Tag Archives: Aioli

A new chocolate revelation or more great things from South Australia?

I was chatting this week on Twitter with a couple of very cool Adelaide ladies, viz., Laura and Rachael and I was introduced to Menz FruChocs According to their website Robern Menz is South Australia’s largest confectioner and maker of the famous Menz FruChocs. Robern Menz manufacture a wide range of chocolate based confectionery and gourmet goodies. The good news is that Coles also stocks some of their products, so Friday afternoon after work I went searching. Like a lot of supermarkets, there is an entire aisle dedicated to confectionery and so finding the Menz products took me a little while. At one stage I ventured into the health food aisles because I couldn’t find them. After a taking a systematic approach I found them

Violet Crumble wrapper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There were four varieties stocked. The classic Choc Apricot Balls, the Turkish Delight, Mini Choc Honeycomb and Choc Honeycomb (sort like the now gone forever Violet Crumble). I bought some of the apricot and TD thinking I’ll try the honeycomb later. I was told by Rachael and Laura that the Choccy Snakes are a must try. These are not stocked in my local Coles supermarket. Apart from being a science fiction fiend, I also discovered that Rachael is addicted to Menz to the extent she gets gift packs from the factory because she is such a good customer. That’s what I call good customer relations

———-

I waited until after dinner (see image below) to try them with a jug of happiness. I tried the apricot ones first. I like dried apricots and I like apricot confectionery but not in huge amounts. The chocolate is very nice and the apricot flavour not too strong. The good thing is they’re not too sweet. They were delicious. I then tried the Turkish Delight. I’m a fan of real TD with its lovely jelly and dusted with icing sugar. I know friends who regard the addition of chocolate coating as anathema. I’m not that puritanical about my confectionery, although I do like good chocolate. The TD was good, what I liked was the flavour of the TD developed over time and peaked after the chocolate had dissolved. We’re on a winner. I’m being careful to only have one at a time and to make them last

Haigh’s Chocolates (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the subject of South Australia and chocolate, another iconic brand is Haigh’s. Haigh’s Chocolates now has shops in SA, Victoria and NSW. The chocolate, whether it be milk or dark is delightful. When friends at work travel to Adelaide, Melbourne or Sydney I’m often asked if I want a fix of Haigh’s. I never say no.

In other news…

We now have a resolution at work that we’re going to try to do Pay Thursday Pies

This was a veal stroganoff pie which was delicious.

———-

Dinner was a simple hamburger and a jug of crushed ice with mint, pineapple and lemon lime and bitters cordial

———-

I finally emptied my work Christmas stocking. Goodbye last Christmas lollipop

Fridays are now dedicated to hot chips or sausages. This Friday was hot chips with aioli from the Urban Bean Espresso Bar.

After those chips it was a light chicken and salad dinner.

Saturday morning clouds on my walk

Last week it was plain hot cross buns, this week it’s chocolate ones. Still too early in my opinion.

For dinner tonight I was finishing a Heston Blumenthal steak project

This image was captured two nights ago. This is a piece of Angus Scotch rib fillet

I “aged” it in the refrigerator for two days. I just left it uncovered to dry out.

I regard this as an epic fail. The steak was about as good as I could hope for. The Heston method of rapidly turning each 15 seconds for a total cooking time of about 5 minutes works well. I enjoyed a delightfully rare steak. This was the first time I tried to make a blender Hollandaise sauce. The butter split and the sauce didn’t thicken. It still tasted good because after all melted butter tastes great

Hot Chocolate on a Warm Summer Day (lifeisshorteathard.wordpress.com)

Digress Restaurant and Lounge (and a language warning)

6 Replies

Last night Bron and I went to Digress Restaurant and Lounge on a recommendation from one of her work mates. When first described I was a little puzzled because Digress boasts a fusion Italian and Indian cuisine. I was thinking fusion food earlier in the week (see my last post) but this dinner was something different. They publish a menu online but what is not available is specials. The specials are seasonal. The wine and dessert menu is available online.

The Digress is located in civic and you need to walk down some stairs to the main areas which are broken down into two sections. The lounge and the restaurant.

The decor in the restaurant is mainly Indian and at one end of the restaurant is a large screen television playing Bollywood and Indian talent shows. I wonder if in the Summer if they will show cricket. The tables and chairs are comfortable and the ambiance inviting. I would prefer cloth napkins though.

