Temasek

Australia Day at Mt Macedon

2012-01-30T21:45:00.000+11:00

Ok ... every year M's band has the marvellous opportunity of playing at the Joy FM picnic in Mount Macedon. This year was no exception and we spent a few wonderful hours on a beautiful Summer's day amongst lush surroundings sipping (or rather spilling) a nice bottle of rose and munching on roast chicken, ham and pastrami rolls. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Pineapple Tarts!

2012-01-30T21:00:00.000+11:00

Ok ... gift giving is a bitch but every now and then I strike gold and this year's Christmas and Birthday hit paydirt. Unfortunately M's medical practitioner has thrown us some shade and his Kenwood Patissier and shiny new marble slab have become the white good temptations of Job.

But everything in moderation right? Well there are exceptions, and Pineapple Tarts are one.

For CNY 2012, M tried his hand at making Pineapple tarts from scratch, pastry, jam and all.

It was a chance to give M's christmas present a full work out.

And I must say the end result was both suitably festive and pretty spot on in the flavour and texture stakes.

Hey Sister, Soul Sister ... its erm miss marmalade!

2012-01-30T18:24:00.000+11:00

Ok ... I have always been curious about this little plonked in the middle of nowhere cafe that was always either closed or perpetually crowded every time we drove past. So after copping the whole "worse sense of direction" speech (I had no clue as to name or location), we finally worked out (thanks to Claire's wonderful blog) that we needed to head towards Union Street, Brunswick for the cafe delights of Miss Marmalade.

There's something special and slightly naughty about brunching/lunching on a working day. Its certainly less hectic than on a weekend, mind you we watched the cafe and the outdoor seating gradually fill up while we were sat in the cutest little window nook sipping 5 senses coffee and munching on our Tostade.

The staff are super friendly, the coffee fantastic and the food pretty darn (well what we had anyways) amazing.

Our pork belly and chorizo tostade is apparentlya recent addition to the menu which they are trying out. Well I hope it becomes a mainstay as it was the perfect combination of avo, fresh tomatoes, roasted caps, yoghurt aioli, manchego, chorizo and pulled pork. Heaven.

We'll definitely be back. I need to try the green fritters and also the duck.

The Gourmet Truck Juggernaut - CBA Friday at the Gumbo Kitchen

2012-01-28T11:08:00.000+11:00

Ok ... so we're jumping on the gourmet truck phenomenon bandwagon, joining countless other Melburnians frantically checking their twitter pages to see where the latest taco/burger/sausage rolls are being parked and served.

The newest edition is the Gumbo Kitchen and their delectable Po'Boys!!

On Friday nights the Gumbo Kitchen truck is usually parked out the front of the Lux Foundry Cafe in Brunswick, which is an ideal spot as there's masses of room both in and out doors for hungry punters to soak up the sun and chow down.

Plus there is cold beer to be had at the bar.

The Gumbo Kitchen serves up road stand style Creole food, with a selection of Gumbo served with rice and also the aforementioned "Po'Boys"! We chose to have the Domilises - "Slow braised beef debris on chunky fries with cajun remoulade and pickles".

And we also ordered a Prawn Po' Boy - "Deep fried, lightly spiced and battered shrimp, crispy lettuce, tomato, pickles, Cajun spiced remoulade and Crystal hot sauce all packed into a fluffy bread roll".

Let me break it down (Bobbie Brown!) - you don't follow a roving truck round the cooler hipster suburbs expecting food with finesse and concerns about provenance and distilled organic flavours. This is a whomp in your face hit of salty mischief that your Doctor will advise against in respect to your health, but should encourage in respect to gimmicky fun and frivolity. (and believe me, its salty!!)

So like them on facebook or follow them on twitter, then hope for a fine day and warm weather, and track these Po'Boys down!! Its fun!

I have a youtube page and I'm not afraid to use it ...

2012-01-26T10:02:00.000+11:00

Ok ... 2012 is the year that I am attempting to increase my online footprint. I'm still not quite there yet with Twitter or any of those "on the go" type social applications, mainly because I'm cheap and refuse to pay the exorbitant per megabees data rates on my otherwise criminally cheap mobile service plan.

Anyhoo, I am here to announce that the Temasekblog engine now has its own youtube page for (before you get all excited) lovers of stupefying videos of records playing, bad taste music and tinny sound.

Intrigued? Well log on here.

Here is a sample of the "delights" on offer:

Gong Xi Fa Cai 2012 - Part 1

2012-01-22T21:29:00.000+11:00

Ok ... my paternal grandfather had 2 chinese wives ... erm ... at the same time. And although my father grew up speaking both Bahasa and Cantonese, with a soupcon of Oriental traditions and customs thrown in, the later intrusion of Christianity put paid to any hope of ushering the lunar new year in with due festivity.

So its only since I have arrived on antipodean shores that I have had the opportunity to celebrate CNY, and that is mainly due to our good friend CC.

So this year was no different, although we marked the occasion slightly earlier than convention dictates, still its always fascinating to see what changes have been made to their Bulleen monolith, and what other wondrous produce their garden extrudes with annoying ease.

This time round it was what has been affectionately termed a wall of Nursing Home art (sadly I did not coin this phrase but have appropriated it in the spirit of convivial joshing):

And some lovely variegated roses (they have this is in the garden, but these particular specimens were store bought):

Our evening's repast began with a mandatory serve of Lo-Bak-Go (Chinese Radish Cake). You can find these in all good Asian shops throughout the year, but supplies increase in the lead up to Chinese New Year. Its basically a rectangular slab of cooked radish cake dotted with dried shrimp and chinese mushroom. You cut these into squarish pieces and pan fry them to form a golden brown crust all round. Serve with a garlic, soy and chilli dip. This is absolutely scrumptious and a great starter whatever the time of year. But be warned, the tendency is to guts yourself on this and end up not having room for much else.

CC had these gorgeous long sweet green capsicums that he picked from his garden and decided to stuff these with a mixture of minced pork and beef and prawn. The leftover mixture was used to stuff some chinese mushrooms that he had handy. These were served as entree along with the Lo-Bak-Go. They were to die for. And the green peppers had a bit of a scoville punch.

To help wash down a bit of all this fired goodness, there was slow cooked chicken broth, using the standard Chinese dried herb mix and not much else. Perfect digestive preparation for the mains to come.

I'm not sure about the significance of the various numbers and ingredients, but for mains we had a piece of fried swordfish with a spring onion and sesame sauce;

Slow cooked sweet pork which had to be cut into Squares theoretically;

And DV rustled up a quick dish of Tofu which again was amazingly simple and delicious (bastard!).

Unfortunately my photo seems to have gone walkabout, but we also had stir fried asparagus with scallops.

All in all, CC outdid himself yet again in the culinary stakes and served a memorable meal to usher in the pending prosperity that we are sure to all enjoy this year.

And of course we ended the night with some Nian Gao (sticky cake), which CC friend with egg and served with Passionfruit Gelato (which I politely declined even as he tried his forceful best to convince me otherwise). Although I am partial to a bit of sticky sugary yumminess, I must admit and agree with H that when it arrived a-table, under the dim dining room lights, it did look like raw steak ready for the bbq.

So in the end, although DV was unable to purchase his roast duck, CC got his 10 dishes:

(i) a selection of fruit with cocktails served poolside
(ii) M's pineapple tarts (this will be another post)
(iii) Lo-Bak-Go
(4) Stuffed Long chillies
(5) Chicken Soup
(6) Slow cooked pork
(7) Stir fried swordfish
(8) DV's Tofu extravaganza
(9) Stir fried asparagus and scallop
(10) Nian Gao

So to you and yours, Xin Nian Quia Le!!!

Newport Lights

2012-01-22T20:45:00.000+11:00

Ok ... further on from my previous post about Newport Lakes, our recent warehouse find has been installed and is looking marvellous!

Newport - "such a pretty house and such a pretty garden"

2012-01-15T19:00:00.001+11:00

Ok ... well I'm sure Thom Yorke was erring on the "Sarki" side with those lyrics, but I will appropriate them to describe Newport - beautiful victorian double fronters with the occassional faux-brick missteps and glass-cut modern temples nestled amongst old brick silos and bone-white industry, plus the cutest little shopping village this side of Essendon.

We tootled along its savvy streets in M's clapped out Camry, passing European 4 wheelers in their dozens, on our way to the suburb's slice of suburban bush - the Newport Lakes.

What a pleasant way to spend a glorious summer sunday arvo, casually strolling through native flaura circumventing a man made stone quarry lake.

We can't wait to get back here for some picky-nicky action! Any takers?

PS we even came away with some homewear bargains - soon to be an outdoor lamp shade and snazzy waste paper basket.

Have you had your Miaow Mix for today?

2012-01-15T18:34:00.000+11:00

Ok ... watchu talkin bout Willis!

Strip for me I'll strip for you ... treasures at The Searchers

2012-01-12T23:16:00.000+11:00

Ok ... this was the Diva Showdown of my generation!!!

And I scored a pristine copy at The Searchers on Smith Street for the princely sum of $2.

In fact, my recent breeze through of a lunchtime garnered quite a swag of bargains. I reckon it was a gay break up and some prissy queen sold off his Bf's prized collection of well-kept LPs as a form of retaliation.

Well their loss, my gain!!

Baby Spew and the Resurrected Lobsters - Our first Cook Up of the Year

2012-01-09T15:18:00.005+11:00

Ok ... I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - 2012 is going to be Amazing!!! I can feel it in me waters. And what better way to celebrate its auspicious start than with our very first cook up for the year.

"The Receipts"

The weather gods were kind and gave us a beautiful Melbourne Summer's day. We simply had to augment their celestial efforts with sprigs of tiny purple flowers (that I lovingly called Baby Spew … and the penny dropped on that woeful pun with M only a couple of days later) and a jug or two of Campari and Prosecco cocktails. (picture not included … too busy drinking).

Baby Spew - $5 from Little Saigon

Our house pulled out all the stops to freshen the bloom of a shiny new roof.

Isn’t she pretty?

Our menu for the evening was as follows:

Entree - Steamed Octopus with Lemon and Oat Sauce (by Nicolas Poelart of Embrasse)
Main - Roast Lobster served with heirloom tomato salad, lemon infused cous cous and simple green salad (Neil Perry)
Dessert - Fresh peaches with zabaglione (also by Neil Perry)

As per ush, we started on dessert first. We all had a hand (or three) in whisking the egg yolk, sugar and marsala concoction that forms the Zabaglione. There was a moment of panic when P realised he may have miscalculated (he must be one hell of a maths tutor!!) the proportions, but it all worked out in the end.

“Whisk away”

There was enough of the mixture to fill 3 of our newly acquired powder blue ramikins purchased at Daiso (I.Heart.Daiso).

Pretty in Blue

We left these to set in the fridge and turned our attention to the sous-viding of our octopus tentacles. We purchased one octopus for about $6 over at Footscray Market much to the incredulity of the fishmonger's “wife”. (How many legs does an octopus have indeed!! Just shut up and bag the bitch already!!) She even tried to smuggle another one in the bag as she weighed it. Good Spottage P!!

P cleaning our Cephalopod

P painstakingly stripped the tentacles of most of the skin. Then it was into a sandwich bag and sealed tightly with a rubber band. We got the water up to rolling boil in a pot, turned the fire off, popped the sandwich bag in and put the lid on. 20 mins later, we retrieved the bag and placed its contents into bowl of icy water.

Ready for its warm bath

20 mins later

We started on the Oat Sauce next, which was literally oats toasted in a pan and then infused in warm cream and milk with a final flourish of lemon zest. And yes it was screaming !Breakfast! to us too. If a field expert had soundtracked this process, it would have been the sonic equivalent of a nervous twitch. How the hell was this going to turn out?? And what was it going to taste like?? A steaming bowl of oat porridge with some marinara mix anyone?

Toasty Oatsy

Warming the milk and cream

With the Oat sauce done, it was time for us to face the one task we had been silently dreading all afternoon – (dun dun dun!!!) - the killing of the lobsters. We had 2 plump specimens slowly being lulled into a comatose state in the freezer. Thankfully Neil Perry left some instructions in his article which we followed to the T. But what really creeped us out was the fact that even after they were halfed and the brain matter scooped out, the flesh of one of the lobsters continued to contract and expand, pulsing like some cell splitting amoebic alien. And what was worse, it was still doing it even as I smothered the shell with olive oil, salt and butter, and continued to do so on the tray while it was in the oven. Hell! You can't get any fresher than that.

Head First!

Split in 2

Onto the asparagus which we crumbed in baker's flour (answers on a postcard please!), egg and breadcrumbs made from a stale sourdough pana di casa loaf. These were deep fried to golden crunchiness in olive oil. After getting rid of most of the oil, we warmed the octopus tentacles in the same pan. Then we blitzed the oat sauce with our trusty bamix to create foam (oh yes dear readers, we have transcended into the realm of molecular gastronomy!) and then it was ready for plating! P worked his magic and finally entree was served.

Lovely Crumbed green spears turning golden in the pan

Crumbed, fried and draining

A little bit of molecular magic - making foam

And you know what? Oat sauce with seafood - match made in heaven!!

Entree - Steamed Octopus with Lemon and Oat Sauce

Feeling quite smug with our efforts, we started on roasting the lobsters. P worked on his heirloom tomato salad and M beautifully moulded his cous cous with the aid of an expresso coffee cup. It was time for our main to be served, but not before a minor glitch when I totally fucked up the lemon, butter and parsley sauce which was meant to go with the lobsters.

Heirloom tomatoes

Dressed in butter ready for the oven

Despite the fact that perhaps the lobsters could have been left in the oven a smidge longer, they were absolutely scrumptious! Having said that, I have to admit that I prefer crab over lobster, but I revelled in the fanciness. P's Grant Burge Pinot Noir Chardonnay was also going down a treat.

Main - Roast Lobster with lemon infused cous cous and heirloom tomato salad

The Perfect sparkling to go with the lobster

It wasn’t very much long after this that peaches were being blanched quickly in water, pealed and sliced, ready to decorate our individual servings of caramel coloured zabaglione. Dessert was served.

Blanching Peaches

Slicing Peaches

Zabaglione, how do I love thee!! Let me count the ways ... munch, munch, slurp, slurp and munch!!

Dessert - Fresh Peaches with Zabaglione

So there you have it, first cook up, and arguably the very best so far!

We ended the evening flopped on the couch, (and thanks to P asking me what my very favourite Pizzicato 5 song was), listening to this:

Stormy Weather

2012-01-08T08:40:00.000+11:00

Ok ... gang-gangs in the trees ... that can only mean wild weather in M's books

Wade in the Water ... 2012

2012-01-02T11:26:00.000+11:00

Ok ... its 2012 and the warm weather continues. Some people love it, others struggle. I'm in the latter camp I'm afraid. I do like slumming it in shorts and T-shirts, but I hate the fact that I turn up to parties in them. I love the fact that a quick towel wipe leaves you clean and dry after a shower, but I hate that 5 mins later, you're sweating like a pig. I love the longer languid days, but I hate the hell of a hangover on a muggy and still day after.

So while the bro and bf had a thousand glamorous balloons, we decamped to the burbs to soak in a warm salt-cleansed pool ...

Indulging in some truly delicious food and cocktails ...

Hello New Year and hello hangover!!

Middle Fish and only in the middle of the day!!

2011-12-31T18:01:00.000+11:00

Ok ... I've had Thai food numerous times throughout my life, but I can't honestly say if any of it has ever been authentic. So I'm not going to enter into any discussions about authenticity in this review. I am however Asian, and can generally spot versions that I would consider westernised and limpid. Thankfully, Middle Fish treats their customers with respect.

First things first, as a general rule of thumb, capsicum, baby corn and large chunks of onion are not ingredients that are widely used in South East Asian cooking. If something is labelled spicy, then it really should be spicy. And if ever you run a store in Singapore and serve about a half a teaspoon of chilli sauce/sambal on the plate, you might as well close shop and re-appraise your business plan.

