Thursday, February 28, 2008

Harvest Picnic!

Ahh, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is finally here :D There are foodie events galore - "World's longest lunch", "A taste of Slow food", masterclasses taught by famous chefs, dinner under the stars with menus featuring fresh seasonal delights at local vineyards, etc. etc... but I have to tighten my purse strings and choose only ONE event :P

So I settled for The Age's Harvest Picnic at Hanging Rock. I read about it from shewhoeats and it appeared to be a great place to sample the region's best gourmet, beer and wine products in a country setting. It was a cold Sunday morning when we left MEL with more showers expected. Thankfully, the weather improved as the afternoon wore on and everyone enjoyed the sun's warmth while lolling about in their deck chairs or picnic blankets :)

There were about 30 exhibitors displaying their wares - half were selling beer/wine and only a small handful had the good stuff - food! The ones doing brisk business included this Turkish stall selling gozleme - a pan-fried pastry (similar to naan/roti) with cheese, spinach and meat within.

We shared the yummy gozleme, seafood paella - apparently a regular fixture at 20 years of Harvest Picnic history but sadly, the rice was undercooked this year :( yabbie burger and bisque, BBQ calamari/prawn and kebabs. One could rent a wineglass for $5 and sample the mind-boggling variety of wines :) I also did a little shopping - a homemade bottle of limoncello, spiced rhubarb jam from Tasmania and a sampler of Red Duck beer (I was sold on the cute packaging!)

Here's Cheryl doing her best impersonation of a Korean tourist :P

Babycakes! Yet another cupcake business to hit town - this brand specialises in bite sized cakes.

They actually made a special cupcake to celebrate the 20th year of Harvest Picnic!

Hanging Rock turned out to be a rather famous attraction in the Macedon Ranges because of a mystery novel (subsequently made into a movie) called "Picnic at the Hanging Rock" written in the early 1900s by Joan Lindsay. In it, a group of schoolgirls vanish and it certainly lent the Harvest Picnic an air of mystery and intrigue :P We decided to follow the walking trails to the summit of Hanging Rock to see what the fuss was all about... the towering rock formations did have a forbidding feel about it...

Nearly there! A fantastic view of Mt. Macedon and the surrounding plains. It was easy finding the summit although we had to clamber onto the large rocks at the top! Finding the way down was trickier and we actually got lost! "Help!"

We arrived in MEL tired and sleepy... but I left my heart at the Hanging Rock!

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stormiii at 8:57 pm

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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Bibimbap!

The last time we shopped at our favourite Korean grocery (Jireh) in Clayton, we noticed a Korean cafe next door called Hudadak with a logo of a chicken :) We returned yesterday for dinner - they were selling chicken wings and the usual cafe fare... somewhat like the chicken and beer shops in Korea I guess!

I went for my all time favourite of Dulsot Bibimbap (tastier than the usual bibimbap as it is served in a heated stone bowl). The taste was simple and the best part - the burnt rice at the bottom :D

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Friday, February 22, 2008

Comfort food

The days are getting shorter and the nights colder - what better to wrap up the tired week than with a good meal? :) I was craving for a taste of home and a dish which I missed at this year's CNY - my grandma's ngoh hiang, vegetarian beehoon and achar. The ngoh hiang/loh bak (5 spice meat rolls in beancurd skin) were reasonably easy to make but a tad salty because of the beancurd skin. These little gems were saved over from my CNY dinner... precious! I used cucumber pickled in vinegar, sugar and chilli in place of achar. Yummmm :D

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stormiii at 11:22 pm

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Backyard BBQ

Felix spraying the hotplate with canola oil.

In keeping with the Aussie love of "barbies" during summer, we decided to have one in our own backyard last Sunday :) The 35 deg C heat started to cool down after 7pm and daylight savings meant that we could enjoy two more hours of light. Out came the foldable table and chairs, gas cooker and a special hotplate - time for our favourite Korean BBQ!!

"Is the meat ready yet...?!"

