Richard Elliot's Blog

On the road to the 6ft Track

2012-01-30T07:48:00.003+11:00

Is it possible to sign up for a marathon by accident? Or perhaps I'm too easily influenced by other people?

I have 'accidentally' signed up for The Six Foot Track, one of Australia's craziest marathons. I agreed to keep my friend Trish company without realising just how tough it is going to be. The race starts from Katoomba and ends at the Jenolan Caves in the Blues Mountains. Forty five kilometres on very hilly fire trails. If you want to see how hilly check out the elevation chart here.

In order to prepare I've joined the Sydney Striders running group. You might have seen the Striders running round Sydney in their distinctive green and white. The club seems really friendly so far and when I've been out training in my green and white top I've had a few 'hellos' and 'go Striders!' from other members.

I've done three pretty grueling training runs so far. There was the Kedumba half marathon, which is the toughest race I've done. This year I've been on two bust runs with the Striders. Quary Road up in Hornsby and this weekend the Roseville Ripsnorter. It was a very technical bush run with lots of rocks, trees roots and a few creek crossings as well. Luckily I survived with only a small graze on my leg.

Six weeks to go. I just hope I'm ready!

Sourdough: Barm Bread

2012-01-28T07:00:00.000+11:00

From the depths of despair came one of my better loaves of sourdough.

Air bubbles, we have air bubbles!

When my baking oracle Brydie posted about a bread recipe using beer I knew immediately that I wanted to give it a go. Bottle fermented beer contains natural yeasts, the perfect partner to a sourdough. My favourite Aussie beer - Coopers Pale Ale - was the obvious choice.

I didn't really concentrate on hydration percentages (you typically aim for 60 - 70% of water to flour) and just cracked on with the recipe which uses the sponge method. The dough was giving off fantastic beery smells while I was kneading it.

I made the beer based sponge (barm) and left it overnight. The next day I added the remaining flour, water, salt and gave it a knead in the machine for 5mins.

I turned the dough out onto the bench to shape it and realised that I had a huge gloopy mess on my hands. Stay calm and give it a knead. At Breasserie Bread I saw how a wet dough could be brought under control if you treat it well.

Five minutes of kneading and there wasn't a hope of me being able to shape the dough. I couldn't fight the urge any more so I added some more flour. Quite a lot of flour, perhaps 100g? It was still a wet dough, but I managed to fold it and get it into my bannetton.

The end result? One of my best loaves. A Phoenix from the flames.

Once baked the beery smell had totally gone and it didn't taste of beer either. The loaf is the lightest and airiest one I have baked. It has a soft and chewy texture. If I'm being picky I would have preferred a firmer crust.

I plan to try the recipe again to see if I messed up one of the quantities.

A hacked recipe, adapted from Brydie.

Barm
220ml room temperature, bottle fermented beer.
50g flour
2 tbsp starter

Dough
365g barm (my barm didn't add weigh 365g so I added additional water to bring it up to weight)
400g flour + ~100g flour added to get the dough under control
133ml water
2 tsp salt

Method
1. Whisk together the barm ingredients and leave overnight.

2. The next morning combine the barm, 400g flour and water. Leave for half an hour.

3. Add the salt and knead for 5mins in the mixer with a dough hook.

4. Turn onto the bench, add the additional 100g of flour if needed. Fold the dough and leave for an hour.

5. Shape and place in the bannetton for 3hrs for the final prove.

6. Slash and bake with steam at 180 degrees for 40mins

Year of the Dragon: New Year celebrations in Belmore Park

2012-01-26T08:45:00.001+11:00

On Sunday I decided to pop along to the Chinese New Year Markets in Belmore Park. I first visited the market two years ago and the crowds stopped me from enjoying myself on that occasion. I couldn't get a good look at any of the stalls. This time I had a lot more enjoyable time drifting round and checking out what was on offer.

Having run 35km in the morning I took the opportunity to take the weight off my feet and watch a cookery demonstration with Alvin Quah from Masterchef. I wrote a rather sarcastic tweet before the demonstration, but actually enjoyed it. I gave up my seat half way through to an eldery Chinese lady that was standing "Ah, such a nice boy".

Alvin cooked two dishes, a claypot chicken rice and a fried fish. The claypot doesn't look like much but I am tempted to give it a go in my rather under used claypot. Unfortunately the audience weren't allowed to taste dishes.

The hot tip of the show (from Alvin and Tina) was to check out the Sichuan food stall. Across three stalls they had a range of around nine dishes all selling for under $6, which I thought was pretty good value. I ordered some Sichuan style bean noodles with chilli oil ($4) and then followed them up with the Dan Dan noodles ($4).

I haven't had Dan Dan noodles before, but have had a curiosity about them ever since seeing Jamie's America a couple of years ago. I know he's not Chinese, but his episode from a Chinese food court in New York fascinated me. His reaction when eating the Dan Dan noodles is hilarious (4mins into the clip).

I was hoping to try a mysterious sounding Sichuan flat hard cake but they had sold out. The girl running the stall told me to come back in an hour! My tired legs needed to go home....

Restaurant Review: Bakery Nights, Marrickville

2012-01-24T20:33:00.002+11:00

On Saturday night I went to Bakery Nights, held at the Bourke St Bakery in Marrickville. Chef Katrina Hollis and crew take over the café for two Saturday evenings a month to host long table dinners.

Self styled as a 'mystery', the menu is revealed on the night. It sounded good to me so I booked a table for six and assembled a group of hungry diners.

I hadn't been to the Bourke St Bakery in Marrickville before and the café was smaller than I expected. I think I was expecting a large factory similar to Brasserie Bread. There were four large tables filling the room and one group seated outside too. Being a party of six we had one of the smaller tables to ourselves.

On arrival one of the efficient waitresses took our wine and placed it in one of the ice buckets located round the edge of the room. I thought the service was attentive throughout the evening, always keeping our water glasses and wine topped up.

Onto the food!

Polenta chips and olives

On arrival we were given share plates of polenta chips and olives. The polenta chips were a real winner at the table. The crunchy chips had a light texture (I can find polenta a bit heavy) and as every chip should be, they were nicely salted.

Bourke St Bakery Bread

As everyone knows the Bourke St Bakery sourdough is very good. In my current phase of project sourdough I'm enjoying flavoured breads. Some of the fig and barberry or spiced fruit loaf would have gone down well.

After the appetisers all of the food was brought out in share plates. Generally for two people to share.

Roast pumpkin, zucchini, basil and roast tomato lasagne

with blue swimmer crab and olive salad

If the poleta chips were good the starter took it up a notch. Roasted pumpkin is one of my favourites. The pumpkin was soft and richly flavoured in between the layers of silky pasta. The lasagna sat in a deep and lightly spiced tomato sauce. The salty spanner crab provided an interesting contrast in flavour (if not texture).

My favourite dish of the evening.

Rabbit saddle stuffed with artichokes, tomato and red wine.

Mushroom ragu on pearl barley salad

I enjoyed the rabbit main course, but it was a bit of an opinion divider at the table. The saddle of rabbit was moist which can by tricky to achieve. The strongly flavoured stuffing was the dominating force of the dish.

I think the thought of eating 'fluffy' was part of problem for some diners. The rabbit wasn't quite as delicate or as balanced as the other dishes. However, that's a reflection on how good everything else was, rather than a poor reflection on the rabbit.

Green salad

For me the mark of a good salad is it's dressing. I enjoyed the wine vinegar dressing that accompanied our green salad. We had a solitary small bowl of salad to share between the six of us. A second bowl would have been appreciated.

Cinnamon doughnuts with cherry parfait and rose water syrup

The dessert of Cinnamon doughnuts with cherry parfait and rose water syrup took us soaring back up to the heights of the starter. I seriously want to the recipe for the cherry parfait. It was thick, intense and no doubt insanely bad for you.

My only criticism is that we found the room got quite loud during the evening. At times it was almost difficult to hear the person opposite!

At $65 per person (byo drinks only) I thought the evening was good, but not outstanding, value.

Overall the evening was a fun concept that had been well executed. The food and service were both very good. It made for a great evening to catch up with friends. A trip to the toilets comes highly recommended as you get to walk straight through the middle of the bakery and the action taking place in the kitchen.

Bakery Nights (held at Bourke St Bakery)
2 Mitchell Street
Marrickville
2204

Restaurant Review: The Duck Inn, Chippendale

2012-01-22T13:01:00.000+11:00

A pub with an identity crisis?

Thursday night saw my first visit to The Duck Inn in Chippendale for dinner with friends to plan a hoped for trip to New Zealand in May.

I hadn't been to 'The Duck' before it's face lift. Some friends from work who live in the area lament the loss of their local boozer where they could go for cheap schooners. However, as old customers leave, others appreciate the change and new ones arrive. The Duck Inn must be doing something right as as it was pretty busy for a Thursday evening.

We were seated in the back room. On a pleasant Sydney evening with the windows open and whitewashed wooden batons on the walls the place had a beach house vibe going on.

A look at the menu gave me the first hint that the restaurant might be having problems deciding what it wanted to be. There were pub favourites such as Duck Inn Burger and Sausage with mash at under $20. However, there were also a selection of more 'gastro pub' dishes in the mid to high twenty dollar range.

My dining companions and I subconsciously all ordered from the more 'gastro' end of the menu. I selected the Sea Bass with salad of fennel, rocket and lemon dressing. My first impression when the dish arrived was that the sea bass fillets were very small (which doesn't really come across in the photo). The fish was nicely cooked and still moist. Despite the salad containing some punchy flavours like fennel and rocket it didn't really work for me. The flavours didn't clash with each other or the fish, but they didn't come together either.

The dish was also inconsistent. Jen also ordered the sea bass and had a mound of radish in her salad. I got none.

One of my companions (not used to dining with a food blogger as they tucked in before I could take a photo!) ordered the Fillet of beef with cavello nero, horseraddish butter and jus. We've all seen the Sydney trend for serving food on wooden boards. However her steak was bought out on a plate sitting on a chopping board. What was the point of that? Totally odd presentation.

The side of broccoli was overcooked.

The small slice of cheesecake came served on an enormous place which only emphasised it's petit size. Around the table we guessed it was shop bought. My humble apologies to the kitchen if it wasn't.

Having never been to the 'old Duck' I have no emotional attachment to the local boozer which has disappeared. The light and breezy decor has a lot going for it. I'd be happy if it was my local. However, the kitchen don't seem to be able to decide what they're doing. Premium pub grub or going for something a little fancier?

The burgers at a nearby table looked great. If it was my pub I'd concentrate on reasonable pricing and serving up lots of dishes similar that good look burger.

The Duck Inn Pub and Kitchen
74 Rose St
Chippendale
2008

Reading The Economist for free on the Kindle

2012-01-19T20:49:00.000+11:00

I've been reading the Economist off and on for twelve years. I like the interesting articles that make you think. Pro-freedom, democracy and free markets with a does of realism it's very much on my wavelength.

A subscriber back in the UK the price here in Australia is just absurd. I can't afford to but it!

When I got my Kindle for Christmas I thought it might be a good opportunity to subscribe to the Economist again at a more sensible price. However, I was surprised to discover that the Kindle edition is a bit more expensive than the paper version. With no printing or delivery charges I'd expect it to cost less.

Then I discovered Calibre. A slightly clunky e-book management tool, it has a nifty 'news fetch' service (which is the only thing I use it for).

The full edition of the Economist is available for free on their website. Calibre goes onto their site, downloads all the articles, converts them to Kindle format and emails it off to your e-reader. Hey presto.

I've wondered a couple of times about the ethics of doing this. Am I stealing something I should pay for? However, I'm only reading articles that a freely available on the web. I am sure they'd prefer me to read the content on their website, but I'm doing the economically rational thing. It would be hypocritical if they didn't approve.

Sydney Food Bloggers Picnic

2012-01-17T20:59:00.002+11:00

We all know the first rule of Fight Club.

It appears the annual Food Bloggers picnic organised by Chocolate Suze and GrabYourFork has the same rule. A secret location we set and we even went as far to hide our faces in the group photo.

The photo was tongue in cheek, although there are some bloggers out there who like to keep their identity hidden.

Simon manning the bar

After a tortuous training run in the morning I arrived with only an hour to go. However, it being a food bloggers picnic there was lots left to eat and Simon's pop up bar was still in full swing.

The food blogging community is something I really value in Sydney. It's fantastic to attend events like the picnic, Eat Drink Blog conference and just meet up with fellow bloggers for dinner. It's something I doubt exists in London in the same way.

Group photo, just to prove we aren't pretentious!

Thanks to Helen and Suze for organising!

Hat Tip to The Heart of Food for the first and final photos.

Restaurant Review, Cafe DOV, Potts Point

2012-01-15T21:19:00.000+11:00

Oliver, Mary and I were hoping to have a casual Saturday lunch at Ms. G's. Caught unawares that they'd be closed we headed across the road to café DOV.

A Potts Point institution that has been open for twenty one years café DOV was filled with hip young Pointers. (I don't think people from the suburb are actually called Pointers. I just made it up. Do you think it will catch on?)

We monopolised the private tables at the rear of the restaurant and settled in for a good catch up. One of the staff who was taking their lunch break learnt rather more than they probably hoped to about Japanese Onsen. What goes on tour stays on tour.

I ordered the corned beef, pickled fennel slaw on toasted rye. It was one of the finest sandwiches I have had in a while. The soft pickled fennel had a subtle tang and the thick cut slices of corned beef were fall apart tender. It could only have been made better if they'd buttered the rye bread to make it even more decadent.

Mary ordered the attractively presented rustic pork sausage and four cabbage salad, potato galette. The large size came with two sausages and two squares of potato gallete. It made me wonder if the small serving came with one square of gallete and only one sausage. Could you serve just one sausage?

*If anyone knows what DOV stands for please let me know!

café DOV
130 Victoria St
Potts Point
2011

Granda, 1913 - 2011

2012-01-12T07:11:00.000+11:00

Just twenty six days after losing his wife, my grandfather passed away on 30th December, aged 98. It was a privilege to be able to spend his final days with him.

It was rare to see Granda without a suit on. I remember once asking him why he wore a suit gardening. "Well, it's not my best suit" came the reply. Silly me.

He'd often have an old photo in his suit pocket showing a member of the family or his first motorbike.

A master decorator by trade he was retired for my whole life. However, until very recently the family name of R Elliot & Son was still displayed on the old shop. I was always a little proud when we visited one of north Cumbria's smart country houses and I learnt he had decorated the place.

His mother and thirteen siblings, so there were many, many cousins. Granda was full of stories about the family or the history of Brampton. He was a member of the Conservative Club, Bowls Club and Masons. I sometimes though he was part of the history of the town, he seemed to have been present at all the significant events in nearly one hundred years,

I found my grandmother's death very upsetting. Granda's passing was very peaceful, he didn't suffer and I think it was his time to go. I am thankful for a great life.

Granda you will be missed.

xxx

Restaurant Review: The Sweet Olive, Aston Tirrold, Oxfordshire

2012-01-10T20:37:00.001+11:00

Lunch with my family provided the perfect opportunity to visit The Sweet Olive in the small village of Aston Tirrold. A classic country pub it is known locally for having some of the best grub in the area.

The first thing you see as you walk into the pub is a chalk board highlighting some of the local producers. Game and several other goodies come from the village. I didn't realise Aston was so productive!

The second thing you can't help but notice is the French influence. From the accents behind the bar to the wine boxes stuck to the wall.

We were given some complimentary bread and olives to nibble on while we made our selections from the menu. I initially thought the slab of butter was a piece of cheddar to looked so crumbly and open in texture. I really enjoyed the marinated olives.

The menu is on a small chalk board in the corner of the dining room. There were around ten specials which our waiter explained to us. It proved quite a challenge to remember everything. They could have done with a bigger chalk board or perhaps some printed menus.

From the specials menu dad chose the Tapas plate as a starter (I was saving room for dessert). A selection of salami, pesto, fried goats cheese, smoked salmon, rocket salad, lamb samosa, toast and a couple of others that I can't remember! I enjoyed the slice of peppery salami that I snuck from dad's plate.

I ordered the intriguing Nepalese pheasant curry, also from the specials menu. I thought the dish must have been a novel invention, but a quick Internet search tells me that pheasant is the most popular game bird in Nepal.

I enjoyed the lightly spiced curry which provided a great balance between the gamey pheasant and aromatic spices.

It was a very generous serving of pheasant, I must have had a whole bird. Including a little bit of lead shot, just to prove it was wild.

Three of the four main courses we ordered came with the same mixed medley of vegetables. Very early 90's and, I thought, slightly naff for a gastropub.

The French aren't known for accommodating vegetarians and there was only one veggie starter on the entire menu. They made a main course size Goats cheese parcel for my sister. The rich goats cheese was served inside a filo parcel with caramelised onions.

It was tasty for the first few bites but then turned into a cheese bomb. The goats cheese was just so rich, especially for a main course.

For dessert I chose the Lemon Cheesecake, Raspberry Coulis and Mango & Passion Fruit Sorbet. The tart sorbet and coulis helped cut through the dense cheesecake. When the plate arrived I thought it was an enormous amount of of blood red coulis, but it turned out to be the perfect amount. If I'm splitting hairs I prefer a lighter textured cheesecake.

Having ordered almost exclusively from the specials menu I wasn't quite sure what the bill would be. I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the main courses were under £14 ($20).

I thought the food was a bit more deluxe home cooking than true gastropub. That probably goes down better with the locals who are certain to approve of the local producers and reasonable prices. As long as you aren't a vegetarian that is.

Dramcember: A time to taste something new

2012-01-07T06:11:00.002+11:00

I've been busy over the past couple of weeks on the DTWC group blog that I'm a member of. The Distant Thunder Whisky Club (DTWC) has an annual Dramcember challenge:

The rules are simple. Between the 9th of Dramcember until the 9th and Dramuary you are tasked to try at least 1 whisky you have never had before. This can be a single dram or a full bottle (it really does not matter). In doing so then post about it somewhere, anywhere, to let us all know how good or how bad it was.

We all get stuck in a slump and do not step to far off the beaten track which can make our pallets bit stagnant. If you have been wanting to try something new and need some inspiration well here it is.

I managed to sample four new whiskies during the month.

Bell's - the UKs favourite whisky:

A simple, easy drinking good value whisky.

