Things You Eat When You're Alone Part X

I'm back to the ice cream phase of life.  I have a legitimate reason now - it's Summer!  Also, there was an ice cream sale at the supermarket.

After debating whether to buy a tub or ice cream on a stick, I settled on this:

Sara Lee Hazelnut Fudge ice cream.  It's new! 

It tastes like ferrero rocher!  Or nutella!  It's yummy.  Go and buy some.

Hanjuku Egg

I like to eat but I'm not big on cooking.  I mainly cook to survive and for me to attempt re-creating a restaurant dish in my kitchen, well that means I'm really putting in effort and I really, really want to eat it.  That being said, I could see myself becoming interested in cooking if I retired from my job and had access to a better kitchen.

I really like hanjuku eggs.  Up until five minutes ago they were better known to me as "that ramen egg with a runny yolk but hard white and I think it's marinated in soy."  Much googling was required to find out that they are called hanjuku eggs.

I got upset recently when I didn't get a hanjuku egg with my ramen order.  Hence I decided that 1. I needed to satiate my hanjuku egg craving and 2. I needed find out whether these eggs are really that difficult to make.  

The result?  Well if I can make them, anyone can!

So proud of my hanjuku eggs.  That'll do, Egg, that'll do.  

I found a few recipes and some were just ridiculously technical.  I really couldn't be that bothered - it's a boiled egg!  This recipe was pretty good and had some good links to eggy pictures at different stages of marination but in the end I pretty much followed this recipe exactly.

When I say I followed it exactly, I lied.  The marinade required mirin, Japanese soy and sake.  I only had the Japanese soy.  I had soba sauce though!  My soba sauce contained soy sauce, water, mirin, fish extract, sugar, kelp extract and MSG (oops).  Screw the sake and mirin.  In the end my marinade was three parts soba sauce, one part Jap soy sauce and a dash of rice vinegar.  I zapped it in the microwave for 30 secs and then dissolved three sachets of brown sugar into the mix.  It was a bit random but I tasted the marinade and it went down well.  I let it cool while I boiled my eggs.

I nearly stabbed my hand trying to pierce the bottom of the eggs but I do think that this is a very worthwhile step.  I never knew that this would stop eggs from cracking!  What an awesome cooking tip.  The egg boiling process is pretty exact.  You boil the eggs for 6 minutes and 30 seconds.  No more, no less.  As recommended by the other recipe, I stirred the eggs occasionally to ensure the yolks cooked evenly and stayed centred.  I peeled my eggs and they felt firm yet squishy.  Exciting!

I didn't have the recommended zip-lock bags and no other appropriately sized marinating vessel/bowl.  So I improvised and made my own marinating bag with some cling wrap.  

I left my eggs to bathe in the marinade overnight.  (It wouldnt hurt to let it marinate for 48 hours to achieve a more browny egg white.)  I unwrapped my eggs and realised my cling wrap had been a bit tight which left my eggs slightly deformed.

A bit flat on each side.  Kinda like a bullet.  

The final test - slicing the egg in half and checking the yolk consistency.

I was so happy to see a firm white and a runny yolk!  Num nums!

Needless to say, the egg was yum and there will be many more hanjuku eggs to eat in the future.  Now, if I can make it, I can no longer excuse any ramen joint for not serving them.  Hmmph!

MaltEaster

It's way too early to be selling anything Easter themed but my local supermarket has decided to get in early with this MaltEaster chocolate bunny.

I like the note on the back.

Rocking the Barossa with Spu

A year ago, the Barossa was rocked by me (Poo), Moo and Suboo.  This year the Barossa was going to be rocked by the Spu.  Actually Spu's not that much of a drinker so it was really going to be rocked by me again.  The tour I really, really wanted to book wasn't going ahead due to lack of numbers.  Boo hoo - it had structured wine tastings at Jacobs Creek, Peter Lehmann, Richmond Grove and a cooperage tour at Seppeltsfield.  Sounds good!  Anyway, my second choice was the Taste the Barossa tour and it was chosen on the basis that I hadn't been to 3 of 4 wineries.  Gotta sample everything!

