About to restart !!!!

Coming soon to a computer near you  ...or a phone or a pad or a wall somewhere !!!!

Mille Vine ... Crown Street Italian wine bar, restaurant

Ok, so the boys wanted a night out and one of us flatly refused to eat at The Winery (believe it or not it was not me!!). So Mille Vini was decided upon and all seven of us managed to find parking.  This place is full of atmosphere and a wide choice of Italian wines ... but this is a wine bar and the choice of wines by the glass is rather narrow with only 7 whites and 8 reds. 
Lots of entrees / appetisers .. the arancini had mushrooms in them and were,well ..bland.  The bruscetta was average, the grilled prawns were great (though anyone can do that on a bbq at home!!).  I ordered barramundi and it was served on a bed of tomato and eggplant .. bland , skin on , no salt or crunchiness to it.  Thought it was forgettable.  My friend's duck ragu pasta was nicely al dente but just not enough flavour.  One of the other guys had a sirloin with porcini and, well it was a lot of meat, beautifully cooked in that it was not overdone ...but again no flavour.  
WHAT IS IT WITH RESTAURANTS NOT SEASONING THEIR FOOD?  I think that a lot of "chefs" simply do not taste their food. 
Would I go there again? Yes ..nice place to have a meal with friends, and you can drink some nice Italian reds.

FRATELLI SOPRA SINKS at Danks St Waterloo

GOT THAT SINKING FEELING when I lose a place I like to eat at:
Went to Fratelli Sopra at Waterloo yesterday with a friend : we waited 20 minutes for a table, then another 15 before they brought the mineral water we ordered.  
After a while along came an Osso Buco that was missing, well ..everything ..from salt to gremolata to flavour. It was in a thin liquid ..served with some potatoes (4 or 5 little pieces) that were an afterthought (they had been cooked separately) ..what happened to Milanese Risotto with this dish?  Anyway maybe one can justify it by noting that this dish was about $24
.... same justification for the pasta that we ordered.. $22??? No flavour other than smashed peas and a few little pieces of sausage ..again no salt.  
When we asked for salt the waitress did everything other than get us salt .. took her 6 minutes (timed!!). 
Now this is all happening at 1:45 pm when the place is not even a quarter full so no excuse other than the staff are over it by this time...
Then the coffee was good other than it was burnt ...they use Vittoria Nero.

Salt ...pink or flaky or cheap???

Salt ... people have died for this ..Gandhi made it a point of political interest in his push for Indian independence ... now restaurants and shops make it a point of difference so that we pay inordinate amounts for a few grams ..of course it differentiates one's table from a commoner, especially if it is a different colour.  Now that flaky sea salt is everywhere we need to have it coloured so that we can show our friends that we spend big at our table.  
Sorry ... apologies.  I forgot, these special salts taste different.  I keep diffferent olive oils from different areas because they taste different.  When I put them on my rocket they still taste different.  If I mix them with vinegar the difference begins to disappear ..maybe even totally goes. 
In my pantry I have Maldon salt, Ravida sea salt, Sel de Guérande, supermarket rock salt and good old iodised cooking salt.  The expensive sea salts have a higher level of impurities such as magnesium and calcium and these impart a flavour, as they do in mineral water.  Another impurity is bacteria, which impart flavour and colour, especially the pink colour that appears when the salt gets humid and the bacteria are allowed to grow uncontrolled.  
When any of these salts are dissolved, as when used in cooking, for example in pasta water, one cannot tell the difference.  When you taste them directly and undissolved, say straight on to your rocket, you can tell the difference.
There you go...

Kohu Ice Cream ..new from New Zealand ...or make your own

As you can tell from my write up on Giolitti in Rome I love ice cream. I overdosed on Giolitti's gelati when I was in Rome last month, but especially the fruit flavours and more so their strawberry because in the heat of a Rome July this quenched my need for freshness. 
Last night I saw this new ice cream, Kohu, from New Zealand in the flash gourmet deli next to the sushi place, where I had dinner ...and I had a pang for dessert.  It was priced at over $18 per litre ...so it must be ok ...right? 
The best way to test an ice cream is to try the strawberry flavour because this is done brilliantly by good ice creameries, like Giolitti and so poorly by average makers.  When you buy chocolate or Hokey Pokey or some other strong flavour you are overwhelmed by the sweetness of the flavouring.  
I got home, opened the Kohu tub and ...well ...it was laced with strawberry syrup ...augh ....it tasted like some vanilla flavoured cheese with jam through it.  Yes, I said cheese.   And the texture was so wrong  ... ...maybe after that excellent sushi wiith fresh wasabi my tongue was confused and I decided to put it back in the freezer.
Next morning out it came, let it warm up... and still cheese with jammy syrup.  And again the texture was ...simply wrong.  Threw it out.

LEAVE THE KOHU ICE CREAM IN THE SUPERMARKET FREEZER. 

It is very easy to make ice cream, and you make it so it is healthy and does not need to have cream in it but tastes brilliant.... recipes coming up!!!!

Ok ..so where do you eat in New York?