A cheap dram: Tesco's special reserve:

Remarkably smooth for the money.

Aberlour 10yr old

A deceptively sophisticated whisky that tingles and teases.

Homemade Damson Whisky

The dessert wine of the whisky world.

Restaurant Review: The Heron, Marylebone

2012-01-03T19:52:00.002+11:00

I do quite a bit of keeping up with the latest goings on in my old haunts of London. There is the wonderful Brockley Central and south east London food blogger Hollow Legs is worth a read too.

When Hollow Legs titled her post about a Thai restaurant "Fire in the Depths of London" I knew that I had to go. She described the pub as being opposite a "ropey-looking estate", but she failed to mention that the pub looked very ropey as well!

When my policeman friend arrived he remarked that the place was familiar. He'd been there in an official capacity to break up a scuffle. Everything was screaming don't enter, but we pressed on in and down to the basement.

The brightly coloured dining room / karaoke bar was empty when we arrived and we had to check they were open. But the place had a certain Thai style and I was already starting to warm to it.

We ordered a som dtam (ส้มตำ) which is my favourite Thai dish. Fresh, crunchy and warming it was slightly heavier on the lime juice than I'm used to but still pretty good. If a place makes a good som dtam the rest of the food is invariably good. I was hopeful for what was to come.

Our second dish was sai krok (ไส้กรอก) which is a street snack favourite. A Thai style sausage made with glutinous rice. The rice inside the sausage makes them filling little snacks. The sausage had a nice rich flavour with refreshing slices of pickled ginger on the side.

The third dish was another cafe favourite of laab ped (ลาบเป็ด). A salad of minced duck. The laab was my least favourite dish of the four. It wasn't bad, but it didn't have anything about it which particularly stood out.

Lizzie had called the Kai yiew mar kra pow krob ( ไข่เยี่ยวม้ากะเพรากรอบ) her favourite dish. We couldn't see it on the menu so in my broken Thai I gave it a crack and am pleased to say that we got the right thing! The blackened century eggs had been fried to give them a crispy coating. The eggs were the star, but went well with the minced pork and slightly sweet sauce. This was my favourite dish of the day.

Readers of the blog will know I love the authentic Thai flavours that I'm used to from Bangkok. The Heron was the best Thai I've eaten in London. The dishes tasted authentic without being standout examples. For the best Thai food outside of Thailand I'd still rate Chat Thai more highly. But it's not really a to compare places in London and Sydney. You can't exactly catch a cab between the two!

The Heron
Norfolk Cresecent
London
W2 2DU

Kindle 4: Initial thoughts

2012-01-01T14:00:00.000+11:00

I've been toying with the idea of getting a Kindle for the last twelve months, but something in my subconscious has been stopping me. I swap most of my books with friends and enjoy the occasional browsing in a bookshop. Both of which are hard or impossible with a Kindle.

I was also hesitant about the idea of taking a Kindle on holiday. I'll happily leave my book by the side of the pool and wander off without a second thought, but would be worried about a Kindle being pinched.

However, just before Christmas I decided to take the plunge and have been loving the Kindle experience so far.

In Apple-esque fashion it came with minimal packaging and accessories, and was very simple to set up. I'd connected it to a WiFi network and downloaded some books within a matter of seconds. It worked very smoothly.

It fits nicely in the hand and has a textured (rubber?) back which is tactile to hold. It is very light. There aren't too many different functions, but then you don't need a lot. It was simple to change the font size and text spacing which is about all I've wanted to do so far.

The screen is very clear and the e-ink means you don't get eye strain even when reading for long periods.

Of course there are a few niggles. I'd prefer it if the page 'turns' were marginally quicker. Every four or five turns the screen transitions through black before painting the next set of words. Something which I find annoying (although I'm not sure why). This version of the Kindle is better than the previous model which transitioned through black every page.

There are forward and back buttons on each side of the Kindle and the forward button is larger which makes sense. For me it would be more ergonomic for the scroll forward button to be on top, but it is in fact the other way round.

There are two features I'd like to see added (I'd love someone to let me if they are already there). Firstly, a clock at the top of the screen. Secondly, a bookmark feature would be useful so that multiple users could share a Kindle or you could read several books at the same time and quickly jump back to where you left off.

Best of all my mum made me a case to carry round my Kindle in.

Camelbak Hydrobak review

2011-12-31T02:36:00.000+11:00

A condition of entry into the Kedumba half marathon was that you carried your own water supply. I'd been toying with the idea of getting a hydration pack for a while so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I knew what I wanted; a small, lightweight pack that didn't move around while I was running. Getting recommendations was near on impossible though. It doesn't help that most hydration packs are designed for cyclists (still not worked out why) and finding running reviews was pretty tough.

I should give a hat tip to the Running and Rambling site which contains lots of reviews, but unfortunately most of the packs mentioned don't seem to be available in Sydney.

In the end I decided on the CamelBak Hydrobak as a bit of a random choice based on size and price. I've been getting on with it pretty well since I bought it.

The 1.5l reservoir sits high up in the small of your back. I was a bit concerned about movement as it didn't have any chest straps, however, I've found that it doesn't move around at all.

I haven't had any chaffing problems either. Although I must admit I haven't used it while running with a singlet yet just in case some chaffing did occur.

Apart from the compartment that carries the bladder there is a small pouch for your keys. I deliberately didn't want a pack with lots of pockets as it adds to bulk, however, some people could find this limiting.

One of the annoying features of the back is that when you have the straps fully tightening they trail down your back. I found that they can flap around annoyingly. I keep them tied up with elastic bands which is effective by not very elegant. I've seen other packs with loops and storage holes for the straps. It would be good if the hydrobak had something similar.

If you have the hose going across your body (which seems to be the most common method) it feels a bit like it is strangling you! As you can see from the middle two photos I've gone for an other the shoulder and under the same arm arrangement.

Now I'm used to it I find this perfectly ok, but it was a bit fiddly at first. Some of the latest hydration packs have magnets on the hose and the pack. This seems a much quicker and easier arrangement so I'm looking out for a set.

Two useful tips I've learnt from Youtube. Firstly, after filling it with water turn the pack upside down and suck all the air out of it. This really helps to reducing the bouncing around as the water has nowhere to 'slosh' to. Secondly, when not in use keep the bladder in the freezer. They are a nightmare to try and dry out fully and this prevents bacteria growing between uses.

Dreaming of a white Christmas

2011-12-21T21:44:00.001+11:00

I must remember for next year that the smart people head off on their summer holiday before Christmas. The last two and a half weeks have been the busiest of the year for me. I've been doing at least two people's jobs!

I've spent the last two Christmas' here in Australia, kindly adopted by the Unwin / Lidster's. Being able to run on the beach and dive into the ocean for a swim on Christmas Day has been wonderful.

But there is something that doesn't feel quite right unless it is cold at Christmas. I'm looking forward to getting back to the traditions of Christmas Eve with the neighbours, a warm beer in the pub and lunch round the family dining table.

I hope that you have a good one wherever you are.

Merry Christmas!

Marrickville Markets

2011-12-19T12:00:00.000+11:00

Marrickville Market has been on my to do list for a while. The markets are located in a transportation black hole which hasn't helped my cause in getting there. When a friend offered me a lift today I was quick to take them up on their offer.

The moment I stepped into the market I could tell that it had a great vibe. Markets to me are supposed to be eclectic and frankly a bit random. Just to show Marrickville could mix it with the best of them there was a stall selling socks wedged between fresh fruit and veg on one side and dim sum on the other. "I'll have two pairs of medium black sock, a hand of bananas and three steamed pork bun please!"

You don't think someone has been stealing milk crates do you?

There wasn't a consistent theme to the market, with the food coming from all regions. Lots of the stalls didn't even seem to have names which I thought was a refreshing change. No brands trying to push themselves on you. Some looked like they were being run by a couple of friends who had been doing a spot of baking at home.

More than just a market it seemed to be a destination. There were tables where you could sit and relax. We spent a bit of time lounging near the chai tent and watching people slip by.

There were a couple of musicians keeping people entertained too.

Admittedly I didn't buy a lot, but it was nice to have a mooch round. Hopefully I'll make it back someday. Or bribe my friend with another fresh coconut into giving me a lift...

Restaurant Review: Marque, Surry Hills

2011-12-17T22:19:00.001+11:00

It took me over a year to work out the discreet restaurant nestled between Bills and Billy Kwongs was Surry Hill's Marque. I had a second eureka moment, when I realised that Marque's kitchen is also responsible for Sydney's hottest toilet.

Sydney's top fine diners usually come at a hefty price, but Marque's $45 lunch special has to be the city's best value meal. Even after they've charged you for water (an environmental stance I definitely approve of) you can escape for $50.

In both my experiences at Marque I've been wowed by the outstanding cooking and taken by surprise at the presentation. Last time the borscht came served as a jelly instead of a soup. This time the squid and black rice risotto came turned on its head. The black rice was pureed and squid cut so finely that it became the 'risotto'.

The favourite dish at the table was the Sauternes custard that came served in a trademark eggshell. The smooth and soft custard was covered in a caramel sauce laced with Sauternes.

The only opinion divider was the dessert of Tzar Alexander ice cream, bergamot and peach. Individually I wasn't a fan of the begamot, ice cream or sprinkled matcha. However, ruining the presentation, and giving it a good old mix brought together a perfect balance of flavours

Marque is an easy addition to my Top Eats page. You should all save up your pennies, skip work for a couple of hours and go. It really is that good value.

Amuse bouche of mushroom duxele and beetroot

Squid, black rice and watercress

Sauternes custard

Bergamot cream, chocolate, matcha, Tzar Alexandre ice cream and peach

Marque

355 Crown St

Surry Hills

Sydney, 2010

Are bananas good for hydration?

2011-12-13T20:59:00.001+11:00

For the past six to nine months I've been feeling permanently dehydrated. A thirst that just wouldn't go away.

At first I thought it was all the run training I was doing during summer for the Great Ocean Road and then Gold Coast marathons. But even as winter descended and I stopped training, I couldn't get rid of the thirst.

I've tried all sorts of daily supplements, been adding increasing amounts of salt to my food and even visited a specialist sports dietitian. Nothing seemed to work.

Then a couple of weeks ago, one of the instructors at my gym mentioned the importance of eating a banana before the class to help with hydration. I knew bananas were good for slow release energy, but they can stop you feeling thirsty too?

Some researching on the internet led me to an article on Livestrong about the importance of potassium and magnesium that can be found in bananas.

I stopped eating my daily banana when the price shot up at the start of the year. I've been eating them again for three weeks and am pleased to report I do feel a lot better.

It all seems quite obvious now, I wish I'd thought of it sooner!

Restaurant Review: York Lane, Sydney CBD

2011-12-11T10:00:00.000+11:00

Our Melbourne cousins have long since perfected lane way development. Packing alley ways between the city's main streets with funky cafes and independent bars.

In the last twelve months we've seen a number of small bars open up in Sydney, but not many in actual lane ways*. That is until York Lane opened ten weeks ago.

They're certainly putting in the effort at York Lane. Open from 6:30 for early morning coffees, it transitions into a lunch spot, before finally morphing into a small bar for drinking the night away.

The interior is made almost exclusively from recycled materials. The back wall is lined with wardrobe doors, the shelving units are made from Qantas trolley's and railway sleepers are underfoot.

I couldn't quite decide if, as the chirpy barista told us, York Lane was put together on a tight budget. Or it was the product of an expensive interior designer going for the classic Melbourne look. But when it works, why worry?

The menu consists of small tapas plates designed for sharing. We started with the Peking Duck Pancakes. It was difficult to spot any duck through the abundant fresh vegetables when the wraps arrived. Never fear, there was plenty of duck and sticky hoisin sauce nestled at the base of the wraps. As so often is the case, the sauce made the 'pancakes'.

Next up were the were the pea and haloumi fritters. The fritters had been layered on top of each other which made them lose any crunch they might have had. Mild and arguably indistinct flavours made these the least favourite dish.

My selection was the chorizo and bean stew and it was a top choice! The beans were mildly flavoured with onion and thyme. The char grilled chorizo provided both texture and robust flavours to contrast with the beans. The stew was served with toast slathered in butter.

The bbq chicken wings were very moist. Deceptively mild to begin with the heat from the marinade was a 'builder'.

We couldn't resist the pork belly after seeing it being served to a couple of nearby tables. Served at room temperature the pork had a beautiful porky and appley flavour. Pleasingly the crackling had retained a good crunch. Along with the chorizo, the pork belly was a highlight, definitely two dishes to order again.

York Lane are pioneering Sydney's lane way development and they deserve to be applauded. It was a bold move to open in an alley way that is still a long way from being gentrified. York Lane are doing a lot right.

Viva la revolucion!

*I'd originally written "none in an actual lane way" which was of course a silly thing to say, as per Miss Piggy's comments.

York Lane,
Sydney,
2000

Grandma J, 1916 - 2011

2011-12-08T21:21:00.000+11:00

I always had a sense that my grandmother came from a completely different age to me. She lived her whole life in and around the same town. Coming from a generation where women didn't go out to work.

Afternoon tea was an everyday ritual at Grandma's house and her orange cake is one of my favourite things. A good cook, she liked eating out too. My grandparents used to go out for lunch a couple of times a week until quite recently. Perhaps that's where I get some of my passion for cooking and eating?

She had a keen interest in current affairs, particularly politics. She liked to know your opinion on a subject and would always ask where you stood on one of the issues of the day. She had a good sense of fun and a streak of cheekiness.

Remarkably she lived in her own home until the last week of her life and was (almost) as sharp as ever. Married for over sixty five years she received two wedding anniversary cards from the Queen. Not many people can say that.

Her love and support for me was unconditional. I was her "favourite grandson". (In truth I was the only grandson, but don't let that get in the way of a good story.)

Grandma you will be missed.

xxx

Project Sourdough: Bourke St Bakery and River Cottage Handbook

2011-12-07T07:28:00.000+11:00

I have purchased two books to help me on my journey baking with natural yeast. I've learnt a lot from their detailed descriptions of ingredients, methods and techniques. There is no substitute for asking advice from and sharing tips with fellow bakers. Forums and youtube videos have their place too. However books are where most of us start, so I thought I would record my thoughts on the two books I have used.

The Bourke St Bakery cookbook is about a lot more than just bread. The first half of the book is dedicated breads (sourdough, derivative and yeasted), with the rest split between pies, sausage rolls and sweet treats. My thoughts are focused solely on bready sections of the book.

The good:
The book contains a lot of detail to help out the new baker. There are detailed descriptions of each step in the process. Useful photographs to accompany the descriptions. I found these details a useful reference as I was building up my confidence.

It may only be five pages long, but the section of the book on how to create a starter and feed it in preparation for baking, is the best I've seen.

The book contained approximate timings as well as what to look out for in each step of the process. Overtime you use the timings less and 'touch and feel' more. But the timings are useful for the virgin baker.

There is a really good selection of recipes. Basic breads, different mixes of flours and suggested extras to add to your bread (e.g. the fruit bread). You could happily bake from this book for a long time without needing to go anywhere else for inspiration.

The bad:
The Bourke St Bakery book is written from a professional standpoint that makes very little accommodation for the domestic baker. I worked out several of their timing schedules and they had you up at 4am baking. That might be how a professional bakery operates, but the domestic cook wants something a bit more sociable!

I found the book quite intimidating at times. You feel that you must prove your bread at 25-27 degress with 80% humidity otherwise it is going to fail. I've learnt that you can be quite a lot more relaxed with the whole process and still produce great results.

I read the River Cottage Handbook second and this inevitably impacts my thoughts. I wasn't such a nervous baker when I read this book and was looking for different things as a result. Unlike Bourke St Bakery which focuses more on sourdough, natural yeast makes up a relatively small portion of the River Cottage Handbook. However, there are still lots of tips to be taken from the book.

The good:
The River Cottage Handbook it is a homestyle book. It is written with an infectious enthusiasm for bread, there is none of the intimidation of the Bourke St Bakery book. It makes you want to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.

Different hints and tips come across as a result. I'd never heard of the sponge method before I read this book.

I liked the minimalist / green / ethical approach of the book.Why would you buy specialist equipment when you can just as easily 'make do and mend' with items you already have in your kitchen?

Like Bourke St there are also detailed sections on the techniques of bread making.

It had a whole section on how to build you own clay oven. It's a dream of mine to have a clay oven in my back garden one day.

The bad:
The sourdough section of the book is relatively small. There are only five different sourdough recipes and none of the variation of flavours and added ingredients Bourke St has.

It is difficult to judge fully as I read this book second when I already knew quite a bit about sourdough. However, I've got concerns that if this was my only book it wouldn't have answered all my questions as a newbie baker.

Worth a mention as well is Matthew Evan's The Real Food Companion. He has a great chapter on the different types of flour and their uses. There is only a few paragraphs on sourdough, however, they contain lots of useful tips for the less regular baker on storing your starter in the fridge and even freezing some.

Restaurant Review: Bistro Avoca, Randwick

2011-12-05T06:30:00.000+11:00

Thanks to Charlotte Foot PR and Bistro Avoca for inviting me to their bloggers dinner on Tuesday night.

With the Randwick locals flocking to the bistro midweek, there wasn't a free table in the front room of the restaurant when I arrived. With crisp white linen and a subdued interior, it stands out from Randwick's strip of cheap ethnic eats.

The menu is modern Australian with a few Thai dishes scattered in for good measure. Not your generic Australian-Thai, but some authentic punchy flavours reminiscent of my visit to Sailors Thai. The Mod Oz dishes were good too, with my scallops perfectly cooked and the vegetables nicely al dente. I would be interested to know where the chef learnt his diverse skills from.

Avoca is a place that you need to visit hungry as the serving sizes are very generous. The starters could pass off as main courses in other restaurants and you will never have seen a pannacotta so huge!

The food was all attractively presented with lots of technique being demonstrated on every plate. My only criticism is that a couple of the dishes would have benefited from more seasoning to bring out their flavour. The under seasoning seemed an odd omission when virtually every other detail had been attended to so perfectly.

The Thai oyster shots with fresh herbs, ginger, garlic, chilli, lemongrass & nam jim was my favourite dish of the evening. A heady smell of fish sauce, crunch from the lemongrass and salty oyster to finish. A bit too big to knock back in one go the shots came served with mini forks. A truly inventive dish.

