Garlic and Spring Onion Chicken Rice

Strangely, I first tried this apparently common Asian dish in Dunedin. I say 'apparently common' because it seems to be on the menu of most of the Chinese/Cambodian restaurants in Dunedin, yet I'd never seen/heard of it in Malaysia or Singapore, where there is generally a wide variety of all cuisines. 

Anyway, we were new in town and A specifically recommended the 'Steamed Chicken Rice' from Sampan (362, George Street, Dunedin). For Malaysian/Singaporeans, 'Chicken Rice' is a particular local speciality, so I will refrain from calling this that. It quickly became a favourite that we (E, S and I) would crave every other week, for many years. I used to drown it with the clear chicken soup that it was served with and that was the ultimate comfort meal for me, regardless of the season or time of day. Of course its perceived comfort quotient increased in sickness and cold weather.

For various reasons (convenience, simplicity, cost/product ratio, etc), this year I came up with my own quick and dirty version. Given that it wasn't a very refined or complex dish to begin with, I think my (slightly different) version is at least just as good Sampan's.

Garlic and Spring Onion Chicken Rice

Ingredients:
Chicken thigh fillets (or whatever cut you prefer)
OXO chicken stock cubes
Ginger (fresh, peeled, about 5 inches)
Garlic
Spring Onions
Salt
Sugar
Rice
Oil

Method:
1. Boil chicken pieces with 2.5 inches of ginger and 1 crumbled cube of chicken stock.
2. While chicken is cooking, finely mince garlic and spring onions (as you can see from the photo, I did not mince the garlic finely enough this time). If you have a food processor, you can just mince them together.
3. Remove chicken as soon as it is cooked, but do not pour away the stock/soup that the chicken was cooked in.
3. Strain stock/soup with a fine cheesecloth (for best results) or let it rest until all residue settles at the bottom of the pot. Skim the oil off the surface if you like.
4. Add rice to rice cooker pot with 1 crumbled cube of chicken stock, the remainder 2.5 inches of ginger and enough soup/stock (make sure to use only the clear broth and try not to scoop up any residue) to cook the rice, then cook rice.
5. Mix minced garlic and spring onions together. The amounts are up to you. I think a ratio of 2:3 garlic to spring onions is about right. Add a few teaspoons of salt and sugar (about 2:1).
6. Heat oil (enough to cover garlic and spring onion mixture) until hot enough to create a sizzle when a small piece of garlic is added. I use a microwave but heating it on the stove would be much better.
7. Pour hot oil over minced garlic and spring onion mixture and mix thoroughly. It should be quite salty as the chicken, rice and soup will be bland. Add salt/sugar and taste again until it is to your liking. You may reheat this mixture if you like, but you don't want the spring onions to wilt too much or turn too dark.
8. Serve rice and chicken topped generously with the garlic and spring onion mixture and some of stock/soup. It is quite a dry dish without the soup, so I like to drench it, but you should only do that if you have properly strained the soup/stock with a cheesecloth, otherwise the fat and residue (from boiling the chicken) makes the rice greasy and pasty.

BBQ Prawns and Mango Salsa

S made this (with me hovering in the background) in May 2010 and I have been holding out on writing about this, even though it is a real favourite of mine and just about everyone else who has tasted it, because I wanted to get a better photo. The first time S made this, there were no good mangoes available here so we caved and bought canned mangoes, which were revolting (as you can see from the colour in the photo). 

Chef John's Mango Salsa recipe, however, was sound enough to withstand our adulteration. Even with the horrible canned mangoes, the salsa was pretty good and we could easily imagine how great it would be with fresh mangoes. S has made this salsa many times since and it is always, always beautifully refreshing, tangy and absolutely delicious. It's that great accompaniment that lends that all-important zing to barbecued, smokey, rich proteins. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, this is still the best photo for this dish.

Instead of the salmon in the orignal recipe, that first time, we shrimp fiends opted for Chef John's slightly naughtier 'Barbecued' Shrimp, which incidentally was also finger-lickin', lip-smackingly tasty. Sadly, if I remember correctly, we've only had the shrimp twice (because I'm lazy and rely entirely on S's charity when it comes to cooking).

Zucchini Bros Pizzas

As promised, since my last review, my friends and I have managed to try five different pizzas from Zucchini Bros (dining-in and taking-away twice respectively). We could have actually tried more than just five of their pizzas, but as always, we discovered a few favourites very early on, couldn't get enough of them and then just kept ordering the same thing!

The thing that sets their pizzas apart from the rest is that their ingredients are more finely minced or chopped and in smaller pieces than other pizzas. Not only does this allow the flavours and textures to be more evenly distributed throughout the pizza, but it also alleviates the problem of toppings slipping off the slice - which often occurs with pizzas topped with large pieces of ham, pepperoni, etc. Ah, gone are the days of slices with just half a disc of pepperoni on either side and a couple of pieces of olives here and there. Now I can enjoy the taste of every single ingredient that is meant to be on the pizza, on every slice! Very clever Zucchini Bros.