My favourite Thai Dishes are Tom yam, green curry, and the infinite varieties of Laab, none of which I had when we visited this amazing space (have a wander round when you're there) in Carlton. NB: they are not open for dinner - 10am-4pm. I wanted to check out the specials.

Already being heralded as as Melbourne's answer to Sydney's superior Thai cuisine, this newly minted Thai eatery pulls no punches.

We began our afternoon's repast with Iced coffees (the new summer hit) served in these gorgeous pressed metal bowls. We then chose from the Try This section of the menu. I stupidly did not take note of the actual names and descriptions, but we had Items 1 and 2.

M had a Southern Thai style fish which is cooked in Coconut milk and tasted so much like Serondeng that I was immediately transported to my childhood with the first mouthful. Accompanying this was a bowl of Kang Kong and onion, a bowl of pickled carrot with beanshoots and a plate of noodles for soakage.

I had a Northern Thai style dish of spicy minced pork that was served with a Goldfish shaped mound of rice and various raw and blanched vegetables. If you can't take the heat, then this is not the dish for you. I on the other hand was in heaven.

My only concern with the food is that if you are going to serve raw veg, they really need to be fresh. My broccolli was slightly blackened round the stems, and the snake beans should really have been cooked. Simply put, they were not fresh.

But all in all, the food was homestyled and absolutely delicious. What a wonderful addition to Melbourne's culinary scene, and one I hope will last the distance. Oh and for those Singaporeans out there, be warned, there's no aircon.

Pimms Galore!!

2011-12-31T17:16:00.000+11:00

Ok ... since its like fucking 35 degrees outside, I think its perfect weather to see in the New Year with Pimms!!!

Its the new thing. And I recommend heading out to Gertrude Street with friends and having a Pimms jug at Rue de Fleurus, where Claypots used to be.

We had a boozy afternoon with our dear friend P, who I am trying to con into guest blogging since he's going all fancy and spending NYE at Vue de Monde. I want him to post on the canapes and cocktails and the clientele ... but I'm feeling the cop out already even before the night has begun.

You may also like to consider some charcuterie and a negroni over at the Gertrude Street Enoteca. Its not the sort of weather for wine or anything involving a stove top or oven.

Happy New Year's Everyone!!!

Christmas Eve dinner - Braised Duck

2011-12-31T17:00:00.001+11:00

Ok ... having baulked at the price of the smallest goose to be had (about 100 bucks), we decided on the next best alternative, a plump $17 whole duck from Little Saigon.

I hooked out a Teochew Braised Duck recipe online (great blog btw) which involved a slow braise with fairly straightforward ingredients. Boy did the final product pack a punch!

The recipe also includes instructions for an accompanying chilli sauce. I'm not really a fan of sour, particularly of the citrus variety, but it went extremely well with the richness of the duck.

I cooked mine for about 3 hours, although I think I may lessen the cooking time in future. I like a bit of give where my poultry is concerned (I think its the Asian in me). You could get away with about an hour and a half. But its worth the effort spooning the sauce over the parts of the duck not immersed in the cooking liquid. And definitely make sure you turn the bird over once.

If ever you have friends who bemoan the fact that they can't cook but are eager to wow some friends/family, tell them to try this. Its relatively simple but the results are complex in flavour and texture.

We served ours with some chicken rice and some pickled vegetables. The pickle was a quick soak in rice vinegar salt and sugar. The chicken rice was cooked in the rice cooker with a couple of teaspoons of bottled chicken rice sauce - I recommend Uncle Sun Hainan Chicken rice mix.

This is how you do Christmas dinner folks! Oh and thanks to a rather backhanded kris kringle (long story), we enjoyed a bottle of Andrew Glaetzer's Annaperenna, which is super hard to get and is probably worth more than $50 a pop. But oh so yummy!

On our way to Christmas Eve

2011-12-31T16:41:00.000+11:00

Ok ... in the lead up to Christmas, M and I did brunch at The Premises in Kensington. If I had the wherewithall, I would move to Bellair Street, Kensington in a flash. This little corner has seen a number of cafes and shops come and go. The Premises is a relatively new addition and is the cutest little cafe out. The coffee is great and the food is good, which is really all you need to know. And I love the luxury of a brunch, particularly on a weekday, with the madness of the weekend kept firmly in check.

M had the homestyle white beans with fetta and pesto.

I had the old poach eggs and we both ordered bacon and haloumi as extras.

Check it out if you're ever in the hood. I'm dying to go back and try the slow roasted pulled pork.

Delicious!

The Post Christmas Deluge begins

2011-12-31T10:26:00.000+11:00

Ok ... so now that the festive season is over, its time to knuckle down and squeeze in some reportage in between the unbuttoned trousers, gastric fevers, liver and lung perforations. Frankly speaking I'm over all this christmas goodwill and cheer, and would like nothing better than to get into my trakkie shorts and curl up on the couch with a bowl of clear chicken broth ... but there's NYE to come!!! So lets push on.

Firstly, wasn't the Christmas Day Hail amazing!! If those nuggets weren't so worryingly big, we could have pretended it was snow.

Still it was a lovely Christmas Day over at D's. Its always good to catch up with friends you only see about once a year.

M trumped with his curry puffs and plum puds.

He also added Sugee Tea Cakes to his party repertoire.

And over at J & CC's on Boxing Day, my lemongrass curry was apparently the "star" and "very excellent"! But my culinary nemesis DV surprised everyone with a sweet, his amazing trifle!

To top it all off, M gave me an automatic Coffee machine and he scored a Kenwood Patissier Mixer (in white though, the saga of a red one and my tanty at Good Guy's perhaps should be for another post).

Before we leave Christmas 2011 well and truly in the past, I will tell you about our amazing Christmas Eve repast ... thats coming up soon.

Merry Christmas Y'all

2011-12-24T17:29:00.000+11:00

Ok ... I have been remiss and left it to the very last minute to wish you and yours a happy happy Christmas. I'm basting (well not right at this moment of course) a duck in my "dutch" oven ready for tonight's Christmas Eve repast. M is busy scraping out Curry Puffs from the oven tray in preparation for Christmas and Boxing day festivities ... and for these few moments, all seems right with the world.

See you in the New Year!! 2012 is going to be genius!! I know it!!

New Beginnings - Architecture and Symbolism

2011-12-23T18:52:00.001+11:00

Ok ... while M is in the kitchen grappling with the finer points of a well fought and earned Sugee Cake recipe, I'm taking this opportunity to put the horse before the cart and talk about New Year's resolutions. Well, what I wanted to actually talk about is symbolism and karma. Just this very day, the finishing touches were made on a brand spanking new roof for our house.

It has taken 2 weeks and a couple of nail biting decisions to get to this point, and I must say it looks (a) like its always been there and (b) absolutely stunning!! Now I can't wait for the rains to sluice all that residual tradie dirt off so that our house can trully work her new weave ... I think the rest of her outfit is going to look a little shabby in comparison!

Anyhoo, we are hoping this clears all that bad juju accumulated over the last few months like a bundle of burning Sage (its my new thing from American Horror Story). And I think its already working. The house feels lighter somehow, like its finally been allowed to exhale (don't roll your eyes at me) and so I know that M's Sugee cake will come out light as a feather, and that all my New Year's resolutions will come true.

Or I could be totally deluded in 2012 ... which means nothings really changed.

(C'mon you know you want to, ready? Everybody say "shoop shoop be doop")

Walking a gastronomic and literary Drawbridge - Lunch at The Moat

2011-12-15T21:55:00.002+11:00

Ok ... ever since its launch at the final episode of The Slap (Anouk's my favourite btw) extravaganza over at the Wheeler Centre, I have walked past and looked down at the literary crowd sipping and munching the leisurely hours away on garden furniture and fake turf, waiting patiently for my chance to partake of all that erudite goodness (or fakeness where I'm involved). Finally the opportunity presented itself when we had to throw a Thank You lunch for our IT saviour from the Netherlands.

So on a lovely Thursday afternoon, we descended on The Moat in our motley fashion and esconced ourselves at the large table by the door, isolated from the rest of the hoi polloi, who were thankfully tucked away in the main dining area, protected from our effusive and somewhat risque conversation. All I will say about this is that the Dutch have funny names and that Layla has a loud voice.

Anyhoo, the food, simply put, was amazing!!!

I had the Mount Leira cured lamb with chickpea puree, lemon cheek (see postscript below), olive and rosemary bread. In texture and flavour the lamb was like pastrami. The chickpea puree tasted like a cross between aioli, welsh rarebit and hollandaise and the olive bread, sliced thinly, was the perfect foil for a surprisingly light repast. Simple fare, and simply wonderful.

Quinoa obviously is still all the rage. The Moat's offering is a Quinoa salad, served with tomato, cucumber, spanish onion, toasted seeds, coriander, mint and honey dressing with the optional cumin poached free range chicken.

The combination of the toasted seed (possibly mustard) and mint with the sweet hint of honey was delicious. Definitely worth sampling when you visit.

AS ordered the Pickled Ratatouille Verrine (boom! boom!) served with a vanilla and shallot dressing and Persian fetta mousse. I didn't get to try this but the ratatouille came in the cutest little jar.

AW had the Farmer's Plate which consisted of ham hock broth, cucumber and apple relish, cheese and bread. The ham hock broth reminded me of M's bacon soup at the Duchess, although there were certainly copious chunks of smoked ham in the bowl here. The apple and cucumber relish had a slight green tea smoked japanese cucumber mouthfeel (I finally worked this ridiculous phrase into a post!!) and was a revelation.

But I have to say hands down the dish of the day was L's Sicilian eggplant stew with toasted almonds and oregano aioli. TDF peops TDF and a Must order when you go.

PS : a cheek of lemon is actually just a slice of lemon ... hello??!!

Its beginning to look alot like Christmas - 2011 Pt 2

2011-12-15T21:15:00.000+11:00

Ok ... I was a victim of a Tinsel Attack!! Bless!

Its beginning to look alot like Christmas - 2011

2011-12-14T08:39:00.000+11:00

Ok ... our first dinner of the festive season came with something rather special in a beautifully wrapped box. The prettiest Christmas present I have ever seen, and most probably the yummiest .... a selection of delicious baked goods all lovingly crafted by our bestie DK!:

And guess what, soon after this picture was taken, I DROPPED THE FUCKING BOX!!!!! Words cannot describe how absolutely mortified I was. I cried ... and then I died.

Merry bloody Christmas!

Chin Up at Chin Chin's

2011-12-10T22:18:00.003+11:00

Ok ... Benjamin Cooper and his "european" mullet are everywhere these days, and there's a rumour (which perhaps is substantiated) that his painfully cool city establishment recently turned away about 900 hungry punters in one day. Oh but I have been dying to go there and I finally had my chance courtesy of a work Christmas function.

So we shut down the office at midday and took a leisurely stroll across to Chin Chin on Flinders Lane, where I promptly started preceedings off with a Lychee cocktail (from a dizzying array of drinks choices housed in a book with the words XXX R18+ Adults Only playfully inscribed on the cover in Gaffa tape) - made with Gin and Prosecco and served with a whole frozen lychee smothered in crushed rose petals, something to look forward to at the end of your drink.

Watched over by a neon bunny, I tried my best to order from an extensive menu in order to suit the requirements and sensitivies of our large group of 10. In other words, I didn't entirely get to sample the sorts of dishes I would normally go for (meaning ingredients and/or combinations I am unfamiliar with).

We started with a number of "Little Somethings".

First off was the Kingfish Sashimi served with Lime, Chilli, Coconut & Thai Basil. A little heavy handed with the lime juice, but the sashimi itself was succulent and tender with a more than pleasant herby hit from the Thai Basil.

Given the rest of the available choices in this section, you may want to hold off on the Kingfish Sashimi which lets face it you're hardly likely to be uncognizant of. But you definitely should order the Spicy Corn and Coriander Fritters. Its served with Iceburg lettuce cups, each with a sliver of ginger at the bottom (hate to be the kitchen hand that has to select the cups and assemble the pile!!) and an absolutely TDF Chilli Jam. You wrap each fritter in the iceberg, slosh on the chilli jam and munch - number one, peops, number one!!

And of course, we had to have the Chilli Salt chicken wings that came to the table covered in chilli slices and coriander with a squeeze of lemon on the side. They weren't kidding about the salt! But how could you abandon the humble fried chicken wing? How could you turn your back on all that crunchy, fatty deliciousness. KFC lovers were emerging from the closet left right and centre. Chin Chin's version is fairly straightforward, but the soya sauce, chilli, sugar and lime dipping sauce accompanying these beautiful morsels help cut through the saltiness to enhance the juicy white flesh underneath the crunch.

We also had the Wok Fried Salt and Pepper squid served with that quintessential Thai dipping sauce, Nuoc Chum. I know its almost passe, but this is a must have. Perfectly executed.

Our final starter was the DIY Fresh Spring Rolls. Ok lets just take a step back for a minute and let me break it down for you. I think there were quite a few nervous nellies amongst our party who were secretly climbing the walls thinking "what the hell is this place?" "And you call this food?" "I don't even understand the menu!" So the words Spring and Rolls were like beacons of light and a sudden gush of wind to miners trapped underground.

However, when the DIY spring rolls finally arrived a-table, I could feel the side-eyes and the "hold up bitches". Coz this was no cigar shaped roll of crispy fried goodness, no this was soft peking duck style skins and cut vegetables arranged in little piles ready for you to do your own folding!! Brilliant!! (well at least for some of us at that table ... oh god Licio & Rach!! I really miss you at times like these). In addition to the cucumber, pickled radish, carrot and bean shoots, there were also tampon (sorry! - best way to describe this) shaped pieces of golden freshly fried bean curd. The accompanying peanut sauce was delicious. Not too sweet and not too salty.

More drinks ensued including a number of alarmingly expensive bottles of champagne (we have no monetary provisions for trifle matters like salary increases and bonuses, but in the immortal (sic) words of Beyonce - "we like to party"!!). Then it was time for the mains.

Again, not really what I would have selected from the menu but this was the "United Colours of Benneton" of grazing. First up was L's choice of the Wild Salmon wrapped in Banana leaf in a red curry sauce. This was everything you would want in a Banana leaf wrapped grilled fish with the added bonus of being wonderfully scented with tiny slivers of kafir lime leaf chiffonade.

Heading up the vego components we had the Dry Curry "Pad Ped' with Stir fried vegetables and spice crusted organic Tofu. I only had a couple of mouthfuls of this so its hard for me to fully review it, but what I had tasted competent.

The second vegetarian dish was the Yellow Pumpkin Curry. I don't really do pumpkin, but I actually enjoyed this. And surprisingly it wasn't too rich. I might just try and track this recipe down. Or at least attempt a yellow curry paste from scratch and cook pumpkin and tofu in it.

Completing the circle of curries was the Masaman Curry of Coconut Braised Hopkins River Beef brisket, served with Pink Fur Apple Potatoes (your guess is as good as mine) and Crispy shallots. In one word - Delectable. The beef was super tender and the Masaman itself was well balanced. Again, if I was with my usual dining "kakis", this would not be my choice from the Curry options ... that would have to be the "Scud City" Jungle Curry.

To cut all that coconut richness, we ordered a Salad of Organic Silken Tofu with Thai Basil and a hot,sweet bitter dressing. Didn't really taste the bitter, but by this stage I think I was beginning to get slightly tofu-d out! There are much more interesting salad options (steamed spanner crab and chicken, cuttlefish and glass noodle, hot and sour duck liver to name a few) but I wasn't prepared to push the envelope too far.

