Today is family and community fun day in Canberra. It’s a public holiday so I celebrated by eating well. I also went to Floriade for a second time this year and enjoyed a couple of good long walks.
As much as I love a long weekend and a public holiday I reckon we have too many bunched up at the wrong times. When I’m president of Australia we’ll have one long weekend every month. We’ll observe Australia day and Anzac day on the actual day. People with a religious bent can take personal recreational leave to obverse those days. In my opinion that’s a fairer and better way.
Because it’s Monday I needed to eat salmon so I had it for breakfast.
Good morning Family and community fun day breakfast. Salmon and egg. | NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 125mm and f/16, 1/30sec, ISO 400
It was pretty good. I baked it for 16 minutes at 200 °C in my benchtop oven. A soft fried egg does wonders.
Lunch involved some shallow frying of a chicken schnitzel plus some cheese.
Family and community fun day lunch. Chicken schnitzel and cheeses. | NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 160mm and f/16, 1/15sec, ISO 400
I’ve been saving a beef brisket for a public holiday to give me time to cook it slowly enough.
This beef brisket was cooked for 4 hours at 140 °C. Canberra has been unseasonally warm on this public holiday so I made a salad to go with my beef brisket.
Happy family and community fun day dinner. Beef Brisket and Salad. | NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 116mm and f/16, 1/15sec, ISO 400
I hope you had a happy family and community fun day public holiday. What did you get up to?
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.
Bron received an e-mail from the Entertainment Book notifying her that the Malaysian Chapter is a new addition to the book.
I’d already read a few blog posts from my favourite Canberra food bloggers and we’d chatted a few times about eating at Malaysian Chapter.
When we arrived there were already plenty of diners eating their meals. We noticed the large space and generous table placements. We were shown to a table for two in the middle of the restaurant and were handed menus by a very friendly and helpful waiter. He asked if we wanted to see the vegetarian menu and we declined knowing we were looking forward to meat dishes.
The menu is extensive. It took us each a while to read through the menu and then it took longer to make a decision on what we wanted to eat. There were so many good choices.
I settled on Vadai followed by a Nasi Lemak with Lamb Rendang. Bron chose Roti Canai followed by Nyonya Prawn and Pineapple Sambal.
This combination of dishes was perfect and we happily shared.
Vadai doughnut shaped Urad Dhal fritters served with lentil curry at Malaysian Chapter. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/40sec, ISO 12800Roti Canai flaky bread, served with Lentil Curry at Malaysian Chapter. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/40sec, ISO 8000Nasi Lemak Lamb Rendang at Malaysian Chapter. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/40sec, ISO 6400Nyonya Prawn and Pineapple Sambal at Malaysian Chapter. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/40sec, ISO 12800
We enjoyed each of the dishes. The roti was very flaky and the dal had a spice to die for. I found the Vadai a little doughy but the flavour was really nice and it took up the dal beautifully. The lamb rendang was amazing and went so nicely with the coconut rice. The prawn sambal wasn’t hot at all but the flavour was fantastic especially with the jasmine rice.
For dessert I chose the mango custard with evaporated milk.
Mango Custard with evaporated milk at Malaysian Chapter. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/40sec, ISO 5000
We were very happy with the meals and the service. We want to come back to try some different dishes especially the order ahead ones on the menu. These require 48 hours notice and include dishes like KL Chilli crab and Black pepper crab.
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.
This is an easy way to make leftover vegetables appetising and yummy
What to do with leftover vegetables like pumpkin, cauliflower, spinach and mushrooms. Really anything can be prepared for this dish.
Pay day dinner. Leftover vegetables baked with bacon and blue cheese. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 110mm and f/22, 1/20sec, ISO 400
Leftover vegetables with bacon and blue cheese recipe
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
Leftover vegetables like:
Pumpkin
Cauliflower
Mushrooms
Spinach
Onion
Bacon
Tasty Coon cheese
Blue cheese
Pouring cream
Pepper
Instructions
Put the vegetables into a pyrex bowl
Shred the bacon and add
Crumble over some tasty Coon and blue cheese
Pour in some cream
Add some pepper
Place in an oven (200 °C) for 30 to 45 minutes
Shoot a photograph
Plate up in a bowl
Shoot a photograph
Eat the meal
Wash up
Write the recipe
Blog about it
3.2.2807
Pay day dinner. Leftover vegetables baked with bacon and blue cheese. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 92mm and f/22, 1/13sec, ISO 400Pay day breakfast. Fried egg with pork and Strasburg sausage. NIKON D7100 with 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 110mm and f/22, 1/13sec, ISO 400
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.
Today Bron and I tried something new and a couple of favourites.
