spoon, fork & chopsticks

Hong Kong Series: Congee, noodles & rice

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:16:00 +0000

There are many eateries in Hong Kong which sell a combination menu of “jook, fun, meen, faan” (粥粉麵飯) – congee, (rice-based) noodles, (wheat-based) noodles and rice. The origins of these were originally, of course, on the street – first by trolley vendors, then “dai pai dong” (大牌檔) street-side stalls and now either in temporary markets or permanent shop spaces.

Congee, steamed plain rice noodle rolls, stir-fried noodles and deep-fried dough sticks

The Montpellier Public House

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:04:00 +0000

On those rare weekdays you have off from work, what do you choose to do with your time? Those precious daylight hours which you would otherwise spend commuting to work, doing work and trekking home from work. A sleep-in perhaps, followed by a lazy day lounging about home? Or a day of being out and about enjoying the sunshine?

The husband and I had one of these rare days to ourselves just before going on a recent holiday, which provided the perfect opportunity to try The Montpellier Public House’s $35 lunch special. Yes, really – three courses of food for only $35, available Mondays to Fridays from 12 til 3pm, at Matt Kemp’s revamped Balzac.

Hong Kong Series: Street eats & snacks

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:59:00 +0000

It is simultaneously difficult and easy to explain my strong feelings towards Hong Kong. In one of the most touristy cities in the world, known for its food, shopping and night life... of food and more shopping, I don't actually play the tourist. I have family here and, having lived here between the ages of 10 and 14, trips to Hong Kong always feel more like a return trip home rather than a holiday to explore somewhere. I didn't grow up in Hong Kong, but I grew into myself there. Each trip is laden with nostalgia and memories of people, places and, of course, food.

Trolley street vendor

Danks Street Depot, Sydney Airport

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:46:00 +0000

There are many things I associate with airports – tearful farewells, joyous reunions, the romance of leaving your cares behind and travelling to faraway places and, unfortunately, bad airport food with jacked up prices. But all this has changed with Danks Street Depot’s outpost at Sydney Airport, with many more non-fast food dining options to come.

I first ate here when seeing Mum off on a trip in November, and again a month later when Monsieur Poisson and I left for holidays ourselves. There were small changes to the menu in that short period between visits, which is testament to Danks Street Depot’s mission to use seasonal, sustainable produce.

Chinese New Year 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:28:00 +0000

The imminent Chinese New Year is said to be an especially good one due to it being a leap year (on the lunar calendar that means there will be 13 months versus the usual 12), having 2 spring seasons (spring officially begins after the coming new year and also again prior to the start of the following year), PLUS it will be Year of the Dragon – a revered mythical figure of power and magic.

Dragon & lion dances in Hong Kong

Terrazza and Ben & Jerry's, Chatswood

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Where once a brown rundown local town hall stood attached to council offices and a library, now stands a shiny revamped council complex housing a concert theatre, library and new dining precinct. Amongst the various eateries to recently open up shop is Terrazza, an Italian joint offering woodfired pizza. The owner has trialled offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 days a week, during their opening period but will soon be revising this down to lunch and dinner only on weekdays, with breakfast as well as lunch and dinner being served on weekends. It appears us Sydney folk do take the time to enjoy breakfast out when we have the time, but are otherwise too rushed on workdays.

An experimental sous-vide dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:18:00 +0000

A happy New Year to you all! *cue: party poppers, streamers, confetti, etc*

To be honest the Christmas and the New Year period felt like eons ago, especially after having spent it overseas and with mad last minute dashing about just before leaving. Flights were booked well in advance but packing coincided with the usual end of year rush and trying to catch up with various people before they disappeared on respective holidays themselves. An experimental sous-vide-cum-Christmas dinner was organised with the usual suspects Chez Délicieuse et Poisson – something I’ve been wanting to do since slow cooking eggs in our thermos kettle.

