Have to somehow get in the habit of updating my blog!

Again it was a while since my last update, as routine DDT update became my focus so it took most of the photos of my amazing good adventures...

Alas, I still have frequent and enjoyable food experiences so from now on I shall add Viva la Cornuta back on my "to blog" list!

Let me start by some of the goodies appreciated in 2010:

For the start of 2010, fellow foodies visited Melbourne via country Vic/NSW, the highlight being Brown Brothers at Milawa, Vic, where every dish from entree to dessert came with a matching Brown Brother's wine, and the servings were generous, not to mention delicious!

It's not easy to get to for most people involved; most of the patrons I believe are on holidays, and thank goodness for a half-way point like Brown Brothers for roadtrippers between Sydney and Melbourne.

Back to Sydney - part of the Sydney Festival, many restaurants offer Sydney Festival food and wine deals where you get a main course and a wine (not matching wine, unfortunately... just house red/white) for $35. We chose Summit Restaurant for its revolving 360 view of Sydney, its beautiful cocktail creations (Orbit Bar) and its delectable dessert selections.

The food and wine deal was average - we concur that we have had better. Thankfully the dessert and cocktails redeemed Summit for us! The chocolate and coffee creme brulee (not mocha creme brulee, but a blob of chocolate creme brulee PLUS a blob of coffee creme brulee) was top notch and we all highly recommended it.

Third place I'd like to introduce to people is Phamish, which is somewhere I've wanted to come to but never did for whatever reason... Its a fusion Asian cuisine, with a blend of flavours from various regions of Asia, in fact apart from calling it SE Asian food, I couldn't put my finger on a particular location; the dishes often have Chinese, Thai and Vienamese flavour elements, sometimes one more distinct than the other, sometimes just blended (eg style A + flavour B). It was very delicious, certainly would return for more, but the purist that I am, I still prefer my "single origin" cuisines!! Highly recommend the duck roll (with egg pastry and tasty tender juicy duck pieces), and crab dumplings (luxurious dish).

Surviving Spice I Am

Sorry - no photos - when the food came, it was YUMYUMYUMYUM followed by HOTHOTHOTHOT...

For KT's birthday a whole bunch of us went to Spice I Am at Surry Hills, which was a challenge as no bookings allowed, which meant we were very much dependent on everyone arriving on time to secure tables. So we had to secure 2 tables at a time... and grab another when a couple more people arrived... and grab another table when the table next to us had finished...

That did not detract us from enjoying the fantastic food and efficient service. Here are the few dishes I remember having despite the pain on the tip of my mouth:

Mieng kuay teaw - a fresh spring roll of pork and sprouts in flat rice noodle, with a green sauce that was spicy from fresh garlic, fantastically light and appetising.

Ho Mok - like an omelet wrapped in banana leaf (mild) - i remember it being delicious, except when I was having it my tongue was suffering from the following dish ...

Soft shell crab salad: soft shell crab was the same as any good soft shell crab, but the salad under it - TOP STUFF - spicy, mouthwatering, tangy, fragrant, appetizing, I would have it again.

Chu chee curry (with beef) - extremely delicious, spicy but not burning hot, very rich and aromatic. Much loved by all.

Duck tom yum curry - mild, trangy fragrant tom yum base, gorgeous. Loved it too.

Deep fried sand whiting with spicy sauce - crispy skin, spicy delicious sauce, very good.

Duck with tamarind sauce: tangy juicy duck

Some spicy prawn salad thing - call 000 and ask for fire services.

There were other dishes - can't remember what they were but they were all well received by those who ordered it.

I'll certainly come back, and will arm myself with a pot of cream or chocolate mousse (like I did this time) to douse the fire.....

Ding Tai Fung World Square

The long awaited opening of my favourite restaurant Din Tai Fung in Sydney after a couple of months delay (advertised to open in April but didn't open until June) means I can now have my favourite steamed pork dumplings with crab roe whenever I like without forking out the airfare. A truly exciting event and much to my delight, the place is well received by locals and fellow Taiwanese/Chinese/Cantonese alike, meaning this place should continue to do very well.