I have a mole, EM we will call him, in New York and he is just as fussy about food as I am.  So I take his recommendations seriously.  Do I need to go and test them? No!! I just want to go the places he recommends to enjoy the food!!

Cafe Cortadito : this is a Cuban place at 210 East 3rd St., near Avenue B.
It gets a better rating from my mole, EM than Cafecito on Avenue C. The meals are made by a chef from El Salvador but nonetheless they keep to a Cuban inspired menu, which is simple with great starters like empanadas and chorizo and mains that include lots of grills done with different sauces ..try the red snapper fillet breaded in a green plantain crust.  
Now if any one has had an average meal here I want to know!!!

busy Buzy Bakehouse ...too buzy !!

BUZY BAKEHOUSE  ... a real letdown

Just disorganized ... had to edit my earlier post on this place  ...their last panzerotti was ok .. I mean I love these puppies no matter what but much to my surprise this time it was very creamy, very sweet and had lost that wonderful ricotta texture.  And did it take time to get served??? They were just fluffing around behind the counter as if they were chickens about to be beheaded.
No wonder the place looks busy ... they are so slow serving that a crowd develops quickly.  I watched them in action with hardly any customers there and learnt how to make a place look busy even if it is not.  
What irks me more though is people who get served ahead of others waiting ..they know when they came in ... maybe the staff should simply ask "who's next" instead of taking an order from the loudest and rudest entitled Eastern Suburbite. 
Now for the coffee ... this time it came fifteen minutes after I ordered it and the place was not even a third full.  The coffee was not worth the wait.  I hate to watch a barista butchering a coffee.
Hate to bitch more, but this place has a door and on a freezing cold morning they keep it open and you have to wear your ski gear in there. In summer they keep it closed.  Why? 

Mont Blanc,..the chestnut puree dessert in Cafe Angelina

Did I mention foie gras? That is how you feel after a hot chocolate and the Mont Blanc at Cafe Angelina.

I wrote about Dulce de Leche earlier on. An easy to make to-die-for spread or filling.  Well,  crème de marrons or chestnut puree is just as easy and also one of my desserts from childhood that has stayed well into adulthood as a top favourite. 

This is chestnut puree passed through a ricer and mixed with sugar and either rum or brandy and then folded with Cream Chantilly (cream whipped with sugar and vanilla) and then passed through the ricer again to serve it nicely piled up like little streams of pure unadulterated heavenly moments in your mouth. This is all on top of an optional base of meringue. Or just use it to fill your favourite pastry cases.  I eat it as it is ...spoonfuls of smooth layered flavours.

Rather than going to the trouble of buying chestnuts, roasting them peeling them bla bla bla just buy a can of chestnut puree ..comes from France but good food stores and even some supermarkets stock it.

Make sure you pass through the ricer a few times to break it up and aerate it.

Hot chocolate and of course Cafe Angelina in Paris

This place makes hot chocolate so thick that you can it eat it with a spoon  ..yes I said eat it.  Cafe Angelina has been around a long time, located at 226 Rue Rivoli, in the first arrondisement ..also in the  Bois de Boulogne and a couple of other places (see http://www.angelina-paris.fr/en/ ). If you love chocolate and you can afford the calories this is a must stop in Paris.  For a while they had an outpost in Galeries Lafayette so you could shop and then indulge the desire but alas it went. 

If you really want to feel like a stuffed goose also have the Mont Blanc dessert but then do not expect to be able to move.

Now how to make one of these hot chocolates? The hot chocolate in Cafe Angelina is made to a secret recipe  (a bit like Coke!!! ...not sure how I can consider a comparison)

Sometimes in Italy they serve hot chocolate like this.  There are many recipes for hot chocolate, with many including cinnamon, vanilla, salt, Mexican chocolate, dark chocolate, liqueurs, etc etc.  Some say the thickness comes from using high quality chocolate.  That is pure rubbish.  In Italy they will add corn starch to the chocolate and milk as they heat it to make it into a custard like consistency.  To get that rich mouth feel you need to add some thickener and I am sure that Angelina uses xantham gum, as this does not add the flavour that corn starch gives to the hot chocolate.

Get yourself some of your favourite chocolate, whole cream milk and melt it slowly over a slow flame.  Try adding a small amount of roux made from corn starch already diluted with hot milk and mix it into the chocolate milk and cook it till you get the thickness you like. Or try the same trick with the gum.

Casa Angelina

This is a place in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast. It is a "design" hotel.  In an area full of tourists and restaurants made for the lowest common denominator this place is a welcome respite.
Unfortunately I stayed at the Hotel Tritone, an Italian hotel around the bend and whilst it sits on a beautiful cliff and looks beautiful from the water, the rooms are full of 1950s outdated furniture which should be "out of use" and the services are less than that offered in the YMCA   eg there is soap in the bathroom but that is it ...not even tissues or a pad of paper in the room.  I do not even want to be reminded of the resturant food at the Tritone.
Over at Casa Angelina the restaurant is called Un Piano nel Cielo. A suitable name, because after the Tritone this place is really heavenly.  A fantastic Negroni served on the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean accompanied by little appetisers and then down a lift to the restaurant dining room or eat out on the restaurant's terrace.
The menu is full of interesting food and it is well executed.  Even the wine list is reasonable ..and includes Australian wines at prices below restaurant prices in Australia !!!  
Stay here if you are ever on the Amalfi Coast, hire a motor scooter from the friendly guy in Praiano and zip around to your heart's content, returning to Casa Angelina for a great meal.

