Glebe Point Rd Street Fair

With my university assessments out of the road it's been a luxurious weekend socialising and doing scene things and that means when I wake up on a Sunday morning I think "what should I like to do for lunch" instead of dragging myself to my keyboard to write.

On this warm and a little lazy Sunday that meant going to Glebe for the annual street fair held on Glebe Point Rd with all it's foodie glory and endless street stalls.



Unfortunately when you get to Glebe the street is a "little busy" ... for over a kilometer. I'm not great with the public at the best of times let alone when people stand stock still in a packed street fair so I have little patience but the endless streams of socialising with people I knew and the tasty street food certainly makes up for this.



On arrival this WWII era period singing group were crooning on the wonders of coffee, it seemed a fitting beginning to my fair day!



Almustafa selling traditional Lebanese sweets and hookahs.



This chilli stall had people in wondrous hysterics, I did not buy any as my fridge is already over flowing with hot condiments I barely use!



In Sydney fairs the gozleme is the flat bread of choice but with our growing sub-continental Asian population I was not surprised to see this Indian stall being very popular.



One of about 12 gozleme stalls along the strip, I did in fact buy a spinach and feta gozleme but was so hungry I ate it before I remembered to take a picture! Bad blogger!



This dim sum station was churning out yum cha delights. I had attempted to buy one of their BBQ duck buns at the Night Noodle Markets during Good Food month and they were out of stock. Not today!



Sweet char sui and roasted duck with caramelised onions in soft white dough, just right for $2.50... would buy again!



I'm sure there are some for whom it is vital that you own a brand name coffee chain t-shirt, but I've never seen such a thing before!



Ambrosia marinated olives



Common Ground Bakery, their sour dough spelt and carob treats are a must for the bread enthusiast. Not cheap, but worth every penny.



A woman makes small dutch poffertjes in a specially designed pan.



On a hot day in full sun a lemonade stall is a great idea, especially this jaunty one in the shape of a lemon!

I will admit though that my win for the day was the 99c cokes from outside the IGA; specially set up for high turn around and a much needed thirst break after a long trek in heavy crowds in full sunlight. I had thought it would be far too crowded to take a parasol but immediately regreted not bringing it on arrival choosing instead to hide under my fan for much of the afternoon.

Afterwards I settled in with a friend to finally give San Churro a taste but I think they deserve their own post!

Review: Doy Tao, Newtown

Newtown is positively filled with Thai restaurants, you can barely go 10 houses without hitting one. On my block there are 3!



But when you live in Newtown where you tend to eat lazy Friday night Thai is Doy Tao. These days there's a few branches of their restaurant but this is the one I eat at regularly. The produce is good and fresh, they have a huge range of vegetarian options and some special meals like whole fillet fish.



It really is the most satisfying take out in Newtown with fresh quick meals and excellent spicy food. Eating in is slightly less comfortable, the tables are jammed in so that we are about 5 inches from our neighbours and we're barely missed by rushing wait staff, the entire place so noisy we're almost yelling at each other across the table. But the food is still good enough to make all this easily forgotten.



Deep fried bean curd in peanut sauce $7.50

Readers of my blog will know just how much I like tofu so it's unsurprising how much I love this dish. Unfortunately it is cotton rather than silk tofu and a bit heavier than I like but nonetheless is still good quality fresh tofu, deep fried in what I assume to be nut oil. This is then served with huge amounts of rich peanut sauce, similar to an Indonesian satay. My only regret is how rich the nut sauce is when I have other food coming



Curry Puffs $7.50

Definitely one of the better renditions of this dish the puffs are available in both vegetarian and meat filling. The chewy light and I dare say fattening pastry is the real winner here thouygh.



Duck Green Curry $18 and Jasmine Rice for 2 $5

I'm not a huge fan of Thai over other Asian foods, especially given that in Brisbane the primary immigrant restaurant for most of my youth was Vietnamese rather than Thai but when you combine words like "duck" and "curry" you know that I'm interested! This is a great version with creamy coconut and hot fresh spices that really zing but not so hot to turn off the unadventurous. The duck slices are generous and have a thin slice of roasted fat and skin attached.



