China Doll for birthday girl

 

Sitting by a glittering Sydney Harbour on a prematurely warm Spring day is always a pleasant and relaxing experience.

Just add a couple of dozen warships to the mix. And quite a few seamen in uniform. Plus several tables of young ladies in cocktail dress who scream and go hysterical whenever a sailor walks past... well, the experience becomes more exciting rather than tranquil.

This occasion was my birthday lunch at China Doll restaurant, located in the Finger Wharf complex at Woolloomooloo.  The warships were also in town for the International Fleet Review, hence the prevalence of sailors. It was the perfect spot for a leisurely, if noisy, lunch.

I chose to celebrate at China Doll because we had our work Christmas party there last year, and I remember the food being fantastic and the service being friendly, even though the place was packed with large groups getting merry. If you look at the other restaurants in the Finger Wharf row, you’ll notice that China Doll is usually the busiest. For good reason, too, because they do it really well.

We had the banquet lunch ($59 per person). The quantities were more than enough and the quality was excellent. Lots of opportunity for people-watching, too, which makes lunch even more fun. Just before the main dishes arrived, there was a massive roaaarrr (like a sonic boom!) as some fighter jets flew by in salute to Navy. Exhilarating!

Cheers! Had a very nice mocktail, Papa don't Peach (cranberry, peach, passionfruit)

There was a special on, of chicken and foie gras wontons, so we ordered them in addition to the banquet. The banquet also included steamed scallops in shell (not pictured).

Corn and zucchini fritters were like muffins, but more light and fluffy. I wondered why my muffins aren't like light like these, then realised that these were deep-fried (duh!).

The tea-smoked salmon salad was gorgeously refreshing.

Jasmine rice and greens come with the mains. This wagyu beef curry was sublime - the meat was literally melting in my mouth, it was so tender.

We had this pork belly at the Christmas party, and it's probably China Doll's signature dish. Crispy, fatty and sweet, its absolutely worth the KJs.

This is black sticky rice and also sago with coconut. Perfect finish to a top lunch.

The service staff were welcoming and responsive, too, which makes for an overall fine day out. 

Of Kale Chips and Mermaids

Have you tried making Kale Chips yet?

Feel vibrant, healthy and virtuous with just one little bite!

Food fads are a funny thing. Twelve months ago, you might have suspected (rightly) that kale was akin to rabbit food, ie. eaten only by bunnies. Now, since being written about on food blogs everywhere, kale is being sold, pre-washed, in plastic bags at the supermarket - you know you've made it as a super-vegetable when you are displayed in bright pink baggies in Woolies!

Actually, kale chips are best made from leaves off the stalk, rather than baby kale or packets. I've done it using both and found that the leaves shrink quite a bit during cooking, so start with a large leaf. In fact, just tear off the top part of a leaf of kale, and then tear off the bits around the stalk. You want a large leaf area and no thick stem, which doesn't dry out and goes mushy. 

Add lots of salt flakes then scoff down these melt-in-the-mouth morsels by the bowl. It's very easy to do.

Kale Chips

makes 1 bowl

Ingredients

1 small bunch kale

olive oil or other oil spray

sea salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170C/338F

2. Remove the kale leaves from the stems and tear into large pieces

3. Spray a large baking tray with oil and place the leaves on tray in a single layer. Spray leaves with oil. Not too much, not too little.

4. Sprinkle with salt and bake in oven for 10 minutes, checking after 8 minutes to prevent burning. Remove from the oven when the leaves are dried. Add more salt before serving.

5. Repeat with remaining kale.

Kale chips are best eaten as soon as they are made.

Lovely see-through crispy kale leaf

Do you remember when Chinese restaurants served "mermaid's tresses" back in the 80s?

Kale chips taste like those deep-fried seaweed memories, except you can make them at home, they taste better, are better for you, and no mermaids were hurt in their creation.

Momofuku Seiōbo followed by Zonut Cronut

I booked a meal at momofuku seiōbo and survived.

And, no, it wasn’t that difficult – or I was just lucky – to get a spot for the day and time that I wanted. The occasion was the other half’s birthday, part two, with part one being the traditional dinner at Ocean Room (that meal was the 12-course degustation, good value and service).

To make a booking for momofuku seiōbo, you need to first set up an online account, which gives you access to all of the Momofuku restaurants around the world. Then, you go to the reservations site and try your luck at getting a table. Fortunately, the booking window is now 20 days ahead, so I was able to nab a table for lunch on a Saturday. And, really, it is luck of the draw, because when people cancel a booking, it comes back into the reservations system for someone else to get.

momofuku seiōbo is located at the back of The Star (casino), so if you’re feeling doubly lucky, you can try your luck at the casino tables beforehand. And, if you enter through the casino and you wear spectacles, the security staff there may give you a piercing look to check that you don’t have ‘smart glasses’ on.

The staff at momofuku seiōbo are much friendlier. Try and get a seat at the counter of the open kitchen so you can watch them put your meals together. However, it’s more like food arranging rather than food preparation, as not a lot of cooking takes place. This doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the experience, as the dishes are very prettily arranged by the chefs and then they bring it over and tell you what it is.

The food is exceptional: top quality, beautiful, clear flavours. The signature steamed pork buns are ethereally light, miles away from the mass-produced efforts of other local restaurants. Portion sizes are reasonable, though if you are particularly hungry, you may have to stop for a burger and chips on the way home… I took the Cronut route - see further down.