The Seared sea scallops, cauliflower puree, bacon crumble and pesto oil looked devine. The scallops were perfectly cooked. However, I couldn't help feeling a little underwhelmed by the dish. I wanted more flavour. The cauliflower puree would have been enhanced by more seasoning, a stronger pesto oil and a coarser bacon crumb to provide a more textural element.

My main course was the Black Angus steak, Irish colcannon, asparagus, sugar snap peas and red wine jus. The steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare and the sugar snap peas were nicely al dente. It might not come across in the photo, but the serving was very generous and the steak enormous. I would have appreciated it if the steak had been more strongly seasoned and the jus was a bit richer.

The humble rocket, pear and parmesan salad was a triumph. There were generous amounts of pear and parmesan folded all the way through the rocket so that you got a bit of everything in each mouthful. I'd definitely order it again.

The table went dessert crazy. From the specials board I chose the Sticky toffee pudding, stuffed dates, butterscotch sauce and ice cream. I enjoyed the pistachio stuffed dates and the pudding. The butterscotch sauce was too rich for me.

Simon ordered the affogato which he described as coming "with a decent amount of ice cream". An understatement in my book! I haven't seen a 'mix your own' affogato before, but I think that is how they all should be. The ice cream is often melted by the time it arrives at the table in my experience.

The coconut pannacotta, lime jelly and fresh mango, coconut biscotti was an opinion divider. Laura wasn't a fan, while Charlotte and I both really liked it. I had a couple of mouthfuls managing to get a bit of the toasted coconut, fresh mango, jelly and pannacotta in each one and thought it worked really well. Particularly the toasted coconut. I tasted more green apple than lime in the jelly, but won't be holding that against it!

When I looked at my watch at the end of the night I was surprised to see we'd been seated for an enjoyable and relaxing three hours. We don't seem to have many bistro style restaurants in Sydney. I think the French would be impressed by this Australian interpretation of le bistro. Good food, good value and a relaxing and unhurried atmosphere. I just wish they'd season like the French too!

Bistro Avoca
133 Avoca St
Randwick, 2031

Whisky Night: Johnnie Walker Blue Label

2011-12-03T08:30:00.000+11:00

My run of three Scotch events in a fortnight culminated with the DTWC Whisky Night last Saturday. I missed the previous club night and it felt like ages since I'd been to a get together.

The two Matt's have been dabbling with their own home brew. Before we cracked out the whisky Matt C gave me a glass of his Northwest Pale Ale. I really enjoyed the beer and it reminded me of the Samuel Adams I used to drink while I was in New York. If I was in a bar I'd have happily bought another one. I said so, which I think pleased Matt quite a bit!

Club funds had been used to buy a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label for the evening. We started by blind tasting the Blue Label alongside a dram of Johnnie Walker Black Label. The threat being that if we got it wrong we'd be on the cheap stuff all night!

We all managed to guess correctly, but the consensus round the table was that the Johnnie Blue wasn't worth the money. The Blue ($180) was a very smooth whisky. It is a bit of a contradiction. The whisky doesn't have any big flavour characteristics, however, the blend gives it complexity. I would never describe it as boring and it has a very smooth finish.

The Black ($40), to my untrained palate, was similar in many ways. Like it's elder brother there were no big distinguishing flavours. It wasn't as complex or as smooth, with a slightly harsh finish. However, it was still a very drinkable whisky.

I don't think any of us felt the $140 price difference was justified. Astonishingly the Blue Label has recently been reduced from nearly $300 in price! Definitely not a bad whisky and if you want a smooth easy drinker you could do a lot worse. However, if I had $180 to spend it would probably go somewhere a bit more challenging. You wouldn't have caught me writing that two years ago!

A great boys night, aside from the mosquitoes trying to eat us alive on the back deck. Lots of banter and advice on married life!

Project Sourdough: Air bubbles part 2

2011-12-01T06:30:00.000+11:00

Do you see those glorious air bubbles?

A quick follow up to my post on the elusive texture of sourdough. Speaking to Matt from Brasserie Bread and Tammi from the blogging conference I decided to give an extra long final prove a try.

I left the dough to prove for four / five hours in my banneton while I went out drinking whisky. The loaf had my best texture yet.

I had some great comments to my last post including the exotic sounding slap and fold technique which I'm yet to try.

I think some bread can be a bit ridiculous with air bubbles so large the contents of your sandwich are likely to fall through. I'd like to go for a bit more of an open texture still, but I'm nearly there.

Glenmorangie Masterclass @ Oak Barrel

2011-11-29T06:30:00.000+11:00

Last Wednesday I went to a Glenmorangie masterclass at Oak Barrel. The bottle shop is firmly cementing itself as my favourite in Sydney.

What made the evening was my conversation with manager Simon at the end of the night. Simon had read the tweets I sent to Oak Barrel and was genuinely seeking feedback to help them improve. He was remarkably open to our probing questions (including on pricing). I think it's quite rare to find someone prepared to be as transparent about their business.

During the night we got to try eight Glenmorangie whiskies, which is more or less the entire range. We also got to try some of their chocolate malted barley which is integral part of the flavour profile of their Signet whisky.

In my eyes, the event wasn't as good as the Laphroaig night I attended last month. The host was an LVMH representative. He dropped in a few interesting facts during the evening, but didn't have a true passion for the subject. He also wasn't a natural presenter, rather quiet and failed to hold the audience during the evening. The young crowd was very talkative which made it difficult to hear what was being said. Disrespectful of the audience, but I can't help feeling a more experienced presenter would have got the room under control.

My favourite whisky was the first one we tasted, the Glenmorangie Orignal. I decided to score the whiskies during the night for a bit of fun. I started with an arbitrary five, thinking this would give me room to move up and down during the evening. It turned out to get quite crowded in the sub-five category as I started with what turned out to be my favourite!

Original - 5
Lasanta - 4
Qunita Ruban - 3
Nector D'Or - 2.5
18yr Old - 3
25yr Old - 3.5
Signet - 5
Astar - 4.5

I gave the Original and the Signet the same score. They are two very different whiskies, both in style and price, so it is hard to directly compare. At $75, contrasted with $200, if I was going to buy one. It would have to be the Original.

Friend, 'The Baron', has reviewed the evening over on DTWC.

Restuarant Review: Café Sopra, Sydney CBD

2011-11-26T08:51:00.001+11:00

Fratelli Fresh have brought an outpost of their smart Café Sopra restaurants to the city. Conveniently located next to my office, opposite the ASX and underneath the Steersons steakhouse, I met up with Simon and one of his colleagues for lunch to check it out.

The cavernous basement space was a lot larger than I expected it to be. It was popular at midday too. I reckon that the best seats in the house would be at the bar looking into the kitchen or at the large round table which seats ten. Unfortunately on a busy Tuesday we were seated in a small alcove near the back of the restaurant.

I've learnt that you need to arrive hungry to a lunch with Simon as he likes to sample quite a bit of the menu. Not that you'll hear me complaining about that!

We started with the zucchini flowers. Beautifully presented with grated Parmesan liberally scattered over the top, the batter was nice and crisp with a creamy cheese filling. Some lemon zest, fresh herbs or a pinch of pepper folded through the soft filling would have added more excitement for me.

We also ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad to share. In my view Australian tomatoes aren't up to much. They certainly have enough sun, but my theory is that the lack of deep alluvial soils is a problem. Italian tomatoes have a big and intense flavour. Australian ones don't. If you can't source the quality produce why attempt a dish like this? At $18 it wasn't cheap and the ratio of mozzarella to tomato was a bit low.

As a main I chose the orecchietti with sausage, peas and mint. When it arrived at the table I thought the bowl of pasta was quite small. Looks can be deceiving as I couldn't finish it! The fresh peas nestling in the ears of pasta and small surprises of sausage worked well. The sauce was very rich and could have done with a big squeeze of lemon to help cut through the richness and make it feel a bit lighter. If I'm splitting hairs, quite a few of the ears of pasta were stuck together and a little over cooked for my liking.

Simon ordered the bolognaise. He was kind enough to give me a taste. The sauce was very dark and intense. It tasted quite heavily of tomato paste to me. I only had two mouthfuls, but fear it would taste quite same-y for a whole dish.

Dom ordered the Waldorf Salad. The light and fresh salad looked fabulous. Unfortunately Dom bit into some walnut shell that had snuck into the salad. Our friendly waiter Remy was very apologetic and we received the salad and two desserts complimentary as a result. Very good customer service I thought.

Reading my previous review of the Café Sopra in Waterloo I remarked "my sister's version (of banoffee pie) has a thinner biscuit base and more bananas which I prefer". I though the biscuit was was just right this time and had the perfect ratio of toffee. It still needs more bananas though.

I did like you Café Sopra. You are trying to use great produce to cook high quality fresh food. That should be respected. Not all of the flavours were to my liking, but that might just have been my palate.

There are a few things that would make me hesitate before I visited again. Big chalk boards are part of your style, but they don't really work in a space sub-divided into so many small areas. Can we have some menus please? I like a light lunch so I don't fall asleep during the afternoon. My boss doesn't like it. Could you make your pastas a bit less rich? I know this makes me sound old, but a busy restaurant and hard concrete surfaces bounce the sound around. It made it quite noisy. I like to have a natter with my friends over lunch. Perhaps a few soft furnishings to capture the sound?

Fratelli Fresh / Café Sopra
11 Bridge St
Sydney
2000

World of Whisky: What is whisky? Tasting event

2011-11-25T06:30:00.000+11:00

This post was originally published on the Distant Thunder Whisky Club site. For posterity (?) I thought I'd publish it here as well.

The six whiskies we tasted

On Sunday fellow club member The Dog and I went to the World of Whisky in Double Bay, Sydney, Australia for their What is whisky? tasting event.

I hadn't been to the World of Whisky shop before. It is bright and stylish with rows of back lit bottles arranged by region. The selection is pretty impressive with a range of familiar whiskies and several distilleries I haven't heard of before.

Speaking to the owner he's pretty open that he can't compete on price with the likes of Dan Murphy's and Vintage Cellars. World of Whisky is trying to carve out a niche for themselves by exclusively importing some Scotch whiskies that you can't get anywhere else in Australia.

They also have a large tasting shelf with around 50 open bottles. A polite request opened everything that we asked to try. You don't find that at one of the big chains.

Inside of the shop

The tasting event started with an overview of the process of making whisky. Although I've heard similar things before I'd say this was the most comprehensive and easiest to understand. Perfectly pitched for those new to whisky.

We tasted six whiskies during the event. We started in the Highlands with Tullibardine, moving through Speyside with the Glenfarclas 8yr old, onto the Lowlands with an Auchentoshan and our Scottish journey finishing in Isla with the Bowmore 12yr old.

After Scotland we jumped across the Irish sea to sample a Turk Beg and then finishing in India with the Amrut.

A MaCallan 50yr old. Sadly not on offer for testing. Yours for $25,000

I didn't think any of the whiskies we tried were particularly remarkable. However, as an event aimed at those who are new to whisky it is hardly surprising they didn't crack out the premium tastings. Also, tasting the peated Bowmore fourth ruined my palate for the un-peated Irish whisky which followed. A bit of a basic mistake I thought.

Overall if it was a good afternoon. After the official tasting had finished the 'shelf' was opened up. I tasted a cracking whisky that will be my choice the next time I host a whisky night....

The Converted

Kedumba Half Marathon: Race Notes

2011-11-23T06:30:00.000+11:00

A bit like Danny Wallace, I'm currently saying Yes! to everything. When my friend Trish asked me if I wanted to run the Kedumba half marathon I instinctively said yes. I thought a run in the Blue Mountains would be lovely and scenic.

When I hopped into the car on Saturday morning Trish handed me the race pack. As I checked for the directions some worrying phrases started leaping out at me. If "Strap yourself in for... the toughest half marathon in Australia" wasn't enough to put me off, "approximately 800m of elevation change" definitely had me feeling queasy.

To give you some perspective, 800m is equivalent to climbing up 2,900 steps to the top of a 160 storey building. And I was just about to run up 800m. Gulp.

The start of the race had a relaxed and family atmosphere reminiscent of the Sutherland Half Marathon I did in August. Around one hundred and fifty of us assembled at the start line. At exactly 07:30 we were off.

The race was on a gravel fire trail through the bush. It started with a slight rise before descending constantly for the first 10km. On the first descent I realised I was using more energy 'braking' than letting myself go. Off I went flying down the hills. It was quite enjoyable to be running downhill, although I was conscious that I was still using quite a lot of energy and my heart rate wasn't as low as I would have liked.

Three sections of the track were too steep for me to safely 'fly' down, so I had to slow down to stay in control. There were amazing views of the forest and down into the valley below.

When we got to the valley floor the course flattened out and we had to cross the Kedumba river before turning round ready to re-trace our steps. My calves were burning. I stopped briefly in the river to try and cool them down and to splash some water on my face. How on earth was I going to get back up?

I should have tried to stay fresh going downhill. However, I'd been running far too quickly and the unfamiliar terrain had given me quite a few aches.

As I approached the first hill I noticed that one of the Running Wild club members was walking and not running back up it. I decided to do the same, mentally justifying it to myself that I couldn't run and eat my energy gel at the same time.

This more experienced trail runner, who was constantly 20-50 meters ahead of me, was my saviour on the way back up. When he walked, I walked. When he started running again, I marked the tree and did the same thing.

It took enormous physical and mental energy to start running again when the ground flattened out. I was soaking wet with sweat, heart pounding and feeling a little dizzy. When I started running again I felt ok, it was just near impossible to get going. I can't convey how mentally hard it was.

If I am going to do more bush running I will need to quickly learn how to judge gradients and work out which hills to walk and which to run.

The final drink station was 5km from the finish. It was tough to start running again after I had stopped for a couple of glasses of water. Several people in front of me used their final reserves of energy to run up the last hill. I didn't have enough gas left in the tank so had to walk. I did, however, manage to sprint the final 500m which was level / downhill.

Just after I crossed the line one of the event organisers came up and shook my hand. I'm taking this as a sign that I did well for a first timer.

It took about 20mins for the pain to fade before the selective memory started to kick in. It wasn't that bad really! The views were stunning! What an achievement!

The data from my watch is here.
My total time was 1hr 58min 22sec. I ran the first 10km in 43min and the second in 70mins. No negative splits this time,

The official results are here. My official time was 1hr 58min 41sec. This placed me 22nd from 161 finishers. Twentieth in the men's race.

Restaurant Review: Mamak Village, Glebe

2011-11-20T17:13:00.000+11:00

It was the hottest day of spring so far and I was already perspiring before I put any of the spicy rendang in my mouth. There was quite a bit of brow mopping going on....

I've wanted to visit Mamak Village since I first read John's review back in January. I've previously attempted to visit but Marlina wouldn't cross the threshold as the Malaysian crew hadn't given it their seal of approval. A solo lunch after the Homebush 10k provided the perfect opportunity to try it out.

I'd agree with the consensus view that their roti aren't as tissue like as those at the famous Mamak in China Town. However, I still enjoyed the roti canai with the three accompanying sauces. A fiery tomato based sauce, a sticky spicy chutney type affair and a milder more complex green sauce.

To accompany my roti I ordered the nasi lemak lunch special, which is available with either curry chicken or beef rendang. The coconut rice lived up to its name with a nutty fragrance and mild coconut taste. The salty, crunchy side of peanuts and fried fish went down nicely, as did the pickled carrots.

Then there was the main event, a generous serving of beef rendang. As you may have guessed from the perspiring brow, it was a little hot for me. However, even through the heat I could tell it wasn't solely a one dimensional chilli spice, with a complexity of flavour going on.

Mamak Village seem to have bumped up their prices since they first opened in January. The roti canai is now $5 instead of $4. Might not sound like much, but it is a 25% increase. At one time most of the menu seemed to be available as a $10 lunch special, that's now restricted to one dish.

However, at $15 for a hearty lunch with so many complex flavours going I don't begrudge the price rises. It still seemed like good value.

I've always been a bit bemused by the long queues outside Mamak in the city as I don't think the food really warrants the line. Mamak Village would be more deserving of the queues in my view, but Glebe isn't a 'burb where that is likely to happen.

Mamak Village
25 Glebe Point Road
Glebe
Sydney
2037

Beach Baby @ Salerno Gallery

2011-11-19T15:06:00.001+11:00

Three weeks after the Gold Coast marathon I was in the best physical shape of my life. A promise was made and I found myself balancing on a chair in a cold and drafty artist's studio in Newtown. Professional artist, and running friend Jennie, was lying on the floor taking photos looking up at me. But that's normal right?

You've all had similar experiences?

You have, haven't you??

Oh good. I was beginning to think it might just have been me.

Jennie has been painting 1950's female swimsuits for a couple of years now. This year she has teamed up with Aussie swimwear brand Funky Trunks to start painting some male bathers too. Roping in three of us to do some modelling for her.

It was a fun, but an incredibly self conscious experience. Jennie has been very kind in hiding the curves and emphasising toned muscles which aren't really there.

I went to the opening of her exhibition at the Salerno Gallery on Thursday night. There are four paintings of me. Not good for the ego I didn't get any red dots on the night. Hopefully someone will buy me before the end of the exhibition!

This Year's Ashes @ Griffin Theatre

2011-11-17T06:30:00.000+11:00

On Monday night I went to the stylishly small Griffin Theatre in Kings Cross to see This Year's Ashes. The recently re-furbished theatre was intimate, small and thankfully air conditioned on a bakingly hot Sydney evening.

The tag lines for the play tell you all you really need to know:
There are rules in this city
Never bring them back to your place
Never more than three shags
Never tell them your real name
Never mention the cricket
Never (ever) cry

A cast of just three people tell the story of Ellen (Belinda Bromilow) who is still working through the grief of losing her father, played by Tony Llewellyn-Jones, two years previously.

Alone in Sydney, Ellen seeks to deal with her grief through alcohol and a series of one night stands. All of the 'boyfriends' are, slightly confusingly, played by Nathan Lovejoy. His characters weren't clearly distinguished and sometimes I wasn't sure if he was a new fling or not. Oh, and just so you know, there is some full frontal male nudity.

The play left me feeling underwhelmed. I'm not sure what the writer wanted us to take away from the play. None of the intersecting stories of Ellen's relationship with her father, overcoming her grief or the relationship with Adam were particularly compelling. I was disappointed with the character development, I would have liked to have seen more of a journey from Ellen's character.