To bulk up the protein, we ordered the Caramelised Sticky Pork, which funnily enough, could have been alot stickier. The flavour was there, but the meat itself was dry. In fact, I'd almost forgotten to actually blog about this until I was checking through my photos and found a pic of it there. Avoid.

The highlight, ironically, was the choice of one of the fussiest amongst us who asked for the Chin Chin special rice served with Crab, Pineapple, Chicken and Coriander. I had to double check the Crab bit with her, but as it turned out, this simple dish was the most memorable for me.

For sides we had Roti and (I couldn't really go past this) the Son in Law eggs. I always have time for Son in Law eggs. These were good, although if pushed I would say the eggs at Easy Tiger are far superior.

I don't quite know how we managed this but we did have dessert. And really, even if you have to tickle the old epiglottis like a pro to make some room, you simply must order the Palm Sugar Ice Cream Sundae with salted honeycomb and lime syrup. HEA-ven!! Its frozen palm sugar ... hello! what more could you want!

We also ordered a platter of sweet things to share which had a a White chocolate with a lime and coriander filling (surprisingly tasty), a cinnamon and ginger spice cake (the standout on the plate) and Pandan pudding, which didn't really gel on the first mouthful and paled in comparison with the other 2.

And at A's insistence we had the Three Colour Pudding - layers of sweet beans with pandan infused tapioca, caramel and coconut crushed ice ... basically a fancy Ice Chendol ... and I'd rather have the heartland (a nod to fatbooo) version in my hometown, Singapore.

We had to vacate our reserved big table (you can book if you are 10 or more in your party - there's only one table this size, so you will have to be organised) for the next booking so we took our drinks downstairs to the Gogo bar.

The Gogo bar is a cavernous space that just screams piano black!! It has an LA feel to it, and so do most of the Clientele. The only difference is true to Melbourne form, one of its entrances is via an alleyway. The drinks are expensive. So perhaps its a venue option best reserved for a charity date who you want to ketok (pardon my singlish).

We finished our night of muted debauchery with the lovely (I can't believe she's back!!) RS at the Everleigh on Gertrude Street, above the now defunct palace of mediocrity, Dante's. I honestly thought, given its hipster speakeasy references, we would be knocking the waxed facial hair, suspenders and brogues, and jaunty caps aside to get at the bar ... but everything was surprisingly muted and if a little lacklustre. However, for old timers like myself, there's something comforting about sitting back and being able to converse without having to strain forward and lip read. And I like the idea of allowing the bartender to design a cocktail ($18 a pop - so maybe not the place to go to get sloshed) based on your choice of flavours and spirits.

Here's my final word, assuming you have made it so far after such a long and tedious post: Chin Chin is a fun place with an amazing get up and prime location, but there are better offerings of this kind of modernist Thai/Vietnamese/Malaysian shtick to be had out there. I'm still more of a Long Grain and borderline Ginger Boy fan.

But you should check it out for yourself and see what the fuss is all about ... after all that is the Melbourne thing to do!

Kathy Griffin loves Breadtop

2011-12-07T21:37:00.001+11:00

Ok ... Saturday Night at the Athaneum ... it was as if God had slashed Collins Street with a lightning bolt of rainbow proportions and the cracked earth spewed forth the better part of Melbourne's LBGT community onto the tarmac. Fred Niles would have shit himself!

And who were we all sashaying around for?? The indomitable and irreverent Kathy Griffin.

If you are unfamiliar with Kathy Griffin, actress/commedienne, its time to get aquainted. Check her out on YouTube. If you like trashing celebrity talk, you will not be dissappointed. But leave your PC sensibilities at the door. Do not enter if easily offended.

If I could leave you with a full transcript of Saturday's show, I would. But here are some choice moments which you probably won't entirely get, but I am chuckling even as I type them out for you.

Julia Gillard is Tilda Swinton
Melbourne or rather Shanghai
Asians with Aussie accents
Anthaneum - a methlab
Oprah discovered Australia
Oprah is a c*** (oh yes Kathy went there ... she brought her C-Bomb game!!)
And she brought her camel toe
Hugh Jackman's wife - "she's a little sturdy"
Hugh Jackman - Back on Broadway - gayest show ever
Oh and Kathy loves Breadtop!!!

At the Junction Beer Hall and Wine Room

2011-12-04T21:34:00.001+11:00

Ok ... first off let me just qualify this post with a few salient points:

- I'm in a Kathy Griffin frame of mind, as I saw her at the Atheneum on Saturday Night - side-splittingly funny btw
- I know Jackie Mahony personally, so this review could be biased ... and that could work either way
- I'm wondering where the fuck(balls) summer is!!!

For starters, I'm loving the layout of this place, but this part of Newport gives me the slight willies. The John Brack steal is borderline ultrahip chic, or possible stylistic misstep. I lean towards the former as I love John Brack.

And the bottlecap artpiece sort of works from afar, but on closer inspection kinda screams religious icon made out of dried pasta.

M hates the high stools because he's a fan of the sleep inducing back rest and we've seen these coloured aluminium stools before.

However, its a big space with loads of room, and a pretty beer garden just crying out for a warm summer's night. And I'm sure once the Wine bar is open in about a month's time, it will be a big hit.

I'm not a beer girl meself, all that hops and aeration makes me think flatulence and control tops! But we started with a delicious Bridge Road Indian Pale Ale and settled down to an evening of culinary grazing.

So we're about 8 paras in and I have yet to mention the name of the venue. We were at the newly opened Junction Beer Hall and Wine Room on Hall Street, Newport, opposite the Newport station.

Having ticked the box with a Boradsheet expose, this joint is already starting to pump, and is yet another contribution to the "gentrification" of the western suburbs, and judging from the food and the ambience, its a welcome addition indeed.

We started tonight's repast with the Tuna Tartar with dill, capers and aioli. This is Jackie's fav, and its now ours as well. The aioli is one of the best I've ever tasted. Its the prefect balance of salty, creamy and tart and provides a delicious base to the generous amounts of diced tuna. This is a must have if you go.

We next had the Prawn Toast with Cucumber and mayo - heaven!! I could have kept ordering this ad infinitum just about. It was just the right thing to have with our Pale Ale.

We also tried their Handcut chips, again served with that scumptious aioli and also tomato sauce. It arrived at the table in a paper bag ala Southpaw - cute! First few pieces seemed a little tad undercooked, but all the crunchy bits were in the bottom of the bag.

We finished this all off with a serve of their Slow cooked Lamb ribs with Olive and Lemon. The ribs themselves were cooked perfectly, but I would have liked a bit more punch to the flavour. I had to add pepper and salt, which is almost anathema to me. I'm glad they didn't smother the ribs with the Olive Tapenade, as I am not a fan of this. Perhaps a stronger herb accent with some rosemary, or even a final charring of the lamb after the slow cook may have bumped this up into delicious territory. Jackie said that this was still an evolving dish, so lets wait and see what their next take on this is.

After all of that, we had to force a pizza on ourselves, mainly out of respect to the mutha of a wood fired oven in an annexe off the bar.

We went plain with the Tomato, Basil and Buffalo mozarella - again I was reaching for the salt. The thin crust was beautiful, the ingredients were fresh, but perhaps a final drizzle of truffle or garlic infused oil could have made it even better for me.

All in all, even though it is a slightly further trek than Sabroso for us, we will most certainly be back. Check it out and let me know what you think.

How strange the change from Major to Minor - In celebration of World Aids Day

2011-12-01T14:15:00.000+11:00

Ok ... to forerunners past present and future ... we remember the blood spilt and the tears shed ... in remembrance of World Aids Day:

On Being Patient and discovering Kurt Geiger

2011-11-30T23:38:00.000+11:00

Ok ... there are times when it pays to be overly cautious, and perhaps a little nervous precaution is sometimes warranted in a decision making process ... what exactly am I waffling on about? Well, bryanboy has been rocking the Kurt Geiger's something shocking in recent times, so I decided to do a little cyber sherlocking, thinking all the while that given bryanboy's proclivity (apart from the odd Uniqlo and H&M "misstep) for high end couture the pricetag would be something even Jessie J would baulk at, I was pleasantly surprised to find that prices were not entirely astronomical, and at an additional £12 or so, goods were actually shipped to this part of the world.

So before I knew it, I was registered and filling up the shopping cart with wild abandon (some styles do not ship out of the UK). As its my want, I add then cull ferociously, usually ending up with absolutely nothing in my cart! But I just couldn't empty this particular shoe out. Its called the Rio, and if it was pushing 6 feet with a hairy chest, I would marry it in a flash.

Needless to say, close sartorial advisers amongst my friends were suitably harrassed with my "do you like it as much as I do" emails/txts/FBmsgs. Bless them all, even if they didn't they lied convincingly.

My chest still heaving with the sighs of indecision, I got to work and found a stack of ELLE UK magazines each emblazoned with a shiny piece of red plastic the size of a credit card with the words Kurt Geiger in bold print in the foreground, with a slightly more subtle motif of £25 repeated underneath.

To cut a long story short, I had just scored myself a Gift Card worh £25. And that is straight up £25. No committing to a subscription or entering a draw! It was just a mater of registering the number and logging on to purchase.

CBA Friday at the Laksa Bar

2011-11-18T23:19:00.003+11:00

Ok ... this is not a story of authenticity, its a story of a homespun idea, an intrepid businesswoman from Johore, of jealously guarded recipes, and food cooked with love and enthusiasm.

Laksa Bar is the latest addition to the hipster enclave of Little Lonsdale Street, between Russell and Exhibition. And a welcome addition it is too. I have been watching this space for some time now in the lead up to its recent official opening. The laminated posters spoke of different types of Laksas from Nonya, to Assam through to Sarawak.

And when it finally opened, the smell of Malaysia permeated my daily sojourn into work, feeding both appetite and anticipation. And now finally, I have tasted Alina's lovingly fashioned noodles, and my life experience has been suitably enriched.

We tried the House Style Laksa, with chicken as our protein of choice. We asked for it to be spicy, as advised by the menu. You help yourself to cutlery and plates of sambal (hello! Big tick!!). And you're provided with a disposable Bib.

The Laksa arrives absolutely brimming with ingredients, with a mixture of egg noodles and thin vermicelli. So its not your plain pared back Hawker style Laksa, its Alina's homecooked version, how she likes to eat it, and so how she likes to serve it.

The chicken is roasted and then cut into pieces, the fish cake is amazingly fresh, the eggplant is cooked to perfection, the green beans wonderfully crunchy, the tofu ... well from a packet, the sauce is super creamy (a mixture of coconut milk and cow's milk) and the added spicy samble to die for! My first mouthful of the sauce, with its subtle laksa leaf herb hit, was the hello that it had me at (did this work? Whatevs!).

Lets overlook the fact that perhaps this is not quite as authentic as some would prefer it to be (where's the laksa noodles I hear you cry, "way too many ingredients" someone yells out from the back, "whats with the fried egg, crackers and limpid wedge of tomato" someone else sneers), but its still a formidably unctuous dish, creamy, salty, and most importantly, just downright delicious.

The owner must have taken a shine to us for some reason and she sat down at our table and we talked about food and her philosophy. Each day she plans a special Laksa (Mondays is Assam Laksa - with real Spanish Mackerel she assures us), and is working her way towards Johore Laksa, which actually uses spaghetti rather than the conventional chinese noodle. She also intends to start making Satay, the real way, over charcoal. She even offered to whip us a batch of Chwee Kueh if we rang ahead!! We love you Alina ... and we can't wait to come back and try your Nasi Lemak, and that intriguing Nasi Lemak Pattaya that's served within an omelette crust ... much like some versions of Pad Thai.

We could very well become regulars ... even if its just takeaway.

PS - its licensed and you can pay by card

The World is So Loud. Keep Falling. I'll Find You.

2011-11-17T22:11:00.002+11:00

Ok ... she said it herself. "Every old sock meets an old shoe" And its exactly how I feel listening to Kate Bush's newie "50 Words For Snow".

Officially this is released on Nov 21, but I chanced upon a full rack of CDs when I dropped into the Yellow Peril (aka JB Hifi) at lunchtime. Sounding briefly like a constipated cat, I nearly hopped, skipped and jumped my way to the counter, credit card at the ready.

Then I had to spend an entire angonising afternoon at work before rushing home to pop this on the stereo. Mind you I'd already streamed it the night before on NPR.Org (National Public Radio) - great site by the way. Here's the Kate Bush link.

But there's nothing like the full stereo experience, comfy couch, glass of wine, booklet in hand, lets go! And there's Kate ... booming out of the speakers from an amazingly produced album, singing about snow in the warmest of tones ... like a snuggie on a cold winter's night ... except its a balmy 20 degrees outside.

Let me warn you. This is not a Pop album. It requires more patience than your average knifepoint-haired gnat posseses! Oh but it repays in spades. Its an album of short stories built round the central theme of snow. Mainly pianistic in construct, Kate really knows how to work the spaces in between the sounds. With Elton John, Stephen Fry and good ole Bertie joining in the process, this album is not for everyone, but if you're embarrasingly in love with Kate Bush as I am, you will not be dissappointed.

"Only you can do something about it.
There's no-one there, my friend, any better.
I might know what you mean when you say you fall apart.
Aren't we all the same? In and out of doubt."

Among Angels - Kate Bush

PS - did we finally get something early for a change over here in the arse end of the world? Or did we flout some kind of embargo today? Anyhoo, Australia, we may have been the first country to have purchased Kate Bush's new CD in the world!

I love Coloured Pencils

2011-11-17T21:41:00.003+11:00

Ok ... I've always loved Coloured Pencils ... only because when I was young I lusted after Faber-Castell, and only ever got those hard wood Staedlers. Mum and Dad never really encouraged the artistic streak in me ... so I still get shivers when I go past the Coloured Pencils rack in a stationary store. And now, in addition to Ghost Patrol's Coloured Pencil paintings, we have even more Coloured Pencils madness. Enjoy!

Hudson - Against The Grain from Dropbear on Vimeo.

Quien Viet or Camp Viet rather

2011-11-15T23:48:00.000+11:00

Ok ... I say "Braybrook" You say "Where?" And its kinda like that. What wiki reliably informs me is classified as a Bedroom suburb, i.e. people "sleep" here and travel away for work, Braybrook is a mixture of residential and industrial with abandon fields of weeds in between. Not necessarily the first place that springs to mind when you're searching for a good meal out. But thats the fun of unexpected and surprising discoveries ... the incongruity and randomness of it all ... a bit like life ... No? *insert throwaway alain de boton soundbite here*.

With a solid tip from Lauren over at Footscray Food Blog, we paid a visit to this newly minted temple to hawker style vietnamese fare on one of our recent CBA friday nights. There is something about Spring evenings that seems to coat seemingly mundane street scenes (in this case, a snake infested patch of weeds, a busy road and some seriously ugly houses - ok thats just my take, don't hate me!) in a sort of arthouse cinematic sheen ... its the weather's natural photoshop.

With every snippet of conversation I engaged in with M, I was Sophia Loren in a big floppy straw hat. With the simple act of ordering from the gaily coloured menu, I was Catherine Deneuve looking over the rim of my Givenchy shades ... ok it was all in my head ... but our camp waiter knew the score ... he was down with it!!

Anyhoo, for starters we went with Grilled Pork Patties Rice Paper Roll, which came with this creamy slightly fishy yellowy sauce. The Pork patties taste like those Thai Sausages (their version of Lup Cheong, I'm guessing) you can buy in a packet at some of the better stocked Asian foodstores (the one opposite Aldi/Daiso in Victoria Street would be our recommend.) around.

I'm still undecided about the sauce and beyond the overpowering taste of the sweet pock, the rest of the ingredients sort of paled into the distance.

We fared better with the crispy mini rice cakes ... all yellowy with turmeric, each housing a plump little piece of prawn sprinkled with some kind of floss (which could have been alot stronger in flavour). We could have sat there and just had that for dinner. Imagine sitting down to a big plate of these, fresh herbs and lettuce for wraps and a kick arse dipping sauce, in front of the TV with a DVD of your choice on a lazy afternoon ... bliss.