Here is my own blurb about Din Tai Fung: I remember this place for as long as I can remember. When I was a youngster I would go with my family and line up for half an hour just to get a seat (you will most likely share a table with strangers by default due to its popularity) in what appears to be a dingy little restaurant, and enjoy what they are most famous for, the steamed pork dumplings. The success of their business as a result of their ever-so-fantastic quality of their signature dish helped the growth and expansion of their business. This place has now transformed to a modern chain restaurant with over 40 stores over 9 countries, but thankfully the quality of the dumplings (and their other delicacies) did not falter, thanks to stringent training to ensure quality and customer satisfaction. Speaking of customer satisfaction - they have their staff so well trained that you will feel very well looked after. They are always there but never there - very polite, attentive and feel genuinely friendly. I once saw a little note on the till that says "from 6pm to 7:45 pm 36 customers complimented on their good service". It must mean a lot to them to see happy customers.

Traveling from the Northern to Southern hemisphere, the essence of Din Tai Fung was not lost. Same good dumplings, same good service, same long queues of patient patrons. A few things I noticed to be critical as an amateur critique: the menu is not as extensive as the ones in Taiwan or Shanghai (seasonal issues as well as supply of certain raw materials - don't blame them really), and the staff appear a little overwhelmed at their popularity, and hence a little frazzled (but they'll get used to it over time). And it is quite a lot more expensive ($8.80 for six little dumplings is a bit dear...). However we have now learned that 1. going there as a group will get you more varieties and 2. ordering a fried rice or noodle soup will help fill your stomach while you enjoy the dumplings.

DEFINITELY worth your while waiting half an hour for their food. And I still think it's worth the money. Though to me it's a bit of nostalgia too :p

Another excellent home dinner

The fact that we live in an apartment with limited entertainment space has become our excuse for not throwing our phenomenal home parties. Although, it's not exactly an excuse, as the limited space makes it hard to cater for more than 8 people comfortably. But when dear friends arrive from overseas, nothing stops them from barging into our door and demand not only to be fed, but to be fed well. And of course, mother obliges.

It won't be mum's phenomenal dinner party without a few novel creations: Stuffed celery with mustard dressing, beautifully presented on a gold rimmed plate, gone before I could say "can I have a taste". Other dishes include pickled spicy cucumbers, spicy tripe, pigs trotters (with the skin tantalizingly bouncy - but I still stay away from this), steamed fish with pickles and pork mince, chicken and mushrooms with sweet-spicy sauce (empty plate in no time). And the piece de resistance - rice with chinese sausages and hams cooked in an earthenware pot, so the fat and juice of the meats would seep through the rice, which crisps up at the bottom of the pot.

A very happy meal with not much of left over. Though there was enough for my lunch box the next day... phew.

Bathurst adventure

The long weekend (courtesy of Her Majesty Queen E) is great time for a short break, though unfortunately for me this weekend was fragmented due to the annual Dragon Boat Festival family feast (Blog coming VERY soon) on Sunday, so any attempt for a weekend away would have been futile. But we don't complain - when it comes to food anything else is secondary... almost.

But we still managed to have a day out to Bathurst/Orange on this bright beautiful mild blue sky day. Why Bathurst? It's where Bathurst 2000 V8 supercar race is held annually, and the race circuit is open to public for a fun drive (with a speed limit of 60kph and constant police monitoring too). The top of the hill also offers a good vista to the entire town, which was a scaled down version of visiting the Centerpoint Tower.

Anyway, just like any other country town, it has it's quirkiness, relaxed country pace, and depending on where you go, quality local produce and culinary fare. We went to a little cafe called Ziegler's, with a lovely courtyard and slightly alternative interior decoration such as a scroll of buddha alongside oil painting of landscape or abstract objects.

We were there for lunch and asked for a lamb with chargrilled eggplant, asparagus and tomato ragu, and an Osso Bucco, but the friendly waitress then came out very apologetically telling us "it won't be ready for another 3 hours". We didn't know whether to feel pleased that they slow cook their osso bucco properly, or to feel annoyed that it's not available but it's on the venue. The osso bucco was then replaced with a steak open sandwich with fries, which had delicious grilled haloumi cheese, salad and cucumber yogurt. The meat was a bit overcooked for my liking - we asked for medium but it was definitely well-done. My lamb had the same problem but a bit worse as I asked for medium rare (pink but not bloody) but it came well-done and therefore a bit tough, but the tomato ragu was VERY flavoursome, not too acid at all. The asparagus was a bit tough too but I think it's not quite asparagus season yet, so I forgave them for that. The chargrilled eggplant at the bottom has a fantastic charred taste and because it had soaked up the tomato ragu flavour it was my favourite part of this dish.

I have also ordered an apple juice, which was freshly pressed from granny smith apples - so the juice was very tart but very refreshing. The macchiato also passed the critique's judgment, with bonus points for being fair trade coffee.

