Tag Archives: Food porn

Chong Co Thai Bar and Restaurant | Sanur’s Balinese Restaurant | @Bron99 ‘s amazing birthday cake

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After being away last week in Ottawa it was good to see and catch up with Bron. On Thursday night we had a night out at Chong Co Thai Bar and Restaurant and then to Max Brenner for some chocolate. Yesterday was Bron’s birthday and a few of us went to dinner and then had dessert at a friend’s place.

On Thursday night we didn’t really need to scan the menu. We knew what we wanted and shared some Thai fish cakes for an entrée. These were nice and full of flavour but a little rubbery. For a main course Bron chose the barbecue chicken (marinated skin on chicken with served with sweet chilli sauce) and I chose the barbecue lamb which Bron had the last time we were here.

Chong Co Thai fish cakes (iPhone)

Chong Co Barbecue chicken (iPhone) Served with sweet chilli sauce

Chong Co Barbecue lamb cutlets (iPhone)

The chicken and lamb were delicious. I would highly recommend these two dishes for a main course meal.

After the main course we walked to Max Brenner for a little chocolate.

I had a white chocolat and an exploding chocolate shot. The hot chocolate drinks are served in hug mugs which look like toilet bowls.

Max Brenner white chocolat in a hug mug (iPhone)

Exploding chocolate shot is popping candy over melted chocolate served with gummy bears (iPhone)

The popping candy is fun. It’s a pity the venue is very noisy, it would be good to eat this in a quiet room.

Friday was a pretty full on day but our Friday’s are always made better with a Mavi Breakfast wrap and coffee. This is a deal done at Mavi.

Mavi Breakfast wrap contains a hash brown, egg, bacon, mushrooms and barbecue sauce. (iPhone)

On Friday evening I didn’t get to Bron’s until late (don’t ask, it was a long day at work). Bron prepared a lovely Chicken thigh roasted with lemon, garlic and shallots served with lemon risotto and broccoli. This was accompanied later with a Flourless toffee date hazelnut chocolate muffin with cream. The meal was delicious.

Chicken thigh roasted with lemon, garlic and shallots served with lemon risotto and broccoli (iPhone).

Flourless toffee date hazelnut chocolate muffin with cream (iPhone)

Saturday was Bron’s birthday. We went to the EPIC markets at Exhibition Park early in the morning. Bron bought a heap of produce including some truffles and cultured butter. I bought a vanilla slice.

Do you think it’s big enough? (iPhone)

After the markets we had breakfast at Ricardo’s Cafe in Jamison. This is an amazing place for pastries. Just click on the link to see. I had a coffee and big breakfast.

This was very filling (iPhone) You can see Bron’s Eggs Benedict in the background.

On Saturday night we went to dinner with some friends to Sanur’s Balinese Restaurant in Belconnen. We’d been there before but that was years ago. The menu is full of delicious choices and I’m reminded of a review from T1 of In The Taratory fame. Bron and I shared a couple of entrées, viz., the Bakwan Jagung ($9.9 buys you Sweetcorn patties with prawns and shallots served with sweet chili dipping (3 pieces)) and the Udang Goreng Tepung ($10.9 buys you King prawns in spiced, crispy coconut batter served with cucumber relish (4 pieces)). For a main I had a whole deep fried fish (a little fish) Ikan Balado ($28.90 buys you deep fried of whole fish or prawns or calamari served with padangnese style mild chili sauce). I like fish like this and was happy to head the eyes.

Bakwan Jagung Sweetcorn patties with prawns & shallots served with sweet chili dipping (iPhone)

Udang Goreng King prawns in spiced, crispy coconut batter served with cucumber relish (iPhone)

Ikan Balado Deep fried of whole fish or prawns or calamari served with padangnese style mild chili sauce (iPhone)

Ikan Balado Deep fried of whole fish or prawns or calamari served with padangnese style mild chili sauce sans flesh and eyes (iPhone)

After dinner we went to Tanya’s place for dessert. Meredith had given Bron a Dutch pancake maker for her birthday and we needed to try it out. In addition Tanya had been busy making a cake or awesome proportions.

