ALBEE'S KITCHEN: MALAYSIAN CUISINE, CABRAMATTA (ALSO IN CAMPSIE)

When I was having lunch with N at Parramatta last week, she told me about Albee's Kitchen in Campsie.  Little did I know that there was one opened in Cabramatta too.  Anyway, tonight I found myself at this little joint.  I've had Malaysian many times and this eatery is much talked about in Time Out and SMH.  It is renowned for being cheap and very tasty!  The meal ended up being $32.90 for three dishes so cheap indeed it was!!!

The decor is pretty basic and it's a nice square shop not too big but I think would definitely be bigger than the one at Campsie.  We ordered three dishes - Bakuteh noodle soup ($11.80),  Hainanese Chicken rice ($10.50) and Beef Rendang with Achar vegetables ($10.60).

The ba kut teh noodle soup was generously large.  There were pork bones, and pig stomach's, cabbage, deep fried tofu and thick white noodles (option) garnished with spring onions or shallots.  The aroma was a bit too strong for me and also you could taste the pepper and smell the pig's stomach.  The soup was very thick as you see it.  It is totally different from the famous shop my friend took me in Singapore, it was just light, plain with pepper and really nice pork ribs. I wouldn't recommend this dish again because it's too overpowering and smelly!

Ba kut teh noodle soup

The Hainanese chicken rice was a lot better than the Ba kut teh noodle soup.  A bit similiar to the one sold at Temasek with chili and shallot/ginger condiment.  However, the chicken rice was a bit hard and not so fresh.  The chicken was smooth and very tender with light soy dressing garnished with coriander.

Hainanese chicken rice

Finally the beef rendang was good.  I wanted it to be tender and not too spicy.  It had bits of chilli but it was not too hot, just how I like it.  The main flavours of beef rendang are dried chillis, ginger, lemon grass, tumeric leaves, kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, curry powder, galangal, dried designated coconut and caramel soy sauce or dark soy sauce (sometimes use tamarind paste as well).  So the taste was good but the rice was hard and disappointing again.  The achar vegetables were like pickled cucumber and carrots with added chili.

Beef rendang

Overall the culinary experience was pretty average.  Although could depend on what you order and the Bu keh teh probably scarred me.  I was reading Noodlies and EatShowTell and the food looks more appetising on their blogs.  The service at Albee's was mediocre, nothing to rave on about.  However, can't complain if it's such a cheap meal.

Summary Review of Albee's:


Food rating: 6.5/10


Service rating: 6/10


Ambience rating: 6/10


Price: $ (Cheap)


Overall rating: 6/10





Albee's Kitchen - Cabramatta
2/44 Park Road
Cabramatta  NSW 2166
PH: (02) 9728 6556
Opening Hours
Open 7 days
10am to 9pm

Albee's Kitchen - Campsie
282 Beamish Street
Campsie  NSW 2194
Ph: (02) 9718 8302
Opening Hours
10am to 10pm

STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES & TOFU OMELETTE PIZZA RECIPE : HOME INSPIRED

Omelette

Last night mom made a quick stir fry with red and green capsicums, mushrooms, crispy thin strip tofu, zuchhini so I thought I'd create an easy omelette pizza and quickly grill some truss tomatoes to go with a nice French toasted baguette with salt reduced butter.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Difficulty rating: Easy
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients 

Olive oil to fry
1 garlic
2 eggs
1 small red capsicum
1 small green capsicum
1 small zucchini
5 small mushrooms
5 crispy skin tofu strips
Salt and pepper
3 small sprigs of Thyme
Sprinkle of mozzarella cheese
Optional: add chives (spring onions or brown onions)
Small chili for spicy flavour

3-4 Truss tomatoes
2 slices of mortadella rolled
1 long French baguette cut or 2 people.

Method
1) Wash all the vegetables and then dice them into small pieces.

2) Heat a pan with olive oil and garlic on high heat.  Once the pan heats up with sizzling garlic and oil, add the red capsicum, green capsicum, zucchini, mushrooms and tofu strips.  Set aside when cooked.

3) Crack two eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Also add thyme leaves to the bowl to give it an enhanced flavour.

4) Add oil on a small pan on high heat.  Add the egg mixture and ensure evenly spread the eggs over the pan and then immediately turn the heat from high to medium.  Add the cooked vegetables and then turn the heat down slowly to very low as we don't want the eggs to burn at the bottom as vegetables are already cooked.