Vegetarian Pad Thai with Tofu $14

I love the noodle dishes more than anything here and they certainly don't "lose" anything by being vegetarian. Lots of vegetables, tofu slices and nuts make this very generous serve very filling. The spiced soy noodle sauce is slightly sweet and very morish; highly recommended with your favourite vegetables or meat.

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of my favourite takeout item on their menu with is the Chicken Pad Kee Mao $16; a delicious blend of basil and chilli jam stir fry with handmade rice noodles.

Stop by for some quick takeout or try one of their lunch specials, I find that as a Friday/Saturday night venue they're best avoided due to the rush of customers, noise and subsequent less than fantastic service. The food however speaks for itself.

Doy Tao
http://www.doytaothai.com

543-545 King Street
Newtown
Telephone: 9557 6334

Bookings essential for weekend nights
Takeaway available
BYO licence

Recipe: Shiro Miso and Curry-reisu

This is a blog post that I've been asked to make by... I think just about everyone who's ever eaten at my house and reads my blog regularly. It's also a blog post that I'm a little loathe to make because it takes all the mystery out of how to cook what is essentially a very simple convenience meal that always comes out marvellously. Curry rice is really one of those Japanese family favourites that Mums make to appeal to fussy kids, a family favourite that's more like a spiced stew than what we think of as a curry even the "hot" varieties are very mild.

One note I will make is that because this is a very quick meal to make that actually you should put the rice on to cook before doing anything else; even preparing the vegetables. If you are using a rice cooker generally the rest of the meal will take around the same time as most commercial machines will take to cook the rice.

Miso soup

4 cups of water
1 spring onion
1 packet of bonito dashi (Japanese sardine stock)
4 tablespoons of fresh shiro miso paste
1 pack firm silken tofu

Most of this meal is about "what to buy" when you're in an Asian supermarket. First we start with the dashi; dashi simply means 'soup base' or 'stock' and in our case we are going to use a packet bonito dashi made from Japanese sardines. My favourite brand is Shimaya which is reliable, stores in the cupboard and available in just about any major supermarket in Australia.



Put the water on the heat and add 1 packet (10g) of bonito dashi powder; if you are making dashi or have bought another brand then follow the instructions to make 1L.



While the water is heating then dice the spring onion and tofu. Heat the stock until it is beginning to boil; add the spring onion and take to a full boil.



The brand of tofu that I buy is TLY Joyce which is available in the fresh fridge section of most Coles or Asian supermarkets in Australia. It is vegan, fresh and comes in a variety of textures and flavours of your choosing.



When the water has boiled take it down to a medium heat and then take off 1-2 cups into a bowl or other heat proof container.



I prefer shiro miso - which is white miso paste. Miso paste also comes in a variety of types, red and white are the most common but some come with the dashi "built in," with wakame (seaweed), shellfish, mushroom or about any other Japanese seasoning one could imagine. Shiro miso is much less strong than other miso paste and is often eaten at breakfast time, I find that because it is milder it is better suited to most Western palettes.

You should never buy non Japanese miso paste; even Miso that is made in Australia is never as good, let alone Korean or Taiwanese miso that you can find these days. For "every day" meals I religiously buy this Miko brand. It is available in most good Asian supermarkets in Australia including at Burlington, Miracle and V-Plus supermarket chains.

Also never buy powdered miso, miso is a preserved product that should survive for months on the shelf with proper sealed containers there is no need to buy powdered instant miso.

Add the miso and stir until it's mostly dissolved.



Add the Miso/Dashi mix back into the soup and keep on a medium heat until the miso is well mixed throughout the soup. Add the tofu and warm until heated through; the soup should not boil once the miso is added.



Pour into small soup bowls and serve. Note that the miso will settle if left and form a cloud in the bottom of the bowl - this is normal and does not identify separation or other issue with the food. Stir with chopsticks and drink!



