Love

I love Aussie Bill!!!

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My Dad aka Aussie Bill is amazing! With no stomach at all due to stomach cancer several years ago, Dad still adores food; eating it and cooking it and it is because of him that I inherited my love of food and adoration of the finer things in life. Dad lives in China and the minute he gets off the plane from Hong Kong, he heads straight for the nearest shop that sells pies as meat pies are one of his weaknesses. Food is always on Dad’s mind. Whether it is first thing in the morning or a midnight snack, I know he is always thinking about what to eat next! For much of his life Dad was in the catering business refining his culinary skills and defining the art of being a Chinese chef. For much of my childhood I used to think Dad was a magician as he could whip up meals in seconds.

In Sydney for Christmas, Dad loves eating homemade Christmas cake and custard. He loves his ham, nibbles on cheese, gorges on succulent turkey and has lashings of gravy.

And tonight the magician and his magic returned. Despite the piles of leftovers in the fridge from yesterday’s festive feast, he always knows what the family favorites are and what makes my sisters and I smile. Chinese food, the real stuff. The home cooked food that you can’t order in a restaurant yet takes minutes to make. I’ve seen him do this magic show plenty of times and tonight’s show did not disappoint. There was fresh ingredient fanfare. There was the cloak and dagger surprises and of course there was the staple rabbit out of the hat moment when dinner was ready in a flash leaving us all oohing and ahhing in amazement. Tonight Dad weaved his magic with prawns, pork mince, egg, barbecue pork, shallots, bean sprouts, snapper, sweet corn and chicken soup and duck. I left the table tonight thankful I was wearing elastic around the waist and even in more adoration of the magic of my Dad.

The 24 year old Italian

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It’s no secret that I love to eat Italian food. So when it was my turn to pick a Sydney restaurant to celebrate an early Christmas and mark the end of a brilliant year with friends, I drew up a shortlist of ten restaurants of which quite a few were Italian. The criteria was simple…..bloody great food required! From a bit of simple research, reading this and that – this is what I came up with:

1. Sepia

2. La Scala

3. The Devonshire

4. Almond Bar

5. Il Perugino

6. A Tavola

7. Assiette

8. Duke Bistro

9. Sake 

10. Buzo

I questioned do I try somewhere new that has had rave reviews or do I book somewhere tried and true. After some discussion with Mr ELG, I went with the latter.

Numero cinque; Il Perugino

I first went to Il Perugino 11 years ago. Memories of that night are bloody great food, no menus with the waiter telling you what is being served instead and lots of people talking, chatting and simply enjoying their food. Over the years I have been back numerous times and the memory never changes; just the people at my table and the food of course, as the seasons change. Situated on Avenue Road in Mosman, Sydney next door to the drycleaners, Il Perugino has been in the same place for 24 years, run by passionate people who describe the menu to you like poetry. Last night as I was listening to the menu (they did introduce postcard menus a couple of years back but go through the detail all the same), I was salivating from one course to the next and the food wasn’t even in front of me yet. At the next table, a man was devouring a steaming bowl of fresh seafood while his friend had ordered the lamb shank and I watched the meat just melt away from the bone. With Antipasti on the way, this menu had too many choices; a lovely position to be in rather than no inspiration at all.

Teasing the tastebuds, the Antipasti was laid in front of us and did not fail to excite. Button mushrooms, artichoke hearts, mussels, fritters and eggplant swooped in seconds.

Next up for me were the duck, sage and burnt butter crepes. Mr ELG ordered the salmon carpaccio. One word; delicious. Actually two words; magnificently delicious!

As a main, Mr ELG and I ordered the same dish (very rare) and again, from the kitchens of Il Perugino came a marvelous flavour from such simple ingredients; pappardelle, zucchini, garlic, olive oil, parsley and vongole.

We couldn’t not eat dessert and the four of us with no hesitation each ordered a sweetie with the promise to share. The tiramisu was tantalising, the limoncello cheesecake with baked rhubarb and blood orange gelato was so refreshing, the warm apple and walnut cake was comforting and the passion-fruit creme brulee made it hard to share!

