really not that short - I swear!!

On our way to the Paramount Studios Tour (shout out to Chris our funny and amazing guide), we were in a hurry and Denny's Diner was on the way, this place is all over USA anyway but today, it was on the way and Mr. Foodie seems to think it was fated because that big Lord of The Rings geek saw this. In conjunction with the release of J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit on December 14th in USA, Denny's have customised a Hobbit themed menu. It's pretty good actually but the food took a while to come and the tour was starting real soon and so we just scoffed it down and I didn't take a photo. Sorry! I can tell you it was yummy.

That's what Mr. Foodie went for

Back in DC, we had this amazing Mexican from this random place my uncle took us to. This place was pretty much 3 levels high and it was packed out. We had to go to dinner at something like 5.30pm so we could get in. They make their own nachos and it's complementary with this amazing house made salsa. Unlimited refill mind you. Restaurants in America are definitely not skimpy at all. You can have as much sauce as you like. Portions were big and the food coming out smelt fantastic as they landed on tables around us. I decided to order a bit of a mix and with this lovely BBQ Ribs, grilled beef fillet and prawns dish with salsa also came with a beans and rice as a side. I went for Mexican spiced rice and yellow beans. There they have yellow beans and black beans cooked beautifully like a stew instead of the mashed refried beans. The ribs and beef fillet were juicy and tender, prawns well seasoned, salsa one of the best I've tasted. We need more Mexicans in Adelaide! Can we give Mexican cooks and chefs some sort of food visa.....I mean, the breakfast burrito I had from some morning market guy that cost me $3 was that good, imagine the possibilities! Ahh, I love Mexican food. It's somewhat healthy, grilled meat and veges right?

We also tried California Pizza Kitchen in Hollywood and Highland Plaza on Hollywood Boulevard, LA. Pretty good food. We ordered a Thai chopped salad with avocado and peanut dressing (small size which really was not small), Chicken Tequila Fettucine, and Jamaican Jerk Chicken Thin Crust Pizza. Salad, interesting, fresh and tasty. The pasta was brilliant with lovely flavours of a creamy jalapeno lime sauce with coriander or cilantro as they call it in USA. The pizza was lovely, thin crispy base with delicious jerk chicken that wasn't dry at all.

Thai Mango Chicken

Remember I said Thai food was pretty good in USA? Well, it is. Undoubtedly modified to suit local taste but the dishes they churn out have great flavour. This little place in LA was very delicious and coming from here, it was ridiculously cheap for what you got. Thai Mango Chicken was lovely with a sweet and tangy taste and juicy chicken pieces. The Green Papaya Salad was a pleasure to eat with a lovely crunch from the green papaya, beans and cashew. The well seasoned prawns made a lovely addition to this salad. I want to learn how to make that dressing.

Green Papaya Salad with Cashews

Lastly, my Garlic Fried Pasta with Prawns was very flavoursome. Garlicky but extremely yummy. Not recommended on a first date, or carry lots of mints.

Garlic fried prawn pasta

With this final post on my American food adventure, I shall now stow my photos away in a yellow folder never to be seen again for a long time. Now on to Hobbit tea tonight in conjunction with the release of The Hobbit on Blu Ray. The things I do for Mr. Foodie's inner geek! Roast beef, roast chicken, home made dinner rolls, cheese and pickles! Oh, gravy, must have gravy.

Adios!

WOMADelaide

2013-03-15T12:56:00.000+10:30

It's Mad March in Adelaide and it has never been buzzing more. With the Adelaide Festival, Fringe, Clipsal, Future Music Festival and WOMADelaide happening, the city of Adelaide comes to life as crowd gathers to see their favourite acts, shows and now also for their favourite mobile food vendors which have become increasingly and deliciously popular. It is safe to say that these food vendors do a roaring trade at this time of the year. I had the opportunity to attend WOMADelaide this year for the first time and boy was it a fun experience. WOMAD stands for World of Music, Arts and Dance which was founded in 1982 and has since found its way across the world. WOMADelaide which began in 1992 is a festival of global music, art, tradition, food, culture and more running over four days in our lovely Botanic Park. Held on our March long weekend with Adelaide Cup day, it starts on Friday evening and finishes at midnight on Monday. This year, in its 21st year, WOMADelaide continues to be one of the most popular festivals in Australia.