5) Sprinkle some mozarella cheese over the omelette and after about 7-10 minutes from when you started cooking the omelette, turn off the heat completely.

omelette with mozzarella in flying pan

6) Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees celcius for about 5 minutes and drench the truss tomatoes with some olive oil.  Grill for about 5-7 minutes until they wither and become wrinkly.

7) Toast the baguette in the oven for about another 5 minutes.

Grilled truss tomatoes with rolled mortadella and toasted baguette

8) Serve the omelette, baguette and truss tomatoes with rolled mortadella bought from the deli.

Omelette served with grilled tomatoes, rolled mortadella and toasted baguette

RASPBERRY SOUFFLE RECIPE: ADAPTED FROM BILL GRANGER

I don't think I've actually tried a souffle before or even if I have I can't remember my experience.  However, I somehow came across this recipe after looking for winter desserts.  Besides the bread and butter puddings, the other popular winter desserts were souffles and baked pears.  Yes, I could have made a chocolate souffle and it will probably be my next attempt as I recently bought two bars of Lindt dark chocolate - 70% cocoa and strawberry for half the price at Coles - bargain!!!

I have to say the souffle was delicious and best served with vanilla bean ice cream!! The sourness meets the sweetness of the creamy vanilla bean ice cream.  My first attempt failed though because although the souffle rose, it began to sink after about 3 minutes or so when I took it out of the oven (apparently that's normal).  But not only that, I didn't straighten the tops so it cracked.  Neither did I coat the butter with sugar and I didn't whisk the eggs until it was stiff.  The top wasn't crispy either.  It's no wonder people are too afraid to make a souffle or a macaron because these two French desserts can go wrong easily.  I think my second attempt after watching the methodology will be a success :)

So what makes a great souffle or how what should it taste like?

A good souffle is one that is not too sweet.  There should be less than 1/3 sugar for a serving of 4.  The fruit souffles like this one should be delicate in flavour and smooth.  They should be light and fluffy on the outside and it is a little gooey in the centre but if too gooey, you can choose to put it longer in the oven.  The top should be flat and there should be no cracks on the top nor the sides for a perfect souffle.  Need to evenly spread the top and also grease the dish very well with butter.  When you coat the bottom you do circles but on the sides you coat upwards so it moves upwards and use generous amounts of butter.   Also, it goes into the fridge once then you re-coat it after 2 minutes again so it's very well coated.  You also need to coat the sugar onto the butter for the souffle to work.  When you stir the eggs whites you put in the sugar when creamy then only when there's a stiff peak (holding firm) and it's glossy then it's time to put them in the moulds.  It's important not to lose the air when you mix the egg whites with the chocolate or fruit purees and ensure you straighten the tops using a scraper or back of a knife.  It should take about 15-20 minutes to cook so don't open the oven beforehand as they will deflate.  You need to eat them straight away because deflation will start to happen as soon as they come out of the oven.  You watch Curtis Stone's chocolate souffle video for visual directions.

Raspberry Souffle - Bill Granger recipe

RASPBERRY SOUFFLE - ADAPTED BY BILL GRANGER (THE HOLIDAY)

Ingredients

• Melted butter and caster (superfine) sugar, to dust the moulds
• 200g (7oz) raspberries, fresh or thawed frozen
• 115g (4oz/½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch), mixed with 2 teaspoons cold water
• 4 egg whites
• Icing (confectioner's) sugar, to dust

Preparation method

1) Brush the base and sides of four 250ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) soufflé dishes or coffee cups with melted butter and sprinkle with caster sugar, tipping out the excess. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes, then repeat. Chill again until you are ready to use.

2) Process the raspberries in a food processor until smooth, then tip into a small saucepan with half the caster sugar. Stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and stir in the cornflour mixture. Remove from the heat but continue stirring until it is all well mixed. Leave to cool completely.

3) Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F). Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy. Add a third of the egg white to the raspberry purée, mixing it in well with a metal spoon, then add the rest of the egg white and gently mix it in. Spoon into the dishes and smooth the tops. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until well risen and starting to colour. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

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La Petite Vancouver made a perfect raspberry souffle using Gordon Ramsay's recipe

2UE's website also has Vincent Gaden's version of Raspberry souffle.

Enjoy and hope your souffle becomes a success :)!

