food – Page 3 – Regina Chow

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Mentaiko Pasta

November 21, 2012 by Regina Chow 1 Comment

I haven’t been cooking much in Australia, but ever since I tried the mentaiko pasta at Porcorosso, I’ve been curious about the possibility of making it on my own. This isn’t much of a recipe actually because lazy me would never make sauce from scratch. I went to the Asian supermarket to get prepacked mentaiko sauce just to try it out.

Each pack (priced at A$4.20) comes with mentaiko sauce and seaweed (2 packets each) and makes a great meal for two!

I tend to be very picky about the texture of my pasta, so these are the steps that I would usually take to ensure my pasta tastes exactly the way I like it:

Step 1: Boil pasta in water together with a dash of sea salt and olive oil

Step 2: Drain pasta with strainer the minute it is cooked, douse it in cold water before draining it again

Step 3: Finally, fry pasta with butter in the pan together with prawns

What I love about the prepacked mentaiko sauce is, after cooking your pasta, all you have to do is mix in the sauce (without cooking), top it off with the seaweed provided and voila, you’re done!

The verdict? This recipe promises to tantalize your tastebuds with every bite, even if you weren’t a mentaiko fan to begin with! JW
is now a mentaiko pasta convert, and as for me, I would never splurge on
another plate of mentaiko pasta at a restaurant again!

Trust me, this home-cooked mentaiko pasta tastes just as good, if not better. 😉

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Coffee and Snacks at Common Ground Cafe

October 10, 2012 by Regina Chow No Comments

Tucked in the corner along the streets of Katoomba is a gem of a cafe waiting to be unraveled.

I’ve heard so much about the beautiful decor of Common Ground Cafe from JW and friends. Coupled with the fact that it is ranked #2 on Tripadvisor’s list of restaurants in Katoomba, it was only natural that I had high expectations of this cafe.

And now for the moment of truth. I was enthralled by my surroundings the moment I stepped foot in this cozy cafe. The rustic decor and folk music wafting through the air reminded me of the set of Lord of the Rings. At that instant, we felt almost like hobbits returning to our humble abode!

We were led to a corner seat by one of the friendly owners (this cafe was set up by a group of friends). The story behind the setting up of this cafe is a meaningful one. The owners envisioned the cafe to be a place where human beings can all see beyond our own differences (wealth, rank etc.) into the hearts of others and eventually find a common ground where our hearts can find peace.

A common misconception that most people have about this place is that it is a Christian cafe. Instead, this cafe is operated by members of a Messianic community called The Twelve Tribes (they believe in Jesus too). Some articles claim that it is a cult that advocates female submission and disciplining children with canes, but from the looks of it, the people here seem more peace-loving and kind than anything else.

For those of us who grew up in Asian societies, didn’t your parents use the cane on you when you were young? I for one, remember my mum using it on my brother and I when we were naughty, and while I don’t endorse this method of disciplining a child, I knew my mum did it entirely out of good intentions. Caning and lectures usually went hand in hand. But at the end of the day, I guess what matters is that both my brother and I turned out well! 😉

The food here is lovingly made with wholesome ingredients. I had the cheese and tomato melt (A$5.00) while JW had the BBQ Chicken Burger (A$11.50). All in all, I would say the food is very reasonably priced, tasty and not to mention healthy!

According to JW, who’s now a hardcore coffee addict, the coffee here is the best he has tried thus far in the Sydney and Blue Mountains region. So coffee lovers, now you know where to go.

We liked the cafe so much that we took Felicia there on our next trip during the Leura Festival. More on that in a separate post. 😉

Remember to visit this quaint cafe if you’re planning to visit Katoomba at the Blue Mountains. It’s certainly an experience that you’ll never forget. 😉

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My Top 3 Picks for Food and Desserts in Sydney

October 5, 2012 by Regina Chow 4 Comments

The food in Sydney is wonderful in general, but if I had to pick my top three favourites, Bills would most certainly take the number one spot.

I have been to Bills on countless occasions and they’ve never failed to impress with their all-day breakfast. Karen is a huge fan of pancakes, hence the moment she arrived in Sydney, we whisked her off to Bills’ Darlinghurst branch for their delectable ricotta hotcakes. We were not only the earliest, but also the only customers there at 7.30 a.m. on a weekend!