Later in the evening for dinner we visited the Robin Hood Hotel at Orange for their (in)famous HUGE sized pub grub - a full sized pork rib with spicy sweet marinade, and lamb shanks (two shanks from the biggest and fattest lamb you could find) with mash. I ordered pork ribs because I have been warned of their size, and ribs usually have less meat on them, but it had more meat than bones, tender juicy and good sweet-spicy flavour. The lamb shanks were off the bone - one shank would have been enough to feed me, while I could only have half the rib and barely touched the vegetables and chips on the side.

So I was fat and happy at the end of this day trip. To be fair these weren't the best meals I had, but certainly one of the most satisfying due to its generous country portions.

Spanish Club

Of all the Spanish eateries along the Spanish Quarter there's only one I haven't been to - until now. The restaurant upstairs from the Spanish Club is pretty similar to the other Spanish restaurants along the Spanish quarter, but their tapas menu was slightly different. Apart from the standard Calamari, Chorizo, Garlic mushrooms there was also (to fellow taster's delight) Ceviche and stuffed eggplant, which were not seen on other menus if my memory serves me correctly.

For the 4 hungry souls we opted for tapas and paella. Of course the old favourites such as chorizos and garlic mushrooms were ordered. The chorizos were not quite the same as the standard chorizos I remember - different texture and flavour. Garlic mushrooms were ordinary - I had a much better garlic mushroom at Don Quixote (which is now unfortunately closed!!). The calamari was flavoured sweet and sour which was a bit odd (what's this, Oriental tapas?!). Lamb skewers were also average and I found the meat a bit on the dry side. The fish pieces in ceviche (salad of cold fish marinated in tangy citrus) was flavoursome and tender, but the pickles were not quite doing the ceviche justice. Stuffed eggplant was good, soft and juicy and rich and hearty. Overall the tapas dishes were not lighting fireworks for our tastebuds.

Then comes the paella. This has got to be the best paella I have had in ages. Full of seafood, the rice was cooked al dente. For those who had a lighter palate skimming the rice on top helped avoid the rice at the bottom, which was saturated in a rich aromatic stock (and was favoured by those with a heavier palate). It was also quite a pleasure to wash it all down with a refreshing spicy sangria.

We said we'd gauge how full we are before we order dessert... but of course we always manage to fit more in (indigestion to follow but we don't care do we). A test for all Spanish restaurant would be how good their churros is (if they have it). The churros passed the test by the most strict Spanish food fiend at the table. The dessert tasting plate for two contained three pieces of desserts from their dessert menu (orange and almond cake, vanilla rice pudding, flourless chocolate and walnut cake). Orange and almond cake was sweet and moist (touch of tang), vanilla rice pudding was ordinary (for a great rice pudding try Bather's Pavillion), chocolate and walnut cake was well received by others, but I personally found it a bit dry. Though I could be biased - my stomach was crying "stop stop" by the time I got to dessert.

In the evening the flamenco dancers came out for a performance - great entertainment especially when they started pulling restaurant guests up on stage - especially fantastic when they got to our table and dragged one of the girls up, and of course she wouldn't go up unless if we all went, so what did we do... gulp down our sangria and strut our stuff on the stage, of course.

Great fun night, highly recommend the paella, dessert selection and the sangria, though for tapas I would recommend one of the others across the road.

ps apologies for the poor photos - had to quickly shoot or risk the wrath of the hungry dinner party

S&I Thai

A get-together and pre-farewell party for one of my potter friends was held at our most frequented Thai in North Sydney. To save us the trouble of ordering, we simply opted for the banquet menu ($30pp plus corkage). This included entree of a curry puff, a spring roll, and a fish cake. It was followed with satay chicken, a prawn stir fry, a fried fish, chicken cashew, massamum beef curry, stir fried veges with tofu. For the $30 price tag, the quality of food, and the quantity of food, was phenomenal. Personal favourite was the prawn, and I hear from others that the mushrooms in the sauce soaked up all the flavours and was absolutely delicious. Stir fried veges + tofu and the beef curry come a close second ... and I didn't get to have the fish because I was already stuffed. The satay chicken wasn't a plateful of mixed cuts, but strips of chicken breast fillet - brownie points there. After dinner we chose from a selection of tea (from T2) or coffee, which was part of the banquet, to help settle the overfilled stomach.

Definitely worthy of repeat visits - Corner of Ridge and Miller Street, North Sydney.