Cocorea

There are days at the office that seem to stretch for far longer than a day ever should. These are the kinds of days when you hope that someone suggests an activity to get you out of the doldrums. Last week we had one of those days, quickly solved by the suggestion of lunch. Cocorea was a perfect suggestion due to its proximity to both the office and an ATM as well as its price range.


Its a simple restaurant with pictures of food on the walls, a mix of Korean and Japanese food that ensures lunch time seats are hard to come by. Each table is furnished with soy sauce and the deliciousness of Korean chilli sauce.

Mmmm chilli sauce!

We didn't have time for me to take pictures of everything (also, three of five of us had Bibimbap) but the food was so good that it doesn't really matter what the pictures look like.

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

We had a nice Melbourne Cup lunch at work this year and I felt like it was a great opportunity to try a recipe I'd been eyeing off for a while- chocolate mud cupcakes with peanut butter icing and toffee. 

Anything with peanut butter makes me happy and cream cheese in the icing? Definitely a good idea! 

The recipe is originally from taste.com.au

Thirst Wine Bar & Eatery

This restaurant is one of my favourites for catching up with friends. It is also long overdue to be mentioned in a post. And now that my uni commitments are finally over I'm free to get back to the fun stuff!


A while ago bestie L and I went to Thirst for an after work catch up. Thirst does two for one Thai dishes on Monday and Tuesday which is really good value because most menu items are on the pricey side the rest of the week.


I started off with a glass of the Thirst Riesling, described on the wine list as 'bright and precise'. And I must say it was pretty delicious! Very crisp and quite fruity and it suited the spiciness of the food very well. L had a glass of the sparkling wine and it was not too shabby!

Dinner Drinks!

We got two dishes to share. The first is my absolute favourite at Thirst, the crispy fish salad or 'Yam pla gap prik'. Its a mix of crispy fried pieces of fish, green mango, mint, coriander with chilli dressing. Its crunchy, spicy and fresh all at the same time and I could eat the whole plate myself given half the chance! Beware though, when they say its hot they do mean that it is hot.

Hello Spring!

I had to share these. They were just too delicious. I can't wait for summer!

Ellacure Restaurant & Bar

Last Friday my lovely sister M celebrated her birthday and as is tradition we feasted at Ellacure. It was never intentional but somehow we have ended up here for her birthday dinner for the last four years!


Lucky for us, there were a lot of specials on that night. After settling in with a nice bottle of wine we got down to the menu selection. I opted for the Coffin Bay oysters with an eschallot vinaigrette. YUM. I am a big oyster fan and these were pretty good, especially for not being at the coast. The flavour of the oysters was freshy and sea like (rather than fishy) and they went down nicely with the tangy liquid. In hindsight, I probably should have ordered a whole dozen!

Oysters!

Pelagic Bar & Dining

Bestie L and I had been wanting to go for a nice dinner together for months. Awhile ago she snagged a great deal on one of the coupon websites and before we knew it we were booked in for a lovely dinner at Pelagic. We were quite surprised when we walked inside, it had changed so much from when it was Antigos- it now has a much nicer atmosphere and it was quite busy which is always nice (we think a few others had coupons as well!). It was a little dark for good picture taking (and there may or may not have been some pre-dinner drinks) so the pictures don't quite do the food justice.

Mamak Roti House

I was extremely excited when I found out that Mamak Roti House had opened in Canberra City, so much so that I ate there on the very second day it was open, cajoling a friend to join me! I was super excited at the idea of fresh prata, nasi lemak and of course, some kaya.

When we arrived the restaurant was super packed, a testament to the popularity of Malaysian food in Australia and also to the excellent location of the restaurant, right next to the city centre and ANU.

But back to the food. The prata makers are of course stood by the window so you can stare longingly at the deliciousness if you are unfortunate enough not to be eating. Seeing them there made me sure I would get murtabak!

XY Dim Sum Dumpling House

Last week I was delighted that some very special people came to visit Canberra, and that I got to spend some time with them. Of course while they were here we very much needed to go out for some delicious food. And what better way to have some fun then go for all you can eat yum cha?