The acting was solid, but I don't think the script really gave them the opportunity to shine.

I doubt that my 'review' has inspired you to go and watch This Year's Ashes and with the seasoning ending on 19th November there isn't much time left.

However, the charming Griffin Theatre is sure to entice me back. As long as they get rid of the cockroach that was crawling round the stage during the second half....

Jon Muir, Australian explorer

2011-11-15T06:30:00.000+11:00

Until last night I thought eccentrics were a uniquely British phenomenon. On Saturday I learnt that Australian's have them too. The explorer Jon Muir is definitely an eccentric.

British charity The Adventurist organise wacky escapades like racing across India in auto rickshaws or driving to the Arctic Circle in a motorbike with sidecar in order to raise money for charity. As a promotional event The Adenturist had organised a lecture by Jon Muir.

The evening was all a bit random. British themed, with an Australian guest speaker. Afternoon tea was served, but it was held in the evening. Located in the Police and Justice museum, which has nothing to do with adventure. Sponsorsed by Hendriks gin was left field.

What wasn't random was Jon Muir's speech. He held the audience captivated for over an hour with his humorous and self deprecating stories. He spent his early life climbing some of the world's toughest mountains. What did you feel when you reached the top of Everest? Relief, I'd been desperate for a leak for hours. I took a piss and then had a cigarette.

Once he'd finished climbing mountains Jon visited both poles unaided, facing down polar bears along the way.

It looks cold

Inside Australia Jon is the only man to have traversed the continent solo and on foot. Constantly searching for water and eating rotting carcasses along the way. It's amazing what you'll eat when you're hungry.

His list of achievement is amazing, but he seems to be someone not many people have heard of. Australian's you really should be proud.

After the speech the Hendricks gin started flowing freely. It wasn't just Darjeeling in the tea cups.

A big thanks to Simon for inviting me as plus one for the night.

Cronulla run and The Nuns' Pool Café

2011-11-13T11:58:00.001+11:00

I had just been running along a sandy beach and then dived straight into the ocean pool. It was an experience that was quintessentially Australian. Something that I could never do back home.

In the UK I don't live near the coast, the majority of our beaches are pebbly and the weather too inclement to be diving into the ocean on spring days. It certainly was a top Aussie experience.

Why was I in Cronulla's Oak Park ocean pool? When I ran the Sutherland half marathon back in August I was lucky enough to win a pair of shoes from a run shop in Cronulla. The voucher expires on 1st December, so a group of us from the run club headed down on Saturday so I could collect my shoes.

After our swim we popped across the road to The Nuns' Pool café. I couldn't face putting my wet and sandy trainers back on when I got out of the pool. I headed to the café bare foot. It would never be allowed in the UK, but you can get away with such antics in Australia's beach side joints.

The bright and open space had clean white walls and large open windows facing the water. The compact menu had lots of appealing choices. I decided on the scrambled eggs and bacon which came served on sourdough with roasted tomatoes. The eggs were light and creamy, not dissimilar to Bills. High praise indeed. Despite the bacon being attractively charred it could have done with a bit more flavour for my liking. They could learn a thing or two from Revolver's delicious sumac cured bacon.

The Nuns' Pool wouldn't be out of place in one of Sydney's smart suburbs. Next time I'm back on Cronulla I know where I'll be going.

The Nuns Pool
103 Ewos Parade
Cronulla
NSW
2230

Eat. Drink. Blog. Conference 2011

2011-11-11T06:06:00.000+11:00

Wow, I think I'm still recovering from the Eat. Drink. Blog. conference that I attended on Saturday. It was an amazing, intense and exhausting thirteen hours. But I wouldn't have missed it!

Increasing numbers of people blog these days. I'm lucky enough to be friends with other bloggers. Whenever we meet up it is rare, if ever, that we give each other constructive feedback or discuss new media issues. Which is odd when you think that all types of bloggers give plenty of opinions in virtually every post. I don't think I'm alone in not discussing the 'art of blogging'.

The Eat. Drink. Blog conference sought to put that right. When I told people I was going to a food blogging conference they expressed envy that I'd be spending the day gorging on fabulous food. While there was some great food, we spent the day gorging on seminars about the less thought of topics involved in blogging. Copyright, deformation, search engine optimisation, writing skills, professional blogging, food culture and ethics. I haven't taken so many notes since I sat in a university lecture.

Lots to think about and there may be some changes to my blog as a result. I'm still digesting everything.

In addition to the seminars there were a number of masterclasses / workshops. During the meat masterclass we saw a whole lamb butchered. It looked deceptively easy and I now have the urge to buy a whole lamb! I also attended the crab and bread masterclass. It was great to meet Matt and Sarah from Brasserie Bread again to get some tips for my sourdough project.

I'll admit I was a bit nervous on my way to the conference as I only knew a couple of people from the eighty seven attendees. However, it was great to meet several people I've been reading for a while or to have a decent natter with people I've met once or twice before. I shouldn't have worried, food bloggers are a lovely bunch. Food club meets camera club. Perfect.

An enormous thank you to Jen, Reem, Simon and Trina for organising a fabulous day. If I was exhausted attending, I can't begin to imagine what it was like to put together. I take my hats off to them.

Pace running for the Homebush 10k

2011-11-09T06:30:00.000+11:00

Most people start running shorter distances and build up to something bigger. I started with three marathons before running my first 'half'. On Sunday I stepped down again taking part in the Homebush 10km.

Rather than running this race for myself I agreed to pace run my friend Linda who was aiming for a sub 45min time. Pace running brings quite a lot of pressure, I had to be able to run a 45min time comfortably. Wheezing across the line in 50mins wouldn't really cut it.

I turned to the trusty Hal Higdon and have been loosely following his advanced 10km program. A couple of weeks ago I managed a 41m 50sec ten kilometers and have done several grueling sprint sessions. Phew, at least I know I can do it!

It was the hottest day of spring so far on Sunday morning and running was pretty sticky.

I felt pretty comfortable during the run and tried to maintain as even a pace as possible. Finishing in the Olympic stadium was fun, it's just a shame they don't have the running track down any more.

I made it across the line in precisely 45mins, but unfortunately Linda's time was 45mins 20secs.

I can't quite decide if I think my pace running was a success or failure. What is a pace runner actually supposed to do? I ran an even pace and hit my time exactly. But would a more experienced pace runner have successfully coached their shadow across the line?

I'm quite keen to run another 10km. Could I do it in under 40mins?

The official race result is here. I was within the top 7% of runners, which isn't bad considering I was taking it easy.

The data from my watch is here.

Restaurant Review: Xanthi, Sydney

2011-11-07T07:18:00.002+11:00

The former Greek restaurant Perama in Petersham was one of my top eats. The banquet menu was excellent for groups and I used to recommend the place without hesitation. I was curious, and a little bit sad, when I heard that the Perama crew were shutting up shop and relocating to the Westfield shopping centre to open Xanthi. Would they be selling out? Or raising their prices dramatically?

I met up with Simon and two other friends to find out. The tiled outside of the kitchen is very cool and reminiscent of sun kissed Greece. However, I was a little bit less sure of the interior. I couldn't quite decide if the drapes and carpeted booths looked traditional or just a bit cheap?

Enough of my dodgy interior design critique. How was the food? Seven out of ten by my reckoning. Simon was keen to order a 200ml bottle of ouzo which comes with three ouzomezedakia (share plates). Rather than ordering any main dishes we ordered seven further of the share plates which was a great way to sample a range of food from the menu.

I thought seven of the share plates were hits and three not quite so good (hence my score). My highlights were the sheftalies: spiced pork meatballs, loukanika: Greek style sausages and the school prawns. They all had unique flavours, great textures and left me wanting more.

The only dish that wasn't really worth the effort was the calamari. It arrived 20mins after everything else and only after prompting the staff a couple of times. When it did appear the calamari was chewy and then appeared on our bill twice! In fairness the bill was swiftly corrected when we highlighted the error and the staff were very apologetic about the delay giving us a complimentary glass of dessert wine.

Overall I really enjoyed Xanthi. Seven hits and three average (not bad) dishes really is a good score. I'm pleased to report that the prices were reasonable too, the total bill came to $99. The waiters were friendly and helpful with recommendations, especially the smiling Spyros and restaurant manager Rachel.

I've already been recommending Xanthi and have added it to my top eats page.

The pork meatballs were one of my favourites. They had a home style, open texture and a mild flavour from the herbs.

I would have believed the smoked and cured lamb cutlets were actually pork if you'd given them to me blind folded. The smoked flavour made me think of German sausages. The Greek sausages were another hit. One of my three favourite dishes.

The school prawns were another one of my favourites. There was a sweetness from the honeyed almonds and crunch from the prawns. Moorish. The croquettes were one of my three disappointments. They were a bit bland for me.

The zucchini fritters were a little bit gluggy. My second disappointment. Mum certainly knows how to make vine leaves though.

The calamari was late and chewy when it did arrive. However, the ice cream baklava was a fine end to the meal.

Xanthi Bar and Restaurant
100 Market St
Level 6, Westfield
Sydney
2000

Project Sourdough: Air bubbles, the elusive texture

2011-11-05T06:51:00.001+11:00

My sourdough looks like this...

I really want it to look like this...

Can you see those beautiful, gloriously large air bubbles? I'm sure you're not looking at anything else!

One of the trade marks of a sourdough loaf is to have an open texture. My loaves so far have been a lot denser. They aren't bad dense / heavy, they just aren't as open as I'd like.

My tinkering has made me increasingly happy with the flavour, crust and shaping of my loaves, but the texture still eludes me. I've been trying a few different things, none of which seem to have worked so far. Fellow bakers I need your help!

Oven spring
The theory, as I understand it, is they the first ten minutes in the oven is crucial. After the crust has 'set' your bread isn't going to rise any more. Preventing the crust from drying out too quickly is the key.

As I mentioned in my new techniques post I've tried a few things to get the maximum oven spring that I can:
1. Boiling a pan of water and placing it in the bottom of the oven to create lots of steam.
2. Spraying water directly onto the skin of the dough before I pop the loaf into the oven to keep it moist. (Using my iron as I don't have a spray bottle!)
3. Turning off the fan in my oven. Fans are supposed to be very drying.
4. Baking the loaf inside a Le Crueset. The theory being that a mini oven, inside an oven traps the humidity and allows more oven spring.

The final prove
My Bourke St Bakery book builds the pressure by saying "the final prove is where most home bakers fall down". Apparently it's hard to replicate the right conditions for the final prove. I've developed my own method of heating my oven to ~40 degrees and then turning if off. Placing a pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven and closing the door to create a warm and humid environment for the bread. Supposedly what is needed.

I've definitely baked some under proved and over proved loaves while I've been experimenting with sourdough. Nothing seems to make much difference.

Kneading
It occurred to me over the weekend that I might have been focusing on the wrong end of the process. The first step in making the bread is kneading. When you knead the dough you are forming strands of gluten. These strands of gluten are what trap air inside the dough creating those elusive air bubbles.

A way to tell if your dough has achieved the right structure is to try and form a window pane like below.

I've tried kneading by hand, in my mixer and a combination of the two. However, I've never created a decent window pane. Is this my problem?

I was becoming more convinced that under-kneading my dough was the problem, but I read this post tonight which suggests mixing less. Now I really am confused.

A conversation with a friend got me thinking of domestic bread machines. They are specifically designed for kneading and proving dough in temperature controlled conditions. It's just a shame my bread machine is on a different continent so I can't try it.

So bakers, what are your tips?

Update: I was lucky enough to meet Matt from Brasserie Bread the day I posted his blog. Matt's suggestion was that I wasn't giving my bread a long enough final prove. He suggested up to six hours and I've been nowhere near that. This was re-inforced by fellow baker Tammi Jonas who told me she regularly leaves loaves to prove all night, baking them at sunrise. Definitely something to try.

Hat tip to the Woodfired Kitchen for the perfect sourdough photo. And to the Fresh Loaf forum for the window paning photo.

Restaurant Review: Café Mint, Surry Hills (revisited)

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000+11:00

I've previously been to Café Mint for dinner and loved the place. Therefore it was the obvious venue to meet friends for breakfast. Café Mint doesn't open until 9am on Sunday's and arriving early we had to wait for them to let us in. I think it's the first time I've queued for breakfast!

They have some classic breakfast options on the menu, but why would you chose one of those when there are Moroccan delights to be had? Our friendly waiter was able to answer all of our questions about the menu. What is chackchouka?

I ordered the breakfast hummus with lamb mince and pinenuts. The amazingly soft lamb must have been slow cooked for hours. It had a wonderful fragrance from the cumin and Lebanese spice mix, as well as a little bit of a chilli kick. The roasted onion, toast and hummus were the perfect accompaniments. Definitely one to order again.

My breakfast companions ordered a side of the baked beans which were fabulous. Just like the spiced chickpeas on my last visit, it was a side dish which stole the show.

Café Mint is establishing itself as a firm favourite. My only complaint was the $2 per person Sunday surcharge. I hate extras and additions on a bill.

579 Crown St,
Surry Hills
NSW
2010

Project Sourdough: The sponge method

2011-11-01T06:30:00.000+11:00

I mentioned in my very first sourdough post how I found the array of different methods and techniques quite confusing. I plumped for the Bourke St Bakery method and apart from a bit of tinkering round the edges I've been sticking quite faithfully to it.

However, yesterday I tried out the River Cottage sourdough method having bought the book following a tip from my baking oracle Brydie.

The River Cottage bread handbook describes a 'sponge' method for baking sourdough. You start the night before by creating a wet mixture with all of the water and half of the flour known as the sponge.

On Friday night I dutifully made my sponge and left it covered on the kitchen worktop over night. I was a little bit concerned that such a large volume of flour only called for a single ladle of starter.

For the sponge:
650ml water
500g strong white flour
A ladle full of starter

I shouldn't have worried as the next morning it had gone mad. Look at all that activity. The yeast wasn't just having a party. It was having a Glastonbury sized festival!

For the dough:
600g strong white flour
25g salt

You add the remaining flour and salt and knead the dough. I did a mix of hand kneading and putting it into my mixer. (Still a bit unsure of the mixer.)

Once the dough has been kneaded you form a round and put it in a bowl and cover it. You leave it for about an hour.

After an hour it has grown quite considerably. (Which my photos aren't conveying very well.)

Knock it back, form it into a round again and pop it back into the bowl. You repeat this process twice more so that the bread has had four proving sessions.

After the dough has risen for the fourth time you shape it. I popped the loaves into my bannetons for their final prove before baking. The dough had been so active that I didn't try my usual oven / humidity room trick and left them on the kitchen worktop to rise. (It was quite a warm Saturday which helped.)

I had very high hopes for my loaves. Would I be able to achieve the elusive light and more open texture I've been striving for?

What I liked:
- The method felt quite simple.
- I loved how I could see the yeast physically active, whether it was my crazy sponge or how much the dough was rising. (The warmer spring weather could be helping this.)
- I managed to shape and bake my first decent round loaf. It didn't go all misshapen in the oven.
- It's the first time I'd felt happy with the result of loaves coming out of the bannetons.
- I think they are attractive looking loaves.

What I didn't like:
- With the four rising periods you can't stray too far from home as you have to knock back the dough three times.
- The crust wasn't the best I've made. It could be a little thicker.
- I didn't get the open texture I was hoping for, again! (I might do a separate post on this.)

Overall this method isn't that different from the Bourke St Bakery technique, but I really liked it. I'd go as far as to say I preferred it. I think the trick will be to work the timings into a daily routine which will probably involve cutting down on the four proving periods.

Have you tried the sponge method?

Restaurant Review: Sailors Thai, The Rocks

2011-10-30T07:00:00.000+11:00

Having loved my cookery lesson at Sailors Thai last year so much that it was the subject of six posts, I can't quiet believe that it has taken me so long to return. A lunch with my team from work provided the perfected opportunity.

As soon as we were seated in the smart interior of the restaurant we spotted a ponytail walking past. Is that Neil Perry? Yes it was. He was seated a few tables away for lunch with friends.

We ordered a starter to share of yamba prawns, peanuts, lime, ginger, roasted coconut, chilli and caramel on betel leaves. Oh my goodness what a taste sensation. It took me right back to the perfectly balanced exotic flavours that I tasted during my cookery course. There was heat and sour from the tamarind and an almost fibrous, but not unpleasant, crunch (from the ginger?). It was gone all too quickly in a slightly messy two mouthfuls. Can I have another one please?

After the heights of the starter I'm said to say none of the main courses lived up to the same standard. They were far from being bad dishes, it's just that they didn't have the same perfect balance of sweet, salty, spicy and sour that the starter exuded.

Our first main was the special of the day, stir fried duck. Thin slices of duck breast had been finished in a sweet and mild curry sauce with morning glory.

I had high hopes for the chicken curry with potatoes knowing the love and effort that goes into the curry pastes at Sailor Thai. The chicken was fabulously tender and contrastingly the potatoes still holding some firmness without being underdone. Unfortunately I didn't think the curry was as good as the one I made during my cookery class.

Next up we had the barramundi grilled in banana leaf with red curry paste. The curry paste was rich, intense, tomatoe-y and very spicy. I was mopping the beads of sweat from my brow! Underneath the curry paste was a moist piece of baramundi. The pickled ginger on the side was good, but not enough to refresh my palate from all that chilli!

Our final dish was my least favourtie the stir fried wagyu beef. The beef had been stir fried with onions. Pepper was the dominant flavour and I didn't get much else.

Despite being full we couldn't resist the amazing value of the dessert plate: jasmine smoked coconut ice cream, sorbet, sticky rice with egg pudding and pumpkin with salted coconut.

I'm not usually a fan of savoury vegetables cooked as a desert, but the pumpkin was almost jelly like and surprisingly good. It was a bit of a surprise to tasted the salted coconut on top, but it went well together. I'm always a fan of sticky rice, just a shame it didn't come with mango now that they are in season. Both of the ice creams were good.

It may sound as though I have been a little down on Sailors Thai. All of the food was good and the starter was fantastic. However, I was perhaps expecting all of the food to knock me out of the park having had a sensational cooking lesson and unfortunately it didn't.

