Restaurant Review: Kinn Thai

A warm Friday night, some spicy Thai food and a tasty cocktail is pretty much my idea of bliss and I had the great pleasure to enjoy it at  Kinn Thai.

If you haven't come across it yet, it has replaced Wagamama between Sammy's Kitchen and Wood and Coal in the North Quarter of the Canberra Centre. Wagamama had languished, mostly empty for quite some time. Kinn Thai couldn't be more different. On the Friday night we visited it was packed and we watched the rapid change over of tables. I'm sure they did at least three seatings at most tables.

We had no booking but being just two us and quite early, about 6pm, we scored a table straight away. By the time we left at 7pm however there was a queue and I could see our table being snapped right up.

The menu offers lots of the usual favourites but one option I like is that for most types of dishes - eg stir fry - they offer a base and you choose your protein. Being our first visit we went with our benchmark Thai dish - pad thai which we had with chicken - plus an entree of duck pancakes and a second main dish of a crying tiger salad.

We also ordered cocktails. I ordered a Ho-Ra-Pa ($14) which is Don Julico Tequila, Thai Basil with a hint of raspberry and ginger ale. S ordered a caprioska ($12) made with cachaca, brown sugar and lime. Both were delicious, although we each liked the other's better and ended up swapping. My only comment was that the Ho-Ra-Pa came out in a glass like a mini fish bowl which was a bit difficult to drink from.

The pancakes came out incredibly quickly - they actually beat our cocktails to the table. The pancake itself was very tasty, quite different to the Chinese style ones I'm used to, more chewy and tasty. It was filled with generous chunks of duck, spring onions and cucumber and accompanied with hoisin sauce. At $10 for 2 pancakes it is on the expensive side for a small entree but we both loved them and would order them again.

Next dish out was the crying tiger salad ($23). It gets a 2 chili rating on the menu and deserved it, my first mouthful had a big chunk of chili which got me right in the back of the throat. But if you like chili I think you will love this dish. It was fresh and flavourful with the taste of the herbs and a generous amount of lemongrass. The beef was incredibly tender, you could cut it with a spoon and while this is quite a decent serve the two of us had no trouble finishing it.

Finally we had the pad thai. We had chosen chicken ($16.50) but it also comes in vegetarian, beef and prawn options. I would definitely rate this as a good and tasty pad thai. It was slightly heavy on the tomato for me and S would have liked more peanuts but that was really nitpicking. Again a very generous serve disappeared fast, although with so many other interesting things on the menu, I'm not sure I would order it again.

All up our meal came to $75 which given that it included two cocktails I thought was pretty good

Service was great. The food came out promptly and the wait staff were attentive if, it seemed, slightly inexperienced with the iPad ordering system.

Every dish we saw going past looked and smelled great. S who isn't big on going to the same place twice commented that he would be keen to return and try a few more dishes.

Overall we really enjoyed our dinner. I can't wait to go back with a crowd and try some of the seafood dishes (S doesn't eat seafood) as I've heard great reports about the crispy soft shell crab.

Kinn Thai Restaurant
125 Bunda Street
Canberra City
http://kinnrestaurant.com.au/canberra/

Random Musings: Being a foodie

I identify myself as a foodie. How could I not? I love to cook it, talk about it, read about it and of course eat it. Any time I travel one of the first places I check out is the local markets. The magazines on my coffee table are a food related. I spend hours browsing the food section of Pinterest.

But how do you define someone as a foodie? Recently I had a conversation with some colleagues that came up with a simple criteria - can you name the best meal you have ever eaten? Not your favourite dish or restaurant, a single whole meal that you would classify as the best you have ever had.

I have a list of best meals in order and with a group of family and friends who are similarly food obsessed, it had never occurred to me that some people wouldn't be able to name a single meal that was the best one they had ever had. But as it turned out, that was exactly the case. Most of the people in that conversation had never thought enough about it to be able to name their best meal.

The best meal I've ever eaten was at a dinner which was my 25th birthday present. The present was that my parent's took me to Tetsuyas. To this day, dishes from that amazing 16 course (yes that number is correct) meal linger in my memory. But I can also tell you about an amazing meal I had in Cambodia (fairy floss pork, an amazing steak, lemongrass panacotta, brilliant cocktails), a fantastic soup we had in Paris, the best fish and chips I've had, great burgers, meals my Mum has cooked.

The people in the conversation could say what food they liked but they couldn't describe an actual meal. To say I was surprised is an understatement. It is one of those things I just assumed everyone did. But as with the case with just about any assumption, I was wrong.