For mains, we had the Fried Rice with Crab meat - a bit of a let down with the bland crab bits that were worryingly orange in colour:

A vegetable curry, heavily scented with lemon grass - beautiful:

And Shaken Beef!! The name cracks me up, but this is edging its way up into my Top 10 of dishes! Its a simply designed dish packing a maximum flavour punch!!!

Time to get the Melways out, or recallibrate the GPS for the quickest route to Braybrook. I think Quien Viet is going to be a bit of a homespun success.

DOC - A Girls Night Out

2011-11-15T22:59:00.000+11:00

Ok ... I think its getting to the point (in the same vein as Melbourne is synonymous with fussy coffee) that you can get great pizza anywhere you go in this lovely city of ours. I'm so glad we're moving farther away from cheesy thick crusts to the more refined, and infinitely superior thin crust varieties. And I love that we're exploring bianchi options, although the true mark of a good Pizza restaurant is ultimately how well they serve their Margherita!

DV, CC and myself recently had a girls night out ... i.e. no stifling partners in tow. We started with drinks over at Von Haus on a lovely Friday evening, clouding the quaint little outdoor backyard (the size of a dunny lane) with cigarette smoke and twilight conversation. CC trailed behind with a story of an arsehole bus driver and doe-eyed persistance that we could walk an evening stroll to Carlton Espresso, which had no room for us.

So we ended up at DOC, where the beautiful people hang out ... including Dan from Cut Copy sat at the table next to us. (And No Licio, I couldn't get up the courage to say Hi and my efforts to sneak a pic were a dismal failure). Be prepared to wait for a table, and that Italian exuberance could come across as abrasive to some, but really you're pretty much here to eat or takeaway Pizza.

It was a trully pleasant evening as we chatted and munched on delicious pizza, amongst an endless parade of boys we could have fallen in love with, giddy from the heavy scent of truffle that emanates from the open kitchen.

Lets do this all over again ... very shortly.

Under the Milkwood Tree

2011-11-10T13:04:00.000+11:00

Aah lovely spring days when the simple act of lunching is an exercise in serenity and rejuvenation. We recently took our midday repast over at Milkwood in Brunswick (opposite Triple R) on busy Nicholson Street.

Simple unadorned meals and beautiful coffee (minus those ridiculous tasting notes) served by well put together staff dressed in vintage tea towels ... what more could you ask for.

M's pork pie

My chicken sanger

I'm 5

2011-11-10T12:49:00.000+11:00

Ok ... 5 years old!

I'm five, I'm five
I am a big (boy) now, I'm five
My mother doesn't spank me just
For going without a hat
She knows darn well I'd run away
'Cause I'm too old for that
What does she think I'm three? Not me
What does she think I'm four?
I'm more than four
I'm even more than four and a half...
I'm five!
(On November the 1st)

PS ... I want shares in Lego ... thats all I'm saying

Tramway - a few new additions to the menu

2011-11-10T12:34:00.001+11:00

Ok ... indulge me for a second. I just needed to "jot" down these new additions to the Tramway menu, mainly for my own reference. But of course I can thoroughly recommend each and every one, although the Venison burger, I recommend in proxy, as I don't eat Vension. Period.

The current Tramway special: VENISON BURGER - Char-grilled venison pattie topped with homemade blackberry chutney, fresh pecorino, aioli, Spanish onion, tomato, cos lettuce and chips

A revamped Chicken Main with the addition of these amazing potato and chive croquettes: Free-range roasted chicken breast, dusted with prosciutto salt, drizzled with jus and served with Italian coleslaw and potato and chive croquette.

A new addition to the vegetarian selection which is an absolute winner!: Homemade Semolina and Ricotta Gnocchi in a confit of new season tomatoes, olives, basil and garlic Topped with Reggiano parmigiano

If you haven't been ... hello!! C'mon!! Get your butt into gear. When you visit the website, the first photo you see is mine! I'm still chuffed about the fact that they've left it on there even though there have been better photos taken.

If I was a girl ...

2011-11-10T12:23:00.000+11:00

Ok ... following on from the pussy theme of the last post (sorry I just had to go there!), if I was a woman, I would like to be:

Here's Tilda channelling Bowie and Annie Lennox in equal measure!!

ps ... doesn't Jimmy Choo look like such an apek (old man for those non-singaporeans out there)!! He looks like he should be selling you a plate of kway teow ... not shoe-ing up some of hollywood's greatest!!

Pussy Love ... yes it is safe for work

2011-11-10T12:20:00.000+11:00

Ok ... my pussies have never been this close!! Bless.

Dat Way him naw go plop plop - Rediscovering Grace Jones aka being distracted from work

2011-11-10T12:11:00.001+11:00

Ok one of the advantages of working from home (amongst many including slopping around in jammies and raiding the pantry every 5 secs) is that while I type away robotically responding to endless email queries and "isewes", I can soundtrack this mindless tedium with a selection from the mouldy and mothridden recesses of our record collection.

As I type this, the gruff booming tones of one Grace Jones is blaring out of the speakers at me. Our musical accompaniement today is supplied by Grace Jones' "Living my life".

What would Grace Jones be without Sly Dunbar and that Armani Jacket!! There was a whole teenage era when hordes of bespectacled schoolboys harried their local "Supercuts" with shrill requests to look like Ms Jones, in an effort to surreptitiously flout the short back and sides hairstyle rules by piling everything up top and giving it one fell swoop with a chainsaw to emulate the hirsute representation of the geographical feature known as a plateau! And in the 80s, you made your money in hair gel ... nuff said!

I say hordes of schoolboys, but frankly speaking it was really only schoolboys of a certain inclination ... i.e. the entire flute section of the school band ... and the odd percussionist at the back.

Anyhoos, Living my Life, perhaps not as well known as Nighclubbing, is still a fantastic album with some banging tracks, least of all is "My Jamaican Guy". The production values are suberb. Sly Dunbar really knew how to work the spaces in between their dub and dancehall riffs. And Grace isn't just a pretty face .. no really! She wrote quite a lot of her own material. And there are very few singers who have a sound and a voice distinctively their own. It wasn't the autotuned hell we now consider pop music these days.

And although the album in many ways is a lovesong to her spiritual home, New York, some of its social concerns are both topical and relevant to our country today. Just listen to "Cry now Laugh Later" (my fav track here):

"I don't know why I'm laughing
Immigration breathing down my back
Ain't got no money for a pay off
Stay in jail until they send me back
I don't know why I'm laughing
I'm still hurting from the pain
A foreigner in this hell hole
He ain't never gonna touch me again"

Finger on the pulse peops ... finger on the pulse.

*Commercial Manager: "get back to work Temasek!*

PS - another thing to add to the list to advantages working from home - updating your blog!

Sometimes I feel like a fraud

2011-11-08T22:17:00.001+11:00

Ok ... I'm not a foodblogger ... I just really really love food!! And I also love music.

So I think its time for another music roundup. And as I am lazy, I'm not going to sway opinions and display lack of creative writing prowess by proferring a carefully worded soundbite, which you will only skim read anyways.

I will however endeavour to encapsulate each track with a single defining word.

And you can let your ears and clicking finger do the rest!

Suffice it to say, these are the "choons" that I'm digging at the mo. Enjoy!

Death in Vegas - Your Loft My Acid

ACCIIIEEEEEDDD!!!

M83 - Too Late

Cinematic!

Bjork - Virus

Operatic!

Justice - Canon

Rennaissance!!

Tori Amos - Job's Coffin

Daughter!

Beyonce - Love on Top

Happy!! (aka hot piece in blue!!)

Glass Candy - Digital Versicolor

Stripper!

Onra - A New Dynasty

Roots!

Nothing baby ... album covers come alive

2011-10-28T08:22:00.002+11:00

Ok ... this was all over a friend's FB post, and its just too good not to blog about. And yes I am tagging this as art ... and sticking by it.

(NSFW)

Watch out Hugh!!

2011-10-27T13:02:00.000+11:00

Ok ... watch out Hugh! Henry's catching up!!!

Tuntan-CAR-mun

2011-10-26T16:08:00.000+11:00

Ok ... starting off with possibly the world's worst pun ... ever!! On our way to said Tutankamun (a little on the meh side ... in case you were wondering) exhibition, we stumbled on the free portion of the Motorclassica exhibit, where I fell absolutely in love with the "push me pull me" Fiat 600 Multipla ... possibly the world's first mini-van??

Isn't she gorgeous? Wouldn't you love to toot this down Chapel Street with a best of Ministry of Sound CD pumping out of your speakers Maaate!!! No?

Meanwhile, to make up for the nasty taste that my hideous pun has invariably and indelibly left you with, here is a picture of new internet sensation, Boo the Pomeranian ... *aawww*

Ask Me Ask Me Ask Me

2011-10-24T21:55:00.001+11:00

Ok ... a veritable bounty of brown cardboard boxes was awaiting me as I traipsed the rain sodden path to my front door this evening. But none more exciting than the little square box holding 8 digipacked morsels encapsulating my angst-ridden teenage years ... My Smiths Complete box set has arrived!

How can I put into words how this 80s band, fronted by the gladioli grasping, paisley wearing, charismatic lead singer Morrissey, the man Henry Rollins loves to denegrate, arguably one of Britain's most creative guitarists in Johnny Marr, substance loving and sadly overlooked bass player Andy Rourke, and litiginous drummer Mike Joyce, sustained me through some of the lowest points in my growing up with their songs of alienation and victimisation.

I scrawled their lyrics over plain white T-shirts, exercise books, fullscap pads, school files and tried emulating Morrissey's syntax and metrical line in some of the most god awful poetry ever committed to paper. Yes I was and am a little obsessed!

And now I get to relive and reclaim those painful years and celebrate them in the relatively safe comfort of my adult living room ... maybe just maybe we might be able to exorcise that awkward, spotty teenager once and for all!

Mamasita ... donde esta Santa Claus!

2011-10-16T13:48:00.000+11:00

Ok ... Mamasita!! We finally made it there! At about 5.15pm on a warm Friday evening I'm climbed those hallowed steps up 1/11 Collins Street, laden with my work bag and shopping for Saturday's party. With only one couple ahead of me, my name was taken and I was ushered to the bar to wait for M, who was about 10mins away. The joint was already pretty packed. My anxiety at the fact that I could be summarily forgotten was eased somewhat by the intense salty hit of the Mamasita Marguarita (El Jimador reposado - a tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime, on the rocks), which I was downing a little too quickly in excitement.

As soon as M pushed past the forming queue and waved at me in greeting, our friendly waiter already had menus in hand and was approaching us to take us to our designated table. You will have to be prepared to share, but although packed, it doesn't feel cramped.

M started off witha Charro Negro (El Jimador reposado, cola, fresh lime, salt rim, on the rocks), and we got down the business of selecting our meal from the menu. I would encourage you to go to the Mamasita website and look through the material there ahead of your visit. It will provide you with some idea on how big the dishes are and how to structure your meal. Their recommendation for a couple is to order 2 or 3 small items and a main., which is pretty much what we ended up doing.

However, regardless of how you do this, DO NOT SKIP the Elotes callejeros as your Primeros (starter). This is an absolute must have. Described on the menu as a "'Street Style' chargrilled corn, queso - a sort of cheese, chipotle mayonnaise & lime", the taste on your first bite is indescribable. At once familiar, at the same time, something totally new and exciting. (I should preface this by saying that Mexican cuisine is in many ways alien to me) It was certainly a great way to start the evening off. The creaminess of the cheese matched with the spice hit from the chipotle was brilliant. It was funny watching the large table behind us hoe into their cobs all at once, almost in formation, like something out of a looney tunes cartoon.

We went for 2 different Tostaditas (crispy toitillas with fillings on top):

de Pescado - Market fish, lime, guacamole, nasturtiums & serrano chilli
de Cangrejo - Crab meat, avocado, cucumber, tamarind mayonnaise & red chilli

I forgot to ask what the fish was, some kind of white flesh perhaps whiting, it was certainly the one to finish off on as it had the stronger flavour. Not sure if the Nasturtium petal contributed much beyond a bit of prettiness or colour. I would have preferred the Crab meat to have been a little stronger on the palate. If they both weren't on the plate together, the de Cangrejo would have stood up on its own, naturally.

Next to come was the no-brainer, ever since I read about the "Mexican Truffle" on Melbourne Gastronome, I have been dying to try it for myself. The Huitlacho Quesadillas, as Claire writes, is a must order, full off wonderfully earthy mushroom flavour. Ignore the fact that you are consuming the diseased part of the maize plant (god knows how they get this through customs), it was the second highlight of the evening.

We finished off our meal with a selection from the Food for the Family (i.e. Mains) portion of the menu - Estofado de cabra - Chipotle-braised goat, roasted sweet corn paste

If you order this, make sure you try it with the El Yucateco Hot Sauces provided at your table - Chile Habanero green and red. (You can buy these and your fridge should not be without!) They work very well with the rich and unctious goat meat. You have the option to choose either rice or tortillas as accompaniement. I'm not a fan of sweet corn, but the sweet corn base worked well in this case, and is necessary. The flavour, unusually, got better towards the end, even though we were reaching breaking point!

If I wasn't fiddling with the top button of my pants, I would have ordered another serve of Elotes callejeros, but judging from the queue snaking out into Collins street when we left, this cocina ain't going anywhere anytime soon ... definitely worth repeated visits, and certainly worth queuing up for.

Unravel

2011-10-13T13:09:00.002+11:00

Ok ... unravelling

2011 - the year that love forgot!

2011-10-12T09:47:00.001+11:00

Ok ... I'm not going to sugar coat it ... I am having the shittiest day!! So perhaps I should just log off, rug up and head off to contemplate angels (or should that be devils) ...

Chicken and Beer ... really?? Yeah really!!

2011-10-10T00:01:00.000+11:00

Ok ... sometimes the best way is the simplest way!!! Why overcomplicate things when you can easily state facts. If you serve Chicken and Beer, why not call your establishment ... well ... Chicken and Beer!! Alright ... its actually called GAMI - Chicken and Beer, but we shouldn't let details get in the way of a good byline!

It was one of those early Spring evenings when the weather turns! M met me in the laneway huddled up and lightly drenched. We skooted across the way to the rather nondescript entrance at the Spring Street end of Little Lonsdale.

Thank god we were early. This joint is rocking!! People were being turned away within about 20 mins from when we sat down. And we got there just after 5.30pm.

GAMI is actually a Korean restaurant, but there's no bim bam bup or hot plate bbq in sight. They serve Fried Chicken ... oh and beer. Its basically an upmarket KFC ... and there's nothing wrong with that sentence ... at all!

The first dish that arrived at our table was something called Corn and Cheese. We didn't really know what to expect. I was thinking a couple of corn cobs with a bit of melted cheese on top. Just something to bulk the protein factor. What we got was a round hot plate of corn absolutely drenched in the stringiest melted cheese ever.

We also ordered the Kim Chi Pancake, which was delicious, although oddly enough I wanted the Kim Chi to taste a lot stronger than it was. And I don't really like Kim Chi. The accompanying chilli sauce was a little heavy on the Soy, but it also went well with the fried chicken.

There is no middle ground with the Fried Chicken offerings. Apart from the choice of flavourings, the fried chicken plate comes in only one option ... Super Size!!

We decided on plain old Korean style. And I swear there must have been a whole steroid fucked chicken on the plate. We couldn't quite finish it all (which if you know us, is highly unusual!). But it was yummy and exactly what we were after. Next time (and trust me there will be one) we'll order the tasting platter, which gives you all 3 options on one plate. And we'll have more people with us so we don't look like absolutely pigs.