Spuey with our bus.   

The first stop was to check out the acoustic qualities of the Whispering Wall.  Having been here last year, this time I walked all the way over to the other side to listen to our guide chat to us.  The clarity of his voice was unbelievable.  Move over telephones, all we need is a curved wall!

Spu thought it was pretty cool.  Then I forced him to re-create mine and Moo's pose from last year.  

Our first winery was McGuigan at Chateau Yaldara.

Yes, there was a chateau.  

Our group was taken through a tasting and they were all pleasant enough.  The sparkling pinot gris, sauvignon blanc were both ok but I'm not big on whites.  The chardonnay I quite liked.  It smelled like tinned tuna (not as bad as it sounds!) but tasted like toasted cheese.  Those childhood memories of eating tuna on toast with melted cheese came flooding back to me.  (I know it's a weird mix, but you experiment with foods as child).  We also had some moscato which was nice but just a tiny bit too sweet.  The reds began with a shiraz viognier; the viognier making the red a bit lighter and easier to drink.  Their shiraz was nice but not enough for me to pull out my wallet.  Then we finished with a 20 year aged tawny.  The absolute highlight of the bunch!   But at $50 a bottle I decided to hold back.

Next was the Peter Lehmann winery.  He's a fairly well known name in the wine industry and our guide filled us in on the humble beginnings.  Back in the late 1970s, the Barossa was going through a glut whereby winemakers were not buying fruit from grape growers.  Peter was already a renown winemaker and rather than see the grape growers be left in financial ruin, Peter suggested that he take the excess grapes and pay for the fruit after wine was produced and sold.

He churned out some awesome wines and the rest is history.

 Ready for some more wine! 

Spuey with the wine tasting lady in the background.  Our lunch, a platter of cold meats, cheese, spreads and bread.  It was nice especially the german sausage, beetroot chutney and soft cheese but it was not enough food for Supergut!  

We were given quite a treat at Peter Lehmann and tasted eight wines.  I gave the riesling a 'nup' because I don't really like dry whites.  The semillion was ok.  The Layers was definitely a winner and was a mix of pinot gris, muscat, gewurztraminer, chardonnay and semillon.  If any white wine was going to convert me from reds, this was going to be it.  Very easy to drink.   The shiraz and cabernet sauvignon were both ok but when we were given a taste of the 2006 Stonewall shiraz, well it was clear this was a premium drop.  So smooth and naice!  We were then given some of the Black Queen sparkling shiraz which I thought I would like but I ended up thinking it was just ok and not really not my thing.  To finish off we had the Princess moscato which was very yummy!!! Not too sweet and with a hint of fruity fragrance.  At just $18 a bottle I bought a bottle for me to enjoy later.

The next winery was the ever faithful Langmeil.

It was actually just walking distance to Peter Lehmann and so we followed the signs on over.   

Spuey evoking the blacksmith and cooper within.  

We weren't given the Langmeil tour which I've heard twice before and as a result I felt there was a lack of appreciation for the wine.  I knew the Freedom shiraz vines were 160+ years old but I don't think anyone else on the tour would have any idea!

Spuey and his large wine bottle.  Spuey enjoying the tawny.  Num nums. 

I've tasted all the Langmeil wines at previous visits but I was more than happy to drink them again.  I do have to comment that their signature Freedom shiraz didn't impress me as much as last time!  Maybe the 2008 vintage was a bit of a down year but in all fairness, the wine hasn't matured.  I'm confident it will only get better with age.  I also enjoyed the 20 year tawny port enough to hand over $35 for a bottle.  So warming, so naice!

Our final stop for the day was the Murray Street Vineyards which is run by a descendant of the Seppelt family.  The current generation of Seppelts however are no longer associated with the wines of their namesake.

We first stopped near the Seppeltsfield winery and admired the palm trees which were planted by workers who were thankful for not being sacked during the Depression.  