Dutch pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream. (iPhone)

The balls are cake encased in white chocolate. The balls are decorated with icing and the green grass is also green dyed chocolate. This was amazing and tasted so good (iPhone).

I was so relaxed after dessert I fell asleep and put a show with my snoring :-)

This morning Bron prepared scrambled eggs with the cultured buttered infused with the truffles she bought at the markets.

Truffled scrambled eggs (iPhone)

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Best meal ever and #StateofOrigin Game 2

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Last night Bron and I visited some close friends who we often have dinner with. Mostly it’s us going to their place to eat wonderful food. Last night was no different. In the words of Bron (and I agree), “Best meal in my life“.

A few weeks ago we set up the date and started talking about a menu. We suggested we’d go to Costco and get King crab legs for an entrée and Bron said she’d make a lemon tart for dessert. P and LP came back and said they would happily prepare an Asian degustation for our main course.

Bron and I ventured out to Costco yesterday morning to learn that the seafood arrangement only came out every fortnight. We’ve been to Costco so many times on alternating weeks that we had not noticed this. This was disappointing because Bron was also going to make her gorgeous aioli and and another dipping sauce. Bron sent P a text message and explained. No worries, “We have prawns” came the reply.

The lemon tart was an experiment. Bron had not made this recipe before. She need not have worried. It was perfect.

So we started with a few prawns and homemade dressing. These had only been frozen once and were a delicious and certainly acted as an entrée or appetiser for us. I was so hungry.

What followed can only be described as awesome. I use that word advisedly. Like a good many words used on social media and on television and movies, “awesome” is over used. This meal was awesome.

We started with LP’s dumplings. Mouth sized and full of flavour. The spicy dipping sauce was just right. P then followed with some of his signature pieces, namely, a crunchy Chinese cabbage salad and seafood cakes. I could have eaten the salad all night. This was followed with LP’s tamarind prawns. Oh my the flavour was fantastic. This was a first time for LP. The Pièce de résistance was P’s twice cooked belly pork. The reduction could be smelled when we entered the house. The star anise and cinnamon wafting in our nostrils tempting us to pick up the jug and drink the sauce was an ever present danger.

With the ‘mains’ over, we entered the dangerous world of dessert. I say dangerous because no one gets between some of us and their dessert.

LP was preparing the chocolate soufflé as we arrived. She was so delicate in folding in the cream. It was certainly worth the effort. I have never had a soufflé so light and fluffy. Bron was concerned that I had left crusty bits of chocolate on the edge of my ramekin. I quickly fixed the problem without burning my tongue :-)

Bron’s lemon tart was also a triumph. Earlier in the day Bron had received a gift from a dear tweep who shared from her bounty of lemons. The quickly prepared candied lemon rind was also delicious along with the cognac whipped cream that LP had provided with her soufflé.

To finish the evening we all enjoyed a half of a small pavlova that P has now perfected. It was a perfect evening with fantastic conversation, lots of laughs and dare I say, for me at least, belt loosening.

I apologise for the quality of my iPhone photography. I was trembling with multiple foodgasms that I had trouble focusing.

Prawns with homemade seafood sauce (iPhone)

Pork dumplings (iPhone)

Crunchy Chinese cabbage salad and seafood cakes (iPhone)

Tamarind prawns (iPhone)

Twice cooked pork belly (iPhone)

Twice cooked pork belly (iPhone)

Chocolate soufflé served with cognac cream (iPhone)

Cognac cream (iPhone)

Lemon tart with Cognac cream (iPhone)

Pavlova served with Chinese gooseberry, passion fruit and strawberries (iPhone)

More as a post script than anything else, I have not blogged for a few days and I should comment on the second game in this year’s State of Origin series. NSW defeated Queensland. As much as I wanted the Queensland XXXX Maroons to win, it wasn’t to be. The game was fierce, it was tight, it was superbly played. Queensland played well and NSW played better. NSW were the best team on the night and deserved to win. This now means a decider in two and a bit weeks. This is not a bad thing. If Queensland had won, this would have made game three a fizzer and given Queensland has won the series in the last six years it would severely damage the State of Origin concept. Dare I say it, NSW winning the series in 2012 would not be a tragedy. The important thing is ensuring the greatest game on the planet, i.e., Rugby League is maintained for everyone to enjoy.