#3 - Mexican beef, bacon, capsicum, jalapeno and oregano: Tried this one first with C and S and it was an immediate hit. Spicy and incredibly tasty. I love the almost earthy, spicy flavour of the minced beef and the sharp saltiness of the bacon.

#7 -  4 Cheese – mozzarella, blue, parmesan, cream cheese and oregano: D-the-cheese-fiend's favourite. Very cheesey, rich and tasty. I can only have one slice, but turophiles like S and D will probably have no problem polishing it off.

#8 - Bacon, anchovy, mushroom, black olive and oregano: Again, love the saltiness of the bacon and anchovies, balanced out by the mellow flavours of the mushrooms. Delicious.

#12 - Salami, ham, mushroom, tomato and oregano (sorry no photo): One of the lighter, cleaner tasting pizzas. Milder, but still tasty. 

#18 - Smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomato, red pepper and oregano (sorry no photo): A bit too rich and cheesey for me. The textures of the ingredients were also a bit too similar, i.e. soft, mushy. OK, but not one of my favourites.

I should also mention that our favourite ZB pasta is on the 'specials' menu and is served with prawns, spinach/asparagus and peas in lemon butter. It is the same one I wrote about in the first review, but when asparaguses are not in season, they substitute it with spinach and the freshness and sweetness that the spinach brings to the dish is just divine. Don't know why it's not on the main menu even though I've seen it on their specials menu since Dec 2010.

Zucchini Bros.

292 Highgate

Roslyn

Dunedin

Ironic

It irks me when the dining experience at a place that I intend to review is neither good nor bad. It's just uninspiring. I find it difficult to get motivated to write about it and then when I force myself, it inevitably turns out to be a dull exercise with boring results. That is why I am only writing about Ironic now, when the brunches that I will be talking about actually happened months ago. I just want to get it out of the way, so this is going to be quick and dirty.

Fresh pancakes with bacon, banana & maple syrup (sorry, no pic): Nice hearty serving of pancakes drenched in maple syrup, with lots of banana and bacon. Nothing extraordinary, but good nonetheless.

Garlic Loaf: Nice and buttery and garlicky. Very tasty, but I am not crazy about hard breads, so this was a tad too hard and dense for me.

Ironic handmade prime lamb burger, smoked cheese, spicy tomato relish & aioli in toasted olive & rosemary bread with hand cut fries: The juicy, succulent patty covered with melted cheese, accompanied with lettuce, fresh slices of tomato, bright tasting relish and tasty aioli was excellent. The over toasted, rock hard bun was definitely not and marred what would have been a thoroughly good burger. An awful let down. The fries (on this occasion) were decent.

Pappadelle chicken pasta with spinach, served in a stunning tomato cream sauce finished with roasted pine nuts & freshly shaved parmesan cheese: S's comments - "Good, liked the flavours of the chicken and the pine nuts. Sauce was just okay." ...and not so stunning after all.

Mushroom Soup (of the day) - This was S's dish and I don't remember her saying anything memorable about this. I am sure that if I am mistaken, she will correct me when she reads this.

Fish of the day in a light speights beer batter served with hand cut fries & salad: The fish was unremarkable and the pieces were way too small for $25.00. The salad was somewhat soggy, but the fries were the absolute worst. Under seasoned, undercooked, dense and chalky. Shockingly bad and categorically the worst fries that I've had in a long, long time. 

Ironic Cafe and Bar 
9 Anzac Avenue 
Dunedin

Port Chalmers Seafood Festival - Saturday, 1st October 2011

It was a mild day - perfect food-festival weather. As S and I made our way to the Port Chalmers Seafood Festival that Saturday, I had my doubts about how enjoyable the event was going to be. My prejudice was based on my experience at a very popular annual food festival that several of us travelled a few hours south for a few months ago. Certain key aspects of that event, in my opinion, were poorly conceived and could have been organised better. These failures became especially apparent in my mind when we saw how well organised the Port Chalmers Seafood Festival was, and what a difference it had on my perception and feeling of what were two almost conceptually identical events. 

So before I talk about the food, let me pay my compliments to the organisers again (already did once before on their Facebook page). Despite being aware of the various modes of free transportation that had been arranged for ticket holders, S and I decided not to be green (naughty!) and drove there. As soon as we arrived in Port Chalmers, there were clearly visible volunteers in bright red t-shirts directing people to available car parks. They had maps of the neighbourhood and told us exactly where to go and where there would be plenty of parking. From there, it was just a short walk through town to the venue, which was easy to find as there were volunteers stationed along the route as well as arrows/footprints to follow on the sidewalk. 