As I looked around the room last night on the Tuesday before Christmas, all the tables were full and there were babies, children, young and old enjoying the moorish moments. Il Perugino is a local to be loved and in fact, numero uno in my mind.

Il Perugino @ 171 Avenue Road, Mosman Sydney 2088

A Rosemary bush and maple roasted carrots

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Saignon; a picturesque medieval village perched high on top of a hill in the South of France; my home for three weeks from October through to November of this year. Picture a house in Provence and this one will be the mirror image with its light blue shutters adorning all windows, rows of lavender as you navigate up the driveway, rustic wrought iron furniture where I took a glass of wine to read a book and sweeping views over an autumnal landscape fit for a painting. Framing the house there was a collection of rosemary bushes. And as I came and went from the house each day; the wind was always filled with a strong tinge of rosemary.

Every day there was a market on in some quaint village around the local area. Needing no excuse to go and explore, each one had a different feel to it and its wares were always slightly different. Yes, there were the endless tablecloths, ruffled scarves, bouquets of dried lavender but unlike back home where it’s same old same old, I had this constant buzz and desire to be in the thick of it. The wow factor however lay in their displays of fresh produce. Never before had I seen mushrooms so yellow or artichokes so green. Strawberries were plump red bursting with sweetness and if that didn’t take your fancy there were also gooseberries, currants and loganberries to be savoured. The fresh food before me  had me in a trance and I craved to cook up a storm.

Dinner on the first night was mine to cook. Armed with some bunches of baby orange carrots and some just cut rosemary, I cooked a roast beef that didn’t last too long once out of the oven. The baby carrots were roasted with maple syrup to enhance their sweet flavour and the baby potatoes were crunchy with the right amount of fluff inside. Just how I love them.

I think back now to those three weeks and it all seems like a beautiful dream but if there was one thing that I came home with was the re-ignited passion to cook. To cook seasonally, to eat fresh and to do it all from the heart.

 

Tuesday buzzz

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Tuesday’s crave: a Chocolate milkshake

Milk, chocolate flavouring, sometimes ice-cream all shaken together. Some are thick, some are runny, most are frothy. Love the ones served in the tall metal glasses – so American diner. Pretty simple to concoct yet so often, many places get it wrong and don’t measure up to my standards.

I’ve always been a chocolate milkshake girl. I occasionally strayed to caramel when I was growing up but I was NEVER a strawberry or banana fan as I couldn’t stomach the sickly sweet fake taste. And vanilla is just too plain jane.

When I was pregnant it was a Wendys flake shake that satisfied the craving. Sweeter than I remembered, it always hit the spot with the chunky flake pieces floating through and still so thick that you have to swap between a straw and spoon to finish it off!

So where was I on Tuesday getting my chocolate milkshake fix?

Buzzzbar on King Street in Newtown. Their milkshake ticks all the boxes. Good size, thick enough without crossing over to a thick shake, creamy, flavoursome and not too sweet, frothy and cold, ice cold. And for $5.50 – it’s a bit of a bargain for a whole lot of buzz.

Buzzzbar @ 349 King Street, Newtown 2042

Destination: 2050

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No, this is not a post of me yearning to be 70 years old in 2050 but the mere postcode of where the ELG family live; otherwise known as Camperdown. When asked the question of where I live and I say Camperdown, the usual response is “ohhh near RPA hospital…” or “oh, near Sydney Uni..?” Both replies are correct but since residing in the 2050 area for the last 14 months, I now know it is much more than the suburb of both a major hospital and university. Situated in the thriving inner west of Sydney, surrounded by Annandale and Leichhardt on one end, Glebe as you stretch closer to the city and Newtown as you head past the hospital to colourful King Street, it is a suburb that I have come to love with its fabulous places to eat and other haunts to go! So, I feel it necessary to update you on the top 5 hotspots of postcode 2050:

1. Franks 

When Mr ELG and I moved into Camperdown, a friend of mine said that Franks was the local place to go to for pizza. A cheap and cheerful number and she recalled that the price of a large pizza was around the $12 mark. She was not wrong there. A family size pizza is $15. In an old fire station house on Parramatta Road, Franks serves up pizza and pasta to go and I almost always order “Franks Special”. Most nights, people pack the place from 6pm and the weekend lunch slots are equally as busy with family lunches packing the tables. Service is quick and the pizza is hot; a terrific combination most can’t go past and I certainly don’t!