There seems to be a shift away from high-end fine dining in Sydney, what with the imminent closure of restaurants like Claude’s and Guillaume at Bennelong. What’s left if you want a special place for a celebration – Aria, Rockpool, Quay, Tetsuya? All in the CBD, interestingly, unlike the more hip places in Surry Hills, though the hipster joints do not seem to have the staying power of the fine diners.

momofuku seiōbo sits in between ‘hip’ and ‘high-end’, I think. You won’t feel out of place if you don’t wear a jacket and tie here, but it’s definitely not bistro or dude food. The overall vibe is ‘upper middle smart-casual’, despite the high price tag ($110 per person for the 8-course lunch). There is a 5-seat bar area that has a separate small menu (there was a tasty-looking terrine that seemed very popular when we were there), so they may be covering their bases in regard to the mid-to-high end of the dining scale. You don’t need to book for the bar, so maybe you could take a chance there if you don’t succeed in the momofuku seiōbo booking lottery.

 Smoked potato cream in a crisp shell, with apple jelly

 The momofuku Pork Belly Bun

 Striped trumpeter (fish) with celery leaves and mustard oil

Potato balls with mullet roe and parson's nose

Onion, various ways, with burnt leek and egg yolk (that's the round thing with black on top)

Eel dashi jelly with octopus and almond milk (my dish was missing the almond milk)

Striped trumpeter (again!) with fennel and dill

Pork neck, squash and kombu

It's very Intensive Care Unit in the open kitchen

Goat's curd with crushed blackcurrant and mint (two dishes, here. Looks like Eyes!)

Pear with honey cream and muntries (Australian native berries)

Petits Fours: Canelé, and caramel with kombu

Cheers, Angus.

Au revoir, momofuku seiōbo, I'll be back.

----

And because I was not completely full after lunch at momofuku seiōbo, and because Adriano Zumbo's patisserie was just across the way...

I got a Zonut cronut to have a little later.

This flavour was Pina Colada. Tasted just like a finger bun, only greasy.

A sous vide experience PLUS Protein Balls

Warning: This is a long post, to make up for not writing anything for a while. Missed you!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a demonstration of Breville’s Sous Vide Supreme.  

I was keen to attend because the demo featured Sydney chef, Pete Evans, who is also a host of TV show, My Kitchen Rules, and infamous activated almonds specialist.

The event was held at the Sydney Seafood School, at the Fish Markets, which meant taking pics of the expensive scampi.

So what he demoed was a tabouli salad with sous vided salmon and crispy salmon skin.

To cook using sous vide, you need a couple of gadgets, namely a vacuum-sealing machine that seals the food in a special plastic bag (gadget no. 1). The meat goes into the bag with some seasoning or marinade, then you put it into the sous vide machine (gadget no. 2).

After the food is cooked (and it’s difficult to overcook given the stable temperature of the sous vide water bath), remove from the bag and serve. You may want to also crisp up the surface of the food in a grill pan (gadget no. 3).

So, sous vide is ideal for foolproof cooking of more expensive cuts of meat, like fillet steak or lamb. The vacuum bag also seals in flavours and cooking smells, so it’s perfect for salmon, which is notorious for stinking out the kitchen and the rest of the house – not pleasant, no matter how tasty the salmon is. Mind you, if you have the space for all the sous vide paraphernalia, then you’d probably have a roomy kitchen with a powerful exhaust system, too, wouldn’t you?

The resulting salmon that Pete Evans  showed us (and which we also prepared ourselves), was beautifully cooked all the way through, with no dry bits or raw bits. And it’s pretty cool to watch the air getting sucked out of the vacuum sealed bag and to break it open after 20 or so minutes to get at the moist and juicy fish.

Me and my mate Pete. These photos are from the iPhone, so a bit blurry (and Pete (nice guy!) took this selfie because his arms are longer than mine...)

Pete Evans is a bit of a health nut (pardon the pun), so I thought I’d share these healthy balls with you. I’ve made these protein balls (aka ‘amazeballs’) a couple of times now, and they always disappear like the clappers, they are so good.

By the way, a bulk food shop recently opened in Balmain, called The Source, and they sell scoops of stuff out of big bins. Things like goji and Inca berries, raw almonds (you need to activate them yourself), chocolate-covered Turkish delight, flours, honey, and even cleaning products for the home. It’s a fantastic place for when you need just a small amount of something and don’t want to buy a whole bag. This is where I got the ingredients for these amazeballs.

Protein balls

makes 25-30

Ingredients

100g raw or toasted cashews, chopped

100g raw or toasted almonds

2 tblsp LSA (linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds, ground)

170g dates, pitted and chopped

100g dried apricots, chopped

100g prunes, pitted and chopped

1 tblsp peanut butter or tahini

2 tblsp cocoa powder

1 tblsp ground cinnamon

2 tblsp honey

Pinch of sea salt

50g desiccated coconut, for coating

Method

1. Combine the cashews, almonds and LSA in a food processor until finely ground.

2. Add the dates, apricots and prunes to the processor and combine until everything is chopped in to very small pieces.

3. Add the peanut butter, cocoa, cinnamon, honey and sea salt and whiz until the mixture starts to form a big, clumpy ball (about 2 minutes).

4. Roll heaped tablespoons of the mixture into walnut-sized balls (wet your hands first). Roll in coconut and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 

recipe adapted from Sydney Morning Herald (June 2013)

Colourful and healthy (?) ingredients.

Mix them all together in a large-ish food processor to get these tasty morsels.