We go there at about noon, which is when one would expect it to be at its busiest. There were a lot of people (reportedly about 6500), yet unlike in festivals before, we never felt overcrowded or swamped. There was plenty of room for people to move about reasonably freely and the place was set up so that traffic could flow through the shed, outdoors and out of the venue without any congestion. That for me, was the difference between being uncomfortable and wanting to just get through it and leave, and leisurely trying all the different things on offer and just sitting down and enjoying the good food. The volunteers who were continually cleaning up and ensuring that the venue was always tidy were great and definitely deserve to be mentioned. I was also delightfully surprised to find that the portable sinks provided provided lovely warm water. It was very pleasant not to be shocked with icy cold water when attempting to wash one's hands, which is what I've come to expect at these types of events. The only significant oversight was the lack of overhead signage for each stall. Unless you asked for one of the venue maps at the entrance, which were strangely not automatically offered, you would not have been able to tell what each stall offered at a glance as most of the signs and prices were at table level or below and there were always people standing in front of stalls, blocking the signs.

First we had the Thai fish cakes in a steamed bun - the fish cakes were OK but the steamed bun was completely unnecessary and smothered the flavour of the fish cakes. Right next to the fish cakes stall, there was a very long queue, which we eventually discovered was for Harbour Fish's crayfish and other fares, so we quickly became part of that queue. Fifteen minutes later, we had a couple of skewers of grilled prawns, a whitebait patty sandwich and two crayfish halves and found ourselves a corner to nosh our nosh. The whitebait sandwich was bland but the grilled prawns and the crayfish were absolutely delicious! So delicious that we ended the day with ANOTHER two skewers of tasty, tasty grilled prawns and 2 crayfish halves, EACH. They were easily the best crayfish that I've ever had - succulent, firm, delectable chunks of sweet flesh, topped with a little creamy sauce. Bliss!

In between our two visits to the Harbour Fish stall, we thought that the long queue for the seafood paella was indicative of something good. It was not. It was actually one of the worst dishes I've ever tasted. Seriously. I paid $10 for a tiny scoop of rice and a few bits of seafood, then we each had one bite and threw it away. Luckily after that we had some pretty good donuts and bacon wrapped mussels from Top Nosh, and of course finished off with those lip-smackin', finger lickin' crayfishes and prawns.

All in all it was a fantastic afternoon and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Everyone behaved very well, except for those idiots who smirked at of those of us who were queueing up properly for the crayfish and proudly told the people in front of us, "Are you guys seriously lining up? We just went straight to the front and got what we wanted". Pathetic. And those who followed their example were even worse. Have some dignity for goodness sake. We all got our food after a few minutes anyway.

Fish Porridge

First of all, 'porridge' to me (and other Malaysians/Singaporeans) is a Chinese rice based.....let's call it 'soup'. Elsewhere, it's known as congee to avoid being confused with with what Westerners call porridge (cooked oats). In fact, now most Chinese restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore have 'congee' in the English portion of their menus, even though it has always been colloquially known as porridge. Regardless, a good porridge (like good soup) can have real depth and a wonderfully comforting quality. My mom's pork porridge is one such example, but when I am in the mood for something lighter, I crave fish porridge. 

In Malaysia or Singapore, I would get this at a hawker stall or with dim sum at a restaurant, i.e. I wouldn't cook. And as you well know, I only cook when I crave something that I can't buy or convince someone else to cook. I don't hate cooking and am able to cook some things reasonably well, but have none of the desire or passion to cook that consumes S and E. They get very antsy and a little neurotic when they haven't cooked or baked in a while. I am very fortunate indeed to be or have been (E is too far away now *pout*) the recipient of the results of many a cathartic mission in the kitchen - including meltdowns and tantrums when things don't turn out quite right (according to them). 

Unlike them, I have no desire to make anything from scratch or in the most authentic, 'correct' way possible. Quite the opposite - if I have to cook, I try to reduce it to the simplest, quickest way to get a result that is to my satisfaction. This recipe is a perfect example - incredibly easy and the produces a fish porridge that is pretty close (S can attest to this) to the 'real-deal' (which includes laboriously making stock with pork and fish bones, etc, etc, which would take half a day at least). The monk fish was delicate and smooth and the porridge had a great savoury flavour with just a hint of the fish's sweetness. The crunchy, freshness of the spring onions, sweetness of the crisp, fried shallots, nuttiness of the sesame oil, sharp saltiness of the soy sauce and slight bite of the pepper are all absolutely essential to this dish and give it the complexity in textures and flavours that makes this dish. 