Port Macquarie Getaway: Rainforest Café & Ricardoes

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:25:00 +0000

Port Macquarie is dotted with nature reserves and walks. Sea Acres National Park contains an elevated rainforest boardwalk which provides a flat walking surface and makes it wheelchair and pram friendly. There is a small entry fee for the rainforest walk so the alternative for lazy, food-focussed folk like me, Sea Acres also houses the Rainforest Café which sits nestled amongst the trees. The café has a focus on using organic and local produce where possible, and even makes their own ice-cream – with flavours such as Carambar caramel (the chef-owner is French) and sweet basil spotted on our visit.

Port Macquarie Getaway: Zebu

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:38:00 +0000

When the months were warmer – and I mean properly warm, not this half-arsed attempt at summer for a few days every few weeks – Monsieur Poisson and I ventured northwards to the seaside area of Port Macquarie for some sun and relaxation.

Dinner on the first evening was at the newly-opened Zebu, situated along the waterfront of Rydges Hotel. Far from your snooty or daggy hotel restaurant, Zebu’s trendy bar area is heaving with young crowds enjoying $10 pizzas and ‘Hump Day’ discounted drinks when we arrive. Actually, Zebu appears to have some sort of special promotion running almost every day of the week.

Makanai Chatswood

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:58:00 +0000

Finally, after the ever-mounting number of Japanese eateries I’ve eaten at on Sydney’s lower North Shore, Chatswood finally has its own ramen joint! Makanai occupies the Westfield shop space vacated by Korean bakery chain Hello Happy (and Starbucks before them) and has brought with them not only ramen, but also a front display window impressively stocked with about ten varieties of onigiri on a daily basis.

Oliver Brown, Chatswood

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:25:00 +0000

Chatswood has long lacked late night dining and dessert options. When Mamak opened a year ago there were high hopes that it would keep similar hours to its Chinatown original, but sadly that has still yet to become reality.

Win a Cuisinart ice-cream maker from Kitchenware Direct!

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 06:26:00 +0000

Although I can eat ice-cream in any kind of weather, my childhood memories of summer revolve around the trinity of ice-cream, stone fruits and berries. Memories of driving up the coast to a family friend’s orchard outside of Gosford – in one of my family’s successive second-hand cars without air-conditioning, legs and arms sticking to the vinyl seats, which would invariably result in an overheated radiator, us pulling up to the side of the highway and piling out of the car to stretch our legs – and returning with boxes full of peaches and mangoes collected from the base of trees as fruit which was deemed “unfit” for sale. The fruit would last us through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, eaten hunched over the sink (me elevated by a footstool in order to reach said sink) with juices running down our arms and the corners of our mouths. Strawberries and cherries would appear in our kitchen around the same time, when they were at their cheapest and sweetest and back when these fruits were truly consumed seasonally as they couldn’t be found for sale at any other time of year.

Moo Gourmet Burgers, Manly

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 23:13:00 +0000

Summer is all about the sun, the beach, lazy afternoons and evenings, and possibly kicking back with some shakes and burgers. Sydney’s weather has been rather erratic of late, swinging from blistering heat to a mild winter chill in the space of only a couple of days. While we can't choose the weather, at least we can choose what food with which to feed ourselves and inject a dose of "beach" in the process. By that, of course, I don't mean liberally sprinkling some sand over your dinner, but by grabbing some burgers at a beachside location.

Bar Angolo

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:15:00 +0000

Diagonally opposite Kazbah at Top Ryde is an unassuming pizzeria with some of the best pizza I've ever had in Sydney. A big call, I know.

The evening starts off with a 'Rossini' of strawberry purée and prosecco as well as a tangy housemade lemonade blended with ice which, when consumed too quickly, offers an instant brain-freeze. An antipasto platter laden with salame, mozarella balls, prosciutto, bresaola, white anchovies, semi-dried tomato and Sicilian olives is shared between three – the only thing lacking being some bread to go with it.

Ichimaru

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:52:00 +0000

Sydney’s lower north shore is abundant in Japanese eats, which is quite serendipitous for Monsieur Poisson as it means he has easy access to his beloved cuisine on a whim’s notice. Ichimaru opened more than a few months ago now, and was stumbled across accidentally whilst on travels to seek out something else.

