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On the dining out scale, we have cheap eats on one end and fine dining at the other. But what goes in between during those weekdays which you feel like a bit of indulgence without milking your wallet? What if you want something slightly special on a budget?

That's been my situation lately so I'm dedicating this month to indulgence on a budget.

And what better way to kick start the theme than to look at what the Merivale restaurants are offering during their March Into Merivale festival (15 February - 16 April).

During the eight week festival, nine Merivale restaurants - est., sushi e, Uccello, Mad Cow, Bistro CBD, Lotus, Ash Street Cellar, Teppanyaki and Sushi Choo - offer $33 lunch and dinner menus, which includes a main meal with a glass of wine or beer!

I managed to squeeze in quite a few tastings during their launch event a few weeks ago at The Ivy Room and will definitely be heading back to est. and Lotus.

One of my favourite canapes at March Into Merivale 2010 - by Lotus: Skewer of prawn crusted with Tasty Toobs

Another of my favourite canapes at March Into Merivale 2010 - by est.: Grilled scallop tartare, olive oil, lime juice, washed red onion and pork crackle

And another thing which caught my eye was the Cointreau Blush.

Drinks served at March Into Merivale 2010

The Cointreau Blush is a refreshing cocktail with sweet and tangy citrus flavours frolicking within a tall glass. I spotted the recipe on a coaster and let me just say, this cocktail brings back summer! It's super easy to make yourself at home... Give it a go!

So I know how everyone whinges about the inflated cost of food every year, but thanks to Merivale, I don't think eating out on a budget has ever tasted this spectacular!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe below as there are more exciting indulgence on a budget posts coming your way this month!

March Into Merivale 2010
What: $33 lunch and dinner menus (includes a glass of wine or beer)
When:15 February - 16 April, Monday to Friday, noon to 2pm and 6pm to 8pm
Where: est., sushi e, Uccello, Mad Cow, Bistro CBD, Lotus (* dinner only), Ash Street Cellar, Teppanyaki and Sushi Choo
More info: marchintomerivale.com.au

Last Thursday, I had the privilege of attending the Sydney Royal Easter Show's showbag launch media event which you could say was like fulfilling a childhood fantasy! Imagine, all 302 showbags spread out in one giant hall... no crowds, no queues and plenty of time to snoop for new showbags as well as old classics. (Yep, I'm one of those people who never leave without a Bertie Beetle bag!)

As like last year and probably the year before, cooler bags seem to be a trophy item with showbags this year such as Dora the Explorer, Dare Iced Coffee, Nova, Dairy Farmers and a heap more including them in their mix. They must have discovered my reasoning pattern as anything functional gets big ticks from me.

Oh, and an exciting new one in the range is the Gossip Girl showbag which comes complete with B's headband! You know you want it!

I've also put together a short video for your very own sneak peek:

Check out the complete showbag catalogue on the official website. What showbags are you gonna get this year?

Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010
When: Only 4 weeks away! 1 - 14 April
Where: Sydney Olympic Park
More info: www.eastershow.com.au

"Have a beer and a conversation so you don't stuff around with it" says Craig of MuMu Grill, as he gives us advice on how to properly cook beef. The key tip is to look for chargrill marks. Grill it for 2½ minutes, rotate it 90 degrees and grill for another 2½ minutes then flip and do the same. As important as the cooking stage, it is also crucial to rest the meat for half the amount of time it took to cook.

But before I get carried away with my learnings from MuMu's Beef & Beer class, let me first share a little bit about the background of eating beef.

Demonstration of the different cuts of beef

I was pretty shocked to discover that only 20% of a cow is considered the primary cut. This consists of the rump, tenderloin which the eye fillet is cut from, scotch and sirloin. The meat ranges on a scale from tender to tough. On the tougher end of the range are shanks used in osso bucco which require vast hours of cooking time and have the most flavour. Apparently, the scotch fillet has the ideal balance between tenderness and flavour.

The next stage is of course the ageing of the meat. Craig recommends one month wet ageing followed by one week dry ageing. The ideal is a total of 42 - 50 days as he has found no further benefits to the flavour or tenderness if it is aged any longer.

He also highly recommends grass-fed beef in contrast to grain-fed beef. And there are health advantages accompanying this argument. So not only do you get a greater natural beef flavour, but you also get a better Omega-3 ratio. Cattle fed primarily grass enhanced the omega-3 content of beef by 60% and also produces a more favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. Conventional beef contains a 4:1 6:3 ratio while grass-only diets produce a 2:1 6:3 ratio (French et al., 2000; Duckett et al., 1993; Marmer et al, 1984; Wood and Enser, 1997).

Okay, now let's move away from the statistics and get cooking :)

Tasting grass-fed wagyu

The easiest method to bring out the robust natural flavours of beef is to simply coat it with a mixture of oil, sea salt and black pepper. The oil allows the meat to absorb more heat, the salt brings the flavours together and the black pepper is Craig's preference for adding an extra taste. We tested this simple recipe out on a piece of grass-fed wagyu and the result was sublime! The well marbeled texture meant the wagyu was super tender and the mushroomy flavour inside was just irresistable.

The best way to tell if your beef has reached your preferred 'done-ness', is to press on the pad of your palm. For example, touch your thumb to your middle finger and the pad on your palm represents medium-rare. The resistance on the pad is what your beef should feel like. Your index finger to your thumb will represent rare and your pinky to your thumb will represent well-done.

Testing the done-ness of your beef

If you're after something a little bit more special, then the next two variations are perfect for you. I personally can't wait to show these off at my next BBQ!

Szechwan pepper and coffee bean crusted beef

We were also taught how to make a scrumptious 5 ingredient barbecue sauce from scratch (which went really well with the BBQ ribs!) as well as a wicked salad dressing.

BBQ ribs with 5 ingredient barbecue sauce

So we take our food outside to a beautifully set table. As we soak in the warm summer heat and begin this afternoon feast, Dan of Beer Snobs enlightens us on the art of appreciating beer. And as a non-beer drinker, I must admit, I think I've taken a liking to some of these boutique beers!

Outside MuMu Grill, Crows Nest

Dan's first tip was that beer must be poured into a glass - let it breathe and open-up. We then looked at the three C's... Beginning with Colour. Colour ranges from the light yellow to the darker end of the spectrum which can be a deep golden honey or a dark ruby red; then we have Clarity which can be filtered crystal clear or cloudy from wheat proteins and suspended yeast and lastly, Carbonation which is the reaction of the sugar and yeast.

I'm not going to spoil the fun by detailing each of the beers we tried (or the other recipes which Craig shared) because the Beef & Beer class was so enjoyable and educating, I think every man should get hands on and sign up to a weekend class and take his cooking (and beer tasting) to the next level!

Beer tasting with Dan of Beer Snobs

Beef & Beer Masterclass
Where: MuMu Grill, 70-76 Alexander St, Crows Nest NSW
When: Every 2nd and 3rd Saturday of each month, from 10am
Cost: $85 each
Bookings: Call (02) 9460 6877
More information: http://mumuland.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/beef-and-beer-masterclass-85/

Jennifer and her partner attended the Beef & Beer class as guests of MuMu Grill.

Childhood memories of Chinese New Year have always featured elaborate homemade banquets on the eve of the New Year followed by a day witnessing the roaring of firecrackers and drums as the lion dance parades through masses of crowds in Sydney's Chinatown.

This year however was different. I had taken on an ambitious project with Asian Home Gourmet at the City Of Sydney Chinese New Year festival markets (12 - 14 February 2010), to present a line-up of delicious kitchen demonstrations on a live stage, and hence wasn't home when families across the globe were reuniting with a feast.

Lots of love goes out to all the friends and fans who stopped by. If you missed it, you can check out a snippet of the action at the kitchen demonstrations here:

So my lovely parents agreed to celebrate a week in advance and decided that we take a year off from our usual banquet of seafood delicacies.

Instead, we would have a simple kind of Chinese New Year, celebrating with a decent sized suckling pig, served Vietnamese DIY style which I think brilliantly showcases the cultural background of my family (both my parents were born & raised in Vietnam with a Chinese Teochew heritage - while my siblings and I were all born & raised here, in Sydney).

Whole roasted suckling pig from Good Luck BBQ House

The delicate crunch of crackling on a whole roasted suckling pig

While I adore a slow braised abalone or a rich lobster stir-fry, nothing quite gets my heart pumping and my mouth drooling as much as the glossy delicate crisp layer of crackling on a juicy tender suckling pig.

Suckling pigs often need to be pre-ordered from local Siu Mei establishments (Asian BBQ Houses) weeks in advance if required during popular celebratory occasions such as Chinese New Year. Otherwise, I think three days is the general rule of thumb. The suckling pig is 2 - 6 weeks of age and are roasted whole with a generous rub of five spice powder, red and white vinegar, Chinese rice wine, garlic and maltose. The cost of a suckling pig is only confirmed once it has been cooked and weighed and will generally cost between $200 - $300.

Pieces of suckling pig - crunchy thin glossy crackling with juicy bites of meat

Deep-fried buns are the perfect accompaniment with suckling pig

Ours was ordered from Good Luck BBQ this year as they were much more flexible on our last minute timings than Emperor's Garden.

We served this with deep-fried buns which are crunchy on the outside and fluffy within, a crisp jelly fish salad fragrant with sesame oil, a zesty fresh lotus root salad, lettuce leaves, an array of garden mints, banh hoi (woven rice vermicelli noodle sheets), hoisin sauce and nuoc mam (fish sauce).

Our simple feast, a fusion of Vietnamese and Chinese

Traditional Chinese New Year treats: candied fruits in a circular tray and dried abalone

While a whole suckling pig is usually reserved for the main course of a celebratory banquet, you don't really need an excuse to buy just a cut to treat yourself today. So here are two of my preferred Asian BBQ houses where you can buy/order the best roasted suckling pig in Sydney:

Emperor's Garden
213-215 Thomas St
Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9281 9899

Good Luck BBQ House
Shop 18, 24-28 Hughes St
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9724 0661

How creepy is it that we're in February already? I can account for January but I honestly have no idea where the first two weeks of this month has gone. One good thing about this though, is that it means we're getting even closer to Taste Of Sydney 2010!

Long time readers may recall last year's events, if not, feel free to read about the very exciting launch event, my giveaway competition and the post-event review.

So yes, it is that time of the year again, where we've worked off the Christmas fat and are ready to celebrate the best of what Sydney's top restaurants have to offer. The Taste events worldwide really are, the ultimate foodie festival!

Because the event is quite a bit of fun (well, how often do you get to choose and pick how many desserts make up your custom degustation menu or which restaurants they come from?), I decided to spice up this giveaway.

Instead of answering a standard 25 words or less competition question, to win one of three double passes to Taste Of Sydney 2010 (valued at $55), all you have to do is take a photo of me taking a photo!

And here's the cut-out you will need to print out. Simply click on the below image to download the A4 cut-out.