So there we have it, a very simple test about how much of a foodie you are. Tell me, are you a foodie and can you name the best meal you have ever eaten?

Restaurant Review: Sushi Hotaru

A misreading of directions and settling for "well we are here now" a year or so ago let me find one of my go-to spots in Melbourne, Sushi Hotaru. It is a sushi train place, but with a difference.

Sushi Hotaru is located in the MidCity Arcade. You head up the escalator, past a very lovely looking Japanese restaurant that I will probably never go to now, past Japan Nails, a lingerie shop, another shop that seems to specialise in Hello Kitty to find Sushi Hotaru right in the middle of the arcade. If you go around lunch or dinner time there will be a bunch of people standing around outside. Stick your head in the door, give the number of people in your party and you will be given a number.

The wait is rarely long before your number is yelled and you are herded inside. The atmosphere is fast and buzzing, with wait staff bustling around. You sit at a long oval bar (there are a few booths too) watching the train go past, but in the centre of the oval, 5-6 people are constantly churning out the sushi.

It is fabulous to watch. Sure the fish has been pre-cut for them, but I love watching them deftly form the rice, top it with the various ingredients including all sorts of interesting sauces. There is definitely quite a bit of non-traditional sushi creativity going on here.

In addition to the ever varying sushi train, each pair of seats has a screen in front of it where you can order specials, from hand rolls to soups, drinks, hot food and more. Pretty much everything costs $3 a plate, even the special orders. The only exception is the gold plates of sashimi which cost $7.90.

On my latest visit I was hungry. I had three plates of sushi comprising some very delicious seared salmon around an avocado and I think cheese (?) filling, the same filling but topped with BBQ eel and the most sweet and delicious scallop topped sushi. Next up, I ordered a couple of specials, the soft shell crab hand roll and some crumbed prawns. The crab was delicious, perfectly tempura and wrapped in fresh, slightly crunchy seaweed. The prawns were sweet and served with a great mayo but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to order them again. I finished up with a plate of sashimi because I can never resist it. All up it cost the grand total of $22.90 - you can see why this place is so busy.

If you are after a quiet, relaxed dinner, where you linger over food and conversation, this is not the place for you. But if you want a fresh, tasty meal that is fast and well priced Sushi Hotaru is what you are after. Taking my time I think I'm only ever there 15 or so minutes.

I've never not seen this place busy. The freshness and quality of the food, the great prices, the innovative interpretations of sushi make it a great place to eat. There is absolutely no doubt that I'll be back!

Sushi Hotaru
Shop 118, Level 1, MidCity Arcade
200 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Sushi Hotaru is also located in Sydney at:
Level 1, The Galleries
500 George Street, Sydney

and

125-129 Bathurst Street
Sydney

http://yesfood.com.au/

Restaurant Review: Ona on the Lawns

Another weekend, another brunch! S and I found ourselves in Manuka mid-morning on a Saturday so it seemed only right that we would get something to eat and given that he hadn't managed to have a coffee yet, Ona on the Lawns felt like the right place to head.

In case you haven't heard, back in April, Sasa Sestic the founder of Ona Coffee won the title of world's best barista. Ona Coffee has had a great reputation as brilliant coffee for quite some time now, with many cafes stocking their beans. In addition to stocking the cafes of Canberra with quality coffee, they have three restaurants, Ona Coffee House in Fyshwick, The Cupping Room in the city and Ona on the Lawns in Manuka.

Manuka was buzzing but we were lucky to score a table right away. We sat outside, but they have tented the area with plastic screens and had heaters on so we were quite toasty despite the very wintery weather.

S quickly ordered his coffee but to my disappointment they were out of their hot apple pie drink, so despite the cool day I ordered a dark chocolate and rose milkshake.

The drinks quickly arrived and S immediately got stuck into the coffee which he said was excellent. My milkshake looked gorgeous, a dark brown topped with pink persian fairy floss and the taste was great. I presume they add rose water and they have the proportions down pat. It has a lovely rich dark chocolate taste (complete with flecks of real chocolate) but is lifted with a gorgeous hint of rose. It is sort of what I imagine a chocolate turkish delight would be - no reference to that hideous stuff Cadbury makes. It was very rich though and I was pleased that S helped me finish it.

I'm sure you will all be shocked and amazed to discover that S had the Ona Roll. They do actually have traditional burgers on the menu but we were in brunch mode so he went for their version of an egg and bacon roll. Two eggs, plenty of great bacon, cheese, a delicious BBQ type sauce and avocado which he scrapped onto my plate as he doesn't like it.