The service is very good. The owner comes out and greets the guests and asks how we are after each course. She does it in a good way and is in no way annoying. The other wait staff are delightful. She informed us that our choices were interesting in that they weren’t common requests but in particular the mint naan was her Mum’s favourite.

For an entrée we chose Mozzarella and Paneer Fritters (A blend of two traditional Indian and Italian cheeses infused with roasted cumin and fresh coriander brought together with egg and breadcrumbs – served with a spicy jalapeño aioli) and Mint Naan (Naan bread filled with a combination of fresh mint, Spanish onion, and a selection of spices – a naan like no other!). The aioli was magnificent for dipping the fritters and bread. The entrée was a great start.

Cheese fritters

Mint naan

For main courses Bron chose a spicy steak (New York strip steak marinaded and cooked low and slow and covered with Indian spices and served with a salad) from the specials menu and I chose Penne Al Salmon (A blend of succulent salmon, chunky tomatoes, baby spinach leaves and shallots tossed in a creamy white wine sauce – a delight!). Both meals were delicious. That said, Bron felt the steak could also be described as having a Mexican flare to it.

Spicy steak

Penne Al Salmon

For dessert Bron chose the Punjabi Kulfi (Mum’s traditional home-made ice cream cooked on a slow fire with added pistachios and cardamom powder) and I chose Gulab Jamun with Gelato (Golden-fried dumplings soaked in rose syrup served with a scoop of pistachio-flavoured gelato, garnished with desiccated coconut). Mine was very rich and Bron’s was served around a chop stick. Both were delicious.

Bron’s dessert on a chop stick

My dessert

I would highly recommend a dinner at Digress Restaurant and Lounge. I want to return and try something different.

I felt very full because earlier in the day I attended a work lunch to say goodbye to a friend. We went to the Asian Noodle House in Phillip and I had a duck laksa with tofu.

Duck laksa

Okay so now an apology for those concerned about bad language. On the menu at Digress they serve Penne Arrabbiata (A traditional Italian pasta dish with fresh ripe tomatoes, roasted onions & Digress’ signature spicy chilli sauce – try if you dare…) which made me think of Eddy Izzard and the Death Star Canteen.

Menu with Penne Arrabbiata

Food glorious food; since Wednesday; this has included dining out and home cooked happiness (garydavidlum.com)
Indian food, Bollywood and saffron waft at Rancho Cucamonga restaurant (swrnn.com)
Indian Food (Paleo Style) (nutritionize.net)
Butter Naan (subudhi123go.wordpress.com)

Food glorious food; since Wednesday; this has included dining out and home cooked happiness

12 Replies

On Wednesday I spent the day in Sydney for a meeting. I flew back to Canberra on Virgin Australia. I was able to enjoy an afternoon snack of cheese and ice cream plus some quince paste.

A snack on a Virgin Australia flight. Cheese, quince paste and an ice cream sandwich.

On Thursday morning inspired by the Ranting Chef and a post on 09 August I made baked beans on toast. I added a little Holbrooks Worcestershire sauce and some chili flakes plus Tabasco sauce for spice. I would have added an egg but it was already going to be enough.

Baked beans on toast with coffee

On Thursday evening we went to celebrate the birthday of a friend. We went to Sanur’s Balinese Restaurant in Belconnen. We’ve been there a few times before and I’ve blogged about the experience. Bron and I shared an entrée (Sanur’s Deluxe Platter for Two $18.9 A platter of mixed spring roll, chicken or beef satay, sweet corn patties and battered prawns) and I asked for fried chicken (“Chicken” Char Grilled or Fried ½ Chicken $18.9 Sanur Style Chicken marinated in house special ingredients and served with sambal bajak). I was a little disappointed it was dry and not that flavoursome. Bron had the Crispy Ayam ($18.9 Battered marinated chicken thigh tossed with garlic and aromatic salt) which was delicious. The chicken was moist, tender and tasty. For dessert we both enjoyed the Coconut Delusion ($8.90 Coconut pancake filled with unti (shredded coconut) with pandan anglaise, ice cream & toasted almonds).

Entrée platter

Fried chicken

Bron’s chicken

Coconut dessert

The evening was punctuated with hilarious stories of menstrual period iPhone apps and videos of a bloke called Merv who is good at sucking. The flow of the conversation had periods of tension and hilarity. There was lots of talk about the ladies cycling together. I didn’t know they all had bicycles.

This is Merv

On Friday morning Bron and I enjoyed our regular Mavi Breakfast wrap.