I wanted the staff to come and clear the empty plates because I was embarrassed by all the food arriving at our table. I shouldn't have worried, because as we walked out, the table of 2 guys at the entrance were hoeing into 2 plates of chicken, a jug of beer (that comes in a keg) and 2 lots of pancakes! Crazy!

Oh and we had beer.

What it says on the tin peops ... what it says on the tin.

Stop the world I want to get off ... chillling at Von Haus

2011-10-09T23:19:00.004+11:00

Ok ... sometimes you just need to tell the world to fuck off and just chill!

I caught up with good friend CC for a quiet coffee sat by the window overlooking Crossley Street at Von Haus.

I rang work and told them I was taking an extended lunch. The chocolate tart was too scumptious and the company too good, they needed to be savoured leisurely.

CC lets do this again soon. I love our little chats.

At the Station with the parentals in tow

2011-10-09T23:12:00.000+11:00

Ok ... it wasn't just endless loads in the washing machine or eye-rolls and religious lectures, we did have time to sit back and enjoy the view. In lieu of my absence at Dad's 80th, we took him back to the Station for his fill of steak. They had a bug and octopus carpaccio on the special served with broad beans which they need to transfer onto their regular menu forthwith!! It was heavenly.

We also enjoyed a Coonawarra Cab Sav from Hollick which you need to track down immediately. (I feel like Cab Sav all the time now!!)

I wanted to take a photo of Mum's steak. She wanted it well done, which I had to sheepishly order on her behalf, and came to the table a pathetically shrunken disc that could have fit into the palm of my hand. That was a statement from the kitchen if ever there was one!

The Twilight Years ...

2011-10-09T22:55:00.000+11:00

Ok ... the parentals have been and gone. And now I sometimes lay awake in bed listening to the sirens going off in the night and wonder when they will come calling for me ... with empty dreams and painful regret ... perhaps things may turn out trully for the best ... I feel a sudden urge to sprint and never stop running ...

A dreaded sunny day and I'll meet you at the cemetry gates

2011-10-09T22:28:00.001+11:00

Ok ... Keats and Yeats are on your side indeed ... and we roll out the carpet for the invidious presence of the Limited and/or Deluxe edition ... yes I have chosen the word "invidious" wisely as I am wracked with feelings of resentment and envy as I lust after these beautifully prepared, individually numbered, cloth bound morsels of auditory and consummerist delights, desperately entombed in the purgatorial hell of extremely tight purse strings!

But this seems to be the format du jour for most artists these days trying to recoup lost revenue from the profit skimming downloading hounds of the modern world. And there is also the hope that remastered and rejuvenated, the material may gain new fans and interest. Oh and very very slightly, there is the joy of providing long suffering and loyal fans a bright burst of nostalgia and a glimmer of the excitement once exprienced when music could not be purchased without some form of physical exertion beyond the double click of a mouse.

So as I wait for the dollar to get better, my plain vanilla version of the Smith's remastered boxset languishes in my Wishlist along with the rest of the doldrum club members of which include the Beatles boxset, George Michael's Faith (CD/DVD) and other sundry retro rejects.

But I can't help wonder if I shouldn't bite the proverbial bullet and fork out £250 of my hard earned marbles and get the full Rhino experience:

This includes -

All eight albums on CD featuring mini-LP replica packaging with gatefold card wallets
All eight albums on 180-gram audiophile vinyl (five single LPs and three doubles)
Twenty-five 7-inches featuring all of the band’s singles with “specially reproduced rarities”
A 36-inch by 24-inch poster of all album and single cover artwork
“The Complete Picture” DVD featuring all of the band’s music videos
An eight-page, 12-inch booklet featuring “expanded liner notes”
Eight-inch by 12-inch art prints of each album cover’s artwork
Code to download band’s entire catalog as high-quality, 320kbps MP3 files

I'd probably end up listening to the albums as mp3 files ... but hey ho ... for all my teenage angst and trauma ... £250 ain't such a bad price for reliving the experience.

Meanwhile over in prog territory, Pink Floyd has their Immersion series of remasters.You can get the entire catalogue as a boxset, or shell out about $159 for the Immersion box set of The Dark Side of the Moon.

The Immersion Experience includes:

DISC 1 – CD 1:
The Dark Side Of The Moon digitally remastered by James Guthrie 2011
DISC 2 – CD 2:
The Dark Side Of The Moon performed live at Wembley in 1974 (2011 Mix and previously unreleased)
DISC 3 – DVD 1, ALL AUDIO:

- The Dark Side Of The Moon, James Guthrie 2003 5.1 Surround Mix (previously released only on SACD) in standard resolution audio at 448 kbps and 640kbps
- The Dark Side Of The Moon, Quad Mix (engineer Alan Parsons, previously released only on vinyl LP/8 track tape in 1973) in standard resolution audio at 448 kbps and 640kbps
- The Dark Side Of The Moon, PCM Stereo mix (as per disc 1)

DISC 4 – DVD 2, ALL AUDIO VISUAL:
Live In Brighton 1972:

Careful With That Axe, Eugene (previously unreleased on DVD)
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (previously unreleased on DVD)

The Dark Side Of The Moon, 2003 documentary (25 min EPK)
Concert Screen Films (60 min total):

British Tour 1973
French Tour 1974
North American Tour 1975

Screen films play in stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound
DISC 5 – BLURAY, AUDIO+AUDIO VISUAL
-AUDIO: The Dark Side Of The Moon, James Guthrie 2003 5.1 Surround Mix (previously released only on SACD) in highest resolution audio at 96kHz / 24-bit
- AUDIO: The Dark Side O The Moon original stereo mix (1973) 96kHz / 24-bit
-AUDIO VISUAL: Live In Brighton 1972:

Careful With That Axe, Eugene (previously unreleased on DVD/BluRay)
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (previously unreleased)

-AUDIO VISUAL: The Dark Side Of The Moon, 2003 documentary (EPK)
-AUDIO VISUAL: Concert Screen Films (5.1 Surround Mix 48kHz / 24-bit):

British Tour 1973
French Tour 1974
North American Tour 1975

-AUDIO VISUAL: Concert Screen Films (High Resolution Stereo Mix 48kHz / 24-bit):

British Tour 1973
French Tour 1974
North American Tour 1975

DISC 6 – CD3:

-The Dark Side Of The Moon Alan Parsons 1972 Original Album Mix (previously unreleased)
- The Hard Way (from ‘Household Objects’ project)
- Us And Them, Richard Wright Demo (previously unreleased)
- The Travel Sequence, live from Brighton June 1972 (previously unreleased)
- The Mortality Sequence, live from Brighton June 1972 (previously unreleased)
- Any Colour You Like, live from Brighton June 1972 (previously unreleased)
- The Travel Sequence, studio recording 1972 (previously unreleased)
- Money, Roger Waters’ demo (previously unreleased)

PLUS

40 page 27cm x 27cm booklet designed by Storm Thorgerson
Exclusive photo book edited by Jill Furmanovsky
27cm x27cm Exclusive Storm Thorgerson Art Print
5 x Collectors’ Cards featuring art and comments by Storm Thorgerson
Replica of The Dark Side Of The Moon Tour Ticket
Replica of The Dark Side Of The Moon Backstage Pass
Scarf
3 x Black marbles
9 x Coasters (unique to this box) featuring early Storm Thorgerson design sketches
4-8 page credits booklet

(thank you superdeluxeedition)

If you are a novice to Pink Floyd and are wondering why this band was so influential, then this is the album to start with. I'd even suggest that no serious music collection could do without this.

And then there is Bjork's Biophilia.

Weighing in at about £500 and limited to a total number of 200, this was never going to be for the fainthearted. And I believe what makes this extra special is that initial copies of the actual album are now different to the general release as bjork has since tweaked some of the versions of tracks on the initial release.

So what does the Ultimate edition specifically entail? Well, if you were one of the lucky 200, you have in your hot little hands the following:

strictly limited to 200 copies with individual numbered certificates, the ultimate art edition will be made to order and fabricated only once.

lacquered and silkscreened oak hinged lid case containing the biophilia manual, along with 10 chrome-plated tuning forks, silkscreened on one face in 10 different colors, stamped at the back, and presented in a flocked tray. each fork adjusted to the tone of each of the tracks from biophiia and covering a complete octave in a non-conventional scale. each case comes with an individual numbered certificate detailing the use of tuning forks.

the ultimate art edition contains the biophilia manual.
the manual presents the music of biophilia in a 48-page, full-color, hardbound, cloth-covered, and thread-sewn book, tipped on lenticular panel to the front cover, with foil-blocked spine and back cover; the music, on cd, is housed in black uncoated board wallets. the manual is removed from the case by means of a ribbon pull

I think I will be needing some counselling now ...

The House of Usher ... ok no that is a bit mean

2011-10-03T17:27:00.001+11:00

Ok ... look away if you do not have a strong constituition either for scat or pap!!

I love M so much for putting up with 10 days of pee, shit and blood!! With the parentals here and a scratch happy cat, our house has been turned into a veritable charnel house of bodily fluids.

So bless MN for cooking his own birthday dinner at the start of this Septimana Horribilus. Our loins were well and trully girded by:

(a) A Kick Arse Vietnamese Salad

(b) A FatFried smosgaboard of Chicken Wings (watch me disgrace myself!!!) and fish cakes

And a new and brilliant recommendation in the liquid refreshment portion of the evening:

And again, we weren't fishing for an invite MN!!!

Hey Boo!!! An afternoon spent with Atticus Finch

2011-09-20T17:39:00.000+10:00

Ok ... there's nothing quite like Sunday arvo drinks ... unless of course you're a real nanna and have to rush off to do your washing or something like that. Anyhoo, we met up with our culinary partner in crime and intrepid fashionista P for drinks and nibblies at Atticus Finch.

Lygon Street East Brunswick is already well established as the alternative Fitzroy (well lets face it ... Fitzroy ain't fitzroy anymore) - relatively untouched by the homogenising effects of the larger "slash and burn" chain stores ... but then again as rental and housing prices start to soar, the inevitable will happen. So lets enjoy it while we can.

We were early enough to score a booth here but considering that it was such a wonderfully sunny day, we debunked outside and enjoyed the better part of an hour in warmth before the weather turned.

Sharing a charcuterie selection plate and nursing a: G&T for P, Indian Pale Ale for M, and a decidedly camp Shadygaff (which is half lager, half ginger beer) for yours truly. The selection of cold meats provided ran the gamut of spicy Salami, petit saucisse seche (i.e. sausage), capocollo (which is a cured meat very much like prosciutto) and pistachio ham. All of this served with some pickled green chillies that packed a mean punch, red capsicum and yummy triangles of sourdough bread.

As afternoon turned into evening, we moved onto wine with a lovely Gerwutz blend from France - Hugo Gentil 2008 which will be my new Summer Fav as its crisp and light and a very drinkable white.

As the mercury dropped, we moved inside and started on a red from ... wait for it ... CANBERRA!!! Who would have thunk. And it wasn't too bad. The first mouthful was slightly underwhelming, but after a chance to breathe, it quietly picked up. The wine we had was a Tempranillo from the Lake George winery ... apparently Lake George is the leisure playground for the cashed up academic/civil servant ... well I'm going on the assumption that P spent a number of summers sailing on Lake George ... and I guess you can't get more posh than him!!!

To accompany this surprising drop, we had Cheese Kransky with mustard and saurkraut, as well as a couple of serves of fried haloumi. I was hoping that we could have shared a few more and had a bit of variety but the Cheese Kransky ... ohmygod ... the kransky ... the reaction I got when I simply broached the possibility of sharing .... you would have thought they hadn't eaten for decades ... someone was absent from kinder on the day they has the lesson on sharing!

It was an all eating and drinking weekend let me tell you ... and my favourite blue shirt is pulling at the seams now so I am on a high fat protein alcohol comedown ... which will last until my next ... ooh M!! Fish curry! Don't mind if I do ....

PS - the chick who was manning Atticus that afternoon was amazing!! She kinda reminded us of Raksha from Time Team. She singlehandedly prepared and served all food and drink ordered that day ... all by her lonesome ... she even had time to nick out for a delivery!!! Amazing!

Supersizers go Chinese Spicy and Barbie Kitchen

2011-09-17T23:32:00.001+10:00

Ok ... it was a lovely spring night perfect for a barbie, and we took the road well travelled and opted for someone else to sweat it out over hot coals for us. So we headed down to Flemo for a spot of Chinese Spicy Barbie at the newly minted ... erm ... Chinese Spicy and Barbie Kitchen ... does what it says on the tin peops ... what it says on the tin!!

We're the Johnny come latelys where this joint is concerned. Eugooglelize this and you will see blog after blog waxing lyrical on this cafe's spicy and smoky delights. And it well deserves the accolades and star ratings.

The restaurant has the quaintest wooden tables with these wacky plump little chairs which are surprisingly comfortable, although I noticed a couple of skips doing some crazy arsed back stretches at a table nearby. So maybe not for everyone.

You're spoilt for choice with the menu here complete with the usual mispellings and descriptions that are well and truly lost in translation (dried banes anyone??). But first things first - straight to the back page and choose from the various BBQ skewers (or strings ... don't ask thats whats written on there ) on offer.

We opted for the lamb, chicken skin and baby squid. The first to arrive were the chicken skins.

A thin coil of chicken skin thread through tiny metal skewers like the ends of sparklers (perhaps string was an apt decription after all), not quite crispy but heavily spiced with cummin and pepper.

Next up was the lamb. No surprises here, although they could have been less heavy handed with the bicarb.

To accompany all this grilled madness, we had a cold dish of jellyfish and radish which was divine, but played havoc with my sensitive teeth. I've always looked forward to the jellyfish component in the starting cold dish of every decent 10 course chinese dinner (do people still do this?). I like the crunch and the sesame oil flavour. And I like this particular dish very much.

We also had something called Chilli and Beancurd, which was actually beancurd skin cooked in a clear broth with sliced green and red chillies. This was delicious and the perfect foil for the richness of our other menu choices.

They brought our bbq baby squid last. And I'm glad they did. It was pretty much the same marinade as the rest of the skewers but with the spice and chilli notes dialled up to the max. It was the best way to finish what was an extremely satisfying meal.

Another recommendation!!

PS ... I could eat Giles Coren in whatever period he wishes to supersize himself in!!!

CBA at Phu Vinh - Tried and tested

2011-09-17T22:03:00.000+10:00

Ok ... first time in ages we have tried somewhere new/old on a CBA Friday night. For the past few months in a pique of introvention, we have clung onto the comfort that familiarity brings. But now as the afternoons turn balmy/cold/balmy/freezing again, its time to blow out the old cobwebs and seek out pastures anew!!

Well in this case, an old hat with new trim ... Phu Vinh on good old Hopkins Street.

Everytime we try something new on Footscray's own L'Avenue des Champs Elysées (ok perhaps only in my head) we feel a sense of guilt at not having taken our business to Lucky Star. But man cannot live *insert stale platitude here* and custom should not indeed stale her infinite variety (ok I've twisted this saying round rather unsuccessfully ... but you get the drift).

So we decided after much furtive glancing to walk into Phu Vinh and sample its delights.

In the same way we have our test dishes every time we try out a new Malaysian (i.e. rendang, sambal kangkong and Hainanese Chicken), a new Vietnamese must traverse the following benchmarks:

Crispy Fried Flounder

Its quite rare to find Fried Flounder sold at market prices ... Its not like they fish it out of a tank!! But you can always ask for a rough quote and at Phu Vinh, the fish is round about the $20 mark. It was, simply put, delicious. This has to be one of the Top 10 seafood dishes ever! And Phu Vinh's version is worth coming back for. And I liked the fact that there was no final sprinkle of msg.

Fried Rice with Salted Fish

A slightly plainer version that I have had at other establishments, but not in any ways less scrumptious as a result. In fact, I prefer not to have shards of slimy iceberg lettuce wilting in the heat, or an overload of grey bits of chicken. Apart from the salt content, Phu Vinh's fried rice is clean and fresh on the palate and feels rather healthy!!

