the long and short of it

I must have moaned on countless occasions - both verbally and on paper how I simply cannot find fresh noodles in Prague. Well, that moaning has continued well into my pregnancy and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

Action usually speaks louder than words (in my case moaning) so I finally pulled my finger out and made some fresh noodles last weekend, rather than complain about the lack of them.

The recipe was nicked from a very good friend of mine, who also has her own food blog. She's a great cook and always makes us really delicious food whenever we go over to her place. Unfortunately, there's been a temporary suspension in the supply of her delicious cooking, because 1. we moved away to Prague and 2. she moved back home to Sydney. 

You can find her recipe for hand made noodles on her blog - Taiwanese Recipes along with some other scrumptious recipes.

I tried my best to recreate her hand made noodles - not bad for a first attempt.

serves: 2

nuts about you

With a little one on board, I know I need to consciously eat healthier, but healthy foods aren't always the tastiest foods. Instead of eating honey roasted cashews, I know I should really be eating raw cashews - the sugar content in those cashews aren't exactly that great for my blood sugar levels, but my argument is that honey is good for you - isn't it??

So I bought a small packet of raw almonds the other day in the attempt to snack "healthy" but couldn't bring myself to eat those bland little things. Instead, I remembered back to when my sister once made spiced nuts for a cocktail party she threw. This is my version of spiced nuts as I can't for the life of me remember what she stuck in hers, but they did taste good...

You can use any nut really for this mixture or if you can't decide, then try using a host of various nuts like pistachio, walnuts, hazelnuts etc. I prefer almonds in most cases.

You can store these nuts for a few days in an air tight container, but mine never really last past the day they are made. 

spiced almonds
created: 15 November 2012

[ingredients]:

• 1 egg white
• 150g of raw or blanched almonds
• 1/4 tsp of paprika
• 1/2 tsp of chilli powder (if you prefer them spicier, you could probably add another 1/4 tsp more)
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• pinch of sea salt

[method]: 

• preheat oven to 160C degrees (fan forced)
• line a baking tray with baking paper
• whisk the egg white until foamy
• add the paprika, chilli powder and cumin and mix well
• add the almonds and ensure each nut is well coated 
• there should not be any residual egg white, however if there is, drain away the excess egg white
• spread the nut mixture onto baking tray and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the nuts
• bake at 160C degrees for 10 minutes
• take the nuts out after 10 minutes and toss well to break up the nuts (if stuck together)
• place it back in the oven with grill function at 160C degrees for another 10 minutes (watch them closely in case your oven is not accurate and they end up burning!)
• allow to cool completely on a wire rack (nuts will crisp up once completely cooled)

black or white?

I know I have been M.I.A for some time now but I actually have a very good reason for that. 

Mr GluttonousGoat really did it this time and now I'm up the duff! Exciting times ahead as we are really looking forward to welcoming the new addition in spring (autumn if you are down under) next year. In the meantime, its been weeks of nausea and lack of appetite. I'm totally turned off meat and am seriously afraid it may become a permanent fixture after I have LittleGluttonousGoat. So you see, my reasons for being M.I.A are well and truly justified. I have lost my appetite and the list of food items that you CANNOT eat whilst pregnant is almost as long as The Great Wall of China - enough said.

Anyways, friends have asked if I have been craving anything of sorts now that I am expecting. Surprisingly, I have not, except that I now have an unhealthy (or healthy as the case may be) addiction to fresh fruit. I can eat the stuff by the bucketload and right now I'm going through a pomelo phase. I can eat one a day and luckily for me, my local supermarket stocks the stuff along with a whole host of other fruits I enjoy. Mr GluttonousGoat knows that he needs to feed me fruit every night, otherwise I get extremely cranky and remind him that he is the reason why I need my daily dose of vitamin C - ladies, the guilt trip really does work!

Enough about fruit...as I have now become a part-time vegetarian by default, I've become a bit lazy in the cooking department as well. I've also had to think about more veggie friendly recipes for lunch/dinner to cater to my new appetite.

Fried radish cake is an old childhood favourite of mine. I've never made it, but am well versed with eating tons of it - my mother especially, makes a very good one with dried shrimp and chinese sausage but I chose to make a vegetarian version one night, sans meat/seafood. You can have a "white" version or a "black" version and both are equally popular as a breakfast food in Singapore and Malaysia. I personally prefer the black version which is just simply the white version with the addition of thick sweet sauce.

raw radish mixture

steamed radish cake

the finished product - yum!