As soon as I passed through the 'gates' the atmosphere was amazing. Despite it being a hot weekend the park was full of people chilling out on their picnic blankets, chairs and some have even set up tents to enjoy the festivity. There were seven stages in total, some larger than others, set up for performances, workshops and speakers forums. While WOMAD is a festival of music and arts, this year they have incorporated talks on saving the environment and the planet's sustainability.

Welcome to WOMAD

Yalumba, Coopers Ale and Hills Cider had bars and tents set up across the venue selling their famous beers, ciders and lovely wine. People congregated around the Yalumba barrels under the umbrellas to enjoy a cool and refreshing drink while soaking in the atmosphere.

The bartenders and staff were all very friendly and certainly keeping their cool in this heat. I had to battle lines of customers to get this clear shot with these lovely girls! Thank you!

One of the few Yalumba, Coopers and Hills Cider Tents

Refreshing Hills Apple Cider anyone? Or perhaps a glass of lovely Yalumba wine from the shelf behind?

That's the way to chill at a festival

Making my way across the park I came across this lovely Coopers Beer Garden. With a few food stalls by its side, this beer garden was well set up and feels just like your backyard with decking, greenery and a rustic feel thrown in. Great place to chill as the sun goes down.

The Internode Lounge was great, together with Cibo this internet and media hotspot was very popular. Grab a Cibo coffee and check your Facebook. There was also a photobooth for some fun with friends and family. Run out of battery because you've been there all day? No worry, charge your device at the charging station! Don't even worry about being trapped in a tent and missing out on performances. Cibo provided lounge chairs under umbrellas so you could imagine you're at the seaside but with musical performances. Cibo was also popular because on a hot day you need gelato!

The Cibo Lounge and Tent

Then came my favourite part. Food! There were over 40 stalls showcasing all types of food from around the world. Coupled with our Australian Bars it was a pretty perfect food village. Some of the mobile food vendors and trucks were ones we've frequently seen driving around Adelaide and some were restaurants setting up a stall for the festival. Some other food vendors travel from other states across Australia chasing festivals and markets. What a great job, travelling and introducing your prided food the people all across Australia. Nevertheless one thing was certain, there was a lot of yummy food and pretty much all cultures were represented.

Food Of The World

So often have we seen Burger Theory around Adelaide, frequenting Hindmarsh Square, Leigh Street, Victoria Square, North Terrace and East End. In fact they have been at The Depot over the Adelaide Fringe Festival period. Their menu is simple, two choices of burgers with or without chips and drink but let me tell you, their burgers are juicy, fresh and of high quality. Tasty stuff!

The famous Burger Theory truck

The girls from Baba:Q (the boys were busy BBQ-ing) promoting live flaming charcoal BBQ Mediterranean style. While they pop up in festivals and fiestas, they also cater for parties. It smelt real good, what the boys were cooking.

Soonta has one of the best Banh Mi in town. I can totally vouch for that. Bahn Mi (Vietnamese roll) is a crusty Vietnamese baguette filled with pickled vegetables, coriander and your choice of meat such as BBQ pork, crispy roast pork, chicken, meatloaf and more. Soonta does an awesome crispy roast pork Bahn Mi. Vermicelli noodle salad, cold rolls and spring rolls are also on offer. Do try Vietnamese Iced Coffee too if you ever get the chance, it's strong and thick sweetened with condensed milk.

Soonta Rolls

The Coconut Shack really drew my attention. I loved the theme and decor of the stall. They promote organic fresh drinking coconuts and smoothies. It had a very tropical and jungle feel, definitely organic and what I loved the most was the "chandelier" made from Coco Juice bottles. On a day this hot, I think she was very popular.

I also had the chance to chat to the girls from Cajun Kitchen serving Soul Food. I love soul food, an African-American cuisine with popular dishes such as Jambalaya and Gumbo. They also use the cajun spice a lot in their cooking. It's really lovely, flavoursome, hearty food. Cajun Kitchen are actually from Melbourne and have come down specifically for WOMADelaide which just goes to show what this popular festival attracts.

Byron Bay Organic Doughnuts was another example of our festival attracting food vendors from across Australia. Originating from Byron Bay and predominantly appearing in markets, these guys make some amazing organic doughnuts. My personal favourite? The chocolate filled one of course!

The Passion 4 Juice stall totally caught my attention. I mean, with something this striking and colourful looking like a magic inflatable castle, how could I not be attracted to it. Not only did they sell juice but smoothies, wraps, fruit salad, yoghurt and waffles were also on the menu. These guys travel across Australia and the UK spreading their juice cheer promoting healthy living.

