A Few of My Favourite Things !

Well, not completely true, as there actually is a very large one at the entrance and I really wanted to take a photo with (read ‘sitting atop’) the wood/metal Charging Bull-inspired sculpture and now I’m regretting not doing so. But I certainly don’t regret accepting the invitation to a Bloggers’ Dinner last night. I’ve been an irregular poster (at best) since having my two boys so I was surprised to be included on this list. But it happened to fall on the day EJ & Z stay over with their grandparents, so why not. Plus there’s not a whole lotta Brazilian things in Melbourne and I get to eat Brazilian one night and work it off with capoeira the next. Although Steer doesn’t claim to serve Brazilian food as such, but rather uses flavours and techniques to pay homage.

Thinking I was running just a few minutes early, I found a third of the table already filled when I arrived. I managed to score a seat near Thanh and Claire, whom I first met about 2 years ago at Jamon Sushi, as well as Penny, Billy, Adrian and Emily.

So the night started with the national drink of Brazil, a Caipirinha, which I declined as I was going to be driving. After a long pause, during which we waited on a few late arrivals, the amuse-bouche of Wagyu short ribs with soy glaze and smoked eel arrived, much to the relief of all those growling stomachs whose owners had been pitifully crying out ‘I’m SO hungry. Where’s the food?’. This was accompanied by the Argentinian NV Familiar Schroeder Brut-Rose ‘Rosa de Los Vientos’, which I had a sip of thinking it’s just a sip. Talk about melt-in-your-mouth – I think that little cube of beef was falling of my little starter fork. The little potato gem could have brought its family and I would have been happy to house them all.

Next up was octopus with a mixed melon terrine, squid ink gnocchi and black garlic puree accompanied by a Barossa Valley 2006 Rockford Semillon ‘Local Growers’. The terrine looked just like my mum’s kueh lapis with its alternating layers of red and pink but it was the black garlic sludge that got the most oohs and aahs.

Until then, I was wondering where the Brazilian influence had been hiding so I was looking forward to the next dish, titled Acarajé, a traditional Brazilian street food. This is normally a deep-fried black-eyed pea patty stuffed with tomatoes and a spicy paste of dried shrimp, ground nuts and coconut milk but Steer gave us a restaurant (read ‘deconstructed’) version of it served with a soft shell crab leg and prawn. Even knowing that Brazilian food is quite eclectic and influenced by many cuisines from around the world, the spicy paste was so reminiscent of a laksa paste that I still wondered which came first. How can you not love this dish with all that deep-fried tastiness sitting atop the spicy paste? This was served with what was my favourite wine of the night – a 2007 Laplace Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec from France. I should mention that by this stage I had cajoled my husband to take a train in and drive me home so all was well.

I think what was the dish of the night for just about everyone was the assiette of mushrooms – an array of pickled, braised and sauteed wild and seasonal mushrooms, duxelle tortellini and field mushroom puree. All I could think of when I was eating this was that my boys would have fallen over themselves to get to it. I would have had to draw the line for my 3 year old with the 1962 Carlo Peregrino Marsala Vergine Riserva though!

I have to say that the Marsala Vergine and the açaí sorbet confused instead of clearing my palate and my stomach had expectations that the meal was coming to an end. But no, there was a dish of roasted duck breast with caramelised witlof, confit duck leg boudin, smoked brazil nut and quinoa. I offered Adrian two slices of the duck breast but after trying it, I was ready to shout ‘give it back!’. The sausage slices however did not stand a chance against that and the sweet crunchiness of the witlof and I would have been happy to give them away. Oh, as well as the 2005 Martinus Estate Pinot Noir from New Zealand which I simply found too dry and intense.

Taking a breather at this point to step away from the Chef’s table that we were at, I had a chance to admire the decor and the artwork, as would be required when you’re sharing a site with The Olsen ‘Art Series’ Hotel, of Cezary Stulgis. I was quickly called back to enjoy the action of serving the Churrasco, whereby executive chef Stacy Thompson and his team gave each of us a turn to grab the meat with tongs as they walked around the table slicing it. A platter each of rump and sirloin slices were then brought to the table and served with feijoada, a black bean and chorizo stew, and chorizo stew and fresh orange slices. I found the rump most enjoyable of the three cuts and it still made me salivate despite protestations from the groaning stomach. I’m sure the feijoada is great but I think it was just too heavy for me by this stage. I also wasn’t taken with the only Brazilian wine of the night, a 2005 Miolo ‘Gran Lovara’.

