Review: Knead Patisserie Hot Cross Buns

If you are not from Canberra you may be unaware that it is actually two cities. There is the Northside and there is the Southside. People identify over whether they are from north or south of the lake. Many people will not move to "the other side" and we tend to spend our time on our side of the lake.

S and I are Southsiders, however today we ventured north and took the opportunity to visit Knead Patisserie. Knead is located inside the Belconnen Markets and is known for its bread and pastries which are very well regarded. Every table in the place was full and there was a queue of people lining up to order from the delicious looking selection. We stepped up to test out the hot cross buns.

Sadly, they were a bit disappointing. While they do have a light and fluffy texture and the apricot glaze is delicious, there was no where near enough fruit. I had numerous mouthfuls with not a single bit of fruit in it. The fruit is sultanas, currents and peel and when you got some, it was nice and juicy, just very little of it. The bread is lightly spiced but again if you had a mouthful without fruit, it was just slightly sweet, vaguely spiced bread.

I had high hopes for Knead's hot cross buns but in future I think we will just stick to their pastries.

Lisa's score 5/10
S's score 6/10 (mostly for the apricot glaze)

Book Review: The Kitchen House

From the age of about 6 I was a voracious reader. All through my childhood I devoured books and never went to sleep without reading until I was ordered to turn off the light. Even then I would usually plead for just one more chapter and after Mum or Dad had disappeared I would continue reading in the dim light cast from the hallway on the bottom corner of my bed (yes I'm sure it didn't help my dodgy eyesight at all).

Somehow as I transitioned to the adult world I lost that habit of quiet evening reading in bed. Books became something that I plowed through when on holiday in a binge of literature, but during the normal course of a week I rarely touched. This year, however, I've turned that around. I'm back to a few chapters before bed, although now it is S telling me to turn off the light and with him in the bed I can't really get in a sneaky few extra chapters!

The latest book I read was "The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom. The synopsis is:

When 7-year-old Irish orphan Lavinia is transported to Virginia to work in the kitchen of a wealthy plantation owner, she is absorbed into the life of the kitchen house and becomes part of the family of black slaves whose fates are tied to the plantation. But Livinia's skin will always set her apart, whether she wishes it or not. And as she grows older, she will be torn between the life that awaits her as a white women and the people she knows as kin.

Set in the late 18th and early 19th century, the book is narrated by Lavinia, an Irish indentured servant and Belle, a half-caste negro slave and is set on a Virginian plantation. While I have to say that the writing didn't grab me - it certainly wasn't a book where I re-read sentences for the enjoyment of the words - the story certainly did.

It is essentially the story of people coping with powerlessness. Skin colour, ownership, gender, societal expectation and money all leave the main characters with extreme limitations on their ability to control their lives and allows those with power the most horrific control of the situations.

There are some fairly grim, but I suspect historically accurate episodes throughout the book and I do think fiction is a great way to learn about history. It is the kind of story where the perpetrators get their comeuppance and everything works out in the end but there is tragedy, and somehow the ending doesn't feel as trite as I thought it may have.

Overall I really enjoyed "The Kitchen House". I think it is important that books remind us of what was, and what in some parts of the world still is. While at times this is an uncomfortable read, reminders of how humans can treat each other is never wasted.  

Review: Flute Bakery Hot Cross Buns

The Flute Bakery is a Canberra legend. Hidden in the middle of our industrial district it is open only between 8am and 3pm Monday to Friday and only takes cash. The reality is that most of their business is supplying cafes and restaurants around the city but if you make the trek to the bakery, you get to select from an amazing and ever changing line up of cakes, pastries and breads - you just have to battle the crowds.

After trying a number of supermarket hot cross buns we decided it was about time that we stepped up the game and started on the specialist bakery offerings. S has actually been trying to get these for me for awhile but today a colleague stopped in on her way to the office to buy us afternoon tea (I know my awesome workplace has afternoon tea featuring Flute cakes on special occasions) and spotted them so got me half a dozen.

Let me just say it was super hard not to eat these then and there at my desk, but I waited so that S and I could try them together. We had one cold from the box, one slightly heated. Both were great but not surprisingly it tasted best heated.

This is a truly delicious hot cross bun. Just the smell as we opened the lid of the box was mouthwatering. The flavour has a freshness about it, I think this comes from the distinctly citrus notes. S thought that you could really tell it had been baked that day on the premises rather than baked some time before and packed in plastic like the supermarket versions we had tried.

In terms of texture, these buns are made of brioche which gives them a dense but light texture. They are packed with fruit, currants and sultanas. I couldn't see any peel, I think they must use zest to flavour the dough. S commented that even after a day sitting on my desk they were still quite moist and we both agreed that the glaze was super yummy.

The only thing we felt was lacking was the spices. The main flavour was definitely the orange, we couldn't really taste the normal cinnamon and nutmeg.