Here's my second attempt of the souffle but I used strawberries instead of raspberries this time. The top became crispy and I also whipped it longer so that the eggs were stiff.  Only problem now are the air bubbles that I need to perfect my third time round :)

Strawberry Souffle - replace raspberry but same Bill Granger recipe 

Third time lucky making soufflé.  This rose even higher than the previous ones but I took a photo of it a bit late.  Also, there were less holes in this one than the other two soufflés I made.  Getting there.  I put less butter this time and heat was 160 degrees not 170 degrees hence tops are not as golden brown.

Strawberry and persimmon souffle - 3rd attempt

I LOVE MACARONS AND SWEETS: TOP 5 PLACES IN SYDNEY TO INDULGE IN MACARONS - ADRIANO ZUMBO, BAROQUE BISTRO, CAFE CRE ASION, PATISSE AND JANUS.

The very existence of acknowledgement of macarons started at Lindt Cafe.  However, once you've tried macarons elsewhere you won't go to Lindt Cafe again for macarons but for their other cakes such as the Hazelnut Gateau and their rich dark chocolate cake, the Opera.  The Hazelnut Gateau is really nice because it's not too sweet but nutty for those who love hazelnut.

Lindt Hazelnut Gateau

Anyway enough about Lindt, let me discuss what a good macaron should taste like.  The outer later should be thin and crisp with the layer inside being a moist meringue.  The centre should be smooth, light, firm and non-sticky.  The texture beneath the crust should be soft but not too mushy either.  The macaron should not be overpowered by sweetness and that you can really taste the fruits or flavours that is included in the ganache and finally, the tops should be smooth and not rough.  For example the photo below was taken from me eating at C'est Bon Darling Street, Rozelle.  It was good prime example of a bad macaron.  It was rough on the top with bumps and felt like a dry semi-hard case that just crushed into the centre with one bite.  Inside was not silky smooth and was too sweet.

Rough macaron - with bumps

After the few lines of what a macaron should taste like, now I'd like to introduce you to the 5 of the best venues in Sydney.  Other places I've tried does not live up to the exquisite quality so don't bother going anywhere else.  These places have a large selection of choices of macarons flavours some rather creative and unique.

1)  ADRIANO ZUMBO, BALMAIN, ROZELLE, MANLY, THE STAR

Everyone raves on about Adriano Zumbo's (AZ) macarons and there used to be pile of lines at his Balmain store a few years ago.  They believe that AZ is the god of Macarons (Simply the best) and everyone else are the followers.  His macarons are really soft especially soft centred and macarons melt in your mouth as you take a bite.  However, I find his macarons a little bit too sweet for me but some people don't mind that extra sugar.  His macarons are $2.50 each.  Most places are like $3.50 each for one macaron but their macarons are slightly smaller than the average size.    Zumbo can teach you how to make his macarons at his classes.  For further information and enrolment, please check out his website, Adriano Zumbo Classes.  Zumbo sells macarons at Rozelle, Balmain, Manly and the Star.

The current flavours of Zumbarons are: finger bun, salted butter caramel, watermelon and orange, Passionfruit and tonka beans, blackened vanilla, popcorn, pandan and coconut, banana, mandarin and rose, annuziata chocolate, red wine and raspberry and babypowder.  My friend N likes the salted butter caramel one whilst from the ones that I've tried below, I like the pandan and coconut flavoured one.

Adriano Zumbo macarons

Other than the macarons, I love this raspberry and pistachio cake for $9.  It is sweet but sour from the raspberry and the pistachios are really nice.

Raspberry and pistachio cake - $9

Adriano Zumbo addresses and opening hours:
Website: Adriano Zumbo

The Star Pyrmont
Shop 1, Cafe Court
The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street
Pyrmont  NSW  2009
Entry via Edward Street
Opening hours:
Mon
11.00am to 10.00pm
Tue to Thurs
11.00am to 11.00pm
Fri & Sat
11.00am to midnight
Sun
11.00am to 9.00pm

Patisserie Balmain (Opened in April 2007)
296 Darling Street
Balmain  NSW
Opening hours:
Mon to Sat
8.00am to 6.00pm
Sun
8.00am to 5.00pm

Patisserie Manly (Opened in December 2010)
Shop 1A The East Esplanade
Manly  NSW  2095
Opening hours:
Mon to Fri
7.00am to 7.00pm
Sat & Sun
7.00am to 5.30pm
Closed on public holidays