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A big day for Chinese food | Noble Palace | Dumpling Inn

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Yesterday was a much better day at work compared to Wednesday. I woke up feeling ill with a sore throat and a headache yet I was euphoric because Queensland had defeated NSW in  the first game of this year’s State of Origin series.

For lunch we went to the Noble Palace in Phillip. Seven of us enjoyed lunch to thank a dear work friend who had acted up for an extended period of time and performed superbly. We enjoyed Hong Kong roast duck, Crispy skin chicken and plum sauce, Sizzling Mongolian lamb, Peking shredded chilli beef, Pork fillet with chili lemon grass, and rice (I could have forgotten a dish). One of our party also had a vegetable and noodle dish which she generously shared. The Noble Palace is a well known Chinese restaurant in the Woden district and consistently produces high quality meals. They also do wonderful yum cha.

Duck, beef and lamb (iPhone)

Last night Bron and I went to the Dumpling Inn for dinner. This Chinese restaurant is a fantastic suburban venue. It’s relatively small but like the Noble Palace consistently produces high quality food including yum cha on weekends. Last night we enjoyed duck pancakes and fried flounder with rice.

Preparing a duck pancake (iPhone)

Finished duck pancake (iPhone)

Left over duck (iPhone)

Deep fried flounder (iPhone)

After dinner we had dessert at Bron’s. This was some leftover vanilla cheesecake with salted caramel sauce and berries.

Vanilla cheesecake with salted caramel sauce and berries (iPhone)

Because I can’t help myself I’ll share an image from a friend at work from today.

 

Enough said for now :-)

 

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Chong Co Thai Restaurant and Max Brenner

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Last night we went out with some friends to the Chong Co Thai Restaurant in Belconnen and then enjoyed dessert at Max Brenner which was in the same area. Bron and I had been to Chong Co a couple of times before and enjoyed the food.

There were five in our party and we quickly agreed to start with the mixed entrée which consisted of a spring roll, curry puff, fish cake and and Satay chicken. The spring roll was quite peppery and the fish cakes had a lovely firm texture that wasn’t rubbery.

The mixed entrée consisted of a spring roll, curry puff, fish cake and Satay chicken. (iPhone with flash)

For the main course Bron chose the deep fried batter soft shell crab topped with tamarind sauce, ginger, shallot, coriander, crispy onion and mixed vegetables. The dish was enormous with at least two crabs.

Soft shelled crab (iPhone with flash)

I chose the Pan fried batter barramundi topped with chilli, cooked in coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and sweet basil leaves.

Fried barramundi (iPhone with flash)

The barramundi was rated with two chillies. For me it was bordering on hot. It was not uncomfortable but certainly sinus clearing. Mixed with some rice, this was delightful.

The service at the Chong Co is remarkable. The ratio of wait staff to customers is very high, nothing is too much trouble.The restaurant was fairly full with a good turnover of patrons. When full the place is very noisy and hearing conversations can be difficult. It would be good if the owner added some sound baffling to the ceiling and walls. The wait staff all look very good in their costumes and the decor is very inviting.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a good night out.

After our main course we elected to enjoy dessert at Max Brenner. We’ve been to Max Brenner a few times before. Last night we tried a few different things.

I had a passion fruit waffle sundae.

Passion fruit waffle sundae (iPhone)

Michael had a Max-wich

Max-wich (iPhone)

Bron had a banana crepe.

Banana crepe (iPhone)

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar on Urbanspoon

It was a really good night out. Given the proximity of Max Brenner to Chong Co, it was a great combination.

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Rama’s with friends

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Last night Bron and I went to Rama’s again with friends. These were not twitter friends so sorry no images of the food.

We’ve previously been to Rama’s and had a really nice meal. Last night reinforced why Rama’s is rated as one of the best restaurants (and most popular) in Canberra.