Hari Har Chai was another colourful stall that caught my eye. Based in Torquay, Victoria, these guys use the finest grade of Australian grown tea that is low in caffeine and grown chemical free to make six blends of authentic chai tea.

Sep-Lai was an extremely popular stall with a line everytime I walk pass. The aroma was amazing. I loved the look of the stall, very much Thai like with the colours of the Thai flag and Thai newspaper clippings pasted on the stand. Selling our favourites of Pad Thai, Larp Chicken, Red and Green Curry, Fish Cakes, Green Papaya Salad and more, no wonder this place was a hit. Sep-Lai Thai Street Food will be present at The Depot for Fork on The Road by Splash Adelaide this Sunday 17 March 2013 for the last day of the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

By now I was getting a bit warm and bothered. It was then that I walked past this intriguing tent. The Holy Cow! Very cool Indian themed place selling chai, tea, coffee and other drinks, it was a lovely place under shade to chill and relax. There were mats on the floor in their tent for patrons to lounge about with a drink. Very cool!

The Satay Hut was also very popular

The grilling kitchen

After drooling over all the deliciously tempting food stalls, it was time to visit the Taste the World Tent so across the road I went to this side of the festival. It was pretty warm so of course I had to rehydrate right? Hills Cider tent conveniently located for your hydration needs. Water, soft drinks, cider, beer and wine for your choosing.

Taste the World is where cooking demonstrations were held by artists performing at WOMADelaide to introduce their food culture. Hosted by the Adelaide's lovely Rosa Matto who has had over 30 years in the food industry and her own cooking school. I liked very much the concept of sharing cultures not only in music but also in food. Today in such a melting pot society, Australia has been a wonderful mix of culture with a vast array of cuisines available and these cooking demonstrations do not only introduce a dish but the history of their cuisine, food in their family and society, the food culture in their home country.

The first demo I caught was by Squad Massi of Algeria who now resides in France. Her music is also a big melting pot combining traditional Algerian style, flamenco, rock and fado. Her dish was Algerian Couscous with White Sauce. The original recipe used lamb cooked with zucchinis, turnips, chickpeas and some spices to make a lovely broth for the couscous. She learnt to make couscous the traditional way from her mother mentioning that it took her mum four hours but she claims it tastes much better than the instant microwave stuff we make these days.

From the right: Rosa Matto , Squad Massi, Doug, Interpreter

The other cooking demonstration I had the pleasure of sitting in on was by The Alaev Family. Their story is interesting and their culture is strong. Originating from Tajikistan, this family now resides in Israel and all three generations travel the world to introduce their music. The 80 year old Allo Alaev leads a percussion spectacular with all three generations embracing and modernizing Tajikistan music traditions. This family has great energy, many great drummers, violin, clarinet, accordion and horn ready to entertain with full enthusiasm. They have recently come back from a show in Las Vegas where they fed 250 people this dish that they demonstrated today. Bukharian Polov is a rice pilau dish by Bukharians who are Jews from Central Asia. According to Allo, he makes this for his family every Tuesday afternoon. It smelt absolutely amazing and tasted great. Although it went for longer than it should, we were thoroughly entertained with his stories and some performances from his children and grandchildren in between. We also got an insight of the third and youngest generation's views on music, food, the family and touring. It was an amazingly tight knit family who celebrated the same things. The "Polov" was simply oil, water, onions, garlic, stock, julienne carrots, beef or lamb and rice with seasoning all layered, not stirred and mixed. The rice went in last before they put the lid on and left it to cook while we were entertained. The juices from the bottom steamed the rice and infused it with the most amazing flavour.

It was a great and fun eye opening experience at WOMADelaide this year. I am starting to understand the attraction. Look forward to next year!

Eskal Foods Hamper Giveaway WINNER

2013-03-14T09:44:00.001+10:30

The winner of the Eskal Foods Hamper Giveaway is

Sam Roberts

Congratulations!!

Please check your email for details

American Food Adventure Part 4

2013-03-14T09:00:00.000+10:30

So my food adventure in the big USA continues. Pancake breakfast with an abundance of maple syrup, bacon strips, eggs and whipped butter is just a staple here right?

Then comes an enormous Chicken Sandwich which is like a zinger burger but better with fresh crispy chicken strips in thick cut bread with lettuce and sauce all that served with fries and a large soda.