2. Deus ex Machina

Part motorbike shop, part restaurant; this phrase from their site sums them up beautifully “Motorcyles for the postmodern world – silk purses out of sows’ ears.” This place also situated on Parramatta Road but closer to the city screams blood, sweat and tears. Oh and great food thrown in for good measure! Deus is iconic in Camperdown and you will likely find Mr ELG, BIT (baby in tow) and I there on a weekend for their spot-on breakfasts. They do a mean eggs hollandaise with Tasmanian salmon, baby spinach and asparagus. And when I wake with a sweet tooth to satisfy, I order the strawberry and lemon pancakes. Out the back there is the shop selling motorbikes (classics and new), clothes, leather jackets and accessories and if your bike needs a tune-up, there’s also a workshop attached. So don your leathers and get to Deus for a bit of grit, noise and bloody good coffee.

3. Butch

Discovering this place with BIT en route to Mothers group one morning, I bought a quick coffee and returned hours later to feast upon one of their homemade pies after spotting it earlier on. If you have read past posts, you will know about my love of pies and this one went above and beyond. Butch is a bit of a hole in the wall, at the bottom of a terrace, on a narrow street in Camperdown and when the winter chill is about, their cafe is one of the only locals that have a cosy fire burning to warm the hands while their food warms your soul.

4. Chef and the Cook

Ever the foodie on the hunt for the right tools to master my trade, this place hits the mark in every regard. I’m sure many a cook would have been in their kitchens at one point wishing for a utensil that somehow was not in their drawer or repertoire whether it be kitchen string to tie a chicken’s legs together before a roast, a piping bag to ice a cupcake, a peeler that leaves your fingers in tact afterwards or a balloon whisk to get enough air through egg whites. I have always thought to buy kitchen string instead of using the string Mr ELG bought at bunnings that’s blue and dreading a Bridget Jones blue soup kitchen moment and last week I finally purchased some along with some flat scales to accurately measure my ingredients. Just recently Chef and the Cook have also started stocking food for sale and have a wonderful Herbies spice selection amongst other jams, couverture chocolate, coloured sea salt and oils galore. So when you can’t be asked to fight the crowds at Peters of Kensington and need the perfect wooden spoon, head to Chef and the Cook for a great selection of tools and industry advice.

5. Camperdown Cellars

At the end of my street is a wonderful thing; Camperdown Cellars. Now there are bottle shops and then there are bottle shops. Not pretentious with their exhausting range of alcohol, top shelf reds and whites, aged whiskys, Penfold Grange and the best cider ever – I think the owners there must look at me with BIT and think; well frankly I can only imagine what they think! OK let’s get back to talking about the cider. One word; Rekorderlig. Mr ELG first tried this drop at a quaint Balmain pub and came home raving about it as if it was the best thing since sliced bread and well I agree with him as it most certainly is! Refined, crisp and clean; the taste of this cider is heavenly and at $8 a bottle is somewhat on the pricier end but well worth it. Served over ice on any afternoon; it is just a little bit of heaven. With flavours in pear, apple, strawberry-lime and a winter version, I recommend heading to the cellars just for this or to satisfy my other two cravings…there is always Pastabilities and tubs of Ben & Jerry’s in their freezers too. So you now know where to find me at 5pm too on any given day when I have no idea what to cook for dinner and I don’t want to go to Coles.

