Gastronomy Gal

G.G. Giveaway - Good Food and Wine Show

2011-10-25T15:00:00.003+10:00

So, as you all know, G.G. is undergoing some changes! But whilst you patiently wait, a little giveaway is in order.

I have a double pass to the Brisbane Good Food and Wine Show to giveaway. Included in the prize is also a double pass to attend a cocktail making class where ' Expert mixologists take you through a simple, step by step guide to making and serving some of the world's most iconic cocktails, demystifying the art of cocktail making and turning you into the ultimate cocktail party host. Interactive sessions will focus on classic cocktails including the legendary Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Pina Colada, Breakfast Martini and the Daiquiri...'

You all know how much I loveeeeee cocktails and through your comments and tweets, I know many of my readers are partial to a mixed tipple or two, so I'm thrilled that a lucky reader and their +1 can learn to mix up a storm.

To go in the chance to win the double pass to the Brisbane Good Food and Wine Show and entry into a cocktail class of your choice, all you have to do is leave a comment below (please include some way that I can contact you be it via twitter, your own blog, email etc).

The winner will be chosen at random and will be notified this Friday 28th October. Happy mixing!

** Competition is now closed. Congratulations to Lisa Chappelow who was selected by the random number generator- enjoy the day Lisa.**

Undergoing changes

2011-10-06T08:29:00.000+10:00

Dear Readers,

As you know, blog posts have been a little scarce lately! G.G. is undergoing some big changes- so bear with me while the site looks a little funny through this process.

2011 Porchetta Day a huge success

2011-10-04T14:49:00.001+10:00

Porchetta Day was a huge success. So many people came, that we sold out of pork! Can you believe it? We doubled the amount from last year and still ran out. So great to see people supporting what started out as a small community food festival that paid homage to Italian food! This article from the local paper- the Namoi Valley Independent- has more details.

An Italian feast to remember

By Kate Ramien | September 27, 2011

Gunnedah was transformed into a spectacular Italian scene on Saturday to celebrate the third Annual Porchetta Day.

A record 4000 people gathered under the shade of the olive trees at the Kennel Club grounds, where they enjoyed a fantastic menu of fine food, wine and music.

The event has in three years grown to something that has become a ‘must do’ on the social and culinary calender, with 50 per cent of the crowds coming from out of town, including Sydney, Brisbane, Wollongong and Port Macquarie.

“It was fantastic. We had great reports,” Porchetta Day committee chairman Richard Gallen said.

“There was virtually nothing negative said about the day, except that we did run out of a little bit of food.”

The festival kicked off with the official basting of the whole pig – the stuffed porchetta – by Gunnedah Mayor Adam Marshall and Italian residents and sisters-in-law, Jan and Maria Capezio, which involved dipping rosemary swatches in olive oil.

The pork, which included a whole bodied 35 kilo pig and another 120 kilos of boned out meat for the porchetta rolls was so popular, it ran out at 1.30pm despite organisers ordering more than last year.

“We could have sold 30 to 40 kilos more of pork, because a lot of people wanted that,” Mr Gallen said.

The famous Capezio sisters-in-law, Jan and Maria, also sold out of their home-made gnocchi – they had made 300 portions, an extra 100 on last year.

“The gnocchi is always a sell-out. It’s getting a bit of a cult following,” Mr Gallen said.

“But there was still lots of other things to eat.”

Food orders for some dishes like the Italian sausages doubled this year. They were again extremely popular, as were the pastries and famous cheesecakes. Italian breads like paninis, ciabattas, antipastos, lasagne, gelato and pasta also kept the crowds satisfied.

There was a minor hiccup however, when the wood-fired pizza maker from Sydney took the wrong route and ended up at Gundagai – not Gunnedah. Luckily the local Terry’s Pizza outlet stepped in and filled the void.

In just three years, crowd numbers have grown from 1500 to 4000, with Mr Gallen saying the festival has now reached another level.

“It’s certainly drawing the younger generation who are now organising get togethers and reunions around Porchetta Day. I think the cooking and food shows are also making more people appreciate food.”

Mr Gallen said the committee is doing things better every year, with a lot more entertainment offered for children this year, including a magic trickster, which was a crowd favourite, as well as face-painting and kids’ pizza making.

The famous spaghetti eating competition attracted both young and old, and made for an entertaining event on the program.
The day successfully attracted hundreds of families – a theme the festival committee has been trying to promote.

The Gunnedah Visitor Information Centre fielded dozens of enquiries in the days leading up to the event, from people at Tamworth, Maitland and Albury.

“We also had a lot of people on the day just driving through and pulled up their caravans, had a look around and were really impressed,” Gunnedah Shire Council Conference and Events Co-ordinator Lisa Davis said.

Richard Gallen thanked the entire Porchetta Day committee, community groups and volunteers who helped out on the day and in the lead-up to the festival.

“It’s just fantastic the way people chip in,” he said.

The Annual Porchetta Day “post mortem” will be held next week. Anyone who would like to give any feedback is being encouraged to fill out a survey which can be obtained at the Gunnedah Visitor Information Centre.

Porchetta Day is here again!

2011-09-21T07:03:00.002+10:00

So, by now you probably know the evolution of Porchetta Day - how my Dad and his best mate turned one of our gatherings into a food festival for the thousands, but if you don't - check it out. Porchetta Day is this weekend, so if you are up for a fabulous day or porchetta and all things Italian, take a weekend trip down to North West NSW and eat and eat and eat. If you haven't left enough time to plan and think next year may be the go - check out www.porchetta.com.au or visit the facebook page for updates.

The order for the cheesecakes has gone in
and the pigs are being rounded up

Yes, Annual Porchetta Day is just around the corner – this Saturday, September 24 to be precise, and excitement is mounting.

This will be the third Annual Porchetta Day – the Italian festival that has captured the imagination of NSW and further afield – and already people from all over are making their plans for the trek to Gunnedah.

As a FOP (Friends of Porchetta), you will be in good company this year. Such is the popularity of the day that several families are planning reunions and, in one case, a couple planning a trip to Italy has slightly delayed their departure so as not to miss Annual Porchetta Day.

The organisers are hoping for a bumper turnout. Last year more than 3,000 turned up in spectacular weather conditions to enjoy the food, discussion about produce, great music and a wonderful atmosphere.

We're looking forward to seeing you there. Ciao!

For more information on Annual Porchetta Day please visit www.porchetta.com.au

Guest Post: Mizuya Japanese Restaurant

2011-09-15T13:24:00.001+10:00

Whilst I'm taking a little break, my friend who you may remember me talking about before- Possum, has kindly done a guest post. Thanks Possum!

Mizuya had me at ‘touch screen ordering system’. So much so that I starting writing this post two days before actually dining there. I realise this may not be behaviour befitting a good food writer or blogger but lucky for me I am neither. I am merely making this contribution as a guest and friend of GG. From the outset you should know I don’t really know the difference between sushi and sashimi and that alone should indicate I am not a professional food connoisseur. Having said that I am still happy to be sharing my thoughts on my experience at Mizuya.

It was a Wednesday night and luckily we did not have to wait for a table to become available. We were led to our table, a nice private booth, and were subsequently given a run down of how the touch screen ordering system worked. I actually wanted the waitress to leave so I could get down to business. It wasn’t rocket science. You have a browse of the menu and select what you would like to order. Prices are displayed and you can also view a summary of your selections.

We ordered two glasses of wine, salmon belly, chicken karrage, BBQ chicken teriyaki, pork gyoza, duck breast skewer (can’t remember the official name) and simmered pork belly.

Our wine arrived first, as it should, however I was alarmed to be served in a plastic wine glass. Did they think I was going to smash & stab the waitress if my pork belly didn’t arrive? This was almost certainly not going to happen. In terms of alcohol selection there was plentiful variety and prices were reasonable but not cheap.

With the exception of the salmon belly the remaining dishes arrived soon thereafter. The pork gyoza was yummy although there was a little bit of excess oil. Both the chicken karrage and BBQ chicken teriyaki were nice without being the best of these dishes I have sampled. The karrage needed more seasoning and the chicken teriyaki just didn’t have the wow factor. The duck breast skewer was good but tough (I am used to tender duck) and to be honest we had to refer back to the menu to double check it actually was duck. The simmered pork belly was delicious and my personal favourite.

The salmon belly did not arrive and in the end we cancelled the order because we were so full. There is a help icon on the touch screen and when pressed a waiter magically appears to assist.

Mizuya is reasonably priced and has the novelty factor in the touch screen ordering system and optional karaoke in the private dining rooms. I would happily return because the food on the whole was enjoyable and the atmosphere is fun, especially for groups.

Details

Mizuya Japenese Restaurant and Karaoke

614 George Street, Sydney

http://www.mizuya.com.au/

G.G goes Greek

2011-08-30T09:30:00.002+10:00

This story was originally written for a publication - although it has yet to be published in print, I didn't think there would be any harm in sharing it with my readers. Obviously a story like this takes a bit more effort than the usual blog post, so I wanted to thank a couple of friends for the editing and encouragement you have given me. You know who you are.

Due to personal reasons, I've had to take a little break from blogging. Hopefully I will be back soon, but wanted to share a few tidbits with you in the mean time.

What’s a frustrated amateur cook to do when they want to insert a little Maggie Beerness into their lives?! Head to a cooking class, of course! If you’ve found yourself getting caught up in Australia’s food revolution, want to sharpen your skills and love the idea of whipping up some delicious food – a cooking class is the order of the day. And with that, this little frustrated cook is going Greek.