Taking the Crown ....street route ..where babies were born

Used to be that Crown Street in Sydney was known for the Women's Hospital, where babies were made by the half dozen (the six babies in the photo were born there in 1936).  Then came Bill's 2, Kylie Kwong, Marque and even the Dolphin Hotel had a good restaurant. But that was the 90s and they went.

Now in the twenty tens we have an eat street.  If you want Japanese you have some choice. I have been at Toko several times and I do not wait for a table, as I am more than happy to eat in the bar area, which is more comfortable.  The service is fantastic.  The rolls are good, the edamame is nicely salted. And they have single malts (ok ok scotch does not gowith sushi ...just drink it before!!). 
What more can you ask for? Next door is its offspring Tokonama ..not tried yet.  Toko started life as a sushi train in Paddington. Went there the other day and it seemed to me that they were putting the left overs from the restaurant on the train.  It used to be good.
Up along Crown Street is Monkey Magic.  Great NYC atmo : their website says: Monkey Magic in Surry Hills dishes up impressive Asian fusion fare and funky cocktails in a chilaxed New York loft style setting.  This place is a bit hit and miss for the food.  Had some good rolls but also mixed up confused sushi that thought it was Central American or even Mexican (there is a Mexican place below it!!).  Not sure I would eat there again. Maybe if all the other places arefull.
Further up is Zushi .. nice outside eating area.  Good sushi, though not excellent.  Eat there because you want to sit outside and watch the passing trade. 

Nougat ..and Turkish Delight

The Turks love their sweets ... and so do some of my friends.  So here is a selection to make your mouth water. 

Almond, pistacchio, sesame seed, chocolate, pomegranate, cherry,and dozens of others. So many that I cannot sample them all without gaining another 10 kg !!! 
The shops selling sweets in Istanbul are a work of art!!  These pics came from a couple of shops on Divanyolu Avenue in the Sultanahmet area. After a long walk, the sugar invigorates one and you are ready to head out back into the sea of people.

The Japanese Invasion continues ..Masuya

MASUYA This is in O'Connell Street in the city  ..a hidden door that leads to a large basement restaurant bustling with people.  
Got in: 
me: no I do not have a reservation
waitress: sorry no table
..oops wait ...the supervisor tells the waitress there is an empty table just in front of her.
Lots of choice from hot pots to sushi a la carte or collections of sushi.  Got the edamame ..no ..no we did not ask for two plates  ...hmm no salt on the edamame ..well, not every one does them with salt .... hmm no glass of water ....hmmmm... the miso had to be asked for  ...hmmm ...a large plate of eel nigiri was eight pieces of eel on rice, no nori wrap but the nori was inserted between the rice and the eel  ...it was very good, thank you ($17.80).  
Plate full of good assorted nigiri sushi ... but had to ask for the soy sauce ....followed by tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) served with egg and onion ...that was succulent and tasty and not greasy at all ...oooooooh so full
.... btw good choice of different sakes, in normal or large.  Sushi by the piece is somewhat exxy ($3 for one piece of salmon, $5.50 for one eel .. yes one piece, not one pair).
Worth eating here, just hope they were having a bad service day.

Coffee from a Nespresso???

NESPRESSO ?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!!!!!

The office I work in is one of those serviced numbers ... we have a lounge area that is like an airline business class lounge, you know ...large plasma screen, teas in a wooden box, soft drinks, coffee machine. The latter is a large commercial Saeco thing that grinds, frothes automatically, pours awful coffee into a cup ....no matter which button you press. The service guy was there the other day and I asked him to check if it was putting out 30ml and putting in enough coffee because it was very weak and had no crema.  All to no avail.  

A friend has another Saeco commercial machine in his business.  The coffee is dreadful.  My accountant has a domestic Nespresso and if I ask him to curtail the amount of water the coffee is quite drinkable.

On the office floor above me (same serviced office company) there is a small coffee area with a commercial Nespresso machine.  This is a double sided affair that takes not the usual domestic Nespresso plastic cones but circular metallic pods that insert dvd-like into a slot.  The coffee comes out with a crema and tastes excellent.  Maybe not quite as good as my Bezzera at home, but that could be the result of using Toby's coffee.
Jeffrey Steingarten, the US food critic tested a number of machines and found that a well calibrated Saeco made decent coffee 30% of the time.  He found the Nespresso to have a good crema but dilute flavour due to only having 5gm of coffee in the pods. But he was testing domestic units.  Not this wonderful commercial double thing.
Anyway these automatic machines ensure that getting a good cup of coffee is possible without the need to train as a barista.  But you have to choose the right machine!!!
More on coffee later ....I am about to help a friend choose a new brand of coffee for his restaurant so I will have a good range of coffees to report on in about four weeks. 