S: 8/10
Lisa: 8.5/10

Restaurant Review: Akiba

Sometimes things don't quite go to plan. But when plans not working out ends up with delicious food and cocktails, you can't say they went too wrong.

We had headed out intending to go to the Night Noodle Markets that are forming a part of the Canberra Enlighten Festival. But it was really hot, things didn't seem that different to the Multicultural Festival a few weeks ago and there were queues. I have no problem with queues but S has the patience of a sleep deprived toddler when it comes to lining up so we decided it was not the venue for us.

Instead we headed into the city and being relatively early managed to get into Akiba without a booking. We sat at one of the benches that face the window. The view of Bunda Street may not be one of the great views in Canberra but it does make for excellent people watching.

Akiba's menu is designed for sharing and you are warned that things will come out as they are ready, not in any particular order.

First up for us was the soba noodle salad, bamboo shoots, yellow bean, sweet and sour ($12). This was very tasty, light and refreshing and I loved the crispy bits on on top, however I would have liked a few more of the tasty herbs.

As we were eating it my pork belly bun, char sui, asian slaw ($8) arrived. S had elected not to get one so I offered for him to have a bite. I always make this mistake. The man is essentially a shark and in two bites well more than half of my bun was gone. What was left was delicious. The bun was soft and fluffy, the pork tender, not at all fatty and smothered in delicious char sui sauce which was nicely countered by the mayo in the Asian slaw. I very nearly ordered a second one to make up for it but needed to save space for the rest of our meal.

Next up was Japanese fried chicken, lemon braised onions, parmesan ($16). The chicken was perfectly cooked with a fantastic crumb but I felt it was really lacking a sauce. I would have liked more of the mayo from the Asian slaw in my pork bun. However this might have been because I'm not a huge lover of onion, S ate his chicken with the lemon braised onions and said it was a great combo although he would have liked a sauce too.

Finally, we had an order of steamed prawn and chicken dumplings, ginger and black vinegar dressing ($10). The dressing is super yummy and eating these with a spoon to get as much dressing as possible was a great idea. However I felt the dumplings themselves weren't the greatest. The ginger was a bit strong and I could barely taste the prawn.

We chose to wash our meal down with a couple of Akiba's cocktails. S had the El Diablo - Calle 23 tequila, ginger beer and lime, served over mixed berry, black current ice block ($15) which he really enjoyed.

I had the Clover Club - gin, raspberry syrup and citrus ($16). This pretty much includes my favourite flavours of all time and they are perfectly matched here. Just delicious. 

Service was super prompt, we were in and out in 45 minutes without feeling rushed at all. All in all this was a delicious meal and I'm looking forward to a repeat visit. 

Akiba

40 Bunda Street

Canberra

http://www.akiba.com.au/

Recipe: Fresh Fruit Tart

If you don't know that much about Vietnam and its history, it might surprise you to find that it is full of bakeries selling delicious bread, cakes and pastries. However Vietnam was a French colony for around 100 years and it left them with an amazing legacy of baking. It is really no surprise that just about every shopping strip in Australia has a "Saigon Hot Bake" as a legacy of Vietnam war refugees.

During our recent trip to Vietnam we enjoyed plenty of this French influenced baking. From the amazing banh mi sandwiches, to all sorts of cakes and pastries. The Cargo Club where I discovered the delicious crispy pork belly salad also has a fantastic patisserie attached and we found ourselves there nearly every morning.

Everything we had was delicious, but S fell particularly in love with their mango tart. So much so that when it came time for him to request a birthday cake he asked me to recreate it. The Cargo Club version is small individual tarts which were a bit fussy for me, so I make it as one large tart. Mango is excellent on the tart, but you can use any fresh fruit. Most recently I've made it with plums and nectarines and the gorgeous raspberries that are in season right now would be particularly nice.

This is a reasonably complicated recipe and it takes time. You need to allow the pastry to rest, the creme patissiere to cool and assembling it prettily isn't quick. You could shortcut by making the pastry in a food processor, but personally I love hand-making pastry. I find the process of rubbing the butter into the flour and kneading the dough almost like meditating. So basically you will need to allow a couple of hours to make this, although a good chunk of that time is just letting things cool.

However the end result of that work is pretty spectacular looking and even better tasting!

Fresh Fruit Tart
Pastry
250g plain flour
150g unsalted butter, room temperature cut into cubes
2tbsp cater sugar
1 egg yolk
water

Creme Patissiere
600ml milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
60g corn flour

Topping
Fresh fruit of your choice

For the pastry case
Combine the flour, butter and caster sugar in a bowl and rub between your fingers till the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix the egg yolk through and add the water, a tablespoon at a time till the mixture comes together. Kneed the pastry lightly on the bench till it is a smooth ball with no cracks. Shape into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180^oC, and grease fluted tart tin* with a loose base. Roll the pastry out between two sheets of baking paper till 2-3mm thick, then carefully line the tin and trim any excess. The pastry is quite soft so if it tears (or you put it in a bit lopsided like I often do) you can use the excess to patch any holes.