Tonight’s 3 hour Greek cooking class is held at Taste Trekkers Cooking School. The school is temporarily located in a rented house, while the original cooking studio and home of owner, Sally Lynch, is rebuilt after being destroyed in the recent Brisbane floods.

Along with eight other participants, I arrive after work on a Tuesday evening to find long tables set with chopping boards and a myriad of other kitchen essentials. As wine and ouzo are served, differences in age and experience disappear and one thing becomes clear – a shared love of food and a hankering to know more about everything Greek.

Sinking into mismatched chairs and stools throughout the open plan kitchen, Sally takes the opportunity to brief the class. ‘Tonight is all about simple food. Using good but accessible ingredients and learning how to cook food that you will be able to re-create at home.’ Sal’s experience of 20 years in the industry specialising in everything from cooking classes, to catering, cafes and foodie treks mean she is unbelievably knowledgeable and has the magic touch to help the class relax.

Pre pep-talk the large number of dishes on the agenda may have seemed a little overwhelming, but with a little bit of direction and a lot of encouragement, the class splits into two groups and gets cooking.

First we brown off some pork collar to pop into the pressure cooker with crushed tomato, cinnamon sticks, risoni and a touch of feta at the last minute. Traditionally this pork is called Hirino Youvetsi, and we’re eagerly waiting for it to cook, because the earthy, homey smells wafting around the room are sending our stomachs crazy. Next we move onto some dolmades.

Turning mountains of meat, rice, herbs and leaves into tightly wrapped green parcels takes a bit of perfecting, but once our table discovers the secret (don’t pack in too much filling) our efforts end up looking pretty profesh. The eggy lemon sauce gives an authentically rich touch and perhaps, puts these babies in contention for the most popular dish of the evening.

Our concentration is periodically broken by the BBQ on the verandah wafting delicious aromas our way- slowly charred lamb marinated in garlic, sage, feta, lemon and rosemary; meltingly tender. Tonight’s surprise standout is the yoghurt bread - made simply with Greek yoghurt and self raising flour, mine topped with chopped kalamata olives, sea salt and rosemary. Hulp hulp.

Beautiful dishes finally finish cooking and it has become clear we have transitioned from a bunch of unsure amateurs, into a group of more confident cooks. At the evening’s end we sit together to enjoy a feast fit for Zeus. Equipped with some simple Greek recipes and experience under my belt, the only thing left to do is perfect the accompanying line to family and friends. Does “just an old recipe I hadn’t used in years” or “something I threw together with what I had in the pantry” sound better?

Details:
Cooking School:Taste Trekkers
Greek Mezze cooking Class - $135
Class duration: 3 hours
What we cooked: Melitzanosalata dip, Herb Labna with Olive oil (demo), Yoghurt Bread, Stuffed peppers with feta. Whitebait fritters (demo), Dolmades with meat & rice, Greek Lamb & Lemon Hollandaise (demo), Smashed Potatoes, Selinosalata (parsleyy Salad), Hirino Youvetsi, Baklava Cigars with walnuts and chocolate, figs and mascapone

Guest Blog: Laksa Thursday

2011-08-19T07:22:00.001+10:00

For the moment, I'm taking a short hiatus, but am bringing you some guest posts from some great bloggers, like this one from my friend Kay (@monkylicious). Check out her blog, it's very cool. You can also see a previous guest post from Kay here.

"There’s a lot of noise on my twitter feed so I miss many things. But there are some words that will jump out at me. Some really delicious words, like duck fat potatoes, oysters, cake, cheese… oh how the cheeses call to me.

Another word that called out to me one day was LAKSA. Infact it was a hash tag, #LaksaThursday. What’s this? One of my favourite foods? And Thursday, today was Thursday! And so I was there, I had to be there, I happened to be there. What luck! And so began my first #LaksaThursday.

Admittedly I get a little picky with certain foods. Laksa happens to be one of them and this is all due to my upbringing. My parents ran a few take-away shops when I was young and laksa was their thing. My dad also likes to critique and dissect food every time we eat out (even in) and of course no one’s cooking ever compares to mum’s. But here I was at Satay Club** in the Brisbane CBD with friends and strangers, about to dig into #LaksaThursday.

I’m not going to tell you what I thought of each laksa as there are so many different types; Laksa Lemak, Curry Laksa, Assam Laksa, Thai Laksa… And anyway, like I said, nothing compares to mum’s.

But here are the laksas from the #LaksaThursdays I made it to.

Duck Laksa at Satay Club

Laksa at Hamptons Home and Living, Paddington

BBQ Pork and Chicken Laksa, Old Town Kitchen

Combination Laksa- Asian 88 - Fortitude Valley

Vegetarian Laksa at Marco Polo

Eating all this laksa has made me realise one thing. I really miss my mum’s laksa lemak. So I asked her really nicely this week to make some and because she loves me, she agreed to make some for lunch and on Thursday!

Mum's Laksa Paste- If only you could smell the amazing aromas

Two types of noodles for me, thanks!

Mum's Laksa is not complete without some laksa leaves (Viet Mint)

Laksa Lemak- cooked by my awesome Mum.

Out of all the #LaksaThursdays this has been my favourite. I hung around the kitchen watching mum cook, getting hungrier by the moment. I even had seconds later in the afternoon! It had everything I love, the aroma of the vietnamese mint garnish, fried tofu that had absorbed all the delicious soup, chicken, prawns AND baby squid and of course TWO TYPES OF NOODLES. Here I’d like to publicly apologise to Dorene for saying you’re not eating real laksa if it only has one type of noodle. It’s the way I’ve always eaten and loved laksa, but who am I to dictate how anyone should enjoy their laksa days.

Laksa Thursday is not an event you attend or a club you need to join, it’s a change of lifestyle, a movement. Trying to turn as many of my Thursdays as possible into #LaksaThursdays has been a tasty challenge. So I encourage you all to make laksa Thursdays happen in your own lives. So I wish you all many happy Laksa Thursdays! Slurp! (Sorry no recipe, family secret)

**My dad was actually the manager of Satay Club way back when it first opened. I think it was about 1996 and he helped the owner design the layout of the restaurant and set it up. I even worked there on Friday nights for a while! Also on another side note, my dad makes the best satays! But I’ll tell you about that another time."

Guest Post: Cook Book Club

2011-08-09T18:08:00.000+10:00

Today's post is to tell you about a fabulous idea, my friend Kay had ( @monkylicious on twitter) to start a cook book club. The Cook Book Club is a great idea, new and old friends getting together to share food. Kay also has a food blog - www.Bellygood.net - that you should check out for both Brisbane and Melbourne based reviews. There are details on the site about starting your own Cook Book Club, if you are inspired. I will also be posting some of the blog posts she has written that show the events in detail.

From Kay:

About The Cook Book Club

Cookbook Club came about when I realised I had a bookcase full of cookbooks that I was not using enough. Some of the books had barely been used if at all. Because I have an addiction to cookbooks and I need to justify future purchases I decided this would be a great way to get through them.I love entertaining and love an excuse to have people over to eat, especially one where I don’t even have to cook all the food!

So each 4 to 6 weeks I choose a cookbook and invite friends to pick a recipe to prepare and bring to our cookbook club meeting where we share each others food and generally just have a good time. It’s lots of fun and I encourage others to try it out with their friends. @DrLing has started one in Sydney and I was able to go to their first one.

As of May 2011 I am now also inviting anyone who cannot attend in person (food bloggers etc) to participate virtually. You can pick a recipe as with everyone else and then prepare the recipe in your own time leading up to the cookbook club date. Then simply create a blog post or tweet or email me about the recipe you cooked and I will link it up on a wrap up post for that month’s club.

Gastronomy Gal: Girl's Dinner

2011-07-26T10:14:00.000+10:00

At a birthday dinner in May, some of my friends and I, after a couple of glasses of wine, decided we were going to have a monthly Girl's dinner, hosted at one of our houses. It's similar in some ways, to Gastronaut's Supper Club, but that's all about meeting new people, whereas Girl's Dinner is old friends who bring new friends because we don't see each other nearly often enough.

So the deal is- each month, one of the four of us hosts a dinner, and we can bring a +1 - 'someone new' to the group. A theme is set and everyone is allocated a course to bring. The idea with bringing someone new is because it lets us have the chance to meet significant other friends in our friend's lives. We all went to boarding school/college together, so have gone from the full on living together and knowing every single thing about each other, to being so busy in our daily lives, we see each other rarely.

This month's theme was Italian. Jemima was on entree, Kristina on Main, I was on Dessert and Lauren was on Wine. I cooked my dessert earlier in the day as I knew kitchen space would be at a minimum once I got there, and went over a little bit early to set up.

The table was set beautifully, and I'm sorry I didn't get a better shot.

Jemima sourced inspiration for her entree from Jamie. Jemimes doesn't cook very often but did a super job! Bruschetta done three ways; tomato and basil, eggplant, theme and parsley, and mushroom and chilli and all were really lovely.

We were expecting big things from Kristina as she is Italian and has been making gnocci since she was a little tot. She didn't disappoint and although we did have a little malfunction with the gnocci becoming a bit sticky due to the temperature in the kitchen, after a bit of re-rolling all was set. In true Italian style, Kristina prepared enough gnocci to feed about 15 people so she is going to be eating left overs for about a week. I should tell have taken some with me. You'll be pleased to know that Kristina is going to do a 'global gastronomy gal' segment for me very soon in which I'm hoping she will give us the secret recipe for her gnocci as the pillows were light and fluffy and just generally awesome.