We dropped into Jireh, our regular Korean grocery in Clayton and snapped up ready cuts of pork, kimchi, vegetables and the all important soju (rice wine). I also found Melona, a sweet and refreshing ice cream by Binggrae there :D Endang prepared a tasty version of kimchi jigae (soup), kimchi pancakes and sesame/garlic dipping sauce. My contribution - eggplant marinated in miso and ice calamansi tea :P Once the meat (bulgogi/wine marinade) was cooked, we ate it sambap style.... big mouthfuls of yumminess!

Endang, Felix and Eka steaming up the backyard - till the next summer!

stormiii at 10:12 pm

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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Nyonya Hut

Lazy Saturdays are here again :D Hui Yi and Kevin came by to explore the southeastern suburbs of MEL and I suggested going to Sue's Delights for lunch. But they were closed for a long CNY break so we went to Lim's Nyonya Hut (240 Blackburn Rd, Glen Waverley) instead! Always another good eating place around the corner :P

I have yet to find a restaurant that only serves Peranakan food (e.g. House of Peranakan in SG) as most serve the usual Malaysian delights with Nyonya specials. Lim's Nyonya Hut is a tiny outfit with 8 mismatched tables, a funny collection of Nyonya furniture and plates for decor; even a framed lilac coloured kebaya top to match the purple walls! We happily ordered drinks from our childhood - chin chow, Kickapoo! and MJ Drink (chin chow in soybean milk; black & white like Michael Jackson!)

I wasn't craving for Mee Siam but ordered it since it was their Saturday special. It was very, very good - the sauce was unusually thick and had a generous helping of taupok. Kevin gave thumbs up for their Penang char kway teow :)

Here's Hui Yi excited about her Assam Laksa - I could smell the scents of mint, basil, hae ko (prawn paste) and onions while taking this pic!

It seems like this place makes an impressive range of Nyonya kuih too - there were at least 10 types on their dessert menu. I went for my favourite Kuih Kosui (never as good as my grandma's!) and Ang Ku Kuih (hmm... I miss the "half salty-sweet" version :P). There, the perfect recipe for an afternoon siesta.

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Friday, February 15, 2008

West Coast Wilderness

Part 3 of my Tassie vacation - Strahan to Cradle Mountain: most tourists visit Strahan to experience the West Coast Wildnerness Railway, a replica of the rack and pinion locomotive that plied the mountains and valleys between the mining industry of Queenstown and the port of Strahan.

The attractive looking red and green steam engine at our lunch stop :)

Our 3 hour journey was filled with magnificent west coast landscapes - here's the awesome King River Canyon cutting between mountains filled with giant Tasmanian pine and fern trees.

We continued our road trip east towards alpine country (the heart of Tassie) and the weather followed accordingly! It was pouring cats and dogs and we had to stop for directions before doubling back to find our accommodation for the night. Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village lived up to its name as we easily found native wildlife outside our doorstep :) These two pademelons were just metres away!

The famous cradle shaped peak (partly obscured!) and boathouse at Dove Lake - this was the coldest leg of our journey ... a little of the Christmas/winter feel!

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Chinatown!

I certainly put in more effort to recreate the CNY mood here - I would never have made the effort to join in the crowds at Chinatown back home :P Each year the local Chinese associations would organise a huge celebration and it was rather enjoyable on a sunny 24 deg C day. We certainly had lots of fun with the deafening firecrackers!! Watch Margie's video capture here.


We only caught sight of the dragon making its entrance and of course, how multicultural MEL is :P

My first good look at the firecrackers - small in size but crazy in bunches (reminds me of chilli padi!) hung along rows of businesses along Little Bourke St. A couple of lion dances were taking place at the same time outside the shops and once the lion had "eaten the greens", the firecrackers would be lit and explode in all angles :P

An interesting looking Chinese church held an open day with la mian (noodles) making demos!

Right in the centre of Little Bourke St, the carpark was filled with food and CNY decor stalls; there was even a stall promoting city apartment investment (hehe). A huge tent was also showcasing a Cantonese opera performance :)

While Margie indulged in her A$2.50 slice of honey glazed bak kwa/BBQ pork, I was eagerly anticipating the famous egg tarts from Maxim's... perfectly made, the egg custard and pastry had the right amount of sweetness and firmness :D

The aftermath of one too many firecrackers on the streets!

stormiii at 10:18 pm

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Red fun!