Cafe Rozelle 
114 Terry Street
Rozelle  NSW 2039
Opening hours:
Mon to Fri
6.30am to 4.00pm
Sat & Sun
7.30am to 4.00pm
Closed on public holidays
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2)  BAROQUE BISTRO, THE ROCKS, SYDNEY

Baroque Bistro is a lovely French restaurant located on George Street near the Rocks with a pastry shop on the side serving their gorgeous desserts and of course a whole array of macarons.  These cakes are $9 each and I've tried two of the dessert (a white chocolate one and mango mousse cake) and loved the texture and taste - it was divine. You can't see in the picture but the white chocolate one has glittered gold all over it making it hard not to purchase!

Gorgeous cakes at Baroque Bistro - $9

Front: white chocolate dessert and mini mango mousse cake - $9 each

Baroque instills quality in their desserts and macarons.  I loved these macaron because it's the same ethereal quality as Adriano Zumbo but they are not as sweet.  The centre is smooth and the meringue casing is crisp.  Again the lime, mango and coconut flavoured one was my favourite.  These macarons are $3.00 each eat in or $2.70 per macaron take away.  If you would like to go to one of their Macaron masterclasses that are held every Sunday from 9.00am to 3.00pm, click on their Macaron Masterclass link.

Baroque Macarons

Baroque Bistro Patissserie
88 George Street
The Rocks NSW  2000
Opening hours:

Monday - Friday: Midday - Late Lunch* 12 - 3pm Dinner 6 - 10pm Patisserie menu 12 - late Please view their Bistro Menu	Saturday: Midday - Late Lunch* 12 - 3pm Dinner 6 - 10pm Patisserie menu 12 - late	Sunday: French Masterclasses Only Lunch Closed Dinner Closed

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3)  CAFE CRE ASION, SURRY HILLS

Only a true foodie will find this little gem in Surry Hills.  Cafe Cre Asion is a tiny cafe on Albert Street.  From one foodie blog to another, you'll see why this cafe makes delicious macarons on par with Adriano Zumbo.  Some would even say it is better than Adriano Zumbo.  The macarons here are the most colourful ones that you'll ever see.  Get a boxful and it looks like you have a rainbow colour collection of many sweet sensations.  Not only do they look pretty but they certainly live up to the taste factor too.  For 12 in a box, it costed me $31 but given the unique flavours, I would come again for more.  There were so many I honestly couldn't remember them all either without writing them down - Green Tea (Macca), Yuzu (some Japanese Citrus Fruit), Jasmine, Dear Chris (Hazelnut and chocolate ganache), TH, Pistachio, Cherry Cream Cheese, Lemon Lime and Bitters, Lavender, Hazelnut, Lychee Raspberry, Vanilla and Red Bean. With so many flavours, it was hard for me to choose a favourite.  I will be buying more macarons here to make a gorgeous chocolate cake decorated with these macarons.  Some of the macaron flavours didn't really stand out like the Jasmine and Lavender ones but subtle hints can sometimes be adored.  The creator of these macarons is a Japanese Chef called Yu Sasaki who uses fresh produce to create his macarons rather than from flavouring extracts.

For more reviews on the macarons, click on Urbanspoon Reviews on Cafe Cre Asion.  Momo & Coco provide an extensive review of some of the macarons that they purchased in detail and you'll find more food bloggers letting out this secret hide out tucked between office buildings in a tiny laneway.

Macarons at Cafe Cre Asion

Cafe Cre Asion
21 Alberta Street
Surry Hills  NSW 2000
Ph: 0404 941 528
Opening hours:
Mon to Fri 8am to 4pm
Sat 9am to 4pm
Sunday closed

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4)   PATISSE, WATERLOO

Waterloo has a few great cafes and patisseries such as Dank Street Depot, The French House, Cafe Sopra and the Patisse.  C introduced Patisse to me after hearing that this place has the best cakes and macarons.  I've visited this place now at least 5 times since my first entry including High Tea with special guest, Jane Webster.  This place boasts great desserts but unfortunately if you don't get there in the early morning, they run out of stock especially on a Saturday.  I came on a weekday and they even ran out of the 8 pack macarons too.