It was such a joy to savour these pipping hot fluffy hotcakes topped with honeycomb butter and maple syrup, especially on a chilly Saturday morning.

Just last week, JW and I headed there again, with the aim of trying another popular item on the breakfast menu, the sweetcorn fritters. Crunchy on the outside and bursting with flavours on the inside, the corn fritters are fried to golden perfection and so delicious they leave you wanting more! I wish I could have packed some back to Singapore for Karen because both of us are hopelessly in love with corn fritters. This is one dish that cafes in Singapore should put on their menu!

My second favourite is probably Jeans Chilli Chicken at Eastwood.

A delightful yet potent concoction of spicy chicken and melted cheese, this is one of the most interesting dishes that I’ve tried. Accompanied by a hint of sweetness amidst all the spiciness, I love the crunchy texture of the chicken and the thick stretchy layer of cheese.

My stomach can’t handle spiciness very well, but after mixing the chicken with rice and moulding them into little rice balls, I can eat a few of these at one go!

Please excuse JW’s serial killer expression here. Even I find it slightly disturbing.

Finally, my favourite dessert place in Sydney is Adriano Zumbo Pattisier at The Star.

The chef Adriano Zumbo, of Masterchef fame, is the genius behind Zumbarons. For the uninitiated, Zumbarons are the chef’s unique rendition of macarons. These Zumbarons come in the most unusual and unexpected flavours, such as salted butter popcorn, pancake and maple syrup, and peach ice tea, just to name a few.

Unlike its saccharine sweet counterparts, the savoury flavours like salted butter popcorn as well as pancake and maple syrup are what set these lovely confections apart. These two flavours are a breath of fresh air and definitely my favourite of the lot. To me, Zumbarons are perhaps more similar to molecular gastronomy. To be able to taste salted butter popcorn or pancake and maple syrup with each bite is just absolutely amazing! This gets 2 thumbs up from me!

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Mini Kitchen Adventures Part 2 – White Wine Prawn Pasta

September 11, 2012 by Regina Chow 2 Comments

My friends on facebook would probably find this picture familiar because I posted this dish when I first tried out the white wine prawn pasta recipe. What I like about this recipe is its simplicity. It’s so simple to make, yet absolutely delectable! I’ve made this pasta twice so far, and on both occasions, JW woofed down the entire bowl in minutes.

I tweaked this recipe based on Sushi’s initial recipe with clams (yummmyyyy). For those of you who are interested, here’s the recipe:

1. Fry a clove of minced garlic till it sizzles

2. Add in deveined fresh prawns and cook them till they turn red

3. Pour just enough Chardonnay to cover the prawns and simmer for a couple of minutes

4. Add butter, sea salt and a little sugar to taste

5. Toss cooked pasta into the pan and let the white wine mixture coat every strand of pasta (add more chardonnay, butter, sea salt and sugar if necessary)

6. Top pasta with a sprinkle of parsley

That’s it! Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Most of the ingredients can be easily found in the kitchen. If you’re wondering what type of white wine to use, I think both chardonnnay and savignon blanc will do the trick. In fact, I bought the cheapest chardonnay around and it tastes perfectly fine.

I personally think this dish would taste even better with a squeeze of lemon though. Will definitely try that the next time. 😉

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Sushi-ya

September 10, 2012 by Regina Chow 1 Comment

I love Japanese cuisine, and my current favourite joint here in Sydney has got to be Sushi-ya at Chatswood. Having tried quite a number of Japanese restaurants here, I can now safely conclude that Sushi-ya serves some of the freshest and tastiest Japanese food around.

Felicia and Pei first brought me to this restaurant for lunch. Felicia ordered sashimi and udon while Pei and I had the teriyaki chicken lunch set. The lunch sets here are priced rather reasonably at about $18-$20.

I usually steer clear of chicken because more often than not, I always get the irksome fatty bits. But this time, I’m glad I ordered the teriyaki chicken because it’s cooked to perfection!

Crunchy on the outside with juicy, lean meat on the inside. It was absolutely yummy!

I’ll be back for more teriyaki chicken soon!

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Ryo’s Noodles

August 24, 2012 by Regina Chow No Comments

Ramen and sashimi are some of my favourite Japanese food of all time. It’s hard to go wrong with sashimi, unless the ingredients aren’t fresh, but when it comes to ramen, perfecting the art of cooking it does take some skill.