Curry-reisu

2 cups of uncooked rice

250g lean meat: Pork, beef or chicken as preference
1 brown onion
2 onions
Japanese curry paste
oil to fry

As mentioned earlier, place the rice onto cook before other parts of the meal.



In this case I'm using chicken, traditionally the meat used in curry is pork in Japan. Also excellent is the sauce sans meat poured over katsu schnitzel.



Brown the onions then add the carrot diced, you can add other vegetables at this point if you want. Potatoes and yams are excellent in this dish. Add the meat and stir fry on medium eat until the meat is browned.



I like S&B "Tasty Curry" in either Medium Hot or Hot. There are about 100 different brands you can buy, these are all a matter of taste. S&B and House are the main brands of Japanese curry, for sweeter curry buy Vermont, for hotter curry buy "Jungle Curry".



When you open the packet there are "ice cube" trays of curry paste inside. 1 square is equivalent to about 1 serve, in this case we are making food for around 4 people so will use half a packet. Cut the block into cubes.



Cover the meat/vegetables with hot water and add the cubes, stir until the paste has melted and then put onto medium heat until the rice is cooked.



The stew will thicken quickly until a thick sauce has formed; this will continue to thicken if cooled so you should serve immediately.

Review: Union Hotel, Newtown

On a Sunday night particularly if I've spent the entire day doing university work; but maybe even because you just don't want to cook, or because it's cold, or because your family are driving you nuts and you need a drink ... it's great to have a local pub with decent food. At my end of Newtown that's The Union.

From the outside it looks a little dodgy like many inner West pubs. The walls are tiled, they're showing sport in the main room and the decor is what you might call... utilitarian. Step inside and through the back and instead you find yourself in a warm friendly family pub bistro, the TVs are showing the Sunday night family movie at muted volume. They're playing The Cure softly as well, because this is Newtown after all, and most of the pub are young families or alternative types talking media analysis. In short I feel pretty at home.



Herb and garlic bread $5

The garlic bread looks a little sad with its burnt corner! If you like that overly soft pizza chain garlic bread you'll like this, though it is thankfully much less oily than most pizza places. Not the best item on their menu.



This month's special - Warm crisp pork belly and apple salad with matched drink $19

Admittedly I am drawn to this dish primarily because it comes with a large glass of Bulmer's cider but on arrival I'm very happy with the results. Sharp but not overpowering balsamic are dashed on sweet fruit that hits the perfect note with the crisped meat and fat of the pork. For pub bistro food this is top notch and I make strange little noises as I chase the last of the crackled pork around the plate.



Sunday night roast with vegies $12
There's something quite homely about a roast counter meal in a pub isn't there? I don't know that there's much to say about this, it's certainly not fancy but the meat isn't overcooked and is fairly moist. The gravy I suspect comes from a packet but there's definitely some induced meat fat in there. The vegetables are well cooked and not overdone either. It's not high class but it does certainly hit the spot especially given the price and certainly not a bad rendition of a pub classic.



Chicken parmiggiana with mashed potato and vegetables $18

Not the cheapest chicken parmiggiana in the inner city but its much better quality than most pubs. The meat is well cooked and moist, the bread crumb not too oily. The sauce is fresh and the cheese is actual fresh mozzarella. This brings a classic pub meal up to the inner ring suburbia lifestyle.



Zucchini and sweet corn fritters with grilled haloumi $14

I have a love affair with sweet corn that I'm well known for, and corn fritters in particular are a favourite of mine. To find out I can have them and call it dinner rather than having to seek out Sunday brunch cafes with it listed on their menu is music to my ears. I suspect when I order that I will get one limp piece of haloumi on the side and am happy to see most of a block cut up and grilled with my food. The fritters are well made and served over a wilted spinach salad with tomatoes and a healthy squeeze of fresh lemon.

I do the happy food dance and vow to return.

The Union really is a classic pub bistro brought upscale just enough to appeal to the professional queers and goths who can still afford King St rent but not so much that it detracts from the rest of the Newtown and Marrickville regulars. The drinks are cheap, the atmosphere is pleasant and unrowdy and the service is pretty fast. For pub food its very satisfying and their regular list of well thought out specials is worth a look over.