The Murray Street wines were all a bit ho-hum.  By this time of the day I was pretty jolly and maybe my palate was a bit overwhelmed.

We did meet a doggy named Jasper though.  Here is Spu teaching him to sit.  

We relaxed on the 45 or so minute drive back to Rad City and sobered up a bit before heading out for dinner.  Spuey had mentioned a few weeks ago that he had a hankering for Spanish, so off we went to Mesa Lunga which Moo, Suboo and I thoroughly enjoyed last year.

I was still tipsy but we ordered the clara sangria anyway.  So refreshing and deceptively intoxicating. 

We left the chef do his work and asked for a selection of six tapas dishes.  We started with a plate of jamon, manchego and bread.  Then some meatballs.  I can't remember what meat it was but I think it was chicken.  Mushies.  Must have some veggies somewhere in the mix.  

 Mini hamburgers - yums!  I love hamburgers!  Chorizo.  This was either a bit overcooked or a bit too salty.  Tortilla.  It was nice but generally I am not impressed by tortillas.  It's just egg and potato! 

Eating with Spu makes me feel like a pig.  For a boy, he doesn't really eat much.  Either that or I eat too much? Maybe?  Maybe?

I can resist fried dough so I ordered the churros for dessert.  They were pretty average.  There weren't enough churros sticks!!  

Ok, so I'm a pig.  Mesa Lunga delivered a nice meal again and I definitely recommend going there if you're in Rad City.  But otherwise, we shuffled home without too much swaying and are ready for a well-earned sleep. Drinking and eating is exhausting!

National Wine Centre & Penfolds Magill Estate

I forced Spuey to visit me in Rad-City and this meant that I didn't to do things alone this weekend.  Yay!  Today we checked out the exhibition at the National Wine Centre.

I did actually walk to the National Wine Centre a few weeks ago with the intention of seeing the exhibit alone, but it was really hot that day and when I nearly got there my feet were too blistered to continue.  

Spu admiring the architecture. 

The exhibition was a lot smaller than I expected and for some reason the main room was very dimly lit.  It was like walking into a cave.  Not sure if that was the intention or if they just forgot to turn the lights on.  I suspect the latter.

Spuey didn't like his rosella.  Me and my giant phylloxera bug.

We learned a bit about the history of wine making and the challenges winemakers face when growing grapes.   The phylloxera bug decimated the vineyards in Europe but Australia remained largely unaffected.  This is why Australia can lay claim to having possibly the oldest wine producing grapevines in the world despite (only!) being 160 or so years old.  :D

Dinner was at the Penfolds Magill Estate which is situated about 15 drive from Rad City CBD.  (If you don't want to take a cab, the public bus takes 30 minutes and drops you right at the entrance.)  It's pretty cool.  A proper vineyard within the city limits!  It's not the biggest Penfolds vineyard (that's out in the Barossa) but it is where Dr. Penfolds himself first set up shop.

I've been wanting to eat here for aaaaaaggggeees.  Partly because none of my previous wine tours included their Barossa outpost and partly because I wanted to eat the degustation menu.  Nothing could be more depressing than me having degustation alone :(  Hence, Spuey's here to help me out!

Our work on the 'The Price is Right' paid off. 

Spuey and his vineyard.  

We arrived a bit too early for our dinner reservation and so explored the grounds.  It was pretty empty.  I was surprised.  The cellar door being closed at 5pm was a reasonable explanation.  

Spu and I were the first people in the restaurant.  I've gotten used to walking into bustling eateries and fighting for reservations so this was quite a change.  It was a little awkward to consider the possibility that Spu and I might be on the ONLY people to dine tonight... errrrrr.  Luckily, a few more people started dripping in.

The welcoming plate. 

Spuey and the empty restaurant.  Me and the empty restaurant.