In contrast to the roll at Mood Food & Co last week, this one ticked all his boxes as a great roll. Generous tasty fillings which balanced each other well - but did up the eating difficulty. His fatal words were "lets see if I can eat this without getting it all over me" before he bit into it and promptly shot egg yolk all over his hand and sleeve. If you order this, consider your yolk location to ensure the bun catches the perfectly cooked, still runny yolk!

I ordered the Mexican Avocado. It was two pieces of sourdough toast topped with smashed avocado, two perfectly poached eggs, a chargrilled corn salsa and a side of bacon. Again in contrast to last week this was a fantastically balanced meal. The corn salsa was deliciously dressed with a tangy dressing. The poached eggs were topped with grated parmesan and the whole dish just held together. There was the perfect amount of avocado, to corn, to eggs. The bacon was delicious, but it was a BIG meal when accompanied by the filling milkshake, so S ended up eating the last of it with my second slice of toast.

We both loved our meals, the service was great and both our food and drinks arrived promptly despite the packed cafe. We also really liked the 80's themed sound track. I'm sure we will be back!

Ona on the Lawns
Shop 4 Palmerston Lane
Manuka

Resturant Review: Mood Food & Co

I love brunch. I know what you are thinking, this girl loves every meal. But brunch is a real favourite of mine. I think it is the combination of the opportunity to eat things that I don't usually make, with the inevitable catch up with friends that brunch heralds and the fact that it makes the day seem longer because by lunch I've already socialised and eaten out.

On a freezing Canberra morning we headed to Braddon to meet friends at Mood Food & Co. It was full, but we agreed to wait outside under their heaters for the next available table and 10 minutes later as our friends with impeccable timing arrived, we were beckoned into the warmth.

Drinks orders were quickly taken and it wasn't long before we were ready to order.

S, true to his burger roots, ordered the breaky roll. While the filling was tasty, good bacon, nice egg, delicious onion relish, he said that the bun was wrong. Too big, so the balance was out and not the kind of soft bread that easily soaks up the egg yolk and bacon grease so that it doesn't drip.

One of our friends ordered the french toast which came with caramlised pecans and a banana marscapone. If it wasn't for the banana I might have gone for it but I just don't like banana. She does though and really enjoyed her dish.

The other friend had fried eggs with avocado and mushrooms. He didn't have much to comment about it, I guess there isn't much anyone can really do with an order that simple.

I ordered the "one pan". In my pan was herbed potatoes, Italian sausage, chorizo and tomato topped with a poached egg. Each of the elements was delicious BUT it didn't hang together. Maybe if there had been a second egg so there was more gooey yolk, or more tomatoes to create a kind of sauce it would have worked but it just ended up being a random pan of stuff rather than a complete dish. It was accompanied by two lovely pieces of sourdough toast but with no sauce to soak it up I had to get some butter to enjoy it.

By the time we finished eating the restaurant had quietened down and the staff were happy to let us sit talking for probably another hour. It is always nice to not feel rushed out of a restaurant or hounded to order more.

Overall there were some great elements and we had a lovely morning but each dish just seemed to lack a final finesse that would have taken it to the next level.

Mood Food and Co
132/24 Lonsdale Street
Braddon
http://www.moodfoodco.com/ 

Restaurant Review: Grease Monkey

I really like a hamburger, but S loves one. He rates a place on their ability to create the perfect patty, with appropriate juiciness, good accompaniments and a balanced bun. If there is a burger on the menu, you can pretty much guarantee that is what he is having. So when my Instagram feed began to fill up with pictures of burgers from the new kid on the block, Grease Monkey, I knew we had to give it a go.

Grease Monkey is the latest addition to Lonsdale Street in Braddon. I used to work in Braddon when it was home to a bunch of dodgy takeaway joints, saved only by the pizza at Debacle. I remember the excitement when Zamberros opened there. These days however it is filled with quirky, innovative and original eateries. Grease Monkey joins the throng with a very specific menu, there are burgers, a few sides (chips, coleslaw, mash and gravy) and fried chicken - think American burger joint.

The fitout has had a lot of write ups and after being there I can see why. They have managed to retain the feel of the old mechanic's shop that used to be on the site while also creating a funky, buzzy space. We sat inside at the bar and I have to say the bar stools are a little short. We are tall and sitting there the bar was at chest height so you wouldn't want to be much shorter. I think the outside courtyard will be a big hit when the warm weather returns.