Of course, to go with the gnocci, classic bolognese was a perfect match. When I arrived at the house, I was excited to see that the pot had been bubbling away for hours and the smell had permeated into the hallway.
Check out the splatters on the wall. So much love!!!

Having eaten a massive serve of the gnocci and drinking some wine, and a few sneaky G and T's I was almost too full to eat dessert.

Dessert. Bloody dessert. You all know that baking isn't my strong point but basically I stuffed it. Went for a ricotta cheesecake, like Papa Pasticceria's famous Ricotta cheesecake. It's possibly the most delicious cheesecake in the whole world and mine sucked. If it was even half as good as Papa's I would have been happy but seriously, I'm so mad about it I didn't even put a photo in. The pastry was fine, quite good even, but the filling was too grainy despite the ridiculous amount of time I spent beating it. The flavour just wasn't enough. It was boring borderlining bad. Everyone else was polite about the situation, but really, it just wasn't good enough. This is the first time that not testing a dish has really come back to bite me, and I have learnt my lesson.

Worst thing was, I wasn't at my own house, so I couldn't quickly whip up a substitute or add mountains of cream and berries or something to make it more palatable.

So, to my friends, I apologise. I'm sorry I failed you. My dish sucked. I am going to test the next one!!

Aside from that- we had a lovely evening, so nice to catch up with old friends and be introduced to some of their friends. It's a pretty small world, and so it turns out- the three other friends had ridiculous amount of connections with one of Jemima's friends, even though we didn't know her- and she was just visiting from Sydney.

So... tell me readers... anyone else had a dinner party fail? Please say yes.

Gifted Gab: Difference between frittata and quiche

2011-07-19T13:45:00.000+10:00

The other day I was making frittata and was asked what the difference was between frittata and quiche, or any other egg based similar dish. Whilst I thought I knew the difference, I couldn't really articulate it.

Quiche: By definition (LaRousse Gastronomique and The Cooks Book of Everything ) is an open tart filled with a mixture of beaten eggs, creme fraiche and pieces of bacon, served hot as a first course or hors d'oeuvre.

or (a more recent interpretation which better reflects the modern quiche.)

A quiche is a savoury dish originating in the Alsace Lorraine region of France. The classic is quiche Lorraine, an open tart with a pastry base filled with eggs, cream and bacon and served hot or cold, but varitations today can include almost anything, including onion, cheese, fish and herbs.

Frittata is just like an omelette, but flash under the grill to finish off the cookin. The Italian frittata can vary from thin and pancake like to thick with a golden crust and creamy centre. Frittatas can be filled with cheese, vegetables, meat or seafood. And, just like tortillas, they can be eaten warm or cold, or in squares as part of an antipasti plate.

So, lots of similarities, not only technically but in taste too. However, basically, a frittata is Italian and quiche is French. A quiche often has a pastry base, whereas a frittata does not. You are supposed to finish a frittata under the grill when finished cooking and a quiche more commonly has cream as a key ingredient. Which do you make more frequently?

As a little side story, Mum has a friend named Lorraine, and when I was small, I thought quiche Lorraine was named after her, as she did make fantastic quiches. I was rather sad to find out that wasn't the case, as I thought it was fabulous that this honour was bestowed on the thoroughly deserving Lorraine.

So.. tell me readers, Quiche or Frittata?

G.G. cooks Pete Evans' Pumpkin and Blue Cheese Frittata

2011-07-13T07:35:00.000+10:00

Lately, I've had so many pumpkins to use and the thought of any more pumpkin soup is making me feel that I may well turn into a pumpkin! Camb's dad has a very prolific pumpk vine on the farm and sent some pumpkins (count 5 pumpks) home with us after our last visit. What the hell do two people do with five rather large pumpkins? Well, I gave a couple away and have been busy trying to use the others in creative ways. When I realised we also had some smooth and very subtle blue in the fridge, I thought a pumpkin and blue cheese frittata would be the way to go.

Notes- Adjustments I made:
I added caramelised leeks;
I also left out the basil leaves, because I wanted the main focus to be the sage;
I cut the pumpkin into smaller cubes as I was short on time and needed the cubes to cook more quickly.

Pete Evans' Pumpkin and Blue Cheese Frittata

Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin cut into 1 inch cubed
1 bunch Sage no stem
1 head Garlic Broken but not peeled
sea salt
cracked pepper
10 basil leaves
4 tablespoons Blue cheese -St. Agur the best to use, ( I used Tarago River Cheese Co's Shadows of blue)
2 tablespoons Grated Parmesan
9 Eggs
¾ cup Cream

Method

1. Roast the pumpkin with a good amount of olive oil with the sage, garlic pieces, sea salt & pepper until golden.

2. Beat the egg with the cream and some salt and pepper

3. Heat up a large frying pan with some oil, swirl the oil right around the pan then pour a thin stream of egg mix and swirl around the pan (this creates a base).

4. Place in the roasted pumpkin, sage, pop out the garlic from its skin and place that in, sprinkle some blue cheese around and top with basil leaves.

5. Pour the rest of the egg mix in so that it nearly reaches the top

6. Sprinkle over some grated Parmesan cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes in a medium – hot oven 160-180 degrees Celsius.

7. Take out of the oven when it has set.

8. Serve with a rocket and pear salad

Gastronomy Gal Grapes: Monkey Shoulder Triple Malt Whisky

2011-07-12T11:59:00.009+10:00

As you may know, Gastronomy Gal is going to be introducing a couple of new segments and G.G. Grapes focusing on all thing alcohol, is going to be one of them. I'm happy to report that Ryn and Cordie, two sassy wine and food matching experts from Brisbane are going to be writing regular guest posts and of course, there will be lots of other posts about wine, cocktails etc.

About six months ago, I received a bottle of Monkey Shoulder Triple Malt Whisky in the mail. I am a fan of whisky but really don't know anything about it. I have been meaning to get to the Whisky Appreciation Society (who meet monthly in Brisbane if you are interested) to learn a little more, but things have been so hectic lately, I haven't had a chance.

Monkey Shoulder is being branded as the 'World's first triple malt whisky' and the quirky name comes from the temporary condition suffered by 'malt men' when turning the barley by hand. Although the barley is still turned by hand today, innovation in the modern world ensures that 'monkey shoulder' is an injury of the past. The name lives on in honour of the malt men of yesteryear.

I finally cracked open the bottle of Monkey Shoulder to give it a try. Other than to say I really liked it, I'm not going to get into reviewing the whisky, I'll leave that to Jim Murray. As a twitter friend wisely suggested, writing about whisky is a minefield, and I'm no expert...

However, one thing I do know about, are cocktails, and Monkey Shoulder is an ideal whisky to go into cocktails. I tested some out (made by me and not a proper bartender) and the results were fab, especially great for adding a warming element to cocktails in winter.

The Mellow Monkey and the Show me the Monkey in particular took my fancy, but there were also more summery and fruity versions available if you want to use it in the warmer months. It is easy to forget that whisky is a great addition to a cocktail, so even if you don't use Monkey Shoulder, I definitely think you should try using some sort of whisky when you are being an awesome DIY mixologist. Whisky is something I would like to see more of, and see a greater appreciation for as it is really complex and quite wonderful. I myself am guilty of being quite ignorant, something I'm going to change.

Whisky Magazine actually have a great list of whisky cocktails here if you are wanting to try something different to the usual cosmo or martini. I also happen to know that Sling Bar in West End and The Bowery in Fortitude Valley are using Monkey Shoulder in some of their cocktails, if you wanted a pro to mix you up a concoction.

Tell me readers: Do you like whisky? Do you choose whisky based cocktails when you are out and about?

G.G. received Monkey Shoulder as a gift from Weber Shandwick.

Nekoya Paddington

2011-07-07T07:00:00.000+10:00

When I was meandering around Paddington, I noticed Nekoya, a little place tucked in beside a real estate agent and directly across from the Paddo Tavern. It gives me hope to see new places pop up, especially in unexpected locations. When I wandered across to have a look, the premises looked small and simple, but very clean and the menu had promise. I took a take away menu with me, and shelved the location into the back of my mind.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I was in need of some take away, but wanted to go somewhere new. One bittersweet part of being a food blogger is always looking for new places, so that you can blog them. This is great at times, but other times when I go to an old favourite, I almost feel guilty that I'm wasting the opportunity.

Anyway, I knew a little visit to Nekoya was in order. As there was just me, I only ordered a couple of items, so didn't get enough to really get a good feel for the whole place. The items I did order though, were good enough to leave me wanting more, so last week, Camb and I decided it was time to head back there to grab some take away on a night when I was just too tired to cook.

Nekoya have a menu online which is quite extensive in comparison to the take away paper menu but they seemed to be happy enough to let me order off the online menu. We phoned our order in and had a wait time of approximately 15 minutes, which is more than satisfactory. Nekoya does have dine in options available with limited seating but we wanted to eat at home. I'm going to apologise now, these photos are terrible as per usual, but I had more important things on my mind, like eating the food while it was still hot!

Gyoza come in a serve of 5 for $6.5. They were hot, and the skin was thin and crispy on the bottom. The filling was quality and tasty with a bit of a gingery bite. I wanted more.

Karaage chicken ( 6 pieces for $7.5) isn't something I would usually order, but after eating my friend Kay's karaage chicken at the recent Brisbane Food Blogger's Picnic, I ordered it on a whim. The chicken was tender and the outside, gloriously crunchy. I preferred to eat on it's own, rather than with the mayo dipping sauce that was provided.