Ingredients:
Monk fish
Ginger (whole)
Anchovy stock
Chicken stock
Medium/Short grain rice

Toppings:
Shallots (finely sliced)
Cooking oil
Spring Onions (sliced about 1cm width)
Ginger (finely sliced)
White pepper
Soy sauce
Sesame oil

Method:
1. Put about 1 cup of uncooked rice in rice cooker pot (mine cooks up to 7 cups of rice) and fill 3/4 of pot with cold water.
2. Add 1 peeled, two-inch piece of ginger and 1 cube of anchovy stock (may be substituted with chicken stock) to the pot and cook.
3. Check porridge periodically. Should take about 1.5 - 2 hours to soften properly. I prefer my fish porridge really runny, so I periodically stir, add water and let it simmer to get the right consistency.
4. While porridge is cooking, prepare the toppings and cut up the monk fish to approximately 2-inch sized chunks.
5. Fill a shallow bowl with roughly enough cook oil to cover all the sliced shallots. You can put the shallots in the bowl and then pour the oil over it, but I prefer to heat up the oil in the microwave first before adding the shallots. Heat oil in microwave on high for about 2 minutes, then test with a piece of shallot to see if it sizzles. If it does, add in all the sliced shallots and heat on high in the microwave for 2 minutes at a time - there's no precise way to do this, you just have to keep heating and checking to see if it has browned enough. Alternatively, you could just fry them in a pan over a stove.
6. When the porridge is close to the consistency of your liking, add the monk fish chunks and 1 cube of chicken stock and stir. Add water if necessary (if there is too much porridge, before adding the fish, scoop up some into a container and store in the fridge for another day).
7. Cook until fish is cooked and consistency is right.
8. Serve in a bowl, drizzled with sesame oil and soy sauce, and topped with spring onions, fried shallots and a dash of white pepper.

Avocado Wedges

This recipe is from that beer cookbook I reviewed last year, and it's just too good not to share. It has become a real favourite of mine (and S's too!) and we never bother with the cherry tomatoes or chives anymore. No need to gild the lily as they say. 

These wedges, combined with the dipping sauce from the 'Sesame Green Beans' recipe from the same cookbook, is one of the best snacks that I've discovered....EVER. A must-try!

Ingredients:
250ml beer (lager) (the author recommends Export Gold)
1 cup all-purpose flour 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1.5 teaspoons paprika
2 avocados peeled and cut into wedges
salt and cracked pepper to season
vegetable oil for deep frying
8 small cherry tomatoes halved (optional)
2 tablespoons chives (optional)

Dipping Sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar

Method:
1. Combine the beer, flour, garlic and paprika in a bowl and leave to stand for 2 hours.
2. Cut the avocadoes into wedges (about 1.5 cm thick at the base). Lightly season with salt and pepper and coat them with the batter.
3. Pre-heat oil to 180 degrees celcius (or test with a cube of bread - if it crisps easily and quickly, it's hot enough).
4. Fry wedges in hot oil until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.
5. Season again with salt and pepper.
6. Mix dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl, taste and adjust to your preference.
7. May be served with salsa, or cherry tomatoes, with chopped chives.

Cauliflower & Egg Curry (Alison Holst's recipe - modified)

I have previously blogged about this curry here, but it is so good that I have to share the modified recipe. The photo isn't going to get any better, so I will just use the one from the previous post, even though I don't use peas anymore. It's such a great, satisfying vegetarian dish that I normally just eat it on its own, but of course it would go beautifully with a bed of fragrant basmati rice.

Ingredients

410g can seasoned/normal tomato puree
160ml can coconut cream
1/2 a large cauliflower - cut into florets
4 medium sized carrots - chopped into 2 cm thick wedges
1 onion - finely minced
5 cloves of garlic - finely minced
ginger powder
garam masala
2 OXO beef stock cubes
Brahim's curry powder
4 - 6 Eggs
salt
oil

Method

1. Hard-boil eggs.
2. Saute the onions in some oil (in a large pan or wok) until translucent and then add the garlic. Continue sauteing until fragrant.
3. Add 1-2 tablespoons of ginger powder and 2-3 tablespoons of curry powder (Sorry, I just chuck in whatever I feel like and taste it later on, so I can't give you exact measurements).
4. Continue sauteing for a few minutes until mixture darkens a little, then add can of seasoned tomato puree. Simmer for a few minutes.
5. Add garam masala and OXO beef stock cubes and mix well.
6. Add carrots. Simmer until semi tender.
7. Add coconut cream, mix well, then add cauliflower. Simmer until tender.
8. Taste and add salt (and/or curry powder and/or other spices) to your liking.
9. Add peeled, halved hard-boiled eggs, mix gently and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving.
10. Garnish with roughly chopped coriander if you like.

PS: For those who are interested, the original recipe called for minced fresh ginger (which I swapped with ground ginger/ginger powder because the fresh ginger doesn't dissolve and leaves chewy bits in your curry), canned whole tomatoes (which I thought made it far too watery and I didn't care for the bits of resistant tomato skin - see if you can spot a piece in the photo) and peas (which I didn't think really added anything to the dish).

