Vera Cruz... could be better

Seeking a restaurant to fill up the grumbling belly, we took a walk along Military Rd, all the time thinking "mmm pub grub" or "mmm noodles". Who would have thought, we walked pass a fancy looking Mexican restaurant with a SMH Good Food Guide review that gave it 14/20. It didn't serve your usual bean burritos or nachos, but had a list of interesting and/or unfamiliar dishes, so we thought we'd give them a try.

The restaurant was virtually booked out but (I think he was) the manager took us to the bar, where other customers were having a pre-dinner drink (but soon cleared out), and sat us down along the couch. It turned out to be rather comfortable and relaxing as it was away from the main restaurant crowd, so it was much quieter. Many of the entree and side dishes drew our attention so we ended up having a more tapas style dinner with all our orders arriving at once.

I'm going to have to double check the names of these dishes. We started with what looks like a "Mexican dim sum" - duck in deep-fried corn pastry, which was unfortunately a bit dry and bland. I was half expecting a tortilla wrap with duck (like Peking Duck). It wasn't offensive but it wasn't impressive either. Then we moved on to the pork ribs in a sweet and lightly spicy tomato salsa. We both agreed that it was very delicious and appetising - very refreshing, highly recommended. The quesedillas were authentic according to dinner buddy but I found it a bit dry and bland, which I guess would go well with a spicy saucy main dish. Roasted pumpkin was just marvelous - hearty sweet and juicy, sprinkled with pumpkin seed kernels and feta cubes for extra flavour and texture. We left the ceviche with tomato and avacado salsa to last - dinner buddy was comparing this to a previous ceviche experience (which was a cold fish soup with citrus flavour) which was quite different from what was presented to us. This was beautifully presented as a stack, topped with corn chips (which were hard and salt). The fish was light and tangy, the combination was gently spicy with cracked pepper mixed in, and although it was different from what was expected, I still really enjoyed it (I even accepted the avacado bits in there!)

We had room for dessert. Churros were OK but it felt undercooked - the center still felt like batter. And I was very disappointed with the Kahlua brulee because it was curdled. A curdled creme brulee means the chef was not skilled. VERY disappointed. The sangria was quite delicious - probably worth getting a jug if you're in a big group.

Overall we enjoyed the ambiance and the service was generally OK, but with mixed feelings about food. I guess without the desserts I would still recommend (and possibly come back) this place. 314 Military Rd Cremorne.

D'ough boycott

On a bright sunny day I decided to head over to D'ough Espresso at Bondi Junction Westfield. They serve fantastic cakes and the coffee is usually of a great standard, while the Harbour Room food court offers fantastic views to the city. It was down to the choice between a citrus tart and a cookies and cream cheese cake, and the winner was the cheese cake as we could have citrus tart almost everywhere.

The slice of cookies and cream cheese cake came and we were surprised to find 50% base (chocolate sponge) and 50% cheesecake, and we thought if we noticed that we wouldn't have ordered it! So we took a closer look at the slice and found something disappointing.

The cheesecake was made in a way that the outside of the cake was coated with a very thin layer of the cheesecake to cover up the bulk of the base, so it appears from the outside that there is 80% cheese and 20% base. The thin layer was very obviously there to deceive the customer.

We were exceedingly disappointed with that and I have decided now (sadly) to boycott D'ough. I know they did not bake the cake on the premises but it was just such a shameless way to deceive customers who were craving something luscious and decadent.

I will lift the boycott if/when the problem is resolved. Until then, I guess I will return to Laurent Boulangerie, or maybe visit Sweet Belem for my sugar fix......

PS
After the disappointment as mentioned above, I emailed the manager to express my experience and asked that something be done about it. Since then I had a few subsequent visits to spy on their progress. On last visit I was pleased (not delighted) that the veneer on the cookies and cream cheese cake had gone, and also they altered the name of the cake to cookies and cream on sponge cake (or something like that). I have then sent an email acknowledging their progress, thus my mini-boycott is now lifted. Not delighted that the cake is still only half-filled with the cookies and cream cheese but at least they're not being deceptive.....