The Union Hotel
http://www.unionnewtown.com.au/eatery.html
576 King St
Newtown NSW 2040

Fully licensed, pub atmosphere but children and family groups welcome so long as children are supervised
Walk in, no reservations required

Laphroaig Scotch

I don't claim to be a Scotch afficionado but I do like to make note of really unusual alcohols and Laphroaig is definitely in that category.



Claiming to be one of the most "richly" flavoured Scotches the strength of the woodiness in this whiskey was enough to stop me in my tracks and I admit I could not finish the glass, and this was before we got to the quarter cask stronger flavoured version.

Unusual and very much worth seeking out if you like brown liquors, it was certainly a taste experience for me, courtesy of

Hunter Valley Day Trip: Part the First

Recently it was 's birthday so she organised a wonderful day trip out to the Hunter Valley.



This required falling out of bed at an ungodly hour for a weekend and heading into Central Station. On arrival though I got a pleasant surprise that warmed my heart a little; the Historical Society were having an event complete with steam trains, boogie woogie singers and more fur than I've seen in an aeon.



Our birthday girl had ordered our own 21 seat bus so in piled all the odd fellows that constitute her friends and we were away on a road trip!



Snacking started on the way of course with choc dipped strawberries and chocolate cherry fudge from the kitchen of Elisa.



Screeching and gossiping and makeup application continued all the way to Cessnock with myself looking curiously out the window at every opportunity, being from up North I've never seen this part of Australia and all the places that everyone else seems to think of as familiar.



Firstly we stopped at Audrey Wilkinson winery.



We may like our alternative cultures but we sure do like our food and wine; I personally think this picture sums up our day and in fact possibly our group of friends to a tea. 's beau replete with stove piped jeans and spiked hair standing over a vineyard desperately pulling smokes out lest he die from the clean air.



Being in a tour group affords informative talks, a little less personal than the one on one guides I'm used to but interesting to see how they deal with it. The tour guide gives a run down of the juicing, fermenting and storage processes and then begins to explain the tasting process to those unfamiliar.



To be honest I don't have much nice to say about the Wilkinson label. Hunter Valley wine isn't my favourite to start with being of a sort of limp and weak taste and the varieties that grow here aren't my favourite.

The somewhat "funky" labels give away the sort of market they're going for here which is mid priced upmarket pub counters and funky neighbourhood restaurants in Sydney. I am entirely offended that they've decided that Gewürztraminer is too hard to spell and have just called it "Traminer." On the other hand the Moscato goes down extremely well with the non wine people in the tour and should be taken note when trying to introduce others to wine. Also I am a little interested that they have a Malbec blend even if the resulting wine was quite average.



Next we're off to First Creek Winery which I'm told is a blender rather than a grower and while I'm sure it takes away from the authenticity of the tour I feel somewhat satisfied that most of their fruit in fact doesn't come from the Hunter at all. Mostly they ship in from Canberra and Tasmania.



Again we're given another speech and some tastings; they're very open to us trying different varieties and I am keen to get onto the Pinot and Verdelho.



The surprise winner for me though was the Semillon dessert wine, and I end up walking away with 2 of these plus 6 of their Sauvignon Semillon and 6 late release Verdelho in preparation for the BBQ season.



Oak barrels at First Creek

I feel compelled to make a note here on the topic of dessert wines since they seem to be quite common in the Hunter what with the explosion of Semillon and I heard words bandied about but not understood for much of the day. Botrytis is not a label or a name for a wine but a method of making dessert wines. To get the additional sweetness in dessert wines water must be removed to allow the syrupy thick sweet after dinner wines. This is done in Australia primarily in two ways; Ice Methods and Botrytis. In the former liquid is cooled and the pure water which freezes first is removed to leave a more concentrated juice behind. In the latter the fruit is left on the vine long after it has ripened, this attracts a damp and beneficial fungus called Botrytis cinerea which leeches water from the fruit leaving more solids and a stickier fruitier juice used for dessert wines such as those used for Noble or Tokaj.

Lunch and more to come later...