Patisse's Macarons

My favourite macaron is the lychee favour.  The violet and vanilla is only the essence whereas lychee uses real fruits.  One macaron is $2.70.  The ganache is creamier and smooth in texture than other macarons but yet still delicately light in tasting.  Best of all, it's moist with no pockets of dryness on the casing which I found in failed macarons.  To me, that's the difference between a good and bad macaron.

Not many people have reviewed this place so its another hidden gem inside the spacious PYD building.
Patisse also offers macaron classes by chef Vincent Gadan (also seen in Masterchef).  Click to find out more and for bookings, Patisse's cooking school.

Patisse
Shop G01, PYD Building
197 Young Street
Waterloo  NSW  2017
Ph: 9690 0665
Website: Patisse's website
Opening hours:
Mon to Sat
8.30 to 4.00pm
Sunday closed

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5)  JANUS, BLIGH ST, SYDNEY

Janus is another cafe surrounded by an artisan feel with interest scupltures on Bligh Street.  Janus is  actually named after the roman god of transitions and beginnings.  I came across this place one day whilst having a coffee catch up with my previous manager.  She ordered a macaron and coffee for us that day and I really liked the macarons.  I tried the orange blossom, full of orange citrus flavours.  When I returned I bought a few more flavours such as Strawberry, Passionfruit and Tiramisu.  I must admit the Strawberry one was a little too sweet and the passionfruit one was quite ordinary.  Orange Blossom and Tiramisu are by far my favourite.  You could taste the coffee from the Tiramisu ganache and it wasn't too strong.  Janus do have quite a selection of macarons so head out there if you're near Circular Quay or Wynward area.  I heard they do a great lunch too.  People there are manly wearing Corporate attire since it's located in the business precinct directly below a high rise office tower.  These macarons are $3 each, pretty expensive if you buy more than one.

Macarons from Janus

Janus also makes the smallest and cutest macarons for $9 (I think).  These are so cute you can give them to children or use them for decorating your desserts.  I think for some reason the ganache was too sweet and even smaller than the normal sized ones.

Tiny macarons in a cute plastic container

Other than macarons I tucked into this blueberry mousse shaped like a dome.  It was really soft and gluggy with gelatine and cream cheese inside.

Janus - blueberry mousse rather than a cheesecake - $9

Janus doesn't just do desserts and macarons but nice lunches/dinners as well.  I must come back and try their gourmet pizzas, wagyu steak or 12 hour cooked shoulder lamb.  It's authentic Italian cuisine at its best.  Looks like I need to find a lunch or dinner date when the sun comes shining again or when it gets a little warmer.

Janus
1 Bligh Street
Sydney  NSW
Ph: (02) 9223 3927
Website: Janus' website
Opening hours:
Breakfast 7.00 am daily and 11:30 to 4pm for Lunch. 
Friday nights, all through winter until 10pm.
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The best two macarons in Paris are Pierre Herme and Laduree.  I must say Laduree seems to look a little on the thin side but perhaps thats what people like and what it's famous for.  Can't wait until it opens in July at Westfield's Sydney.  Here's a link to someone's blog http://www.thekitchn.com/pierre-vs-macaron-smackdown-128247 - Laduree reigns supreme over Pierre Herme.  Then you read this blog and you get another mixed view lol...must be my personal preference.
http://www.boastfulbaker.com/2012/05/06/the-best-french-macarons-in-france/

Months later, Laduree finally opens in September and not July.  Just as well, I went on October long weekend - Labour Day and I get to grab some macarons without having to line up - you beauty.  I must say though, these macarons imported from Switzerland that are four months old are surprisingly not bad.  There's always going to be mixed reviews but the salted caramel and coffee are quite good.  I put in my own blueberries and raspberries for extra fruity flavours in which Pierre Hermes likes to do as well and they taste so much nicer.  I bought the almond, vanilla, raspberry, strawberry mashmallow, coffee, salty caramel, lemon and orange blossom.  The mashmallow ones were too sweet for my liking.  I didn't get to taste the lemon but this one wouldn't be sweet either so would be better than the sweet ones.  The boxes are gorgeous and there was one that I liked but would cost $98 and can fit 20-24 macarons.  I bought the one that fit 8 macarons for $29.  The smallest pretty purple box for 6 costs $23 and these can be gift wrapped.  Otherwise it's $3.20 for one.