Hee Lai Ton (Sheraton)

I don't go to Hee Lai Ton (aka Sheraton) Restaurant very often when I am back in KL, even though it is one of my favourite Chinese restaurants. It's mainly a proximity issue - it takes 10-15 minutes to drive to my other favourite Chinese restaurant Sin Kee, in Sri Gombak, and about 30-40 minutes to drive to Hee Lai Ton, in Seri Kembangan. Also, compared to Sin Kee, Hee Lai Ton is posher, and the food is better, but more expensive. Therefore, adding the fact that I am normally only in KL for a few weeks, I rarely get to dine at Hee Lai Ton more than once per trip home.

I don't think I've ever had anything at this restaurant that I didn't like - but I am pretty sure that I've only tried maybe 20% of their dishes. Like most normal Chinese restaurants in KL, there's no menu - if there is, it's either written on a board in Chinese characters and/or no one uses it anyway. My marginal grasp of spoken Mandarin and Cantonese and illiteracy in Chinese makes trying to order something new a little bit of challenge, but I have developed a simple solution. Now, when I am in the mood for something new, I just pick a course (i.e. pork, fish, tofu, vege, etc) and ask the waitstaff to recommend something. Then I wait until they name an unfamiliar dish that sounds good and then I quickly interject with "That! I want that!". You have to be quick though, otherwise you'll get into the whole, "No...the one you said before that....nope...before that...." Then, if you get lucky and get something you really like, the challenge is to try to remember what it was called. 

My visits are so rare and far in between that by the time I actually go, I would have been dreaming about a particular dish for days/weeks. So you'll have to forgive me if I tend to fall back on the familiar favourites - trying something new is too risky and just doesn't occur to you when there are specific desperate cravings to satisfy.

When I am not in the mood for novelty, there are always the tried and true. The restaurants in KL are so widespread (in suburbs with complicated routes/access) that unless it's in the neighbourhood or you're desperate for a feed in unfamiliar territory, I think it's rare for KL-ites to visit a restaurant that hasn't been recommended to them in some way. My point is, most people already know what dishes are good at a particular restaurant (whether by word of mouth, reputation, media reviews, etc), even if they are dining there for the first time. My father's business associate brought us to Hee Lai Ton and did all the ordering, and even though I don't remember what we had that first time, I am am pretty sure that when we went back ourselves, what we ordered was based on his recommendations. 

Below are the dishes that I had at Hee Lai Ton during my last trip home. They include two of my absolute favourite dishes, the 'Yan Lei Har' (Indonesian style prawns) and the 'Har Cheong Kuat' (Pork Ribs).

PS: They also do a good 'yee sang' during Chinese New Year, that my mom likes.

'Yan Lei Har' (Indonesian style prawns): For the record, I don't know if this is actually Indonesian, but that's what they call it. Once I tried to order it by asking for the 'curry prawn' dish and was corrected by the waitstaff. Succulent prawns in beautifully rich curry sauce, contrasted nicely with crispy/chewy slices of 'you char kway'.

Okay, I am pretty sure this was one of the "That one!" dishes I ordered. It looks like 'Choy Heong' tofu, but I know that wasn't what it was called. I dont remember it being particularly good or bad, so I guess it doesn't really matter. This style of tofu, with the meat sauce, is one of my favourites and Sin Kee does it quite well.

Har Cheong Kuat (Pork Ribs): 'Kuat' means bone or rib in Cantonese, but I don't know what 'Har Cheong' means. This is one of their signature dishes. These ribs are incredibly, incredibly tasty, juicy and tender. I cannot think/write about them without salivating. A lot of deep fried things have are tasty on the outside and kinda boring on the inside - not these ribs. The meat is deliciously flavoured right to the bone and the delightful, savoury, light crisp exterior is so tasty that it makes you want to lick it all over before actually eating it. Goes beautifully with the tangy chili dipping sauce.

Standard stir fried asparagus with garlic. Unlike in NZ, we don't seem to get the big fat asparaguses in Malaysia - they're all slim, young shoots like above.

Another 'specialty'. Mangoes are seasonal, relatively expensive and good ones are hard to come by. Most Chinese restaurants serve a fruit platter for 'dessert', which usually comprises of watermelon, honey dew and papaya slices. Hee Lai Ton also serves the usual fruit platter but has made mangoes their speciality. There are always boxes of mangoes stacked next to their 'bar'. Usually their mangoes are good, but on this particular occasion, the mangoes were somewhat bland and lacked the sweetness and sourness that, to me, together with the firmness of the flesh, is the definition of a good mango. 

Hee Lai Ton (Sheraton) Restaurant

No 12 Jalan Muhibbah 3

Taman Muhibbah

Seri Kembangan

43300 Selangor

Malaysia

Zucchini Bros.