This dish is comprised of two steps - 1. making the steamed radish cake and 2. frying the radish cake. Ideally, you should try to prepare the radish cake a day in advance or early in the morning you wish to fry it as it will need time to cool down and set.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner!



fried radish cake (black) 
(adapted from a recipe found on rasamalaysia)
created: 30 October 2012


making the steamed radish cake

[ingredients]:

• 1 large white radish (daikon/mooli) approx. 700-800grams, grated
• 75ml of water (for steaming the radish)
• 200g of rice flour
• 250ml water (for the rice flour mixture)
• pinch of salt

[method]: 

• Place the grated radish in a pyrex dish about 20cm in length along with 75ml of water and steam on medium to high heat for approximately 30 minutes or until the radish has cooked through
• Combine the rice flour, salt and 250ml of water using a whisk to ensure there are no lumps. Set aside
• Allow the steamed grated radish to cool before adding the flour/water mixture into the pyrex dish and gently stir to evenly distribute the mixture. The consistency should be as per picture 1 above.
• On a medium to high heat, steam the radish cake mixture for around 45minutes and allow to cool for several hours or overnight. It should be firm to the touch when fully cool and set.

frying the radish cake

[ingredients]:

• half a portion of the steamed radish cake (cubed into small 2cm pieces)
• 1-2 tbsps of chai poh (preserved turnip)
• 3 tbsps of vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs or 3 small ones (lightly beaten)
• 2 tbsps of fish sauce
• 2-3 cloves of crushed/minced garlice
• 2 tbsps of thick sweet sauce
• pinch of white pepper
• 2 stalks of chopped spring onions
• chilli sauce (optional and to taste)
• coriander leaves (optional and for garnishing)

[method]: 

• Cut up half a portion of radish cake (prepared earlier) into 2cm cubes. The smaller the better as it means the outer edges will crisp up during the initial frying process
• Heat up the vegetable oil on medium to high heat and add the radish cake to the pan and fry until the edges and surfaces start to brown and crisp up
• Add the garlic and preserved turnip to the pan and keep frying until golden brown
• Add the fish sauce, pepper and thick sweet sauce and gently fry until all pieces are coated. At this stage, you can also add the chilli sauce for heat if you wish
• Add the eggs and allow the eggs to lightly set before flipping to cook the other sides
• Finally, add the spring onions just before cooking finishes and garnish with coriander leaves (optional)

serves: 2-3

great balls of rice

A Sicilian girl I used to work with first introduced me to arancinis about fifteen years ago. Traditional arancini are rice balls usually mixed with meat, mozzarella and tomato sauce, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. However, its common to encounter vegetarian versions with spinach and mozzarella or even with mushrooms. I've been obsessed about them ever since that first bite all those years ago but the ones I've tried whilst living in London never quite hit the spot.

I was recently in Taormina, Sicily enjoying the last rays of the European summer with one of my BFFs from Sydney when I came across this small store selling arancinis. I was in the land where these famous rice balls were created - I knew I had to have one!

We ordered a 'tradizionale' (with meat, peas, parmigiano and other cheeses) and a 'smeraldo' (with spinach, parmigiano and other cheeses). Needless to say, my smeraldo arancini didn't last very long!

There was an exceptional crunch to the outside with oozing hot mozzarella in the middle of my rice ball. Bellissimo!

arancini straight out of the fryer with a very crispy shell

"smeraldo" arancini - with oozy hot mozzarella inside

"tradizonale" arancini 

arancini in corso
2 piazzetta leone, taormina

dinner for lunch

I think when Heston Blumenthal came up with the name "Dinner" for his latest restaurant venture in London, that he was secretly playing with us all. Imagine telling friends or family that you're going to dinner, when in actual fact you are also going to "Dinner". So when friends ask "where to for dinner tonight?" you reply "We're going to Dinner". Yes, we know you are going to dinner, but which restaurant? Confused? Yes, so am I.

It was our third attempt to try the famed "Dinner by Heston" restaurant located in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, London (I can't remember why we had to cancel the last two times). I always try to remain objective before every meal but that can be quite difficult when every newspaper and blogger have written their two cents on the restaurant. When there's so much hype around signature dishes such as 'meat fruit' or 'tipsy cake', it's tempting to try them all just so you can tick it off your list, or better yet, avoid it at all cost so as to not appear like a sheep following the rest of the flock. We ended up doing what we always do - ordering what we like best, which incidentally included the famed 'meat fruit'.

roast marrowbone (c.1720) 

meat fruit (c.1500)

Mr GluttonousGoat's meat fruit (or chicken liver parfait as it might be more commonly known) was lovely, but no different to any other well executed parfait we've previously tried. I think it could have done with another slice of sourdough given the size of the mandarin.