Grease Monkey burgers are traditional American burgers. Yes they have a vegetarian burger but I wouldn't class these as "gourmet" burgers, the like of Brodburger or Grill'd, they are much more of what pops into my mind when I think of a traditional burger. We actually commented that this was a McDonalds burger done right. I don't mean that to sound at all derogatory, what I mean is that with their slightly sweet bun, pickles, special sauce, and fresh ingredients they have the balance that McDonalds spent so long perfecting but with fresh, flavorful, tasty ingredients.

In the interests of a good review we should have each ordered a different burger but in the interests of what we wanted to eat, we both got a "full service" - beef patty, bacon, egg, cheese, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, beetroot, onion, GM ketchup - $17. I had mine minus the pineapple and onion, S had his minus the beetroot. The GM ketchup is their own special sauce, a mayonnaisey, mustardy take on ketchup that is finger licken good.

We found the burgers to be a good size, they filled you up without stuffing yourself silly. I always feel too full when I finish a Brodburger or London Burger Bar burger - not that I ever don't finish them. The burgers came with chips that had a great seasoning on them and they disappeared very quickly, I loved them.

Service was good, it was only a 15 minute wait for our meals and the place was pretty full. We overheard someone say that they did 240kg of beef on their first day, so they have managed to get the kitchen up and functioning really well remarkably fast. It was busy and we were lucky to score seats but we noticed that patrons turned over fairly quickly (the fast service no doubt helps) so the wait for a table shouldn't be too long.

Overall we really enjoyed our burgers and would happily come back again if friends wanted to but probably wouldn't go out of our way to get there. But if you like a good, traditional burger then I would say, you will be well satisfied by Grease Monkey.

Grease Monkey
19 Lonsdale Street (cnr Lonsdale St and Elouera St)
Braddon

Restaurant Review: Pod Food Degustation Breakfast

One of the brilliant things about having a bunch of foodies as friends is that the moment will invariably arrive when someone says something along the lines of "I've heard of a place that does a degustation breakfast" and shortly thereafter you will find yourself sitting down to such a breakfast.

The location for our 4 course breakfast was Pod Food, the little restaurant tucked away behind the nurseries at Pialligo. I've been there previously for one of their chef's favourites degustation dinners. That occasion was a balmy summer evening with a riotous table of 14 on their deck. This time a slightly more sedate group of 6 were seated inside in the heating which was a good idea on a cold, yet sunny Canberra morning, although I did walk through the deck to the toilet and noticed that it was quite warm out there with the plastic walls down and the sun shining in.

We were treated to 4 delicious courses for $40 plus drinks. As it was truffle season we could have upgraded to include truffle but we chose to stick to the regular menu this time.

First up was pearl barley porridge served with spiced date gel and poached pear and quince. Being a cold morning I was glad it was a warm starter and despite an appropriately degustation small size it was still quite filling. I personally don't love pearl barley, I find it a bit "grainy" but it did taste great matched with the date gel and poached fruit. The freeze dried orange that topped it also added some nice texture but surprisingly little flavour.

Our second course was for most people the pick of the meal. New to the menu, the pan fried gnocchi with pork belly, wilted cos lettuce, peas and a 65°c free range egg cracked to order, was divine. The salty, crispy pork belly perfectly complimented the gooey but not runny egg. I'd never thought of having gnocchi in a breakfast but it was ideal to soak up excess egg yolk and the peas and cos added a note of sweetness and freshness. I probably had the least photographic dish at the table, I should have stolen my brother in law's dish but it was also extremely visually appealing.

It was a hard dish to live up to and for me our third dish while still super tasty didn't quite make it. The third course was scrambled eggs with chorizo, pecorino and pearl onions on white sourdough. Again incredibly tasty, the eggs were just right which is hard with scrambled eggs that I often find are over done. The chorizo was tasty, the onion sweet and caramlised and it all worked well with the bread, it just didn't quite have the zing of dish two.

To round out our breakfast, the fourth course was a breakfast dessert of a ricotta hotcake topped with rhubarb, freeze dried mandarin and vanilla bean icecream. While definitely enjoyable, this was probably the weakest dish for me. When it first came out I thought the freeze dried mandarin was honeycomb and I wish it had been as the mandarin didn't have a strong flavour and I thought the dish could have used that extra element. However the hotcake was nicely spiced, the rhubarb delicious and the icecream was lovely.