HOW TO WIN

1. Download and print the cutout of me holding my camera (you can print in black & white or colour)
2. Take a photo of the cutout infront of any of the restaurants participating at Taste Of Sydney 2010; the complete list available below
3. Upload the photo anywhere, e.g. to your own server, flickr, twitpic, photobucket, etc
4. Add a comment below with a link to your photo
5. Three of the most creative entries will win a double pass (valued at $55) each

I've even put together an example of what an entry could look like:

List of restaurants which will be showcasing at Taste Of Sydney 2010:
Becasse - 204 Clarence Street, Sydney
Etch - 62 Bridge Street, Sydney
ARIA - 1 Macquarie Street, Sydney
Pilu at Freshwater - 'On the beach', Moore Road, Harbord
Guillaume at Bennelong - Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Restaurant Balzac - 141 Belmore Road, Randwick
Longrain Restaurant & Bar - 85 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills
Dank Street Depot - 1/2 Dank Street, Waterloo
Flying Fish - 19 - 21 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont
Restaurant Assiette - 48 Albion Street, Surry Hills
Bird Cow Fish - 500 Crown Street, Surry Hills
Berowra Waters Inn - Via East or West public wharfs, Berowra Waters
Four In Hand - 105 Sutherland Street, Paddington
Jonah's at Whale Beach - 69 Bynya Road, Whale Beach
Buon Ricardo - 108 Boundary Streetm Paddington
Marque - 4/5 Crown Street, Surry Hills
el Toro Loco - 49-53 North Steyne Street, Manly

Have fun and good luck!

Competition closes 11:59pm AEST on 4 March 2010.

Taste Of Sydney 2010
When: 11 - 14 March, 2010
Where: Brazillian Fields, at the heart of Centennial Park

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED.

Stay tuned for more giveaways on JENIUS :)

While on my maid of honour duties (bridal dress shopping for my sister), the bridesmaids, my Mum and I had an hour to kill in between appointments so I decided to introduce everyone to the $2.50 shop on Clarence Street. Yes, we Sydney-siders have our very own Japanese 100 yen shop!

Shopping at Maruyu's $2.50 (100 yen) shop at Sydney's Clarence Street, Town Hall

To the bemusement of my sister, who had never traveled to Japan and learnt of the treasures available for only 100 yen each, she squealed with joy. It was only my second visit and much like sharing good food with good friends, it was a very delightful afternoon, watching the girls pick up a heap of quirky must-haves which they didn't know they had needed. Let me assure you, any trip to the $2.50 (100 yen) shop, will be very satisfying.

They stock everything from kitchenware to tableware to gardening tools to underwear!

[Top left - Bottom right] Food serving tray (image source: fotobank.ru), onigiri punchers/cutters (image source: Just Bento), cute rabbit egg mould (image source: Just Bento), table ware: bowls, dishes, cups, chopsticks (image source: Chipango), fish shaped soy sauce disposable containers and gourmet toothpicks (image source: Lunch In A Box), the $2.50 (100 yen) shop at Maruyu in Clarence Street Sydney (image source: J Style), grater / multi-slice tool for daikon, ginger, cucumber or other vegetables (image source: Lunch In A Box) and lastly, a heart-shaped mini frying pan (image-source: catgirlpink)

Some of the cool and cute foodie things on sale include a pair of plastic egg moulds which let you transform an ordinary boiled egg into a work of art that any kid would eat, a star-shaped miniature frying pan for adorable pancakes, those serving trays you see at ramen joints like Ichi-ban Boshi or Menya, sake cup sets, a massive selection of graters and slicers in all shapes and sizes for daikon, ginger or cucumber, and yes, even those disposable sushi boxes and fish-shaped soy-sauce containers!

And what's best, is that shopping up a storm here won't hurt your wallet.

So what are you waiting for? Shop up & eat up!

Maruyu City Super
Basement & Ground Floor, 283-285 Clarence St., Sydney
Tel: (02) 9267 0882
Open Monday - Friday 10am - 7:30pm, Thursdays until 8pm, Saturday 12pm - 6pm and Sunday 12pm - 5pm

NEWS FLASH
Plus in other exciting news... guess who's going to be on stage at the Chinese New Year Festival Markets at Sydney's Belmore Park (12 - 14th February)? That's right - me, me, me!

I'm working with Asian Home Gourmet to present a line up of delicious kitchen demonstrations.

My book, I Ate My Way Through Singapore & Vietnam, will also be on sale so pop by and say hi! ;)

Event Details
Date: Friday 12 - Sunday 14 February 2010
Time: Friday 4.00pm-10.00pm & Saturday/Sunday 11.00am-10.00pm
Venue: Belmore Park, across Eddy Avenue from Central Station
Cost: Free
For more information: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/cny/Events/ChinatownMarkets.aspx

With a new start to the blogging year, I couldn't help but look back at all the yummy photos that didn't make it to the blog in 2009. So I'm dedicating this first month to my rather large blog back-log.

Amongst some very delectable meals are these images from a lunch event in late October with Fountain Sauces. Thanks to the lovely Prue from The Mint Partners, I was at the table with the likes of Julie Goodwin (winner of Masterchef Australia '09), Margaret Fulton (Australia's greatest food guru) and Sarah Hobbs (food editor at Notebook).

The purpose of the event was to welcome Julie to the Fountain family. Like many Aussies, I have fond memories of a bottle of Fountain Tomato Sauce being my trusted companion to meat pies, sausage rolls and almost anything else I could get away with eating. And as I've grown up, I've learnt that sauces can be used in many other gourmet ways when paired with fresh produce.

Fountain's great new website shares with us these hints, tips and cheats - a few of which I had the pleasure of tasting:

Thai beef salad with Fountain Hoi Sin, Soy and Spicy Red Sauce

De-boned leg of lamb marinated in Fountain Australian BBQ Marinade and served with Fountain Mint Sauce and Mustard Sauce

Prawn skewers marinated in coriander and Fountain Spicy Red Sauce

Salad of roast pumpkin, steamed beans and fetta

Quinoa salad with rocket and vine ripened cherry tomatoes

Potato, prosciutto and chive salad

Petit fours - brownies, Turkish delight and macarons

For recipes on these quick and easy dishes, marinade ideas and more, visit the Fountain Sauces website.

P.S. Julie has confessed to reading food blogs :)

While I'm not religious, my family and I have always celebrated Christmas as a time to be together, share food, and give love and appreciation. Part of the fun is of course within the preparation and cooking stages which gives you plenty of time to bond, giggle and make delicious goodies.

Cutting gingerbread, baked cookies pre-icing, whisking the icing and mixing colours into icing

The plan was originally to make an army of gingerbread men but my man-shaped cookie cutter was missing so I decided to use my set of star biscuit cutters to make a galaxy of colourful gingerbread cookies instead!

This recipe is really simple and the cookies are fragrant with ground ginger; the amount of which can be adjusted to suit your own taste. Plus with a baking time of only 10 minutes, you'll have your first batch of gingerbread, ready to be decorated in no time!

Let your imagination run wild, get the kids involved, mix different colours of the rainbow or experiment with hundred and thousands, cachous or raisins.

Iced gingerbread stars

Colourful gingerbread stars

Gingerbread Stars
Makes about 12 stars

Gingerbread

125g butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2½ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1½ tablespoons golden syrup

1½ cups pure icing sugar
1 egg white
4 drops lemon juice
Food colouring

1. Cream the butter and sugar
2. Add egg yolk and mix in remaining gingerbread ingredients
3. Combine and kneed until dough forms. Roll out dough and cut out shapes using cookie cutters or knife. Continue to remove excess dough for re-use
4. Bake for 10 minutes in a moderate oven (180C)
5. Remove immediately and place on a cooling tray
6. Whisk the egg white, then gradually add the icing sugar. Ensure that there are no lumps, then add lemon juice and food colouring
7. Decorate as you like

I quadtripled the quantities and as you can see, my dining table was truly a galaxy of gingerbread stars! Yum!

P.S. Merry Christmas! Thank you, my dear readers, for your support and words of inspiration throughout this year. I hope you all enjoy this holiday period both joyfully and healthily! x

A galaxy of gingerbread star cookies

Menu For Hope is an annual fundraising event established by Chez Pim five years ago. It involves food bloggers worldwide, donating or sourcing prizes which readers can win by simply buying a raffle ticket. In the last three years alone, Menu For Hope has raised almost a quarter of a million dollars, greatly supporting UN World Food Programme's Purchase for Progress initiative.

WIN A COPY OF MY BOOK

Menu For Hope is back this year and i'll be contributing 2 copies of my book, I Ate My Way Through Singapore & Vietnam, valued at AU$49.95 each.

I Ate My Way Through Singapore & Vietnam is a 128 page hardcover, vivid photographic memoir coffee-table style book, covering my experience back to my parent's hometown in Vietnam plus a detour to Singapore, a country synonymous for its shopping and hawker stalls. Discover the irresistable flavours of South-East Asia through this chapter of dramatic photographic images and taste the delectable culture and magic of street food vendors who work with little more than a cart and some humble ingredients. This book will excite, delight, educate and inspire - plus the beautifuly illustrated designs, delectable photographs and stunning high quality print materials makes it an ideal gift for foodies this Christmas. It is currently on sale for AU$49.95 at selected bookstores with 10% of net proceeds going to KOTO, a not-for-profit restaurant and vocational training program that is changing the lives of street and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.

HOW TO ENTER

1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list or browse the local Asia Pacific list which is hosted by Ed at Tomatom
2. Remember to use the code AP29 or AP30 if you would like to try and win a copy of my book, I Ate My Way Through Singapore & Vietnam
3. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation
4. Please specify which bid item you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code. Each US$10 (a little of AUD $11) you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of US$50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 – 2xEU01, 3xEU02.
5. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match. (This isn’t relevant to Australian bidders)
6. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone

My book on sale at Dymocks World Square

Last week, I had the pleasure of not only meeting Jason Roberts, but also cooking with him, thanks to IGA, Stellar* Concepts and City Public Relations.

Many of you will remember Jason from his time at Channel Nine's cooking program 'Fresh' which was broadcast to Australia and New Zealand, five days a week for four years! Since then, it appears he has cracked the US market, written a few cookbooks and now has become the brand ambassador to IGA's Food 4 Life program.

At the Sydney Seafood School, a small group of food editors and myself were invited to a demonstration and cook-up, highlighting the key message behind IGA Food 4 Life's program - by pre-planning meals and buying simple and seasonal produce, families can prepare easy and healthy meals, without spending hours in the kitchen and that daily interaction in the kitchen with family is an effective way of bonding with the family.