Because I'm obviously a fan of fried, but want to somehow justify it to myself by eating vegetables, tempura vegies were a must order. $7.5 the serve of vegies is good value and includes a range of vegies some of which included broccolini, sweet potato, beans and lotus root. The batter was not overly oily and could have been a bit lighter- but was still crunchy and a good dish.

Even though Camb isn't really a fan, I went for the salt and pepper tofu. I know- ANOTHER fried dish, but I really think salt and pepper tofu is a good benchmark dish. It's funny, but something so simple can sometimes be a good indicator for the rest of the food available.

This salt and pepper tofu was just lovely. Small squares - incredibly thin but crispy batter which housed some soft silken tofu. The salt and pepper batter actually tasted like salt and pepper. It had zing which is sadly lacking from so many 'salt and pepper' dishes and even Camb agreed that this s&p tofu was kicking it with some of the big guys, which are much more 'prestigious' restaurants.

With the amount of fried food I'd ordered, I'd already sold out so felt no shame in going for the teriyaki chicken and avocado sushi ($6.5) and the prawn nigiri ($5). The sushi and nigiri were very fresh and the teriyaki chicken packed some actual flavour- which is nice for a change.

I admit on this visit, I did go for many of the fried options but have since eaten the sashimi and can say that it was okay. Although not the greatest sashimi I have ever eaten as it was cut a little too thickly, it was definitely passable. There are also many other options including a large range of bento boxes, seafood options like garlic and herb scallops and some rice and noodle dishes on offer, if you aren't after a fried food affair.

On my number of visits, the staff have been ridiculously polite and very helpful. The prices are reasonable and the food, for a little place, is pretty decent. There aren't too many Japanese take away places around the area, and Nekoya is a great addition.

When to go: Whenever you want a bit of take away Japanese, or to sit in for a simple cheap and cheerful meal on Given Terrace.

Tell me readers: have you seen any new eateries open up in unexpected locations?

Nekoya
Shop 3, 183 Given Terrace
Paddington QLD 4064
p: 07 3876 2367
e: team@nekoya.com.au
w: http://nekoya.com.au/

Gastronomy Gal Gadgets and Gifts: Indian Spice, Sleep Tight and Tummy Tea

2011-07-06T07:00:00.000+10:00

G.G. is introducing a few new segments.. Gifts and Gadgets is one of them. I sometimes stumble across some amazing products and would like to tell you all about them. Whether it's something to eat or drink, something to make kitchen life easier, or just something I think is totes cool that readers will appreciate too.

It's safe to assume that most of these products are things I have bought myself. On the odd occasion, I am sent or receive things as gifts. I am no under obligation to do anything about these gifts. But... if I really like them, I may tell you about them. In this instance I will ALWAYS CLEARLY state that I received the good for free.

Right now all that's out of the way...........

I love tea. My love for tea started at a very young age. I can remember being on camp in year 5 or 6 and nicking about 300 sachets of tea that were available at the breakfast buffet to take back to our room so we could sip on it all day. It was quite lovely, and funnily enough, among an unlikely crowd of other eleven year olds, I found some other tea drinking kindred spirits. Herbal was my (un)poison as caffeine and I aren't great friends.

With this love, it makes sense that I am a regular visitor to various tea shops around the place. When perusing through T2, The Tea Centre, T'licious or wherever I am, I usually ask for advice. I give specifications for what I want the tea for and then consider my options.

Indian Spice is not something that would usually appeal, but I decided to try something different and I'm so very glad I did. The mix of Cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pepper has an amazing aroma and was really calming and warming. It's now one of my fave teas. 100 g for $14.5 - or you can always ask for a small sample to try and see if you would like to purchase a larger amount.

Other faves include the Tummy Tea - a really full flavoured mix of peppermint leaves, liquorice root, fennel seeds and calendula petals 50g for $13.5 and the Sleep Tight- a blend that actually makes me feel sleepy without the usual chamomile - but with lemonbalm, jasmine flower, lavender and rose petals also $13.5 for 50g.

Where to buy:
T2 Tea are located in lots of places and you can also buy online.
T2 also have a really great comprehensive website and a personali-tea style quiz.. Who doesn't love a quiz!?

G.G. sourced and bought all these products.

G.G. cooks Spirit House Red Curry of Duck and Lychee

2011-07-05T07:00:00.002+10:00

On one of my many trips to Melbourne in the last couple of years, I managed to eat out quite a bit. Gingerboy was located right near my hotel and so I visited a couple of times. Although other parts of the meal were unmemorable, the red duck curry leg stuck in my mind.

As described in my review, the curry was... "Thick but not gluggy, with an alluring, rich, sweet red curry flavour, that was in no way, underwhlemingly or overwhelming. Somehow, it struck the perfect balance." I've always hoped to come across something similar, but alas, up until this point I have been left disappointed.

After scoring some duck breasts at the markets on the weekend, I decided it was time to try my hand at a red duck curry- even if it wouldn't be exactly the same as the masterpiece at Gingerboy. A quick flick of my Spirit House cook book revealed a recipe I was happy with, Red Curry of duck and lychee. Lychees obviously aren't in season, and even though I'm not a big advocate of buying tinned, I ended up caving and grabbing some.

The curry was surprisingly easy, and had I used a Chinese duck as was suggested, the whole process would have been incredibly quick - about 15 minutes quick, so very easy to do on a weeknight. I was totally happy with the results - the curry was rich, creamy, had a bit of kick and was the perfect dish for a winter evening.

The Spirit House cook books are really great. If you like Thai cooking, I highly recommend you get your hands on one.

Spirit House Red Curry of Duck and Lychee
Ingredients:
2 cups of coconut cream (you could always buy the light version if you are trying to cut back on fat...)
3 tablespoons of red curry paste (I used spirit house curry paste)
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1 Chinese roast duck, boned and sliced (I used duck breast that I cooked at home)
2 large red chillies, halved and deseeded
6 kaffir lime leaves
12 lychees, halved and stoned
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves (I only had a little bit of basil in the garden, so popped in coriander as well.)

Method:
Skim off 1/2 cup of the coconut cream and boil in wok until starting to separate. Add the curry paste (Spirit House have curry paste available for purchase in the freezer section at some delis) and fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the fish sauce and palm sugar, cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining coconut cream and bring to the boil. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Bamboo Basket: South Bank, Brisbane

2011-06-30T07:00:00.001+10:00

I've been craving dumplings. If you follow me on twitter, I'm sure you have already heard. I'm not sure why, but I could have eaten dumplings every day this month. That's right- could have, not have. Therein lies the problem, which I must admit would have created other problems (hello ever expanding arse), but still a problem in itself.

It's funny that I can easily find good dumpling stashes in Melbourne and Sydney, yet when it comes to finding dumpling here, I am very lost. Good yum cha places do exist, but where in Brisbane does one go to get a good serve of dumplings after dark?

I started by asking my ever resourceful resource, twitter. Again the results were inconclusive. A few people mentioned a couple of names, Bamboo Basket at South Bank being one of them, but aside from that, there was a real lack of suggestion an the suggestions were mainly vague- 'I'm sure there is a dumpling place at Sunnybank - somewhere' ... When I tried to follow up the lead of Yong He Dumpling Restaurant, I came to a dead end as their phone had been disconnected and there was little written about them online, except another restaurant being listed with the same address. Kay, one of my friends who is usually in the know, suggested that Yong He still exists, but under another name. In any event, I wasn't planning on driving to Sunnybank in the rather nippy weather to find out otherwise.

So, I went with the suggestion of Bamboo Basket in South Bank, where I have dined before, but only ordered one serve of dumplings, so thought I would give it a go.

As my search for dumplings would suggest, good Chinese fare is particularly hard to come by in Brisbane. Bamboo Basket specialise in Shanghainese food, but there are a smattering of menu items that are more mainstream. Being located in South Bank, Bamboo Basket is a bit of a spiffy joint, much more glam than the average Chinese restaurant. The glassed open kitchen which overlooks the street provides much interest for passers by who can look in to see the chefs stretching pulling noodles or folding dumplings.

On the Saturday night that we visit, we arrive early, about 6:30 p.m. and the place is packed. They don't take bookings for 2 people, but C and I wrongly thought we would be fine at such an early timeslot. The manager takes our number and tells us he will give us a call when there is a table free, 'shouldn't be long,' he assures us. True to his word, the phone rings about ten minutes later and we head back to the waiting table.

There was no need to muck around perusing the menu, C and I knew what we were there for- the dumplings, we just had to decide which versions we would be having.

Xiao Long Bao (4 for $7.9) were an obvious starting point. When done properly, I would vote that Xiao Long Bao are the ultimate dumpling- flavoursome meat and soupy insides. Bamboo Basket's version was solid- thick skin encasing the soupy inside, which burst into my mouth when popped, but I would note that they were a little large to fit in my mouth all at once. I was SOUPer happy (sorry) that ALL of the dumplings remained completely sealed until we ate them- it's so disappointing to find that half are busted before you get to them.

Next obvious choice was the pan fried pork dumpling (6 for $11.9), which are also an old favourite. Having to break through the 'pan' of dumplings makes for impressive presentation, however, I was less excited about the base of the dumplings which were still quite doughy.

I love when the base is a little crunchier- it just perfects the dumpling. That being said, the filling for these dumplings was pleasantly plump although not as packed with flavour as I'd have liked.