When we were in Las Vegas we came across The Cheesecake Factory with a ridiculous variety of foods and cheesecake! With about 40 cheesecake varieties (possibly more, don't quote me on that, the menu was just drool worthy), how is it possible to decide on just one. Seriously! The Cheesecake Factory is a huge franchise across USA with a very extensive menu covering practically everything you would want to eat from sandwiches to pasta to steak and speciality dishes. With desserts and dessert drinks to die for, it's pretty complete. Here's what we had:

Over The Top Meatloaf Sandwich - meatloaf with swiss cheese, portabella mushrooms, caramelized onions, aioli and arugula on toasted bread served with fries and house made tomato-bacon jam. Delicious all the way!

Cajun Jambalaya Pasta - shrimp and chicken sauteed with onions, tomato and peppers in a spicy cajun sauce on top of fresh linguini. Flavoursome and satisfying.

Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple - creamy cheesecake swirled with caramel, peanut butter, Butterfingers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Chocolate, cheese and peanut butter, need I say more?

Key Lime Cheesecake - very tart and creamy on a delicious vanilla crust.

Silver Diner is yet another franchise diner but we figured we had to go to a diner when in America so we did. It was actually pretty tasty and a very enjoyable experience. All mains come with a choice of salad or soup so I went for the Caesar Salad with Ranch Dressing. Ranch dressing is definitely the bomb in USA. Not the healthiest but oh so good. We also got a serve of Buffalo Wings because I was totally addicted to them (in fact I'm still hunting down a good marinade). Mains? I had Flat Iron Steak - topped with bleu cheese butter, crispy onion straws, garlic spinach and mashed potatoes. I loved the mashed potatoes in USA. They just do it different I think........please don't tell me if it's ridiculously unhealthy and process *blocks ears*. The steak was cooked well and bleu cheese butter is always great. If you want a burger you can either order what's on the menu or you can build your own burger. Of course Mr. Foodie had to build his own humongous burger for the sake of it.

Build your own burger - beef patty cooked medium, rocket greens, tomato, onions, pickle, southwest ranch sauce, nitrate free bacon, grilled onions and cheddar cheese. I can tell you it was a very delicious monstrosity.

As if all that wasn't enough, Mr. Foodie found room in his stomach for a thickshake and Apple Pie which by the way was very delicious. His theory is, you gotta order a slice of pie in an American diner cos that's what they do on TV.

I'm hungry now, gotta go find some food. The adventure continues!

Payneham Chinese Restaurant @ Royston Park

2013-03-11T15:26:00.000+10:30

I had heard of this place from a friend and decided to go try their yum cha or as we call it, "dim sum". "Dim sum" refers to Chinese bite size snacks or individual portion dishes usually steamed or deep fried. It is so often called yum cha which actually means "drink tea" because stopping by tea houses for a drink and rest often ends up in eating some "dim sum". Payneham Chinese Restaurant's owners used to own Gouger Palace on Gouger Street which was a popular and buzzing yum cha destination. I was quite happy to hear that.

I remember only ever eating this once before but my mum loves it and it's something she can't seem to get where she is so I decided to order it today and see what the fuss is about. "Cha Leong" or "Zhaliang" is a Cantonese dish of Chinese doughnut wrapped in rice noodle roll. Chinese doughnut is savoury by the way, before you freak out about eating this with some soy sauce and spring onions! I can see why my mum loved it so much, crispy and crunchy inside with the lovely taste of the sauce that goes with it.

Xiao Long Bao (Shanghainese mini dumplings) were next on the table. After coming off the back Din Tai Fung in Malaysia I regret ordering this dish. Xiao Long Bao is a delicate little dumpling with thin skin and a lovely mince filling with broth so that when you bite into it, its silky, smooth, juicy and delicately flavoursome (if you don't burn your mouth). This one was very much a clump of pork mince and the wrapper skin was too thick.

Prawn and Chives Dumpling was fresh, fragrant and yummy. The filling was very generous.

Fried Tofu with Prawn Paste Filling was delicious, crispy and moist

Siu Mai is a childhood favourite of mine which I hardly order these days. It's a pork, prawn and mushroom mince mix wrapped in wrapper with an open top. Yummy!

Overall I was a happy soul after my satisfying brunch and really wish this place was a lot closer to home. Yum cha never gets old for me!

Payneham Chinese Restaurant
307 Payneham Road
Royston Park SA 5070
08 8363 6883

Chinese New Year Celebrations Chinatown 2013

2013-03-05T08:00:00.000+10:30

Chinese New Year 2013 has been and gone and this time I finally had a day off to attend the Lunar New Year celebrations at Chinatown in Adelaide. It promised to be bigger than before so I was intrigued. There were quite a number of food stalls set up by the restaurants on Gouger Street and a some stage performances with traditional dances and singing went on. All in all not a bad day to kill a couple of hours. There was a pretty good turnout despite the scorching heat. Here's my couple of hours in photos.