Pasta with prawns, asparagus & peas in lemon butter

I first visited Zucchini Bros. with CP, in December last year. I had always heard good things about it but my not having a car means that the promptness of my trying a new restaurant and the frequency to which I return to a restaurant is somewhat restricted if it is not located in the city centre. I rely heavily on the goodwill of my 'vehicular-ly' blessed, fellow nosh-hound friends, such as S and CP, when it comes to sniffing out exciting new prospects outside the city.

Ravioli in tomato sauce - I didn't taste this so I can't comment

You will notice the stark difference in the photos from the first visit with CP in December, and the second visit with S, which was only a few weeks ago. This is the thing that I find most annoying about trying to review a place during the winter - if we dine at night, most restaurants are usually too dark for me  to get any decent photos. So, my apologies as usual.

Garlic bread

I may be jumping the gun a little here but I have a feeling that this is going to be my favourite place here for Italian food, even though I haven't tried any of their pizzas yet. The pasta with prawns, asparagus and peas in lemon butter that I had in December was absolutely delicious - bright, subtle and delightfully light and refreshing, which isn't how you would normally describe pasta dishes. CP had the ravioli with tomato sauce, which she said was tasty and just the right portion. We also had the lemony meringue and hot apple cake for dessert - CP wasn't impressed with the former, but I really liked my hot apple cake.

Mussels with tomato, mushrooms, garlic and white wine on conchiglie

It took a few months, but I finally managed to revisit Zucchini Bros. with S a few weeks ago. It was a rainy Wednesday night but by the time we left, the place was completely full (usually a good indicator). We started with the nicest, tastiest, fluffiest garlic bread that I've had in a long while. It had just the right texture - slightly crispy crust, but otherwise soft and fluffy - and had a generous spreading of lovely melted garlicky butter. MMMMMMM!

Chilli, tomato and mint pesto with red pepper and pine nuts on capelli

Our pastas weren't quite as exciting as the garlic bread or the pasta with prawns, asparagus and peas in lemon butter that I had in December, but they were decent. S had the mussels with tomato, mushroom, garlic and white wine on conchiglie, which was tasty, but according to S, wasn't quite developed/complex enough, flavour-wise. I had the chilli, tomato and mint pesto with red pepper and pine nuts on capelli (with chicken) and thought that it was interesting, but the combination of ingredients resulted in a sort of a (for lack of a better word), 'smooshy' pasta dish, which wasn't texturally ideal. The flavour was pretty good, but I have to concur with S's verdict on her dish, in that it too wasn't quite complex enough to sustain one's initial enthusiasm throughout the meal.

Hot apple cake with caramel sauce and hokey pokey ice cream

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our meal enough that we stayed for dessert and S, influenced by my positive comments about the hot apple cake, decided that we should stick with the tried and true. And it was better than I remembered. The cake was warm and moist, the caramel sauce was seductively rich (not a fan of caramel usually) and the hokey pokey ice cream (which neither of us normally like) was like soft, cool, mild, pleasant interludes between bites of rich, sweet, comforting caramel slathered hot apple cake. Bellisima!

Will be trying their pizzas next. Stay tuned.

Zucchini Bros.

292 Highgate
Roslyn
Dunedin

Mystery Box Challenge - M vs S

It will probably come as no surprise to anyone that I like watching reality cooking shows like Top Chef, Hells Kitchen and Master Chef. Not only do these shows allow people to ogle at the food, but they educate us on a vast variety of techniques and terms, introduce culinary celebrities to the masses and most importantly (for me), help build our 'must-dine-at' restaurants list. Of course, the challenges that the creators have devised to test the contestants are also very clever and incredibly entertaining. Of these, the one that I thought would be the most executable for the average Joe/Jane, was the Mystery Box.

And so, after about a month of trash-talking, weight-training and anxiety, one sunny afternoon in May, S and M 'cooked-off' in their first Mystery Box challenge. D and I bought about 20 ingredients (brussel sprouts, bok choi, chicken, squid, prawns, risotto rice, egg noodles, peppers, lemons, cheese, bacon, etc...) that were revealed to both contestants at the same time. In the initial plan, they only had about two hours to cook an entree and a main dish each, but they both spent about half an hour just staring at the ingredients trying to figure out what to cook, that in the end, we just let them cook at their own pace. M, being a typical guy, was supremely confident that it would only take him 15 minutes to cook each dish and vetoed my initial proposal of allowing them three hours to cook. In the end, their prep, cooking and plating took about four hours - excluding pondering and tasting! Luckily that gave M's family plenty of time to go to town, come back and participate in the judging.

Being the total nerd that I am, I had created score sheets (on Excel!) so S and M's dishes were judged on presentation, flavour, balance, originality, execution, on a scale of 1 - 10. I also had some goofy descriptions for the scores on either end of the scale (i.e. '10 = Please marry me!', '0 = Stick your head in the oven and turn on the gas', or something like that) but I deleted them and I don't remember exactly what they were now.