Mavi breakfast wrap

For lunch on Friday I felt like some hot chips from Urban Bean in my work building. These chips are delicious. A small container costs $4 which sounds expensive (and it is) but the container is quite large. It also comes with some aioli.

Great hot chips

On Friday night Bron made a light dinner. We had a baked egg in a creamy Italian style risotto. It was delicious. This is a split photograph edited before and after the egg was cracked.

Baked egg and risotto

For breakfast on Saturday we had poached eggs and ham. I wanted a little cranberry sauce too.

Poached egg with ham and cranberry

After doing some washing and house work we went out to Ricardo’s café in Jamison for afternoon tea. Bron had a golden mousse and I ate a swan.

Golden mousse

Swan

For dinner on Saturday we celebrated another friend’s birthday and went to Chairman and Yip after drinks at Benchmark wine bar. I was a little disappointed by the Benchmark wine bar. The drinks were really expensive and I got the feeling they were trying to get us out yet the restaurant was only about a third full. There was a huge hens party going on and we had wait staff asking us if we wanted more drinks every five minutes. My greatest disappointment as someone who cannot drink alcohol though is the absence of pineapple juice. That’s what I wanted. In the end I settled for a lemon lime and bitters. To be fair it was our waiter’s first shift. A friend asked for a Chardonnay and he received Chandon sparkling wine. Our waiter was very apologetic and smiled a lot.

At Chairman and Yip it was very different. The wait staff were efficient yet unobtrusive and allowed us to enjoy our meal. This was one of the nicest meals I’ve eaten in Canberra. For en entrée I asked for duck pancakes and ended up sharing with Bron who had pan fried Kurobuta Rich River (Victoria) pork cake with red wine vinaigrette. Both entrées come for $16.50. Both were delicious although the pork cakes were more filling.

Duck pancakes

char-grilled fillet of beef with shallot and spring onion sauce

For a main course I asked for a char-grilled fillet of beef with shallot and spring onion sauce. Bron asked for beef and scallop ground pepper hot pot, M asked for chairman’s red curry chicken and L asked for pumpkin and cucumber with caramelised chili and kaffir lime.

pumpkin and cucumber with caramelised chili and kaffir lime

My first plate, in the end we shared everything amongst each other.

For dessert I asked for a panna cotta with a passionfruit sauce. Bron asked for Pyramid of chocolate mousse over white chocolate mousse that sounded like chocolate fellatio which created uproar at our table.

Panna cotta with passionfruit sauce

This morning we had breakfast at Ellacure in Bruce. We’ve been meaning to do this for a long time. It didn’t disappoint. I asked for poached eggs on toast with a side of hollandaise and avocado while Bron asked for Eggs Benedict with bacon (this is Bron’s instagram image). Breakfast at Ellacure is very worthwhile. The service is very good and the food is delicious. The service verged on trying to get us out, but really, it was 0900 in the morning and they would be very busy after 0930. They were very efficient. I would rank this a great place in Canberra for breakfast or brunch.

Look I got pineapple juice

The best thing was I got pineapple juice

Poached eggs, hollandaise and avocado. This is one of the best photographs I’ve taken.

Don’t forget coffee

Tonight I was inspired by another blogger I follow, viz., Live2EatEat2Live aka The Mouse. He recently posted a picture that I have fond memories of as a boy. This is my version.

Rice with egg, lup chong and soy plus some spring onions

The London Olympic Games 2012 opening ceremony, dinner with friends and pondering one’s mortality. (garydavidlum.com)
Best meal ever and #StateofOrigin Game 2 (garydavidlum.com)
recipe: brined roast chicken (cindyhkim.wordpress.com)
Relishing Food and Wine – Thanks to Julia Child! #CookForJulia #SundaySupper (enofylzwineblog.com)
Chocolate Mousse Cake (blissfullyscrumptious.com)
Low carb chocolate mousse (nhoxnho.typepad.com)
Low carb chocolate mousse (foodlowcarb.wordpress.com)
Lighter Cajun Chicken Pasta (mybeautifuldisastersblog.com)
Chicago’s Best Dog-Friendly Restaurants (apartmentguide.com)
5 Recipes Julia Child Would Love (mrmovietimes.com)

Alaskan King Crab, macarons and a chocolate meringue and orange chocolate ganache layered cake

7 Replies

Wow what a dinner we had this evening. Bron out did herself. This morning we went to Costco with the aim of getting some King crab. During the Summer, Costco has a pavilion set up for seafood. It looks like in the Winter this is not the case. We ended up finding some Alaskan King crab in the frozen food section of Costco.