Laduree Macarons

Laduree macarons - gorgeous packaging

Laduree
Westfields Sydney
Level 3, Shop 3048A
Cnr Pitt Street Mall & Market Street
Sydney NSW 2000

STEAM OYSTERS EASTERN STYLE RECIPE ALA VINH PHAT, CABRAMATTA

Western oysters are either freshly shucked with a squeeze of lemon or when cooked - oyster mornay or kilpatrick.  Here, I'm going to show you how to make steam oysters eastern style found in asian restaurants.  This recipe is so delicious and another one of my old time favourites.

Steamed Oysters

Steamed Oysters with Chili, Coriander and Garlic dressing

Serves: 2-4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
1 dozen Sydney Rock Oysters (or Pacific Oysters)
Salt
1 chili or 2 chillis
1 sprig of coriander
2 cloves of garlic
2 slices of lime
1/4 cup of olive oil
1+1/2 tspn of light soy sauce
Optional: Mint leaves

Method:
1. Wash the oysters with water until clean and then pat dry.
2. Steam oysters for 5 minutes then set aside.
3. Place a small pan on high heat and add olive oil.  Fry the garlic until it goes brown and then add coriander, chili and light soy sauce.
4. Pour over the coriander, chili and garlic dressing on top of the steamed oysters.
5. Squeeze lime onto the dressing.

There you have it, really tasty oysters that are so simple to dish up.

Steamed Oysters

EVELEIGH MARKETS: A BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY MORNING, 9TH OF JUNE 2012 VS PYRMONT MARKETS: ANOTHER SUNNY DAY ON SATURDAY, 3RD OF JULY 2010

I've had two beautiful sunny days consecutive in a row (Friday lunch at Wildfire and Saturday morning at Eveleigh) even though the morning and evening temperatures drop low but today was absolutely warm.  The perfect day for a stroll at Eveleigh markets.  I am very fond of fresh produce.

Eveleigh Markets is located at Carriage Works on Wilson Street.  Surrounding the area are beautiful trees and the Carriage work landmark is pretty funky, homage to Rage the music TV station.  No wonder why it's also an artisan market.

Eveleigh Markets

My friend T recommended to try Kylie Kwong's omelette pancake at the Eveleigh market so I set aside today to spend some time with her and her family and as a bonus head off to Eveleigh with herself and her friend Y.  The omelette was really delicious because it was crispy, while it was encased in a thin piece of pancake similar to what is used in pekking duck but a lot thinner.  Inside the pancake wrap was the omelette, bean sprouts, carrots, coriander, and mint with sauce.  Kylie Kwong will be hosting a cooking demonstration on 14th of July 2012 showcasing her culinary delights.

Billy Kwong stall

Normally the omelette pancake is the highlight but now Kylie has introduced her sweet pork buns.  The heart the buns because they were sweet but had hints of saltiness in them and you can smell them from afar.  Steamed Chinese Pork Buns, made with Free Range Black Berkshire Pork, Organic Honey, Organic Tamari, Biodynamic Red Wine, Five-spice, Sichuan Pepper, Organic Sesame Oil and Organic Brown Rice Vinegar.  These are not the same as the ones you get from yum cha.  Yum cha ones are BBQ pork buns that are very sweet with thicker sauce.  Kylie Kwong's website highlights her debut at the Eveleigh Markets and her event calendar.  Kylie uses only fresh and organic produce, some even sourced at Eveleigh Markets.  You can even hear here speak about her philosophies in life and why she found passion in food and people by reviewing  Dumbofeather's website.  Below is a recipe for Kylie Kwong's omelette should you be interested in making this.  You will need to add pancakes, and fresh vegetables if you want it to assimilate the Eveleigh markets style.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/4 cup scallions (spring/green onions) -julienned
1 tablespoon of ginger - julienned
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
Oil

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Sauce:
2 teaspoons of oyster sauce or shoyu
1 teaspoon of malt vinegar 
1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil

Directions:
Combine eggs,scallions,ginger,soy sauce and salt in a bowl and eat lightly until well mixed.

Heat oil in a hot wok.
Pour egg mixture into wok and leave to cook on the base (as how omelettes are usually cooked)

Spoon over combined oyster sauce or shoyu ,vinegar and sesame oil.