Fruit ...frutta ...fruttier ...

This is a white fig ..and it was fantastic.  Why is the fruit so good in Italy, or France?  The growers sell it at the local market or directly to the local shops.  It is ripe and does not have to be picked before it reaches a ripe stage because it does not sit around at distribution centres.  The fruit in Australian supermarkets is called "anniversary fruit" by a friend of mine because it does not get there until it has reached a significant anniversary, thanks to transportation and storage.

The fruit in shops in Italy looks like it should ...ripe!!!!

Pasta pasta pasta ...for breakfast fry it up

Ok ..this fritatta is made of pasta .. you have to love the Italians.  They can have pasta for lunch, dinner and breakfast.  And of course they also eat cake for breakfast.  People get so funny when you suggest left over pasta for breakfast ..it is ok to eat bacon and sausages and eggs ...so why not pasta?
You cook the whole packet of pasta and whatever you have not eaten you can put in the refrigerator.  The next morning beat some eggs and add whatever you desire in the way of flavourings (eg sautee some onions) or just salt and pepper and coat the pasta with the mixture.  Put it in a frypan with some hot oil, cover it loosely to speed up the cooking and turn it over when the bottom is nice and brown (this is the tricky bit and requires a deft hand and a plate so that you do not end up with it all over your kitchen floor!!!).  Make sure you do not overcook it so that it is nice and moist in the centre.  Cut some slices off and enjoy.   And whatever you do not eat you can put away and take on a picnic. 
This wonderful example was served up at the Hotel Tritone in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast.

Italian Hotel Breakfasts ..breakout for the pasticceria!!! Hotel Royal Santina

Do we all recognize the sorry plates that get passed out as breakfast?  No matter how many stars a hotel has, the breakfasts look dismally similar.  Plates of cold cuts (in these case few and not too appetising), pastries that somehow look nothing like the great ones in the cafe on the corner, and no espresso ...just a bad square machine that puts out everything.  Ok, more stars and the espresso appears on order but is additional on the bill and never tastes quite right.  More stars and the pastries are just as bad, and you get Nutella no matter what. Oh, yes a choice of weird flavoured yoghurts ..coffee?

Now this hotel has 4 stars and I chose it for one night because it was right where I had to meet a bus in the morning.  It has coloured LEDs in the room and you can change the colour as you wish ... red for rage,  blue for cold, green for fertile I guess ...and the white: 24hr convenience store.  The wi fi works (free) and the desk chair hardly pulls out because the bed is in the way.  But it is all very clean, modern and newly refurbished.  Near the Stazione Termini, on Rue Marsala the Royal Santina only costs around 150 euro for a double room for one person.  Could not fit two international bags so better travel alone!!!  

It does the job if you need to be in the area  .attentive staff.  There was a reception for some cruise line in the lobby when I checked in: full of Americans going on cruises.

Looking forward to my return to Rome and the Hotel Art ...boutique and cool, at the Spanish Steps.

Noodle ... shnoodle ..

Ok ..in Hong Kong ... so I expect some decent noodles from the Cathay Lounge Noodle Bar ... back in 1998 I tried their noodle bar in what was then a futuristic lounge in Hong Kong airport.
Well, now we have a new airport and several lounges.  The big one and latest to be refurbished is The Pier.
It has a big bar, a coffee bar, and a noodle bar.  The coffee was atrocious despite the big wonderful expresso machines any barista would have died for.  The guys back in Sydney in the Qantas Business lounge were just starting with a new coffee, Vittoria on the day I was there.  They made an excellent flat white.
Now back to noodles and Cathay.  They have four types only on offer ..one is Japanese and has a thickly breaded "shrimp" in it.  The rest are variations on chilli stock, plain and with egg.  All are ramen.  Back in1998 you could order anything from the chef.  Now they give you a wireless tag that lights up when the noodles are ready, which is about 30 seconds after they give it to you.  Points for being quick. I was there for 9 hours so tried all of them.  Disappointed, I did not finish any of them and turned to the steamed pork buns.  At least the place looks great and has great showers.

Eating's all up in the air ...Cathay Business Class

New business class on Cathay - flew it Sydney-Hong Kong. The next sector has the old business class.  The seats in this are better than QANTAS first class (though not on the new 380) ..lots of storage, nice and wide ..you forget you are on a plane. 
Food : lunch was a choice of beef with Paris butter or noodles with stir fry or chicken stuffed with fetta on a potato galette or vegetarian canelloni - all in little ceramic rectangular bowls rather than served on plates. A bit declasse and all looking overdone. Opted for the canelloni which was meant to be stuffed with ricotta and mushroom.  Could not eat it ...not sure what the white runny stuff inside was ...leave it there. Ate the "caramelised" (=baked) pumpkin that it came with. Thank goodness for the yum entree : Iberica ham and pickled artichokes with roasted red peppers and a roll ....rather filling.
A snack later on gave a choice of wontoon in soup, or hokkien noodle with vegetables, goat cheese tart, or a meat filled pastry topped with a crunchy layer of mashed potato. Also accompanied by the ubiquitous caramelised pumpkin.  Chose the latter and followed it up with Maggie Beer Passionfruit ice cream.  Now that was disappointing.  Having made passionfruit ice cream and overcome the problems of losing the intense flavour this was a bit artificial tasting for me.
Right now I am in the Pier Lounge (Cathay Business lounge) at Hong Kong and about to try their noodle bar ...let you know how it goes.

