A Few of My Favourite Things !

I was fortunate to have two full-time babysitters in mum & dad while staying in Bangkok so I took the opportunity to get away for some much-needed shopping therapy. I also watched a movie (and suffered motion sickness as a result) and took a half-day cooking class. The dishes were pretty straightforward but, of course, the best part was not having to do any of the washing up. We were a group of 8, ranging from first timers at a cooking school to two men who were taking a week’s worth of lessons.

Panadanus Leaf-wrapped Chicken

Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad) served with carved vegetables

Prawns in Tamarind Sauce

Roast Duck in Red Curry Sauce

I had some amusing dining companions, three from the airline industry. They have awarded the Japanese as the best passengers ever – ever polite, never requiring any special attention – and the gong for the worst go to Indians – 2 hours to board with a few still missing by the end, “are you trying to starve us?” if the flight staff don’t get the food out quickly enough.

There are a number of cooking schools to choose from but I went with Baipai because I had heard good reviews and their menu sounded more interesting and authentic than some others.

What is not obvious from these photos is that the rider’s helmet is covered in matching pink fur. His girlfriend didn’t appear to have a helmet so I’m assuming that he is the one with the Hello Kitty obsession. Interestingly, we also spotted quite a bit of Hello Kitty paraphernalia being sold in Spain & Portugal. Is she making a bid to take over the world?

Looking for a child-friendly place for brunch, a friend recommended the Auction Rooms as a great place that had room for a pram. So, we wandered up to Victoria Market, purchasing some groceries on the way, then made our way to Errol St in North Melbourne. Not quite knowing where Errol Street was, we asked directions from three blokes chatting in from of a pub. Two of them, who appeared to have already well on their way to being sozzled, informed us to keep walking in that direction but that Errol Street was 2km away. Fortunately, their estimations were quite a way out and we were there within 15 min., stumbling upon it right after passing Fandango.

My idea of a perfect breakfast – miso soup with silken tofu, fried tofu, carrots, shimeji mushrooms, wakame, one beautifully-cooked still-runny poached egg and a riceball on the side. Ahhh, bliss on a Saturday morning…

Before EJ, I had no idea how daunting the task of motherhood is. I don’t know how I would have survived the first three months without the support of all those mums out there so this is a visual thank you.

These look really professional but are dead easy to make. Put together the cupcake batter of your choice, fill some flat-bottomed cones two-thirds of the way up and bake as usual. Whip up a buttercream frosting and decorate with colourful sprinkles, hundreds-and-thousands and cute animal or flower motifs.

I was browsing through the children’s books at Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookshop on the weekend when I came across this in the pop-up books section.

Upon enquiry about the suitability of this, I was told “Well, we don’t have a pornographic pop-up book section”. Hmmmmm…..

Lau’s Family kitchen is quickly becoming a firm favourite with our family. We were celebrating a belated birthday (dad’s) and my brother meeting his nephew for the first time so we made a lunch reservation so that Baby EJ could come along. The service at Lau’s is highly attentive and although I didn’t have a problem with this last time, it was a little suffocating this time. There were so few tables that our waitress (fairly new I think) only had our table to look after. On the whole though, it’s better to have this problem than not being able to attract any of the waitstaff.

The dishes were served in individual portions, again not my preference as I like being able to choose how much of each dish I have. To me, having a chinese meal is about sharing from the dishes in the middle of the table and being given predetermined portions takes away from the idea of sharing. Also, there is a practical aspect that not everyone eats the same amount of food…which is also why I rarely go for degustation menus. Well, apart from those two issues, Lau’s was well-worth the visit. This is what we had:

Oyster with black bean sauce – very tasty & we saw them shucking the oysters at the start of the lunchtime service

Steamed barramundi – just AMAZING. Completely delicate flavours and the most tender morsels of fish I have ever had. We have not gone wrong with their steamed fish yet.

Cantonese beef – tender, tasty flamed-grilled flavour

Mixed vegetables – not oily and filled with fresh vegies that were still slightly crunchy. My favourite cloud ear fungus

Scallops – my least favourite as I found them to be just a tad overcooked. Very subtle flavour

Go at lunch if you to converse with your friends or go at dinner if you’re with boring company. You can smile and nod politely, pretending you’re able to hear everything being said =)

Lau’s Family Kitchen
4 Acland Street
St Kilda
(03) 8598 9880

We checked out the renovated Westfield Shopping Centre in Doncaster on the weekend & purchased some fruit & veg from the new shop next to Coles. While browsing the aisles, we came across a fruit that resembled a large green mangosteen. Unable to identify the fruit from their price signs, A. asked one of the stockers what kind of fruit this was & the reply was “It’s a custard apple”.

A: “I don’t think this is a custard apple”
Reply: “Yes, it is”
A: “No, it’s not”
Reply: “Yes, it is”
A (slightly exasperated): “No mate, I know what a custard apple looks like”
Reply: “Where did you get it from? Over there? Okay, it’s not a custard apple”

An older lady then approached the same guy and pointed to another fruit asking what that was & the reply she received was that it was a custard apple. A. was still standing there so he said “That’s not a custard apple either”

Reply: “Yes it is”
A: “No it’s not”
Reply: “Yes it is”
A: “No it’s not, that’s a dragonfruit. THAT (pointing to the real thing) is a custard apple”
Reply: “Are you sure?”

Update: The fruit turned from green to black over several days. Very much resembled a persimmon on the inside but a very dark purple in colour. The flesh remained crunchy and didn’t turn soft.

Seeing as Neil has so eloquently described the bloggers dinner at Jamon Sushi, I thought that I would simply add some photos of the food we had that night. The only other thing that I will say is that A. loves the passion that Charles demonstrates and that I wish I had been able to stay for the soba course.

My time used to be my own. I could do (or not do) what I pleased, pretty much whenever I wanted. Now, my time belongs to EJ. My life is regulated by his feeding, playing and sleeping times and each long day stretches out like a road towards a horizon that I can never reach. I still find my release in baking although, for the time being, I am limited to cake mixes and quick & easy recipes. No Daring Bakers feats are possible just right now but maybe one day, one day in the near future, I will again be able to try something a little more complicated.

This easy-bake slice, modified from Best Recipes, is a cut above the rest with its chocolate-flavoured coconut topping and my substitution of raspberry with loganberry jam. It reminded me of a shortcakey lamington and everyone loves a lamington, right?

I made these after putting EJ to bed for the night, the plan being to take them with me for a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) meeting the following day. I woke up, got EJ and myself ready to head out, went into the kitchen to pick up the slice…but where had it gone? I looked everywhere around the kitchen, including the oven and fridge, thinking that my preggo brain had not fully recovered yet but could not locate it. On my way, I texted A. asking whether he had seen the slice anywhere – “oh, you didn’t put it on the kitchen bench for me to take into the office?” (sigh!) At least the office team enjoyed it…

Make these but put them in a safe spot:

Base:

125g butter
125g sugar
250g S.R. flour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

* Cream butter & sugar, then add other ingredients and mix into stiff dough. Press into cake tin.
* Cover base with a layer of loganberry jam

Top:

1 cup shredded coconut
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbs cocoa

* Mix well & spread over jam layer
* Bake slice at 180C for 15-20 min