No. 7 Balmac

No. 7 Balmac's rustic, casual-chic charm reminds me of Riverstone Kitchen. After patronising most of the fine dining establishments in Dunedin over the last nine years, I've decided that I much prefer this relatively relaxed ambience over the sometimes overly stuffy and haughty character conveyed at certain other posh restaurants - particularly since the food at some of these more relaxed places is comparable to the the food at the 'posh' places. I use the terms 'fine dining' and 'posh' very loosely when referring to restaurants here - in Dunedin they simply mean restaurants where the mains cost about $35 or more and are not pure bars or cafes. While places like No. 7 Balmac are nice, upmarket restaurants, you wouldn't exactly call them 'posh'. The food at No. 7 Balmac, however, ranks second in Dunedin on my list, and I have a far more enjoyable time there - after all that's all that matters.

NB: Before we begin, I must apologise for the quality of the dessert photos - we usually lose the light by the time desserts arrive and 'cosy' restaurant lighting isn't conducive to food 'photography', particularly when you know next to nothing about photography.

In October, we celebrated P's birthday there with his friends. Everyone order the same main, except S. It was a really good night. The food was great and after dinner we introduced Cranium to the guys and everyone had riotous time. P-the-Creative-Cat-fiend, especially, loved it.

Bruschetta: Very, very good, but not quite as amazing as the first time I had it (perhaps earlier in 2011). Then, it was made with buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil and the combination of beautiful, fresh, natural flavours was exceptional. This time, instead of basil, I think it was rocket? - sorry, I can't remember and can't say for certain from the photo.

Hereford Prime dry-aged scotch fillet: This was the main that everyone but S had. A very nice, tasty, rustic meal. Especially loved the hand cut chips and the deliciously bright chimichurri sauce. 

Coq au vin: S's main. She loved it. I had a bite but I don't remember much about it except that it was subtly flavoured. 

Flourless warm Belgium chocolate pudding, vanilla bean ice-cream & hazelnut praline: It had an incredibly light, soft, texture but was still lovely, sumptuous and chocolatey. Mmmmm. Divine. I loved this so much that I ordered it again when we revisited in November. 

Steamed currant pudding?: I am not 100% certain of what this was called but S enjoyed it.

Warm real chocolate brownie with ice-cream: Most of the guys had this. A large chunk of warm, chewy, chocolately brownie, topped with ice cream. One of the guys ordered the chocolate pudding, had a bite of the brownie and wanted the brownie instead. I preferred the pudding but I think the guys were partial to more weight, chew and bite to their chocolate thing.

Fast forward to November - no particular occasion other than to have a good meal with friends.

Nicoise salad: Forgettable.

Twice baked three cheese souffle: Like the airiest, cheesey omelette imaginable. So delightfully good that M was compelled to create a version of it the next day.

Roast Cardrona merino lamb: S's main, which she didn't like. Apparently the lamb was gristly and the accompaniments did not complement. 

Twice cooked BBQ belly pork: M's main that night. He thoroughly enjoyed it and the bite that S tried was enough to persuade her to order it when she returned some weeks later - she loved it too.

Fish of the day: The fish was cooked well - juicy, tender flesh with nice salty, fried skin. But the salted fish in the mash was overkill and that spoilt an otherwise enjoyable dish.

Poached pear, macaron, lemon curd ice-cream & pistachio: The poached pear and ice-cream were good but I did not enjoy the macaron with the flavoured cream cheese filling at all. 

No. 7 Balmac
No. 7 Balmacewen Road
Maori Hill
Dunedin

Auntie G's (and S's) Rendang

I am not sure how it happened, but this fussy foodie has serendipitously flatted with not one but two friends who not only cook compulsively, but take a perverse delight in feeding the people around them into a stupor. And then there's M who is now a 'cook-off' junkie. Over the years, I have discovered that these peculiar creatures cannot be blamed for this apparently hereditary affliction. E caught it from her grandmother and S's parents have passed it on to all their children! 

This is S's mum's recipe for the classic Malaysian/Indonesian dish - rendang. I have never tried cooking it myself - I leave all that hard work to S. Even with a recipe, it is not an easy dish to perfect, but when done right is absolutely 'roll-your-eyes-to-the-back-of-your-head' divine. Beautifully tender pieces of beef/lamb/chicken sitting in lovely, thick, rich, spicy, aromatic, sweetish, gravy/paste. There are several different versions with distinctly different flavour profiles (some are sweeter, some are more curry like), but the basic characteristics of a good rendang are as described. That rendang pictured above that S made with this recipe was stunning and close to perfection. Maybe one day when S isn't just a stone's throw away to cook for me, I'll have to attempt it, but for now I am quite content just depending on her charity. Perhaps you should try it and report your efforts - it actually requires a bit of practice to get right.

Ingredients
125g ginger
300g onions (large or shallots or a mixture)
150g garlic
100g "buah keras”(candlenuts), soaked for about 20 minutes
100g “serai“(lemon grass, root only)
50 g fresh “kunyit” (turmeric); or 2-3 tsp turmeric powder
6-8 tbsp chilli paste - instructions below
250g “kerisek” (fried desiccated coconut) - instructions below
3 tsp tamarind puree
55g palm sugar or white sugar
2 whole and 2 shredded kaffir lime leaves
1 piece “kunyit” (turmeric) leaf, shredded (substitute with fresh bay leaf)
Gravy beef/chicken/lamb chops (see estimate in the recipe below, you don't have to use all the paste)


Method

Chilli paste:
Top and deseed 1 bag (around 700gm) of big dried red chilli.
Boil in a pot of water for 5 minutes.
Drain and blend into a smooth paste (some water can be added if it gets too thick).
Fry in hot oil (on med to med-high heat) for 20-30 minutes.
When the oil separates and form a border around the side of the pan the paste is done.
Store in refrigerator, in an airtight jar, with a layer of oil on top.

Kerisek:
Dry fry 250g of desiccated coconut (use fresh if possible) on med-low heat.
This will take around 25 minutes.
Fry the coconut till it turns a lovely dark caramel colour.
Be sure to constantly stir the coconut so that it does not burn.
Let it cool, then using a spice blender or pestle and mortar, blend the coconut to a smooth paste.
You will notice that the natural oil will make the paste thick.
DO NOT add any liquid.

Rendang:
Grind to a smooth paste ingredients 1 to 6.
Fry this paste and chilli paste until oil comes up/separates (use a deep pan as it splashes) for about half hour or so, on med heat.
I ended using about ¾ to 1 cup of vegetable oil.
Add ½ a cup first, and add more (if needed) mid way through.
You basically want enough oil to fry this paste.
Add tamarind juice/puree, salt, and palm sugar (taste to ensure balance is perfect). Not too sweet please! Add leaves and kerisek, and cook for further 10 mins.
At this point you have a cooked paste that can be kept in the freezer for use in the future.
This recipe makes the amount of paste for about 5 - 6kg of meat (possibly more).
To make the rendang, add meat to a pan (with very little oil) and fry for 5 minutes.
Add enough of the rendang paste to coat the meat.
Add some water (a few tablespoons) just to loosen the paste.
Cover and slow cook until meat is tender. If using beef, this can take up to 2 hours. However, if you are using a pressure cooker, that should take less time.
When the meat is tender, add some coconut cream, sugar and salt (to taste).
If the sauce is too runny, slow cook on low heat, uncovered, for 20-30 more minutes.
Serve with rice, bread, naan or roti.