The gyoza are nothing to write home about, being of the deep-fried variety which I wish would be advertised explicitly on menus so that I could avoid ordering them as I’m a pan-fried purist. However the soft-shell crab salad proves to be excellent value – for $14 you are rewarded with two crabs which are a little on the heavily-battered side, but thankfully aren’t greasy. A mound of mixed greens and tomato wedges underneath help to make the dish a meal in its own right but the carrot threads, also seen later, are a little unnecessary.

El Loco, Mexicana Cantina Y Barra

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 08:31:00 +0000

A few consecutive days of searing heat and it appears that summer has finally settled in. This is the kind of weather where I don’t feel like cooking.

At all.

Cue: lazy snoozing on a deck chair/in a hammock in the shade by a private pool/beach and polite staff bringing you refreshing fruit-based drinks carried out on fancy silver trays. Perhaps a butler called Alfred (because, you know, they always seem to be called Aflred) to “fetch” you when dinner is ready...mmmm.

Firefly Lodge Lane Cove (again!)

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:38:00 +0000

The lure of good pizza, share plates of snack foods and ever-changing seasonal menus (not to mention easy parking) keep Monsieur Poisson and I coming back to Firefly for easy, casual meals. Combined with reasonable prices and the provision of Campos coffee has meant that we’ve also managed to convert a few friends to being frequenters as well.

The Tea Cosy, Irish Tea Room

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:50:00 +0000

After a rather filling breakfast, which was actually consumed at a normal breakfast hour (unusual for me), Monsieur Poisson and I ambled through the city admiring the stores and skipped lunch before heading down to The Rocks to meet Weirdo and Ms Sourdough for afternoon tea.

Specifically, for an afternoon tea of scones.

Sugar Hit 2011: Azuma Kushiyaki

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:38:00 +0000

This is Azuma Kushiyaki’s third year participating in Crave Sydney International Food Festival’s Sugar Hits with its offering named ‘East meets West Dessert Tasting Plate’ as in years past. With no description other than that, it is one of several locations taking the mysterious angle with the dessert they are serving up. However if you’ve tried their Sugar Hits previously, then you will recognise the signature stacked bento presentation.

Let’s do brunch 2011: Hyde Park Barracks Café

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:12:00 +0000

Situated on gravelly grounds and bound by a sandstone barrier wall is the Hyde Park Barracks Café, its facade almost completely cloaked in climbing ivy. If you score a table inside like we did, with windows and the aforementioned barrier wall obscuring most of the city skyline, you could fool yourself into thinking that you are actually someplace else rather than right in the middle of Sydney city. No wonder people choose to have weddings here.

Sugar Hit 2011: Sheraton on the Park

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:02:00 +0000

This year Sheraton on the Park is offering their Sugar Hit – another mysterious no-namer – on Thursday through to Saturday evenings only, which serves to only make the popular venue choice busier than ever. This is especially apparent when we drop in on a Friday where plenty of people wander over from the Night Noodle Markets.

Charcoal barbecuing with friends

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:52:00 +0000

What is with this weather of late in some of Australia's eastern areas? It's hot then it's cold, then it's hot again. Whilst spring/summer is having trouble knocking winter off its perch, winter seems more than happy to keep a grip on the weather patterns in the meantime. Not to worry, as it is inevitable that the seasons will change and soon we will all be basking in glorious sunshine, enjoying the outdoors once again, and partaking in activities such as barbecues.

Sugar Hit 2011: Shangri-La

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:30:00 +0000

In recent years, the description of Sugar Hit desserts at some venues has become increasingly mysterious. “Your choice from our dessert menu” or “As uniquely designed by our pastry chef” don’t offer any insights for diners who are trying to decide where to go. If you want to grab people’s attention then you really need to advertise what’s on offer.

However curiosity got the better of Monsieur Poisson and I with Shangri-La’s Sugar Hit billed as ‘Indulge in a specially designed dessert’. We’ve had good experiences there in years past – well, perhaps not so much last year – and thought we’d take a leap of faith into the unknown. We later discover through the hotel’s dining website that the Sugar Hit is a ‘chocolate tapas plate’ and that they are being offered from 7pm each evening instead of the usual 9pm. Something to note for those wanting to attempt a Sugar Hit crawl.

