And now for the mains. BB had a lovely sirloin steak with caramelised onions.
But my slow-roasted pork belly was absolutely awesome. Perfectly seasoned and melted in my mouth. Lovely crackling too. I was in heaven.
Tag Archives: food
Birthday Dinner – Entrees
BB took me out for a special birthday dinner at Pearson’s in Mortdale. I’d passed this restaurant many times when I lived around the corner, but thinking that it was a posh place, never ventured inside. It turned out to be more homely than I thought. The food was lovely, and lovingly made by the single chef in a tiny kitchen. Considering that he had what must have been 30 customers to serve, it seemed a bit of a miracle to me.
We start out the dinner with two lovely entrees. I had the wonderful scallops wrapped in bacon. The scallops were perfectly cooked, and the bacon were a tasty companion to the soft shellfish.
BB had stuffed mushrooms and was also very satisfied with his choice.
Favourite Feeds – Yum Cha
Living in Sydney, one starts to take good, cheap yum cha for granted. Yum cha is the Cantonese ceremony of taking tea and snacks while gathering with family. In Sydney it’s no longer only Chinese families that gather for yum cha but literally everyone, judging by the clientele of a typical Chinatown establishment on a Sunday.
There isn’t any ceremony when I go though. My parents not actually liking this style of food my visits are usually with friends or work colleagues, and these visits most resemble feeding frenzies as we greedily sample plate after plate off the passing carts until everyone’s hunger is sated. And my favourites are the more traditional steamed dumplings and rice noodle dishes, especially those that contain whole prawns, like the one below. It is simply prawns, wrapped in delicate sheets of rice noodles, finished with soy and peanut oil.
Favourite Feeds – Minestrone Soup
It’s far from winter at the moment, but it is raining cats and dogs outside. Perfect soup weather, and a satisfying soup to make and eat is minestrone. For me it really consists of whatever vegetables I have at hand, plus pulses and pasta. For an indulgence you can add sausages, but the one below are simply the basics, brought together by beef stock and tomatoes. Yum.
Favourite Feeds – Teriyaki Salmon
It’s a wonder that I haven’t posted a Japanese dish yet because Japanese is one of my favourite cuisines. And it’s not all about raw fish or zany chefs throwing food at you. Remember that Japanese food is one of the most refined cuisines in the world. That said, Teriyaki Salmon isn’t refined. More… homely to me. Forget about the store-bought sauces. They’re not the real deal. You’ll get a more fresher, authentic sauce if you make it yourself. Strangely enough, this dish has a shorter ingredients list than a stir-fry. It consists of:
– soy sauce
– sugar
– rice wine vinegar
– mirin (a Japanese sweet rice wine available at most supermarkets)
Here’s a good recipe to follow.
Served with steamed rice and a few greens, you’ve got a super quick mid-week meal.
Favourite Feeds – Chicken Tagine
Let’s go Moroccan today. I might have very little experience with Moroccan cuisine restaurant-wise, but whenever I come across a recipe I tend to get very excited. Perhaps it’s the unique ingredient and flavour combinations – having dried fruit in savoury dishes, the heady but well-balanced mix of spices. It has a lot in common with Chinese cuisine in the way they both strive to balance all elements of taste – salty, sweet, sour, hot. The most successful Moroccan-style dish I’ve cooked so far is chicken tagine. I don’t have an actual tagine dish, so I cooked it in a casserole pot. This version uses prunes, almonds and honey as the sweetener. I like to serve it with curried apple couscous. Awesome!
Favourite Feeds – Portuguese Custard Tarts
Portuguese custard tarts have been available in Sydney for years now, but they are often soggy, cold, and not very appetising. It’s a far cry from the little bakery in Belem, Portugal, where the sweets were originally invented. I’d tasted these while in Portugal many moons ago, and hadn’t found an equivalent until I went to Sweet Belem in Petersham. They are baked fresh on-site, so the tart is warm, the pastry flakey, and the custard is nicely burnt and lightly sprinkled with cinnamon. With a coffee, it’s fantastic.
Favourite Feeds – Hainan Chicken Rice
Hainan Chicken Rice is a dish popular around Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. I’ve been eating it for donkeys, and unlike a lot of dishes from SE Asia, this one is homely and (comparatively) subtle in taste.
When you order it you will get:
– a portion of rice cooked in chicken stock and garlic
– a portion of chicken poached in chicken stock and dressed with a little soy, sesame oil and fried shallots
– some salad vegetables, most commonly cucumber
– a little bowl of clear chicken soup, sometimes containing Chinese veges
– a little (mild) chilli sauce
– a little ginger/garlic condiment
That’s some bang for your buck, don’t you reckon? If you’re not getting all of these things then you’re getting ripped off! The best version I’ve tasted is at my local Malaysian, Satay Inn.
Favourite Feeds – Scrambled Eggs
I’m not a big fan of a big fry-up breakfast in general, but on lazy weekends I do like to indulge in a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. If I’m really, really lucky, sometimes I even have some one who makes it for me.
Favourite Feeds – Fish and Chips
There’s nothing better after a visit to the beach than fish and chips. Whether served in a wad of butcher’s paper or more posh on a big plate with salad, I love it when the batter is thin, the fish fresh, and chips are crispy.
Static and Silence 