Jason's personable nature, cheeky smile and dedication to healthy home cooking was truly captivating, particularly as explained the Brain Garden concept. I'm no nutrition-geek but what he said made so much sense! I can go on forever, listing the examples but here are a few which will convince you to eat more vegies:

• A sliced carrot looks like the human eye and greatly enhance the function of the eyes.
• A walnut looks like the brain, with left and right hemispheres, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Its wrinkles and folds even look like the neo-cortex, and scientifically, we know it helps develop neuron-transmitters for brain function.
• Kidney beans do not only look like the human kidney, but they also heal and help maintain kidney function.
• Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb look like bones and they also help with bone strength.
• The tomato's colour and its four chambers looks like the heart. Research has also shown that tomatoes are loaded with lycopine which is pure heart and blood food.

And what did we cook?

Courtesy of Jason Roberts, I am sharing with you these two easy peasy recipes - Salmon in a bag, and a gluten and fat free passionfruit and praline souffle.

Fresh vegetables

Cooking Salmon in a bag

I personally love this recipe, not for the fish, but for the vibrant salad. Who knew that zucchini could be so tasty raw?

SALMON IN A BAG
Serves 2

"This is a delicious way to prepare a single portion of fish with minimal effort and incredible flavor, This method of cooking has been around for a very long time and is definitely a style of cooking that is underused. Once you have mastered this technique there are so many variations to play with." says Jason Roberts

2 x 180gm piece of  Salmon
6 small potatoes steamed and skinned removed, and sliced into 1cm rounds
3 tablespoons chopped green shallots
3Tblspn olive oil
1 lemon, cut 2 slices, the remaining used for its juice
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt
Ground white pepper
1 cup of fresh mint leaves
1 small yellow and green zucchini finely sliced and lightly salted
½ bunch chives, finely sliced

1. Pre heat the oven to 200’C (430’F)
   
2. Make sure the fish is trimmed of fat, pin boned and free of scales
   
3. Take 2 pieces of baking paper about 30cm in length and lay it flat on the bench
   
4. In the center of each piece of paper lay the steamed potato slices along with a sprinkling of the green shallots, season with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and then top with a piece of salmon
   
5. Squeeze over a touch of lemon juice along with a little more of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, top with a slice of lemon and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and seal the bag. Take the edge of baking paper close to you as well as the opposite edge, bring together above the fish and fold downwards creating a tight pleat, fold the ends to the left and right back under the fish creating a snug little parcels
   
6. Place fish parcel onto a heatproof tray, and then put into the pre-heated oven, for approximately 8 minutes or until cooked to your liking. The best way to test is to pierce with a sharp skewer; you are looking for almost no resistance.
   
7. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the sliced zucchini along with the mint leaves and a scattering of the chives, season with a pepper, a little oil and another squeeze of lemon juice.
   
8. Once fish is cooked remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for a minute or 2 before opening bag
   
9. To serve, tare the bag open, Dividing the zucchini and mint salad evenly, and place on top of each piece of fish, it is not necessary to remove the fish from the paper bag
   
10. Enjoy

Passionfruit and praline souffle, the goodie bag and dining at the revamped Sydney Seafood School

It is hard imagining how a souffle with praline would rise, but this did. Because it is both gluten-free and fat-free, the texture is extremely airy and seriously melts in your mouth. The zing of the passionfruit simply spells out a summer delight.

PASSIONFRUIT AND PRALINE SOUFFLE
Makes 8 x 240 ml soufflé moulds

"This is one of those impressive desserts with wow factor, I love making this because it’s gluten and fat free, well...
Till I add a spoon of freshly whipped cream" says Jason Roberts.

Extra butter to grease the dishes and caster sugar to dust the interiors
 
160 ml (5.4floz) passion fruit pulp
200 mls (6.8floz) orange juice
25 g (0.9oz) corn starch
120 g (4.2oz) caster sugar
300 ml (10.1floz) egg whites, free of any yolk
Pinch cream of tartar
100 g (3.5oz) caster sugar
 
Praline
75 g (2.6oz) blanched almonds
50 g (1.8oz) toasted, skinned hazelnuts
125 g (4.4oz)sugar
2Tblspns water to melt the sugar
 
Icing sugar to dust
Whipped cream at your discretion

1. Pre heat oven to 175C (380F) for 14 minutes
2. Melt the sugar and water over low heat until dissolved thoroughly. Increase the heat and cook to a caramel - 175º C/380’ F on a sugar thermometer. Should be amber in color but not burnt.
   
3. Off the heat, quickly incorporate the nuts using a swirling action rather than a spoon if possible then turn out onto a clean flat baking tray. Spread with a  spatula.
4. Cool to room temperature then finely chop, set aside.
   
5. In a small saucepan place the orange juice along with the 120gm quantity of castor sugar, set over a medium heat
   
6. Mix well the passion fruit and corn starch to make a slurry, add to the orange juice mixture. With a wooden spoon, beat till thickened and then continue to cook for a further 8-10 minutes over a low heat. After this time place into a sieve and pass removing the seed content, return a few seeds back to passion fruit and cornstarch puree, set aside to cool
   
7. Either by hand or electric mixer you need to beat the whites to semi firm peaks, I find the electric mixer very helpful, but whatever you choose to use, make sure equipment is super clean and free from any fat content.
   
8. Place a kitchen mixer onto a medium speed, add in egg whites along with cream of tartar and continue to mix till well-incorporated and fluffy (approximately 1 minute) increase the speed and slowly start to add the 100gm sugar quantity, a little at a time.
   
9. The egg whites should almost triple in volume and hold semi firm peaks.
   Start incorporating the egg white into the passion fruit base; this will need to be done in thirds. The first quantity you can be quite liberal with, mixing well, the second addition of whites needs to be a little gentler, reserving volume
   
10. Before folding in remaining whites, scatter in the praline then the whites and very gently fold till well mixed
    
11. Fill each prepared mould to the top, leveling with a spatula,  tapping gently to remove any air bubbles, Using your thumb, run around the outside of the top of each soufflé to create a clear track for soufflé to rise evenly
12. At this point you can set aside in the refrigerator till ready to bake and serve, no longer than 6 hours in advance though,
    
13. When ready place into pre heated oven and cook till risen by at least a third of the depth of your soufflé mould, approximately 8-10 minutes
    
14. When cooked remove from oven, dust with icing sugar and serve

Cooking our own lunch inside Sydney Seafood School, Jason Robert's cooking demonstration and me with the man himself, after I won the door prize!

For more of Jason Robert's simple cooking ideas, visit the IGA Food 4 Life website.

The CHOICE Shonky Awards is like the film industry's Golden Raspberry Awards (frequently referred to as the Razzies) for consumer products and services. Best summed up by the CHOICE spokesman Christopher Zinn, "The Shonky Awards highlight what is frankly ridiculous about some of the worst examples of sub-standard products and services CHOICE reviews each year".

When Mark Communications invited me to attend a behind the scenes tour of CHOICE's headquarters, I was more than curious to see where and how these products were tested.

I'll just start off by saying that the CHOICE test labs puts a whole new dimension to a classroom science experiment.

Here are 10 interesting things I discovered:

1. All tests are conducted in a controlled environment. For example, the kitchen is always a steady 23 degrees.


2. Different food types, temperatures and loads are used to test BBQs. Did someone say party?


3. The kitchen is definitely where the fun is. Varying textures from pizza dough to meringue were used to test mixers. They even test microwave defrosters with frozen quiches, measuring the temperature distribution on a hedgehog thermo conductor.


4. Being a CHOICE tester isn't for the commitment phobic. It takes approximately 2 weeks to test mixers, 5 weeks to test BBQs and 12 weeks to test 2 batches of fridges.


5. Tested products are eventually sold half price to staff or auction houses, and occasionally, eBay.


6. It's all about accuracy and monitoring. Everything from heat to energy measurements goes through the calibration lab and if required, a correction factor is added. Heck, even rulers are calibrated!


7. 28 different areas are tested inside a fridge; consistent temperatures result in a longer food life span versus of course, sporadic temperatures.


8. It only takes 1 person to test coffee machines. Caffeine overdose? Oh, and they're tested with short blacks made from Vittoria coffee.


9. What stains are used to test dishwashers? A mixture from the 4 food groups of starch, protein, fibre and fat are used to stain dishes in quarters which are then left to dry overnight in a controlled environment.


10. To CHOICE staff, hot water means 60°C and cold water is 20°C.

While none of the Shonky Award winners collected their gongs, along with who's who of consumer media, some bloggers and I had a good laugh at Vanessa Wagner's demonstrations of just how dodgy these lemons were. And yes, that's a rubber chicken you see in the stock pot!

The Awards that were most relevant to foodies include:
CHOICE Shonky Award: Water at what price?
Winner: Chefs' Cupboard and Massel liquid stocks
Why: The liquid stocks are made from reconstituted powder or concentrate, meaning consumers are paying an extra $2.50 per litre for the convenience of pre-added water.

CHOICE Shonky Award: Honey I shrunk the groceries
Winner: Uncle Tobys Oat Crisp Honey cereal
Why: Shrinkage with extra packaging meaning that despite the RRP as decreased 6%, the unit price increased by 10%!

CHOICE Shonky Award: Cheese-fearing surrender monkey
Winner: Tiffany FP807 food processor
Why: It failed a simple cheese and mayonnaise test and the plastic parts of the shaft even crumbled. Epic fail!

Win a free 3 month subscription to CHOICE!
Want more unbiased product reviews and comparisons? Thanks to Mark Communications and CHOICE, one lucky JENIUS reader will be able to enjoy a 3 month subscription to CHOICE magazine. Simply leave a comment below in 25 words or less and tell me about a shonky product experience you have had.

Competition closes Sunday 15th November, 11:59pm. Winner will be announced on Monday 16th November. Competition is open to Australian residents only.

This competition has now closed.

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to La Grillade's relaunch party. While I hadn't been to the restaurant before the revamp, I was impressed by its fresh French appearance and subtle rustic charm. La Grillade has been operating in Crows Nest for over 25 years and I must admit this party showed no sign of age.

There was plenty of French wine circulating but unfortunately, not enough food... So it would only make sense that I plotted myself near the kitchen. And because I did, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Here's an example of what to expect on the new menu:

Seared tuna nicoise with caviar

Blackmore's wagyu bresola with roquefort and fig

Seared scallop, celeriac remoulade, pancetta

Duck rillette, sour cherry jelly and pickled pear

Preparation, in the kitchen and wagyu and broiche sandwich, lobster butter and beetroot

Lentil, peas and red wine pithivier

Garlic snails en croute

Mini ratatouille tart with goats curd

Braised lamb shoulder, Paris mash and quail egg

Red carpet entrance, atmosphere and dessert of lemon curd tart with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries

La Grillade
118 Alexander Street, Crows Nest
Phone: (02) 9439 3707
Web: www.aihgroup.com.au/la_grillade

Gazebo Wine Garden's girls' picnics are such a wonderful offering. They're exactly my type of thing -a picnic where all you have to do is round up the girls! The food and wine is catered for, there's no worrying about picking the perfect spot or getting dirt on your pretty sundress. It's a bit like camping really. I enjoy the great outdoors but would never go camping au naturale... In fact, the only time I have ever gone camping was at Booderee National Park in Jervis Bay where we were steps away from electricity, toilets and BBQs. Brilliant I say!