Under the marquee watching stage performances

Tables set up ready for the street restaurant that night

Ba Guo Bu Yi selling fishball skewers, dumplings and more

Hog's Breath Cafe joining in the festivity

Phat Buddha Rolls

Peking duck anyone?

Taiwanese Fried Chicken

Char Koay Kak (Penang style fried radish cake)

American Food Adventure Part 3 - San Francisco

2013-03-02T11:36:00.000+10:30

San Francisco has some of the best restaurants in the world and is a pretty good place for food and clam chowder - if you know where to go. There are many street vendors and stalls everywhere selling clam chowder of which unfortunately most of them are just potato and glug. On this trip we didn't search high and low, we didn't really try to visit the top restaurants or anything like that but somehow, we ended up with pretty good chow most days. This was also the second half of the trip and by now, I was quite happy just eating one and a half meals a day.

Welcome to San Francisco

Because this is not a travel blog, let's get straight into the food! Our first night in San Francisco was after an extremely long day. It was kinda raining so we thought we'd take a gamble and walk out to dinner at In-n-Out Burger Bar. It rained heavily as we ran our way back to the hotel and then we got sick 2 days later. BUT the burgers were super delicious. Beats McDonald's by a mile. The menu was simple, hamburger or cheeseburger, single, double or triple. They also come with hand cut chips and you can order a shake if you want to really pile on the calories. The burgers were really good, I know we were starving but they were good. It was actually juicy and fresh.

On our second night after visiting the beautiful Golden Gate and walking around the Golden Gate Park, it was time to look for some good Italian food. We found Calzone's on Columbus Avenue. They had tables set outside the restaurant on the walkway facing the street. The ambiance was pretty nice and it looked inviting. People watching on holiday is always fun. Food was pretty amazing. Clams Escargot was fresh and tasty baked with butter, parsley and breadcrumbs. The Combo Pizza of sausage meat, pepperoni, eggplant and tomato was a refreshing change from the usual meat lovers. It was an oblong pizza to start with, beautiful thin and crispy base with perfect balance of ingredients. I love my pasta and seafood so of course I had to order Crab Fettucine cooked with scallop sauce and cherry tomatoes. The hand cut fettucine was cooked beautifully and tasted yummy. I definitely got decent chunks of crab meat too! Oh and parmesan cheese freshly grated off the block in front of you is always a plus!

On Thanksgiving morning it was a little quieter than usual but being a tourist destination there were still plenty of people about. Shops were still open. Breakfast was a Crab and Shrimp Chowder in Sourdough Bread Bowl. Gotta do that in San Francisco don't ya?

Thanksgiving night was the beginning of our quest for Black Friday bargains with Target at Union Square being the first to open at 9pm. Mr. Foodie was mostly tracking down console games, I was just there for the atmosphere. Between our run and grab at Target and Best Buy at midnight, we got hungry. We actually discovered a lot of nice Thai food in America which was very comforting. They were very good and affordable eats. We came across Bangkok Noodles which looked busy. Red Curry Chicken and Rice - Absolutely delicious!

Pad Prik Pork - Stir fry chilli pork with long beans and vegetables served with rice. Completely appetizing and yummy.

The next day we were at Union Square again looking for Black Friday deals when we found another busy Thai restaurant - King of Thai Noodle House. I don't know about authenticity but taste was very good. We ordered Tom Yum Goong, Pad Thai and Crispy Egg Noodle with Chicken and Vegetable Gravy. All very delicious and cheap.

While we were shopping in Westfield Union Square, we checked out the food court. Man the choices are amazing and they all look so good. We weren't really hungry but could probably spend a week trying stuff from each counter. Anyway, there was one thing we haven't had since we got here. Fish Tacos! We found Catch Isle which had good reviews and decided to order Fish Tacos and Garlic Fries. Boy were they delicious and fresh! Another tick off the list.

One of the places we read about before going to San Francisco was Hollywood Cafe. It was a pretty cool breakfast cafe with pictures of Hollywood stars along the wall and some breakfast menu items named after Hollywood Stars of the past. One thing we noticed is how common a 3 egg breakfast is. Portions are massive! What we love though, is how readily available sauces, butter, jam and syrup is for no extra charge. In fact this was the case everywhere! Sauce in abundance, no charge. A big difference from Australia.