Sailors Thai
106 George St
The Rocks
Sydney
2000

Kings Canyon

2011-10-28T06:30:00.000+11:00

On the second morning of our weekend to Uluru we were up at 3:30am to start our day trip to Kings Canyon. In Northern Territory terms Kings Canyon is just down the road (we took a solitary left hand turn the whole way) but still 300kms away!

I slept pretty well until sunrise and then continued dozing until we arrived at Kings Creek Station for breakfast. The station has cattle, camels and I suspect also makes quite a bit of it's income from the tour groups dropping by. I had a bacon and egg sandwich sitting in an open sided (former cattle?) shed. Pretty good it tasted too. I was interested that most of the workers on the farm were from Asia. It would not be my top destination for working Australia. Perhaps the money is good? You could certainly save a lot as there isn't anywhere to spend it! Or perhaps it counts towards the rural employment for getting a working holiday visa extension?

After we left the station there was approximately another 100km to drive until we arrived at Kings Canyon. More dozing!

We set off on our hike around the canyon at 8:30 and with temperatures due to reach 30 degrees I was pleased that it wasn't too hot a start to the day.

Our walk started with a 500 step climb from the valley floor up to the rim on the canyon. It sounds like a lot of steps, but thankfully wasn't too bad. I think all my running training had prepared me well!

Once we had reached the top of the canyon we followed it round in an anticlockwise direction.

There we some great views as we walked round the canyon rim. It was interesting to see the distinct layers of Carmichael and Mereenie sandstone that make up the canyon. Not a walk for the feint hearted there are (thankfully) no ugly barriers around the canyon and it's possible to get quite close to the edge as a result.

About half way round the canyon is the 'Garden of Eden' a small and sheltered water hole. There were a few people swimming but our guide told us the there isn't a spring and it is all collected rain water. There hadn't been serious rain in four months so it was pretty stagnant!

It started getting pretty hot in the sun as we approached lunchtime. We'd seen some fabulous views and seen something unique, but I was pleased to get back into the air conditioned bus.

After lunch at the Kings Canyon Resort (over price and average pizza) we headed home. On the way back to the Ayers Rock Resort we had a single stop at another cattle station which had views of Mount Conner, a very similar rock feature to Uluru.

Uluru

2011-10-26T06:30:00.000+11:00

Back in January I talked about seeing more of Australia with my friends Oliver and Mary. A visit to Uluru came up and was then quietly forgotten about. I revived the idea a couple of months ago expecting there to be much umming and ahhing over dates. I was pleasantly surprised to find us agreeing a free weekend without any issues and off we went!

I started off trying to do lots of research about where to stay and what tours to do, but frankly it was a waste of time! You can only stay at the Ayers Rock Resort and unless you want to do a camping trip from Alice Springs there only seem to be two tour companies to choose from. The itinerary pretty much writes itself as well: Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon.

We decided that we only needed a long weekend to see the highlights, so flew to Ayers Rock on the Friday and returned on the Sunday. All flights from Sydney arrive around midday, so we booked ourselves onto an afternoon visit to Kata Tjuta, finishing with sunset at Uluru.

To my untrained geological eye, Kata Tjuta seems to be a similar rock formation to Uluru. However, rather than being one large rock it is a series of 36 smaller (but still massive) outcrops. Being on the afternoon tour we only had time to do the shorter Galpa Gorge walk. It was a fairly easy walk to meander through the gorge. There quite a few plants and a fresh water source in the gorge.

After Kata Tjuta we were driven the 50km across to Uluru to watch the sunset. There was quite a lot of excitment at the viewing area with TV cameras filming a group of actors. Such is my knowledge of Australian popular culture I didn't recognise any of them!

The rock is enormous and as far as the eye can see there are large flat plains surrounding it. The flat plains help add to the mystique (where did such an enormous rock come from?), but slightly distract in the sense that it is hard to get a sense of scale and proportion.

I was expecting something magical to happen at sunset, but in truth I found it a bit underwhelming as the rock didn't really change colour as the sun set behind us. Perhaps we didn't have a very good night?

I have slightly mixed feelings about Kata Tjuta and Uluru, they weren't as impressive as I'd hoped they might be. I'm not sure if this is because my expectations were too high? Or because we didn't give ourselves enough time to explore and appreciate them properly?

The day following day we went to Kings Canyon and I did think that was pretty special.

North shore walk: Kirribilli to Nuetral Bay

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago I decided to explore part of the North Shore, walking from Kirribilli to Nuetral Bay.

I caught the ferry from Pyrmont to Milsons Point. The first stop was to check out Luna Park. My goodness it's tacky! The old fashioned children's theme park felt like it was slowly fading away. I wonder how much longer it will survive?

Under the bridge and hugging the coastline you enter the Henry Waterhouse Reserve which has a fabulous panorama of the Sydney Harbour. I hadn't been to the reserve before. It's quite a secluded spot in which it would be easy to spend some quiet time sitting on a bench soaking up all of the boats that passed by.

Continuing on into Kirribilli we passed the Prime Minister's official Sydney home. I kept an eye out for Julia twitching behind the curtains, but unfortunately couldn't see her. The PM doesn't have a bad view at all!

The route took us inland along some of Kirribilli's smarter streets. I was intrigued by one house which appeared to have an under ground car lift similar to the ones I'd seen in NY parking lots. It must be an expensive area if people can install car lifts!

Via Milson's Park and Anderson Park we ended up at Nuetral Bay Wharf where we grabbed some lunch at the Thelma and Louise café while we were waiting for the ferry. A fun and quirky café with a large selection of garden gnomes!

It was great to visit some new parts of Sydney. I'd like to do some more harbour walks during the spring / summer.

Restaurant Review: Mad Spuds Café, Surry Hills

2011-10-22T06:30:00.000+11:00

Do you remember the rainy Sunday morning on the public holiday weekend at the start of the month? I was up at 7am to meet some friends for a run. I jogged to Newtown in the driving rain only to be told when I got there that the others had cried off. I had to run back in the rain (there's a point where you can't get any wetter) for a hot shower.

The run aborted we caught up for a late breakfast at Mad Spuds Café. I've walked past this place on Crown St quite a few times without ever noticing it was there. Not fancying a baked potato for breakfast I was pleased to see their menu had a good range of breakfast options.

I went for the Boxty, which is supposed to be a traditional Irish dish. There was plenty of black and white pudding on the menu. I'm familiar with black pudding and the French boudin blanc, but what is white pudding I asked my Irish friend? Think haggis came the reply, a perfect description.

The white pudding came served with a potato cake, bacon, avocado, fried egg and apple puree. It was a pleasant dish, but as I've found with haggis before, the white pudding had a flavour which dominated anything else. I honestly couldn't tell you what the apple puree was like.

Mad Spuds Café
479 Crown Street
Surry Hills
2010

M&S charging VAT on overseas orders

2011-10-20T06:30:00.001+11:00

Like any self respecting British male I wouldn't wear anything other than M&S socks. Apparently David Beckham is a fan too.

When my current socks were developing holes I decided to order some new ones online from Marks and Spencer. Appalled by the price of suit trousers at David Jones I decided to order a couple of those too.

Purchasing from overseas UK VAT (sales tax) isn't due. I checked the M&S website before ordering and it says:
For goods and services delivered outside the European Union VAT is not charged although the price shown on the website remains unchanged.

The way many UK websites work (TM Lewin and Amazon to name two I've used) is that they don't update the prices on their site, but the amount that hits your credit card excludes the VAT. I assumed that M&S would operate the same. It says the price "shown" on the website remains unchanged. It does not say "the price you are charged remains unchanged". It does clearly sate "VAT is not charged".

When I got charged the VAT inclusive amount I was slightly disappointed. I waited a couple of days to see if a VAT refund would arrive on my card. When it didn't I decided to contact M&S. The responses I received disappointed me more than being charged the VAT.

I emailed them asking about the VAT and received one of those standardised pro forma responses that didn't answer my question. I replied to the email re-iterating my question and didn't get a reply.

After a few days I decided to call customer services. I spoke to a polite lady who said she understood my issue, didn't know the answer, but would find out and get back to me same day. The only thing I received was the standardised pro forma email again. It still didn't answer my question and wasn't the personal reply promised.

I called the next day and spoke to one of the call centre supervisors. She was at least finally able to answer my question. M&S don't reduce their prices for overseas customers. The conversation went something like:
Me: Are you charging me VAT?
M&S: No.
Me: Why do you charge the VAT inclusive price to overseas customers when VAT isn't due?
M&S: That is our policy.
Me: Ok, so you policy is to make 20% additional profit from non-UK customers?
M&S: (Hesitation) I can see why you might think that, but that's not exactly how it works.
Me: So how does it work?
M&S: Ok yes, we do make extra profit.

There is no prid pro quo like free delivery or any other goodies to offset the 20% extra charge.

Is my interpretation totally incorrect? Am I an idiot for thinking M&S would behave like many other UK retailers?

I realise that this is a niche post, but hey, M&S annoyed me so I thought it deserved a blog. I did a Google and couldn't find much info so perhaps this will be a useful resource for future customers.

Restaurant Review: Café Bedda, Northcote, Melbourne

2011-10-18T06:30:00.000+11:00

For dinner on my final night in Melbourne I headed out to the suburb of Northcote to catch up with some old colleagues at the Sicilian restaurant of Café Bedda. The restaurant was packed with regulars so it was a good job we'd booked a table.

My colleagues took delight in grilling me about my (non existent) love life and watching me squirm as my sister listened in to my answers. I was thankful when the waiter arrived to take our order!

We ordered a selection of starters to share. The zuchini fritters were coated in breadcrumbs and fried. They were well seasoned and had a great crunch.

Our plate of fried prawns that you eat whole (shell, head an all) was salty and crunch. I preferred to eat them on their own, rather than with the lemony mayonaise that they were served with.

The Salsicce we lovely small, rich, fennel sausages. They had a strong and gutsy flavour and could be fantastic in a pasta sauce. We also ordered the Badduzze di Melanzane (aubergine fritters in a sugo sauce) and warmed olives in garlic, but my dining companions were a bit too quick to get stuck in before I could take photos.

All of the starters were traditional Sicilian dishes and very enjoyable.

The Maccheroni Della Nonna is created from pasta handmade by the owners grandmother with eggs that my ex-colleague Kate sells to the restaurant from her small holding. How could I nor order it? I've no idea how nonna makes the long thin tubes of pasta. For me the ragu could have been a bit richer with more depth of flavour.

Ruth ordered the Conchigle con Carciofi an artichoke, egg, pecorino and parsley pasta. It came attractively served in an earthenware bowl.

For dessert I ordered the Cassata Siciliana, a Sicilian ice cream cake with layers of chocolate, amaretto & maraschino cherries. The boozy ice cream was a popular choice at the table.

It was a fun evening catching up with friends. It was good, not just Italian, but traditionally Sicilian food. For me the five different starters that we ordered were the highlights of the evening.

Full disclosure: Café Bedda is owned and run by a former colleague and her husband. I paid for dinner, she doesn't know I blog and she didn't ask me to write a review.

Café Bedda
242 High Street
Northcote
3070, VIC

Restaurant Review: The Long Table, Red Hill

2011-10-16T06:30:00.000+11:00

We were looking to treat ourselves with a nice meal out while we were staying in the Mornington Peninsula. We had romantic visions of dining in a vineyard, but couldn't find anywhere open on a Wednesday night during the tail end of winter.

Walking past the small shopping precinct near our holiday cottage in Red Hill we noticed The Long Table. It didn't look too much from the outside, but when I saw that it has recently been awarded a Chef's Hat I was sold. I didn't think we'd need a booking, but it was a good job we reserved a table as the place was packed on a Wednesday night.

The drinks menu is hyper-local. To start with I ordered an amber ale from the Red Hill Brewery, situated 800m up the road. A light and bright beer with plenty of flavour. The wine list is local too with nearly all tipples coming from Victoria and many from the Red Hill area.

Both and Andrew and I went for the Wednesday night special of two courses and a glass of wine for $35. The main course was a confit duck leg served with crispy cavelero nero, prune, potato puree and beans.

It was a small, but lovely, plate of food. I'm quite critical that duck in Australia tastes bland, but this duck leg had a lot of flavour. It tasted like the duck I've eaten back in the UK. The prune added a lovely sweetness. The potato puree and beans went well with the duck. I wasn't sure what the point of the cavelero nero was.

As the special offer didn't have a vegetarian option Ruth ordered the smoked potato gnocchi, babaganoush, blackened carrots, kale & gruyere. The gnocchi had been deep friend and reminded Ruth more of a potato croquet. There was nothing left by the end, so I guess she liked it!

The second course on the special menu was a goats cheese, cheesecake with rhubarb. The cheese cake was deconstructed with two quinnells of the cheesecake placed on top of a biscuit crumb. The cheesecake was rich and smooth, which contrasted nicely with the sharp rhubarb. I didn't detect a strong goats cheese flavour. The small meringue (to the left of the plate) didn't add anything for me.

The service was very efficient and friendly and the restaurant had a buzzing atmosphere on a busy evening. If I am going to be critical our waitress could have spoken a bit louder as it was difficult to hear her at times, I'd prefer it if they gave you the food menus at the same time as the wine list (a bit hard to match food an wine otherwise) and it would have been nice to have had a bottle of water on the table.

Overall there was some very good food. Lots of technique and flavour which I think is well deserving of their newly awarded Chef's Hat.

The Long Table
159 Shoreham Rd
Red Hill South

Road trip: Red Hill to Melbourne

2011-10-14T12:30:00.000+11:00

The second night in or cabin was thankfully a lot warmer as we got a bit more expert with the wood burning stove. After some more bird watching on the deck of our cabin, we set off for the Melbourne CBD. I was a bit worried about driving our hire car through the streets of Melbourne, but Ruth did an expert job of navigating and it all proved uneventful. Thankfully no hook turns were called for.

Once we'd dropped off our bags at our hotel we headed to the National Trust property of Rippon Lea. It was good to be visiting somewhere new in Melbourne. The house was built for the Sargood family who made their fortune selling drapery during Melbourne's Gold Rush in the nineteenth century. Visiting the inside of the house was by guided tour only, and is often the case, it was conducted by an elderly volunteer. We were asked not to touch any of the furniture and then our aged guide with two hearing aids and a dodgy hip proceeded to lean on all sofas and tables for support.

After visiting the house we had quite a rushed looked round the gardens before the property shut at 5pm. Rippon Lea is supposed to have fantastically pioneering and eccentric irrigation system. Unfortunately we didn't have time to learn too much about it.

This is the last post from my road trip from Sydney to Melbourne. I hope you enjoyed it!

Restaurant Review: The Terrace Thai, Pyrmont

2011-10-13T06:30:00.000+11:00

The Terrace Thai is tucked away in an easy to miss corner of Pyrmont. Finding The Terrace is only the first challenge. With the restaurant situated in a natural wind tunnel getting to the front can be just as hard. We had to lean against the wind to make it inside!

Once inside the Thai pop / rock music blaring out, immediately put a smile on my face. The bright modern interior is pretty dapper too. Concerningly for the owners there were only two other tables occupied on the Saturday night we visited.

I ordered the Caramelised Crispy Pork. The waiter was a bit taken aback when I tried my hand at ordering in Thai. I've no idea how you say caramelised, but he seemed to understand a simple หมู กรอบ.

I was a big fan. The pork had masses of crispy skin (don't think about the calories) surrounding tender meat. Underneath the pork were garlicy stir fried greens with crispy shallots. The dipping sauce was a triumphant balance of hot, sour, sweet and salty. The best part of the dish for me. The fresh cabbage and tomatoes on the side aren't classic Thai, but added a nice bit of freshness.

Just like Muum Maam the food is modern Thai. I thought the majority of the menu was a little on the expensive side and I think I was over charged for rice too. However, the quality is good, cooked fresh and the portion sizes are quite decent. If you had a group of four, you'd probably only need to order three dishes which would help bring the cost down.

I liked The Terrace Thai and am pleased I finally got to try it after walking past a few times previously.

The Terrace Thai
Shop G03
55 Miller Street
Pyrmont
2009

Road trip: Red Hill and the Mornington Peninsula

2011-10-11T13:37:00.000+11:00

The day after the Great Ocean Road marathon we visited the Peninsula Hot Springs for a soak in the thermal baths to relax our weary muscles. I thought Ruth might like to visit the spa so we headed there for a couple of hours to enjoy relaxing in the different thermal pools and lying down on the big slab of marble in the hamam. Interspersed with with a couple of dips into the cold and refreshing plunge pools. It was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours.

After the spa we drove up to Daroma for lunch. We popped into café JETT, a place with a very high opinion of themselves. The waitresses we wearing t-shirts asking you to like them on face book, there was a JETT newsletter on the tables, invites to their sixth birthday party and even a JETT club for you to join. I only wanted some lunch, not a new best friend.

After lunch with drove up to Arthurs Seat which is a local high point in the area and home to an over sized green chair. Unfortunately it was quite a murky day so we didn't get the best views of Port Phillip Bay.

So we could all have a tipple we decided to drop of our hire car at our rented cabin and set off on foot to walk to the local wineries. Our first stop was Darling Park. We spent a thoroughly enjoyable time tasting eight different wines while chatting to one of the staff at the winery. As we were the only people there we got his undivided attention and it was interesting to learn about the different grapes, growing conditions and wine making techniques.

As I've thought in the Hunter Valley you don't really get any cellar door bargains. If anything the prices at the boutique wineries are generally quite high. Which I'd also say is true of Darling Park's premium selection. However, they also sell at the cellar door a red and wine (only by the case) some very decent wines at $10 a bottle. If I lived in Melbourne I would have bought a case of each.

Our friendly host waived all of our tasting fees because Andrew bought a bottle.

A little tipsy after eight (small) glasses we stopped in at Vines of Red Hill only to be told that they didn't have any wine left as they'd sold out and were waiting for the new season. Probably a good thing for the head!

Going Laphroaig crazy in Sydney

2011-10-10T21:46:00.002+11:00

My whisky journey has been long, but I feel that I may finally have arrived. Where? As a Laphroaig fan.

When I was growing up my dad used to enjoy a dram of whisky in the evening and I'd sometimes have a taste from his glass. I thought it was horrible tasting fire water! When I arrived in Australia I joined the Distant Thunder Whisky Club, and was reminded last week, I took some beers to the first meeting as I knew I wouldn't be able to manage more than a couple of drams of whisky all night.