The Girls' Picnic must be booked in advance and are available from noon til 2:30pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. For $35 per person, you're greeted with a glass of bubbly and three tiers of delicious goodies.

At lunch with the girls -Maggie, Karen, Emma and moi

Glasses of bubbly

We decide to also share two jugs of Pimms & lemonade which are $25 a pop. The jugs are full of Pimms No1, Gordons gin, Rosso sweet Italian vermouth & strawberries, mint, cucumber topped with lemonade & dry ginger ale. It is refreshing, fruity and sweet.

The quirky furnishings and whimsical decor come complete with cute waiters dressed as lifeguards. Ours happily posed for us :)

Our lifeguard

Pimms and lemonade

Quirky decor

The picnic theme is brought to life with a wicker picnic basket, warm French baguettes and a convenient wooden chopping board and knife. Accompanying the bread are delicious marinated olives, an avocado and pistachio dip and a corn relish.

French baguette and picnic basket

Marinated olives, dips and relish

It was lovely to bask in the sun whilst feasting our eyes on a garden filled with beautiful vines, old Victorian chairs and cushions and enlivened with fresh flowers.

In the garden

Three tiers of delicious goodness

The first tier was salads. They were served room temperature which suited us well as we felt we were beginning to roast in the heat ourselves. There was pumpkin & feta, roasted almond salad, chat potato salad with mustard mayo dressing and green onion, mushrooms with pesto and a simple ratatouille with chunky pieces of cauliflower.

Salads

The second tier were meats and seafood. There was smoked honey ham with fresh iceberg lettuce leaves, cherry tomatoes and chunks of cheddar cheese; piping hot deep-fried soft shell crab; cooked prawns, smoked Atlantic salmon, lightly peppered pastami, steamed mussels and pickles and cornichons on a bed of rocket -plentiful to go around.

Meats and seafoods

On the side we also add a rocket, pear, pinenut and parmesan salad which is a combination that can never go wrong.

Rocket salad

Finally, we ate our way up to the top dessert tier which we had been eyeing from the start. Moist chocolate brownies went hand in hand with fresh pieces of rockmelon, strawberries, watermelon and marshmallows.

Dessert

Leave the picnic rug at home and hop on down to Elizabeth Bay...

Gazebo Wine Garden
2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay
Phone: (02) 9357 5333
Web: www.thegazebos.com.au

How lucky are we in Sydney to be able to taste so many cultures? Within an hour's radius of the city centre, we have access to scrumptious and authentic ethnic cuisines. For Vietnamese, there's Cabramatta, Bankstown, Marrickville or Surry Hills; for Indonesian, there's Randwick or Kingsford; for Korean there's Campsie, Eastwood and Strathfield, for Turkish or Lebanese, it's Auburn and Bankstown; for Thai it's Newtown; for Portuguese it's Petersham and for Greek, it's Brighton Le Sands.

When it comes to Malaysian though, I will admit that before Mamak opened on Goulburn Street, I didn't know what roti was.

So thanks to Mamak, I can truly appreciate Malaysian restaurants such as Temasek, Kammadhenu, Makan at Alice's... and events like Malaysia Festival.

Malaysia Festival 2009 was on 27th September and is in it's third year running. The idea behind it is that it was created by Malaysian students studying in Sydney who needed a taste of home away from home. It also allows Sydney-siders to experience the wonderful essence of hawker food stalls in a warm outdoor setting.

It was the perfect opportunity to laze on Tumbalong Park's grass with good friends and good food.

With seven mouths to feed, we went into strategy mode and split up into pairs. While some of us queued at different stalls, others did the research and snooping to see what else we should be having.

Within about an hour (yes, a long time because we arrived at the lunch peak), we all met back on the grass to present our treasures.

Mamak's satay chicken sticks

At the Mamak stall, we had their satay chicken sticks, nasi lemak and roti telur bawang , which is the egg omelette and onion roti.

Mamak's nasi lemak and roti telur bawang (egg omelette and onion roti)

At the Penang Hawker stall, we saw the transformation of some simple ingredients into a fragrant char koay teow (fried flat noodles) or char koay kak (fried radish cake). The crucial flavour, coming from fresh eggs and this jar of sambal.

Cooking essentials including sambal jar and eggs

Across at the Hometown Recipe stall, fresh apam balik ($7 for 2) were being made. These are a popular pancake which are pan-cooked, filled with creamed corn and nuts and turned over to form a crisp snack.

Apam balik (sweet pancake turnover) in the making

Then at Cafe Kasturi, we drooled as we eyed the chicken skewers on the grill and are convinced we need a dozen chicken satay sticks (6 for $8) and 2 containers of assorted sweet Malay kueh cakes and puddings ($1.20 each or a container of 5 for $5).

Cafe Kasturi's satay chicken skewers

Cafe Kasturi's chicken satay sticks were significantly larger than at Mamak and the satay sauce was as rich and nutty. However, an addition of diced cucumber would have been refreshing with the chunky cuts of Spanish onion and ketupat (rice cakes).

Our selection of sweet Malay kuey were delicious. There were lovely pandan aromas, different textures ranging from soft glutinous pudding to the firm and chewy. My favourite was the kuih ketayap which is a crepe wrapped like a small spring roll and filled with grated coconut and palm sugar.

Cafe Kasturi's sweet Malay kueh cakes and puddings

At the Kuali stall, we were tempted by the sound of a durian panna cotta but end up with the classic sago gula melaka which are sago pearls served with palm sugar and coconut milk. We also have the beef rendang which comes with some delectable pickled vegetables and a fragrant biryani rice. The rojak was soggy by the time we ate it.

Kuali's sago gula melaka (sago pearls pudding with palm sugar), beef rendang with biryani rice and rojak

While in the Kuali queue, my nose took me on a journey to Sally's Kitchen's coconut rice. And so I bought a beef nasi lemak which was as good as its smelt.

Sally Kitchen's beef rendang with nasi lemak and coconut rice

We also attempted the longest queue which was at Penang Hawker for their char kway teow but unfortunately had to ask for a refund after they recognised that they had taken more orders than manageable -which is to our relief as by this stage, we were already stuffed silly.

My beautiful friends, Sham, Jordan and Kat at the festival with me

This will have to be one of my most favourite food festivals in Sydney, simply because the concept of sharing food and culture with these Malaysian international students is so heart-warming. Keep an eye out for other upcoming food festivals in the I Ate My Way Through forums.

Where can you find the same food I've eaten here?
Mamak
15 Goulburn St, Haymarket
Web: www.mamak.com.au
Phone: (02) 9211 1668

Cafe Kasturi
767-769 George Street, Sydney
Web: www.valentineongeorge.com/cafekasturi
Phone: (02) 9288 9888

P.S. Congratulations to the winners of our Julie & Julia Mastering the Art of French Food-Blogging competition!

I'm always chuffed when invited to exclusive PR events or launch parties, but when I realised that my name was on the door-list under my newly founded book publishing company I Ate My Way Through, I was more than stoked (thanks to Time Out & Wasamedia)! So in celebration of that recognition -and of course to welcome Ocean Room's new look and new menu, I partied in style with a gorgeous crowd.

Cocktails and finger food

After a quick strut on the red carpet, my partner in crime and I headed in and were immediately greeted by internationally-renowned mixologist Andy Penney's cocktails. I managed to have all three of seven cocktails before they switched over to beers and wines. My favourite were the pear puree with mint and Moet and another concoction consisting of ginger and shiso leaves.

Kitchen prep work

The restaurant's signature live tank aquarium was now replaced by award-winning designer Yasumichi Morita’s masterpiece, a chandelier which towered over the bar; made up of thousands of miniature wooden cylinders. The main room's revamped space continued the theme by featuring the wooden cylinders across the entire curved ceiling, creating a submerged wave effect. The light features added the final touch to a relaxed intimate atmosphere. I can't wait to come back here for a proper sit-down dinner as I'm sure the new look will only make the harbour views even more stunning.

Oysters, tuna and more cocktails

Raita Noda, Yasmichi Morita and Mr. Imemoto (plus Mel and I in the background!)

The night continued with delectable food served by beautiful Japanese females dressed in traditional kimonos, followed by a dramatic showcase of Japanese Taiko drumming and a live performance of the slicing of a 56kg blue fin tuna. Yes -that is a samurai sword you see in the photo below!

Key performances: Japanese Taiko drumming and blue fin tuna slicing

Me & Zen

Like what you see? Ocean Room's 2 months of renovations is now over, so check out the new menu and book a table today :)

Ocean Room Sydney
Overseas Passenger Terminal
Level Ground, Circular Quay West
The Rocks NSW
Phone: (02) 9252 9585
Web: oceanroomsydney.com

As a kid, many of us daydreamt about leaving school to work in a dream job. Amongst the firefighters, astronauts, teachers, doctors, footy players and actors, there were dreams to be icecream taste testers. Not quite an icecream taste tester (I think it is debatable, which is better) but today, I had the pleasure of meeting McDonald's executive chef Dan Gould, who has the joy of experimenting in the McDonald's test kitchen. I just can't begin to imagine the stuff he gets to play with!

Earlier today, Zing and McDonald's invited a few of us bloggers (Helen, Howard, Lorraine, Karen and Shez) to a fancy pre-launch sampling of the new certified Australian Angus Beef burgers.

Fancy dining at McDonald's

We were courted with a single long stem red rose; juices and soft drinks were served in wine glasses, there was white table cloth and napkins; we had an unlimited supply of piping hot and crispy French Fries and not one, but two Angus beef burgers. It was a premium and grown-up take on McDonald's kids parties!

Huge bowl of McDonald's signature French Fries

Daniel Gould, Executive Chef of McDonald's test kitchen talks about the Angus Beef burgers

Dan, who jokes about having eaten his fair share of Angus beef patties in the test kitchen, presents to us, two perfectly adequate completions, which will be in stores from tomorrow. These burgers are the result of months of innovation and tests so I felt quite privileged to be tasting them before they're made available to the public.

The Grand Angus

The Grand Angus burger

I love this burger's colourful appearance and its textured bite. Although the Angus Beef has been ground into a pattie, there was still a traditional beef burger flavour which was rather tasty.

The Mighty Angus

The Mighty Angus burger

The winning combination of caramelised onion and bacon resembles nothing you would expect from a fast food joint so I'll be welcoming these with an open mouth, the next time I need a late night meal.

Available in store at McDonald's from tomorrow.
For more info, check out www.mcdonalds.com.au

Merivale's Winter Feasts have many talking -about its irresistable value for money and its risqué adverts. It is of course the follow up to the March into Merivale campaign where Justin Hemmes first convinced his top chefs to get their gear off. This time, they were back and just as naked beneath their winter coats.