My marrowbone was nicely complemented with savoury slivers of snails and anchovies, but I was able to taste more of the anchovies than snails within the dish. The pickled vegetables on the side were a nice distraction from the meaty taste of the marrowbone. Overall, both dishes were tasty but there was nothing remarkably special about either of our entrees.

roast turbot (c.1830)

spiced pigeon (c.1780)

The star of the show and what made the meal truly memorable was my main of roast turbot with cockle ketchup. I don't think I have ever eaten such a well cooked and well seasoned piece of fish - EVER and the sauce of cockle ketchup was beyond words and had me salivating for more. MrGluttonousGoat thoroughly enjoyed his spiced pigeon cooked in ale and served with artichokes. Of course, we also had Heston's infamous triple cooked chips and a side salad to boot.

We tried to make room for dessert, but alas the mains got the better of us. A return visit for dinner is definitely on the cards for our next trip to London.

dinner by heston
mandarin oriental hyde park
66 knightsbridge, london, sw1x 7la
tel: +44 207 201 3833
www.dinnerbyheston.com

flaming tart

It's been some time since our holiday to Alsace - almost four months to be exact. But no matter how many days, weeks or months have passed, I'll never forget the amount of wine and food consumed on that trip.

Tarte flambée is a typical Alsatian dish of dough rolled out very thinly (think pizza but thinner) into a rectangular or circular shape covered with crème fraîche or fromage blanc, onions and lardons. There are variations to this of course - with Munster cheese, Gruyere cheese, mushrooms instead of lardons and of course the sweet variety with apples. Needless to say, we felt it was our responsibility to try almost every variety on offer.

For all you pizza lovers out there, you need to try this. It's about ten times better than the best pizza out there (and I don't even like pizzas).

oh lardy lard!

I'm not usually one to make new years resolutions, probably because I know I never really follow through with any of them. Over the years as I move from my formative teen years into my twenties and finally now in my thirties I've managed to learn one very important thing - have only one new year's resolution and that way it is much easier to fulfil rather than juggling a whole host of varying (and usually unattainable) resolutions.

For 2012, I vowed to be more 'spontaneous'. For those who know me well, also know that I am a total control freak - an image I am trying to shed, slowly but surely. I like to plan my holidays well in advance, know where I will be staying, what I will be eating and what I will be seeing. 

My friend was heading to Munich overnight for a work meeting and I decided the night before to invite myself along (spontaneous right?!). I've only ever been to Munich once and that was for Oktoberfest back in 2011. Needless to say, I saw a lot of beer tents and pretzels and not much of Munich the city itself. With accommodation sorted and free transport into Munich, I couldn't really ask for much more. I needed to get some much needed shopping under my belt and maybe sample more of the Bavarian cuisine I enjoyed so much last year.

I happen to stumble upon a German "donut" shop whilst I was in Munich (Ok, maybe that is a bit of a white lie - I did do some research before hand, but cut me some slack! I am a work in progress). The reviews rave on about how crisp and tasty the schmalznudel was. I had to try one for myself.

schmalznudel straight out of the fryer

A schmalznudel is essentially a fried yeasty dough coated with sugar (you can opt not to have sugar as some oldies in front of me preferred) but it was a damn fine piece of fried dough if I ever tasted one. I had mine straight out of the fryer so it was incredibly fresh and surprisingly light.

If you're ever travelling through Munich, make sure you drop by Cafe Frischhut and try one (or two!).


cafe frischhut
prälat-zistl-straße 8, 80331 münchen, germany
(just off viktualienmarkt)

would you like grass with that?

I'm not sure how the French do it. If I had easy access to croissants and foie gras all day, I'd be bigger than a warehouse. I guess the beauty of a large city like Paris is that you would never be limited to just croissants and foie gras. Paris, like Sydney offers anything from falafels to banh mi (vietnamese baguettes) to kebabs - should your heart desires and the fare is usually quite good and cheap.

Each time I'm in Paris, I invariably veer towards Japanese food. It's no secret that Japanese cuisine is my favourite and I can eat it all day, every day. On our recent getaway to the City of Lights for the French Open, I tracked down a small hole in the wall (ok maybe slightly bigger than a hole) Japanese eatery specialising in ramen. Ramen was introduced to Japan by the Chinese - exactly when, still remains a topic of hot debate. Nonetheless, the Japanese embraced the idea of ramen, perfected and adapted it to their culture and a ramen pandemic was born.