Kai Lan with Garlic Sauce

Again, a much fresher version without too much salt and with the requisite crunch and colour. My only complaint - too many stems not enough leaves.

Our meal started with a plate of Goi Con and here at Phu's, you each get your own bowl of sauce. Big Tick. They have one of the better sauces round the traps in my opinion. Just the perfect balance of sweet and salty. But of course this is a matter of taste.

In summary, I would recommend Phu Vihn and certainly look forward to a return visit.

Don't forget to check out the crazy wall print ... non-descript vaguely botanical swirls with a subtle leitmotif of clapsed hands dotted with a leaping man in a suit and hat carrying a briefcase ... answers on a postcard peops!!

PS - don't forget to ask for the kick ass chilli oil!!! And careful ... its smoking!!

Lights! Camera! Action! Sweetie!

2011-09-06T08:18:00.000+10:00

Ok ... I'm probably going to get into trouble for this but I recently participated in a photo shoot for a friend's entry into a design competition ... well I say participated, I was more hanger-on sticky-beaker than anything else, although I did move some furniture and get coffees ... oh and I got my friend her photograper who was an absolute star. Perhaps my new career as Producer/Fashion Agent awaits somewhere in the never never!

Anyhoo, I was expecting something slightly on the amatuerish side of a backyard laboratory, but as people and equipment arrived, I had to revise my ill-conceived and uneducated opinion.

Even as K blossomed from cold ravaged sleep deprived fashion student into smoky-eyed high heeled and high haired diva under the filtered lights, I watched in wonder as my little presh transformed into a pocket rocket of lotharic charm behind the lens, teasing and cajoling sultry and playful looks in wild abandon. And through it all, my friend J, designer hands posed just so looked on with natural confidence as if to say "World! I have arrived!!" And I'm honoured to have been a part, however small, of that journey.

PS - Dench's really have nice bread.
PPS - oh and I can't really show you the final product ... IP peops IP!!

Mondrian - Fin

2011-08-31T22:40:00.000+10:00

Ok ... so we've done it.

The Waffle to end all Waffles?

2011-08-30T08:45:00.001+10:00

Ok ... as our good friends find enforced distraction (thanks H. Irene!) in a West Hollywood gay club dancing next to Adele!, I ponder our last meal together before they left for NYC, in celebration of the lovely DV's birthday. I have blogged about the hotpots of Little Lamb in Box Hill previously, so I will politely decline a reprise at this stage, but will write about the Waffle to end all Waffles (perhaps) that we shoved down our gullets post red bean cake dessert (I might add) over at the ever popular Monga Dessert Lounge - the Hong Kong temple to homestyle delights right in the Overseas Student heartland of Box Hill. Apart from all the red bean, sago, pomelo, mango, chestnut etc delights on offer, it was pretty much a fait accompli that we would have one serving of Hong Kong Style Waffle - as it turned out we had 4, and had to "Ta Pao" (take-away) one home. So exactly what is a Hong Kong Style Waffle ... well ladies and germs ... here you go:

Its your plain style waffle (roughly 8-9"s), but absolutely flooded with Condensed Milk and wonderfully clogged with Peanut Butter!! It should come with its very own health warning - cardiac arrest imminent!!!

To borrow a Makansutra phrase, "die die must try" ... or rather "die trying"!!

PS - happy B'day DV ... we had a great time and I'm so glad that S still fits ... you lucky bastard!!!

Projects!!!

2011-08-25T09:55:00.000+10:00

Ok ... our Mondrian cabinet is finally finished!!! Well, not quite, we still have to drill holes for the cables at the back ... but the paint job is done and the pieces assembled. (pics in a separate post soon!!) Which means that we can finally readjust the position of my speakers!! Yay! (I'll be absolutely devo if it doesn't make a jot of difference to the sound in the room!) It is wierd though that with our recent purchase of a brand spanking cd player, I'm listening to my music in digital format more so than ever! Hhmm ...

Anyhoo, you can almost taste spring in the air can't you? I can almost smell summer myself. Which means longer days and increased energy levels, which also means its time to pull out all those pending projects from the shelf.

It feels like Bunnings is now our second home, and I think I've had enough of the old sausage sizzle ... why can't we have a charity vietnamese roll instead?? C'mon rotary!! Actually scrap that. I could afford to shed some kilos ... my clothes are about to go on strike and will quit this bitch soon!!!

But Projects *clap hands* ... means transformation of the old ...

a new splash of colour

a hint of excitement

and revitalisation

just around the corner ...

"the weather warmer, he is colder"

2011-08-24T12:36:00.000+10:00

Ok ... here's a random, random thought

Our Magnolia in bloom

A carpet of white is the promise hint of Spring
"nothing's worth remembering" someone
Sings in the distance and amidst the holler of the crowd
I hear french ... that was French wasn't it?
And somewhere in the corner a shapeless whisper - "sorry"
DC - Aug 2011

The Duchess of ... all things yummy actually!

2011-08-16T15:07:00.001+10:00

Ok .. inspired by Claire's recent post on the Duchess of Spotswood and a particularly beautiful winter's day, we decided to revisit the Duchess for erm .., a spot of lunch! I've written about our first visit to this establishment in a previous blog entry (which incidentally was similarly inspired by Claire's recommendation) and the sentiment then still holds fast now ...

So lets shorthand this for you:

Spotswood: up and coming suburb - get in before housing prices go through the roof (seddon now has a million dollar property on its books - footscray has more than 2)
Hudsons Road: pretty! Also has lebanese pizza shop ... so not only pretty but essential!
Duchess: ambience - tick, staff - tick, menu - tick tick tick

M had the cauliflower soup with black truffle oil and a grilled scallop:

I had the Royal Fanfare which is salt cured trumpeter (a kind of fish) with spicy lamb sausage, home made chutney, and crumbed poached egg (how did they do this??!! ... quite carefully I would imagine).

The Paronomasic (wikki it!) menu is cause enough for a bout of furious eye rolling when you first read it, but some of the items listed ... oh how they make you laugh! My favourite is something called Poetry (In motion) which consists of amongst other things ... warm prunes, youghurt and oats ... get it get it?

Oh and we had to have sweets and another batch of small ... erm ... batch coffees. I had the blackcurrant bramble cake, and M had some kind of jam roly poly shizz ... yeah well 'ard!

PS - while we lurch forward into longer days and unpredictable climes ... I have started my spring clean early ... you will find that I have now updated my Year in Books and Year in Music pages for your delectation ... enjoy!!

A Renaissance of Listening

2011-08-16T09:01:00.001+10:00

Ok ... I'm experiencing a renaissance of listening ... each shiny slip of shellac reveals a different musical story and pervades an individual mood ... a recent trip to Yarraville unearthed the following Kyu Sakamoto gem ... "Sukiyaki" ... on battered 7" at a dollar a pop ... a jaunty Sakamoto on the cover in 60s blues and polyester ... smiling at the camera but offering only heartache and regret in song ... I look up at the sky to stop the tears from falling ...

Drum and Bass Anyone?? - Bjork's Crystalline

2011-07-26T21:04:00.000+10:00

Ok ... Crystalline Nebula aaaaa. Breakbeat Madness!!!

Sous Vide Madness

2011-07-25T22:11:00.001+10:00

Ok ... now that only the boring people are left on Masterchef, I have been suitably inspired to try my dab hand at Sousvide-ing some poultry ... except for the "vide" part which I wilfully ignore despite M's repeated warnings to ensure all the air has been massaged out of my makeshift vacuum pack ... a couple of sandwich bags from Daiso.

So I placed my chicken breast in said sandwich bag with Thyme, butter, parsley, mushrooms, salt and pepper. I mushed the bag down and seal in a pique of indifference and bung it in some simmering water with a lid on and cook it for a better part of an hour and a half.

Meanwhile, I decide to puree something again ala Masterchef and opt for Pumpkin, Corn and fetta. I roast the pumpkin and corn with some rosemary and beef stock and then into the mixer with the fetta and sour cream.

To accompany this folly, I fry purple cabbage with bacon, pine nuts, cummin and a bit of beef stock (yes I had some left over that needed using) and then bobs your uncle/aunty/whatevs, dinner was ready for plating.

The verdict ... a little rough around the edges but super yummy!!

Vale Amy!

2011-07-24T13:11:00.000+10:00

Ok ... this is indeed a loss and really such a waste! Bye Bye Amy, you will be sorely missed for all the wrong reasons, and for all the right ones.

"Why do I wish I never Played
Oh what a mess we made
And now the final frame
Love is a losing Game"

Random Thoughts Part ... oh who cares!!

2011-07-21T23:21:00.000+10:00

Ok ... time for another round up which comes to you without an ETS or Carbon tax and fragrantly free of any fetid phone hacking hijinks! Oh and we will not be cuing the "oh no the fire" screenshot or adding the well placed "insert branding" advertorial phrase. So here it is fuss free and in no discernible order, Temasek's Random thoughts:

- Elizabeth, your water is really cold and made my teeth ache!
- I may have a clot or worse ... arthritis!!!
- still no sign of my CD player, but amazon blessed me with a few choice items in the mail ... including the Suede classic "Dog Man Star" which has this slice of brilliance

- isn't my cat pretty in blue?

- finally made it to the Dancing Dog Cafe in Footscray - they do poetry slams ... hhmm.

- why are album covers full of sessy times these days ... I'm not really complaining

- and in the "taking it too far" corner, the resurgence (FAIL!) of the cassette tape:

- and finally, have been enjoying the Old Grey Whistle Test on DVD on which a story is told about the progressive Dutch group Focus' first appearance on UK TV. Apparently there was so much interest in the group after the episode was aired that the record company had to clear the decks at the record pressing plant and focus all attention on pressing the Focus LP in order to meet demand ... you be the judge ... starts off reasonably well and then the organist (alarm bell #1) looking like something out of tickle penny corner on Cold Comfort Farm (alarm bell #2) starts moaning in full on castrated counter tenor (alarm bell # 3) and ... wait for it ... starts Yodelling!!! (biggest alarm bell of the lot!!!).

A Sandwich in Fitzroy

2011-07-16T20:00:00.027+10:00

Ok ... M's in the kitchen salvaging remnants for a plain Spag Bol ... I am typing this in the warmth of the loungeroom listening to Michael Daugherty's Jackie's Song and hoping that my new CD Player (a few days away) will iron out the aural cobwebs and somehow miraculously transform the way music projects round this room. Only a few hours ago we were in Fitzroy munching on Sandwiches at Proud Mary, enjoying the hesitant warmth of the Winter sun and making up stories about the warehouse tenants in the Foy and Gibson buildings across the way.

A few hours before that we were spray painting primary colours onto boards as we worked our way through to the penultimate touches on our new Mondrian-esque TV stand ... yes that very one! The wait has been interminable! And the reason I am documenting all this is to illustrate how a good long weekend should be ... a composite of everything and absolutely nothing at the same time!

But it was also a good excuse of segueing into the delicious sandwiches we had for lunch. Proud Mary, apart from having the dubious (well to us anyways) distinction of hijacking the deco winged light fixture we lusted after in Three Quarters both as decoration and as logo, and being a bit of a hipster and yuppie enclave, has the friendliest staff, some of the nicest coffee blends, and brilliant food as evidenced by:

M's roast lamb and beetroot relish sandwich:

And my Roast Belly Pork sandwich:

Also, these are sandwiches! Served between 2 slices of good honest bread! Not some himalayan goat munched oats of a towering bun or other such bready larks ... inspite of its somewhat irresponsible price and the plonked bit of salad on the plate, they were absolutely delicious, and certainly more competent than the paragraph I've just written. (This blog is in need of a firm editorial hand!)

And with coffee served in such cheery colours, it really is the best place to revive and rejuvenate. So what if its back to the grind shortly, for an hour or so's pause, all is right with the world.

And in case you were wondering, this is what I've recently purchased:

A Yamaha S300 CD player - and don't look befuddled like my friend DL did when I told him ... I have mountains of CDs that I refuse to render obsolete!! And an amazing amplifier crying out for a good DAC circuit to convert the digital sounds on my Ipod which this player possesses.

A Celebration of Friendship

2011-07-16T19:34:00.001+10:00

Ok ... happy birthday KH!!! Hope you enjoy your new wooley hat and that your little angel does not hijack it into a mishapen mess. As standard, vittles were expertly embarrassed and scared by the man of the house.

We had a beautiful rib eye that was perfectly flagellated and flayed:

Served with a playful salad of freshly broken artichoke hearts, virginal tomatoes and finnicky peas:

Some cheeky pomme noisettes:

And finished with a cunning layered cake presented in these pointedly japanese ceramic bowls:

I will let the pictures simply speak for themselves.

Thank you to the N household for their hospitality and their generosity.

And yes I have been watching Posh Nosh ... in case you were wondering.

Moneymoneymoneymoney ... Money!

2011-07-16T11:22:00.002+10:00

Ok if money was no object, the lighting possibilities are endless at Tongue and Groove. And Ross, why did you make it so hard to find your damn shop, and that tantalising peak into your workroom is infuriating!!!

Flora

Fauna

Hello Ross, are you down there?

A Wintery Day in Paradise - Lunch at Anne Smithers Kyneton

2011-07-10T01:11:00.001+10:00

Ok ... we've been down by the Campaspe before ... this is rich mining country ... and what better way to indulge in all this country luxuriousness then by having an enriching lunch at one of Kyneton's finest - Annie Smithers Bistrot & Produce.

After falling in love with Kyneton's charms way back in 07, and after 2 failed successive attempts at getting in, the Royal George has been on our "to visit" list but recent reviews have made us pause with eraser in hand. We decided to try somewhere else instead, and Annie Smithers with its kitchen garden/local produce remit looked a very inviting alternative.

Now I do love menus with single price points (although this could give the old hip pocket a grand mal seizure sometimes) - here at Annie's its $19.50 for entrees, $36.00 for Mains and $16.50 for sweets. So not the cheapest of options, but let me tell you that it has been a long time since I have had a "fine" dining experience as memorable as this.

Perhaps it was the wintery light outside, or the warm heating vent we were sat next to, or perhaps it was the no fuss cleanness of the interior, but I was ready to forgive the slight "tude" we got by the maitre'd, and we settled into a lovely 2 hours of gastronomic bliss. It is a good thing when a restaurant smells beautiful when you walk in the door ... believe me there are many places that don't!!

We decided to forgo starters for sweets and headed straight to mains. M decided on the pork - "brined and grilled western plains pork sirloin, garden honey carrots, savoy cabbage, mustard.

The pork was Orgasmic!!! M reckons it was the best pork he has ever had, and I am inclined to agree. It was moist as if it had been braising for a long time, the fat was just melt in the mouth goodness, yet it had the smoky charred flavour and the criss cross patterns of a grill. And seasoned well!! Damn! You need to try this. The cabbage and mustard "jus" were perfect compliments to the savoury pork ... yes savoury ... not sweet!

I ordered the duck - "free range corn fed duck, pommes sarladaise, cavolo nero, seville orange". I love cavolo nero!! And it was served crispy and with the cubes of charred potato formed the base on which my oh so very sweet and succulent duck rested on. OMG! Oh my god?! Seriously! You need to come and eat here. Annie has got some great culinary chops!!

After imibibing a few amazing glasses of red, all sourced locally, including a killer Pinot Noir (2007) from Mount Gisborne and an amazing Syrah from Cobaw Ridge, it was time for dessert.

M jumped on the lemon suet pudding served with garden lime cream and creme fraiche ... because (a) its lemon ... and (b) hello its suet!!! This was a touch too lemony for my liking, and really what with the lime cream, it was astringency gone mad, but by all accounts (ok just one) it was scrumptious.