At the launch party back in June, I was très impressed with plenty of dishes, but it was Ash Street Cellar's creamed snapper and fennel soup with gremolata that had me captivated.

Without much persuasion, Wynn and her hubby John met Zen and myself there one night after work. Tucked in a laneway behind the The Ivy, you somehow fall into a European fantasty of intimate outdoor dining complete with gorgeous French cafe chairs. It's a pity Ash Street Cellar doesn't accept bookings because I would have otherwise had dined here many times before.

Ash Street Cellar's Winter Feasts offer was 3 courses for $35 including a glass of wine or a James Squire.

Spanish Jamon Iberico

However, we were quite hungry tonight and with my recent return from Barcelona, I felt it was only necessary to satisfy my cravings with 2 plates of Spanish Jamon Iberico. I was glad we topped up on the $35 Winter Feast because once the food had arrived, I noted they would be sensational for lunch but left you yearning for more at dinner.

The first plate of jamon iberico was generous which made the second look some what rushed and incomplete. The melt-in-your-mouth texture was beautiful.

Creamed fennel soup with leek and gremolata

My first course was naturally the creamed (not sure if there was snapper) fennel soup with leek and gremolata. It was exactly the way I remembered it to be, only this time, in a much larger serving -hooray.

The boy has the whitebait, forgetting his dislike of eating a fish whole. Their barely there crumbled batter makes them delicious and flavoursome, even though the remains of a small plate of fish heads may tell you differently.

Fried whitebait with chilli mayonnaise

My main course of Italian pork sausage had a gorgeous aroma but looked like it should have belonged to a banquet of tapas and not served solo. It was presented on a small bed of cabbage and caramelized onions and garnished with fresh parsley leaves -all of which turned a sausage into a hearty meal.

Italian pork sausage with caramelized onions

Meanwhile, I didn't hear much from my dining companion regarding his smoked salmon which can only mean good things.

Smoked salmon with garlic potatoes

Chocolate pretzels with caramel sauce

Gorgonzola piccante with quince and fruit bread

The desserts were all simple items but executed brilliantly. My crumble was divine. The tangy fresh orange segments were balanced sublimely with lemon curd and rich shortbread crumbs.

Fresh orange segments, lemon curd and short bread crumbs

While we ended up spending more than $35 per person (on additional drinks, bread and jamon), I still think it's fabulous value for money.

Here's also a sneak peek at the offers around the other Merivale venues. Special thanks to Melissa at Merivale for inviting me to the Merivale Winter Feasts launch party as VIP! (Yes -it was awesome not having to fight over food with the general public, whilst balancing a DSLR!)

Bistro CBD

Simun Dragicevich's gougeres -cheesy choux puffs, duck rillette with beetroot, cornishons en croute and white chocolate tartlettes

Est.

Peter Doyle's avocado, king crab and mint on lavosh; tartare of ocean trout, cucumber, ponzu and coriander and tuscan bean stew and braised beef cheek tarts

Lotus

Dan Hong's tuna tartare with sweet wasabi

Mad Cow

Christopher Whitehead's goat's curd, pear and rocket mini tart, our signature beef tartare and chocolate brownies

Sushi e

Ura San's ocean trout sashimi

Teppanyaki

Akira Urata's king fish skewers with Asian salsa, mini wagyu penny burger and Beijing duck 'ivy style'

Uccello

Massimo Bianchi's prosciutto san daniele and grissini and tiramisu

Merivale Winter Feasts are available as 1, 2 or 3 courses with a glass of wine or a James Squire, Monday to Friday, 12 noon - 2pm and 6 - 8pm. Go to merivalewinterfeasts.com for Winter Feast menu options and more info.

Ash St Cellar
1 Ash St, Sydney
www.merivale.com/#/ivy/ashstreetcellar

Blogging has taken me to new heights.

Guess who was rubbing shoulders with the A-listers at last night's VitaminWater Hearts Russell James party?

Amongst the crowd was Russell James himself (launching his photography book), Erin McNaught, Leona Edmiston, Michelle Bridges, Sophie Faulkner, Laura Csortan and plenty more hotties.

But my highlight was indeed exchanging a quick conversation with Kristin Davis, also known as Charlotte from Sex And The City. It all happened rather quickly. Mid-eating, I spotted a chalkboard at the back of the room. Naturally, i felt inclined to graffiti and just had to plug this blog out there to the cool crowd. One thing led to another, and soon enough, there was a group of bloggers (Imedla, Sassybella, ChocolateSuze, One Bite More, Grab Your Fork and myself) loittering at the back. We must've been too busy with nerd-talk because it took a while for us to notice Kristin sitting right behind us, just centimetres away! So yes, I had my photo taken with her -keep on scrolling to see the not-so-stunning pic of me :)

Food-wise, they fed us well. Bay Leaf catering offered a hearty winter array of stews, lamb cutlets, Peking duck pancakes and more.

This SATC fan will be racing through every episode soon.

Vitamin Water inflatable cube outside Customs House in Sydney's Circular Quay

Me and my sister, Christina, on the red carpet

Michelle Bridges (trainer from The Biggest Loser) on the red carpet

Martini menu

Peking duck pancakes

Cocktails

Bloggers: [Left to Right] Jenius (me), Sassybella, Imelda, ChocolateSuze and One Bite More

Tower of Vitamin Water

Plugging our sites on the chalkboard

Lamb cutlets

Risotto balls

Food bloggers in attendance: [Left to Right] Grab Your Fork, Jenius, ChocolateSuze, One Bite More, Jenius's guest and Grab Your Fork's guest

Me in my Alannah Hill "So Kissable Frock" in pink

Scallops

Me eating the scallop off shell

Waitstaff from Bay Leaf Catering carrying basket of hearty goods

Beef stew with mashed potato

Chrstina (my sister) with Kristin Davis

My not-so stunning portrait with Kristin Davis

The crowd

Chocolate shots

A fashionable goodie bag

With reversible zips!

Bottles of VitaminWater inside the goodie bag

Every Sydney foodie has the Good Food and Wine Show marked in their diaries, but which lucky JENIUS readers are going in for free? Here is your chance to score one of two double entry passes (valued at $55) which includes entrance to MasterChef Australia Live².

Simply leave a comment on this post in 25 words or less and tell me what your favourite part of the show is you love most about the Good Food and Wine Show and why.

Competition closes one week from now, on Thursday 25th June, 2009 at 11:59pm AEST.

For more information about the Good Food and Wine Show, visit www.goodfoodshow.com.au.

Terms and Conditions
¹ Prizes are non-refundable
² MasterChef Australia Live passes are only valid on the Saturday 4 July at 1:45pm - 2:15pm and are non-transferrable.

In the perspective of the boyfriend, this whole Europe trip has been leading up to our grandstand seats in the Monaco F1 Grand Prix qualifying race. The day finally came yesterday.

The highlight for me was being so close to Mark Webber's pit stop as well as seeing Richard Branson -my billionaire idol, wave at me. The French hot dog which I snacked on after the race was the best hot dog I've ever tasted... anyway, here are some pics.

View of Monaco from the train station

View of the track from Grandstand L

Sebastien Bourdais for Torro Rosso

Boats and grandstand M to O

The race track in between Grandstands L and M to O and the harbour

Mark Webber walking out of the toilet

Richard Branson waving at me

Marshals picking up and running with Felipe Massa's nose cone

Timo Glock's spin

Outside the Red Bull pit stop with Mark Webber upstairs

French hot dog with crisp but fluffy baguette and lots of mustard and ketchup

Zen and I

To view more photos from the Monaco F1 Grand Prix 2009 qualifying race, go to my flickr set.

(Pssst, I'll be doing a summary post on food eaten in London, Barcelona, Paris, Nice and Cannes tonight!)

The last day of the Taste of Sydney festival was marvelous... it was scorching hot. After a week of rain, it showcased Sydney's best weather, chefs, food and produce. This festival will definitely remain on every foodie's calender next year!

Here are some interesting stats of what was consumed over the 4 day festival:

• 5,000 Gundooee organic grass fed wagyu beef burgers (Plan B)


• 2,100 Dark chocolate tarts with end of season berries & mascarpone sabayon (Berowra Waters Inn)


• 7,200 Sydney rock oysters with Vietnamese dressing, crispy shallot & baby coriander (Assiette)


• 120kg of Braised beef cheek and roasted onion & Jerusalem artichoke pie; red wine jus (Bird Cow Fish)

As soon as the menu had been released, I had been circling my favourites including fallback options.

Thankfully I was there early and managed to devour everything according to plan (plus a little bit more):

Crowns currency, $1 = 1 crown

I was really impressed that presentation and taste hadn't been compromised in mass production or been affected by the fact that they were cooked up in a portable kitchen and tents! These oysters were so creamy and delicious.

Assiette's Sydney rock oysters with Vietnamese dressing, crispy shallot and baby coriander

This one wasn't on the plan but it looked too good to miss. I was slightly disappointed Centennial Parklands Dining had taken off their beetroot macaroons with foie gras which I had been teased with at the launch party, but the fragrance of the citrus oil and fresh texture of Kingfish was beautiful.

Centennial Parklands Dining's Hiramasa Kingfish in citrus oil, fresh peas and creme fraiche

The crackling on the suckling pig wasn't as crisp as I would have liked it to be and the piece I received had a greater proportion of fat than meat. The gorgeous homely flavours of pork and peas were still tantalising.

Restaurant Balzac's saddle of sucking pig with crackling and baby garden peas

I loved this dish. The scallop added a different dimension to the traditionally hearty mousakka.It was plump and juicy and seared to perfection. I was glad the eggplant wasn't too heavy either. Overall, a really enjoyable dish!

Civic Dining's moussaka of eggplant, sea scallop and taramoslata

And Jonah's dishes blew me away. They were so good I didn't even share. I've never had zucchini flowers which tasted this good. The tempura batter was light and uber crisp and the basil pesto sauce did wonders with these simple wonderful ingredients. The yellow fin tuna was seared with the aromas of sesame oil and then served with a crunchy Spring mix of radish and watercress. The fried onion rings added extra depth to the dish too, it was so tasty. I've never dined at Jonah's before but I've instantly become a fan.

Jonah's at Whale Beach's tempura ricotta filled zucchini flowers with basil pesto sauce and sesame seared yellow fin tuna, crisp spring onion rings, red radish and watercress

Later that afternoon, I satisfied my sweet tooth with these 2 delicious berry desserts from Becasse and Dank Street Depot and cooled down with Longrain's luscious Ping Pong cocktail and Fruit Soda's granny smith apple and fresh ginger soda.

Becasse's eton mess with summer berries

Dank Street Depot's poached strawberries with a chocolate and hazelnut meringue with whipped cream

Fruit Soda's Granny Smith with fresh ginger drink

Longrain Bar's Ping Pong cocktail - lychees and passionfruit muddled then shaken with 42 Below Passionfruit vodka, lychee and fresh lime juice

The best alfresco fine-dining

Me lying down at Centennial Park

The best part of this festival was unquestionably the fact that it combined my love for alfresco dining with Sydney's best food. It was like a gourmet picnic which had been pre-planned for you.