Over successive club meetings I've been slowly finding whisky more palatable and even finding ones that I like. However, I definitely wouldn't say I appreciate whisky to the same level as some of the other members. That might have changed last week with some Laphroaig madness in Sydney.

Laphroaig Tasting at Oak Barrel
Last Wednesday I was back at Oak Barrel for an evening tasting Laphroaig whiskies with the distillery manager John Campbell.

It was interesting to hear about the history of the distillery, how the range has developed, what makes them unique and more about John. However, what really excited me was the taste of whiskies (and some of the malted barley we got to nibble on). I can't give you flowery descriptions of buttery, vanilla and citrus noses. But I could taste some very distinct differences between the whiskies on offer.

The 10yr and 15yr old were similar in style. Sweet, smooth and easy drinking despite a definite presence of peat.

The Quarter Cask and Tripple Wood have spent longer in smaller oak barrels which imparts a definite spice to the whisky. If you get to do a side by side tasting of the 10yr old and Quarter Cask it really is quite remarkable.

Our final tasting of the night at Oak Barrel was the 25yr old. A strong whisky (58%) it gave me a bit of alcoholic shock. Complex.

Whiskies being tasted at Laphroaig Live

Laphroaig Live
Courtesy of the Whisky Cast podcast I was lucky enough to get my hands on a ticket for Laphroaig Live for the evening following the Oak Barrel event.

For the past few years Laphroaig have been hosting an annual webcast for fans around the world. We learnt the night before that some descendants of the Laphroaig distillery emigrated to Australia, which was the connection for the event being held in Sydney.

The camera man warming up for the webcast

I wasn't sure what to expect from the night as sitting in the audience could have been a bit of a disappointment after the interactive tastings of the night before. However, it turned out to be a good fun evening.

If I'm honest I didn't think the webcast had a lot of substance, but it was good fun. In the audience we got to taste along with the panel. We got to try the Quarter Cask and Tripple Wood again. The new whisky of the night was the Cáirdeas 30yr old a special edition whisky. My favourite whisky of the Laphroaig range it was smooth with hints of spice and a mellow finish. Lovely.

The panel during the webcast

The highlight of the evening was a sixty year old bottle of Laphroaig 10yr old, which was produced around the time the Laphroaig descendants left for Australia. I got the impression from John Campbell the night before that he wasn't particularly hopeful for the whisky, they aren't designed to sit in the bottle unopened for fifty years.

A bottle of Laphroaig 10yr old from the 1950s

The bottle was opened and tasted live on the webcast. After the broadcast, and emboldened by the three whiskies I had drunk, I shot up to the table to try and secure a tasting. John remembered me from the previous night and was kind enough to give me a dram.

So how did it taste? Pretty damn good. Overall I preferred the Cáirdeas 30yr old, but it was a fine whisky and good to be tasting something unique. Apparently they have four other bottles in the warehouse which makes it nearly priceless.

My only disappointment of the night was that as a whisky club we found it difficult to get tickets to Laphroaig Live. There seemed to be quite a lot of people in the audience who didn't like / drink whisky and were there just for a freebie. It would have been nice for some more genuine whisky fans to have been there. (Descendants excepted.)

However, overall they were two excellent events. I discovered a lot about Laphroaig, furthered my appreciation of whisky, tasted an excellent whisky BBQ sauce and found a new favourite.

Project Sourdough: B Bread

2011-10-10T06:30:00.000+11:00

When I read Brydie's B Bread recipe back in May I decided that I was going to have a go at this healthy looking loaf.

It was 'challenging' from start to finish, but rather than getting stressed out I went with the flow and the end result was surprisingly good.

I decided to use my new mixer for the first time to knead the dough. The mixer seemed to do a pretty good job. The motor wasn't struggling with the amount of dough and the mixer didn't 'walk' across the benchtop, which are common complaints of domestic mixers kneading bread.

This is the wettest dough I've made so far at approximately 75% water, compared with the 60% for the loaves I have been making. The dough was significantly stickier to handle as a result and it got quite messy as I was knocking back and folding it.

I've been following the Bourke St Bakery method since I've started baking which calls for shaping the loaves before they start their long overnight retardation. I've noticed that in quite a few of Brydie's recipes she shapes the loaves only before the final prove later in the process. I wasn't sure if the wet and heavy dough would hold it's shape, so I left the forming of the loaves until the following day.

The final prove before baking is supposedly a tricky thing to get right. I've developed a method creating a humid environment in my oven around 40 degrees and it has been working a treat. My loaves are consistently and reliably increasing in size. Unfortunately I was using the oven to roast some vegetables and bake a cake so I couldn't try my usual trick. The loaves didn't rise nearly as much as usual on the bench.

Just as I was going to put the loaves in the oven, it turned off and wouldn't heat up. Disaster! I improvised with turning the grill on and placing a baking try across the top of the oven to try and deflect the direct heat.

The finished loaves were definitely a bit under-done, but considering the disaster it could have been they turned out quite well. I took one loaf into the office to be sampled and everyone gave it positive feedback. My sister and Andrew said good things too. I couldn't help being overly self critical.

Things to try next time:
- Baking when my oven is working! This should help with my final prove and stopping the dough from being a bit undercooked.
- Using my pizza stone to bake the loaf on.
- I didn't like how sticky the dough was. I'm tempted to omit the bran and lower the hydration from the recipe.

Road trip: Lakes Entrance to Red Hill

2011-10-08T12:56:00.000+11:00

After breakfast we had a quick walk round Lakes Entrance. It is supposed to be a popular tourist destination for Victorians, but I found the main strip a bit drab and depressing. Uninspiring shops that all looked like they had seen better days and many were closed. We didn't head out to the main beach (which is supposed to be nice), but from the parts of town that we did see I'm not sure what the appeal of Lakes Entrance was!

We had a long morning of driving across to the Mornington Peninsula. We stopped for a coffee in Moe. Clearly no fans of the Simpson's in the town as there was no Moe's Bar or Duff beer on offer. I think they missed a marketing trick....

I have only dipped a toe in the Mornington Peninsula before this visit. However, I'd been told it was a top tourist destination so was expecting us to be falling over lots of nice café options for lunch. We were all pretty hungry by the time we arrived in Red Hill for a late lunch. The cafés were proving more elusive to find than hoped and we had to stop and ask directions in the Red Hill petrol station. As is often the way, for the rest of the afternoon we couldn't stop driving past enticing looking places.

After lunch we popped into Ten Minutes by Tractor and Port Phillip Estate to do some wine tasting. I was surprised to find out, unlike in the Hunter Valley, paying for tastings seemed to be the norm. The Port Phillip Winery is in a magnificent James Bond villain style building. Modernist, concrete, with electronic doors that open automatically as you open them, sharp lines and fabulous panoramic views of the vines. I can't comment on the wines as I was the dedicated driver for the afternoon...

After the wine tasting we headed back to our rented cabin to light the wood burning stove and put out some bird seed to attract the local wildlife. The cabin was freezing! We stacked the wood burning stove full of logs, pushed the sofa within a dangerous distance of the fire and snuggled under a blanket.

Unfortunately I started feeling quite ill during the evening. Annoyingly I caught a bug which stayed with me for another week.

Restaurant Review: Chilli Cha Cha, Haymarket, Sydney

2011-10-07T06:30:00.000+11:00

A casual Thursday night dinner took me to Chilli Cha Cha with my sister, Andrew, Oliver and Mary. Compared to the queues further up the street at Chat Thai, we didn't need to fight to get a table.

I'll be honest and say that I'm a bit mixed and undecided about the food at Chilli Cha Cha. Having lived in Thailand for a while I pine for authentic Bangkok flavours. There were flashes and tastes of the food I remember. They've definitely toned the food down for the local market (chilli levels were quite low), but done so without making it the generic westernised Thai I dislike so much.

It made me think that not all of the street stalls, food courts and restaurants in Bangkok are perfect. Chilli Cha Cha would fit somewhere in the middle.

The green chicken curry was quite sweet and mild. The curry didn't have the complexity of flavour you can get, but it did taste a bit like the ones I had in the cafe downstairs from my apartment in Bangkok.

The hot chilli beef was probably my favourite dish. The beef was nice and tender. It wasn't that hot, even when I ate the whole chillies.

Som dtum is my favourite Thai dish and the arbiter of a good Thai restaurant in my book. Unfortunately the som dtum was only passable. A good som dtum has a lot of chilli. While the chilli will make sweat pour from my brow, they just don't taste the same with without the chilli. This som dtum only just had enough chilli to stop it being dreadful.

I had an interesting moment with my Thai language skills as we left the restaurant. When learning French, for example, you learn that different objects have different genders. Thai is grammar isn't the same, the gender of the speaker not the object being referred to, is key.

As we left the restaurant the male waiter thanked us in the female term. I asked a Thai friend and apparently some gay Thai men speak in this way. The food at Chill Cha Cha might not have been inspiring, but at least I learnt some new Thai language skills.

Chilli Cha Cha
40-50 Campbell Street
Sydney
2000

Road trip: Eden to Lakes Entrance

2011-10-05T12:32:00.000+11:00

Second morning away on our road trip and I was up early for another run, a rather monotonous sprints session on the wharfs in Eden. (My enthusiasm for running waned as this was the last run of the holiday.)

I mentioned in my last post how we struck gold with our B&B and breakfast didn't disappoint. How about soaking up the morning sun with a view like that? The food was pretty good too, fruit, cereal and eggs. We drew the line at the pancakes.

After breakfast we visited the Eden Killer Whale Museum. The town of Eden was settled as a whaling port in the 1840s and the museum tells the whaling history of the town. The Lonely Planet describes the museum as full of 'improbable stories'. Three of our favourites were about a friendly pack of killer whales who helped the seamen hunt baleen whales, in return for being allowed to eat delicacies of the dead whales - their lips and tongue! A modern Jonah who was swallowed by a whale and escaped alive after 18 days. Finally people who used to sit inside the carcasses of a dead whale for its therapeutic qualities. Apparently they stunk for a week by the effects were remarkable!

Beside the oddities, the museum was quite interesting and we spent a couple of hours there learning about the history of Eden.

Leaving Eden we headed south to the Ben Boyd National Park to visit Boyd's Tower. The tower was built of stone from Pyrmont in Sydney (where I live). Boyd hoped to use the tower as a lighthouse but was never given permission by the government. A local businessman, Boyd hoped to make his fortune from the lighthouse and whaling but ended up leaving his creditors in the lurch and running away to America.

From a lookout near the lighthouse you can see some cool geological features.

After the national park we headed south to Mallacoota for lunch. There didn't seem to be a lot in the town apart from a huge caravan park. I'm sure it's packed in summer, but there didn't seem to be a lot going on at the start of spring. We had some decent homemade dumplings and noodles at Lucy's.

After lunch we went on a nature walk through the forest which promised koala sightings. Much to Ruth's disappointment we didn't see any.

Not far from Mallacoota along the highway we decided to climb Genoa Peak. To get to the start of the walk you have to drive up a gravel track where we saw a snake basking on the sun. It slithered out of our way as the car approached. Not particularly re-assuring!

The light was already beginning to fade as we started the walk, so we set off at a cracking place up the rough track. We didn't quite get to the top, but as we weren't properly prepared (no map, tourches, water or stout footwear) we decided to turn round just before the summit when the scrambling over boulders started to get serious. It was the right decision as we got down as darkness fell.

As we left Genoa Peak we were still quite a long way from our next over night stop at Lakes Entrance. We had to do 2/3 hours of night time driving. The Aussies really do love their road signs. At one point we counted twenty reflecting back at us. Trying to take them all in didn't leave a lot of time for actually looking at the road!

Restaurant Review: The Wheelhouse, Eden

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000+11:00

I feared dining options on a Sunday night in a small town might be limited when we arrived in Eden. It was a pleasant surprise when our host at the B&B told us three take-aways, two restaurants and the Fisherman's Club would all be open.

We headed into town to check out the options. Ruth wasn't a fan of the Fisherman's Club and we wanted something a bit more formal than a take-away so we headed for our hosts top pick; Restaurant Mystique at the Halfway Motel. Unfortunately it was closed so we headed to our only other choice The Wheelhouse.

We arrived at just after 7pm in the large restaurant which only had three tables seated and plenty of empty space. I was immediately put off when the waitress said she'd have to check with the chef if they could fit us in. Are you expecting a coach party?

A quick look at the menu also made me sceptical. $25 - $28 for the vegetarian mains. Not exactly cheap. The omlette was $27!!

I decided upon the fish of the day. The pak choi was cold, overcooked, had absorbed a lot of water and really wasn't very nice. There was a decent portion of fish, but it required both wedges of lemon and a lot of salt and pepper to bring out any flavour.

Andrew ordered the fillet steak (no photo). Despite asking for it medium it was very definitely well done.

Despite the rather shocking price Ruth's vegetarian lasagna was the the most flavoursome dish of the night. The mustard mayo dressing round the edge of the plate provided a nice bit of zing.

At $98 for three main courses (no drinks) it certainly wasn't cheap for the average food we were served. As you can tell I wasn't a fan.

We were all shocked when one of the departing tables booked a table for the following night! If I go back to Eden I'll be following the locals and trying the Chinese take-away which seemed quite busy when we walked past.

Road trip: Jervis Bay to Eden

2011-10-02T09:04:00.000+11:00

Day 2 of the road trip and I got up early to go for a run. I followed the sea south from Huskisson to Vincentia and back. It was beautiful to be out running with the sun rising over Jervis Bay and spotting rozella's, parrots and kookaburras in the trees.

After a quick breakfast we headed straight down to Pebbly Beach to try and spot the kangaroos that live there. Unfortunately they'd all had their breakfast and disappeared for a sleep by the time we arrived. We dipped our toes in the water, but it was FREEZING so we didn't end up having a swim.

After the beach we continued south to Narooma. We pulled in to have a break from driving and to check out the Tourist Information centre. Just behind the visitor centre there was a dog show with a sausage sizzle taking place. The BBQ was being run by the local fire brigade.

After the RSL the night before we were on a roll with the Top Aussie experiences for Andrew, so I sent him straight towards the BBQ (not that much convincing was required). I was a bit disappointed they gave him a proper bread roll instead of the usual piece of bread. However, it was still Top Aussie.

A short drive from Narooma are the villages of Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba (so good they named it three times). Gold rush towns from the nineteenth century their high streets have been preserved / restored to their original condition to create a bit of a time warp. Full of touristy shops it was an interesting place to wander round.

We spotted a home that belonged to Sea Captain Elliot, that is now a sweet shop. We had lunch at the Rose and Sparrow Café. The surly owner didn't give a friendly welcome, but the food was decent and the taster of the chocolate brownie we had was great.

After the Tilba's we pushed onto to our overnight stop of Eden. We were staying at Snug Cove B&B and hit the jackpot! Not the cheapest B&B you'll stay at. However, all the rooms were wonderfully appointed with great attention to detail and nice little extras. The welcome was friendly and what great views of Two Fold Bay...

Unfortunately Eden's dinning options on a Sunday night didn't live up to the B&B or the views (separate post soon).

Restaurant Review: Vegie Bar, Fitzroy, Melbourne

2011-09-30T15:47:00.000+10:00

I've mentioned in my posts on Melbourne before that the city has style. For me the suburb of Fitzroy typifies the laid back and effortless chic like nowhere else, so I decided to take Ruth and Andrew there for dinner while we were in Melbourne.

A quick browse of Urban Spoon picked out Vegie Bar so we jumped on a tram and headed out. The huge venue was packed on a Thursday night, seemingly vegetarian food has never been so popular. We were sent to the courtyard out the back for a drink while waiting for our table.

The large menu is, obviously, vegetarian with plenty of vegan, raw food and gluten free options as well.

We ordered some dim sim to share as a starter. Not bad, just nothing special. I think they had probably used wonton wrappers for the dim sim and they were (ever so) slightly rubbery. The best thing about them was the dipping sauces. The soy and sesame oil blend was my favourite.

For my main I ordered the Duo. A chickpea and potato & lentil curry served with a yogurt dip, roti and brown rice. The chickpea curry had a sweet, coconut based sauce which reminded me of butter chicken curries I have had before. The lentil and potato curry was flavoured with cumin and cinnamon. Both were good. The roti was little bit thick and brown rice a bit dry.

Ruth ordered the House Salad with spring rolls. Aside from the spring rolls I think this salad might have counted as 'raw food'. Healthy, certainly, fresh, definitely. However, I'm not sure a mound of raw vegetables would be my thing. There was only a very mild salad dressing. Go for it if you need your vitamins!

Vegi Bar was good fun. Efficient service, healthy food, large portions and amazing value at three mains plus the dim sim for $44 (we paid for drinks separately).

Vegie Bar
380 Brunswick St
Fitzroy
3065

Road trip: Sydney to Jervis Bay

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000+10:00

One of the many great things about having visitors from the UK is that I get to explore new bits of Australia that I haven't been to before. Before my sister, Ruth, and her boyfriend arrived we had decided to do a road trip from Sydney to Melbourne along the coast. Time to get planning!

On our first day we drove from Sydney to Jervis Bay. We took in a few stops close to Sydney that I've already visited (Royal National Park, the Sea Bridge and the blow hole at Kiama), but it was also good to discover a few new places.

Just south of Wollongong we visited the Nan Tien Temple, the largest buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. We started with lunch in the Tea House. Being a buddhist temple all of the food was vegetarian, although you wouldn't have believed it from the noodles I had to eat. They looked and tasted like BBQ pork noodles!

The temple was interesting to look round with a large central complex, nicely landscaped gardens, over 10,000 images of buddha and a tall pagoda in the grounds. A very peaceful and relaxing place to look around.

After leaving the temple we drove down to Huskisson in Jervis Bay (via Kiama). We arrived just before dusk, but still had time for a walk along the beach as the sun was setting. It was a little bit chilly, but good to have the sun and sand between my toes for the first time on our coastal road trip.

Before dinner I took Andrew into the Husky RSL for his 'Top Aussie' experience of the day. You don't have to sign-in or walk past quite so many pokkie machines to have a drink in the UK. We went into the 'main bar' to buy a beer and there was no where to sit unless you wanted to play a slot machine. I knew there would be a lot of pokkies but there were no tables or chairs to sit down out. We had to retreat to the 'sports bar' were there were some seats in front of the TVs showing the horse racing.