I've been to XY Dim Sum Dumpling House a number of times on the weekend, but not on a weeknight and I was happy to find that it was not only cheaper ($16.80 rather than the $18.80 for weekends) but there was no drop in quality.

Carrot Cake

Yet another sweet treat! Recently my friend P got admitted as a solicitor and another friend and I decided to have a little dinner party to celebrate. In our usual fashion I was responsible for dessert. I had taken this recipe from a friend of my sisters and was very keen to try it. It turned out very moist and kept well in the fridge, it was definitely a recipe that I will make again. I made the cake one day and iced it the next, there is nothing worse than nice chilled cream cheese becoming warm and gross because your cake is still too hot!


So here is the recipe for a delicious carrot cake, perfect to share and very moreish!

Kaya Drop Biscuits

The final product!

As promised, I am happy today to share my first kaya baking adventure! After much discussion with friends I decided that kaya drop biscuits were an excellent first start. For those of you not familiar, a normal jam drop is a sweet biscuit base with a dollop of fruit jam (often raspberry) dropped in the middle before baking. Once they are cooked the jam looks and tastes delicious! Since kaya is technically a jam it seemed like a natural first step- especially once I found a drop recipe that included coconut in the biscuit base, what a perfect flavour combination! I took the biscuits to work to share with colleagues, unsure of how they would like them. Well, I think it is safe to say that they were liked as the whole container was gone by about 10:45 AM! I think that might be success. So here is the recipe (I adapted this from a Coconut Jam Drop recipe from taste.com.au). You might note that the way I have made the recipe means that it is also dairy free (woot!)

Singaporean Deliciousness

So my friend N recently returned from a trip home to Singapore. Anytime that I know someone is going or even passing through I give them a list, and there are two things I generally always want- kaya, and more kaya!

And I was not disappointed! Look at the goodies I got today:

On the left you will see the nyonya kaya, on the right the plain kaya. The difference is in the addition of the pandan, which makes the nyonya kaya green. If you are not sure what kaya is, have a look here. Yes, it may sound a bit strange, but hey so does vegemite and it also amazing. I eat kaya a little differently to some people, but everyone has their own opinion on how it should be eaten- it's all about personal taste.

You may notice the t-shirt that is underneath the jars? Well, my friend brought that back for me as well! Yes, it does indeed say I ♥ SG! But what can I say, I do have a soft spot. Who wouldn't love a country that led to me eating kaya today? It would be like not loving the country that gave me vegemite!

Maya Da Dhaba

Another Sydney food feast spot!

H and I did the Harbour Bridge Climb (which incidentally was amazing, despite the 50km/hour winds!) while we were there and of course needed a delicious after exercise meal. So we headed off to Surrey Hills to eat at Maya Da Dhaba, a restaurant about which we had heard lots of good things!

Before I get to the main part of the post I must warn you that we were very, very hungry. Without this disclaimer you might think that we ate more than is humanely possible. Apologies for the iphone photos but my camera ran out of battery (again). I've now got a new battery so picture qualities should increase (yay!)

Guest Post: Chai by H

Today I am excited to welcome my first ever guest post! H has been keen to contribute to the blog since it started and has been extremely helpful, especially with phototaking and holding off eating the food until we have nice pictures. This recipe is one that I think he makes at least 3 times a week (more if he has the time) and always fills the kitchen with a delicious aroma. So over to H:

Chai – My favourite hot beverage  (Serves 2)

This is a really simple recipe and can be made in 5-7 minutes. It is my and more than half of India’s preferred breakfast. I tried my best to popularise it during my time in Australia.

Ingredients

½ cup water

1 tbsp tea leaves

3 green Cardamom pods (crushed or open)

2 tea spoon sugar

½ cup milk/soy milk

1. Add water, tea leaves and cardamom pods in a saucepan and boil. Remember to open the pods as the flavour is in the seeds. Once it boils vigorously and looks reddish:

2. Add milk and sugar, then bring it to the boil 3 times.

3. Filter the chai using a sieve and serve hot.

Recommendation

Serve with Marigold or Parle G biscuits. The latter can be found in any Indian shop. Dip them and eat.  Yum. Childhood memories!!

