Chocolate

Good Friday French toast hot cross bun

Posted by Gary
Gary Lum Good Friday hot cross bun with maple streaky bacon
Good Friday hot cross bun with maple streaky bacon

Have you ever had a Good Friday French toast hot cross bun?

I made my French toast hot cross bun better with maple bacon

Last night I went to XO Restaurant at Narrabundah and enjoyed a meal with Bron. We had Shantung Baos, XO FC Wings, Sexy Squid, Char Siu, Crispy Lamb Ribs and XO Hot Cross Bao. The char siu was a revelation. One of the owner chefs came and had a chat with us and explained how he was inspired to make the char siu after trying a Malaysian version. XO cooks the pork for many hours by sous vides and then when a ticket arrives blast the pork with a blowtorch and then it hits a hot oven and then a little more charring. I am happy to say it’s the most tender and flavourful char siu I have ever eaten. Just for that dish the meal was worth it. The evening meal was topped off with an Easter inspired dessert, viz., Hot cross bao. For the best description check out the XO Facebook page

I only shot one photograph last night and it was the hot cross bao.

XO Restaurant's hot cross bao! Fresh bao made in house with Sichuan chilli raspberry jam and salted praline peanut paste ice cream drizzled with dark chocolate. They're vegan and dairy free!
XO Restaurant’s hot cross bao! Fresh bao made in house with Sichuan chilli raspberry jam and salted praline peanut paste ice cream drizzled with dark chocolate. They’re vegan and dairy free!

So back to today.

I started with the French toast hot cross bun. I just used hot cross buns from Coles and soaked one in some egg, cream, brown sugar and vanilla extract. I then fried it off in some butter. The streaky bacon was cooked in my benchtop oven with some Canadian maple syrup poured over each rasher.

Gary Lum Good Friday hot cross bun with maple streaky bacon and coffee
Good Friday hot cross bun with maple streaky bacon and coffee

This afternoon I was invited to afternoon tea. Peter and Li Peng are friends who have featured in Yummy Lummy many times. Li Peng has just started a new business hand making chocolate.

The label is known as Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates. Li Peng is currently working on a website but she has a Facebook page and an Instagram account which I hope Yummy Lummy readers might consider following.

Jasper and Myrtle Handmade Chocolate being made
Jasper and Myrtle Handmade Chocolate being made

Peter made hot cross buns which were really good.

I had 3 fresh hot cross bun with butter
I had 3 fresh hot cross bun with butter

I highly recommend Li Peng’s Jasper and Myrtle chocolates

Jasper and Myrtle Handmade Chocolate
Jasper and Myrtle Handmade Chocolate

Check out these links for more on Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates

http://www.handmadecanberra.com.au/easter-treats-handmade-shop/

http://www.handmadecanberra.com.au/blog/

http://hercanberra.com.au/cpcity/five-new-handmade-market-highlights/

The Foodie’s Paradise

New at the March Market

So I ended Good Friday 2016 watching the Brisbane Broncos play the North Queensland Cowboys and ate some slowly roasted beef and coleslaw. The Broncos defeated the Cowboys in a really tight game.

Good Friday slowly roasted beef with beetroot coleslaw
Good Friday slowly roasted beef with beetroot coleslaw

I hope you had a good Good Friday. What did you get up to?

Australian fried rice

Posted by Gary

Being Chinese I’ve eaten a lot of rice. I’ve also eaten a lot of fried rice. I reckon my Mum’s fried rice was the best. She always used rice that had been cooked a day or so before. It was always immediately refrigerated after the first cooking to avoid food poisoning. It amazes me the number of reports I read of people becoming ill because of improperly cooked and stored food.

 

Food safety alert

Rice is a well known vector for Bacillus cereus food poisoning. Eating contaminated food can result in nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea depending on the toxin elaborated. Proper handling eliminates the risk. Rice that is not going to be eaten immediately should be refrigerated immediately and kept between 0 and 5 °C. Poor cooking technique can results in endospores surviving and poor storage then allows spores to germinate allowing toxins to be elaborated.  Don’t be a mug (that’s Australian for idiot), cook and store your food properly.