It was finally time for my own tuan yuan fan or "reunion dinner" traditionally eaten on the eve of Chinese New Year :D A bunch of us "displaced" SGs gathered at Margie's place for... steamboat! Saturday came and we got down to lots of action at the Springvale market.

BBQ pork - selling at $2++ per piece at one of the roast meat shops; daylight robbery!

Margie and I treated ourselves to an afternoon snack of frozen Mornthong "seedless" durian from Thailand (A$5 for a 500g packet) before the dinner prep started. Hmm.. hmmm... finger licking good!

Margie and me posing with some dried vermicelli! in her kitchen - RED is colour du jour :)

A fun twist to the yu sheng - we took turns wishing each other something good for the new year before adding an item to the dish. Seen here - Corrine, Chris and Emi.

Check that out! Thanks to Endang (who lent us the gas cooker and pot!), we managed to stuff ourselves silly with a variety of fishballs, meat, yong tau foo, mushrooms, noodles and veggies in yummy ikan bilis and soybean broth. There was also ngoh hiang (made by yours truly!) roast duck, char siew and siew yoke from the popular Pacific BBQ restaurant in Toorak/Richmond. Dessert was a funny fusion of Emi's famous cupcakes and tang yuan (glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame/peanut). Burp :P

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stormiii at 8:49 pm

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Friday, February 08, 2008

Agung Indonesian

With the large presence of Indonesians living in MEL, its easy to find cheap and good Indo food - even Esteler 77 exists here! Craving for the exquisite contrast of sweet kecap manis on fried food (tauhu telur!!), Hui Yi and I headed down to Agung (789 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn) - located near the student friendly belt outside Swinburne Uni. The small restaurant can only accommodate 20 diners at one time and the cosy atmosphere is enhanced by the use of batik tablecloths and Indonesian paintings. Well, they didn't have tauhu telur (deep fried egg and tofu ring), so we ordered their Tauhu terong instead :P which was pretty similar apart from the lack of egg!

Rated their No. 1 dish, the Beef Rendang was different from the Malay style in that they used a sirloin type of fillet cut into bite sized pieces. The gravy was also tasty and rich, with no oil whatsoever floating about :P

But the winner for both of us was the Pecel Lele - catfish marinated in yummy spices and totally deep fried to the point where even the bones were crispy enough to be devoured :D Slab on a good dose of kecap and fresh belacan... I could eat this everyday! The meal came up to $40 for two including drinks, which was pretty reasonable :)

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Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Xin nian kuai le!




HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!! "WAN SHI RU YI" :D

stormiii at 9:50 am

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Monday, February 04, 2008

BBQ Pork

I'm slowly getting there! Another piece to the whole "recreate the SG Chinese New Year experience" :D The recipe for making "bak kwa" wasn't difficult (I used char siew sauce as the base), but it was hard and HOT work baking them in the sweltering afternoon.

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stormiii at 10:36 pm

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Saturday, February 02, 2008

Munch munch, crunch crunch!

L to R: Mini popiah with shrimp/pork floss, Pineapple tarts, Kuih Bangkit, Peanut cookies.

Margie and I made use of the Aussie Day long weekend to start our baking mania for Chinese New Year - it was almost mission impossible as we decided to include Kuih Bangkit and Peanut Cookies to Mini Shrimp Popiah and the ubiquitous Pineapple Tarts!! Click on the links to get the recipes. Having to spend CNY away from home, the least I could do is to recreate the second most important ingredient after "family & friends" - the FOOD :)

Our first attempt at baking these goodies were not without trial and error - we had to change the recipe after our first batch of pineapple tarts turned out too soft, buttery and crumbly (but is now melt in your mouth after a week in the fridge)! We also used macadamia and pine nuts for the peanut cookies instead, which gave them a richer texture.

The scene of our baking challenge - Margie's kitchen has a retro Malleys gas oven and our "vacuum cleaner" was none other than Harvey :D

Bake, pack and munch - we rewarded ourselves with a good helping of chicken congee (leftovers of our charcoal chicken dinner).... and started munching on our favourite CNY goodies :D

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