The only ramen joint that I enjoy going to in Singapore is Santouka, but even that pales in comparison to Ryo’s Noodles in Sydney.

Operated by Japanese, Ryo’s Noodles is perpetually crowded throughout the day and patrons do make a beeline for it. We usually have to wait between 15-30mins for a seat, but trust me, good things are worth waiting for.

Seating capacity is rather limited but service is quick and efficient, not unlike most Japanese restaurants. 😉 On the wall, you’ll find special items that can’t be found on the menu, and there is also a blackboard that ranks the top 5 most popular items. You’re guaranteed to be spoilt for choice.

Thus far, I’ve tried the Ramen in Tokyo style soy sauce soup with roast pork and egg.

But my favourite has to be the Ramen in pork and fish soup with roast pork and egg (it’s not on the menu, but it’s displayed prominently on the wall). What I especially like about the ramen here is the springy noodles and rich, flavourful soup base. The burst of flavours erupting in your mouth leaves you wanting more every time.

And if that’s not enough for you, you can try the cod roe rice ball. It is huge and full of cod roe goodness.

If you’re craving for ramen in Sydney, I would definitely recommend you try Ryo’s Noodles. In my opinion, this is where you’ll find the best ramen in Sydney!

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Fouratefive

August 16, 2012 by Regina Chow No Comments

Having heard so many rave reviews about fouratefive at Surry Hills, I had sky-high expectations of the cafe before I even made my way there. Honestly, the name alone is so apt (it’s located at 485 Crown Street), in a cheeky way no less, it totally cracks me up.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Cafe Guide 2012 rated the coffee here a grand total of 3 cups. That was the main reason why we dropped by, although we were told that the food is great too.

I love that cafes here usually offer organic juice or soda drinks. It’s probably psychological, but such drinks make me feel that I’m actually drinking something that’s healthy and good for me. Besides organic drinks, I have also taken a liking to free-range eggs. Free range eggs are produced by chickens that are allowed to roam freely beyond the confines of their cages and are thus deemed to be the healthier alternative to caged eggs.

Anyway, back to the coffee. The latte definitely met our expectations in terms of coffee art. Did you know that the leaf design is the most difficult pattern to perfect? I personally prefer the heart shape design though. It is so much cuter. 😛

I believe the general consensus was that the taste was up to mark too, but perhaps not as good as that of Campos Cafe.

That’s the barista at work.

Sadly, we didn’t think very much of the food. We ordered the highly recommended pork sandwich but it turned out to be pretty average. The only saving grace this time was the broccoli soup with goat cheese, which was absolutely superb.

Although I much prefer the food at Reuben Hills, I am still somewhat reluctant to write off fouratefive completely until I’ve tried a few more items on their menu, especially given the number of hits and misses. You’ll be the first to know when I next head there. 😉

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Jeans Chilli Chicken Eastwood

August 15, 2012 by Regina Chow No Comments

I love Korean food and the abundance of Korean eateries here mean that we usually end up at a Korean joint for lunch/dinner at least once a week.

We’ve heard so much about the chilli chicken at Jeans from Felicia and we were really excited to try it out. I’ve been hanging out with Felicia practically everyday and she always has new places to recommend. 🙂

The menacing plate of chicken coated in spicy chilli sauce initially proved a little too much for me to stomach as I was nursing a bad sore throat then, but I couldn’t care less!

Thankfully, I didn’t have to eat the chilli chicken on its own. The meal comes with side dishes and a bowl of glutinous rice. For those of you who can’t take spicy food (like me!), all you have to do is cut the chicken up into small pieces and mix it up with the glutinous rice to make spicy chicken rice balls. The level of spiciness dips significantly, which makes it a lot more palatable.

I was fortunate to have Felicia and JW take turns to make rice balls for me! As you can tell from the photos, JW isn’t as adept as Felicia when it comes to domestic chores like this.

He actually looks like a serial killer when he’s cutting up the chicken…

Can you see the look of relief on his face when he was finally done with the cutting??

Here’s the final product. It’s very delicious. JW prefers eating the chicken on its own for that extra kick, but this is just as flavourful and tasty.