 

While I had leftover ingredients for tonight’s dinner and I fixed on cooking them together the mordant was when I read Lorraine Elliot’s post in Not Quite Nigella this morning. Lorraine describes her Mum’s Nasi Goreng.

So my Australian fried rice comes about through the delicious union of leftover roasted vegetables and leftover rice and quinoa. The roasted vegetables I used tonight were made with bacon rather than SPAM®.

So I give you Australian fried rice. It contains broccoli, potato, sweet potato, onion, capsicum, fennel seeds, jalapeño peppers, chili flakes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, peas, corn, carrots, rice, quinoa and bacon. I reckon it would taste good with some SPAM® and for an Asian touch some Chinese sausage (lup cheong not a Chinese man’s sausage).

I also cooked it in a wok for that authentic Asian touch.

Let’s go back in time to the roast vegetables leftovers

Hot and spicy roasted vegetables and bacon
Hot and spicy roasted vegetables and bacon ready for the oven
Hot and spicy roasted vegetables and bacon
Hot and spicy roasted vegetables and bacon straight from the oven
Hot and spicy roasted vegetables and bacon
Hot and spicy roasted vegetables and bacon on my plate

Sorry for the diversion but this was this morning’s breakfast. A pan fried bagel and cream cheese. Yes, I fried the bagel in butter.

Pan fried bagel with cream cheese
Pan fried bagel with cream cheese

So this is the Australian fried rice

Australian fried rice with bacon and quinoa
Australian fried rice with bacon and quinoa

A close up

Australian fried rice with bacon and quinoa
Australian fried rice with bacon and quinoa

I needed an Australian dessert. Cadbury’s Vegemite chocolate. I love it!

Vegemite chocolate
Vegemite chocolate

Would you make Australian fried rice?

Elk and Pea and Mr Frugii ice cream laboratory

Posted by Gary

It’s a Friday night and Bron and I are on Lonsdale Street in Braddon. Lonsdale Street is Canberra’s hot strip of modern and hip restaurants and eateries. If you’re looking for a good dining experience and you know nothing else about Canberra, Lonsdale Street is the place to go.

It’s a busy week in Canberra with parliament sitting and the universities conducting orientation activities. We had a booking at the Elk and Pea at 6.30 pm. On our arrival the outside tables are all occupied while there is plenty of space inside. Mind you 6.30 is a bit early for most people. Inside is a bit warm and stuffy but the best part about being inside is the art that is screwed to the ceiling beams. 

The Elk & Pea on Urbanspoon

Bron and I have been to the Elk and Pea before for breakfast but as far as we can remember not for dinner. 

The menu is about sharing with some elements being a single serving. Bron suggests that I choose so I ask for quinoa fritters and pork ribs. Both are for sharing between two people.

The quinoa fritters are delicious. The outside of each fritter is crispy and the sauce had a lovely tang.

Quinoa fritters. Crispy corn, quinoa, zucchini, and sun dried tomatoes with mint mojo
Quinoa fritters. Crispy corn, quinoa, zucchini, and sun dried tomatoes with mint mojo

The fritters came out pretty quickly and we were told it would take about 30 minutes for the ribs to be ready.

When the ribs arrived we were ready for them. We had a nice little mountain of ribs to share.

Costillas adobadas. Pork baby back ribs, with cauliflower puree, charred corn, tortillas and braised greens
Costillas adobadas. Pork baby back ribs, with cauliflower puree, charred corn, tortillas and braised greens

The ribs came with a board of charred corn and tortillas.

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It took a while to get through all the ribs and even though large red chilies are not super hot these ones still had enough of a kick to them.

Pork baby back rib bones
Pork baby back rib bones
Like me Bron enjoyed the ribs
Like me Bron enjoyed the ribs | Photograph courtesy of Bron.

The meat was succulent and just came away from the bones. Bron and I both enjoyed them and we’d recommend them to anyone who likes slowly cooked tasty meat. 

So after Elk and Pea we ventured up the road to Mr Frugii’s ice cream laboratory. 

This place has only recently opened and it’s been all over social media in Canberra, some of my favourite Canberra food bloggers seem to go there repeatedly.

 

Frugii Dessert Laboratory on Urbanspoon

On entry there are two main areas, the cakes and the ice cream. On Friday night they had three choux pastry cakes. Bron chose a rose water pastry with a red love heart on it and I chose a chocolate custard pastry with injectable raspberry sauce.