Unearthing Artisan Baking at Brasserie Bread

2011-09-26T19:47:00.000+10:00

A big thanks to Sarah from Brasserie Bread for inviting me to attend their Unearthing Artisan Bakery class. Under the direction of our instructor for the night Matt Brock we did so much it is hard to know where to begin!

Caramelised Garlic Bread
During the evening we made Brasserie Bread's caramelised garlic bread from scratch. It was fantastic to get some hands on tips from an expert like Matt on different kneading techniques. I've been doing quite a bit of research for my sourdough project by reading different books, but the only real way to learn is by experience. Simon made an excellent video of the evening which will be a great guide to refer back to. It's all in the wrist.

I went a bit crazy with the amount of garlic I added to my dough. I'm certainly in no danger of being attacked by a vampire anytime soon!

We got to take home the warm rolls we had baked.

Factory Tour
While our dough was proving we were taken for a mini factory tour. It was around 8pm by the time we got into the factory and all the baking shifts had finished for the day. I would have loved to have seen the factory in full flow, but it was still good to check out a professional artisan bakery.

Everything begins with the sourdough starter. There was a dedicated cool room for the huge buckets of starter. I can't remember exactly, but I think they have ~200kg of their 18yr old starter. It makes the 100g I have in my own fridge look quite pathetic!!

The first stage in the process is the large room where all of the dough is made, given it's initial prove and shaped into the loaves. At the opposite end of the work area from the starter, are a series of large temperature controlled rooms where the shaped loaves are placed for their long slow overnight prove.

The second stage is the oven room where all the loaves are baked. The temperature controlled proving rooms can be accessed directly from baking room allowing for the seamless flow of the dough through the bakery. There were pizza style ovens and also full height ovens where racks of smaller loaves can be baked on trolleys wheeled in and out of the ovens.

Once baked the bread proceeds onto the final stage of the process, the packing room. Here all of the bread is sorted and divided up into individual orders ready for collection.

I have to be honest and say that the place looked like organised chaos! There were huge whiteboards in each room with indecipherable scrawl all over them. I think part of the induction into the bakery must be how to understand the code!

We also popped into the pastry room where we got to sample some of the goodies that were being packaged up to be sent out for orders. Sorry if your box arrived missing a couple of the fabulous coconut cakes above. I couldn't resist.....

Brioche Coulibiac

In between the baking and factory tour we somehow managed to fit in making our own dinner. We first made a little parcel from a pancake, sauteed mushrooms, Russian mustard, boiled eggs and salmon fillets. Once we'd made our parcels we wrapped them in some brioche dough and baked them in the oven.

The brioche makes the dish quite rich. The usual portion size is usually only half a coulibiac, but I might have eaten all of it......

Overall a very good evening. It was nice to get some hands on baking tips and to see inside a professional bakery. I didn't pick up as many sourdough tips as I was hoping for, but then it wasn't really a sourdough course. (Brasserie Bread have a dedicated sourdough course.)

My photos of the evening are here.

Restaurant Review: Harvest Vegetarian, Rozelle

2011-09-24T21:21:00.002+10:00

Decent vegetarian food. Shame about the slow service.

When I first moved to Sydney I was living a few streets from Harvest Vegetarian Restaurant in Rozelle. With my sister, a vegetarian, visiting Sydney I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to check out the city's only 'fine dining' vegetarian joint.

I was surprised how busy the suburban restaurant was on a Wednesday night. Nearly all the tables were taken and there were people sitting outside too. I think the mid-week rush had taken Harvest by surprise as well, the one waitress was rushed off her feet. It took an eternity to order, for plates to be cleared and I had to ask three times for a bottle of water. Which was a shame as the painfully slow service marred some otherwise good food.

I ordered the Mediterranean Aubergine Tower. The tower of aubergine was alternated with roasted pepper, sweet potato and goats cheese. The richness of the goats cheese was balanced by a zingy tomato sauce. A couple of the bites of the aubergine tasted a bit leathery, like they had been pre-cooked some time before. However, overall it was a good mix of flavours. I didn't feel like I was missing any meat.

My sister ordered the signature Pancake Stack with sauteed brown oyster and button mushrooms. From my quick taste, the mushrooms had been friend in garlic and herbs and had a deep, earthy, garlicky flavour.

For dessert I chose the Zesty Orange and Almond Cake. Whole oranges had been cooked, pureed and combined with almonds. This wasn't a flourless orange cake, but a chunkier affair with large pieces of orange and almond adding texture to the cake. I really liked the large bits of orange that you might find in marmalade, the zesty orange flavours and sweetness of the cake.

I enjoyed the food, particularly my dessert. However, I couldn't recommend you visit until they hire a second waiter / waitress to bring more attention to their guests and speed up the service. Hopefully they were caught by surprise on a busy Wednesday night.

Harvest Vegetarian Restaurant
71 Evans St
Rozelle
2039

A few days away

2011-09-21T06:59:00.000+10:00

My sister has come to visit for three weeks. We're taking a few days to drive down along the south coast, through the Mornington Peninsula and into Melbourne.

Back soon.

Kenwood Kmix Unboxing

2011-09-19T06:55:00.000+10:00

Every now and then I got through a very familiar pattern. I decided that I would like to buy something, usually expensive and nearly always an unnecessary luxury.

It always starts the same way, I tell myself that I don't really need the item in question. It's too expensive, I'd never use it or I've got nowhere to put it. Think about the environment, the best way to be green is to buy less!

But all of the time that I'm denying myself, I can't get the item out of my mind. I'm researching. What is the best option? Where can I get it for the best price? What are all the good uses I can put it to?

Then one day, after much angst, I snap and buy it!

I went through the above process for about three years before I bought my first car. It was only three months for a stand mixer.

All the kneading for project sourdough really made me want to get a mixer. Searching on the internet, reading baking forums etc.. The Electolux DLX seems to get the best reviews for kneading, but is only available in the US. The iconic KitchenAid is good, but expensive. Then I discovered that Kenwood sells re-conditioned or display units through authorised sellers on eBay and Amazon at great prices. From my research the Kenwood Chef is probably a better machine, but it felt a bit plastic-y when I had a play with one. The Kmix just looked a bit cooler.

So when I snapped, justifying to myself I was "getting a good deal", I bought a Kmix online from Germany via the UK Amazon site.

The box was a bit beaten up. I'm not sure how much this has to do with the fact it was an ex-display model or the slightly less than perfect packaging caused a bit of damage.

When you open the box the first thing to do is lift out a two layer polystyrene unit. The top layer contains a spatula and booklet of instructions (all languages) and recipes (in German).

Lifting the top layer of the polystyrene off you expose the whisk, k-beater, dough hook and splash guard. There is a small empty recess in the polystyrene (bottom left) which makes me think I might be missing something. But checking against the list of contents in the welcome booklet I appear to have everything.

The mixer itself has a simple and functional look. There is no real question they were going for the KitchenAid 'look'.

Secondary motor outlet on the mixer for a grinder, pasta roller etc...

Project Sourdough: Spiced fruit loaf

2011-09-17T08:31:00.000+10:00

Flicking through my Bourke St Bakery cookbook, there are several recipes which use their 'fruit soak'. As it seemed to be the base for quite a few different loaves I decided that I should give it a go. I didn't have all the right fruit and spices for their spiced fruit loaf so decided to put my own twist on things.

I was quite surprised by the final result. It doesn't taste dissimilar to the fruit loaf I'm used to having at my grandparents house for afternoon tea. It is surprisingly sweet (no sugar added) and moist from all of the fruit. Bready, almost cakey, toasted with some jam I think this would go down a treat.

Baking Notes
I soaked a 100g mix of sultanas, raisins and cranberries in water for eight hours before I made my loaf. Draining the fruit of excess water before using.

The base for the loaf was 500g of regular white sourdough. When I had kneaded the sourdough for the final time I laid the dough on a bench, poured the fruit on top and then sprinkled over 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a few grates of nutmeg. What a mess! The dough became quite wet and sticky and I really wondered how I was going to mix everything in.

I did my best, it looked dreadful and I just gave up to start the two prove and knock back cycles. Luckily during this time the dough came together during the proves and fold and was workable (but still wet), but the time I came to shape the loaf.

I used some of the tips in this video to shape a round loaf. It is the first decent round loaf I have made that didn't rise awkwardly and look ugly when it had baked.

Things to try next time:
Overall pretty happy with the loaf, so not too many things to try next time. It seemed quite versatile so I think the main thing will be to have a play around with different fruits and spices to hand.
- Shaping a boule again using the same technique.
- Trying this recipe in a mixer as adding the fruit and spices by hand just created a huge mess.
- Must remember to slash the loaf before baking.
- The crust was a bit soft for my liking, so trying to improve that.

Restaurant Review: Delhi O' Delhi, Newtown

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000+10:00

After a successful trip to Bayleaf Brasserie, Saurav invited me to join him and some friends for dinner at Delhi O' Delhi in Newtown on Saturday night to sample some more Indian food.

Delhi O' Delhi is a modern, sleek, glass walled restaurant with white table cloths. Pitching itself at the smart end of Indian dining. Unfortunately I didn't find it lived up to the expectations that it was setting for itself.

As we were a large group we opted for the ease of the banquet menu which gave us three starters and four main courses. We were charged $40 per head for the banquet, which I thought was pretty rum when mains are only $20 each. I thought banquets were supposed to give you value or access to something a bit special? The service was a bit slow too.

None of us had ever heard of a duck curry so we ordered the duck karuval to see what it was like. For me it was the best curry of the night. It was dark, rich, mild and coconuty. Definitely one to order again. The other favourite from the evening was the andraki champen lamb cutlets that had been marinated and then cooked in the tandoor. The thick yoghurt marinade coated the lamb really well and we all picked up the bones to gnaw the meat off them!

Most of the other dishes were run of the mill. The goat curry certainly didn't live up to the one we had at Bayleaf. I'm sure there must be better curries out there in Sydney and I'll probably go in search of those before returning to Delhi O' Delhi.

After dinner we headed to the Freaky Tiki for a jug of punch and a game of pinball with an eclectic mix of fellow patrons! A quirky venu if you've never been.

Sikandri Chooza - chicken flavoured with cashew nuts and cheese.

Cooked in the tandoor.

Adraki Champen - lamb cutlets marinaded in crushed garlic, raw papaya,

paprika and slow cooked in the tandoor.

Murgh Dhaniwal - chicken curry with fennel seeds, ginger and almonds

Lamb Kesar E' Pukhtan - cooked in safron, cashew, almond and yoghurt.

Logan Ki Boti - goat curry

Duck Karuval - duck an coconut curry

Delhi O' Delhi

3 Erskenville Road

Newtown

2042

Project Sourdough: Trying out a few techniques

2011-09-13T07:49:00.000+10:00

A couple of weeks ago my good friend and fellow baker fodderfanboy sent me the links to a couple of really interesting videos by a home baker called Dom. (He happens to be English, but that's got nothing to do with why I like him!) There are lots of tips / things to observe in the videos, but I picked up three techniques I wanted to try.

If you are into your home baking, I'd recommend you watch them. They are only about 4mins each.

In the first video the two things that grabbed me were the cardboard pizza paddle and the technique of turning off your (fan) oven when you first put the bread in.

I've been toying with the idea of buying a pizza paddle so was curious to see how using part of a cereal box would work as a substitute. I first used my 'peel' for a pizza two weekends ago and it worked really well. You need to put a decent amount of flour onto it, but otherwise it worked just fine.

Today I used it with a sourdough for the first time and I didn't have enough flour on the peel or my stone so the loaf stuck a bit. I have been proving my bread on greaseproof paper and then just popping that directly onto the stone. It has worked well, so I'm a bit undecided on the best technique. I didn't like today's stuck loaf, but then I don't like the waste of using greaseproof paper either.

The second technique I took from the video was the idea of turning your oven off when you you put the bread in. I'm no expert on what helps your loaf to rise the most or how to obtain the bet crust, but I think the basic theory is that oven fans are a bit of a killer. The idea is to heat you oven to max and then turn it off, pop in your loaf and then turn it back on after 15mins to complete the baking.

One of the things that has been concerning me in my recent efforts is how dark my crust has been getting, almost reaching the burnt stage, so this was another idea that appealed.

In my excitement of all the new techniques I forgot to score my loaf (school boy error) so it is difficult to really know how it affected the rising. However, the crust definitely wasn't as dark after 35mins in the oven as I have been recently getting. I would actually prefer a slightly darker loaf than I achieved today so I need to refine this technique a bit.

The second video demonstrates baking your loaf inside a Le Crueset. Again, I don't really know what I am doing, but the idea is that steam is really important in the baking of your bread. I've been experimenting with putting a pan of recently boiled water in the base of my oven and squirting in some jets of water from my steam iron (classy, but it is the only spray jet I have) as I close the oven door.

The idea of this technique is that the loaf itself in a small enclosed space will create all the steam that it needs. My Le Crueset pans are all in London, so I just used a porcelain casserole pan that I have here in Sydney instead.

I baked for 15mins with the lid on and 15mins with lid off. Check out that crust! I haven't had the speckled effect before, it looks quite professional!

I'll definitely give this one a try again. My loaf stuck slightly to the base of the pot, so some more flour is needed.

Three interesting techniques, all definitely worth a second attempt to see if I can refine them some more.

Things to try next time:
- More flour on my cardboard peel and pizza stone
- Leaving my oven on max for a bit longer before I place the bread in the oven and turn it off, I think the temperature dropped too much.
- Not leaving the oven off for 15mins, perhaps only 10mins?
- More flour on my peel, baking stone and in the base of my casserole pan

Human Interest Story @Belvoir Theatre

2011-09-11T07:31:00.001+10:00

Deeply indebted to my friend Dave for inviting me to another Belvoir performance. This time to see Human Interest Story a dance performance exploring our relationship with modern media.

The programme notes start with:
"Human Interest Story aims to synthesise the many relationships between news and our experience"
Perhaps if you are some flouncy art critic who sees meanings that aren't really there.

That rather harsh start might make you think I didn't like the performance. However, it did start well with the six dancers speaking in unison about three modern news stories; the civil unrest in Syria, Amy Whinehouse's death and the Norwegian massacre. Not light subjects, but through their movement and staccato speaking the actors, almost, injected some humour into the topics. I say almost, because it would have been inappropriate to mock fun at such dark subjects. They did it well.

I didn't think the play was exploring any particular meanings, but it was an interesting way to be brought up to date with recent current affairs. There was more humour when they showed a fictional news broadcast (read by an SBS presenter?) of stories about cats getting stuck in trees in Melbourne.

And then it all went a bit odd. One of the cast had scrunched up newspapers stuffed down the back of his shirt and up his trouser legs. After the scrunching, a repetitive fifteen minute loop of rather bizarre dancing started.

I wasn't the only one in the audience to be getting restless. Up to the loop, the performance had consisted of six dancers. During the repetition I couldn't even console myself by watching the cute Jessica Wong who mysteriously disappeared. She might have had too much professional integrity!

I love the Belvoir for supporting young actors, new Australian scripts and for their wonderful stages. However, this one might have been a bit too different for me.

Road ID

2011-09-09T07:42:00.001+10:00

When I was doing my marathon training and heading out for a run, I set off with nothing but my keys and sometimes an energy gel or two.

I tried not to dwell, but what would happen if I had an accident? I never carried any identification and living on my own who would report me missing? The terrible Japanese tsunami brought some of the fears more sharply into focus when so many people went missing.

I have belatedly decided to do something about these fears. I have registered with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office LOCATE website. I have also bought myself a Road ID. The Road ID is a small wrist band with laser engraved personal details on it.

For just over $16 it seems like a bargain. The Road ID website makes suggestions of relevant information to put on the band, name, age, emergency contact details etc... My only gripe would be that it comes with quite a lot of packaging for a small item.

I've worn it out running and cycling a few times so far. It is light and unobtrusive. It felt a bit strange to have something additional on my wrist, usually having a bare right arm, but I'm sure it is nothing I won't get used to.

Restaurant Review: Arras Too, Sydney

2011-09-06T20:51:00.001+10:00

I've had Arras on my wish list since the start of the year. Unfortunately it hadn't quite reached the top when the restaurant closed back in June. So I was excited to learn Arras was soon to re-open on the old Bécasse site, giving me a second chance to visit.

The restaurant is still a month away, but the Arras Too café opened on Monday. Simon and I popped along to check it out.

We were lucky enough to have a chat with owner and chef, Adam Humphrey, while we were there. His passion, enthusiasm and strong views on food really came across.

He believes cafés should be all about the coffee, with the food playing second fiddle. (Big brother Arras next door will be doing that.) Arras Too promises lots daily changing English / Yorkshire specialities. Scotch eggs and pork pies were on the menu the day we popped in. Tomorrow it might be a gala pie. Is Sydney ready?

Adam hinted that those hoping Arras will have been simply transported from Walsh Bay to the City could be a disappointed. Changes are afoot. I'm hoping for good lunch specials!

I wish a fellow Brit flying the culinary flag in Sydney all the best.

Now this is a proper looking pie! The Yorkshire Pork Pie was hearty and filling. The pastry held together well and the pie filling was tender and tasty. It tasted traditional and proper.

There wasn't a layer of jelly in between the meat and the pastry that you get in some pork pies, but that pleased me as I'm not a fan of the jelly.

Mum used to make scotch eggs when I was a kid. She never managed a runny yolk though! The pork surrounding the egg had an almost red chorizo look, but wasn't that spicy. Again it tasted traditional, a bit like my mum's!

Adam recommended the walnut bread so we had to give it a go. Shaped a bit like a friand, with the texture of banana bread and a subtle taste of walnuts.

Our final treat was a custard tart. The pastry was impossibly thin and light. The custard filling was soft and liberally flavoured in nutmeg. Possibly a bit too liberally as it prevented the custard flavour from coming through.

If Adam could do a deal with nearby Redoak to serve their English Bitter I'd be a happy man. A pie and a pint. Bliss.

Arras Too
204 Clarence Street
Sydney
2000

Whisky Fair at Oak Barrel

2011-09-05T07:49:00.000+10:00

On Friday night I went to Oak Barrel in Sydney for Whisky Fair with some friends from the DTWC. Oak Barrel is one of my favourite bottle shops in Sydney. They've got a great range of international wines, whiskies and some friendly and knowledgeable staff to tell you about them.