Kotteri Ramen Naritake opened in 2011 and is located in the 1st arrondissement in a small corner of Paris known as "Little Tokyo or Little Japan". It is in this small quarter that you will find a large congregation of Japanese restaurants on or near Rue des Petits Champs and Rue Sainte-Anne. It's a shoebox of a place, accommodating only around 25 people at any one time (all squished in - shoulder to shoulder) and no reservations are accepted.
Many reviews I have read claims this to be the best ramen in Paris. I needed to verify these claims for myself.

When we arrived during lunchtime on a Saturday, there was a small line of people trailing outside the restaurant. It comprised only of Japanese speakers (always a good sign) and a very small menu plastered on the shopfront window. Offers of either shoyu (soy sauce) or miso ramen with a small option of toppings abound. I selected charsiu shoyu ramen (soy sauce ramen with roast pork) with the addition of spicy scallions and ni-tamago (seasoned eggs). The base of the soup is still made with pork and chicken bones, so please do not be misled by the options of shoyu or miso and think that the stock is meat free (vegetarians beware!). Kotteri is the style of ramen stock - being super thick and utterly unctuous, unlike the style we might be more accustomed too which is usually more of a soupy consistency rather than a gravy-like consistency which this is. When the lady took our orders, she asked if we wanted less "graisse", normal "graisse" or extra "graisse". Mind you she pronounced it as grass instead of the correct french pronunciation. Luckily we saw the menu and thanks to modern technology and google translate, realised she was asking how much FAT we wanted, rather than how much GRASS we wanted (talk about almost lost in translation!). Not knowing what to expect, we erred on the side of caution and ordered two bowls of normal graisse ramen.

the very tiny kitchen where the chefs weave their magic
ramen wand

the massive stock pot wielding our superb soup base

When our orders arrived, I can't say it was anything to look at. In fact one of my friends have liken it to something he could find on the sidewalks of Kings Cross (Sydney, not London). Thanks Mr S!

charsiu shoyu ramen with spicy scallions & ni-tamago. Note
the white bits of "graisse' floating on top.

I tried to do as the Japanese do - slurp the noodles loudly which is usually a sign of appreciation and a compliment to the chef, but in my culture, slurping is rude and as such, Mr GluttonousGoat and I devoured our ramen in silence - not out of respect for our culture but so we can savour each mouthful and ponder how a simple bowl of noodles have rendered us both speechless.

The noodles were perfectly al dente and bouncy (I would go as far as to say it was the best ramen noodles I have ever tasted), the stock thick and rich in flavour (though leaning on being a tad too salty for our palates) and there were an abundance of charsiu instead of the stingy 1-2 pieces you are normally granted at most other ramen joints.

I'll definitely be returning to Naritake on my next visit to Paris. Next time I will try the stock with extra grass. With the amount of graisse in the bowl we consumed this time around, I think the extra fat next time will probably render us with a heart attack or at the very least with a couple of blocked arteries - but it will be worth it. All in the name of food.

kotteri ramen naritake

31 rue des petits champs, paris, 75001

no reservations accepted

the king of scandinavia & perhaps the world?

Let me warn you now. This post is going to be a long one (well more than my usual two paragraphs). If you have a short attention span, just tune out now. It's certainly taken me a long time to get around to blogging about it and that's because I knew I needed to be in the right frame of mind in order to give it the attention it deserves. 

128 days ago, I was so excited I couldn't sit still all day. I had managed to secure a table for four at the famed NOMA restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark - considered the world's best restaurant three years running.

Food, like wine is so subjective. Some people eat to live, but myself and many others I know live to eat. That's why we're friends...we share the same passion for food and discovering new and exciting places to feast at.

I'd arrived in Copenhagen on a chilly yet surprisingly sunny April afternoon. I'd recently completed a two week visit of home (Sydney), followed by three days in London (all sans Mr GluttonousGoat). I was also sick and extremely irritable. I had lost most of my tastebuds and was depressed by the thought of not being able to taste anything at lunch. Mr GluttonousGoat arrived several hours later - also ill but with his tastebuds intact. We met up with our fellow eating buddies (Mr & Mrs Wong) that evening for a night cap. On Mr Wong's advice, I downed two Jägermeisters (originally developed as a cough remedy in Germany) - I felt marginally better, but not hopeful that my tastebuds would be restored in 12 hours.
Miraculously, I awoke the next morning, feeling somewhat more alive and by the time I sat down to breakfast, realised that I was able to smell and taste everything I ate. Bless the Jägermeisters! I was cured - well sort of. At least I got my tastebuds back!