Caramel thick shake SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/40sec, ISO 320Pulled pork burger at Ricardo’s Cafe SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/40sec, ISO 2000Salted caramel mousse at Ricardo’s Cafe SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/40sec, ISO 2000
The Wagyu cheeseburger was really very good. The bun is quite light with a sweetness to it. That said, as much as the Wagyu cheeseburger is a winner, the pulled pork burger is a bigger winner. That thing is awesome. After the burgers we had dessert. I chose a salted caramel mousse which is really rich but really good 🙂
Of course to enjoy this number of calories we needed to do some exercise. We did a walk around the top of Mount Black just below Telstra Tower.
After the walk we went to the viewing platform on Telstra Tower and had a look around Canberra. Here is a collection of photographs from the tower.
Me outside Telstra Tower | Courtesy BronMe inside Telstra Tower | Courtesy BronTelstra Tower on Black Mountain Apple iPhone 5 with iPhone 5 back camera 4.12mm f/2.4 at 4mm and f/2.4, 1/3012sec, ISO 50
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.
I think I’ve enjoyed dinner at the Mecca Bah at least half a dozen times
It’s a lovely Friday night in Spring and Bron and I have a reservation at the Mecca Bah in Manuka. We’ve been there many times and I’ve written about it on the old blog.
Our reservation is for 7 pm and we arrive a little early. We shown to our table by the charming Maître d’. We’re seated at what I think is the best table in the restaurant. It’s right next to the gas fire. You all know how much I dislike the cold so this was perfect. We were told that if it got too warm we could ask to have the heat setting changed.
The gas fire was lovely and warm. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 12800
Not long after we’re seated we’re greeted by our waiter for the evening. He’s a very friendly and cheerful bloke who was keen to offer us his insights and assistance with any questions we may have.
Bron is pretty keen that we have the duck baklava (we know it as ducklava) so that’s the first thing we ask for. Along with the ducklava we choose the baked halloumi with pomegranate, mint salad and lemon. Our friendly waiter explains these two entrées are small and suggests the salad we want, viz., the roasted pumpkin salad with toasted cumin seeds, pine nuts and shanklish cheese would be best served with the entrées and it can be kept to span across the dinner as the mains arrive. That turns out to be excellent advice.
Duck baklava or ducklava as we like to call it. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800Baked Halloumi with pomegranate, mint salad and lemon. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/6sec, ISO 12800Roasted Pumpkin salad with toasted cumin seeds, pine nuts and Shanklish cheese. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800My plate with the ducklava, halloumi and pumpkin salad. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/13sec, ISO 12800
The duck baklava has a lovely taste. You get the duck flavour coupled with the sweetness of the honeyed filo pastry. With only two pieces each I eat one at the start and finish my entrée eating with the second. The baked halloumi is new to us. We’ve never had halloumi baked, it has a lovely soft richness that combines beautifully with the pomegranate, mint and lemon. The pumpkin salad looks like a small serve but a spoon or so goes a long way and is a great accompaniment with our entrée choices. It has a lovely spicy after taste that gets you when you least expect it.
For our main meal dishes we chose the chicken with cinnamon, raisins, almond, sesame and honey Moroccan tagine along with the chargrilled lamb shish with fragrant rice pilaf and eggplant imam biyaldi. The shish comes out in spectacular fashion with the lamb attached to a skewer hanging from a stand and dangling over the rice and eggplant.
Chicken with cinnamon, raisins, almond, sesame and honey Moroccan Tagine. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800Chargrilled lamb shish. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/10sec, ISO 12800Chargrilled lamb shish with fragrant rice pilaf and eggplant imam biyaldi. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/5sec, ISO 12800
The lamb has a lovely chargrilled flavour and remains beautifully tender. The rice and eggplant have distinctive but very complementary flavours. The eggplant is very refreshing. The chicken tagine is a real winner and I’m particularly happy to have scored a thigh portion. Along with the pumpkin salad we’re starting to feel full.
Our friendly waiter clears our dishes and asks about dessert. We never say no to looking at the dessert menu 🙂 Bron reckons she couldn’t fit in dessert, so I choose the orange blossom cheesecake with pomegranate, raspberry and honey syrup along with date and vanilla ice cream. Even though Bron said she didn’t want dessert the Maître d’ comes out with a large serving and two spoons. What a star!
Orange blossom cheesecake with pomegranate, raspberry and honey syrup along with date and vanilla ice cream. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/10sec, ISO 12800
This was a fantastic meal and I’m grateful that it was compliments of the Mecca Bah. The Maître d’ manages the restaurant’s twitter account @MeccaBahACT and recently offered us a complimentary meal. I don’t normally accept offers like this but I was taken by his genuine generosity and I felt it would be rude not to accept. Thank you very much Mecca Bah ACT.
I look forward to a return visit to the Mecca Bah ACT. I’m very happy to recommend this restaurant to anyone. The menu is amazing and will suit most palates.
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.
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