Entrees

M's Ravioli with Tomato Sauce: Excellent, very tasty, astonishingly-simple-to-make, sauce. Filling (chicken, bacon and bok choi) was also nice, but pasta was a little undercooked and a little dry.

S's Prawn Stuffed Squid with Egg Noodle Salad: The stuffed squid was quite tasty and interesting, but unfortunately the noodles turned to mush after cooking and was not good. I think it was the type and brand of noodles that we bought rather than anything S did, because we tried another type from the same brand once before and it too turned out a bit too mushy. Can't be certain until we try cooking these noodles in another way (maybe stir-fy?), but probably won't be so inclined. M also used the the noodles the following day and had the same results.

Mains

M's Shrimp ('cos he's American!) Etouffee and Risotto: M wants you to know that his Cajun Etoufee and Italian Risotto was a true international cross-over dish (and in his words), "unlike S's unilateral-cultural crap". This is an example of the trash-talking that went on before the challenge. I thought that the etoufee was a little sweeter than I would have preferred, but having never had etoufee, the level of sweetness could have been exactly right. Unfortunately, M finished cooking the risotto a little earlier than anticipated, so by the time it was served, it was a little stiff, but the flavour was decent. Also the pairing of two texturally similar items wasn't ideal, but not disastrous.

S's Baked Chicken with Brussel Sprouts and Kumara and Bacon: Really enjoyed the kumara and the brussel sprouts which were very tasty. The chicken had a good flavour, but was overcooked and so a little dry.


Irrespective of the outcome, we the diners, whose only job was to watch, eat and criticise, appreciate the effort and thought that S and M put into this challenge. It was very, very close, but S emerged the victor and M (who was sabotaged by his own flesh and blood), through the screams and tears, immediately demanded a recount. In the end, after a lot of plate-throwing, he was pacified with the promise of a new Lotus. Other than that, I am pretty sure everyone, including the contestants, had a really good time, enjoyed the cooking, the eating and the company. M is desperate for a re-match but S won't dignify him with one just yet. Stayed tuned....

PS: Special thanks go to P for photographing the event and allowing me to use his gorgeous photos - the ugly ones are mine.

PPS: I may have taken some liberties in my dramatisation of M's character. Maybe.

Tetsuya's

Pacific Oysters with Rice Vinegar and Ginger

S and I dined at Tetsuya's almost three months ago. My procrastination may by attributed to a number of things: I have been busy at work, the photos did not turn out well because of the low-lighting in the restaurant, but most of all, when I thought about writing a review of a thirteen course degustation meal, I just didn't know where to begin. 

Of course, it was fantastic. Even though we had very high expectations (that were met), there were still certain elements of the experience that were delightfully surprising. The problem with a thirteen course meal, however, is that no matter how amazing it is, you just can't remember and/or gush about every single element on all the various dishes. It's just too much. You remember you had a wonderfully decadent meal and enjoyed it immensely. But like being at a good rock concert, you are exhilarated throughout the event, and you recall particular favourite moments, but at the end of it, you can't really begin to describe every little detail about the experience. It's a sensory overload that leaves you happy and on a high, but foggy on the details (no, we were not drinking).

Special mention must go to the staff, who were all extremely professional, exceedingly charming, friendly (which is something that is sometimes traded-off in fancy restaurants), and very, very easy on the eyes. Absolutely unparalleled, superb service. I can't wait to return and would love to have the opportunity to host a dinner with a larger group of friends in of the private rooms one day. But there are so many other famous restaurants to visit too........and that's just Sydney!

S and I couldn't stop talking about moving to Sydney after the fantastic time that we had there - especially at Tetsuya's, Zilver and Jersey Boys. Of course that's barely scratching the surface and there's so much more of Sydney to experience, but I think we're already sold.

Now the food: I freely admit that I didn't know what quite a few of the ingredients were, and that was half the fun. Unless otherwise stated, everything was really good and almost everything was novel and interesting. Like I said, I remember how I felt about some dishes and the meal in its entirety, but not the specific details of each dish. I apologise for the poor quality of the photos. You'll notice that I have only uploaded photos of eleven of the thirteen dishes, because the photos of the first and last dishes were just not fit for publishing. My favourite dishes were the Chilled Cucumber Soup with Sheep Yogurt Ice Cream, which I failed to photograph properly unfortunately (the excitement of the first course might have had something to do with that), Tetsuya's signature ocean trout, the lamb and the sorbet of peone grapes. I didn't have the oysters, but S said that she had never had oysters like that - naturally sweet, meaty and very tasty. Her expression when she had the first bite was priceless.