We accompanied our breakfast with a range of teas, coffees and Belgium hot chocolates. A few people also tried the locally cold pressed apple juice which comes out almost clear like water but with a strong, crisp apple flavour.

The breakfast degustation is only available for bookings until 10am as it does take about 1.5 hours to enjoy but that leaves you finished in enough time to have a lovely wander through the nurseries or like me provides the opportunity to pop down the road to Bison Homewears to stock up on a few non-essential but utterly beautiful items.

Overall I loved the breakfast. I think that the price is great, the portion sizes were perfect, the food interesting and inventive and I would certainly be happy to return to see how the menu changes through the seasons.

Pod Food
12 Beltana Road
Pialligo
http://www.podfood.com.au/

Random Musings: Wednesday Breakfast Club

If you follow me on Instagram you will know I post a lot of photos of food. Food I've made, food I've eaten, food I'm thinking about. One of the regular things is a shot of my breakfast every Wednesday morning as part of Heidi from Apples Under My Bed's Wednesday Breakfast Club.

Wednesday Breakfast Club aims to give everyone a little bit of mid-week inspiration and I love it. I don't know about you but I don't generally put a lot of thought into my week-day breakfasts and as a result can go months and months just eating the same thing. There is nothing wrong with that but it does get boring.

Now, I'm thinking about my breakfast. Thinking about how I can elevate it to be "Instagram Worthy" with different dishes, toppings, fruits, styling etc.

It is mid-week inspiration. It has got me out of a rut and I'm eating better for it, even if breakfast on a Wednesday takes 15 minutes longer to allow for styling and photography!

If you don't follow me on Instagram but you are really keen to see what I'm having for breakfast today, you can find me at lisablithemoments and I challenge you to join the club and give some thought to making breakfast an interesting meal.

Recipe: Crispy pork belly salad with red curry dressing

Last year, S and I joined some friends for a holiday in Vietnam. It was my second visit and it left me even more in love with it and its stunning food.

We did our best to eat our way around the country, trying as many different things as we possibly could but there was one dish that was so tasty I insisted on returning to have for a second time before we left. Since we returned home I've been working hard to recreate it and I'm finally happy enough with this recipe to share it.

My inspiration was a salad of the same name at the Cargo Club in Hoi An. My version uses ingredients I could easily source in Australia and after much experimentation a dressing that while not the same, provides the same complimentary effect.

This is a fantastic dish for a relaxed meal with friends. You can prepare everything in advance and just do the final assembly when everyone is ready to eat.

Crispy pork belly salad with red curry dressing
Serves 4

500g pork belly, skin on, bones removed
olive oil
sea salt
1 carrot, julliened
1 cucumber, cut in half lengthsize, seeds removed, thinly sliced
½ red capsicum, thinly sliced
100g snowpeas, thinly sliced on the diagonal
150g bean shoots
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked
1 mango, sliced into thick julienne
1/4 iceberg lettuce torn into small pieces
fried shallot (the dried type you get in an Asian grocer)

Dressing
1/4 cup good quality red curry paste
1/4 cup coconut cream
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan-forced.

Score pork skin. Rub a few tablespoons of salt in and leave for 20-30 minutes. Wipe the skin dry with paper towel, then rub a little olive oil into the skin. Place pork, skin side down, in a large roasting pan lined with baking paper. Drizzle the meat with some more olive oil and season with a couple of pinches of salt. Bake for 1½ hours.

Turn pork, skin side up. Increase oven temperature to 220°C or 200°C fan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until skin is crisp. Remove from oven and cover with foil. Rest  for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, assemble the salad. Toss together the carrot, cucumber, capsicum, snow peas, bean shoots, coriander, mango and lettuce and divide between 4 bowls or plates. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the fried shallot.

Cut the pork into bite sized cubes and divide between the salads. It is easier to cut if you place it skin side down on your board.

For the dressing: heat the red curry paste in a small saucepan until fragrant and starting to split the oil out. Take off the heat, stir in the coconut cream and rice wine vinegar. If it is too spicy for you, you can add more coconut cream. The dressing is great warm but can be made a day ahead and stored in a sealed jar in the fridge

Review: Aldi Fruit Indulgence Hot Cross Buns

It is Lent! If I was religious, this would be the roughly six week period where I would prepare myself to celebrate the most holy time of year - Easter - through prayer, penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement and self-denial.

However I am not at all religious, so I use the start of Lent as a marker for when I can eat hot cross buns. These days they seem to arrive on supermarket shelves within days of Christmas, but in keeping with my overall philosophy that some things need to be enjoyed only at certain times to keep them special, I limit myself to just 6 weeks of fruity, spiced bun goodness.