Bathers Pavillion does high tea only on weekdays - probably a good move because it is hugely popular among week day diners. So we went, on my parents' anniversary, for a relaxing afternoon tea.

The high tea for 2 comes with three trays - 2 scones with cream and jam, 2 each of raspberry chocolate tart, chocolate eclaire, and strawberry coconut tart, 2 each of smoked salmon sandwich, goat cheese and cucumber sandwich, and prawn and avacado tart. And tea or coffee of your choice. Oh it was such pleasant afternoon tea, home made jam (not simply a scoop of strawberry flavoured jelly), rich chocolate genache under the gold-foiled raspberries, smooth chocolate custard in eclaires, refreshing strawberry coconut tart (no custard, pleasant surprise). The sandwiches were good too but I'm not particularly keen on goat cheese or avacado, otherwise they went down well too.

After the afternoon tea we went off to Crows Nest for some Tapas (Zarzuela Spanish Restaurant). Highly recommend their white bait, sardines a la plancha, roasted capsicum, and my old favourite chorizos. We also had potatoes with aioli, and creamy garlic mushrooms, which were both good but a bit rich. With a hot roll to soak up the flavoursome oils and sauces - ahh. A bit unfortunate that their delicious sangria must have been made with cheap red wine - normally I can handle a glass or two of red, but just one glass of this sangria turned me red and tipsy and gave me palpitation I haven't had for a long time. Otherwise it was a totally pleasant afternoon/evening.

Wishing you all a very happy new year!

Taipei Food Extravaganza

This is a collection of foods I had in Taipei, which I think is excellent in terms of authentic international (well Asian) fares and great variety of the local cuisine. There are a lot so take it easy on reading especially those of you who like reading in the middle of the night!

I had a great lunch at a packed little lunch place for Unagi Don (Japanese eel rice), went to a tight little cafe called Domo for an excellent espresso (which was the last good espresso I had on the trip), had a few quick dinners at night markets, went for a dance shoe shopping frenzy (and this had anything to do with food??) and filled my luggage with more food than clothes.

Ah satisfaction.

And of course I also had time to go to NICE restaurants and cafes and performed the "don't touch the food before I photographed it" ritual - and that's what I'll share in more details. I should describe it as a degustation rather than separate events, just so it flows. Emphasis - the following was not consumed on the same day/meal. If you actually thought I'd consumed all that in one sitting (or one day), I shall declare war on you!!

Lets start with entree - Deep fried tofu stuffed with fish liver - it was fantastic, tofu was crispy on the outside and very silky on the inside, and the flavour of the liver was creamy but not rich. It was supposed to be dipped in a light soy sauce dipping sauce but I didn't bother coz it was just nice enough as it is. It was followed by "rice in soup" - if you often have Japanese noodle soup, you might know the type with sesame and seaweed strips. To have cooked rice in the soup meant the rice soaked up all the nice flavours of the soup and it was satisfying on its own. Then we had a nigiri sushi (with what fish I'd forgotten), fish was tender but not falling apart (like cooked cod does), and the charred bits were fantastic. Char-grilled calamarigreat with just lemon (or nothing at all) - it came with a salt and pepper for dipping, which was finely ground and very fragrant, but again I didn't really need that because the charred bits on the calamari was enough. Salted plain-grilled sanma fish was full of the flavour of the fish, and really char-grilling is the best way to appreciate it. Sanma (or Pacific saury) has heaps of fine bones but the flesh is very tasty. But if you accidentally broke the liver it will leave the flesh very bitter - some people like the bitterness, not me not I.