The Sugar Hit is presented as a platter of six miniature desserts – chocolate bavarois, whisky candy bar, chocolate and cherry tart, pistachio slice, gâteau opéra and macaron – along with a glass of Brown Brothers Cienna with berry notes which work most well with chocolate flavours. The serving is most certainly sizeable and, we discover, comprised of a selection of desserts offered as part of Shangri-La’s chocolate high tea which takes place from 1-5pm on weekends.

I start with the pistachio slice as I expect it to be the least sweet. Its green foundation of pistachio sponge upholds a white chocolate and rice pudding bavarois and green pistachio glaze. Whilst the flavours are subtle and not overly sugary, I am a little put off by the greenness and the little bits of rice. I am biased, however, as admittedly I am not a fan of rice pudding to start with.

The lemon and white chocolate macaron is much less sugary than I expect and fragrant with lemon flavour. It has a pleasant chewy texture and marshmallow-like filling. The chocolate cherry tart in comparison is much heavier with its thick chocolate filling but the slightly tart cherry offers some relief.

The chocolate bavarois turns out to be my favourite with its smooth, mousse-like chocolate filling bound by jaconde sponge. The mini-pipette of raspberry coulis adds a bit of fun but the dessert is complete in taste even without its inclusion.

We find the gâteau opera a little dry, perhaps from sitting in the chilled display cabinet, but it does have a balance of chocolate versus coffee flavours. The whisky candy bar is saved until last due to its perceived richness but surprises us by being only rich in texture, and not too sweet in taste fortunately. A few chocolate-coated rice krispies adorn the top of a chocolate fudge square which sits on a rice crispy base with texture a lot like a Crunch bar. The chocolate has a hint of bitterness with a note of warmth at the end from the whisky, but it's the crispy base which wins me over.

Definitely a Sugar Hit which delivers good value but I still long for the days when the bulk of venues would offer up a dessert designed exclusively for Sugar Hit purposes only.

Shangri-La

176 Cumberland St, The Rocks, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9250 6123

happy eating!

Brasserie Bread artisan baking workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:19:00 +0000

October may mean (multiple) Sugar Hits for me but, more importantly, it is a month-long celebration of food and all things gustatory across Sydney and parts of regional New South Wales.

Brasserie Bread is holding several events as part of Crave Sydney International Food Festival but if you are unable to make it to any of these, never fear – Brasserie Bread offer a range of baking classes normally themselves. And having attended their Artisan Pastry class several months back, I knew I would be in for a night of fun when I received an invitation to attend an Unearthing Artisan Baking class which drew elements from various baking classes offered at Brasserie Bread.

The class is once again led by training manager Matthew Brock who starts the lesson by providing a bit of background to artisan baking. We are treated to a traditional ciabatta which we hear is going to be supplied to Jamie Oliver’s new Sydney restaurant!

The evening sees us making Brasserie Bread’s famous caramelised garlic loaf but in cute miniature form. If you are a garlic-lover and have never tried this bread, then you are seriously missing out! The bread is sticky in parts from caramelised garlicky juices and is studded with hidden pockets of whole garlic cloves which have been slowly cooked down with balsamic vinegar and sugar to an earthy sweetness.

We learn that salt kills yeast, so it’s best to add the two to opposing sides of the mixing bowl and that, as Ms Sourdough has informed me from experience, sticky dough makes for good bread! A tour of Brasserie Bread’s factory introduces us to the cool room where vats of starter live and are fed twice daily. Some of the starter is migrating to Melbourne and will be calling the exciting, new Brasserie Bread offshoot its new home.

Venturing through the different factory areas exposes us to giant machinery as well as the delightful aromas of cakes, pastries and, most of all, the bread. Unsold bread from the retail area is offered to staff at the end of the day or collected by charity organisations or, I learnt, used as pig fodder which apparently makes for rather tasty suckling piggies!