This year as a selfless act to you my readers, I have decided to taste test and review as many hot cross buns as I can. This will help you identify the very best and give me extra reasons to cram as many as I can in my gob!

And to ensure the reviews are not affected by gender bias, S will be joining me to give the male perspective.

First up: Aldi Fruit Indulgence Hot Cross Buns - 6 pack

It is no secret to say that I'm an Aldi fan. We do the vast majority of our grocery shopping there and because we never read the catalogue I love the excitement of turning the corner into the "random crap" section of the store and finding out what they have this week. Over the years I've bought the most amazing things in that part of Aldi, most recently I got all new gym gear.

But back to the Hot Cross Buns. Let me start by saying if you want these, you need to be there bright and early. Aldi customers (at least at my Aldi) are fans of these and there have been plenty of times when only the fruitless or chocolate versions remain, neither of which I consider to be real hot cross buns.

Let's start with S's thoughts. Pretty good, nice fruit, a bit dense. A smell of cinnamon, nutmeg and burnished oak. 7/10 (I think he might have drifted onto a wine review there)

I'm pretty much in agreement (except for the oak). These hot cross buns have great flavour, good spice, really nice fruit and no peel which I prefer but S would have liked to taste. However the texture is a bit doughy and gluggy. I would definitely be happy to eat them again, which is good because we still have 4 in the fridge! I agree, a solid 7/10.

Do you have a favourite hot cross bun we should taste test?

Recipe: Tomato and Basil Sausage Risotto

Have you seen this hilarious clip comparing cooking risotto by hand vs in a thermomix?

As funny as it is, it does highlight one of the BIG myths about risotto - that you have to keep constantly stirring! A few years ago I went to a great cooking class about risotto where I learned that not only is this unnecessary, it also breaks down the rice so you don't end up with the ideal consistency of fat, plump but individual grains of rice rather than a sort of porridge.

So what do you do instead? Well you do have to stir fairly regularly. Definitely when you add in liquid and every now and then to ensure it doesn't stick, but not all the time. So while it isn't the kind of meal you can leave there to look after by itself - unless you are lucky enough to have a thermomix - you don't to stand there constantly stirring. And yes you can leave it to go to the toilet!

But on to my risotto. I had been thinking of a sausage risotto when we walked into Aldi and saw their new range of gourmet sausages. With a garden full of tomato and basil, the veal, tomato and basil sausages stood out as the perfect base to me. If you don't have access to Aldi, any tomato based sausages would do. I also think it would be good with a spicy Italian sausage.

So give it a go and remember, just stir it enough to keep it from sticking!

Do you know any common food myths that make life that bit harder?

Tomato and basil sausage risotto
Serves 4 generously

Olive oil
1 medium brown onion finely diced
1 tsp chopped garlic
4 veal, tomato and basil sausages, casing removed
1.5 cups arborio rice
1 cup white wine
4-5 cups chicken stock
2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
1 cup shredded basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan
pepper to taste

Heat the stock in a small saucepan till it is steaming but not boiling.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium-high heat and add the onion. When it is softened and lightly golden add the garlic and the sausages and break them up with your spoon into meatballish sized chunks. You want to get some really good colour on those sausages, that is flavour and your last chance before you add liquid.

When they are golden brown, add the rice and stir to coat with the oil and get the rice nice and hot. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the wine. Give the base a good scrape to get any caramlised bits up. Add the tomatoes and start adding your hot stock, ladle by ladle.

It will take a good 30-40 minutes of low simmering, stirring as you add each ladle of stock and occasionally in between to stop it sticking. The final amount of stock required will depend on how juicy your tomatoes are. You will know it is ready when the rice is plump and doesn't have a chalky texture when you bite a grain, but each grain is still individually distinctive.

Once you reach that point, stir in your basil, parmesan and as much pepper as you like.

Serve with more pepper to taste!

Restaurant Review: Fox and Bow

A few weeks ago a few girlfriends and I gathered for our semi-regular brunch catch-up. I had heard that a new cafe had opened up at the Farrer shops, a very convenient location for all of us so we met there at 10am.

Fox and Bow was buzzing! Only open a couple of weeks the locals and not-so locals alike had discovered this funky new cafe and we initially thought we wouldn't get a seat. However we found ourselves a table and some stools and set ourselves up with a few other people across the access road to the back of the shops on the footpath. It may seem like an odd location but it is pretty close to the cafe and was out of the bright January sun.