The Passage

of time ....this place in Victoria Street Darlinghurst used to be L'Hotel.  I went to the opening of L'Hotel.  That ages me. Groovy people, groovy drinks, groovy food.  Food aimed strictly at drinking, not fine or even medium fine dining ...actually just good "drunk food". Like the fries sprayed with truffle flavoured oil and topped with parmesan cheese - a big bowl for $10.  Or the zucchini flowers stuffed with goats cheese and dripping with truffle flavoured honey ($18 for 3 flowers).  
How about Ortiz anchovies with "Crusty" bread?  I love anchovies with bread ...but to make this dish worth having it really needs great butter and a piece of just baked bread (unless you are using a tranche of Sonoma Miche).
Cosy place with small areas spread over a long passage-like area that links Victoria Street to Darlinghurst Road.
Loud music so no intimate chats, somewhat grubby young but fairly attentive staff ..quick with the drinks. 
It's good a new generation is sampling this tres cool space.

Choo choo choo ...I know I can ... I know I can ....Thomas do it!!!!

Sushi trains ...remember when they were a novelty???? I eat sushi at least four times a week ... I am beginning to grow gills.  Where are the good ones??  A vexxed question that brings so many opinions.

The City:  a few years ago Sushi Tei opened across the road from Chifley Square. They were good for sushi but terrible for warm/cooked dishes.  Their noodles still leave a lot to be desired.  Their sushi has deteriorated and no fresh wasabi (augh)...but then again they are not run by Japanese.  Sad.  And to make it worse they now charge for green tea, even though they brought their prices up to OVERPRICED. Down the other end of town a few sprung up. I frequent the one on the corner of Liverpool and Pitt Streets, at World Square.  Reasonable, but you have to ask for the fresh wasabi and the ginger and avoid all those mayonnaise plastered nigiri ...something the Americans invented (didn't they also invent chop suey?)

Bondi Junction: two in Spring Street, Sushi Train (Chain store)...full of children and loud and ok but too much mayo again (hold the mayo ...as Jack Nicholson said in Five Easy Pieces) and Sushi Express at the other end, a bit  of a secret and INEXPENSIVE. Limited in range but you can ask for whtever delights you.  Tea is free, two types of ginger and fresh wasabi.
Coogee Beach: Sushi Goi ..ask for a discount frequent train traveller card ... get them to make you a hand roll of tuna or salmon (gigantic).
More to come ....

Mexican jumping beans

I always find Mexican restaurants disappointing.  a bit like those photos of hamburgers that never materialize.  They look great in the photos but they just do not deliver.  Anyone know a "good" Mexican estaurant in Sydney. Anyone know a good one in California?  In the US of A they have Tex-Mex, not Mexican.  They put Monterey Jack on their food..that is,some form of cheddar.  And they make their beans with some pre made seasoning. Hey, just like the one in the sachets in the supermarket.

When in Woollahra .... do as the Italians do

When I am in Italy I eat panzerotti for breakfast ...mouth watering doughnut pastry coated in finger lickin' sugar and stuffed with sweetened ricotta, with a hint of lemon. Sort of what a jam doughnut should have grown up to be ... if it had been brought up properly.
In Sydney, if I am lucky one of my friends will bring one to me from a secret cafe in Paddington (at the bottom of William Street).  
But now I have had one (actually many) from Buzy Bakehouse in Queen Street Woollahra.  OMG !!!! And their plain round doughnuts are to die for.  BTW their ricotta cake is nothing to be sneezed at, even if a little bit pricey.  Though at times their panzerotti filling varies and becomes too creamy, loosing that special ricotta texture.
Oh ... I forgot those people who have gluten intolerance  ..this place caters for them with a special range!!
However their service when you want to eat there or even buy at the counter is very remiss ... the coffee arrives about ten minutes after the cakes (makes you eat another!!) and the place is not even busy ..i just watch the staff fluff around and the barista looks lost ..because his coffee making skills have gone missing.

Absolutely NOT !!! Flavoured vodka ....

Funny thing happened on the way from the supermarket ... sort of.  I ordered some goodies from Woolworths Online.  Love the ease, they delivered it all that same afternoon.  I had clicked on a bottle of Absolut.  Unpacked, sat down, poured a hefty measure of Absolut.  

Strange ..it smelled like fake blueberry muffin ... and tasted, well ...just like fake blueberry muffin.

It says on the bottle it is also pomegranate.

Damn I thought. What a fool, clicking on the wrong thing!! What could I do with a bottle of fake blueberry essence? Started to think of martini concoctions. Maybe desserts.

It took me over a year to get rid of a bottle of Absolut Vanilla (found some desperate workers at the farm who wanted to get drunk). 