My Snow Eggs (or ouefs a la neige ... RAHther!) served with spiced custard and orange jellies were to die for!! Unless of course you're not a fan of eggy custard, or jelly for that matter.

What a great way to finish a meal. Having peaked into the kitchen and giving thanks to Annie herself, we braced the icy cold and walked to Ganims Market Fresh market store to stock up on some country baked goodies, ended up at Monsieur Pierre and spent too much on French blue, goats cheese and the yummiest crusty french loaf ever ... darling!

Shouldn't that be Noodle AND Dumpling King?

2011-07-04T14:59:00.003+10:00

Ok ... out of sheer boredom and eofys envy, I scoured the interhole and advertisement pages for reviews on DACs and entry level audiophilic CD players. The general idea was to keep my ancient nondescript CD player and up the ante by connecting it to a DAC (or digital to analogue converter) unit and then into the amp. It seemed like a cheap way of upgrading. My original option was to upgrade said blah cd player to a Marantz CD5004, however, the cheapest price of USD349.95 was only available via Amazon.com, i.e. unavailable for shipment to our hallowed shores. And the cheapest I could find in Melbourne was at least $200 above that asking price.

I started looking at DACs together with M, and we came across a deal for a Cambridge Audio CD Topaz CD10 player and decided to wing our way down to Preston to the U&S Audiovisual store for a looksee.

As there was an additional 15% off on most models, my eyes moved longingly onto better models like the Cambridge Azure series and also a sexy looking NAD, which the sales person "assures" me is of much better quality (and also about $100 more - typical).

Having spent the sum total of about 20 mins in the store (which also coincidentally is the time threshold on listening to Katherine Jenkins caterwauling her way through Vincent valve amps and Mirror speakers), we were back out on the strip looking to fill the non-purchase hole in our retail dream, so naturally we ended up royally stuffing our faces at Noodle Kingdom with dumplings and more dumplings.

The place was filled reassuringly with mainland faces, taiwanese hair and hong kong fashion. M spied a favourite of his from his Chinese travelling days which was tomato and egg soup. It was yummy but he did concede that in China there was more of a tomato hit.

I ordered a beef soup from the same section within the menu, but at a dollar more (which took it to the sum total of $5) my bowl seemed disproportionately larger. Mine was a veritable bowl of hearty northern chinese cuisine ... the spice trade encapsulated in the heady broth.

We had steamed pork dumplings which squirted almost scaldingly hot broth into our mouths with our first bite. But we laughed this off in pure gastronomic enjoyment.

The boiled lamb dumplings were also filled with broth which was amazingly sweet and meaty at the same time. Another "must order" dish to add to the list.

Cheap Cheerful and Delicious!! Is there really anything better?

As a postcsript to our audio adventure, I have now swopped amps and will be looking to reposition the speakers round the room to maximise their potential. The reason for all this? Well the last time I had to look into replacing units from our hifi system was due to the fact that Radiohead blew the old speakers out! And Thom Yorke has done it again!! I scored the Burial/Four Tet/Thom Yorke Ego/Mirror 12" and the sound coming off the turntable was so amazing, my CD player absolutely paled into non-existence.

PS ... spent sunday going mad at Daiso and also the big Asian supermart across the way, and finished off feeding our auditory bloodlust again by gazing lovingly (ok that was only me) at the Rega RP1 turntable for sale at Title.

Sabroso Revisited

2011-07-03T20:25:00.001+10:00

Ok ... well apparently Sabs has been in existence for more than 8 years now, which means I have known Jackie for more than 10. Bless!!

Its comforting to know that a bar and restaurant of this calibre is almost just round the corner, not going anywhere, simply waiting to receive us on our next visit, whenever that is, no pressure.

As comfortable as an old shoe, and just the way I like it.

It was another CBA Friday and we just didn't feel like Asian!! There are dear readers times exactly like these over here in the Temasek houshold. And I felt like having me some kind of red coloured sustenance, so off we went to Sabroso. We were greeted warmly at the bar by Hamish, who I think was trying to place us from somewhere, having forgotten that we shared some closing night drinks (I say some, but really we shouldn't have been driving after that) on his girlfriend's birthday ... but hey ho! Once we were seated, we were in the capable hands of Cori ... (the one with the tatts, floppy fringe smoothed over and dark looks).

As the menu has had a revamp since we last ate there, there were a number of yummy new things to try, along with the old faithful, salt and pepper squid, which remains consistently delicious to this day:

We also had the lamb cigars, and I didn't even mind the raisins, served simply with sour cream and sumac. With the very first juciy bite, we were in Marrakesh laughing at a belly dancer and making eyes at the fezzed up boys.

The new dish we ordered was a crab tortellini made with squid ink pasta. The plating itself was drammatic. The luxuriously black pasta played nicely against the creamy celeriac puree and the glossy white plate. In terms of flavour, the filling was fantastic, but it would have been better if the squid ink pasta had a more of a punch. As it was, it just tasted like pasta that was coloured black. Still as a whole, pretty damn special.

Those were our starters and in between glasses of Grenache Shiraz and intermittent catch ups when Jackie swung by for a convo, we had enough time to regird our loins and attack the mains.

For protein, we had the slow roast cummin chicken ... and let me just say ... TDF!!! This is probably going to be a mainstay order for me at Sabs. The chicken was moist and smoky at the same time, with the right amount of spice and heat. Perfection.

We also had a lentil and haloumi salad and new potatoes with these amazingly charred aspargus bits. The combination of flavours with these salads was unbelievable. So simple and yet so effective. I can't wait for this to be one of my pots at the next pot luck we organise with friends.

Sabs hosts a beer tasting night every Tuesday, and also Sunday Roast events. If you are in the neighbourhood, just pop by and check the place out. Even if its just for a quick drink and some bar snacks from the Tapas menu. You will love it! Right Jacks!! Thats $1.20 per word commission ... pay up.

PS ... and of course you can't end a spanish-ish meal without a serve of Churros!!! C'mon on! Are you kidding me?

PPS .. oh and the couple at the table sitting next to us were definitely having sex later that night.

How to insult a Canberrian!

2011-06-30T13:34:00.000+10:00

Ok ... Aah Canberra ... land of donkey coloured civic buildings glinting in the icy wintery sun!! There are many things to enjoy about Canberra ... wide open spaces, the national gallery and its companion the potrait gallery, questacon ... but lets face it, with shit coffee and nary a local to be seen imbibing in, its really not the coolest place to be. Just don't tell that to a Canberrian, or you might just get the spectator vs participant lecture ... but between you an me ... if I feel the need to indulge in some music, I want to see an "alright!" band, not join some shitty community oompah beardy get up. If I want to be intellectually stimulated by some footlight entertainment, I want to go see a play, and not sign up for some neighbourhood theatre sports with Mr and Mrs suburb and their emo kids at the community library.

But enough capital bashing. There used to be 2 things great about Canberra, D & J! Now we can add one more - Kagawa Japanese Cuisine in Dickson ... Canberra's chinatown.

It was D & J's first time here as well. And what a find. The food is cheap and simply amazing!!! And because it was me and D, a plate of sashimi was a fait accompli!! But our sashimi plate arrived with three special delicate morsels - scallops served in their shells with a dollop of fish roe!! They were to die for!

J chose some pork gyoza which were perfectly cooked ... the dough was suitably pliant with just the right amount of charring.

We also had several plates of Sushi Nigiri - Salmon roe and Tubiku ... and really we could have just ordered 10 of those and left happily sated. Is there anything better than fish roe? I think not.

After our Izikaya Den celebration last time D & J were in Melbourne, we had to order the Grilled Fish head which cost the princely sum of $11.90 and I think far surpassed the one served at Melbourn's uber cool establishment.

As it was a particularly icy night, we opted for a hot pot style dish - the Hot Bibinba which was Beef, Raw Egg and Kimchi. It was a veritable witches cauldron of sticky raw egg, sweet beef, acrid kimchi over a bed of sushi rice.

This was followed by a steaming bowl of miso ramen which was beautifully subtle, flavoured with just the right amount of Miso so as not to be too overpowering.

And to wash this all down, some warm sake.

Oh and it would have absolutely killed M but there were that many globs of really good quality wasabi that most of it went back to the kitchen barely touched!
So next time you hit the capital, make sure you mark this down as an essential port of call.

Big thanks and hugs to D & J for takingt time out to entertain me, including a visit to one of Canberra's instituitions - Tilleys! (erstwhile den of sapphic delights, or so I'm told) ... where I enjoyed a yummy glass (or 2) of Canberrian Cab Sav and a suitably spicy portuguese Chicken burger.

Other highlights of my recent work trip - entering Parliament House via the Ministerial Entrance and marvelling at the artwork I got some hurried glimpses of, including a Le Corbousier tapestry, and entering Turrell's Skyspace but during the middle of a sunny day, which didn't really play to its strengths ... best time to go ... sunrise or sunset.

Aah Canberra ... land of donkey coloured civic buildings glinting in the icy wintery sun!!

Wine and Pizza - a pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon at Train Trak

2011-06-26T18:06:00.001+10:00

Ok ... newsflash readers, conversation does not come easy to me. I am for all intents and purposes socially inept. Most of the things I am passionate about are quite insular in nature, so being stuck at the end of a table makes things slightly more awkward for me ... but ... in a setting like the Yarra Valley, and with amazing food, wine and company, it doesn't really matter.

Now I am not going to name drop but we do have "connections" with Train Trak in the beautiful Yarra Valley. So a bunch of us, said connection included, decided to go on a road trip (well not quite as we set off from Bulleen) for lunch at Zonzo.

If you have never been to the Yarra Valley, make amends very soon. It is a beautiful spot and not that far out of the city with so much to enjoy. I can thoroughly recommend the Train Trak winery, not just for Zonzo, but also for their exquisite wines. Our picks if you can get them - Pinot Noir 2004, Cab Sav 2004, Shiraz 2006 and their champagne equivalent, which I think is a little hard to track down.

We decided to opt for a few starters, followed by 4 pizzas to share. As we had a vego in tow, we needed to ensure an even split. D's recommendation was for the chilli and garlic prawns, which were citrusy and fresh and with just a hint of spice (and not enough to M - surprise surprise).

Gamberi piccanti - chilli and garlic tiger prawns

DV chose the artichoke hearts which were crumbed and drizzled with Vincotto. This was a definite highlight!! And if you're there and its on the menu, get it!!

Carciofi Fritti - crumbed artichoke hearts drizzled with vincotto

I asked for the Aarrancini balls to cover off the vegetarian component, and these tasted exactly what they should have, crunchy on the outside, and smooth creamy risotto filling on the inside.

Arrancini Balls

For the pizzas, we went with the Pizza alla Luisella, which had porcini mushroom as its predominant ingredient For the people who had it (I wasn't included) it was by far the best pizza of the day.

Pizza alla luisella - Pomodoro, buffalo mozzarella, funghi porcini and basil

The other vegetarian offering was the Four Cheese pizza, the four cheeses being pomodoro, mozarella, gorgonzola and mascarpone. The Mascarpone provided a beautiful sweetness that cut the richness of the other cheeses. I didn't find the gorgonzola particularly significant in flavour, although M reckons it was very much to the fore, and wonderfully so.

Pizza ai quattro formaggi - Pomodoro, mozzarella, gorgonzola, mascarpone and shaved parmesan

For the meatwhores among us, we had the Pizza con carciofi which had prosciutto and artichoke hearts. The prosciutto was not overpowering which allowed all the other flavours to blend in nicely. A pretty good pizza all round.

Pizza con carciofi - Pomodoro, mozzarella, gorgonzola, rocquette, prosciutto crudo and artichoke hearts

And just to conform to the recent trend of having a Bianche based pizza (and also because its delicious!), we had the Bianca con Speck, which was my favourite of the day (and also my pick). Although, I would have liked my speck a little stronger.

Bianca con speck - X.V olive oil base, mozzarella, gorgonzola, rocquette, speck and shaved parmesan

I should mention that Zonzo's pizza bases are thin ... just the way I like it.

Having gutsed on savoury, we took some time to enjoy the view, then it was back in for dessert.

M had the panna cotta which was orange infused with a hint of cointreau and it was delicious.

Panna cotta - Orange infused panna cotta served with a cointreau and orange syrup

I had the calzone filled with ricotta, chocolate and hazelnuts served with a bit of ice cream. This was heaven!!

Calzone alla Ricotta

The chocolate filling was spot on and just oozed out of the pastry when I cut into it. I had a sip of M's Machiatto to wash some of the richness down. Good cup of coffee!!

To round off the day we had a tour of the old homestead, where I made a special little friend.

Then it was back to the city lights and sausage with homemade lemon pickles and olive infused chilli at J & CC's ... we have the life!

A whole new world ... of Salmonella ... CBA Friday at Dumplings and More

2011-06-26T14:23:00.001+10:00

Ok, yet another CBA Friday comes around and what better way to end a week of woe but with a hot plate of steaming dumplings to soothe the soul and chase those winter blues away. Why have the hipsters taken to dumplings in such a big way? It can't just be Camy's proximity to the uber cool Section 8 bar? There must be more to it. But as far as dumplings are concerned, if they're good, I care not for setting and place. Give me the dingiest rat infested corner of a laneway and I'll be there, appetite in readiness. As far as Dumplings and more is concerned, setting and place unfortunately were duly noticed!! This is certainly one joint that you will be wiping down the cutlery, and even the table, with the napkins supplied! The dumplings are not super fantastic, but they are passable, its the unusual menu (with quite a few things untranslated) that really gets the gastric juices going.

And don't make the stupid mistake we did by not turning the (yes wipe the menu down too) soggy laminated menu over and missing out on the variety this plain and filthy jane has to offer. I guess I just didn't want to handle that menu more than I had to. But our eyes followed in envy each successive dish that was brought out from the kitchen to other tables. The lamb with Garlic chives, a plate full of maybe chicken strips and tang hoon (glass vermicelli), a whole fried fish ... all looking incredibly delicious.

We had lamb dumplings (15 for $9 - although they're better at 1 plus 1). I'm glad that we didn't choose pork, because the lamb mince was on the pinkish side of raw, and I wouldn't have risked it with pork. There was something lacking in the flacour, but I made a mix of chilli oil, vinegar and soy on a plate which fixed it up perfectly.

As with the dumplings, the lamb skewers at 1 plus 1 have a fuller flavour but we enjoyed the spicy crunch of the cummin seeds that peppered the skewers here.

We also had the Stir fried greens (Bak Choy) with garlic, which was full of that yummy wok hei garlicky flavour, but it was swimming in oil!!

We had Eggplant in Spicy Sichuan sauce ... yummy for the first few mouthfuls, but it did start to cloy, mainly because there was so much of it!! Well too much for just 2 people.

And for carbs, we opted for Fried Rice (ok ... ho hum) that had little cubes of Luncheon Meat (Spam) which provided a comforting notslagic hit for me. And lets face it, went well with all the other dishes ordered.

So in summary, I would recommend this place not so much for the dumplings but for all the other delectations on offer. But bring an extra pack of tissues as you may need it. And ask for extra bowls to collect the additional oil that you might just want to skim off the plate.

In anticipation

2011-06-22T22:41:00.002+10:00

ok ... biophilia

Redemption in the Jiu He Eng Chai

2011-06-20T13:56:00.000+10:00

Ok ... I have to admit that I'm not a 3 strikes you're out kinda person ... I am a first impressions kinda person ... thats just how I roll!! But unable to get into either Laksa King or Chef Lagenda and absolutely craving Malaysian, we decided to give ChilliPadi another go, even though our first visit was a gastronomic disaster. This time round she took baby steps to rectify the situation, and the saving grace came in the form of Chillipadi's version of Jiu He Eng Chai!!