One of the recommendations was to try the Hollywood Hash browns and so we did. The first order was a Three egg omelette with hash browns and toast, extremely filling and overly massive. It didn't quite resemble the shape of an omelette, more scrambled if you ask me but then again with all that filling, it might be a bit difficult. It had potatoes, bacon, ham, sausage, capsicum, cheese, onions, tomatoes and avocado. Delicious, very delicious but couldn't finish it at all.

Mr. Foodie had Toast, Sausage and Egg with Hollywood Hash Brown. The toast was slices of French stick bread, fresh and soft in the middle. Hollywood Hash Brown is basically hash brown topped with a mix of bacon bits, avocado, onions, peppers and melted cheese. The cheese they use there is different to what we use in Australia. They use Monterey Jack's cheese which is a semi hard cheese made from cow's milk in America. The hash browns are also different, not as we know it fast food style. At a breakfast cafe they make it themselves, almost like potato rosti. It's fresh and delicious.

This was our last day in San Francisco so we went to Hyde Street Pier and Ghirardelli Square after looking at a few other places. Ghirardelli is a proudly San Francisco born chocolatier since 1852. It's everywhere in San Francisco. Being holiday season I think I got about 3 free chocolate squares from place to place. They had a chocolate and ice cream cafe, actually there was about 3 of them along the street all equally popular with a big line up.

The Gold Rush - Vanilla ice cream with freshly homemade hot fudge and melted peanut butter throughout. Perfectly topped with whipped cream, chopped almonds, a cherry and a Ghirardelli SQUARES Milk Chocolate. Enough said.

Our last dinner was an interesting experience. We dined at The Pub at Ghirardelli Square. The Pub boasts amazing house smoked ribs and pulled pork cooked for 16 to 18 hours in house. We ordered Kim's Triple Threat thinking it was a sampling plate at USD$24. Unknowingly, while we were thinking that we were being good sharing a main, this meal was enough for three! This was also my last chance to eat Buffalo Wings which I love so much so we ordered a serve of Buffalo Wings and a BLT Chopped Salad as well. The BLT Salad was interesting and very yummy with crispy bacon strips, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado and croutons.

Triple Threat $24 - 4 Pieces of Southern Fried Chicken, 4 Ribs, Pulled Pork, 3 Cornbread Muffins, Jalapeno Coleslaw, Brocolli and Bacon Laced Corn Kernels. Absolutely delicious. The Southern Fried Chicken was crispy and the ribs and pulled pork just melted in the mouth. Bacon laced corn is just combining everything I like and the corn muffins were so moist. A great last meal before leaving San Francisco but a shame about all the wastage. We just couldn't eat anymore.

And so ends out journey in San Francisco!

Cafe Kowloon @ Gouger Street

2013-02-25T10:11:00.000+10:30

Following on from my Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, on Chinese New Year Day we decided to go out for Chinese again. Being that there was only two of us at home, it probably cost me just as much to buy all the ingredients to make special dishes than to order at a restaurant. This time we set out for an earlier dinner at 6.00 pm just in case it gets packed out later. Cafe Kowloon was our restaurant of choice tonight. Cafe Kowloon serves up Hong Kong style Cantonese food offering yum cha and fresh live seafood. This place gets pretty busy especially on weekends with all their tables filled up. Service is pretty quick here and food comes out fast. While they do serve the usual Aussie favourites of sweet and sour pork, salt and pepper squid, sizzling beef and more, they have an extensive menu of authentic Chinese favourites. When we got there a few tables were already reserved and set up for the banquet. The banquet menu looked pretty good but we have just come off the back of two Chinese weddings in Malaysia so it's a similar 10 course concept with similar dishes.

During Chinese New Year it's quite interesting the foods that are eaten. Dishes are picked for meaning. For example, fish means financial surplus. When you eat fish on New Year's Eve you must leave leftovers for the next day (New Year) so that you will continue to save more next year and have more wealth. Dumplings are also popular because they look like ingots. Oysters mean prosperity toward good business, long life hand made noodles mean you will have a long life and so on.

Crab is not a lucky food, I just wanted to eat them. We ordered Salt and Pepper Soft Shell Crab. Tonight the dish was lovely. The soft shell crab was fresh, and deep fried to a crispy golden brown with a lovely salt and pepper seasoning mix. It was delicious and a decent sized serving. This photo here already had a couple of crabs taken away hence the gap because Mr. Foodie couldn't wait!