Then I thought of invoices. I looked at it and it said Absolut 700ml.  Looked on the Woolworths Online site and they did not even have this blueberry stuff !!!!  One phone call to the service lady, who said she also hates flavoured vodka and the next day a bottle of good old plain Absolut 700ml was delivered.  MUCH BETTER.

Fridges,stoves ...kitchen appliances that work

I have four fridges. One was made in the USA (GE) and has being going strong since 1990.  Two sit at the farm and are made by LG. They are now 8 years old and are humming along despite the irregular electricity supply which causes brown outs and kills appliances.  Water pumps there have died thanks to the electricity people.  But the fridges keep going strong.  The LG people delivered them way out of Sydney for a minimal fee of $40.

My fridge in the city is a Gaggenau and costs more than some cars. It is 11 years old. After two years it needed a $1600 repair.  Yes you heard it right.  And so did about another 30 Gaggenau fridges in my building.  Something wrong with the design? The service people refused to admit it was a warranty issue, citing installation as the cause.  Yet the design of the part that broke down was changed by Gaggenau.

Recently the water inlet valve died ..about $400.  And when the ice maker started to have problems the service company misdiagnosed it, charged me about $800 and it still did not work. They wanted another $1200.  Well after 4 months and many phone calls they refunded about $400 and the ice is now made in trays.  They still refused to admit they got it wrong.

All in all I could have bought a new fridge from LG or Samsung and had less despair. Why didn't I? because the stupid fridge was built in and the door covers were made to fit that silly fridge.

LESSON: check who services the appliances you buy.  Gaggenau is only serviced by one company because this company has a monopoly on the parts and the service manuals. 

Contributions anyone? NO, NOT MONEY!!!

If you have something to say about food email me !!!! 

email address is   the.food.perfectionist@gmail.com 

I would love to hear your ideas on food , recipes from grandma (or anyone else), places to eat or drink  (anywhere in the world) .... I will post your contributions with delight ..let me know if you want to be credited.

Thank you!!

The Food Perfectionist

Sir ..can I have a steak sandwich? an evening at the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay Hotel

 

Showing my age? The bar at the Sir Stamford Hotel on Macquarie Street is a well kept secret. Comfortable chairs, fire in winter, lounges to sit on and five star service ...no amateur waiters waiting for their break on the stage ... these people want to work in the hospitality industry!! And no loud music, so you can talk to your friends. 

So you get ambiance, attention, and wait for it ... a bar menu with some great food on it.  This place has the best steak sandwich I have ever had .. Sonoma bread which is buttered and grilled enveloping succulent beef topped with onion jam, roasted tomatoes and rocket ... salivating writing about it.  BTW it is priced at $18 and really hits the spot.  

Or have the Waygu beef burger. Plus you get hand cut chips or a salad or sea salted potatoes with rosemary. 

Did I mention that they have a good range of single malt scotches?  ... I could live happily at the Sir Stamford Hotel  ...actually when I get old I might just do that.

Sfogliatella

Yes more on Rome!!!  Coffee ...oops, cappucino in the morning with a sfogliatella ...ahhhhhh. Maybe at Antico Caffè Greco at 86, Via dei Condotti, which is around the corner from the Hotel Art, (new hotel for me in Rome so will let you know how good it is when I get back). 
Sfogliatella : these little puppies are filled with sweet ricotta and I love eating them.  The pastry as you can see from the photo is layered and it is crunchy on the outside and soft inside .. with a tongue numbing layer of icing sugar on the outside.  Goes so well with that aromatic coffee.
Hope to find a good supplier of these in Sydney so I can have them for breakfast here !!!

I Gelato.. you Gelato... we all scream for Gelato ...in Rome

In all my wanderings in Rome I have eaten Gelato ..eh .. I mean licked gelati. So far Giolitti at Via Uffici del Vicario, 40 is the one that I remember fondly ..no, not fondly but with expectatory salivation ... dreams of going back there and having some more.  In two weeks I will get my chance (and then again ten days later...heaven).  Seriously, this is one of the best.  Set in the old centre of Rome you can pick up your favourite flavour and wander the most beautiful cobbled streets and then walk past again on the way back to your hotel and get some more!!!! Afterwards I will have cooffee at Antico Caffè Greco which by the way also sells gelato and it is also fabulous.

Rome: Vatican or Pizza??

Best Pizza in Rome at Giovannini... by the weight, at 9 Via delle Grazie ..on the right as you turn in from Via de la Porta Angelica on the side of the Vatican. It is a hole in the wall where the locals get pizza for lunch and eat it on the footpath standing outside or sitting on the kerb/scooter/car bonnet (strictly take away). Very crowded and FANTASTIC. Go there and forget the Vatican ..you'll get to see God and the angels when you die but there is no pizza like this in heaven.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=Via+delle+Grazie,+9,+00193+Roma,+Italy&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl 

The ROYAL treatment at Paddington

Hungry for a steak? Thought of the Royal at Paddington.  We tried the Fillet steak with Bernaise sauce and the Scotch Fillet with Pepper sauce. The first was meant to be medium rare which it was and the second was to be rare, which it was not. Is that rare? not really ...this often happens ..they often do this to "rare" people.  Both came on a bed of "potato rosti", which was really mashed potato made into a hamburger shape and grilled on the hotplate.  Disappointing ...what happened to real potato rosti ???? 
The steaks were $27 and $29 which I guess nowadays is reasonable for a pub (in the eastern Suburbs of Sydney that is).  The quality was better than some restaurants so I will let it pass.  The sauces were passable.  The fillet steak was good though the scotch fillet I would have rated at 5/10 ..probably because it was overcooked and also a bit tough.
This is a place for a drink and a steak, so pass on the desserts.  Pleasant atmosphere, a good place to spend a sunny Sunday with a bunch of nice people ..go to the rooftop terrace.