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Sheep Yogurt Ice Cream: Deliciously cool and refreshing. I especially loved the faint sourish zest that the ice cream contributed to the sweetish soup.

Sashimi of Yellow Fin Tuna with Shishito and Garlic Chips

Marinated NZ Scampi with Curd and Jusai

The startling saltiness and the flavour of the scampi really excited my palate and paired nicely with the soft, bland curd. Very nice.

Tetsuya's Signature Confit Petuna Ocean Trout with Konbu, Apple and Celery

There's a reason why he's famous for this dish. Luscious trout topped with a lovely salty layer of seaweed, complemented with the arresting acidity and slight sweetness of green apples. Beautiful.

Steamed Mulloway with Black Bean and Ginger

I was least impressed with this dish. It was tasty and perfectly executed but was just very similar to the steamed fish that is served in normal Chinese restaurants back home. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but I was just expecting something a little more unusual.

Braised Ox Tail with Sea Cucumber and Lotus Root

Pancetta Wrapped Quail Breast with Pine Mushrooms and Chestnut

De-Boned Rack of Lamb with Eggplant and White Miso

Gorgeous. Wonderfully tender, juicy, delicious lamb, paired with the most scrumptious eggplant/white miso thingy that I have ever tasted. Incredible.

Sorbet of Pione Grapes and Tarte Tartin

Loved the sorbet and the soaked grapes. Don't know what they were soaked in (I suspect there was alcohol involved) but the explosion of juice and flavours was deliciously intoxicating. The flavour of the sorbet was also quite unusual and incredibly refreshing.

Genoa Figs with Leatherwood Honey and Fig Leaf Ice Cream

Chocolate Pave with Cream Cheese Ice Cream and Cinnamon Twigs

I thought that this would be a favourite. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly like the cream cheese ice cream and expected the pave to be chilled (not knowing what a pave is or how it is supposed to be served) - probably because it reminded of mousse. Having said that, it was nice and chocolatey. For me, this would have been the dish to end with. The Chai Mochi that followed was also chocolatey and that tipped me over my chocolate limit for the night - I went from 'decadently-full' to 'oh no.... too... much.....'

The menu - Thursday 14 April 2011

Tetsuya's Restaurant
529 Kent Street
Sydney 
NSW 2000
Australia

Gü

Let me introduce you to my latest food find - Gü. This UK company makes the most divine off-the-shelf desserts. Their full product range is advertised on their UK website, but unfortunately, as far as I can tell, only eight of them are available in the supermarkets here (these and the hot chocolate melting middles). I haven't managed to take very good photos of the ones I have tried, but there are plenty of gorgeous photos on the UK and Australian Gü websites.

I actually first saw them in the supermarkets a few months ago but they were a little expensive so I wasn't in any hurry to try them. I can't remember what prompted me to try the the chocolate pudding a few weeks ago (probably the gaping holes in the supermarket shelves indicating that something is popular), but I am glad I did, and that was the beginning of the obsession with all things Gü. Based on what was sold out first, I have deduced that the local favourites are the chocolate and vanilla cheesecake and the key lime pie, neither of which I have had a chance to try yet.  

Hot Chocolate Melting Middles: I haven't managed to take a good photo of it actually oozing, but the photo on the website is an accurate depiction of the real thing. Velvety dark chocolate cake with a molten centre oozing with rich dark chocolate sauce. Divine!

Sensationally Citrusy Lemon Cheesecake: I was so seduced by the chocolate pudding that I was convinced that everything else Gü would equally amazing. The lemon cheesecake is the only one that has failed to impress thus far, and 3 out of 4 ain't bad. I loved that they served them in little glass ramekins but that's about it. My main peeve is that it was far too grainy, when it should have been silky smooth and luxurious. There was nothing memorable about the flavour or anything else. This put me off trying the key lime pie because someone told me that it is the acidity in the citrus fruit that makes it difficult to produce a smooth consistency in a cheesecake because the acid reacts with the dairy or something like that. I don't know how accurate this is, but it stands to reason that if one citrusy cheesecake is grainy, then another citrusy cheesecake from the same company could have a similar texture.

[Edit 22 June 2011: Just tried the Key Lime Pie and it is indeed deliciously tangy and citrusy. Smooth too. Much better than the lemon cheesecake IMO. Mmmm...]

Naughty Gü-ey Chocolate Rolls: Better photos here. Beautifully moist, dark, rich chocolate cake encased in a crisp dark chocolate shell. Perfect for a quick hit of decadence to perk you up in the middle of the day... or whenever.

Cheeky Little Pots of Chocolate Ganache: Better photos here. Luxuriously smooth, soft, dark chocolate ganache. I haven't tried them served hot yet, but they were so good chilled, I am not sure I'd do anything to change that. Perfect size for a rich, naughty treat. Absolutely delicious.

Go get some Gü now. Gü Gü Gü.