Hot pot. YUM. I know it was still summer in Taiwan but who cares when air conditioning keeps my cool... A vegetable pot with soy sauce stock, and additional serve of wagyu beef. Oh wagyu beef - thy beauty, texture, high content of saturated fat... not that I care about that last point, of course. The soup base eventually got a bit salty for us though.

BURP. Excuse me!!! Now I move on to desserts. Haagen Dazs ice cream sound Ok with you? Of course. And what's dessert without coffee? Try an iced coffee - literally ICED coffee, because it was made from melting ice dripping over ground coffee, extracted overnight. Apparently this slow and cold extraction does not extract caffeine, but either they used crap coffee, or the lack of pressured steam just doesn't extract the elements that give a good espresso its depth and body. The waffles at the same cafe was incredibly popular and well deserve their fame - hot off the waffle plate, served with fruit and vanilla ice cream. Simplicity is best.

There, that concludes my foodie experience in Taiwan. I certainly enjoyed it... hope you hated me for it too!

Girly get together. In need of a restaurant that serves good food and has comfortable ambiance so the girls can talk without the need to shout. Pomegranate was actually very much a last minute decision, as none of us have been there and it had good reviews from customers, so a reservation was made before 6 (for dinner at 7) and off we went.

Driving along the buzzing Darling Street, going deeper and deeper into Balmain, we FINALLY found Pomegranate, located away from the main strip of restaurants and shops, and with minimal signage to make it hard for those who didn't remember the street number. As we walked in we wondered why we bothered making the reservation because it was empty at 6:50, not that it mattered much anyway. As we poured through the menu, customers started streaming in and sure enough, by 7:30 every table was filled! Then the girls finally decided on what they wanted, ordered, got told we might have ordered more than we can finish but didn't care, because we wanted to try everything we could possibly fit in our stomach.

Entree came and we were delighted. The violet dumplings with mince and coriander was gorgeous, made into individual flowers and served on spoons. We wondered how we could possibly consume them - they were just so beautiful. And then we bit into it the sweet fragrant filling... and were sent to heaven. We also had a taro roll - thin tofu sheets wrapping taro, water chestnut and cashew nuts, it had such delightful taste to it, great texture and flavour that is gentle but distinct, with a lovely subtle sweet chilli dipping sauce that was nothing like what you get from the usual local Thai. The entrees were so delicious we simply anticipated main for the rest of the time.

Then our main dishes came. We ordered duck Choo Chee, crispy pork belly with fragrant light curry sauce, and fried barramundi in sweet chilli paste. Then of course we piled rice onto our plates ready for attack. The waitress tore the meat off the duck thighs and spread it evenly over the aromatic curry sauce, so I didn't bother taking a photo of the dish. Oh this was heavenly! I'm partial to duck and this was one of the best ducks I've had, the curry was mild, sweet and very aromatic, I could eat it all night. The pork belly was deep fried so the crackle was very crispy, which made it a bit hard to chew, but still delicious. The light curry sauce had lemon grass and lime leaves in it, and was mild, very fragrant and appetising. The fish was more potent because of the chili, but I find myself quite happy consuming through the fish without having to water down the fire because it was bearable for a chili wuss like me. And it came with little flower shaped egg pieces decorating the dish - we were absolutely in love with them and called them the "Hello Kitty Eggs" because they were so cute.

To pick a favourite out of the three was not too easy - it was the contest between the duck and the fish - as I know I'm always partial to a duck and curry, but I really enjoyed the fish too. In the end I gave the duck the "Cindy's favourite dish for the night" crown. Not saying the pork was bad, but it was just not as tantalising as the other dishes.

The waitress was right - we did order too much - we managed to finish the dishes only because they were so delicious, and it would have been a waste. We were so stuffed because the servings were great. Of course we didn't tell the waitress we were stuffed - because she would have said "I told you so" and possibly refuse our dessert orders. Yes we had dessert too..... A baked taro cake with coconut ice cream, and a roasted rice cake with coconut ice cream. I opted out because I didn't think it was possible to have more food pushed into my stomach (which was protesting at being overworked). The desserts had texture and flavour that we all thought "hm... thats interesting... what is it". I guess we are all used to the classic western desserts like creme brulee or chocolate mud cake.