So it is quite by coincidence that my coulibiac, made with kindly pre-prepared brioche dough by Brasserie Bread staff, emerges from the oven somewhat resembling a roasted suckling pig rather than the hamster/gerbil/guinea pig which I had intended. The brioche dough is wonderfully silky and soft to the touch and truly a sensual experience to work with.

And if getting your hands dirty and playing with your food is not your, erm, slice of bread then make sure you drop into Brasserie Bread’s café to feed your sweet or savoury desires instead. They are well into preparations with their fruit mince tarts for Christmas, which really will be here sooner than you think, so start organising!

Mademoiselle Délicieuse this one-off baking class as a guest of Brasserie Bread.

Brasserie Bread

1737 Botany Rd, Banksmeadow NSW

Tel: 1300 966 845

Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-3pm

Sat & Sun 8am-2pm

happy eating!

Sugar Hit 2011: Sydney Harbour Marriott & InterContinental

noreply@blogger.com (Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse)) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:05:00 +0000

October has come around once again and, apart from Christmas paraphernalia popping up in department stores (some since early September!), it also means the Crave Sydney International Food Festival is upon us. For Monsieur Poisson and I it means another year of Sugar Hit desserts, but we have both promised ourselves to take things a little easier than last year where we racked up a mammoth ten Sugar Hits – our most ever!

Sugar Hit desserts are offered at participating venues throughout October with a glass of Brown Brothers dessert wine for $20 from 9-11pm – some only on certain nights of the week so make sure you check before rocking up.

Sydney Harbour Marriott

Although we don’t spot anyone having the Sugar Hit when we arrive at 9pm, we were told when making our reservation that it would be a full house that night. The thing to take note of is that places often have a limited number of desserts prepared for each night and that once they’re sold out then that’s it.

The Sugar Hit here is billed as ‘A chocolate tasting including milk chocolate and hazelnut tower, white chocolate mousse and rich mud cake’. The ‘tower’ appears not so much as a tower as a slice of gelatine-set mousse on a chocolate brownie base and adorned with a puffed rice crunch. The white chocolate mousse is smooth and not overly rich nor creamy. Supported by a thin disc of sponge underneath, it is bound by a dark chocolate woven “basket” which has echoes of last year’s Shangri-La Sugar Hit. The mud cake is rich and dense but the least sugary of the three components, and rounds off the chocolate theme nicely. Served with a glass of Brown Brothers Moscato, the overall presentation of this Sugar Hit has me thinking of portions of desserts from a hotel buffet assembled together on a plate. The swirls decorating the plate are a plus point however, being raspberry coulis rather than a flavoured gel.

I’ve ordered a pot of Earl Grey on the side which, at only $5.50, is the popular hotel choice of Ronnefeldt and is elaborately presented on a silver tray with milk, honey, rock sugar and two bite-sized coconut cookies!

InterContinental

Sugar Hits at the InterContinental have consistently impressed both Monsieur Poisson and myself so we keep coming back year after year. It’s a popular choice as we spot two medium-sized groups of Sugar Hit goers as we are taken to our seats. When the dessert is placed down in front of us, we notice it is very similar in composition and presentation to last year’s.

The description of ‘Home-made pistachio and bitter chocolate vacherin with blood orange custard’ doesn’t actually prepare me for the elaborate layered chocolate slice with which we’re presented. Interspersed with windows of blood orange jelly and custard, the chocolate slice is flanked by a blood orange, chocolate ganache macaron perched on a strip of fruit jelly. I don’t detect any discernible pistachio, meringue, nor bitterness about the chocolate, however the whole dessert comes together well as a subtle and balanced interpretation of the classic jaffa flavour combination. No in-your-face orange here.

As for taking it easier this year, Monsieur Poisson and I have decided to share a Sugar Hit at each place we visit rather than consuming one each. This doesn’t stop him from ordering an affogato though!

Sydney Harbour Marriott

30 Pitt St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9259 7279

InterContinental Sydney

117 Macquarie St (entrance cnr of Bridge St & Phillip St), Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9240 1396

happy eating!