Now what the hell is Jui He Eng Chai ... you may very well ask. Let me break it down for you:

(i) its sweet
(ii) its prawny
(iii) its peanuty
(iv) its fermented ... erm ... ey
(v) if you're of the anglo saxon persuasion and temperament, chances are you'll hate it
(vi) if you're of the southeast asian persuasion, chances are you love it and crave it

Its basically reconsituted dried squid served with Kang Kong (water spinach) in a molassey peanut/belacan sauce. Hea-ven!! And I have to say, Chillipadi's version is not too bad at all.

We decided to try the Roti Jala again and this time the curry sauce accompaniement was spot on. But really Roti Jala should not have those crispy edges, so I think ours spent a little too much time on the grill.

We also had the hainanese chicken (this and rendang are test dishes for any restaurant purporting to serve authentic Malaysian/Singaporean food - get them right and I can forgive any insipid horrors lurking on your ridiculously populated menu, get them wrong and you lose my patronage stat and my recommendation) to go with our Jiu He. Passable is about all I can rate this. Someone overdosed on the lime/lemon in the sauce ... in fact someone overdosed on sauce full stop. Our hainanese chicken was threatening to turn into a chicken stew.

We also had a Sambal Balado fish. Pretty good Sambal Balado. Menu states it as being a whole fish, but it was served as 2 filleted halves ... not the best thing for this kind of dish. Especially since the gooey texture (as opposed to soft fresh) was indicative of frozen fillets that had travelled some distance from purveyor to store. And when you say whole fish, I want to see head and tail!!

Oh and I had a Milo Peng ... served rather quaintly in a relish jar, like the ones you used to dunk your paint brush in at school ... a nice enough touch.

So in summary, a few steps forward for this mob ... but perhaps not enough for it to move up the queue ahead of Laksa King and Chef Lagenda.

Closer to home, we have seen signs for a Sambal Kampung (nice bit of punning) in Edgewater! Lets hope for Chillipadi's sake, this is the watered down version of Malaysian Cuisine, otherwise we are unlikely to visit their shores again.

Of Stiff Carrots and where chickens come from

2011-06-19T12:29:00.000+10:00

Ok ... the last few cards I have written to M have marked each year with an acknowledgement of survival ... and isn't that a bit of a sad indictment of the times? And even as we stood on the brink of emotional collapse, we were reminded of the symbolism behind our difficult union as we conversed and broke bread with our close friends at the DMs. At an early point in the evening, DK rushed up to me and gave me a hug ... she will never know how much that meant to me ... but hugs and glossy viticultured smiles aside ... the DMs laid a winter's repast as testament to good times and friendship ... I wish you all the very same luck we have.

Cheese Souffle

Lamb Shank with honeyed carrots and rossini

Vale Martin Rushent - the thing that dreams are made of!

2011-06-09T15:10:00.001+10:00

Ok ... "run all day, run all night, do or die, do or die" ... how did I miss this. Vale Martin Rushent. And if you say Who? I say, Producer of Human League's Dare of course! And if you say What? I say Captain! And then I say you have some serious musical gaps in your knowldege.

I didn't realise just how many quintessential pop moments Rushent's talents were across from my musical upbringing. And I certainly didn't realise how far back his career stretched ... I mean Shirley Bassey and Curved air?? Wow.

But I guess Dare eclipses it all and well it should. It is the perfect electronic pop album, and everyone else has tried to follow the template with varying degrees of succes. But I somehow feel that they broke the mould after they made it and no one will ever come close.

So here are some of the influential new wave moments (in chronological order) in honour of Martin and his musical genius:

Elimination! A Photographic Representation

2011-06-01T18:08:00.000+10:00

Heartattack and Swine - Consuming the Consomme or is there enough breadcrumbs!!!

2011-06-01T00:15:00.002+10:00

Prologue:

D dunks a pigs tail in an egg mixture, then a bowl of flour, and then a bowl of breadcrumbs. P watches on. Camera swings in on P's face as he speaks:

P: Is there enough breadcrumb?

Camera pans towards D's face as he gives P the side-eye

Camera zooms back on P & D having a face off.

Fade to black

Ok ... our first cook up for the year!!! Excitement!! Well, it would have been even better if we hadn't royally gutsed ourselves by the end of it. Still it was one of our more successful cookups for a long time, and we actually tried a number of new things that I feel made it the closest to the unspoken remit of what our cook ups should be.

The star of the meal or rather the ingredient that pulled all the other elements together was Pigeon. Now at $18 a pop we had to make sure we treated it with respect. I knew that I wanted some kind of berry/fruity sauce to go with it, but ended up opting for a Masterchef recipe of Roasted Pigeon on a bed of Split peas ... modified!

Pigeon sourced from Wangara Poultry and Game

I've been dying to see clarification of a consomme first hand, so convinced P that we should have a consomme for starters, but I did commit the cardinal sin of suggesting that we already had store bought stock in the pantry ... oh well that simply wasn't good enough for our fine bespoked feathered friend, so off to Donati's he went for some bone marrow for the stock, which then led to the suggestion of Bone Marrow and Parsley salad for a side.

I already had my eye on the Colcannon that was on Masterchef and thought that it would be a good addition to the potentially rich, fatty meat of the pigeon, and also something to mop up all that yummy jus on the plate.

In addition, after having crumbed pig's tail at Cummulus Inc, I've been dying to try my hand and doing something with this particular offcut, and found a mustard crumbed recipe (thank you Fergus Henderson for this and the bone marrow salad) online which seems to be one of the more traditional ways of treating this bit of the pig.

We had to get the pigs tails in the oven at the start as it needed a 3 hour slow cook. So after our quick shop, we chopped our first lot of Mirepoix for the day and placed it in a pan with red wine and stock. This formed the cooking base for our lovely little tails to slowly braise in.

Pigs tails resting on a bed of Mirepoix

We then turned our attention to the magic of Clarification: egg whites, crushed egg shells, a stick of carrot, celery, onions (bring on the mirepoix!) and ice went into the cold stock, brought back up to the boil and simmered for another 20 mins. I watched in wonder as a grey foamy sludge formed a skin on top of the bubbling stock. We made a hole in the centre and gently scooped out the clarified stock underneath and strained it through a tea towel. Magic!!! P was very proud indeed.

Mirepoix with egg whites, egg shells and ice

A potful of the Yarra

First straining of the clarified stock

An entire bunch of celery chopped up then went into the strained stock and cooked out a bit longer. Then it was strained again and voila ... the final product - Celery Consomme. It was beautiful to eat, the heady taste and scent of celery is what hits you first, but then the rich beef broth takes over in all its meaty glory ... it may be clear soup, but it certainly is not light.

A whole head of celery

The end result

Consuming the Consomme!!

Onto dessert, yet another variation of the potted cream desserts we seem to keep gravitating towards - Butterscotch Pot de Creme - a dish that P fell in love with when he was the States. Effectively we made butterscotch which we poured into ramikins ready for the oven. It was the Muscovado sugar that really lifted this deceptively simple dish to heavenly heights.

Just out of the oven ... waiting to set competely

Served with cream and a sprinkle of Muscovado sugar

It was time for sorting out the rather phallic looking pigs tails (thats if your dick is ground to a point). They were drenched in a mixture of eggs and mustard, then lightly floured and finally smooshed into some breadcrumbs ... P watched critically and asked .... well you can read it in part of the title of this post. It well and trully earned him the side-eye! Then into the oven to bake for another 20 mins or so.

Gooey and gelatinous ... our tails just out of the oven

Drenching the tails

Browning lightly in a pan and then into the oven for the final cook

Served with M's homemade mayo

The Pigeons were waiting their turn on a bed of ... you guessed it .. Mirepoix. A mixture of gound juniper berries and star anise was rubbed all over their plump little bodies. They were then stuffed with a piece of garlic, a bay leaf and a knob of butter, seared in a pan to brown and then roasted in the oven for about 20 mins, with 5 mins resting time.

Our little pigeons marinading

Roast Pigeon plated

TheVin Santo sauce we made with Port and chicken stock ... wonderfully sweet and rich ... perfect for gamey meats.

We also had the bone marrow roasting in preparation for the bone marrow salad .. well basically bone marrow served with a salad of parsley, shallots and capers.

Bone Marrow fresh out of the oven

Bone Marrow and Parsley salad

If you're feeling your arteries slowly starting to constrict as you read this, well imagine how we felt halfway through the meal. In the immortal words of ONJ it "feels like a heartattack!"

Now this seems to be the new fangled way of preparing potatoes for mash ... no longer do you simply bung them in a pot of boiling water ... oh no ... you now place them lovingly on a bed of salt and roast them in the oven. I believe this gives them the right texture and consistency (I also believe that playing with yourself is called wanking). Colcannon is simply Mashed potato served with herbs and onion. We had to forego the Cavalo Nero, which we substituted with a few bits of chai sim. M cooked these off before mixing it all together. And there's still a bowlful of it left for a few more enjoyable lunches yet.

Mashed potato ... the chefy way

Colcannon

We had to ditch the peas because P doesn't really like them ... man is there nothing he is not allergic to!! So we opted for Asparagus cooked with pancetta to sit the birds on. We couldn't find Cotechino sausage which is what the original recipe called for (some of those so-called italian delis round here should hang their heads in shame!!), so I tore apart a couple of pork sausages and added them to the asparagus mix. And to round off the calvary of sides, just some roasted parsnip and swede.

Its all about the root

So there you have it ... another successful cookup and enough food to feed the extras on a Cecil B Demille set. Next time we cater.

And in honour of our very first cookup for the year ...

Pigeons and Bay Leaves - our first cook up for the year

2011-05-28T13:27:00.000+10:00

Ok ... we are about to commence our first cook up of the year. The menu is:

Entree:

Crispy Pig's Tail

Soup:

Celery Consomme

Main:

Roast Pigeon with Sausage & Peas
Roast Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad
Colcannon (ok .. mashed potatoes and herbs)

Dessert:

Butterscotch Pots de Creme

"My Popularity was left dying in its final spasms"

2011-05-27T16:46:00.001+10:00

Ok ... I'm juggling 2 books at the moment. My bedside read is Jasper Fforde's One of our Thursdays is missing - the latest in the Thursday Next series - literary agent extraordinaire!!. And my Train read is David Mitchell's Black Swan Green.

I'll get round to posting about my love affair with anything and everything that Jasper Fforde puts out, but its to Black Swan Green that I now turn my thoughts. The book centres round the adolescence of budding young poet, Jason Taylor, who like Mitchell himself, has a stammer. Its set in the 80s and the cultural and music references are so redolent of my own growing up, that it can be a difficult read for me at times.

But this morning in the train I reached a point in the narrative where Jason finally loses his tenuous position in the teenage hierarchy and is relegated to the position of "oily fuckin' maggot" ... back in the very doldrums of social activity. Over 2 pages and in about 6 paragraphs, Mitchell managed to scrunch my insides into a tight fisted ball of paper. The walls of the train dissappeared and I was back in a classroom somewhere, trying hard to keep breathing, eyes wide, head hot and heavy, someone has my schoolbag and is theatening to chuck it out a window, someone else accuses me of liking cock, all I can hear is laughter and then I just start to feel the whooshing air of someone's first punch but the change in lighting as the train hits the tunnel pulls me back in ... damn you David Mitchell ... love you David Mitchell!!

GAAA GAAA

2011-05-26T23:02:00.000+10:00

Ok ... I hated Gaga when she graced my little TV screen singing "Just Dance" on So you think you can dance. The furore over her lip synching tantrum on the Morning Show didn't help matters much, and the fact that she seemed to be on high rotation on every fucking music tv show imaginable did not endear me to her pop flossing beats!! (and lets not mention DW drunkenly raving on about bluffin with his muffin).

Then Speechless happened!!! And suddenly I was a convert to Mother Monster!!! Here was the perfect modern pop record stripped back to its basic elements ... full of pathos with a world weary lovelorn attitude this side of every conceivable pop record from the 60s chanson, through 70s folk to 80s sheen AOR.

Born this Way, the first indication of Gaga's proper sophomore, burst on the scene with an amazing video and a Madonna controversy to boot. Judas didn't quite impress, but slowly wormed its way into my subsconscious and I find myself going "Judas Juda-ah-ahs" all through the house. As for the Edge of Glory ... all we need is a sax solo and the imaginary 80s John Hughes soundtrack is complete.

But the final clincher that had me reaching for my credit card with the new album was this gem of an electro number. I give you Lady Gaga's Government Hooker:

the fortiness creeping in the night ...

2011-05-23T22:09:00.000+10:00

Ok ... Insight recently did an expose on turning 40. Alas I have already passed that milestone and am trudging my way ever quickly towards the open grave (yes I over drammatise!), but this song captures the very essence of leaving all that youthful energy and wild abandon behind, and embracing experience in all its complexities and weathered lines ... fatalistic with regret.

mmmm ... yes!

2011-05-22T21:50:00.004+10:00

Ok ... so I've finally got it, listened to it and started an FB post that garnered the sum total of 221 comments!!! Its Kate Bush - Director's Cut.

I can't tell if I got a dodgy copy or not, or if my speakers have finally carked it (last time it was Radiohead's Karma Police that did it, this time it could be that damn Wynton Marsalis Trumpet!!!), because Flower of the Mountain (aka Sensual World), which is the opening track to Kate's faux new CD, sounded really muddy and the bass notes were booming to the point of detuned static. Track 2 - Song of Solomon didn't fare much better ... but the sound quality hit its strides on Track 3 - Lily.

I could at least crank the volume at this stage without inducing an angina attack of the crackly variety. In fact, you pretty much have to turn it up to 11 in order to fully experience this CD. Lily has in fact put my fears to rest. I never liked the song when it was first released, but I love it now. So this revisionist jag is starting to look up. But the sound quality is still niggling away like a mild case of tinnitus.

I still don't understand why she eked out the ending of Deeper Understanding ... surely not simply to coddle atmosphere from a few slightly ho-hum harmonica riffs, (I have made peace with the auto-tuned effects), but Red Shoes, Moments of Pleasure and Top of the City certainly benefit from Kate's determined upgrade. That 80s Linn Drum sound is kept totally in check at least ... which is a good thing in my books.

This Woman's Work is going to polarise things a bit. Many, myself included, agree that the original was perfection. The update could sit easily on Tori Amos "Strange Little Girls" covers album. And I can't decide whether this is a good thing or not. I think the new version loses a little of the pathos of the original, but there's a hypnotic quality that I quite enjoy.

I've always liked Never Be Mine, and the new version does clear up the original production a bit, but its a little prosaic ... and there's that fretless bass again! I can see Stevie Nicks covering this one (again, not sure if that is a good thing or not).

And so is love still does nothing for me ... and the lo-fi blues treatment that Rubberband Girl gets denies the track its frenetic quest for pliability. All in all, its not the album to recommend first timers, but this is an artist that will always excite, thrill and aggravate. And thats better than most of the antipathic whitebread crap that spews across the airwaves these days.

Also, I'm glad that The Red Shoes was remastered (but why not Sensual World I wonder) because it always had an annoyingly tinny sound. It still remains my least favourite of all of Kate Bush's wierd and wonderful cannon, although I am dissappointed that she did not revise You're the One I want. Lets give this one a 7 out of 10.

Yooxer!!

2011-05-12T23:26:00.000+10:00

Ok ... SW at work waxes lyrical about coming home to a package on her doorstep after a bout of online ordering. These days I'm all about the online ordering. I've dipped my toes in gently and tested the waters and am now ready to brave the high end labels at the likes of Ssense and LuisaRoma ... Mr Porter even. Although in many ways PT has beat me to the chase ... bastard.

Anyhoo, I wasn't in the state to literally come home to a package on my doorstep, but M had it leaning against the sidetable as I walked into the house ... a pretty little box ...

Hiding pretty little bits of tissue ...

Covering 2 separate pairs of delights that I shouldn't really be attempting to pull off ... but whatevs!