The rival Whisky Live, which held its first event two years ago, didn't really live up to expectations and I'm sure the able event organisers at Oak Barrel thought they could do better. They did.

It was a well run evening, with the high ceiling back room of the shop lined with tasting tables. A $60 entry feel got you unlimited tastings for four hours. With hearty baguettes on offer and plenty of bottled water available, everyone managed to stay sober through the evening and I was thankfully clear headed the next morning!

The western end of the room had less known whiskies and distilleries. Most were unknown to me and I think there were a few new ones to my DTWC colleagues as well. I spoke to a couple of producers who are trying to crack the Australian market, including Springbank.

The eastern end of the room had some of the bigger houses including Laphroaig, Glenfarclas and Glenfiddich. I generally gave these tables a miss as I've tasted a lot of their whiskies before and was looking for something new.

The most interesting find of the evening was Bakery Hill, an Australian distillery in Victoria. The friendly owner, David, was there promoting his products. I enjoyed the Double Wood Single Malt that has been aged in American and French Oak barrels. It was a lot more complex and interesting than the Single that has been only aged in American barrels.

My favourite whisky of the evening was the Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Although they don't declare which whiskies make up the blend, the Johnnie Walker rep told us that some were from the 1960's. It's not often you get to drink a 50yr old whisky! It was a very smooth and easy drinking whisky, slightly sweet, fruity and with a little bit of spice. I was surprised how much I liked it.

A few bourbons were also on offer. Some might think that heresy at a whisky night, but I enjoyed tasting some of the rye bourbons. They are a very different animal to your Scotch whisky.

Overall a very good night. The room got a little bit crowded at times, but that is a minor complaint really. It is the type of event Whisky Live should have been. Only a shame we had to wait two years for it to happen!

Restaurant Review: Fix St James, Sydney

2011-09-02T07:05:00.000+10:00

An invite from Simon to join him and a couple of friends for lunch got me away from the usual food court / lunch at my desk to the rather smarter Fix St James. Thanks Simon!

The suits and case files at nearby tables gave away that we were close to Sydney's legal district.

The over sized chalk board / menu on one wall and café style tables gives the place a casual feel. However, the waiters and waitresses are almost silver service. Our waitress was able to talk confidently and in detail about the dishes on the menu, while the manager was able to give a low down on the wine being drunk at the table.

My only gripe would be that I found the menu a bit over stylized and difficult to read. I'm a simple man.

The food was all really good. Simon ordered Pete's famous falafel as a starter. Who's Pete? The chef we were told.

I ordered the suckling pig with white beans, sprouts and pumpkin. It was excellent. There was crunchy crackling and tender pork with a rich flavour. The eye of fat in the middle of the pork melted in my mouth and tasted almost apple-y. All of the vegetables were well cooked and there was a nice sauce that brought them all together. Folded through the beans was a salsa verde which added a light and fresh touch to the dish.

When the Coorong Angus Skirt Steak Tagliata arrived at the table the waitress joked that they like to make you eat your greens. Where is the steak? Again, another top dish. The rocket was lightly dressed with olive oil, lemon and parmesan.

Hidden underneath the mound of lettuce was skirt steak and duck fat roast potatoes. Having cooked a skirt steak recently I know that it can be a bit tough if not cooked well. It's a cut that is never going to melt in your mouth, but it was still tender and had a similar lemon dressing to the salad?

We ordered a side of Shooting Broccoli with Anchovy to share. The stir fried broccoli had an Asian vibe with garlic, chilli, soy and sesame oil (?) dressing. I was a bit surprised to taste such a distinctly Asian dish on an otherwise Mod Oz menu, but yet again well balanced and tasty.

Overall some great company and food. At nearly $35 a main course for lunch it is quite pricey. However, we managed to use two Entertainment Cards at the table (the first time I've managed to use my gold card!) which brought the bill down to a very reasonable level considering the quality of the food.

Fix St James
111 Elizabeth St
Sydney
2000

Restaurant Review: Bayleaf Brasserie, Crows Nest

2011-08-30T20:08:00.000+10:00

Finally some good Indian food in Australia! Thanks to Ricky Chong from Food Morning for inviting me to check it out.

I've been known to give Indian food in Sydney a harsh time after having some very average curries. The worst was on my first visit to Australia back in 2005. I went for a curry at a different restaurant in Crows Nest and it was two things Indian food never should be, watery and bland.

I wasn't sure what to expect going to Bayleaf Brasserie, thankfully it surpassed expectations. The waiter explained to us that they've deliberately gone for a small menu of regional specialities so that they can cook everything fresh from raw ingredients.

We started with Sadabahar Tikki, beetroot and kumura patties with a semolina crust and tamarind chutney. The patties had a fabulous colour when you cut them open. The semolina provided a nice crunch and the patties went well with the sourness from the tamarind chutney. There was a little bit of chilli and cumin there too.

The Hyderabad Nizami Bakra goat curry was Saurav's favourite of the evening. The goat was very tender. The thick tomato sauce was rich and flavoured with cardamon. There was a little bit more chilli than the Sadabahar Tikki which had my tongue tingling, although I don't think Saurav thought it was spicy at all!

When I was in India I loved all the eggplant dishes that we ate so was keen to order the Baingan Caldeen. The roasted baby eggplants were served in a creamy coconut sauce. This was the mildest and creamiest dish of the night. Almost korma-esque?

Our second main course was Laal Maas a Rajasthani beef curry with roasted coriander. Just like the goat curry the beef was very tender. It was the spiciest dish of the evening, but again wasn't too hot for me (which means it was pretty mild in the overall scale of things). Flavours of ginger and garlic came though.

We ordered a parantha on the side. This was the only disappointment of the evening for me. After the fabulous bread I had hot out of the oven all over India, the parantha failed to excite in the same way.

On a quiet Tuesday night the plaza location was a little soulless with most of the eateries being quiet. Inexplicably they showed us to a small table when the restaurant was half empty and it would have done them no harm to give us something bigger.

Overall some really good, regional Indian food. There wasn't a generic korma, rogan josh or jalfrazi on the menu, which is a good thing in my book. Some of the flavours tasted just like those I had in India. The restaurant does regional Sunday buffets which would be interesting to check out; Hydrabad, Mumbai and Amritsar are coming up. On the strength of the food the cooking class would be fun to try too.

12-14 Crows Nest Plaza
111 Willoughby Rd
Crows Nest
2065

Restaurant Review: The Meeting Point, China Town, Sydney

2011-08-28T18:32:00.002+10:00

Thanks to Ricky Chong from Food Morning for inviting me to check out The Meeting Point in China Town.

Despite having a good Taiwanese friend, I've never been quite sure what Taiwanese food actually is. The beef dish I had at Rice Queen in Melbourne piqued my interest, so I was keen to check out this busy Taiwanese café nestling behind Paddy's Market.

We started with a jumbo mixed fruit green tea. Serving the teas in a large carafe seems to be a signature of the restaurant. I initially thought it was to share, but they brought us two! The tea was good with some real fruit and not too sweet, which I often find a problem with iced tea.

Both Phil and I had a bento box for lunch. I had the Stewed Pork Ribs Bento while Phil went for the Stewed Chicken Leg Bento Box. I'd previously thought bento boxes were Japanese, but a quick check on wikipedia informs me that they are traditionally Taiwanese too.

The boxes looked great, but were unfortunately a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting the salad to be room temperature, but the rice, chicken and pork were all cold too. Perhaps even worse they were bland as well. The only truly tasty and original item was the thinly shaved pumpkin with a passion fruit dressing. Something I've never eaten before, but would happily have again.

Things picked up with the desserts. The fresh strawberry pudding had an intense strawberry flavour and the pudding was smooth. The Taiwanese traditional shaved ice usually isn't my thing, but I actually enjoyed the taro, pumpkin, green beans, condensed milk and pearls that covered a mound of shaved ice.

Shop R1.01B Hay Street,
(On the outside of Market city, next to the light rail tracks on the Pyrmont side)
Market City Ground Floor,
Sydney
2000

Arran Whisky, more romantic than memorable

2011-08-27T18:52:00.001+10:00

Warming up for the next Distant Thunder Whisky Club social on Friday night I decided to get out my Arran private bottling for a renewed tasting.

The story behind the whisky is quite romantic. At one time there were over fifty distilleries on the Isle of Arran, however, they had all closed by 1837. After more then 150 years a new distillery was opened on the Isle in 1995.

Scotch whiskies have to be aged for a minimum of three years (although most are aged for longer), which gives new businesses a cash flow problem as they can't sell anything for years! The Arran distillery isn't unique in selling private barrels to generate some revenue before the whisky is ready to drink.

A friend of my aunt bought a barrel and she was kind enough to get me a bottle. The label states:
"The private owner's bottling is from a single cask produced at Lochranza Distillery on the Isle of Arran. Cask number 96/535 was filled in June 1996 and bottled in July 2007 without colouring or chill-filtration.."

Attracted by the story behind the whisky I was willing it to be good. However, as El Capitan pointed out expectations should really be checked by the fact that this was one of the first whiskies the distillery every made. There would inevitably be a learning process going on.

The whisky has a nice deep straw colour. There is a floral nose, definitely not complex. Light and refreshing.

At first taste there was a little bit of alcoholic shock (46%). Slightly buttery there are no distinguishing flavour notes. A short finish with no aftertaste. I tried cutting the whisky with water, but it didn't really change the flavour.

I hate to say it, but this might be a good non-descript whisky to mix with coke. It wasn't a bad whisky, just nothing really distinguishing about it.

I'd be interested to taste one of their more recent whiskies to see how the distillery has developed.

Restaurant Review: Bistro Papillon, Sydney CBD

2011-08-24T14:00:00.000+10:00

After dinner on Wednesday at Porteño my gourmet week continued with a Friday supper at Bistro Papillon. I met up with friends Oliver and Mary to check out the French bistro that has been on my wish list since January.

I received an email to confirm my booking and (a bit tipsy) decided to reply in French. The next morning I realised I made a few spelling mistakes so decided I'd better stick to English in the restaurant. Although I had to resist the urge to practice my school boy French with the waiters on several occassions.

Oliver and Mary were loving Bistro Papillon. The lively atmosphere of people enjoying their evenings, foreign accents and French posters on the wall had transported them to Europe. I was still in Sydney until, odly, I visited the bathrooms. I couldn't quite place the orange scented fragrance, but it took me right back to holidays in France.

We started with some snails that came out ferociously hot. After leaving them to cool a little they had a strong initial flavour of garlic butter and a subtle snail finish. A very gaelic way to start.

I chose the coq au vin for my main course. I was a little disappointed that there were only three small(ish) pieces of chicken. However, the chicken was tender and the red wine sauce and a nice depth of flavour. I liked it, but just wished there was some more of it!

I snuck a taste of Mary's Papadelle au lapin. The homemade pasta had a silky texture and bite from being cooked al-dente. There was a zing of lemon and a richness from the rabbit. It tasted great and was no surprise that Mary was raving about it.

Oliver liked his Supreme de caille au poivre vert (quail) so much that he wasn't giving away any tastings!

We had a side of the Gratin dauphinoise (included in the price of the main). Considering the amount of butter that was in all the other dishes I actually thought the potatoes could have done with a bit more cream. There isn't a lot of point having a gratin unless you push the boat out!

We decided on a profiteroles to share for dessert. I couldn't get enough of the creme anglais sitting in the bottom of the bowl. It reminded me of my summers in Le Mont Dore with my parents where the hotel served every dessert with a wonderful creme anglais.

I really enjoyed my evening at Bistro Papillon. I didn't think it was as stellar as Mary and Oliver, but then comparisons with the unbelievable Porteño a couple of nights before were clouding my judgement. It was still the best French food I've had in Sydney.

Bisto Papillon
98 Clarence Street
Sydney
2000

Restaurant Review: Porteño, Surry Hills

2011-08-22T20:14:00.000+10:00

It feels like I'm one of the last people in Sydney to visit Porteño in Surry Hills. Ever since I first saw photos of whole lambs and suckling pigs being roasted over an open fire pit I knew that I wanted to visit. Bringing an Argentinian style asador to Sydney was a genius idea.

I visited Porteño last Wednesday with three friends from the running group. We started with a drink in the upstairs Gardel's Bar while waiting for our table. The upstairs bar is dark and intimate, while downstairs is larger, louder and more open with big marble tables. The fire pits are along one side of the wall and I couldn't resist popping over to inspect the action.

I was already having a good evening enjoying catching up with friends and having a glass of Malbec. When the food arrived it was placed in the middle of the table to be shared. Oh my. I was expecting to be bowled over by the meats, but it was actually the side and vegetable dishes that excited me the most. There were so many great flavour combinations that tasted damn fine. It was funny to see the jaws drop of my dining companions as they tasted things for the first time and various "best I've ever tasted" remarks were made.

During the evening the service was friendly and warm which helps you forget the worries of your day and relax. However, just because the service was friendly it definitely wasn't casual. I was pretty impressed with how they remembered my name and dealt with every detail of the evening. It was a fine dining level of being looked after in a more relaxed atmosphere. The couple of (small) slip up that did occur were met with genuine apologies.

The venue is good, the service is admirable, the concept awesome and the food memorable. Up until now I've rated Billy Kwongs as my favourite Sydney restaurant due to having had three fantastic evenings there. Porteño could be about to take that crown. I really did enjoy it that much.

The only down side is their reservation policy that they politely but firmly apply. You can only book tables for groups of five or more. Smaller groups have to turn up and wait and you will only be seated once all of your party arrive. Because the restaurant is so popular it means that you can have quite a wait before being seated.

BERENJENAS PICANTE Spiced Eggplant

The smokey eggplant was served cold. There was a subtle kick of chilli and a blend of spices. I don't think North African harissa has made it to Argentina, but it was that type of vibe. One of the stars of the evening.

CALAMRES ASADO BBQ Calamari with Chickpea Sofrito,

Preserved Lemon &amp;amp; Watercress

The calamari was another winner and my expectations were beginning to severely heightened by the quality of the first two dishes. The chickpea sauce was rich and had a sweet smoked paprika flavour. I didn't taste any preserved lemon.

CORDERO A LA CRUZ 8 hour Woodfired Free Range Lamb

The lamb and suckling pig are the two reasons you go to Porteño, so I was pleased my dining companions were happy to order both dishes. The meat of both was very tender and the skin crispy. (I don't think I've ever had crispy lamb skin before?)

CHANCHITO A LA CRUZ 8 hour Woodfired Free Range Suckling Pig

If there was a disappointment with the meat it was that there was no discernible smokey flavour flavour from being cooked over wood. The meats were also dominated by the excellent tomato salsa and chimichurri accompaniments we were given (both stars in their own right).

POLENTA A LA TABLA Polenta with Provolone Cheese

The only dish of the night I wouldn't order again. The polenta was a bit too over cheesy for me.

REPOLLITOS DE BRUSELA FRITO Crispy Fried Brussel Sprouts

with Lentils and Mint

Brussel sprouts are something I avoid at Christmas time, but hearing it was a signature dish I decided to give them a go. The crispy sprouts are served with lentils. The lentils tasted a little bit French like those I'd expect to be served with duck. That's not a criticism as it worked as a combination.

POSTRE CHAJA South American Style Pavlova

Not really a pavlova the dessert was pretty sweet. A nice way to round off the meal.

Good friends, good food, good times.

Porteño
358 Cleveland Street,
Surry Hills,
2010

Sutherland Half Marathon

2011-08-20T22:33:00.000+10:00

Today I took part in the cross country Sutherland Half Marathon organised by the Sutherland Athletics Club. It was a fantastic and intimate event held in the Royal National Park just south of Sydney. I haven't been to the National Park before and it was lovely to get out of Sydney for the day.

We were lucky that the predicted rain stayed away, however, the rain during the week made for a pretty wet and muddy course as you can see from Trish's shoe!

I thought the Great Ocean Road marathon was a twee event, but this really was a small local club run. There were no timing chips, you could turn up and register on the day and mugs of tea waiting for you on the finishing line. It had the atmosphere of a village fete and I really liked it!

Despite running three marathon in the last year I've never run a half marathon. The only other two events I've competed in are last years City2Surf and a Nike 10k back in London several years ago.

Since Gold Coast I've done very little running, so wasn't in particularly good shape for this run. However, when I went to watch the finish of this years City2Surf last weekend I was surprised what a large number of 'average' (aka I'd rate my chance against them) looking runners were finished around the 55 minute mark. That's a seriously good time and I don't think hard training schedules had got them there. Mind over matter can be a powerful thing.

So I decided to go out hard in today's run, which isn't my usual tactic, and see how far I could go. The half marathon is along a track in the national park. Although the track is in pretty good shape there were some boggy patches and quite uneven ground in place. It was quite beautiful (reminding me a bit of Gelt Woods) but you had to keep your eyes on the track rather than take in too much scenery.

The majority of runners seemed to be club members and there was lots of encouraging calling out of names. I felt a bit excluded not being part of the 'in' crowd!

I felt pretty good most of the way round, running fairly consistent 4min 30sec kilometers all the way round. Although tough it wasn't impossible and I could probably have gone a bit faster. Around the 3km mark an African running came charging past me. I can only think he missed the start by a few minutes and was now cutting his way through the field.

The course was an out and back loop. When I was still a couple of kilometers from the turn I met the leader flying back towards me. He was streaks ahead of everyone else, I couldn't believe how much of a lead he'd established in such a short race. The African runner was already up to the main pack (although that was quite a long way behind the leader).

As I crossed the finishing line there was a man writing down all of our times and we were given a card containing our finishing position that we took to across to a table where there was a lady writing up the results. All a bit old fashioned!

After seeing Phil, Trish and Jennie cross the finish line it was time to get into some of the refreshments! Burgers were being sold at $3.50 each and then pieces of cake were the phenomenal 60c! In the name of supporting the club I had a lamington, piece of cheesecake, muffin and cup cake. Lovely homemade cakes at ridiculous prices. They should have been charging way more.

Just like at the Gold Coast Marathon there were luck door prizes (everyone who ran the race was entered into a raffle essentially). I won the men's prize which was a voucher for a pair of running shoes. Awesome!

I finished the race in 1hr 34min 16sec, I was 29th overall. The data from my watch is here.

I'll add links to the Sutherland website when the results are published.

Update: results are now on the Sutherland website. They stopped the clock at 1hr 34min 23sec.