We arrived for our reservation 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. Were we eager? Perhaps just a little. Before we could all pile out of the taxi, one of the kind lads from the welcoming brigade was holding the door open to the restaurant. Excitedly, we all entered, one by one, only to be greeted by what was perhaps the world's largest welcoming brigade - complete with none other than Rene Redzepi himself. We were all pretty star struck to say the least. It's quite common for the chef patron to visit the table at least once during the meal, but to form part of the welcoming brigade (and there must have been at least 8 of them) was quite the treat. They even knew straight away who we were (not our individual names of course but the booking name).

We were seated at a round table closest to the exit, the room of the restaurant holding no more than 10 tables at most. "We have no menus" declared the first waiter that served us. There will be "snacks" in quick successions followed by "mains" which will be paced appropriately. We were all rubbing our hands in glee - the remnants of meeting Gastronomer Redzepi still fresh in our minds.

the exterior of Noma

loving the exposed wooden beams inside the restaurant

our first 'snack': malt flat bread & juniper,

moss & cep

I had read somewhere that the first snack would already be sitting on our table rather than served. Lo and behold...it came in the form of a floral arrangement. I tried to eat everything, but apparently only the darker sticks shown in the above picture could be consumed.

crispy pork skin & black currant

cookies, cheese, rocket & stems

blue mussel and celery

fjord shrimp & browned butter - these were still alive!

When a clear jar was placed in front of us, we were given strict instructions to open the jar, grab the shrimp, dip it quickly in the brown butter sauce and down it in one gulp. No hesitation was allowed. We then realised why - these shrimps were still alive! The boys had a fun time trying to grab hold of these slippery little suckers, one even jump out of reach and wriggled onto the table. After 3 of us had consumed the shrimps, we looked to our friend Mrs Wong who was still trying to come to grips with the poor creature. Eventually, she managed to grab hold of one, drowned it in brown butter and victoriously held up her prize for the table to see. Unfortunately, the shrimp chose that moment to wriggle furiously splashing brown sauce all over her hair. The moral of the story? Listen to instructions and eat quickly. Although a very bemused Rene Redzepi did wander over to see what the commotion was all about. Needless to say, Mrs Wong was star struck all over again!

caramelised milk & cod live

rye, chicken skin & lumpfish roe

potato & chicken liver

big fat quail egg with a surprise inside

pickled & smoked quail eggs

radish, soil & grass - my favourite was the soil

herb toast & smoked cod roe

very delicious sourdough with buttermilk & pork lard

Once the "snacks" were done with, in rolled the mains...

peas & fermented peas - a new experiment for the month

razor clam & parsley, dill & horseradish

dried scallops & beech nuts, biodynamic grains & watercress 

our very beautifully presented fourth course... 

limfjords oyster & seaweed, gooseberry & buttermilk

cauliflower & pine, cream & horseradish 

pike perch & cabbages, verbena & dill

pickled vegetables & bone marrow, browned butter & parsley
- my favourite dish of the day

one of the chefs displaying the turbot that
we were about to consume

anyone for turbot? 

roasted turbot & bitter greens, celeriac & mushroom

And finally for desserts...

brown cheese & rhubarb

pear tree! - the 'sponge' just melted in our mouths

petit fours :  caramel 'bone' marrow

petit fours: choc fennel chips 

petit fours: rude looking marshmallows

I can clearly see why Noma has claimed the number 1 spot in the world. The execution and presentation of the food was faultless. The service - impeccable and extremely personable. At the end of the meal, we were treated to a tour of the working kitchen as well as the creative labs upstairs - where we caught another glimpse of Rene - but alas, he was busy with some journalists from America.

I really enjoyed our experience at Noma and wouldn't hesitate going back again - maybe for dinner this time around. From what we were told, they try to create 4 new dishes each month and repeat visitors would not consume the same main dishes...Noma in summer 2012 - anyone?

the working kitchen was surprisingly not very big 

our lovely 'Aussie' chef/tour guide showing us the covers
for the day

this is where a lot of the 'smoking' occurs

the volunteers' room

noma's own hydroponics lab - all herbs grown here are legal

a glimpse of the gastronomer himself - doing some PR work

noma
strandgade 93, copenhagen 1401, denmark
tel: +45 3296 3297
http://www.noma.dk