There were seven of us in our party. When Bron and I arrived at 1920 AEST for a 1930 booking, there were still people at the table our party had reserved. The restaurant was full. The wait staff were unfazed and explained the people at our table were finishing their meal and would be gone in time. It ticked over to 1930 and sure enough that party were paying their bill and our friends were arriving. It worked magically. The wait staff were friendly and attentive and they were apologetic for the slight inconvenience. I got the feeling because this place is so popular, this is a regular occurrence.

Seated we were provided with menus and water and we quickly agreed on a banquet. One of our friends has a few dietary requirements so she requested something suitable for her. From the menu we agreed on Rama’s Delight and because one of our friends is allergic to coconut we swapped out the Vegetable Bombay for a Pea and Potato curry. This was so easy and not regarded as a problem at all. We truly were being waited on. We were asked how hot and spicy we like our food. Being a reasonable sized group we elected for a mild approach so we could all enjoy the flavours. Again, this was not a problem. For a couple of us we were asked if we’d like a side of sliced chili and I readily accepted the offer.

The appetisers really did work to whet our appetites. I was so hungry and enjoyed the Pappadums, Samosas, and Bhajia. They were perfectly cooked (IMHO).

The main dishes were Lamb Rogenjosh, Beef Vindaloo, Chicken Korma, Potato and Pea curry with Rice and Roti. The vindaloo was mild and very rich. My favourite though was the chicken korma whose juice was heavenly on the rice and being a glutton we got extra roti and I soaked up all the juice and devoured the remaining chicken and juice. 

To finish I had coconut ice cream which was very refreshing after the curries.

I would highly recommend Rama’s. The price for the Rama’s Delight banquet was a very reasonable $32 per person.

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Ramas Restaurant on Urbanspoon

GOA Beef curry

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Curry beef and noodles

It’s the usual routine of frying off some onion, garlic and ginger. Add some tomato and simmer. Add the curry powder. Brown diced beef. Add to the wok. Add sliced potatoes, carrots and beans. Simmer for about 30 minutes and then add some coconut cream. Prepare the noodles and serve.

This was purchased this year at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney (Nikon D90)

Simmering in my wok (Nikon D90)

Served with noodles (Nikon D90)

 

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My weekend in food while in Brisbane

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This weekend I visited my daughters in Brisbane. Miss14 was competing in the Queensland Women’s Artistic Gymnastics championships for 2012. It also included the trials for the state team to compete at the national titles in June in Sydney. Miss14 is Level 9. On Saturday she came third overall in Queensland. She freely admits her vault lets her down. Her routine is not as difficult as the others in the competition. When I asked why, she simply said she’s uncoordinated. That is the biggest understatement of her life. Compared to the rest of us in the family she’s amazing. So today as I was returning to Canberra Miss14 was competing to make a place in the Queensland team. She got in and received an award for her floor routine. I recorded her routine from yesterday which was ranked second.

On Friday I had lunch with some work mates and also some colleagues from another agency. We ate at the Hellenic Club. The Hellenic Club is a fantastic Canberra institution. It has a range of restaurants including a pretty good Chinese restaurant which is a nice touch for a Greek establishment. I love the Hellenic Club’s bistro. It does a really good steak with pepper sauce and chips (which is what I had) while others had chicken breast schnitzel or a roast dinner.

Hellenic Club's pepper steak (rib eye fillet) and chips (iPhone)

After a very squishy flight to Brisbane and then discovering I had rented a General Motors Barina (beep beep) I got to my parent’s place and enjoyed some time with the kids. Let me digress and discuss the rental car. I rent through Hertz and normally I get a small compact like a Toyota Yaris or Ford Focus. Both are good small manual transmission cars that I don’t find uncomfortable. I should declare that after Chrysler left Australia I switched my allegiance to Ford. For non-Australian readers, in the main, if you’re a bloke, you’re either Ford or Holden (GM). There’s not debate. The Barina, even if Ford produced it would have been and remains a lemon. For someone who is only 170 cm (short arsed), it’s hard to believe that leg room posed such a problem. I would NEVER purchase a General Motors Barina.