The comeback arrived in a BIG way with dessert – a petit gateau de dulce de leche served with caramel fondant, a flourless (?) pistachio cake, cubes of goiabada (guava paste) and açaí sorbet. I want the recipe for that gateau!!! STAT! NV Chambers Muscadelle ‘Old Vine’ Classic.

Finally, our night finished off with little brigadeiro truffles made of condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder then dusted with either coconut or cocoa. I don’t have a photo but I can report that many took seconds for the road when the plate was passed round again. This was followed by a digestive, 1998 Chiyo Shuzo ‘Genshu Koshu’ sake. It smelled and tasted medicinal -herbal and bitter. Sommelier Raúl Moreno Yagüe said that it would settle our stomachs so I drank it in the same way that I might drink a herbal soup that mum brews for its cooling qualities – holding my nose.

I already want to bring my brother to try out the place but enough about the food already. There was also a surprise announcement when we were there – Steer are offering two bloggers an opportunity to undertake a 2 week stage or internship to experience a little of what goes into running a restaurant. Only a small taste, of course, but what an interesting opportunity for putting out your tentacles and getting a feel for the industry, especially if one is considering foraying from their current career path. The decision was made to come to a decision as to who would participate by COB Friday. Am I contemplating it? As with most, the concern was being able to put the time into doing it. But also, the other question is do I want it more than the four hands that went up when the question was asked?

Others who were also there included Joyce, Joanna, Ben and Phyllis, Tristan, Neil, Matt. I hope I didn’t miss anyone…please let me know if I did.

Did anyone NOT watch the Masterchef Finale? And did anyone NOT love both the finalists, Adam & Callum – whom both have blogs now.

Seeing as we had not done a potluck since our Neil Perry special, I decided it was time for us to have a Masterchef cook-off, the idea being to cook a recipe from the Masterchef website and bring it along for all to try. As I didn’t bother asking what anyone was making, I was a little concerned that we would end up with four desserts and one entree and we’d have to order in pizza – not that there would have been anything wrong with eating four desserts for lunch. Fairytale ending…

We started with Adam’s Prawn Scotch Eggs with a Coconut, Chilli Sambal. So good.

This was followed by George’s Open Beef Kofta and George & Gary’s Chicken Winglets, Hummus and Raw Vegetable Salad (I took the photo before the winglets were placed!)

To end the meal, we had George’s Braised Tomatoes with Smoked Chocolate Mousse – my effort – and a Fruit & Cheese Platter.

Thanks to Ed, we were saved from having to pay the $30 entry fee to the Taste of Melbourne. I’m guessing that there must have been a lot of complimentary entrance tickets floating around as there was a large sign outside reminding people to validate their free tickets prior to entering. Despite getting in for nothing, we still spent $60 on the “crowns” in order to purchase food so not a cheap lunch but a good opportunity to have a little taste from each restaurant.

Friday afternoon turned out to be a great time to go as we didn’t have to queue at all. The busiest stand by far was the Press Club/Hellenic Republic & Maha one, probably as a result of George’s high profile after Masterchef Australia. Or possibly because it was three stands in one. Indeed, as we waited for our Lamb Kustilji we continually heard ‘Masterchef’ or ‘George’ being dropped in every conversation. The man himself was there behind the counter but he didn’t seem especially friendly. On the other hand, Shane Delia was all smiles and “yalla, yalla!”, welcoming everyone to their stand.

Maha’s Lamb Kustilji: crispy lamb ribs, roast nuts & spices, lemon & yoghurt. A really fun, stand up & eat kind of dish.

The Press Club/Hellenic Republic & Maha stand:

We had a quick chat to the lovely Frank Camorra at Movida, who recommended his slow-cooked cuttlefish with chorizo & chickpeas. I personally would have preferred to try the braised beef with spanish paprika, saffron & potatoes but A. happily slurped down this dish.

I was really excited about Nobu’s black cod with miso, having read so much about it. And thankully, it was everything I expected and more.