Chicken water dumplings (8 for $11.9) had good texture. The outside skin was aldente and the fillings were plain and simple, but nice. I'm a bit of a fan of boiled dumplings, they aren't as flavoursome as their fried or steamed cousins, but I like them all the same.

Steamed pork and prawn dumplings caught C's eye, so we ordered a serve of those which were 4 for $7.9. These dumplings lacked distinction and the frozen prawns that went into the mixture added unwanted liquid. I really couldn't place any of the other flavours and these really didn't tickle anyone's fancy.

Steamed seafood dumplings (3 for $7.9) are also a fave of C's- he orders them almost everywhere we go, even though there are very few that live up to his standards. Unfortunately, these didn't. The skin was quite good - a nice texture, but the insides tasted a little bit odd, like there was something missing. They weren't overly offensive or anything, but really weren't a stand out, and honestly, I would expect them to be considering they are more than $2.5 a piece.

Even though we were on a dumpling binge, we were able to find space for some shallot pancake ($7.9). These shallot pancakes were more similar to a fried shallot doughnut, and were rounded instead of the usual flat pancake style. There were crunchy on the outside, and were filled to the brim with shallot filling. Although a little different to any other shallot pancake I've tried, these were not unpleasant and filled us to the brim.

Service at Bamboo Basket was friendly but patchy. After waiting a long time for our orders to be taken, we eventually got the attention of the drinks Waiter and he wrote down our orders. Although the staff were pleasant, when you miss out on things like water, despite asking a couple of times then giving up, it signifies that things need to run a little more smoothly than they do. In fairness to Bamboo Basket, they were extremely busy, but I noted that it was not just our table that missed out or had orders mixed up.

Something else worth mentioning is the tourist tax Bamboo Basket have slapped onto their prices. Whilst they are not outrageous, they are significantly more expensive than you would expect to pay at any usual dumpling place. I'd imagine that being located at South Bank would come with a hefty price tag, so obviously the diners have to cover that through the prices. If you are prepared to go suburban, you will get more bang for your buck.

Whilst some elements of Bamboo Basket weren't great, we did have an overall pleasant evening, and most elements were good. It is the best Chinese place I have come across close to the city. I would go back to Bamboo Basket and see if the problems we encountered were a result of being overly busy or just standard. I have tried a larger section of the menu on previous visits but wanted to keep this post dumpling specific. Bamboo Basket are a nice restaurant, located centrally and have some good dumplings on offer with the Xiao Long Bao, Chicken water dumplings and the pan fried pork being the highlights.

When to go: If you are in Bris City or close by and are craving dumplings.

Tell me readers - Where do you go for a dumpling fix?

Bamboo Basket
189 Grey St
South Brisbane QLD 4101
07 3844 0088

Gastronauts' Supper Club: June 2011

2011-06-28T08:00:00.000+10:00

Last Saturday night, I was lucky enough to attend my second Gastronauts' Supper Club. Read about the first visit here. Gastronauts was inspired by Jamie Oliver's visit to a New York supper club in his American Road Trip Show - if it's good enough for New York, it can happen in Brisbane. The general idea is that dinners will be put on at Gastronauts' homes around Brisbane, with the odd special occasion for variety. They email out the menu for the next dinner - and if you're interested, all you have to do is reply to the email. Diners are then be selected randomly, and you'll be sent the location on the day of the supper club dinner. Once you have eaten, a pot is passed around where guests make a contribution to the host to cover the cost of ingredients. Gastronauts is an opportunity for foodies to enjoy a fantastic dinner, while at the same time meeting new new people who are equally keen on food.

It seriously is a great idea, and both times I have been surprised at how easily the evening flows. I have met some fabulous new people and now am considering becoming a host for one of the dinners. If only my kitchen wasn't so hideously small. Richard (one of the key Gastronaut's) very kindly offered to lend me his kitchen, but I wouldn't feel right doing that! I feel like I should host the evening in my own home.. I'm going to start thinking about my options and Camb and I are considering moving (not till later in the year though), so maybe I could host a supper club as my first function when we move. Anyway, clearly you don't want to listen to my ramblings, but rather, want to see what I ate!

Richard aka Food Bling and his wife Rebecca hosted the evening and did a fabulous job. The theme was Spanish food and Richard used a couple of Ferran Adria recipes as well as some Spanish classics. He talked us through the process of the El Bulli recipes and pulled out some packages to explain how he had completed each recipe, but it was pretty well lost on me. Molecular Gastronomy is far too complex for me to attempt but Richard managed to pull it off with some great results. Don't panic if you were thinking about hosting a supper club and have visions of horror about molecular gastronomy -The Gastronauts love all sorts of food, home cooked/rustic are just great!

Melon with jamon 2005: This was the first dish- sort of like an amuse bouche - and was a Ferran Adria recipe. Syringes, white powders and some sort of gel were all involved in creating this little wonder. The melon balls were amazing and the texture was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Served in shot glasses, it made for an impressive sight.

Next up was a tasting plate which contained deconstructed gazpacho, prawn stuffed cherry tomatoes, Saffron tortillas with smoked paprika aioli and chorizo with apple cider. The deconstructed gazpacho was amazing. Again using some crazy techniques, Richard managed to get the tomato into tiny balls which were full of tomatoey flavour. Speaking of tomatoes, the prawn stuffed cherry tomatoes were so delicately done - they had their skins peeled off and were cute like packages. The smoked paprika aioli was seriously good- I'm sure lots of efforts went into making it- but it worked well with the saffron tortillas.

Next course was the pea and sherry soup with chorizo oil and croutons. This dish was my fave of the night- the soup was thick and really fresh with the chorizo and croutons adding some nice little highlights.

By this stage, I was getting quite full, but then Richard and Rebecca pulled out the pyrenees style lamb with sherry and paprika, poor man's potatoes and broccolini. Although I couldn't eat all the potatoes, some of the other guests were raving. The lamb was really tender as a result of being slow cooked for ages.

As a palate cleanser, pineapple infused with fennel was served, which was quite interesting. The freshness was a great contrast to the lamb and almost the polar opposite to the Crema Catalana which was served for dessert.

I didn't manage to grab a photo of the Crema Catalana, but by this stage, I shared a dessert with Camb as I was so full I almost felt like I couldn't sit down comfortably. I have to admit, prior to going to the supper club, I had been at the Brisbane Food Blogger so I was at my limit. The Crema Catalana was really great, very rich and almost everyone agreed that it was one of their favourite dishes.

As if we hadn't eaten enough already, Richard and Rebecca pulled out the 'petit fours' to just finish everything off. At this stage, there was NO way I could eat another thing, so had to leave the toffee eating up to the others.

As you can see, we were treated to some fantastic food and importantly, the conversation and company was just lovely. I'm so thrilled that events like these are happening in Brisbane. If you are interested in getting involved in Gastronauts - please visit their blog and register your interest. They are on the look out for new guests and hosts all the time and they really are lots of fun. If you think you would like to do something similar i.e. start your own supperclub within your own group of acquaintances (I suggest extending outside your immediate circle- this is one of the major benefits), please let me know. I would love to let G.G. readers know about the event.

G.G. Garden: In distress

2011-06-16T07:20:00.001+10:00

Last week I told you proudly about my garden and how well my seedlings were doing. All the while, dreaming of my silverbeet being used mixed with feta and cased in flaky, buttery filo, or my cauli's being made into a creamy soup, topped with truffle oil croutons. I had high aspirations for you guys, and through no fault of your own, your lives have been sabotaged.

I went to ridiculous lengths I went to so that nothing could get to my little green babies. However, it is with a sad soul that I bring you some distressing news. SOME CREEPY LITTLE CREATURE MANAGED TO GET THROUGH MY NETTING AND CHOMPED ON ALL MY BLOODY VEGETABLES. I am beyond angry. I'm going to go rambo (Rambo meaning yell and threaten but not physically hurt to confirm for all the animal activists out there) on the creep's arse, if I ever find that possum/rat/whatever the hell it is. I already have enough problems with sunlight and small space but to have also set up a task force to deal with deliberate sabotage is another matter. Sigh. I'm beginning to think that whilst I'm living at this address (indefinitely) I'm not going to be able to have a garden. Actually scrap that. Game on creeps. It's going to take a lot of time and strategy, but at this point, I might just be mad (crazy and angry) enough to rig up an Azkaban style arrangement.

Before: Coming along nicely.

After: All that is left

Any advice appreciated.

G.G.'s Reader's Favourite Blogs

2011-06-14T07:16:00.000+10:00

Just a quick post today. I find myself reading more and more blogs, and wonder if you do the same. There are so many out there, I often breathe a sigh of relief when I come across a really amazing blog, and I just want to share it with everyone else. I've already got a QLD Food Blog Directory, but want to compile a list of blogs from further and wider.

I'd love to know about your blogs so I can put them onto the list. These blogs don't have to be Australian - they can be from anywhere.

Let me know your fave:
Aussie Food Blog
Food Blog (not Australian)
Lifestyle blog
Home Blog
Mummy Blog
Fashion Blog
Health Blog
Travel Blog
or any other blogs you just totally love.

I think it's really important to support great blogs because as you all know, most bloggers work really hard, a lot of the time, with little pay back. A little bit of recognition can go a long way!

Gastronomy Gal Garden : June

2011-06-09T08:00:00.001+10:00

I dream of a time when I am not confined to a small apartment and I can have a really large kitchen garden. Not that I have a particularly green thumb, it's more a shade of yellow. I am, however, trying to do my best with the little space I have. I know some people have awesome apartment gardens- Indira Naidoo in particular has a very inspiring green space, right in the heart of the city. I can't help but think it would be better to have extra space, but if I want to live in the city, I have to make some sacrifices- this is one of them.