I like how considerate and thoughtful this restaurant is. At the end of the meal, just when you’re about to perspire from all that chilli and spices, they present you with complimentary honeydew ice-cream to cool you down!

Truth be told, my sore throat got worse the next day after all the chilli, but I didn’t regret it at all. In fact, it’s probably about time we plan another trip there now that I’m better. 😉

Address:
Jeans Chilli Chicken

115 Rowe St Eastwood NSW 2122

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Porcorosso

August 13, 2012 by Regina Chow No Comments

Now that my stay in Sydney has been extended (didn’t quite expect this but I’m really blessed to have the support of everyone around me) to the end of the year, I have more excuses to explore the city and venture out of my comfort zone. This mantra applies to both food and activities.

For some strange reason, I’ve been rockclimbing and dancing the past week, a routine that I fully intend to keep up with for the period that I’m here (Note: keyword here is INTEND). My aching body is a testament to my hard work, and what better way to reward myself than with a sumptuous meal at yet another newly discovered restaurant.

Porcorroso is a Jap-Italian fusion restaurant that we decided to try on a whim after JW read about it online. He sure looks pretty smug about his discovery here. Haha.

I ordered the mentaiko (spicy cod roe) pasta and devoured everything within the blink of an eye. I’ve never had mentaiko pasta that tasted this good and now I can’t wait to head there for lunch again!

Every strand of pasta was evenly coated with mentaiko and a refreshing burst of flavour thanks to the lemon zest, basil and seaweed concoction.

JW had the parma ham pizza, which was good, but nothing out of the ordinary because it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that it’s almost impossible to go wrong with parma ham and wild rocket.

We’ll probably head back here to try the other pizzas some other time, especially since the reviews online seem pretty promising. 🙂

Address:
Porcorrosso

25/33 Allen St Waterloo 2017

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Campos Coffee and Sweet Potato Fries in Newtown

August 9, 2012 by Regina Chow 1 Comment

My coffee addict of a husband and I have been hunting down the best coffee in Sydney, so it was no wonder we decided it was time to head down to the flagship Campos Coffee store located at Newtown, which was awarded 3 cups (i.e. full marks) by Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Coffee Guide 2012.

Established 10 years ago, this cafe used to be a sleepy shop beneath an apartment. Things are different now of course, and it’s always bustling with life, even on weekdays!

The first floor is where the expresso bar is situated. Throngs of tourists and locals alike flock here just to savour the best coffee. No menus are provided but they offer the usual classics like latte, espressos, and also extras such as affogatos, iced coffees, teas and hot chocolate.

We only realized on hindsight that the second floor has a cupping room, which is probably worth a go for every coffee lover at $30 per pax. For the uninitiated, cupping is similar to wine tasting.

According to Campos Coffee’s website, “Cupping is a basic method of tasting coffee which is standard across the world. Whether it be Guatemala, Canada, Indonesia, London, Mexico, Kenya – everyone uses this same procedure which is almost a ritual. 5oz of water at 92 degrees is added to 10g of coffee coarsely ground. The coffee then steeps for 5 minutes and then the grinds removed- and the coffee is ready to be analyzed. “

Never knew brewing a cuppa coffee was so technical. 😛

After coffee, next up on our to-go list in Newtown was Burgerfuel for sweet potato fries with aioli!

They call it Kumara fries with Aioli on the menu. Aioli is a stronger, more pungent version of mayonnaise and is made of garlic, egg and olive oil. I’ve never tried it in Singapore previously but it certainly proved to be a very tasty complement to fries, especially sweet potato fries!

I’ve never tried sweet potato fries in my life either but these are really yummy! It’s the perfect alternative to its oilier counterpart (i.e. french fries) and is a much healthier treat for the health conscious.

Besides food and coffee, Newtown is also home to quaint little shops that line the lively streets. I would love to visit this suburb at night one day, because that’s when the lesbian bars come alive! 😉

Page 3 of 6« First...«234 5 »...Last »

Mentaiko Pasta

Coffee and Snacks at Common Ground Cafe

My Top 3 Picks for Food and Desserts in Sydney

Mini Kitchen Adventures Part 2 – White Wine Prawn Pasta

Sushi-ya

Ryo’s Noodles

Fouratefive

Jeans Chilli Chicken Eastwood

Porcorosso

Campos Coffee and Sweet Potato Fries in Newtown

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