We had such a wonderful time at the restaurant, we ended up leaving after everyone had left - first in, last out. We felt sheepish towards the waitresses because they were waiting for us to finish so they could pack up and leave! But then we were great value for money because we ordered more food than anyone else. Highly recommend this place, I really couldn't find much flaw there, loved the interior (no tacky Thai decorations), waitresses were efficient and polite, food was fabulous, price was right (just under $150 for all the food and bottle of wine we had). We will definitely remember and revisit this place!

Pomegranate Thai Restaurant - 191 Darling Street Balmain

Ice and Slice

We found a fantastic gelateria et pizzeria called Ice and Slice, located at 135 King St (Broadway end), courtesy of the entertainment book. Coming with no expectations, we were overjoyed and delighted to see the many flavours of gelato on display at the entrance, and instantly knew we will have gelato for dessert.

We were led into the back room of the cafe where they had to clear a newly finished table for us because they were busy. We were hungry, therefore quite annoyed that we didn't get any table service. Then Peter realised we've got to order and pay at the counter. So we picked our pizza and gelato flavours (after long deliberation on flavours), and we impatiently waited while salivating at the steaming pizza at the table next to us.

After a short wait we got our prawn pizza (called The Queenslander) and Quattro Stagione which has ham salami olives cheese and mushrooms all mixed up. The pizzas, I swear, were up there with Napoli in Bocca standard. Thin, soft but chewy crust that wasn't charred and crispy like Gourmet Pizza Kitchen (which any pizza purist will never go near), and the toppings were fan-tabulous. The Queenslander is an off-putting name unfitting for the delicious pizza - Prawns were big sweet and fresh, quite unlike most of the seafood pizzas elsewhere (even Dolcissimo's seafood pizza used frozen prawns!!), and our Quattro Staggione was equally satisfying and mouth watering. And the cheese that just drags and clings and made our mouths water uncontrollably as we try to cut the stringy mozzarella away from the neighbouring slice (break, damn it, break!)

Made us think maybe we could have had a pizza each. Then again, we wanted to save room for gelato.

The gelato. Oh the gelato. I haven't had these flavours for years and I'd almost forgotten how yummy they tasted. Silky smooth, rich in flavour but not heavy or overly sweet, aromatic hazelnut, rummy rum and raisin, and the pistachio, oh that pistachio, no wonder pistachio is one of THE gelato flavours to have. And it left us wanting more despite feeling rather full already.

Pizzas were about $15 on average and gelato was $6.10 for 3 scoops. They also do sundaes ($7.90) such as banana boat and peach melba and other tantalizing mix of flavours (one of them a "vanilla bean gelato spaghetti"). They also do desserts such as tiramisu and baked cheesecake. The waffle with maple syrup and vanilla gelato looked attractive too but not sure how good the waffle is considering its not freshly made. Only trouble is finding parking, so car pool or try public transport. But it doesn't matter. This place is excellent value, hugely satisfying, and I would definitely come back for more.

Sorry, no photos as we weren't expecting fine dining. Besides, it'll be impossible to photograph a fantastic pizza while you're starving. I'm sure you understand.....

Blue Eye Dragon revisited

Back for a late supper after salsa - and we ordered a scallops stir fried with XO sauce and fried chicken with basil and five spices again, simply because it was light and delicious. The scallops were huge, plump and tender, flavour was light and nothing like the usual XO sauce flavoured dishes that are often too spicy and greasy. This dish was simply cooked to perfection. Although in my opinion the presentation of this dish was too simple, it tasted better than it looked. The chicken was as good as we remembered it. And we couldn't resist the smooth and creamy Movenpick ice cream - fantastic way to end the meal.