Optional

You can replace cardamom with either 50 gm crushed ginger, holy basil leaves or cinnamon, it purely depends on what flavour you prefer. My personal favourite combinations are cardmom + ginger or holy basil leaves+ginger.

Mamak

H and I recently took a short trip to Sydney, and of course no trip would be complete without me scoffing as many of the foods that I cannot get here as quickly as possible! I am always hungry and annoying on bus trips so we decided to head straight to Mamak after getting off the bus (this was also to make sure that we did not have to line up for a table).

Of course there was just one food that I really, really wanted (one of the few that I cannot get here): Murtabak. Unfortunately the Mamak version was not my cup of tea, but the rest of the food was especially enak!

Teh Halia

End of an Era

So this post is totally unrelated to food.

It is more a quick note to say YAY! I have just handed in my final assessment for my university degree, ending 5.5 years of work :) There is still a bit more study to do until I am finished everything I need to do for my job, but the main part is over.

On a different note, I'm going to Sydney next week with H so there will be a few more reviews to come- woot!

Chicken Curry Pie

Although the grand tradition of Sunday night as Curry Night (yes, we are all about themed dinners!) generally means 'normal' curry, H and I recently decided to mix it up and make a pie. H has a soft spot for pies and I had been promising to make it for ages and that Sunday night just seemed perfect.

I have to thank my Mum for this recipe, as she gave many, many hints on the process and also gave me the curry recipe from an old school book at home. And also my Dad for sending us through some pie tips from Entice magazine which helped make the pie nice and brown.

Dieci e Mezzo

So a couple of weeks ago my brother and I celebrated our birthday. He can down to Canberra to visit for GTM and it was nice for us to be together on the day (first time in about 5 years I think!)

Of course we had to go out for dinner, and knowing how everyone in my family loves Italian food we decided to go to dieci e mezzo. It's not the cheapest Italian but is super, super delicious and I think worth the price (you pay maybe $6 more for a main than say, at Mama's but the quality is about 60% better I feel!). The food was too delicious to stop to take pictures of but the OYSTERS! They definitely have the best oysters in Canberra- I have had my fair share, being a big seafood fan, but these are extra delicious. I would go just for the oysters.

One thing I did take pictures of were the desserts! The chef very nicely made me a special dessert to fit with my dietary requirements:

Raspberry Souffle!

It was absolutely one of the best things that I have ever eaten! Fluffy, melt in your mouth style and complete with a chocolate birthday message. I mean what more could a girl want?

There were also some other delicious treats including 'lightly poached Eden blueberries, Italian meringue, lemon curd and blueberry ice-cream' and 'maple syrup, polenta and orange cake, marmalade ice cream':

Blueberry dessert

Marmalade dessert

Unfortunately I was not able to get a picture of the other birthday dessert, the 'Amedel Toscano chocolate delice with peanut ice cream and peanut fudge crumble as it went far, far too quickly. I am told the ice cream actually tasted like peanut butter! I think it was the favourites of the desserts. But I liked my souffle best :)

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who wants a nice fancy dinner that is not ridiculously overpriced. Or, if you are sick of having dessert and being faced with the same cake options at every single restaurant and cafe, I would suggest popping in just for the dessert!

Dieci e Mezzo is on the ground floor of the new ActewAgl Building in Canberra City.
10 and half out of 10! (ha ha just my little joke).

Macaroooonnnsssss!

So H and I recently enjoyed a Melbourne adventure to celebrate the fact that he has become another year older. We basically spent three days eating a ridiculous amount of food, and one of the most delicious items found were from luxbite, a tiny bakery in South Yarra. We walked into the store and went to straight to the display of deliciousness- and what did they have? KAYA TOAST FLAVOURED MACARONS! It was a terribly exciting discovery. It turns out that the recipe used there for kaya came from one of the staff members grandparents, and I must say it was absolutely delicious. Of course H laughed at me for being able to sniff out, without trying, what appears to be the only Malaysian macaron shop in Melbourne. I must have an inner kaya radar!