Missed out? The Taste Festival will be at Melbourne in August! Find out more info here.

I'd also like to thank everyone who had entered my Taste Of Sydney double passes giveaway. One of the winners, Sam Lau, has thoughtfully sent me a MS Word doc of his deliciously fun time at the festival. I loved his effort, so with Sam's permission, read on for his review :)

The Bengali wedding consists of a series of sophisticated celebrations, including the bride's holud ceremony (sort of like the bridal shower), which I had attended 2 weeks ago. The wedding reception of course was even bigger and better.

Over 200 guests, consisting mainly of the bride and groom's relatives and family friends, were invited to this cultural extravaganza at Conca D'oro, in Riverwood.

Following custom, Yaz and his mates had to bribe their way through a barricade of Nora's family and friends. I witnessed a hilarious episode of banter about different currency accepted for admission. Dressed in an amazing costume and headpiece and after some pushing and shoving, he eventually made his way in and sat alone on the swing, waiting for his bride to arrive.

The bride's entrance was more grande. Suspense was built up with clouds of heavenly mist and guests oohed and ahhed as she was hoisted in a classic sedan-chair down the red carpet. Her sari was a stunning red and green ensemble with gold trimmings. Beautiful gold ornaments were studded in her hair and her arms were patterned with henna. It was tradition for the groom's family to present the bridal sari on the day so lucky Nora didn't have to stress about finding the perfect wedding dress!

In between speeches, starters were served on a 3-tiered stand which had been decorated with luscious lilies and roses. The batter on the cauliflower pakhora was thick and absorbed the natural fresh flavours of the vegetable but the other items were delicious. There were fish cocktails, Indian potato scallops, and lamb seekh kebab which were cooked on a charcoal BBQ. I usually don't eat lamb but these were so tasty and surprisingly didn't have the stench I often dread.

The main meal was a feast of plain pulao, which is rice cooked with a mix of Indian spices. This was fragrant with its garnish of fried glazed onion. There was also lamb korma, garden salad, roast chicken, a vegetable curry of mushrooms, shami kebab (lamb with grounded chickpeas), really salty but delectable pickles (achar), raita and naan bread. We had enough leftovers to feed another table of 8!

Dessert consisted of traditional Indian sweets - gulab jamun (donuts in sweet syrup) and rasgolla (milk balls in sweet syrup), followed by espressos and dark chocolate and hazelnut truffles.

The evening ended with a bit of dancing and lots of queuing for personal portraits with the newlyweds.

A huge congratulations to my gorgeous friends Nora & Yaz. xoxo
And also special thanks to Chanderika for dressing me :))

Groom pushing through barricade of bride's family and friends

Bride hoisted on sedan chair

The very pretty swing

Nora's lovely family

The newlyweds

Performance of Thank God I Found You, with Nora's sister on the piano

Wedding cake

The menu

Chandelier

Me in a saree (sari)

Zen and Daniel (Eugenia's hubby)

Floral arrangement

Starters on 3 tiered stand

Entree of seekh kebab, Indian potato scallops and cauliflower pakhora and fish cocktails

Plain pulao, rice cooked with a mix of Indian spices and garnished with glazed onions

Naan bread

Garden salad, mushroom curry and shami kebab (lamb with grounded chickpeas)

Raita (yoghurt, cucumber, mints and mix of spices blended together in natural yoghurt

Achar (mixled pickles)

Lamb korma, diced lamb slow cooked in a marinade made of onions, tomatoes and mix of Indian spices

Roasted chicken quarters

My big feast

Indian sweets, gulab jamun (donuts in sweet syrup) and rasgolla

Espresso coffee

White and dark chocolate mud cake

Zen & I with the bride

Me and my (uni-classmates) girlfriends dressed in saris [L - R] Me, Sarah, Olivia, Laurachel, Rennae, Jenny, Eugenia, Jodie

Guests hit the dance floor

Zen & me smiling

Me growling :)

Click here to continue viewing photos from Nora & Yaz's wedding.

Because I know how good the Taste Festival will be (they have released the menu here and you can also preview some of the goodness from the launch party here), I am super thrilled to be partnering with The Mint Partners. We're giving away double entry passes to the Taste Of Sydney festival to 3 lucky JENIUS readers.

The festival is going to be the hottest gastronomic tasting session ever and it's only 2 weeks away.

To enter, leave a comment in 25 words or less about why you should win a double pass to the Taste Of Sydney festival?

Competition closes on March 9, 2009 at 11:59pm AEST. Winners will be announced the day after, on March 10, 2009 and will be notified via email for their address.

Good luck!

(Psst, I will be going to the Sunday session. Give me a shout if you win and would like to join moi)

Where, when and how much?
Taste Sydney Dates 12-15 March 2009

Entry only ticket (Pre purchased) $25
Premium ticket $50 includes entry and $30 worth of Crowns
Pre purchase essential through www.tasteofsydney.com.au and Ticketek 132 849
Standard Entry is $30 on the door.
The Emirates Lounge VIP Ticket $100 includes entry, $30 worth of Crowns & access to the VIP Emirates Lounge including complimentary drinks
Child (age 6-14) $15 entry only

My family isn't big on tradition and without any relatives in Australia, Chinese New Year celebrations usually consist of a home-made banquet with plenty of leftovers. This year, my Mum thoughtfully cooked up this modern Chinese dinner, some inspired by custom and others adapted by our changing taste.

We started with peking duck, a favourite amongst many. The pancake wrap pastry were homemade a few days in advance and steamed on the night. They were the result of one of my Mum's midnight experiments which proved to be successful.

Peking duck

The soft shell crab was deep-fried in a thick batter and lightly tossed in salt and pepper. It was a little rich for my liking, but much loved by my siblings.

Salt & pepper soft shell crab

A symbol of wealth, these huge abalones had been flavour-potting for days. It was slow cooked in a casserole full of ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and chicken stock. They were succulent and velvety.

Braised abalone in oyster sauce

There was also this cold salad of prawns with honeydew, rockmelon and jellyfish; simple flavours and very refreshing.

Salad of honeydew, rockmelon, jellyfish and prawns

Helen has referred to this as the basket of prosperity. I simply know it as my beloved yam nest. Finely shredded yam was deep-fried into the shape of a bowl and topped with a tasty stir-fry of scallops, mushrooms, sugar snap peas and carrots. Watching the yam nest crack under the moisture of the stir-fry and fighting over the crisp pieces was all part of the fun.

Yam nest with stir-fry of sugar snap peas, carrots and mushrooms

Crab claws

A whole fish is a must at any Chinese feast. I'm used to it steamed but this night, we were surprised with it deep-fried with a sweet and sour sauce. And of course we had a few huge lobsters braised in a fiery combination of ginger, chilli and shallots.

Deep-fried whole fish with sweet and sour sauce

Lobster braised with ginger, chilli and shallots

This is one tradition we have maintained over the years. My grandmother made it best; the broth consisted of a whole chicken, shitake mushrooms, fish balls, pork belly and lots of Chinese cabbage. It's so cleansing and flavoursome, I love it! I think this may be a Teochew classic. Enlighten me if otherwise!

Traditional Chinese cabbage soup with fish balls, shitake mushrooms, pork belly and chicken

While I'm sure we were already full at this stage, we continued into the night with extra large longans and lychees. Happy Chinese New Year!

Last Thursday, I was invited to attend the launch of Way2go, a bi-monthly user-generated magazine backed up by NRMA which offers inspiring and entertaining stories, personal tips and advice from passionate travellers. Call it Magazine 2.0 if you like.

The magazine is packed with real life experiences and quirky photography and travel tips. My favourite in this first issue was the DIY security with a rubber doorstop! The magazine even offers some awesome prizes for great stories.

Just before I take you behind the scenes to this media launch party, I am proud to announce the first giveaway on JENIUS! Scroll down to the end of this post for more info on whats up for grabs and how to win. I'm overwhelmed with excitement as PR and media agencies begin to embrace bloggers as this means there's plenty of good stuff coming your way. This recognition is rather flattering and I must admit that I'm enjoying the opportunity to network with some amazing people (as well as the free food, of course!).

Aerial view of function

The Way2go launch party was held at Mezzaluna, a modern Italian hotspot on Victoria Street, Potts Point. The restaurant was staffed by its 2 owners, bartenders and wait staff. I found myself rotating between the gorgeous warmth on the outdoor terrace which had a stunning view of the city skyline and the air-conditioned floor which featured a scrumptious array of traditional Italian bites.

Food on offer included this oven roasted stuffed suckling pig, freshly shucked oysters, grilled eggplant and zucchini, celeriac salad, crab and fish cakes, risotto balls, salmon carpaccio, figs wrapped in finely sliced proscuitto and much more. I finished off with not one but two servings of fresh gnocchi, the first with tomato sauce and the second with gorgonzola & cream sauce. It then only made sense to pair it with two pieces of chocolate and ricotta filled cannoli. Delish!

Oven-roasted stuffed suckling pig

Celeriac salad

Fresh figs wrapped with prosciutto

Mushrooms with blue cheese

Grilled zucchini and eggplant

Marinated capsicum

Crab and fish cake balls

Risotto balls

Lamb rolled in poppy seeds

Carpaccio of salmon

City views

Gnocchi freshly made

Fresh gnocchi cooking with tomato sauce

There was a business card pot competition which I coincidentally won as well! You can tell how thrilled I was in the pic below. It was the first time I had ever won anything decent! With $200 worth of lunch or dinner, I'll be back soon to try the a la carte menu.

Me winning business card pot prize

Cannoli

I left the night with a goodie bag of NRMA Publishing mags and a very cool USB key-chain photoframe! And there's something for you too... (scroll down a tiny bit more)

Goodie bag

Win 1 of 5 one-year subscriptions to the Way2go magazine!

Thanks to Zing, 5 lucky JENIUS readers will win an one-year subscription to the Way2go magazine!

To enter, simply leave a comment in 25 words or less about why you want this subscription to the magazine. Be the most creative to win.

Sorry, this promotion is open to Australian and NZ residents only.

Entries close on Friday, 27th February 2009 at 11:59pm. Winners will be announced on Tuesday 3rd March 2009 and will be notified via email for their address.

Good luck!

Way2go magazine is on sale bi-monthly at newsagents across Australia for $5.95. Issue 1 is out now. For more info, visit the official site.

The Taste festival is every foodie's dream... and it's coming to Sydney! I was thrilled to be invited to attend the media launch this week (free food!!!) and it has only left me feeling more excited about the upcoming event. This glam outdoor food festival allows diners to mix and match their own degustation from top restaurants including Flying Fish, Becasse & Etch, Berowra Waters Inn & more.