Cauliflower (these guys are taking a bit longer than the carrots or snow peas)

Living in Brisbane does have it's advantages though- we rarely get a frost and so luckily we can grow lots more plants through the winter (that will survive) than most places south of here.

Snow Peas

About a month ago, I planted some new silverbeet, snow peas, cauliflower, baby carrots and asparagus. I also cut back all my herbs completely as the basil was going to seed and my sage looked a little bit yellow. Also, my dwarf lemon and lime trees are obviously very upset- they look awful. Will have to find out what I'm doing wrong with those too. I can't wait until the vegies are ready- I'm such an impatient girl.

Baby Carrots

Speaking of which, the bloody possums are rather impatient too, and try to eat all my plants before they are ready for me to plant. Look at the ridiculous lengths I have to go to to stop the possums having a nibble.

Anyway- I'm also going to go back to the nursery this soon to get some more plants and advice about what else I can plant at this time of year- I want to keep adding to the garden so I am getting produce all year round. Nothing better than growing your own organic vegies.

Some cool links :
City Chicks - These guys have a cool range of sister websites. City Chicks, My City Garden and Eco City Living. My City Garden stocks mushroom kits as well as sells insects that are good for your garden.

City Food Growers - Some great posts about growing organic vegies in South East QLD. They also run workshops and seminars if you want to get serious. One of the coolest things on this site is the market which aims to match backyard city growers with buyers! I'm definitely going to try to find someone local to buy my produce off. I think they are in the process of updating this website so hopefully they will get some new additions to this section soon.

I'd love to know what you guys are growing at the moment? Feel free to send me in a photo of your garden. I would love some inspiration and to feature your garden on G.G.

E'cco Bistro Brisbane

2011-06-07T09:52:00.001+10:00

We've all been in a restaurant when something goes wrong. Whether it's with our own meals, the service or another patron causing a fuss for whatever reason. Sometimes, these situations make everyone feel uncomfortable, and other times, there is not much you can do but sit back and watch the action unfold, which is what I did when I was recently invited to dine at E'cco Bistro in Brisbane.
E'cco is one of Brisbane's most loved, long standing restaurants with Philip Johnson at the helm. Philip Johnson was a celebrity chef back before there were celebrity chefs. E'cco has long been regarded as one of the top three in Brisbane but unfortunately, this doesn't mean it is immune to certain situations unfolding, as it did when I last visited.

Camb and I were seated at a table for two, just on the left of the main entry- at the window. Next to us, were an older couple who had already started their meal and were chatting away. Even though the staff knew that I was G.G. and I had brought my camera along, I didn't really feel too confident whipping it out, as the seating arrangements are quite close and I didn't want to attract undue attention or make other diners feel uncomfortable (hence the photos are taken on iphone and quite crap).

The very swift waitress had already given us menus and taken our drinks order when something at the next table started to go awry. The couple had just received their mains, and were now discussing, loudly enough for me to hear every word, the fact that the both the meals were cold. Uh oh. Neither seemed to be too uncomfortable when the man, not so bashfully, called the waitress over to complain, explaining that it was not good enough for the meals to be cold. At this point, I was inclined to agree. If you go to a restaurant with high expectations and are paying $40 + for a main you would hope the meal would be, at the very least, warm.

Meals were re done within the blink of an eye, and soon, the couple had two new meals sitting in front of them. Ahh- disaster averted. I was about to turn my attention back to Camb when suddenly, again, the man voices his disappointment with the temperature of the meal, but continues to eat about half of his meal anyway. When another waiter walks past to enquire about the meals- the man replies something to the tune of 'these meals are not even marginally better than last time', the waiter confirmed that he had heard correctly and then, with a look of horror on his face, goes to get the manager.

The manager comes over to enquire about the problem, explains that the temperature the meals were served at was closely checked, apologises profusely anyway and asks if he would like the half eaten meals to be returned to the kitchen. The man says he would like them to be, but he would like to try another option. The woman says she has 'had enough' and asks that the remainder of her meal be taken away and she not be served with another. At this point in time, the kitchen goes into overtime, and again, within 10 minutes, the man has another new meal in front of him. This time he is not pleased, but not displeased with the results, and eats his whole meal.

Camb would, without a doubt, leave me, if I caused such a fuss. Of course, I wouldn't. What struck me as rather odd, was the fact that neither of the couple seemed particularly embarrassed about the fiasco, which had certainly left the wait staff with some red faces. I'm going to assume (I know- assuming makes an ass and all that stuff but.....) that they have done this kind of thing before. They almost seemed like experts at complaining and having no qualms doing so. The restaurant do have to do their best to accommodate this sort of behaviour, and to, essentially, let the customer leave having enjoyed their experience. But what if the expectations are too high or completely unreasonable? What happens in that situation?

You see, in this situation, if I was the waitress, I'm not so sure I would have retained my temper or composure as well as the staff did, (who handled this situation with aplomb.) Had we not been seated directly next to the couple, we would have never known what was going on. I'm quite confident that after having the meals sent back once, the kitchen would have done their best to ensure everything was as close to perfect as possible. In fact, on the Saturday night that we visited, the restaurant was completely booked out, with several patrons waiting at the bar and everyone else in the restaurant seemed to be happy.

The experience was obviously meeting with everyone else's expectations. I'm also not sure if this man had an ulterior motive, (like his meal being given to him for free- which it was) or if he really, honestly, felt the three meals he was served just weren't good enough. I'd like to ask him- was it just the temperature that wasn't good enough? The flavour? Composition of the food? Service? All round experience lacking?

Were the couple next to us being unfair with their expectations? I think so. I think they were unnecessarily rude, demanding and downright grumpy. But still, the restaurant had to cater towards them. This, is why, we as diners also have a responsibility to be reasonable and adjust our expectations accordingly. I'm not suggesting that you should not have high expectations when dining at the a restaurant the calibre of Ecco, however I am suggesting that the man may have had a very different definition of hot to everyone else.

I'm also suggesting that whilst a restaurant is in the business of people pleasing, there are obviously, some people that can't be pleased. Whether in this case this was 'rightly so' or completely unreasonable, the restaurant still had to do their best to cater towards this couple, and do so with a smile. I'm not sure I would last very long as a restaurateur.

Whilst all this fuss was going on, we were not left without attention, and ordered our meals. Camb was asking me to stop eavesdropping, but even if I wanted to (I didn't), I basically would have had to put ear plugs in to not hear the conversation at the next table.

Now, to the food. Camb ordered the field mushrooms on olive toast with rocket, parmesan, truffle oil and lemon as his entree whilst I went with the carpaccio of kingfish, nori, shiso, edamame and ponzu dressing (all entrees are $24.5)

Camb's entree was a simple dish, a classic ecco styled arrangement. Philip Johnson specialises in simple done exceptionally well, as this dish proved. The mushroom was gorgeously textured, the rocket fresh and the truffle oil splashed sparingly to ensure the rest of the dish was not overrun by the flavour. This dish is actually pretty sought after, and I managed to find the recipe online for you to use if this is something you would like to create at home. I'm going to give it a go this weekend.

I chose the carpaccio of kingfish which was served with herbs, edamame and ponzu dressing. This entree was light and almost cleansing- great to start with. The kingfish was fresh and the texture good, although, I would have preferred a little less ponzu to get a little bit more of the kingfish hit I was after.

As you know, it is my duty to try as many dishes as possible, and in every other instance I can remember, Camb and I ALWAYS order different dishes- but on the evening we dined at E'cco, both of us had our eye on the rabbit loin wrapped in smoked bacon served with rabbit leg ravioli, pea purée, baby carrots and maple jus for $42. Neither were willing to budge. Stubborn old things, aren't we?! This one time, we decided that it would be ok to order the same because we were both enamoured with the dish when we saw it being served to a neighbouring table (not THE neighbours) earlier in the evening.

The dish looked like a garden on the plate- very tempting. Peas and carrots were seriously special, even though they were just a little something on the side.

The rabbit loin and stuffing wrapped in bacon were just beautiful. The loin was tender, the stuffing had flavour and the bacon added just the right salty touch. The maple jus was rich but whole, adding depth to the dish.

The ravioli inside was falling apart tender, however, the ravioli case was overcooked, a little chewy and lacked the softness of a great ravioli case. That being said, the dish as a whole worked incredibly well and Camb and I were more than happy with our choice.

As you know, I'm not a big dessert eater, but this time, something caught my eye. Whilst Camb couldn't go past the special a chocolate souffle, served with chocolate sauce, honeycomb and chocolate icecream - the honey bavarian cream with gingerbread, compressed apple, coriander and green apple sorbet took my fancy.

The chocolate souffle had risen and Camb enjoyed every bite, blah blah blah- I simply cannot write anymore about it because I am so excited to tell you about the honey bavarian cream.

This honey bavarian cream, served with gingerbread, compressed apple, coriander and green apple sorbet (yes, I am showing reverence by repeating the full description again) was the single best dessert I have ever eaten in my life. Ever. There are no exceptions, nothing even comes close. This dessert was absolutely bewitchingly fantastic- it was as close to perfect as a dessert can taste for me. The cream was rich and full but not overpowering. The honey provided a sweet yet somehow almost earthy taste which was matched with the crunchy, bitey gingerbread. The dreamlike compressed apple and syrup had a beautiful soft texture and the syrup, drizzled over the cream, with a little bit of gingerbread too was basically the most wonderful dessert flavour combination. When all the sweet side of things got a little overwhelming, a bite of the fresh, punchy coriander and apple sorbet was all that was needed to bring the palate back down to earth and prepare it for the next bite of heaven.