So I thought I would share with you some pictures of the treats. They were extremely well made, perfectly crisp on the outside with a soft (but not too soft!) centre. And the flavour range was quite wide, mixing traditional flavours with some more modern ones.

From left: Kaya toast, pistachio, peanut butter and jelly, kaffir lime

Poor H had to wait to tuck in while photo after photo was taken with the magical macarons!

The kaya was definitely my favourite. But thats not really a surprise to anyone. They had gone to a lot of effort to make them look as authentic as possible- there was even a 'butter' centre like in real kaya toast!

Ok. So I MAY have eaten most of it before the picture was taken. 

If you are ever in the area and are wanting some deliciousness- I would highly recommended this place! Just as we were leaving the lady at the counter said they were going to start doing breakfasts after Easter. So sad that I will miss it :(

Luxbite, 38 Toorak Road, Melbourne (03) 9867 5888
www.luxbite.com.au

Baigan Bharta

Apologies for the steam- I had to take the picture quickly to get to the important business- eating!

Tuesdays in our house are vegetarian- personally I like ease of cooking without meat (possibly due to my inherent laziness) and would eat the same dish each Tuesday if I had the choice. Unfortunately, H (the bf) doesn't share the same love for the mundane as me so each week we struggle along to find something delicious. Invariably we end up eating Indian vegetarian food- probably because there is such a wide variety and because H is an excellent cook of Indian food.

This week we went for one of Sanjeev Kapoor's recipes, Baingan Bharta. If you ever want to make some authentic Indian food, please try his website, there are sooo many recipes and they are all quite straight forward.

But back to the dish at hand! We made some (accidental) changes to the original recipe but it was extremely delicious, as you can see from the picture. Anyway, this is how we made our Sanjeev Kapoor inspired dish:

Baigan Bharta

Ingredients:

2 eggplants

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of turmeric

1 diced onion 

1 inch of ginger, sliced or grated

2 cloves of garlic, sliced or grated

1 green chilli

1 teaspoon of red chilli powder

1 can of diced tomatoes

half a handful of fresh coriander

1 squeeze of lemon juice

Process:

1. Chargrill the eggplants, over and open flame is the best. You want the skin to peel off and the eggplants will shrink as they cook.

2. Let the eggplants cool, and remove the skin. Try and get it all off if you can, as burnt eggplant skin does not add to the flavour of the dish!

3. Mash the eggplants. You can do this with a fork as they will be quite soft by this point.

4. Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a pan (The proper pan is the Indian kadai, essentially a shallow wok with a more flat base. If you don't have one a reasonably deep frying pan should do). Add the cumin seeds and cook until you can smell them, it should only take about 20 seconds. 

5. Add the onion and let it cook until the onion is see through.

6. Add the ginger, garlic, green chilli and turmeric and cook for a minute or so.

7. Add the red chilli and the mashed eggplants. If you need to add salt, add it now. Cover the pan and turn it to medium heat, you now need to let it cook for about 4-5 minutes depending on your pan.

8. Add the canned tomatoes, stir through nicely. Again, let it cook for about 5-8 minutes, then add the chopped coriander.

9. Once its cooked, add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve.

I am told the dish is meant to be served with fresh chapatis. Unfortunately we didn't have time to make those as well so ate the dish with wholemeal toast. But it was still delicious and between two of us finished off a meal that really should have fed three!

In the beginning....

Welcome to delicious life!

I hope you enjoy my many ramblings on food, fashion and anything else that randomly enters my head.

Unfortunately a substantial post is being delayed by the distraction of peanut butter toast. This happens a lot. I'm sure you will get used to it.

In the meantime, please enjoy a picture of some delicious cake. Mmm, cake.