Fox and Bow is an order at the counter type place which I do like in groups as it allows everyone to simply order separately without having the issues of split bills. Our orders were quickly taken and drinks arrived quite promptly, however the food did take some time, probably a good 30-45 minutes although I will admit I was too busy catching up with the girls and having a detailed conversation on the pros and cons of top-loader vs front-loader washing machines to watch the time.

That said, we had definitely arrived at the peak, by the time we left at around 12 there were tables free and I think the time taken was a reflection of a new cafe finding its feet and being completely swamped with patrons on a Sunday morning.

But onto the food. Apologies, for not having photos of everything, I haven't trained everyone into the necessities of food blogging photos and it all looked so good they dived right in!

I enjoyed the "Senorita Fox" which was toasted sourdough, smashed avocado, 2 poached eggs, tasmanian smoked salmon, lemon, parsley and grilled haloumi ($18). It was delicious, everything I want in a breakfast. It was a little on the salty side because of the combination of the haloumi and smoked salmon so you definitely didn't need to add any salt but the salad topping added a really lovely fresh note to the dish.

Everyone else at the table also greatly enjoyed their meals which ranged from a corn fritter dish that I can't find on the current online menu, to custom ordered eggs and bacon and a gluten free version of "This is how we roll" Darrel’s smokey bacon, free range egg, house-made bbq relish, hash brown, jack cheese which is normally served on a toasted brioche bun. When this came out my friend was initially very suspicious of the bread as, in her words, it looked way too good for gluten free but she risked it. Later the owner came by to ask what she thought of the bread as he was getting it from a new supplier. In her opinion it is the best gluten free bread she has ever had and is now tracking down the supplier herself.

For drinks, I'm assured the coffee was good and second rounds were ordered (the only downside of counter ordering came here in that we had to go back in to order). I had an "Ohh Darla" Smoothie made of watermelon, pineapple, sorbet and berries topped with sorbet ($6.90). Aside from being spectacular looking this was extremely delicious and very refreshing.

While our food did take some time to come we found the staff easy to grab (even from the other side of the road) and very helpful. The atmosphere was great with a live jazz singer most of the morning and the buzzy happy people enjoying great food on a sunny Sunday morning. The fitout is fun and funky with mismatched furniture, a large group table, and bar seating as well as individual tables. There are lots of opening windows which is great for summer, it might be a little more crowded come winter but I'm sure they will invest in outdoor heating like every other Canberra cafe.

As we left I popped in and bought a cinnamon cronut and caramel donut to take home. The donut was a little on the stale side but the cronut was supremely delicious. They came out of a cabinet of yummy looking treats which make me think it would also be a great place to stop in for morning or afternoon tea.

All in all, we had a lovely morning at Fox and Bow and I'm looking forward to heading back there in the not too distant future.

Fox and Bow
Farrer Shops
Farrer Place, Farrer

Kamel

I have been lucky enough to have a couple of fantastic meals recently.  The first was expected, a restaurant with a fantastic reputation, quality company and the best possible view of Canberra's Skyfire fireworks display.  It was a suitably gorgeous evening.

The second meal was somewhat less expected.  I was in Melbourne for work and as I had an evening free I took the opportunity to catch up with my old boss.  Being her city I left the choice of restaurant up to her and she in turn left it up to Urban Spoon.  We ended up at Kamel in Albert Park and had such an amazing meal that the next night I took the whole team back there.

Kamel serves Middle Eastern and North African inspired dishes mezze style allowing you to share and enjoy a wide range of dishes.  And let me say everything I tried there in my two visits was truly delicious.  Here are just a few of the things that even now, days later, have my mouth watering.

The middle eastern plate – lebanese sausages, olives, grilled chorizo and apple, feta and bread - was delicious.  Each item was amazing and the combinations of flavours was great.

I generally love filo wrapped things but these lamb and lentil filo triangles were brilliant.  Served with a tangy yoghurt I could have eaten a dozen of them.

If you are wondering how good chicken on a skewer can be, you need to try the moroccan chicken skewers on fattoush salad.  So delicious.  However the ras al hanout beef salad with pearl barley, grapes, fresh parsley and pomegranate dressing was even better.  The flavours were so interesting and amazingly complementary.  I ate far more than I should have.

Going twice meant I got to try two of the dessert platters.  The Turkish sweet plate features Turkish delight, baklava, Turkish fairy floss, halva icecream and Turkish delight icecream.  It was a symphony of delicious, delicate flavours.