During the event, chefs will each produce three signature dishes; at the launch, I tasted 13 of these and here's my verdict:

The truffle risotto was flavoursome and glued together with tasty bits of mozzarella. These were super hot, rich and moist. The sauce complemented it well and was not too overpowering.

Berowra Waters - A Soignee Truffle Risotto with Mozzarella and a Spinach/Fennel Rockerfella Sauce

I've had Peter Kuruvita's yellow fun tuna with ruby graprefruit and sweet pork crackling before and this was a delectable miniature version! Tiny shiso leaf, crumbled pork crackling, a small slate of perfectly seared tuna sat on top of a pinch of grapefruit and this glossy sweet sauce. I loved it so much, I had two.

Flying Fish - Yellow fin tuna with ruby grapefruit and sweet pork crackling

Seeing so many spoonfuls of Bird Cow Fish's celeriac and smoked trout remoulade was mind-blowing. I loved the energy of the ocean trout roe... it brought the classic salad to life.

Bird Cow Fish - Celeriac and smoked trout remoulade with ocean trout roe

Restaurant Assiette paired juicy fresh Sydney Rock Oysters with a Vietnamese inspired dressing with tasted like a cross between nuoc mam (fish sauce used for dipping) and sweet chilli sauce. Fried onion and baby coriander made the perfect garnish.

Restaurant Assiette - Sydney Rock Oyster with Vietnamese dressing,crispy shallots and baby coriander

Longrain's spicy pork sausage betel leaves required a tricky maneuver to eat but it was divine. The combination of fresh herbs reminded me of all the luscious food available in Asia.

Longrain - Spicy pork sausage betel leaves & pickled ginger

I believe I had at least four of Jarred Ingersoll's pastrami of kingfish with earl grey tea smoked oysters. They were suited with a revitalizing cucumber and apple salad and was simply really good!

Danks Street Depot - Pastrami of kingfish with smoked oysters and a cucumber and apple salad

Sailor's Thai also used betel leaves with prawn and a citrus combination with plenty of peanuts. Its flavours were big and strong. Watch out for the dripping juices though! It was another tough one to pick up.

Sailor's Thai - Prawn Miang served with peanuts and lime on betel leaf

Ooh, do I even need to say anything about these? They looked and tasted marvelous! Centennial Parkland Dining's beetroot macaroon with foie gras was definitely one of my top picks! I could have eaten so many but these sexy little things were popular with the crowd.

Centennial Parklands Dining - Betroot Macaroon with foie gras

Chandon Pinot Rose pouring into glass

Ottoman Cuisine - Etli Borek - crisp home made filo rolls filled with braised veal shank, currants & pine-nuts, served with pomegranate and yoghurt sauce

Restaurant Balzac - Wagyu Beef ' Bourguignonne' with Truffled Cauliflower and Onion Rings

These cute little mini organic wagyu burgers by Justin North were the last savoury canapes to come out. As full as I was, I had to have one. If you've never had a burger melt in your mouth, this will.

Becasse & Etch - Mini organic grass fed wagyu burger

Über big and über sweet were Peter Conistis' double chocolate hazelbut baklava, and last but not least were George Francisco's jiggly-like-boobs vanilla panna cotta. Like any visit to Jonah's at Whale Beach, it was heavenly. The accompanying pomegranate molasses and lavender honey made it a work of art.

Civic Dining - Double chocolate hazelnut baclava

Jonah's at Whale Beach - Mini vanilla panna cotta with pomegranate molasses and lavender honey

And it wouldn't have been a launch party without a goodie bag! Hoorah to Lavazza coffee, Tabasco, James Squire beer and other bits and bobs.

Gift bag goodies

chocolatesuze and i fight with wooden disposable forks

Taste of Sydney
12 - 15 March 2009
Centennial Park - Brazilian Fields

Tickets are on sale now through tastefestivals.com.au & Ticketek.

Welcome back! I hope ya'll had many delicious moments during the break.

To kick off a new year of blogging, I thought it would only make sense to firstly conclude 2008 with my family Christmas dinner.

It was a little chaotic at the start, with me doing too many things at once; whipping up the meringue, cutting and peeling vegetables, wrapping the last minute presents and more. But once the vegetables were sliced, fruits were cut up and meringues were baking, everything started to fall into place. Phew!

We started with some dips and crackers, then a giant seafood platter. I tried really hard not to over-cook this year. The following fed 7 adults and 1 kid... we had a few prawns leftover, as well as half the mashed potato and half the salad. I think I did fairly well!

Seafood platter with smoked salmon, shaved Spanish onion, dill and capers, prawns with 3 dipping sauces, fresh oysters with lime, lobsters and spicy wedges

Meringues baking in oven

Berries for the pavlova -strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi fruit and passionfrut

I forgot to photograph the wagyu which we bought from Vic's Meat, but it's marbling was delectable! We chargrilled these eggplants, sweet potatoes and asparagus on the side. These were simply prepared with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cracked pepper.

Vegetables for chargrilling

Mixed green salad with dill, cucumber, haloumi cheese, anchovy stuffed olives, cherry tomatoes and balsamic dressing

The baby carrots were caramelised with a combination of butter, brown sugar and parsley.

Caramelised carrots

Rosemary mashed potato

Charcoal and flame

Meringues are simple to bake and require minimal ingredients. This is the recipe I used:

8 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups of caster sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon cornflower
2 teaspoon white vinegar
Fruit and double cream to serve

1. Preheat oven to 120°C, whip up the egg whites and until stiff peaks form.
2. Slowly (spoon by spoon) add sugar while continuously beating the egg whites.
3. Once sugar has dissolved, all remaining ingredients and combine well.
4. Spoon onto baking paper into required sizes / shapes and bake for 90 minutes or until crisp.
5. Leave them in the oven with the door ajar to allow cooling.
6. Serve with fruit (I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, passionfruit and kiwifruit) and double cream.

Pavlova

Happy New Year!

The work Christmas party was last night. Casino tables, finger food, 2 agency bands (our very own Bath Scum plus Foxtel's) rocked it out. It would have been a fantastic end to a year of hard work but I've got another 3 days to go next week. Screw you, deadlines.

Loren and I

Blackjack table

Leftover finger food

We stole this party idea

Bath Scum

Check out the rest of the photos here.

Soap Creative was in the running to be B&T's Interactive Agency Of The Year, so on Friday night, a few of us frocked up and headed to Luna Park (Big Top) for the formal dinner / winners announcement.

Luna Park Sydney entrance

Ferris wheel

Carousel

Soap crew: Dave, me, Abs (I didn't get a chance to photograph the rest of the team, a rare moment because they were all in shirts, ties and suit... doh!)

The auditorium was decked out in a gorgeous underwater theme. Surprisingly, the 3D tropical underwater screensaver looked twice as stunning when projected. And the food? I would have expected more for a $2700 (10 person) table. However, my entree of cured salmon was divine... the pickled beetroot provided an interesting twist. I couldn't restrain my inner-foodie and also tasted a bit of the herb panna cotta. I thought it was overly rich with herbs and garlic but it would have made a delightful dip.

I've never enjoyed the taste of polenta so didn't enjoy my main dish as much as I could have if it had been served with the rosemary jus and sweet onion & potato mash (which was part of the alternative course). The grilled vegetables were a saviour -sweet potato, carrots, eggplant, capsicum and zucchini... and I was lucky to receive one of the more generous portions of pork cutlet. To give you an idea of the irregularity, my piece was almost twice as big as everyone else's hence although mine was cooked to perfection, others commented on the dryness.

And lastly, dessert... please excuse the sweaty eclairs which I did not try. The lemon meringue tart was heavenly but the others were pretty average.

Underwater theme

Entree of herb panna cotta with wild rocket, shaved parmesan and lemon dressing

Entree, alternate course of Aquavit-cured salmon, pickled beetroot noodles, herb creme fraiche and parmesan wafer

Main course of oven-roasted chicken breast with sweet onion mash, rosemary jus and spring vegetables

Main, alternative course of three peppercorn crusted pork cutlets, soft white polenta and grilled vegetables

Selection of dessert canapes

Finalists

By the way, Colenso BBDO ended up winning Interactive Agency of the Year. Boohoo.

Wee... one of my best perks of work are movie premieres and nothing this year has had more hype than the upcoming release of Baz Luhrmann's Australia. I was there a bit early, got a few good seats, didn't see Hugh or Nic in the flesh but I did see them via the live red carpet feed which was streamed in the cinemas. I didn't do well celebrity spotting this time as George Street was way too packed! Check out the pics below anyway:

The personalised invitation

Entree card on lanyard

I'm posing

I'm still posing

And here's one of my back

Georgie Parker and Ada Nicodemou (and Richard Wilkins' head in the top-left)

Ada Nicodemou

Soap crew on the red carpet: Lee and Ash

Me on the red carpet

Food! There were these thoughtful little boxes of complimentary food, which was much needed considering many of us were attending the premiere sans dinner. The roasted vegetable terrine was terrible but I loved the Brookfarm dried fruit and nut packs. They're definitely something to keep an eye out for... premium quality and simply tasty. There's even a variant with dark Belgian chocolate!

Complimentary snack boxes with Brookfarm walkabout fruit and nut snacks, chicken and pesto wrap, lamington, roasted vegetable terrine, and beef and chutney sandwich

Australia, in cinemas November 26.
For more info about the movie, check out this, this, this or this.

I didn't do any Sugar Hits this year (previous ones back in 2006 are here, here and here) nor did I attend any Hats Off dinners... what I did do during this year's Good Food Month, was grab a quick bite on the last day of the Night Noodle Markets.

It was packed!

Squidlicious were offering mixed seafood plates for $16 which included 2 sticky and sweet prawn skewers, 2 crisp tempura prawns, some not-too-bad salt and pepper squid and crumbled scallops on a bed of undressed gourmet green salad leaves.

The nasi lemak ($10) from Sam Satay had all the key elements, coconut rice, egg, anchovies, sambal, cucumber, peanuts and chicken curry... it was tasty but lacked oomph.

Sam Satay were also offering roti canai with dahl (lentil curry). The roti was a little soggy, overwhelmingly buttery and the dahl lacked flavour and spice.

No time for dessert, because we were running late to a 25th surprise birthday party!

Good Food Month
http://gfm.smh.com.au

Perfect skies, live music, good food and great company. The City of Sydney's Dank Street Festival was back again yesterday and attracted thousands of Sydneysiders. I was one of the many who took up on the free shuttle bus offer and trekked down to Dank Street in Waterloo for an afternoon of market shopping, queue lining and drooling.

There was a great turn out in Young Street with stalls of breads, oils, jams, marinades and trucks of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables.

We also wandered through a designers market where there were wall decals, hand-made jewellery, bags, bibs, retro furniture, fabric remnants, and plenty more.

And then there were roving entertainers including these Italian chefs of stilts and false security guards carrying giant plush dogs on a leash. Ha!