Pasta Emilia, Truffle Cream -$9.50; home made ravioli pasta - $19 (Duck and Truffle is the favourite, other favours include Beetroot & Goat's Cheese)

Pasta Emilia has been awarded the Best Pasta in 2011 by SMH.  We tried the pasta that was cooked and it was very soft that it fell into pieces as we tried to tooth pick them.  I tried the spinach and ricotta whilst Y tried the beetroot and goats cheese and she loved it but also because she acquired the goat's cheese taste.  I forgot to ask the friendly man at the counter what his name was because he was very excited when I took the photos of his stall because he wanted to be it in.  I bought the truffle cream ($9.50) and some hot salmon from Blue Eye ($7) to try tomorrow night with spaghetti.  At this stage, I couldn't buy the ravioli at $19 for one large container (lunch size box).  It's like having a main meal at the restaurant for pasta if you pay that price especially with the truffle cream this almost becomes fine dining pasta ($28 for a main dish).  Here's a closer look a the truffle cream and I cut up some mushrooms mixed it with onions, spring onions, garlic, coriander and chili.  Then topped it on some spaghetti.

Truffle cream with spaghetti and hot salmon

Fare Gourmet

Another friendly man encounter was at Fare Gourmet specialising in Brownies.  Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the raspberry square brownie block (approx. 10 by 10 cm ) that my friend bought for $8.  Raspberries are my favourite berries and with the fudge, it makes an irresistible combination.  These gluten free chocolate brownies uses Belgium chocolates was fudgy, smooth but not too rich.  T also bought a carrot cake with butter cream topping that her husband loved while Y bought the sticky date cake.  I was just fortunate to try the brownies and carrot cake with the ice frosting.  It was good we bought some coffee at Cafe de Colombia as we sampled the classic fudge at Fare Gourmet.  The coffee here was just how I like it, smooth, non-bitter and not too strong.  I also recommend the belgium chocolate with raspberries at Fare Gourmet as the chocolate concentrate is more than the classic brownie making it somehow taste better.  The markets also sell the fudge at at lower price than Fare Gourmet's website but if you can't get to Eveleigh markets on a Saturday, you can order it online.


Besides sweets, A and T bought a loaf of soy linseed sour dough from Sonoma Bakery (($6.50).  They use organic flour and filtered water for quality.  They have a cafe at 5 prime spots in Sydney - Alexandria, Glebe, Waterloo, Bondi and Paddington and a stall at the Eveleigh markets.  Having ate at restaurants I love the complimentary sour dough that they give us.  I will have to try the breads here some day but they must be good because my friends have repurchased the sour dough more than twice.

Sonoma Bakery store

I bought the Yalla yoghurt for $3.50.  The yoghurt is really popular with unique flavours such as Banana and Prune, Strawberry and Pomegranate, Mango and Guava.  I bought the Guava yoghurt as I sampled it and liked this the most.  It was so popular they thought it ran out.  Fortunately they had some left and the mango seemed to be popular too.  The size of the mango tub was larger than the other flavours.  For more information, go to Yalla's website.

Yalla Guava Yoghurt - $3.50 for 135g

I also sampled some steak cooked Tony Bilson style marinated in red wine ($30 for two whole rump steaks).  Looks like I'll definitely return to the Eveleigh markets. Perhaps on Sat 14th of July where I can see Kylie Kwong do a cooking demonstration and sign her new cooking book. 


Eveleigh Farmers Markets
243 Wilson Street
Darlington  NSW  2008
PH: (02) 9209 4735
Website: Eveleigh Markets
Opens Every Sat from 8am to 1pm


Two years ago, I was at Pyrmont markets during winter and I bought black truffles and figs dipped in dark chocolate.  I finished everything in one day.  That same night, I made spaghetti with Hollandaise sauce topped with truffles.  It was divine.  I will post up the recipe just in time for winter again as truffles are in season.

Truffle store

Figs dipped in dark chocolate

I love the produce at Pyrmont markets not only are they fresh but difficult to find elsewhere.  My friend K for example bought a fresh venison pie that she could just bake in the oven.  Her review of this pie - a little gamey but the sauce was really good.

Venison pie

I need to revisit the Pyrmont growers markets again since two years have flown by.  They have different supplier stalls and for some reason I prefer the Pyrmont over Eveleigh.  Nevertheless, there are some unique offerings at Eveleigh too and there's no need to choose between either because Pyrmont growers market is only once a month while Eveleigh opens every Saturday of the month.