So... that was my experience - a little bit of heaven for me, and a little bit of hell for the waitstaff. Is that the mark of a great restaurant? Something like the 'send it back 3 times situation' can occur right next to me, yet my dining experience was still fantastic. At times, I do see people getting a little self righteous about their dining experiences, it is surely an easy trap that we can all fall into. Particularly when you are paying good money for the experience and it doesn't live up to your expectations.

In these situations, I think, before complaining, it is important to ask- 1. Are my expectations reasonable? If you answer yes, then I think you are within your rights to politely point out the fault/problem. If you are polite and reasonable, I believe most establishments go out of their way to fix their error, and if they don't then your bad word of mouth is their punishment. If, however, like E'cco, they do everything in their power to rectify the error and the evening is saved, then surely that is something you would like to tell your friends about too.

....Tell me readers, what do you think about dining expectations? Have you ever been in a restaurant where a situation like this has unfolded?

When to go: For a special dinner, perhaps a birthday or anniversary. Or anytime you think you deserve to eat the best dessert of all time. (I'm hoping it stays on the menu forever.)

E'cco Bistro
100 Boundary Street
Brisbane QLD 4001
07 3831 8344

Gastronomy Gal Goings On: Food events for June

2011-06-02T07:32:00.001+10:00

Goings On:

Five Chef's Dinner - Monday 6th of June at 6:30 pm (Yes peeps- this coming Monday)

The deets: Five courses prepared by five of Australia’s best chefs, matched with five fine wines. The ultimate gourmet food and wine dinner was created to raise much needed funds to support the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

My rundown: Brisbane chefs Pablo Torsedillas (Ortiga), Javier Codina (Moda), Rhett Willis (Jellyfish), Tony Percouco (Tartufo) and Mathieu Astier (Prive 249) gave us a some tasters at an event that I was lucky enough to attend and the tasters simply weren't enough- I was left wanting more of their special dishes. The really great thing about this dinner is that all the proceeds go to The Starlight Foundation which is a very worthy cause. The Chefs don't only donate their time, but also much more so they really put their heart and soul into it. Almost every element of the dinner is donated so this is a big event for the Foundation. I believe tickets are still available so if you haven't got anything worthwhile to do on Monday night (which I know you don't!!) get some friends together and get to the five chef's dinner. You won't be disappointed.

Brisbane Cheese Awards - Sunday 5th June, 10 am to 4pm
Entry: Adults = $10, Kids = Free
The deets: Brisbane Cheese Awards have announced that Queensland’s premiere cheese festival will be back to tantalise our taste buds in June, hosted by new venue Portside Wharf (Hamilton). Fromage fanatics from across the South East will be heading to Portside on n Sunday 5 June 2011 to celebrate People’s Day, an event dedicated to all things cheese.

My rundown: I'm hoping this is going to be a great event to attend. I have never been before, but am looking forward to having a cheesey day on Sunday. If you love your cheese, like I do, but want to get to know a bit more about cheese, meet Will Studd from Cheese Slices (yes that awesome show dedicated to cheese, or just want to do some tastings Portside is probably the place to be.

Lurpak Baking Challenge
Butter company Lurpak got in contact with me and a couple of other bloggers to ask if we would be involved in their latest campaign (please note- this is not paid involvement). We are going to be judging the first round of their baking competition which aims to find the greatest recipes in Australia that use Lurpak butter. Adriano Zumbo is judging the final round and five winners will receive $1500 prize money and have their recipe featured on recipe cards that will be available in Woolworths as a Lurpak promotion. If you are a gun baker (which I know many of you are!) I reckon this competition is well worth a shot. Check it out - most of you bloggers will have amazing recipes that can be entered - feel free to send me a taste test of the recipe too!

Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month: 3rd-27th June
If you are planning a domestic holiday in the next month, it might be worth getting down to the Hunter Valley, as it's Wine and Food Month and it looks like there are some pretty interesting things going on- from cocktail classes to loads of wine and cheese events to some tasty looking lunches.

G.G. cooks hot smoked salmon at Mango Hill Farm

2011-05-31T09:11:00.002+10:00

It's really nice when people put a lot of thought into pressies, Isn't it?! C's Mum aka Penguin (don't ask why she is called Penguin- long story) is always super thoughtful and as a result, for C's last birthday, he scored a really great gift. This really great gift also happened to benefit me too, which was even more lovely. He was given a night's accommodation and cooking classes for two at Mango Hill Farm near Peachester in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

Mango Hill Farm is a quaint little organic mango farm that also grows other organic vegies as well as ginger and tumeric. There is a commercial kitchen for cooking classes, which are taken by Chef Oskar (not sure of Oskar's last name) who has a European background and now makes Peachester his home.

Even though C's birthday is in February, we only managed to get around to going to Mango Hill Farm last weekend. We wanted to use the cooking school and accommodation at the same time and the cooking school only runs once a month.

The cooking school started at 9:30 a.m. and ran through to about 2:45 p.m. although the official finishing time is 2:00 p.m. The school costs $125 (thanks Penguin and Spencer) and features a 5 course menu as well as wine. With only 9 or 10 people in the whole class, the lesson is very hands on. Oskar tries to source local ingredients and the herb and vegie garden is really inspiring.

The coolest thing I got to do was to fillet a whole massive salmon and help to smoke it. I was totally excited by the prospect although some of the other members of the cooking class (particularly the vegetarian) looked a little green at the thought. After cooking all the courses, the class sits down to a five course meal that was so large, I literally could not eat almost half of. Don't worry, I saved it and put it in the fridge in the cottage we were staying at so I could eat the rest at dinner time!

I'm going to give you the recipe for the hot smoked salmon because it was totally easy and was really, really good. The whole smoking process seemed too much trouble for me to bother about, but now after seeing how easy it actually was, I'm going to get myself a little smoker and put it on the gas attachment on our BBQ. Apparently you can buy the smoker pot (kind of like a big saucepan with a few extra attachments) for less than $40 from camping stores. The salmon does take a while to marinate so take that into consideration before making.

This recipe comes from Chef Oskar.

Salad Folle with smoked salmon
Serves 6

Ingredients
1kg Salmon
4 tbs sugar
2 tbs salt
4 tbs soy sauce
paperbark (available online)

Salad
600 g mesclun
24 cherry tomatoes
24 x 2mm slices of cucumber
1 small bunch chives
2 very finely diced golden shallots
200 ml walnut oil
100 ml raspberry vinegar
1 tbs mustard.
salt
pepper

Method:
1) Marinate salmon fillet with sugar, salt and soy sauce. Wrap in foil and let marinate (minimum 1 hour).
2) Remove from foil, put salmon fillet in a smoker and smoke for approximately 20 minutes over low heat.

3) Mix golden shallots with mustard in a bowl, add walnut oil and stir in raspberry vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
4) Add the lettuce and toss carefully.

5) Arrange lettuce on a plate, garnish with cherry tomatoes, cucumber and chives.
6) Cut smoked salmon in thin slices and arrange on top of salad.
7) Serve immediately.

If your salmon is sashimi grade (ours was) use some of the raw salmon for an amuse bouche as we did - finely chop the salmon, red onion, chives and mix in a bowl. Put in a good slosh of Extra virgin olive oil, season and then serve on thinly cut bread. This was seriously so fresh and beautiful.

Mango Hill Farm was a great place to go to the cooking school and stay, but I have some hints for you if it appeals.

1. Try to book the cottage- it is gorgeous and far superior to the other accommodation.
2. Make sure you take whatever you need for dinner/breakfast or to drink. The cottage has a kitchen and the commercial kitchen is available if you want to use that after the class. We weren't aware that there was nowhere to buy food and were lucky that we had some really nice, well prepared people in our class who were also staying at the farm and hosted us for the evening.
3. Take some time to check out the gardens- they are great.
4. Don't drink as much wine as I did, you will end up with a headache from hell the next day.Mango Hill Farm
159 Commissioners Flat Road
Peachester QLD 4519
Australia
T: (+61) 7 5494 9329
F: (+61) 7 5494 9341
E: sales@mangohillfarm.com

G.G. cooks Jamie Oliver's Tomato Soup Recipe

2011-05-26T07:00:00.000+10:00

It's officially soup season here in QLD. A little bit later to succumb to the cold than the southern states, our time is finally here and to celebrate I'm going to make soups galore! Last week I felt a little bit of chill in the air so I immediately became excited and scheduled two soups into the weekly meal schedule. I may admit, I might have been a little premature because the weather the following day was basically balmy. Not one to look back once I've declared soup season, I decided a soup that tastes like the tail end of QLD Autumn could be the go. I trawled through a fair few blogs looking for recipes and ended up seeing lots of glorious looking tomato soups all over the place, so went with Jamie Oliver's version of tomato soup. Local tomatoes are still abundant in Autumn up here in QLD, so I'm not being totally ridic with my choice; something I am thinking about more and more often. It's easy to say that you believe in local, seasonal and sustainable produce - but living with those restrictions takes a little more thought.

One thing I really need to buy this winter, is a stick blender, because pouring a huge pot of soup into the blender three times over is rarely fun! What do you guys use?

Notes:
This soup turned out really well, but as I like my soups a little thicker- I decided to take out about 250 ml of stock. I also used a litre container of stock rather than stock cubes.

