It’s been awhile since I posted. I hope that everyone has had a peaceful Easter, and if you have been holidaying, a relaxing time. I have a lot of posts to catch up on, of course. My first offering is the batch of hot cross buns that I made (with the help of the breadmaker) on the Easter weekend. It was a pretty good first attempt, if I say so myself, and the homemade buns were divine.
Probably a miracle that we still had room for dessert at this stage, but being a special dinner, we had to have sweets as well.
BB had a lemon tartlet with berries. The lemon custard was light and tart, and the pastry was so, so thin and crisp – a lovely way to cleanse the palette.
While I had a caramel glazed apple tartlet. The custard here was just as light, but flavoured with yummy vanilla. I’d be happy with a bowl of just the custard! But then there was the crunch of the thin pastry, and thinly sliced apples glazed with a thin layer of caramel. Thin was the operative word, but it made the dish all the more wonderful – no single element dominated.
I was very, very happy with this meal – but it was a special occasion. As wonderful as it was, I wouldn’t be up to eating it every week!
Main course was a steak-fest.
I had an eye fillet medium rare with Bearnaise sauce and steak-frites. That sauce was to die for.
BB had a sirloin medium rare with horseraddish sauce and roasted baby root veg.
We had a side of green beans done Parisian style – with corn, almonds, garlic, and of course, butter.
We always seem to be visiting French or French inspired restaurants on our birthdays. This time it was my birthday and we went a lot more upmarket, at Bistro Moncur, Woollahra. This restaurant serves classic bistro food, which is fine enough for me.
For entree I had the beetroot, goats cheese fritter, witloof and walnut salad. It’s a classic combination, cooked and seasoned perfectly.
BB on the other hand went all out with the French onion souffle gratin. The cheese sauce made the dish quite rich, but it was the lightness of the souffle that impressed me the most. It was a top bit of cooking.
Another temple, and more water. This time the temple is on the water. Pura Ulun is on Lake Bratan – a crater lake that’s hundreds of meters deep, and 1,500m above sea-level. It is also surrounded by mountains, but they’re shrouded in cloud for most of the year. Aside from the temple, this area is famous for its cold climate produce, especially its strawberries!
Breakfast in the morning is a fusion affair. There was still slices of toast on the table, but the spread we liked most was a mixed tropical fruit kind. The coffee however was something special.
Kopi tubruk is the Indonesian version of Turkish style coffee. The beans are roasted dark and grounded to the same powdery consistency as Turkish coffee, however the water, instead of being boiled with the ground coffee, is boiled separately and then poured on to the grounds. The grounds are then left to settle for a few minutes before the coffee is drunk.
I quite like this coffee. It’s strong, but not at all harsh and bitter. And unlike Italian-style espresso, it doesn’t give me the jitters. With a little milk and sugar, it’s good start to the day.
Here’s another Asian favourite of mine, this time from the South-East. Kangkung, or water spinach, is a very tropical plant. It actually grows in water – I’ve seen whole strands of them growing wild in the Top End!
My favourite dish is kangkung cha terasi (or kangkung belachan in Malaysian) – kangkung stir fried with shrimp paste, garlic, and of course, lots of chilli. It’s eaten as a vege side dish, perhaps with satay, a curry or two, and lots of steamed white rice. Eating it brings me back to my childhood…
Now this is a dish that I can actually cook well. No weird sauces, just timing and technique. I like Bill Granger’s technique (although there’s way too much cream in that recipe for my liking), because I like my scrambled eggs soft and fluffy. Some chives and parsley folded into the eggs and fried tomatoes and mushrooms on the side go down well too.
I really do like a burger every now and then, with a side of hot chips, but in this age, what really defines a burger? Meat-wise, it seems like any mince/spicing combination goes these days. Moroccan lamb, Thai chicken – they’re not really burgers, are they?
Personally, I still like the ‘traditional’ Aussie burger, the kind that they make (made?) at milk bars way back when. Beef patty, cheese, fried onion, lettuce, tomato, beetroot, and tomato sauce on a spongy bun. No pickles, no mustard, no rocket, no sourdough roll. Just the basics.
Given my specifications, the burger below, although served at a cafe, is just about acceptable.
This is a relatively new favourite, but I’ve had quite a few smashing scallop dishes in the last year or so that I would now order scallops anytime that it appears on the menu.
Given that it’s such a delicate shellfish, it is more versatile than you might think. I had this scallop dish at the Golden Century, a good Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown. It’s very simply stir-fried with snowpeas and carrots, and a little seasoning.
I had this dish at Char, in Darwin. It has the fashionable paring of scallops and pork belly. Being Darwin, it was served with a south-east asian accompaniment of crunchy salad and peanut sauce. Luscious!
Last but not least, a more simpler take – but just as delicious as the two above – scallops wrapped in bacon, with aioli. I had this at Pearsons, a little bistro-style restaurant in Mortdale.
Mmm…
Static and Silence 