Pyrmont Growers Market
Pyrmont Bay Park on Pirrama Road
Opposite Star City
Open 7am to 11am first Saturday of every month.

DEED FRIED ICE CREAM PARCELS WITH RASPBERRY COULIS ADAPTED FROM JAMES TANNER (READY STEADY COOK)

I have dined previously at Hot Basil and on two occasions I've been too full to even try their infamous deep fried ice cream.  Their food is quite ordinary with the only call out being the ox tongue.  People have reviewed this place and confirmed that only the deep ice cream is worth the 45 min-1 hour wait.  Fortunately, last night I had hot pot which can be filling but at the same time you can leave some room for dessert.  The deep fried ice cream at Hot Basil is not like the traditionally biscuit deep fried balls with ice cream inside but a thin crisp deep fried filo pastry dusted with icing sugar filled with vanilla bean ice cream coupled with shredded coconut, sultanas topped with a caramel/honey sauce garnished with one strawberry and a mint.  My verdict - it was really nice and for me  it wasn't too sweet although the caramel sauce may be for some.

Holy Basil deep fried icecream - $13.90

Now being an amateur connoisseur,  I thought why not try and make this delightful dessert?  It doesn't seem to require too many ingredients?  I'm going to make something similar because I'm not going to make the caramel sauce and at this point not going to buy sultanas and shredded coconut.  Instead, I'm going to make James Tanner's recipe instead, "Deep Fried Ice Cream Parcels with Raspberry Coulis".

Preparation time: less than 30 minutes

Cooking time: less than 10 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients for the Deep Fried Ice Cream Parcels

- 500ml/18fl oz vegetable oil (or olive oil)

- 2 sheets ready-made filo pastry

- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream (I chose vanilla bean ice cream - vanilla bean has black specks and is  refreshing but still very creamy and has a more authentic vanilla taste while french vanilla is more yellow in colour and is very sweet and richer in flavour)

- 1 free range egg, beaten

- 1 tbsp cocoa powder, for sprinkling (I'll have the flakes chocolate and/or pistachios for sprinkling)

For the raspberry coulis

-25g/1 oz raspberries

1 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

Method

1. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy bottomed saucepan until a breadcrumb sizzles in the oil (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous - do not leave unattended!)

2. To make the deep-fried ice cream, lay the filo pastry sheets out onto a flat floured surface.

3.  Place one scoop of ice cream at one end of each filo sheet, then roll up like a spring roll, brushing the pastry edges with beaten egg to bind together and seal the parcel.

4. Carefully place the ice cream filo parcels into the hot oil and deep-fry for 30 seconds, until golden, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels.

5. To make the raspberry coulis, place the raspberries and icing sugar into a food processor and blend to a puree.

6. To serve, place the deep fried ice cream parcels onto a plate, dust with icing sugar and spoon over the raspberry coulis.

Raspberry is really nice but at the moment during winter, it close to $8 at the supermarket so I have substituted the raspberry for strawberries instead as they are $5 a punnet.  Even blueberries are $6-$7 a punnet (125g) as well.  

Before Hot Basil, we went to Red Sichuan at Canley Vale for hot pot.  Hot pot is a great way to warm yourself up and is very popular amongst asians during the cold winter seasons.  I've been to Red Chili in Chinatown years before and I think they have better sauces and the soup base is tastier although I'm not left feeling exceptionally thirsty after dining at Red Sichuan so there wouldn't be as much MSG added.  My friend didn't like their homemade beef balls as she thought they were strange in taste and another comment from another friend was that it tasted like the insides of sausages.  My take on it was that it was overpowered by too much spring onions and the meat was a bit too chunky.  

Hot pot from Red Sichuan

Overall the experience at Red Sichuan was good but there are better hot pot areas like Burwood and Ashfield I've had in the past.  Still we cannot complain because our bill turned out to be $25 per person and my friend considered that to be cheap and their all you can eat hot pot was $28.80 per person.  We would have opted for the all you can eat option but my friend and I love lamb and that was not part of the $28.80 per person selection menu.  At Shanghai Stories in Chatswood it is $20 per person, which is even cheaper although I'm not sure what they offer for $20.  If you're in the area near Cabramatta, why not drop by at this Red Sichuan restaurant.  It is located at 47-49 Canley Vale Road, Canley Vale and is within walking distance from Canley Vale station.