Salads, Vegetables and Anti Cancer Food ..Organics anyone?

Recently someone reminded me about broccoli, brussel sprouts, lemons, tomato concentrate mixed with meditation and yoga practice.  OK ..how do we make all this taste good? Not hard if you want to. The CSIRO has tons of research on food and how to make it healthy eg do not cook it. The Japanese had it right.
Oh yes ..organic produce.  Problem? Yes!!! Organic certification allows a number of pesticides and chemicals and none of these have been tested in regards to cancer.  I know .. I grew grapes for wine and we met organic rules but still used a large number of chemicals which had BIG warnings on the labels about contact with these chemicals. I wore masks and large special gloves and had big carbon filters on the tractor cabin air intakes.
Answer: grow your own ...how in the city? 
The fresher the food the more the natural anti oxidants are preserved. It is these chemicals that wipe up the free radicals that are believed to cause damage to the cells' DNA and lead to abnormal growth ie cancer.  Cooking also increases chemicals in food which stop the anti oxidants from working.
I grew my own herbs and vegetables but I had a farm.  I could pick them out of the garden as needed ..FRESH and I did not need to use chemicals on those, just a close eye for bugs which you needed to pick off by hand or spray with innocuous stuff like pepper infused water etc etc. 
I am suprised at how many people in the city live in houses, have gardens and do not grow even herbs.  They buy them in greengrocers.  Ok, so you are restricted to what is in season but the variety is enormous and the taste is out of this world. JUST BUY A POT AND SOME SOIL.
PS: rocket grows like a weed - it self seeds and easily takes over the garden.  You can grow it in long narrow pots if you have a balcony with sun. Raspberries grow by themselves and taste nothing, absolutely nothing like the rubbish in the shops.  I did not even like raspberries till a neighbour gave me a plant and grew them myself. The list is endless.

Potts Point AGAIN ...pointing to a good meal? La Vecchia Cuccina ???

Wandering along Macleay Street faced with a decision on where to eat came the thought of that old standby. Why not eat at La Vecchia Cuccina?  This is a place with tiles on the floor and posters on the wall as well as a ceramic (or was it stuffed?) chicken on a shelf ...very Italian.  The floor staff were very attentive and even served water though had to be reminded to refill.  Place is crowded in a bit so squashy and loud because of the number of people in a room with no soft furnishings.
The food: this is the important bit.  Excellent gnocchi though the Napoletana sauce was mundane ..go for the Gorgonzola.  The tortellini in a cream sauce were fabulous.  Ordered a rocket salad and it was big and came with large slices of Parmesan (bit of a problem with this ...plenty of them but stuck together and rectangles ...hmmmm) ....but the salad was $17.50 !!!! (you get a great rocket salad at Luccio Pizzeria for $7.50).  
The prices were a bit over the top ..their pasta plates were the same price as Buon Riccordo (which has two hats and excellent service) that is around $28 to $32
To tell the truth I cook better Italian than this place (recipes coming soon.....)

In Victoria Street Potts Point? Ms G's or Jimmy Liks?

Went to Ms G's.  Not sure why it was recommended to me. 
  ..they serve drinks in plastic cups with a seal on top and  a straw to break through it. This is meant to be groovy but is just plain demeaning. I mean you do that in a kindergarten.  Also it is a rip off and especially so because you are paying a premium price for a cocktail. . The drink did not taste good either (just plain watery concoction that was truly forgettable).

The food is the usual EuroTrash version of Asian ... good if you are drunk, not good if you are a food lover.  All sweet and not particularly sophisticated.  The customers are sophisticated though.  Full of loud fun people looking perfect. 
Hard to tell who the service staff are. No uniforms, very casual and somewhat undertrained or overworked. not sure which. To top it off they were in a hurry to kick us out even though we had spent up big. We were still drinking!!! The guy at the table behind hardly ate or drank anything (probably due to chemical assistance) but because he was some "celeb" jeans "designer" they did not disturb him.  This is one of those places.

On the other side of the road, at Jimmy Liks I had a very enjoyable meal the day before and I wish I had gone back there, instead of Ms G's.

Found this post in a food blog - this is exactly what I will never post

Let me say it again: this was found in another food blog

Everyone remembers the college student's diet: beer, beer, more beer, and, of course, top ramen before another bottle of beer. Heating up a quick bowl of ramen in the microwave, waiting exactly three minutes, and topping it with some hot sauce was the go-to meal every broke undergrad could appreciate. Fast. Simple. And kinda tasty--if you've just had another beer.

