Chinese New Year Part 2!

There were festivities a-plenty during the Chinese New Year period, and there was also one down the street from my place!

So Sean and I met up with Miss Piggy and her other half to try some tasty food!!

First up was Char Siew (Bbq Pork) Siew Yok  from Sun Ming BBQ Restaurant. For $5 we got a takeaway container mixed with Barbecued Pork and Roast Pork.

It was incredibly cheap for a box of meat, but it was good meat. I'm generally happy when I go there to eat usually, and it's great to see that the mixed meats were so popular that they were constantly replenishing with a freshly chopped supply.

The BBQ pork was sweet and firm and not too dry, but what I really enjoyed was the roast pork. The crackling. The mean might have been a little on the fatty side, but the crackling was absolutely divine.

It was definitely well worth the $5 a box.

They also sold really nice peking duck pancakes. They were nice, not as good as the Iron Chef ones, but still above average, especially for a festival like that.

And who can give up the sight of egg tarts!!

Personally I still prefer the Portuguese version, but these were still decent enough to satisfy my love/craving for them. The flaky pastry and the silky custard filling are a sure win for me anytime.

It wasn't a large festival, but considering that it was down a short stretch of Church St South in Parramatta, it was still enjoyable enough, even with the offerings of gelato, spaghetti bolognese, and music that sounds like it came off a Zumba workout soundtrack.

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And so concludes the final part of my CNY bumper posts! I hope that you'll have a good year ahead, filled with good food, good company, and good cheer.

So what did you get up to this Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year Part 1!

Happy Chap Gor Meh!!!! It's the fifteenth (and last) day of Chinese New Year today, and I thought that I'd do bumper posts highlighting some CNY activities this year!

Usually, I'd be in Singapore for CNY, but with the new job and other stuff, I didn't manage to make it home this year. No matter though, since Sydney had plenty of stuff going on - much more than I could go to!

An impromptu trip to Cabramatta was rewarded with a Chinese New Year festival!!

There were people playing chess, playing music and there were beautiful decorations everywhere!!

And of course, the food.

After hearing so much about it, I finally get to try Iron Chef's Peking Duck Pancakes!

A succulent strip of duck is paired with spring onion and cucumber. The whole lot is encased in a soft floury pancake and drizzled with hoi sin Sauce.

It was so yummy, I really wanted more. The duck was really the shining star, and personally, I prefer my peking duck with plum sauce. I really really really felt like buying a duck home though - it was juicy and not too greasy. Next time...next time.

Sean and I then went to Dong Son, which had menus written in Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese! How's that for a multilingual restaurant?

I just had to have the Pho. The broth was just so tasty, and the soft rice noodles soaked up all that flavour. The brisket was soft and melt-in-your-mouth, the tripe was springy...and did I mention the broth. That heavenly soup was just bursting with flavour and fragrance. For me, the litmus test for Pho is always the broth. If the first sip of the broth does not seranade you with flavour, then that is not good Pho.

The dish, of course, was served with a plate of raw beansprouts and lemon for you to add as you wish.

Sean, having a Salt and Pepper Calamari addiction, ordered just that.

The dish itself was quite unremarkable - the calamari was relatively fresh, but didn't taste of the sea - but the sauce that it came with...wow. It had a salty, lemony, tastiness to it that just popped in our mouths.

And so ends Part 1 of my Chinese New Year bumper post. I hope the last 15 days have been good to you, and here's wishing that the year ahead will bring you good health, and - quite importantly - all sorts of good eats. =)

We ate at:

Dong Son
44 Park Road
Cabramatta 2166
(02) 9724 4551




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I've got a present for you!

Image by kjoyner666

Don't forget, the Ingredient of the Month for February is Jelly!! And together with Aeroplane Jelly, I'm offering the chance to win a large jelly hamper!! All you have to do is either email me your favourite jelly recipe, or write a blog post with about your favourite jelly recipe/jelly that you've had and post the link in the comments here.

Contest ends 1st March, so hurry!!

Valentine's Day Easy Breakfast

Seeing as how Valentine's Day falls on a Monday this year, most people are going to be hard-pressed to spoil their loved ones on the day. So if you're anything like me and want to make a day out of anything, you're probably thinking, "Sunday brunch!".

Well, because I believe that sometimes celebrating a romantic day with a loved one calls for something familiar and comforting - because it's a day for you too. For the past couple of years I've been trying all sorts of fancy breakfasts and getting stressed out trying to get them right, so this year I'm trying for the familiar.