Now, I know I said top 5 but the new mum in me can’t help but add one more and rave about the bright red and green toystore at the end of my street (opposite the Cellars and across the road from Chef and the Cook)  – Kidstuff. A treasure trove of toys for kids of all ages; it stocks all the big brands as well as the obscure and unique. Whether your child is at rattle stage, building blocks, painting, gaming or just plain playing, you never walk out of this store empty handed. And one of the best things is that they do free wrapping with rainbow ribbons.

So type 2050 into your GPS or catch a bus down Parramatta Road and come visit, come play and always go where your heart desires.

Franks @ 137 Parramatta Road, Camperdown NSW 2050

Deus ex Machina @ 102-104 Parramatta Road, Camperdown NSW 2050

Butch @ 130 Church Street, Camperdown NSW 2050

Chef and the Cook @ 28-32 Mallett Street, Camperdown NSW 2050

Camperdown Cellars @ 140 Parramatta Road, Camperdown NSW 2050

Kidstuff @ 101 Parramatta Road, Camperdown NSW 2050

Hats off to this one

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2009 and what a steaming hot Italian summer it was shaping out to be. The train was just pulling into Naples and Mr ELG and I had finally located our pensione and off-loaded the luggage. Feeling ravenous and with a few tips up our sleeves from the local who checked us in, we go on the hunt for a true Napoli pizza; arguably where it all started for the flat and round doughy phenomenon. Up a narrow alley where Fiats are squashed nose to nose on the pavement, there’s a hole in the wall and a waft of steamy goodness coming out. Six or so men with red aprons are milling around a kitchen as the day has not yet fully started. They hear our Aussie accents and between us, our pigeon Italian language, some pointing and the locals laughing their heads off, we somehow manage to order two large pizzas of which we know that at least cheese will be present. 10 minutes later and the two of us are perched on some neighbourhood stairs, pizza boxes on our laps, salivating no longer as the pizzas live up to all expectations and an eat moment is banked in my memories. I also recall thinking to myself, nowhere could come close to this at home. There’s pizza and then there’s pizza!


Enter Cappello. Situated on Darling Street, Balmain East – past all of the hype and hoopla of the main part of Darling Street. In a quaint sandstone terrace Cappello do a early and late seating; perfect for those that still want great food even though there’s a highchair in your booking and suitable for those duos who are after a bit of late dinner romance. Offering a small menu where each offering hits the spot, I can never go past the homemade tagliatelle ragu and Mr ELG nearly always orders the gnocchi with lashings of gorgonzola. Straying away from pasta, the pizza Cappello make fresh from their woodfired oven is the closest thing I have tried out of Naples. Thin yet still doughy in the middle, crisp with a variety of mouthwatering toppings. Taking the less is more slant in terms of ingredient combinations, you won’t find ham and pineapple here but more gutsy taste sensations where the biggest decision of the night will be “which one?”

If you make it past the pizza and pasta, the desserts will entice, be desired and and again make the choice hard! Not really much of a chocolate fan, Mr ELG seldom goes past Cappello’s chocolate mousse. As for me, the pavlova with poached pairs sitting in a reduced raspberry sauce sends shivers down my spine now as I hark back to when I went to Cappello last.

So while I’d love to own a lear jet and have a tree in the backyard that grows the green ones so I could just swing by Italy more than just once in a while – the reality is just 10 minutes drive away, I can satisfy my cravings born out of a hole in the wall in a back lane of Naples.