Line the pastry case with baking paper and fill with pastry weights. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the baking paper and weights and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin completely.

For the Creme Patissiere
Place 500ml milk and the vanilla pod (I like to scrape a few seeds out and put them in the milk too) in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile whisk egg yolks and sugar together. Add the cornflour and remaining 100ml milk to the eggs and continue to whisk until combined.

Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture (remove the vanilla bean, you can use it to make vanilla sugar) and whisk to combine, then return this to a clean saucepan (just give it a quick wipe out with paper towel). Place back on a medium/high heat, whisking continuously. When pastry cream begins to bubble and thicken remove from heat and transfer back to the mixing bowl.  You need to watch it carefully, it will seem very runny for ages then all of a sudden will boil and thicken.

Cover with cling wrap with the wrap touching the creme patissiere to form a seal. Place in fridge and allow to cool (approx 1 hour).

To Assemble
Remove the pastry case from the tart tin and place on your serving dish. Fill with the creme patissiere (if it is completely cold give it a quick stir to loosen it up) and decorate with fresh fruit.

It is best on the day it is made but will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

*Note: My tart tin is 25cm in diameter and 4cm deep. If you use a smaller tin, you may have excess creme patissiere. My recommendation is to not quite fill your pastry case to the top, leave a little gap to help hold the fruit in place.

Review: Coles Fruit Hot Cross Buns

Time for hot cross bun review number 2! Continuing on with supermarket stock, I picked up a 6 pack of Coles Fruit Hot Cross Buns.

The buns were a dark brown colour with a nice shiny glaze and are clearly popular as I bought the second last pack. We had them for dessert, lightly heated, just butter for me, butter and strawberry jam for S.

So onto the review...

Let's start with the man's perspective. S thought the texture was better than the Aldi buns, but that the spice and fruit was on par. Another solid 7/10.

For my review, I agree with S, they had a nice light fluffy texture and really juicy fruit. Like the Aldi buns the fruit is limited to raisins, sultanas and currents. But while they smelt really good, on tasting I thought there was something off about the balance of spices with a slight bitter note. For me they weren't quite as good as the Aldi buns, 6/10. 

Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of hot cross bun taste off.

Restaurant Review: Yarralumla Turkish Halal Pide House

Fine dining is one of the great pleasures in life. I just adore a plate which comes out beautifully arranged. Eating something as beautiful as it is tasty takes the dining experience to a whole new level.

But not all great food comes in a photographic package. And not all memorable meals involve starched linen tablecloths and silver service. There is a place, and a well deserved place, in life for truly tasty, lip smacking fast food. And it is a place that usually attracts a cult following.

The Yarralumla Turkish Halal Pide House is one of those special places. A tiny shop front, in a small suburban shopping strip where each lunchtime there is a queue out the door and no parking anywhere close. And I'm not exaggerating, every time I've been I've joined the wait well outside the front door, one memorable time it was halfway down the block.

For those who don't live in Canberra, Yarralumla is one of our most expensive suburbs. It is the realm of luxury cars and embassy residences, but at any lunchtime you just need to follow the line of tradies utes and high-vis shirts to find the queue for what is arguably Canberra's best kebabs. They also make fantastic pide and have a further wide ranging menu, although I will admit I've never been able to go past the pide and kebabs.

If you head there at a standard meal time you will find yourself in a queue, but they are organised and it moves fast. Stepping up to the counter you order the salads for your kebab. Stepping to the left you specify meat and sauce. A short wait later (as your kebab is heated to final perfection) you are presented with a truly delicious all in one meal.

It may sound a bit "Soup Nazi" but the system works well. On my most recent visit there were 4 people ahead of me in the queue before we even got in the shop (and who knows how many in the queue in total) but it only took about 15 minutes from when I arrived to when I left, deliciousness in hand.

But onto the kebab. For $10, you get your choice of salad, meat and sauce wrapped in an amazing flat bread, all in a quantity that I have never been able to finish. A couple of people at my office regularly share one, having half each for a good lunch. Another of the guys asks them to do half amount of meat in an attempt to eat it all. My tactic is to eat as much as I can, then just eat the filling, sadly never being quite able to finish the delicious flat bread.

My standard order is chicken with garlic and BBQ sauce. It also contains super fresh salads, I like tomato, tabouleh, lettuce and humus. Other options are lamb, falafel or kabak (zucchini fritters), plus a few extra salad options and heaps of different sauces.

The result is not photogenic. It is not date food, I tend to end up with it all over my face. But what it is, is a delicious, quite healthy and relatively inexpensive meal that will fill you up.

Yarralumla Turkish Halal Pide House
47 Novar Street
Yarralumla
http://www.halalpidehouse.com.au/