Sure-fire fluffy pancakes:

1 cup plain flour
3/4 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
1 egg

This one's easy.

Mix all the dry ingredients.

Make a well in the centre.

Mix in wet ingredients.

If the mixture's a little runny, add a little more milk. You can use a ladle if you want, but I used an old, washed out pancake shake bottle to pour out heart shapes in my medium-heated pan.

Serve with hulled strawberries and yoghurt, with a maplesyrupgoldensyrupicingsugaranythingyouwant!

And, if you have the cookie cutters/cupcake moulds, you can go nuts with the usual - bacon, eggs, sandwiches. Just remember to have a good day and enjoy yourself too.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Down the Yellow Brick Road of Sin

The boys at work have introduced me to the weight-loss devil - a lovely little French patisserie across the street that bakes fresh, mouth-watering, buttery bites of heaven that are so addictive, one bite and it's all down hill from there.

The first thing that greets you is the whiff of sin baking in the oven. When you walk in, golden-brown morsels of every shape and size greet you through a clear glass case.

The sensory overload is enough for me to abandon all sanity like Cassanova casting off an old lover and begin my descent into pure, decadent, food sin.

On recommendation, I've decided to try the Sour Cherry Danish and the Almond Croissant.

The Sour Cherry Danish is just tart enough to keep you from sinking into the flaky pastry. I do, on one hand, prefer my pastries with a little more bite, but I definitely can't fault this danish otherwise.

And the pièce de résistance (for me anyway) has to be the Almond Croissant. The soft, doughy, flaky pastry is topped by a sweet crust on the top, with almond flakes proudly displayed on the top like the crown of the statue of liberty. Each bite is sweet, gooey...all the comforting textures exploding in my mouth all at once.

I'll definitely definitely be back for more - I'm trying the Ratatouille quiche today. =)

I ate at:

La Banette
18 Glebe Point Road
Glebe, 2037




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Frozen Summer Treat

Image by Bert Heymans

Inspired by the hot hot summer days that we've been experiencing, I decided to make some frozen yoghurt! That, and I've got some leftover Lime Jelly Crystals from Aeroplane Jelly that I used in my Australia Day post!

By the time I remembered to take a photo, the tub of yoghurt was all gone, so I guess you have to make do with a picture of this really cute baby eating yoghurt!!

This is a really versatile, basic recipe, and great to make to have on hand.

Paw Paw and Lime Frozen Yoghurt

300g Thick Natural Yoghurt
1 tsp honey
1 medium, ripe Paw Paw (Papaya)
1 packet Lime Jelly Crystals
1 cup hot water

Dissolve the jelly crystals in hot water and leave to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, cut the paw paw up and place in the freezer to cool. When the jelly has cooled to a slurry texture, place honey, yoghurt, paw paw and jelly in a food processor and blend.

Place in a shallow container, cover with cling wrap and freeze overnight.

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And that's it!! A tub of creamy, frozen goodness in your freezer, and a healthy option to ice cream! Also, don't forget to enter the competition to win a selection of jelly for you to make your very own edible works of art! All you have to do is write up a blog post on your favourite recipe using jelly and leave a link in the comments here. Work fast, cause contest ends 1st March!! =)

Queensland Flood Appeal

Nuffnang had an auction lately to raise money to help with the Queensland floods, and I thought that I'd make a little something to help out. =)

Being somewhat obsessed with food, my contribution had to be food-related!! So voilá! My crocheted sushi plush toys.

I tried to look for Japanese platters (which would have been really hard to post), but Sean came up with the brilliant idea to use a bamboo mat instead!!

I've actually been crocheting a whole bunch of other food lately (which I'll leave till a later post).

How about you? Do you have any fun crafts/projects to help distract you from the heat?

Win a rainbow!!!!

Image by stevendepolo

...or you can make one!!! If you haven't guessed it already, the ingredient for this month is

JELLY!!

This cool, gelatinous, melt-in-your-mouth is definitely a summer favourite for me, and it made me wonder about what else you can do with it.

So get your creative hats on, because Aeroplane Jelly has very nicely agreed to help me with the giveaway!! Just choose your favourite jelly recipe and write a blog post (leave the link in the comments), or send me an email with your favourite recipe ! It's that simple. At the end of the month, I'll pick my favourites, and everyone gets some jelly!!


Contest ends 1st March 2011.