Cappello @ 79 Darling Street, Balmain NSW 2041

Inspired by Farmer Jo gourmet muesli; decadence emerges on a Sunday morning

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On a solo trip to Eveleigh markets one Saturday morning, I walked past the blooming flowers and mountain of meringues, past the grain-fed lamb and skipped over the lemon and garlic oils to find myself in front of a stand of what I initially thought was humble muesli. Farmer Jo was the brand and tubs were stacked up in piles showcasing a couple of different varieties. As a taster, there was a creamy looking apple bircher in tiny cups. As I ate a portion of the soaked muesli I immediately tasted the complexities; the crisp apple flavour with a sour lemony edge. Delicious I thought. However it was the orange and chocolate hazelnut pot of wonder that I walked away with, fascinated by the inevitable decadence that this muesli could bring to my humble mornings. It didn’t let me down and as I tentatively shared some with Mr ELG, I savoured the textures, tastes and fragrance of my morning purchase. I didn’t want the wonder pot to end, with my portions of muesli getting smaller and smaller as the days went on. Unfortunately I couldn’t get back to Eveleigh the next Saturday so the pot sat in my pantry empty. Thankfully the muesli memory lived on.

So this morning with some time up my sleeve as baby rested in his rocker I set out to re-create decadence in a bowl. Using a recipe from this month’s Delicious magazine as a starting point; I was inspired:

ELG’s Sunday decadence in a bowl

2 cups of rolled oats

1 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup hazelnuts – roughly chopped

1/3 cup almonds – roughly chopped

1/2 cup golden syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

200g dark chocolate – roughly chopped

1/3 cup dried apricots – roughly chopped

Pre-heat oven 180 degrees. Combine oats, pumpkin seeds, coconut, nuts and golden syrup together. Spread over a lined baking tray and roast for 15-20 minutes, turning every five minutes for even colour. Once cool, add chocolate and apricots. Serve with chilled milk.

As I got to the end of my bowl slurping the last remnants, the old Coco Pops jingle entered my mind “Just like a chocolate milkshake only crunchy!” The muesli was heaven in a bowl and what’s even better is there’s heaps left over for tomorrow….oh how I love to eat!

Friday flash: a brownie moment in between autumn rains

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Off the back of the wettest May in years and in between the recent Sydney downpours, last week I found myself in the midst of a short and sweet ray of sunshine having a momentous brownie moment. Bought from a newly discovered cafe Store situated on the edge of Camperdown park, this brownie stared me square in the eye and I swear said “eat me now!”

So without further delay, money was exchanged for a Phoenix Cola and Sweet Infinity brownie and sitting on a park bench under a Moreton Bay fig tree, in a ray of sunshine it was a moment to be remembered.

I wonder what moment today’s Sydney sunshine will bring me….Tell me; what will I eat, what will I fall in love with, where will I go?

Store @ 17 Fowler Street, Camperdown NSW 2050

a buttery danger zone just 15 minutes away

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At the moment I am often asked “what’s your day like?” Well to be honest, I have never looked at my watch quite so often as around the clock I am responding to a 6-week baby’s needs as he feeds, poos, wees, sleeps and the cycle starts all over again pretty much every 3 hours. The thing I keep telling Mr ELG however is I make good use out of the window. The window of time may only be 5 minutes (if that!) but I am usually effectively doing something with that time and not just sitting idle with my feet up as I used to be able to when time was a-plenty! Now, it’s more like how many things can I do in 15 minutes?

One thing that has recently eaten up 15 minutes of my time is the short and highly addictive walk to La Banette on Glebe Point Road (university end), Glebe. Situated next door to another love of mine; Clipper, La Banette is a quaint yet hustling and bustling patisserie where one (I’m sure I’m not the only one) always has great difficulty deciding on what to buy, how much to buy and what little morsel can I just eat now? Laden on the shelves on the wall are golden sourdough loaves and crisp olive baguettes; lining the shelves at the front windows are mille feuille, chocolate eclairs, lemon pies and creme caramel tarts (just to name a few). Spread across the counter are freshly baked pastries, shiny with glaze and bursting with apricots, apples, plums and cherries. Stocked in the corner are savoury pies and quiches to go ~ for now or tonight in case you work back and don’t feel like ordering takeaway. Coffee can also be ordered which partners any of La Banette’s little delicacies so so well and I have resigned to the fact that it’s a damn fine way to spend 15 minutes!

Oh and the mini pecan pies are delicious with a capital D!

La Banette @ 18 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW 2037