One of my absolute favourite “sandwiches” is the char siew pau so when I saw Circa’s BBQ She Wagyu, steamed bun, pickled carrot, spring onion & hoisin I was imagining a classy cross between the humble char siew pau, pekind duck pancakes & banh mi, if that makes any sense at all! It had good strong flavours and came SO close, but in the end it just wasn’t quite there yet. Maybe it was the steamed bun not having the right texture – it was neither fluffy enough for a pau nor crunchy enough for a baguette – or maybe there was too much of the hoisin sauce…something.

Our next stop, Verge, for the milk chocolate delice, coconut & basil, salted caramel popcorn which looked so beautiful I couldn’t go past it. Rich, rich, rich! (whisper: actually I preferred the brownies below)

Lots of stands that you could sample goods at, chat to the producers. We didn’t have a lot of time away from our son but even so we managed to do two rounds of the Exhibition Building and covered most of these. We bought outstanding brownies from Dello Mano, a Brisbane-based company. Each 50g little square was $6 but pretty delish, although
A. loyally agreed that mine were as good if not better =)

We had to dodge puddles to get there but we did make it to the Connex Sizzle yesterday. Not great weather for a BBQ but good news for people with prams as we didn’t have to weave our way through heavy crowds and contend with dirty looks.

We purchased a $35 ticket for 4 tasting plates and I already knew which 4 dishes I wanted to try.

This was A’s selection as he had heard so many good things about Maha – the Lamb Kebab by Shane Delia. Pretty tasty but not much about this particular kebab would induce me to pick it over a roadside or cheap cafe kebab.

Mmmm, this Bebere Marinated Chicken, Smoked Tomato, Cucumber & MInt Salad in Pita Bread by Matt Wilkinson of Circa was really yummy. They could have done me a favour by using less fatty chicken. I’m not usually someone who fastidiously picks away every bit of skin but I estimate that I pulled off about 20% of each chicken piece.

By far the most disappointing of the four, I had had such high hopes for Teage Eqard’s BBQ Char Siu Pork with Plum Sauce and Marinated Beanshoots but it failed to convert. I found the pork just that side of overdone and lacking in flavour, especially since the name had my mouth watering at the thought of real char siu. A pity as there was a big push on pork products at the festival with a 2-for-1 offer that was being handed out by the lovely ladies.

Whoa!!! Dallas Cuddy of Verge‘s Miso Marinated Prawn with Salad of Soba Noodles, Spring Onions and Ponzu was the absolute pick of the bunch. I could have eaten this ten times over, no joke, and I even crunched down the tail, shell & all. Even my one year old couldn’t stop munching on the prawns and slurping down the soba.

We also managed to drag (!) ourselves down for Wicked Sunday today however I have to say that having been here twice now, this event just doesn’t excite me. I love chocolate, I love cakes, I love gelati but…y’know how it is when you just feel…well, nothing. There are heaps of coffee stalls so this is heaven for any coffee connoisseurs, but still how many cups can one person have? I guess some more than others! What I can say is that I LOVED the way St Ali set up their stall:

and also, this could get REALLY confusing…

We were all sitting around at J’s house one night flicking through cookbooks when we came up with the brilliant idea of a Neil Perry potluck. Taking turns to flip open at a random page, we managed to select an entree, three mains and one dessert for each person would have to cook for the next get-together. It’s such a good thing that this group all (most?) love to cook.

This was meant to be a Salmon, Green beans and Egg Caviar salad but N decided to substitute snowpeas as they looked fresher on the day he went to the market. Even A, who doesn’t like smoked salmon all that much, enjoyed this dish. I managed to sneak a little bowl of leftovers away to have for lunch the next day.

J&L, big Neil Perry fans, brought this Salmon with Tomato-Braised Chickpeas and Herbed Yogurt. According to them, Neil Perry’s recipes are deceptively simple, more straightforward than Jamie Oliver’s.

J’s dish, a Dry Prawn Curry, was pronounced the most delicious looking when she saw the photos later on. Tasty as this was, J didn’t agree with J&L that Neil Perry’s dishes are easier to cook!

Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of my Honey-Braised Duck with Orange and Olives but we did finish the night off with E’s Lemon Yogurt Cake, baked on behalf of S&B.

All-in-all, a good night with good friends with Neil Perry’s Good Food.