False security guard with plush toy dog

The gourmet food stalls was what I was really there for. Jones The Grocer were selling large blocks of rocky road, nougat and fudge. I treated myself to the rocky road in dark chocolate which was rich and satisfying. Fluffy marshmallows, glace cherries, dessicated coconut and peanuts were encased in thick chocolate. Mmmm...

At the Dank Street Depot stall this year was a mass production of BBQ pure bred Suffolk lamb rolls with pomegranate and mint salsa.

Dank Street Depot's stall

After eyeing this giant paella in the making, I had to have one for myself. I was a little disappointed the saffron rice wasn't well cooked through but it was still piping hot, moist and delicious.

Chef cooking huge paella

Also at the Seafood & Eat It stall were a stack of young coconuts for drinking and a scrumptious aroma of fresh BBQ seafood.

I've always been a little cautious with food prepared in high quantities but this mixed seafood platter which I shared with X was surprisingly tasty! Salt and pepper calamari, prawns and BBQ octopus were served with a nicely dressed gourmet salad on a cool bark plate.

Loren & Karen respectively had the spicy chorizo roll and smoked bratwurst served with sauerkraut from Eumundi's BBQ Blitz.

Some men are known to walk cute toy dogs to strike up conversations with women... this man took it to another level with 2 massive Huskies. They were gorgeous!

To cool ourselves down, we lastly indulged in gelato and snow cones.

Dank Street Festival
More info: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/artandabout/ExhibitionsEvents/DankStreet
Other upcoming events: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/WhatsOn

This year's ARIA Awards was held at the Acer Arena; the after-show party followed at The Ivy!

Since I was at the awards show for work, it wasn't much fun. I spent my Sunday afternoon preparing content for the live website updates, missed out on the live performances while I stressed about everything that needed to be done, wasn't allowed to take pics of all the celebs in the media room (although I sneaked the 3 below!!) and didn't get enough time to photograph or eat much of my dinner of steamed chicken with pesto, served with half a yabbie and broccollini... hmmm... was the 8 hours of hard work worth it?

Yes! Because here we are on the red carpet at the awesome after-party:

Me & Sham

And this is me in my pretty Alannah Hill pink Little Miss Sunshine Frock with Make Me Skinny belt! I thought the photo didn't do the dress fabric justice so have included another shot below it to show you the gorgeous intricate beading detail! I felt so girly and fabulous in it!

Back to blogging about my recent trip to Hobart...

Salamanca Market was the place to be on a Saturday. All of Hobart crowded the busy streets of Salamanca Place to check out stalls of organic produce, craft, jewellery and ofcourse food and wine.

Salamanca Market
Every Saturday at Salamanca Place, Hobart, Tasmania
Web: www.salamanca.com.au

It has been 2 years since my first and last meet-up with other Sydney food bloggers so I was thrilled to receive the email invitation to a yum cha meet and greet at East Ocean.

Who was there? Suze from chocolatesuze, Helen from Grab Your Fork, Kathryn from Limes & Lycopene, Lisa from spicyicecream, Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella, Howard and Qing from eatshow&tell, Belle and William from Ooh, Look..., Reem from I Am Obsessed With Food and a big thank you goes out to Christie from Fig & Cherry for organising this lovely lunch.

I had such a great time... conversation flowed continuously from discovering that a few of us loved to treat on avocado with condensed milk, to learning that Vegemite made good stock. We also discussed our varied experiences with the sometimes negative response of restaurants, magazines and celebrity chefs, and of course swapped lists of our favourite places to dine and produce to buy.

Each dish made its way around the table, ensuring each of us had the opportunity to photograph the food before it was touched. We ooohed and aahed at the thousand layer cake which Suze had spent 10 years hunting for... and racked up a $220 bill which was not bad for a table of 12 hungry foodies!

All in all, I've been introduced to some fantastic new food blogs, which I have already become a fan of, and have been pleased to have had the opportunity of putting faces to some of the blogs that I've been reading for years. This time, I'll have to make sure it isn't a 2 year gap til my next meet-up.

Here are bits and pieces of what we munched down:

I've never had the thousand layer cake before. It was soft and sponge-like... the top layer was similar to the typical steamed bun but the layers beneath it were rich with lotus seed paste (the kind in moon cakes) and egg yolk.

Thanks for the wonderful company guys! Hope to see you soon... and in the meantime, happy photographing, blogging and eating.

View Larger Map

East Ocean Restaurant
421 - 429 Sussex St, Haymarket, Sydney
Web: www.eastocean.com.au

I was really excited this weekend because of former uni classmate, Noods and fellow-foodie, ChocolateSuze's engagement party. And thankfully, my sinuses had given me a morning free of headaches to enjoy this lovely warm day.

There was a feast of fried wontons, spring rolls, scrumptious satay chicken skewers, a massive subway and a glossy, crispy-skinned sucking pig.

A special touch by Suze... she made us these lush cupcakes. Pink lips for the girls and blue bears for the boys.

Congrats on your engagement, Noods & Suze. And thanks for a yummy afternoon!

On the weekend... I found myself at the Buddha's Birthday festival in Darling Harbour. I was there for the vegetarian food fair ofcourse!

The Chinese Garden Forecourt was filled with hungry families and volunteers from BLIA (Buddha's Light International Association) and IBAA (Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien Temple).

Here are some of my snapshots -

Buddha's Birthday Festival 2008
Saturday 10 - Sunday 11 May 2008
Darling Harbour

For more information, visit the official Nan Tien Temple events page: http://nantien.org.au/en/news/News_View.asp?NewsID=13

Last night, I was at the Sydney premiere of Street Kings... here are some of my paparazzi shots:

Check out my Photoshop lighting render skills... haha

Way back on the 9th of February, the Chinese New Year festival was officially launched...

Cheers to a great start! What I love about being an ABC (Australian-born Chinese) is that I get to celebrate New Year twice. Nothing is better than getting that extra boost of motivation to fulfil the year's resolutions.

On another note... As we were lazing on the grounds of Belmore Park like hobos, I was introduced to a website that was totally dedicated to TeoChew people! For those who don't know what it is... simply put -it is a Chinese dialect. I've never been exposed to much of the history or culture, so now that I'm a member, there's so much to be learnt! Check it out www.gaginang.org.

More info on the 2007 Chinese New Year Festival

With special thanks to Sony Pictures, I was lucky enough to be a part of the Australian Premiere of Casino Royale. This being my first 007 flick and premiere, I didn't know what to expect!

We got to walk on the red carpet! But that was before the stars entered... so I missed the celebrity shoulder rubbing. Nonetheless, I managed to get a stalkage shot of David Koch from Sunrise and Hugo Weaving from The Matrix! Haha, though I must admit, the latter pic wasn't as obvious.

Yay! I've been counting down since last week to dine at the sensational Yoshii Restaurant. This was literally a life changing experience... I learnt anger management; and then I did some self-exploring... and ofcourse I tasted some fine food, which has set new standards.

They say pictures speak louder than words. So I was slightly pedantic with my photography. As you do, I snapped up an astonishing 55 shots. Later in the evening, I overheard a diner ask her partner why people take photos of food... Ahh, I was too involved with my meal to even bother with an answer...

The Hats Off dinner at Yoshii was a twice-off, 10-course degustation.

The restaurant was tiny and the service was nothing special ... but since I sat at the sushi bar, I was able to witness the talented Ryuichi Yoshii execute his dishes in style. The food was absolutely amazing.

Yoshii Restaurant
115 Harrington Street Sydney
Phone: 9247 2566
Web: www.yoshii.com.au

Check out the other events covered by Sydney food bloggers.

Tagged with: gfm06

After the Night Noodle Markets, the remaining six of us Foodies strolled down to Sofitel Wentworth for a Sugar Hit.

The table was split in two when we voted upon the best of the three. It was the creme brulee versus the berry and milk chocolate terrine. To my disappointment, the stickiness and softness of the brulee's caramelised sugar, and the "sweating" terrine proved that the desserts had been prepared in advance. Nonetheless, I found it much more enjoyable than the Sugar Hit at Westin.

Sugar Hit is available 9 - 11pm every night during October - the Good Food Month.

Sofitel Wentworth
61-101 Phillip St, city
Phone: 9228 9157

Check out the other events covered by Sydney food bloggers.

Tagged with: gfm06

Last night was the second last night of the Night Noodle Markets, and it was also my first time hanging out with other Sydney Food-Bloggers; which meant I finally got to put a face to their websites... I met Helen from GrabYourFork, Emily from Pickos, Rebecca from CucinaRebecca, Kathryn from kathrynelliott, Juilia from relookage, Nicky, Ben and Tiff from sweetlittletreat and Anna from morselsandmusings.

To be honest, I was still full from my massive lunch at Ichiban-Boshi... full and tired! So here are my only pics...

I had the Sweet Potato Kusabi from Wagamama... the hand-cut sweet potatoes were crunchy and lightly salted. It was served with a creamy sauce consisting of basil, wasabi and mayo.

Want more Good Food Month events?

Check out the other events covered by Sydney food bloggers.

Tagged with: gfm06

In search for some late night sweetness, Zen and I hunted down Sugar Hit at Westin, Sydney... and to my surprise, only one out of the three concierges knew what Sugar Hit was (and where it was at). The armchairs were big and comfy -however, not so practical for dining.

One small but tall ramekin of the brulee, a tiny spoonful of the sour-cherry compote, and a pint-sized biscott lay on each of the corners of a large glass plate... what happened to the portion-size to plate-size ratio?

Take me back to Park Hyatt any day!

Sugar Hit is available 9 - 11pm every night during October - the Good Food Month.

Westin Sydney
1 Martin Place, Sydney
Phone: 8223 1197

Check out the other events covered by Sydney food bloggers.

Tagged with: gfm06

So, it's already the second week into the 2006 Good Food Month, and this is only just my first encounter for the year... I promise there will be more!

Bookings are essential, says the website. But are they really? I scored fabulous window seats, with a stunning view to Sydney Harbour and the Opera House -without a booking. The waiter introduced the Sugar Hit tasting plate, took away our dying candle for replacement, and ensured us that he would "remove" the cockaroach which was creeping beneath my seat. A good ten minutes later, he turns with a bottle of Brown Brothers Moscato. No candle, and no removal of the pest. The Moscato was beautiful, it was so refreshing, sweet and fruity.

By the way, did I mentioned it was priced at only $15 including wine?

Sugar Hit is available 9 - 11pm every night during October - the Good Food Month.

harbourkitchen&bar
park hyatt sydney
No.7 hickson road the rocks, Sydney
telephone + 61 2 9256 1661
email hkbar@hyatt.com.au

Check out the other events covered by Sydney food bloggers.

Tagged with: gfm06

I was so caught up in the long weekend, I totally forgot it was October... Good Food Month, which means a bigger and better excuse to eat!

Thanks to Reb's awesome idea, Sydney food bloggers will be covering all the bases! So start planning your month, and check out the gastronomic events at www.gfm.smh.com.au.