In the morning we had a light breakfast. By light I mean toast. I don’t mean warm bread either. I like toast that has a good amount of colour. Not burnt, but at least browned. I also like Vegemite. For non-Australians, Vegemite is a yeast extract and it is a salty dark paste the consistency of cream cheese. It is an acquired taste. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. I don’t get how some Australians go on and on about it. It’s good. Just don’t carry on about it.

Toast with a smear of Vegemite (iPhone)

For lunch I had a sausage roll and chips (no photograph). Most of the day was spent driving between Chermside, Clayfield and Chandler (Sleeman Sports Complex). The competition was at the Sleeman Sports Complex while Miss11 had to also train at Clayfield. I had Miss16 to keep me company :-)

I also had fudge that Miss14 had cooked the day before. This is GOOD fudge.

Fudge after a bite (iPhone)

Miss14′s competition ran late, very late. We didn’t leave until nearly 2000 AEST. When we got back to my parent’s place, Mum and Dad had cooked a roast dinner. We had roast chicken, stuffing, roast potato, roast sweet potato, roast pumpkin, broccoli and beans. Mum also made gravy from scratch. I love Mum’s roast chicken with gravy and stuffing.

Roast chicken (Nikon D90) Click on the image for a more detailed view.

May is a big month for birthdays in our family and it’s not clear if I can visit in May so Mum made a cake. Miss14 and Miss16 become Miss15 and Miss17 on the same day in May. I turn 47 in May. My Dad also has a birthday in May.

Birthday sponge cake with almond chocolate (iPhone)

This morning we were in a rush but that didn’t stop Mum cooking us some snags, scrambled eggs and mushrooms. Mums and Dads are like that and I love my Mum and Dad for being like that.

It doesn’t look all that flash but it tasted great.

Sausages, eggs and mushrooms for breakfast on a plastic picnic plate. Classy :-) (iPhone)

At the airport I sat in front of a container of macaroons. I will not say if I had any or not.

Macaroons (iPhone)

This afternoon after arriving back in Canberra I bought some baby spinach leaves, salmon and a tomato. Dinner was inspired by breakfast and I had the last of the very fresh free range eggs to cook. I cooked the scrambled eggs with cream, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt. I also added a little blue cheese for flavour.

Atlantic salmon and fresh free range eggs (Nikon D90) Click on the image for a more detailed view.

Look at how yellow and creamy the folds of egg are. They were amazing.

All in all it’s been a good weekend. Miss14 made the Queensland team. I hope Miss16 is watching the Brisbane Roar win the A-league soccer grand final tonight. Miss11 did an awesome job cheering today and being an all round great kid.

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I really work with the best people

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I love the people I work with. For readers who follow me on instagram you’ll know that I often post images of treats given to me by my work mates. I have been blessed with macarons, cakes, biscuits, fruit and vegetables from work mates.

Today I received fresh eggs from free range chooks from a work mate’s parents’ backyard. There is not much better than fresh eggs from chooks that are lovingly cared for and fed stuff from your own kitchen as well as the insects and grubs in the garden.

I already had a piece of Scotch fillet in the refrigerator so I thought steak and eggs.

Steak done rare with fried eggs and avocado

The steak was simply dressed on the board with salt and pepper and then cooked for a couple of minutes on both sides. You can see I like it rare. I cooked the eggs in the butter and fat from the steak fry pan. The eggs tasted divine.

I’m so grateful for the generosity of my work mates as well as their brilliance and doing their job.

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Truthful Tuesday Left over curry always tastes better

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Tonight’s dinner.

Tonight's dinner. Left over chicken curry with noodles.

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Baby sheep truly taste good

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A rack of lamb is so easy and so tasty.

This rack was placed in a low oven (120 °C) for an hour along with some grated sweet potato and blue cheese and cream. The potato was seasoned with curry powder and pepper.

Then after carving the sloppy sweet potato was added. I ended up eating the cutlets with my fingers and using the sweet potato as a dipping sauce. It tasted so good.

Plated up lamb and sweet potato with cream and cheese

To be honest, the lamb was a little over cooked. It was, however, very tender and juicy.

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