Ever since I saw these Horlicks cookies here, I’ve been dying to make them. With Chinese New Year coming up and it being the Year of the Rat, I decided to go with a modified look to suit the theme.

Using Umbrella Cookies (also known as Pigs Ears cookies I am told) for the ears was a good idea in theory but much harder to put into practice as they didn’t want to stay on. I also tried using pink chocolate chips for the nose but they turned brown in the oven but the gel icing worked out well instead. I made a half batch of rat cookies then decided to be lazy and make normal ones with the rest of the batter!

Wishing you you very happy and prosperous year.

We don’t have a tradition of celebrating Shrove Tuesday or have an actual need to use up ingredients before Lent but as A. is an ardent lover of pancakes, I made some in honour of this day.

The pancake (yes, just a single one as he was rushing to a meeting) was served with some strawberries that we had picked up from a farmer was filling up at a Seymour service station at the same time and honey from the Milawa Mustard store.

PS- try not to acciddentally shake in too much bicarb soda or the batter will be bitter!

Something that Neil wrote reminded me of a story from my quick visit to the local supermarket a few weeks back. Occasionally the checkout staff wil not know what a certain fruit or vegetable item is, especially if they are of the more exotic variety for a supermarket item – pomegranate, persimmon, starfruit – and that’s okay with me. This evening, the girl reached the last item in my basket, a bulb of baby fennel. She waved it at me and stated “This is garlic, right?”

That makes me sad.

On a different topic, we visited the Good Food Show last Friday and can I just say what a disappointment that was? $25 per person for entry but there was nothing new to discover. Like others, we tried to purchase individual Boscastle pies but they were only selling them in variety packs, we were rushed out of the Nestle Noir tent after sampling one piece although there was no line, there just seemed to be a general lack of enthusiasm from those manning the stands.

One funny thing though was the Asian stand selling Jasmine rice. They were giving out samples of rice served with a red curry and one woman came up and said “Can we have some curry without the rice? My husband doesn’t eat rice”. You can imagine the look on the server’s face!

There are so many events on this weekend that one hardly knows how to spend one’s time – the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, the Antipodes Festival, the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, the 12th FINA World Championships. As much as I love the latter two, I couldn’t go past the International Flour Festival that took place this weekend as part of the food festival.

The YUZU catering company does some really inventive and tasty food. We had the seafood okonomiyaki to kick off our afternoon and a side dish of sun balls (behind the prawns), which are like arancini with an asian kick – rice, shitakes, sesame seeds.

Next up, a ‘Paesan’ pizza from Pizza Farro who specialise in spelt pizza bases which are lighter in texture and great for wheat-intolerant pizza lovers.

I have never been a big fan of Mexican food but assumed that I hadn’t tried any authentic yet. Los Amates claims to be ‘the place where Mexicans come to eat’ however their Sopes didn’t do much to win me over. The handmade case is slightly sour in flavour and the refried bean, salsa and cheese topping tasteless. Is it just that my tastebuds are not tuned into Mexican food or is there a place someone can recommend me that would awaken them?

Alaysa Turkish Restaurant had a yummy looking stand filled with boreks and thick fluffy-based pizzas.

I had been craving naan and curry for some weeks now so it was fortuitous that Tandoori Den Camberwell was there. We shared a combination platter which had a scoop of each curry (butter chicken, dhall, vegetable, beef vindaloo), 2 samosas, rice and a piece of naan. Butter chicken is still my favourite but their beef vindaloo was up there too.

AMES had a stand that was selling curries and stews the like of which I had never come across. Unfortunately, we had had our fill and couldn’t try all these out

It was a great day overall but I can’t understand why there was pretty much only one stall representing each cuisine when Melbourne has some of the most amazing restaurants around. If it’s okay to have several bread stalls, then why not two or three Japanese food stands or more than one stall making roti. Surely there would not be too much overlap? Maybe that’s something to consider for next year…

I love this tradition of tossing the prosperity salad! I love watching everyone getting their chopsticks in and the vegetables getting progressively jumbled. It tastes great too, of course.

Mum cooked some fantastic food and we were able to invite the guys from work to join us. Apart from the salad, there was loh bak, fish balls, roast pork ribs, duck stuffed with glutinous rice, noodles, fried rice, steamed chicken.

Enjoy the photos and best wishes for a prosperous new year!