I told Spu that it was ok to wear shorts and when we got there, he said 'This is a pants restaurant.'  I told him, 'It's ok, I'm not wearing pants either' and to that he retorted 'That's cos you are wearing a dress.'  I still stand by my shorts-are-ok stance.  It wasn't anywhere near as formal as other restaurants and it was quite a balmy evening.  

Ok, now for the food.  The degustation menu on the website wasn't what we had tonight because it presumably varies according to the season.  We were told to allow three hours for the degustation.  *shocked face*  Wtf?  Is that normal?  The Matteo's degustation didn't take that long!  Oh well, when in Rome.

Spu opted to only have one glass of wine but I decided to enjoy myself tonight and ordered the 'premium' matching wines.  My only other choice was the 'super premium' wines and they didn't give the option of 'average' matching wines.  This would be my first opportunity of tasting a good range of the Penfolds wines.  Yay!

The amuse bouche resembled a fluffy white marshmallow with a sprinkling of rusty flakes.  Did they really serve us a marshmallow as a palate cleanser?  No, it was a white tomato foam.  Such light foam, yet so concentrated in flavour.  It tasted just like tomato paste or in my case, it also reminded me of a mouthful of the salad sandwiches I used to eat from the primary school canteen.  Not sure how they managed to create the flavours of white bread, butter, lettuce tomato, beetroot and carrot in my mouth but it was pretty impressive!  I had mini tomato loaf and Spu had the chive and parmesan bread.  Yes, packed full of flavour.

(L-R) Yellowtail kingfish, truffle, baby herbs - matched with a pinot noir chardonnay.  Scallops, iberico jamon, tomato olive oil mousse, basil and lemon crunch - matched with a riesling.  Kangaroo, pumpkin, wattle seed, barbecue essence - matched with an ale.  That surprised me.  A beer!

I could now understand why we had to allow three hours for the degustation.  I was definitely getting a bit woo-whee.  The food portions weren't large enough to offset my alcohol consumption!

(L-R) Marron, samphire, young shoots, peas, organic honey - matched with a chardonnay.  Wagyu, sweet corn, legumes, sprout leaves - matched with a cabernet shiraz.  The first of two desserts; an apricot souffle - matched with a tawny.  Very light but full of apricot-y goodness.

The second dessert, bread and butter pudding.  When I saw a $20 bread and butter pudding on the a la carte menu, I wondered how would they fancy up such a humble dessert.  But, as you can see from the above picture, it looked nothing like a typical B'n'B pudding.  I was quite drunk by this time of night but I do recall that the cylindrical piece consisted of light custard-y mousse encased in a thin, crispy, bread shell.  On the left was some ice cream.  I'm sure it was more than just plain old 'ice cream' but I just can't remember the gastronomic details.

Overall a very nice meal and appropriately paced for the alcohol consumption.  However, I was still hungry by the end of the night.  Spuey and I discussed getting a cheese bao but it didn't happen - I was too tipsy to be bothered. I admit I can be quite the pig (I didn't earn the moniker 'Supergut' for nothing) but I really do think that an extra one or two mains would have rounded out the meal more nicely.  My stomach would have been more satisfied and my brain less intoxicated.

Excluding the amuse bouche, there were five main dishes and two desserts.  Compare that to the seven mains and two desserts at Matteo's.  I was definitely full after Matteo's, whose richer dishes help pad out the stomach.  Anyway, it may sound like that I'm nit-picking but I'm more or less warning those with large appetites to just be prepared for a post-dinner Macca's run.  I did enjoy my dinner and I did enjoy my booze and I would happily accompany anyone else who needed a eating-buddy.

Samoyed x Golden Retriever

Brought to us by the pet store that sells puppy-farm dogs, here are the newest addition to the glass cages - Samoyed x Golden Retriever pups.  They are so adorable!  *muah muah*  Samoyeds are one of the most placid and happiest looking dogs on the planet (they reportedly make poor guard dogs) and Golden Retrievers are not only very intelligent but also have a most agreeable temperament.  I never would have thought of cross breeding the two but when you think about it, yes, it would be a good mix.