However it was blown out of the water by the chocolate trio share plate. The chocolate and orange mousse was sublime.  The chocolate and chilli ice-cream was the most intense, deep chocolate flavour I've ever had in an icecream but the warm chocolate and cashew baklava has to be eaten to be believed.  It is one of those things that just made me murmur with delight.

I love trying new things so it is rare for me to go to a restaurant twice in quick succession but Kamel was definitely worth it.  If you are in that part of the world I definitely recommend it for a sublime meal of amazing flavours.

Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day)

Today is Shrove Tuesday - aka pancake day.  It is the Tuesday before Lent begins when you are meant to use up all the sugar, eggs, fat etc that you would be giving up for Lent and what better way to do it than in the form of pancakes.  Those who have read this blog for awhile will know however, that as a non-Christian, for me Shrove Tuesday instead marks the end of my self imposed hot cross bun ban.  From now until Easter I shall be scoffing them at every available opportunity.

But back to pancakes.  S and I haven't been eating many recently.  It may just be that the hot summer weather hasn't encouraged warm breakfasts, but they haven't been on our menu very often.  When we do have them my sour cream and orange pancakes with blackberry sauce are still a favourite.  However when we don't have all the ingredients to hand (which given the shocking blackberry harvest this year will likely be often) I revert to an old recipe based loosely on a Jamie Oliver one.

It is very simple.  Mix together 1 cup of self-raising flour, 1 cup of milk, 1 egg and 1 grated apple or pear.  Pan fry as per normal and eat topped with maple syrup or jam.  Simple, tasty and given the fruit content actually fairly healthy.

Will you be enjoying pancakes today?

National Multicultural Festival

I often describe Canberra as a hidden city.  When giving advice to new arrivals I tell them that you have to do your research, there is plenty on but it is hidden away.  It isn't like you can just go into the city and find a heap of stuff to do.  However there is one exception to that rule, and that is the National Multicultural Festival.

Over one manic weekend, the city really does come alive in a massive celebration of all the fantastic elements brought to our community by the many cultures present here.  Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people turn out and the whole centre of the city is cordoned off and filled with stages and stalls.  There are bands, dancers, all sorts of festivities but what it is really about is the food and drink.  In fact the colloquial name for it is Beer and Meat on a Stick Day.

S is not a big eater but I was determined to eat my way around the world.  We actually only had one thing on a stick, a fantastic satay from the Mong Chinese stand.  I could have eaten several of these but there were more tasty treats to be had.

Our favourite item of the day was larp from the Laotian stand.  We got the very last serve of the day (much to the annoyance of the woman behind me in the line).  We had never eaten it before and its rather bland appearance belied its fresh, spicy flavours.  We loved it so much that when we got home we quickly started googling recipes.

However it was quite hot, especially with the extra chilli flakes we added so a mango lassi was in order.  Unfortunatly it was a little light on the mango, definitely not the best we have had but the yogurt was still nice and cooling to our chilli filled mouths.

A few years ago I travelled through South America, so the Peruvian street food stand caught my eye.  We had a Peruvian chilli which I really enjoyed, although S didn't rate it.  It was full of corn, beans, potato and meat, I thought it was delicious.  We washed it down with Inca Kola, the ubiquitous Peruvian drink.  If you haven't experienced it, it tastes somewhat like creaming soda, is luminous yellow and has enough sugar and food colouring in it that I was hyperactive for several hours after.

Finally, I had to get myself a chip on a stick. I've got no idea what the multicultural part of this is, but who can go past a whole potato cut into a spiral, stuck on a stick, battered, deep fried and tossed in your choice of salt flavour (we had salt and vinegar).  It was super!

We wandered through the crowded city streets filled with people in national costume, stalls sending out delicious scents and stages where music from all over the world was playing.

In past years S has performed in various salsa routines but this year we just went to cheer on friends.  We saw one of dance teachers giving the crowd a meringue lesson (and nearly falling off the stage) and watched friends perform a rueda (a type of salsa from Cuba that is danced in a circle with a caller calling the moves).

The atmosphere was wonderful.  Sure it is crowded and noisy, but the sights, sounds, smells are brilliant and the crowd is happy and ebullient - probably helped by the beers of a dozen nations or more that are on tap.

I think Canberra has a very white image.  White faced public servants dressed in grey suits.  Certainly if you watch the evening news that is what you see.   The National Multicultural Festival gives a brilliant insight into what a complex and culturally diverse place it really is and I for one do my best to never miss a Beer and Meat on a Stick Day.