Rose water choux pastry with a red love heart
Rose water choux pastry with a red love heart | Photograph courtesy of Bron.
Chocolate custard and raspberry sauce in choux pastry
Chocolate custard and raspberry sauce in choux pastry
Chocolate custard and raspberry sauce in choux pastry
Chocolate custard and raspberry sauce in choux pastry and salted caramel ice cream

The choux pastry was delicious. The pastry itself was perfect in its consistency and the custard was buttery smooth. The raspberry sauce really complemented the chocolate nicely. The salted caramel ice cream was OMG good. Bron and I both had it and we both enjoyed how strong the caramel flavour was. That said I reckon Bron’s salted caramel is the best I’ve ever tasted.

The set up in Mr Frugii’s makes for rapid turnover of customers. It seems to be an efficient process with customers coming to ask about the cakes and ice cream every few minutes. I hope the staff behind the counters get some free cake and ice cream at the end of their shifts.

 

We’d both highly recommend Elk and Pea for dinner and then Mr Frugii for dessert. If you live here in Canberra or if you’re just visiting both places are must do.

If you’ve been to Elk and Pea and/or Mr Frugii let me know what you think in the comments below.  

Lunch at Graze @ the factory

Posted by Gary

It was a great day for a drive in the country. Warm relatively humid weather. Not too much glare and not too much traffic. 

Junee is about two and a half hours drive from Canberra. Junee is known as the home of NSW and Australian rugby league player Laurie Daley and rugby league broadcaster Ray Warren. It’s also the home of a licorice and chocolate factory which in a former life was a flour mill.

The factory does tours and has a gift shop plus restaurant and cafe. We went looking in the gift shop and the theme was mainly kitchen appliances and gadgets plus Crocs® The cafe is aligned with the sales outlet for the licorice and chocolate. There are all sorts of flavours and shapes. They seem to do a big trade in freckles, frogs and boobs. Yes boobs, milky white boobs. And also milk chocolate boobs.

The restaurant has a nice big spacious feel and a country style menu with steak sandwiches, hamburgers, fish and chips, steak and some salads.

Bron chose a Junee lamb burger with red beans, guacamole and sour cream plus a granny smith cider. I chose a sirloin steak with a garden salad and chips. I asked for the steak to be cooked rare and to come with a peppercorn sauce.

Junee lamb burger Apple iPhone 5s with iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/30sec, ISO 100
Junee lamb burger Apple iPhone 5s with iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/30sec, ISO 100
Bron liked her burger. The meat was juicy, flavoursome and tender and the bun was nicely toasted and still soft. The guacamole and sour cream with red kidney beans worked really well together. The chips had a great flavour, but we’re a bit too soft for Bron’s liking. 
 
The cider was crisp, dry and wonderfully refreshing. Perfect for a warm 32 °C plus warm windy day looking out to the lovely shade of the vine encased outdoor dining area.
Sirloin steak with garden salad and chips Apple iPhone 6 with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/15sec, ISO 50
Sirloin steak with garden salad and chips Apple iPhone 6 with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/15sec, ISO 50

My steak was good. It was mostly rare with some areas a little more medium rare. The fat was mostly rendered but there was some gristle which tasted good but it was tough. The salad was lightly dressed so no splashing of vinegar and oil on my white shirt 🙂 The chips were tasty but soft. I also had a caramel thickshake which was pretty good. 

Junee Licorice and Chocolate factory white chocolate boobs NIKON D7100 with 90.0 mm f/2.8 at 90mm and f/8, 1/30sec, ISO 400
Junee Licorice and Chocolate factory white chocolate boobs NIKON D7100 with 90.0 mm f/2.8 at 90mm and f/8, 1/30sec, ISO 400
Junee Licorice and Chocolate factory white chocolate boobs NIKON D7100 with 90.0 mm f/2.8 at 90mm and f/8, 1/30sec, ISO 400
Junee Licorice and Chocolate factory white chocolate boobs NIKON D7100 with 90.0 mm f/2.8 at 90mm and f/8, 1/30sec, ISO 400

Have you ever been to Junee? Do you like Boobs?

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Graze @ the factory on Urbanspoon