I want to take them all home!  But if I did that, I would be encouraging backyard breeders.  Hmmph.  When the day comes, I am adamant I'll get a dog from a reputable, ethical breeder or adopt one from a shelter!

Egg Custard Buns aka Yum Cha-ing with Smee

I like custard.  I like egg custard too.  Which means that I also egg tarts whether they be of the Chinese, Portuguese, British or any other origin.  I also like steamed egg custard buns which in Cantonese are known as 'lai wong bao/nai wong bao'.  I don't usually eat bao at yum cha because they can be quite filling and the white flour-ness of it all is not best on my stomach.

But today while eating at Crystal Jade I decided to skip my usual egg tart dessert and opted for the egg custard buns instead.  Service at the restaurant was unexpectedly good.  Prompt trolley service and waiters politely apologising for interrupting our meal with their dumpling offerings.  After living in London, I had become accustomed to shoddy service.

Anyway, the buns were nice and warm.  The custard a nice thick paste of sweet, egg-y goodness.  I hate it when the custard has hardened due to over-cooking.  Anyway the purpose of this blog was to display the below picture:

I noticed something funny about these baos.  They could be substituted for my eyes!  

Sydney-ing with Smee

Smee and I made an one-night-only trip to Sydney.  The objective?  To stuff our faces.  Catching up with friends? Incidental!  Hehehehe.  We returned to our old ramen haunt, Menya.

The tonkotsu broth was still excellent (mmm porky) but given our recent experience in New York, overall the dish just didn't seem to be as good as what we remembered.  It was still better than any ramen I've had elsewhere in Australia and the UK but there seemed to be less ingredients or something...or maybe NYC just raised the bar too high.  Also, it is now my requirement to have a soya egg with a soft yolk.  Hard yolks are unacceptable!

Of course we hit the fish market too.  I actually ate there twice having met up with friends for lunch yesterday.  Smee was a bit upset I was seafood-cheating on him but I reassured him that I was more than capable of eating seafood two days in a row.

We had our usual sashimi.  Today's selections was kingfish, salmon and ocean trout.  I have no idea what is the difference between ocean trout and salmon.  Both have orange flesh, similar texture and taste.  In fact, if I was falsely served ocean trout instead of salmon, I would be none the wiser.  Smee picked out some green lip abalone snacks too.

A visit to the fish market always involves pipis.  A kilogram is the absolute minimum.  Don't worry, most of the weight comes from the shell.  Here's me expressing my annoyance at the rude patrons next to us.  

Why were they rude?  Inbetween dishes, I was set the task of minding the table while Smee ordered and collected our food.  We had a bunch of serviettes on our table - OUR SERVIETTES.  When some Mainlanders sat down at the empty table behind me, they noticed that the table required a wipe-down.  However, instead of asking me for a serviette, the rude Mainlander woman came over to my table and TOOK MY serviette!  No looking at me, no request for the serviette, nothing, just absolutely nothing.  It's not as though the serviettes were sitting in a pho-style restaurant dispenser implying they were available for public use.  (They were in a pile in front of me!)  Of course I said in sarcastic English, 'Yeah, just go ahead, it's fine, just take the serviette.'  She momentarily paused, gave me a millisecond glance and took the serviette as she pleased.

I mean, wtf?  Let's be honest, of all fish market patrons, you'd be forgiven for assuming that I could communicate in Mandarin so there is absolutely NO excuse for not asking for the serviette.  If you correctly assumed that my Mandarin was crap, then the least you should have done was point and smiled.  I'd be more than happy to spare a few.  But to come over and just take them?  That is just plain RUDE!  *so angry!!*

Smee made me a little happier when he arrived with some crab noodles.

Fanks for the crab noodles Smee. 

Fanks for also cracking open the large crab claw for me Smee.  I was pretty happy thereafter.  

Smee did a bit of eavesdropping and relayed to me that the mainlanders wished that the fish market served fried turtle.  Hmmm.  Anyway, Sydney done and dusted!  I'll be back soon enough.