We also ordered Bay Berry Tender Duck which is a personal favourite of mine. The duck is flavoursome and very tender with a lovely sweet and fruity soy sauce mix. Bay berries are found in China and Japan as far as I know. I've never seen one in real life and I'm not sure if you can buy them here.

Last dish on the table tonight was XO King Prawns with Vermicelli. Prawns symbolize happiness and livelihood plus I love XO sauce. It is a spicy seafood sauce invented in Hong Kong made from chopped dried shrimp, dried scallops, cured ham, onions, peppers, garlic and a few more ingredients. You can now buy a ready made XO sauce by Lee Kum Kee but it cost a bit more. XO sauce was a prestigious condiment often served with seafood. Our XO King Prawns were absolutely delicious. The king prawns with shell on, were deep fried in a light batter then tossed with the XO sauce and vermicelli giving it a delicious and lovely flavour. The prawns were nice and big and very fresh. We got 8 prawns in this dish. I loved the vermicelli and couldn't get enough of it as it had soaked up the XO sauce and was full of flavour!

XO King Prawns with Vermicelli $21.80

We've been to Cafe Kowloon time and time again and it has been one of our favourite spots over the years. Probably also because it opens past midnight and I often finish work late so it's nice to be able to still get good chow. This place is busy for a reason!

Cafe Kowloon

116 Gouger Street
Adelaide SA 5000
08 8410 8299

Adelaide Fringe Festival

2013-02-21T07:30:00.000+10:30

The Adelaide Fringe Festival has come around once more and this time, with a new venue - The Depot. Situated at the old bus station on Franklin Street in Adelaide CBD, this place is a food haven. An initiative of Splash Adelaide to create a vibrant city, promote street food, food trucks and dining in the open has left me wanting more. The atmosphere is amazingly chilled and fun. It's not just about food here, there will be Fringe events happening at The Depot, do check the Fringe Adelaide website for more details.

What interested me was, for the duration of the Fringe Festival, The Depot will be serving up yummy scrumptious food every night at this relaxed venue. There's bars and pop up food vendors with the popular likes of Burger Theory, Sneaky Pickle, La Cantina Co., Phat Buddha Cambodian Rolls, Deep Blue, ChurrOz, Deep Blue, Tuckeroo and more.

When I got there I instantly loved it. I loved the vibe, loved the concept and loved the use of old containers with street art all stacked up. As you walk into the main area there is a stage set up with tables,chairs and wooden crates down the middle strip under sails for relaxing, eating, drinking and chilling. It's perfect summer lazing and grazing with all the appetizing food aromas around you.

Deep Blue selling seafood and La Cantina Co selling tacos, burritos and quesadillas

Phat Buddha Cambodian Rolls and Burger Theory Truck

First thing we grabbed was actually a cider from the bar. After looking around we decided to try two places today. After all, these guys will be around for the next month or so. First up was Tuckeroo. Tuckeroo is by Andrew Fielke who is an internationally acclaimed chef specializing in creating unique dishes using Australian native ingredients. Spices, seeds and game are totally my cup of tea so we tried their Red Curry of Goat and Sweet Potato with Rice for $14. It was incredibly fragrant, full of flavour and a great dish to eat. The goat was also tender and beautiful.

Tuckeroo also has vegetarian options on offer and they also sell their range of sauces and spice for those who want that magic at home. I wouldn't mind going back to try some gelato next time.

Our next stop was Sneaky Pickle! I've heard good things about this place and their colourful truck certainly stands out!

Photo source: Sneaky Pickle Facebook Page

Sneaky Pickle offers Pastrami Sandwich on Rye, Fried pickles, Texas pulled pork buns and Sneaky Salad. Just coming back from USA not long ago, this definitely tickled our fancy reminding us of some American goodness. Hunting down the truck is easy. Just like their Facebook page and they will post updates on where they are everyday.

We ordered the Texas Pulled Pork with Slaw in Bun with BBQ Corn and Pickles! The pulled pork had a beautiful marinade and was so tender. It was absolutely delicious and went so well with the yummy coleslaw. Mr. Foodie and I both love grilled corn on the cob so it was a nice surprise. Their pickles were yum too. I liked the little sword toothpick holding the burger together, very cute.

I'm all for Splash Adelaide's initiative to brighten up the city and creating more events. Can't wait to visit again! Not all food vendors will be present at The Depot everyday so check our their website to find out who's the flavour of the day! Enjoy the Fringe Festival, go see a few shows and taste lots of food! Happy March madness!