Recipe from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food cook book

Ingredients
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
2 chicken stock or vegetable stock cubes, preferably organic
1 400g tin of plum tomatoes
3 large ripe tomatoes
small bunch of fresh basil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make your soup:
1. Peel and roughly slice the carrots. Slice the celery. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel and slice the garlic. Put a large pan on a medium heat and a couple lugs of olive oil. Add all your chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon.

2. Cook for around 10 to 15 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape, and the onion is lightly golden.

3. Put the stock cubes into a jug or pan and pour in 1.5 litres of boiling water from the kettle. Stir until the stock cubes are dissolved, then add to the pan your tinned and fresh whole tomatoes, including the green stalks that may still be attached to some of them (these give an amazing flavour – trust me!) Give it a good stir and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. Meanwhile, pick your basil leaves

To serve your soup:
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Season with salt and pepper and add the basil leaves. Using a hand blender or liquidizer, pulse the soup until smooth. Season again before dividing between your serving bowls.

So, tell me readers, have you declared soup season? And if so- what soup is on your menu?

Sono Portside Wharf

2011-05-24T07:00:00.001+10:00

Note: After a couple of hiccups with blogger last week, we are back on track! Thanks to one of my friends and subscribers, Dawid, I was able to find the original Sono at Portside Wharf post so am reposting today. Enjoy!

It's not always easy to find the motivation to keep blogging. Especially when real life gets so busy, and you have to put extra time aside to keep the posts coming regularly. I've just started a new job so things have been particularly hectic over the last fortnight. Coupled with extra social outings (my calendar is increasingly full, even on weeknights) I've been a bit behind with keeping ahead of schedule! Naughty me. I'm not sure what keeps recreational bloggers blogging - but there seems to be some sort of force (other bloggers, I'm sure you will agree!) There are, however, some really nice parts to blogging too! All the friends I have met and the lovely invitations I sometimes receive, so I can't whinge too much.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an invitation to dine at Sono Portside. I've been to Sono in the city plenty of times so was really happy to go to the Portside sister restaurant. Owner Mr William Liu was kind enough to meet me, give me some insight to Japanese cuisine in Brisbane.

Sono Portside is a huge venue and can seat up to 200 people, it is, however, anything but crowded. We dined on a Tuesday night and on that evening there was 130 booked for dinner, with more walk ins expected. One thing stuck C and I- we had a very spacious area all to ourselves- as does everyone else. When Sono at Portside was built about four years ago, there was a large focus on creating a venue that felt very spacious. A little luxury that often isn't indulged, usually dining seating is quite close together for obvious reasons. Sono Portside also has some of the taken on some of the traditional aspects like custom made private rooms decked out in Japanese style, but also has a more modern element than it's city counterpart.

This rings true with the food too.The two menus differ slightly, as the Portside crowd are a little different. Whilst 80 % are willing to be a little more adventurous with their choices and are happy to indulge in traditional Japanses fare, 20% aren't really keen on that idea and Sono can caters towards that market too with dishes that are toned down and more familiar.

Of course G.G. and C always want to try a large variety of the dishes on offer, so William suggests having the tasting menu ($85 p.p) with a few little twists- sounds good to us! We are also offered matched wines ($+45) but decline, C is driving and I would prefer to drink Sake to get a little bit more acquainted with the beverage that I know little about, but has taken my fancy lately. I couldn't say no to the lychee cocktail that was offered to start off though!? You know what I'm like with cocktails!!

First out is the appetizer platter which consists of fresh oyster with lime sauce, soft shell karaage with shiso salsa and seared wagyu with citrus glazed sauce and chilli grated radish. The oyster is fat and plump and the lime dressing is quite a delight. All the sauces are homemade on site. The soft shell crab's shiso salsa is a show stopper. The wagyu falls a bit short for me, I'm definitely more of a seafood person and the citrus glaze doesn't stand out like the lime and shiso salsa.

Sashimi is next. Incredibly, Sono fly in their Sashimi fresh from Victoria so that they can serve their customers a greater variety of sashimi. Apparently the colder water down south is the place to get the best fish in Australia, so they get the Sashimi to come to them. Sono have the option of more than 10 varities of white flesh fish as opposed to the one or two you can usually buy in QLD. When I probe him about using local ingredients, he assures me that most of his ingredients are sourced locally, but notes that Sashimi is such an important element, he wasn't willing to compromise.

Salmon, Tuna and snapper with shallot and seasme vinaigrette are standard on the sashimi platter, but we are lucky to be provided with a generous serving of Tasmanian Uni (oo-nee). We were eager to try the uni first, C was a first timer so didn't know what to expect. I tried telling him it was absolutely awful so that he would hand over his portion to me, but he didn't fall for my trick and ended up liking the sweet briny taste and creamy consistency. This was probably the nicest uni I have tasted- it was much sweeter than usual, which I liked, apparently a trait of Tasmanian uni.

As you probably know, Sashimi is one of my favourite things, and this sashimi was beautifully fresh and soft. The snapper with soy and seasme vinaigrette was amazingly good - wrapped up like a rose and dressed to the nines it literally felt like it was dancing in my mouth. It was my favourite dish of the evening. Next time, I will order ask if they can please create me an extra large version (perhaps 20 times the size) of this so I can have more than just a taste.

The knife work of the chefs at Sono is also pretty spectacular - they carve everything by hand. William noted that he tries to keep his chefs happy, because a happy chef with no worries produces the best food for the customer. Many of the staff, like our main waitress, have been working at Sono for years, so they become almost like a second family. How cute is this little hand carved Australia?! Love.

ake tasting kits are available if you want to taste a cross section of sake which I did. The kits included Kitanhomare Ginshin Junmai, Tateyama Ginrei Honjozo and Ranman Reinjo Ginjo. Now, obviously I had no idea which to drink to match the food with, but the waitstaff are really helpful. I also had a second tasting kit after the first (C and I were sharing- I wasn't being ridiculously greedy!) which was tapered towards the sake I liked the most in the first tasting. The Kitanhomare Ginshin was quite dry but smooth. The Tateyama Ginrei was quite crisp and the Ranman Reinjo was quite summery. I couldn't really say which was my favourite for sure (because I'm a little confused which is which now) but I think it was the drier Kitanhomare Ginshin as it went really well with the duck that my choice of a main. I will also note, at dessert time, I did have a glass of green tea umeshu (plum wine) because I love it SO much. Words can't describe. I'm actually going to start seeking out some different sakes and umeshu and add them to my liquor cabinet. If anyone knows anywhere I can go to learn about Sake, please let me know, I seriously want to do a course or something to increase my understanding.

Next out was the impressive looking fresh crab meat croquette. The croquette was oozy, creamy and moreish without being too overwhelming as it could be after directly eating sashimi. On this plate, was also a scampi spring roll, hence the scampi head being placed on the plate, as a way of showing that the scampi meat comes directly from a fresh scampi, rather than using frozen packed scampi meat or another alternative.

C is a sushi fiend so was pleased when a nice little selection arrived and was placed on the table before us. The sushi are more traditional and all have quite a clean taste, which is different to the westernized versions you find at many sushi places. Maybe I have become accustomed to the more western versions though, because the fish tempura roll and prawn tempura roll's were a little bland for me. The grilled salmon belly with Japanese mayo and avocado nigiri is my favourite as it is much more flavoursome.

For the main, you have a choice of the South Qld Kobe Wagyu striploin, NSW duck breast and teriyaki orange sauce or the fish of the day with asari clam sauce. C most predictably went for the wagyu, and I most predictably went for the duck breast.

The wagyu at Sono gets a few rave reviews but I wasn't really sold. I have to admit, I am always underwhelmed when it comes to wagyu. It is talked up as though it could be the best thing ever, but really, I think it can become just like any other steak. With a marble score of 6, I thought this was a nice steak, cooked well, but wasn't something I could rave about. Am I being too harsh? It's possible, because my expectations were high. But in fairness, I really wasn't wowed at all.

Something I will happily rave about is the duck breast. I think C had a bit of menu envy, which was a nice change as it is usually me 'wanting what he's got.' The duck breast was meltingly tender, perfectly cooked, nicely pink in the middle and the teriyaki orange sauce was not overwhelming, just perfectly complimentary. The asparagus was fresh and al dente and I really liked the orange segments that were added for flavour. This was a really beautiful dish.

Miso Soup was also served with the mains, which apparently is the customary time to be served in Japan. I wrongly believed it was after the sashimi course!

By this stage, we were starting to be close to full, but didn't have that overfull sick feeling that can sometimes come with a tasting menu. When I commented on this to the waitress, she told us that the menu is specifically designed so that you don't feel leaving too full. One of the many benefits of the Japanese way of thinking about food, which I am keen to learn more about. Dessert came out and I handed my ice cream over to C, but did manage to eat the strawberry mousse cake styled dessert that was, refreshingly, not too sweet.

I really enjoyed my dining experience at Sono. The atmosphere is very serene, and the food is of extremely high quality. From talking to the staff and talking to William, it is easy to see the passion and attention to detail that has been paid to creating the optimal dining experience for patrons. I'm getting more and more enthused about Japanese cuisine and sake. There are some incredibly complex principles behind the Japanese philosophies of food and I was delighted to be invited to experience some of those at Sono Portside.

So, tell me readers: What do you do when your life gets too hectic?

When to go: For a special dinner. The private rooms would be good for a catch up with old friends.

G.G. and C dined courtesy of Sono Restaurant.

Sono Portside
Level 1, Building 7
Portside Wharf
Hamilton QLD 4007