But this humble delicacy doesn't have to stay that way. Nowadays, people are gettin' fancy with the noodles, creating recipe after recipe with the main ingredient being . . . you guessed it: ramen! From breakfast dishes to classy dessert options, ramen can get you through a whole day's worth of meals, all costing under $10.

Breakfast: Ramen Burrito With Egg and Hot Sauce

Waking up in the morning, the first thing many of us crave is a breakfast burrito. But to make this morning meal even more epic, include ramen in the recipe. It's super-simple and sort of good if you don't actually think about what you're eating.

Ingredients:

1. top ramen

2. 1 egg

3. 2 cups of water

4. 1/4 cup of shredded cheese

5. a flour tortilla

6. hot sauce (optional)

Directions

Cook the ramen in 2 cups of water and add a beaten egg. After 3 minutes, drain all but 1 T of water. Stir in cheese, ramen seasoning, and hot sauce. Wrap in a tortilla, and enjoy your ramen concoction!

Amaretto Sours ....in my mouth

My fave drink for years was the Amaretto Sour.  Got into them when I was in New York in the late 80s.  My friends use to love them and we drank jugfuls of them.  Always frozen and always made with Amaretto Di Saronno. Had one the other day and it was some watered down version. That was in a hip bar/restaurant in Victoria Street in Potts Point (Jimmy Liks). The food (Thai) was much better and so was the service. 
Anyway they should always use the correct Amaretto ... add lemon juice and some egg white and blend it.  Add ice if you want it frozen.
Happy sours!!!!!

Martinis

Ok ... why does a martini cost so much in a bar?  It is only gin with a bit of vermouth (more on that later) and it is classified as a "cocktail" ... wow not much work sticking in 3 parts gin with 1 part dry vermouth and stirring it round with ice (yeah, I know the barkeep says it's two slugs of gin but how often do they just dilute it with the melted ice to fill the glass).  

I prefer to keep the gin in the freezer and the vermouth in the fridge ..then no ice and that means no water and that means no dilution. So, stronger flavours but also faster licence loss or messy guests (very). 
The classic (in the olden days) martini was the two alcohols poured into a jug (often without ice) and mixed around and served into a nice glass and topped off with an olive or a twist.
Yes you can use vodka instead. 
And you do not need to use some fancy expensive gin or vodka.  Gordons has a great juniper flavour that really makes a martini. Sometimes I use Tanqueray or even Bombay but it depends on the flavour I want. 
Recipes? Try adding a twist of orange peel instead.  Or if you want a dessert martini wash the glass with Grand Marnier (on that theme ..I will post my secret Martini Royale recipe here soon!!!). Make it a Dirty Martini by adding a spoonful of olive water with two olives. That one works with vodka or gin.

Cavolo Nero ..not an opera

Winter vegetables coming up:  Cavolo Nero is showing up in the shops ... I even found it in a Coles supermarket prepacked with sliced red cabbage. It is Tuscan cabbage ..but nothing like our pale green cabbage.  It has a great deep flavour, somewhat nutty.
Wilt it and then blend it or bamix it with a good virgin oil and some garlic (please not that Chinese stuff ...maybe the one from Argentina?)...but not too fine (you can even slice it up fine with a knife)  and add salt and pepper !!!! Put it all on some pasta, much like a pesto or on some diced boiled potatoes (you could even add baby peas to this).  
Or you can just stick the leaves in a pan with a tiny amount of water to wilt it, then add butter or olive oil and some salt and serve it as a side or with your main. I eat it by itself that way. DOUBLE YUM.

Dulce De Leche

Who has tried this caramel confection that is so popular throughout South America? Eat straight or spread it on toast or even biscuits.  In Argentina it is in many confections and especially in alfajores (a magical treat).

Well, you can make dulce de leche at home: millions of recipes on the web or you can buy jars in secretive South American delicatessens.  To make it the cheat's way : buy Nestle condensed milk cans and submerge them in a pan and boil them for at least two, even three hours. Keep watching so you don't boil the water below the tops of the cans. With my pressure cooker I can do it much faster and not worry about losing the water.  Let a can cool down then open it and mix the contents with some vanilla essence and stick it in a jar (keeps in the fridge for weeks) but will not last that long (hungry little spoons!!!). The other treasured unopened cans will keep for months.

Healthy Cooking Under Pressure

Bought a pressure cooker ...fancy Swiss number.  OMG!!! Forget that it saves the world by using less energy as it cooks quicker.  It makes food healthier as vitamins etc are better preserved by shorter cooking times.  I made a paella (a paella in a pressure cooker ????) and the saffron was beautifully infused through all the food, whilst the chicken was as tender and moist as one could never imagine.  

Buy one anywhere but cheapest places I found were online: (1) Everten, at  Hornsby (with $6.90 delivery) and really cheap for cookware etc and (2) The Pressure Cooker Centre, in Perth who got my baby to me within 3 days (faster than a stork) - they were fantastic help on the phone, really taking their time to talk to me.