Eskal Foods Hamper Giveaway

2013-02-19T10:19:00.000+10:30

Foodie Ling is having a giveaway with Eskal Foods

We have an exciting opportunity for fellow readers. Eskal Foods is dedicated to providing high quality gluten free, dairy free and nut free products including household favourites such as crackers, pasta, noodles, biscuits and nut free peanut butter! It's great that there are allergen friendly foods sold because people with food intolerance shouldn't have to give up choice. All Eskal lines are also 100% kosher certified and adhere to high food hygiene and safety standards.

Win Eskal Hamper containing gluten-free and dairy-free delicious snacks delivered right to your door step.

Hamper contains the following yummy snacks:

Noble Choice Dairy Free Chocolate in Plain
Noble Choice Dairy Free Chocolate in Mint
Noble Choice Dairy Free Chocolate in Raspberry
Noble Choice Dairy Free Chocolate in Almond
2 x Eskal Gluten Free Chocolate Wafers
Eskal Gluten Free Choc-Coated Pretzels
Eskal Vanilla Flavoured Tea Biscuits
Eskal Gluten Free Original Pretzels

How to win? Simple!

Must like Eskal Foods on Facebook - http://facebook.com/EskalFoodsAU
Must like Foodie Ling on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/foodieling
Comment below that you have done so and leave your email address so we can contact you

Make sure you like both pages. We will check!

Terms and conditions

This giveaway is open to Australian residents only
This giveaway ends on 11th March 2013 at 12:00AM AEST
Winner will be announced on Facebook and Foodie Ling blog
Entry is limited to one per person
Contestant must like both pages for a valid entry in the draw
Winner will be drawn by random.org

Ba Guo Bu Yi

2013-02-15T11:47:00.000+10:30

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Chinese New Year fell on February 10 this year and traditionally, the family reunion dinner is held on the eve. Unfortunately I haven't been able to be with family this year but Mr. Foodie decided we should do something anyway. Chinese New Year pretty much just involves eating and eating and some gambling and eating more. So we ate. I had to work late on February 9th Saturday night so I went to Chinatown/Gouger Street at about 9.30pm and was amazed at how festive it all was. The restaurants were full, lion dances going on and plenty of food, drinks and festivities to be seen.

Most restaurants were packed out but we managed to find a seat at Ba Guo Bu Yi. I have often walked past this place wondering what the food was like and tonight I was pretty darn happy with it. Service was good, our waiter was patient and accommodating. We sat outside as we wanted to enjoy the atmosphere on the street. Ba Guo Bu Yi offers a lot of spicy dishes and Szechuan style food along with the regular favourites so don't worry if you don't eat spicy food, there's plenty of options. I love chilli and was pretty happy with the red chillis in the menu.

We started off with Prawn Toast which was quite fresh and crispy. I'm not normally a fan of it but Mr. Foodie loves prawn toast. The Prawn Toast was served with plum dipping sauce to add a bit of sweet and sour flavour.

We also ordered Pan Fried Bun (dumpling) otherwise known as "sheng jian bao" which is a Shanghainese dish of 'bao' with a pork dumpling filling pan fried so the that base is crispy and the bun is still soft with lovely moist filling inside. This was a really yummy dish.

Seeing as we love spicy food, we took up the opportunity to order spicy dishes. We had Lamb stir fried with cumin and chilli which was full of flavour, not too spicy and very delicious. The lamb was tender and an ease to eat. I would say to be careful of the Szechuan peppercorns as they can sting and leave a strange taste in your mouth. They are spicy.

Dandan mian (noodles) - I absolutely love this Szechuan classic. Spicy and flavoursome. Hand made noodles served with a spicy sauce of preserved vegetables, mince pork, chilli oil, and sometimes sesame paste topped with scallions and mustard stems. It can be very spicy but this version isn't too bad.

The last dish to come was Chilli Boiled Fish Fillet which comes in two sizes, medium and large. This was the medium. The fish was tender and flavoursome but the amount of red chillies and peppercorns looked pretty scary. It certainly gives a kick to your taste buds but be careful once again not to bite into the peppercorns.

All in all it was a good meal and I would definitely come back to try some of their other specialties such as the Sweet Corn Bun with Pork Mince. It sounded interesting. Once again, Happy Chinese New Year! As we like to say, may the year of the snake bring you health, wealth and prosperity!

Ba Guo Bu Yi
98 Gouger Street
Adelaide SA 5000
08 8212 0000