PCL

Well paced considered evolution is a good thing for dim sum. I agree with Leung-Koh.

Ice cream... Maraschino cherries... ...dead cows... oops, just sides of beef... ...all kinds... of... things...

Don't quote me but I think I saw a B&J's over in Perth... and may have seen it in a supermarket freezer. Then again... I ... see... things...

From a philosophical viewpoint, it is important that concepts such as stability and consistency be manifest in various areas of life. For many, the weekly excursions for dim sum could represent that. From a restaurant/dim sum place viewpoint, it could be that doing the same thing over and over again and doing it well provides stability and consistency. From another viewpoint entirely, 'don't fuck with what ain't broke'. Some people can innovate and foam and mash and deconstruct and reconstruct and thematically theorise about presentation and food sculpture, but please, pretty please, leave my har-gau and siu-mai well the hell alone.

You are learning, slowly, but of course, as with any worthwhile endeavour, surely. I am pleased beyond description. I admire and love your sense of adventure. Pinot Noir will not let you down. Now on to budget buys... the 19th Hole 1999 Chardonnay, ridiculously good value at the stupidly insane price of $7.00. It's mellowed out a bit, oak almost just a hint leftover... and yummy yummy yummy... Get out there in the hole.

Ahem, what is this Paul Bocuse event??? Is it at ahem... Klown? Is it ahem, being held at The Brasserie?? If the answer to any of the above is yes, I don't think I'll bother... I think I'd rather go get a plate of Nasi Lemak at Changi Nasi Lemak on Latrobe St instead, where the people are NICE, the food CONSISTENT, and CHEAP.

I don't think Leopold Bloom was Australian, but I'm sure his compatriots in this country might still adhere to some of his habits, although most Irish descendants I know here turn up their noses in disgust. Big week for offal for myself so far. Last Tuesday night: Maris in Malvern, Glenferrie Rd: Braised Tripe in a Ragu, and Roasted Bone Marrow. They kind of mucked up the marrow... insufficient oven time... the bits of gristle on the bone should be charred, and the contents piping but still solid with only the slightest amount of fat oozing out the bottom. Last Saturday night: Les Boucheries Parisienne in South Yarra: Lamb Brains wrapped with smoked belly pork, bacon to some. Monday night: Tripe and Calve's Tongue at Grossi Florentino (Cellar Bar). Will check out the link posted by oesophagus.

Thomy Mayonnaise is the superior mayonnaise... it lends a lovely unctuousness to any sandwich preparation.

Um, like, maybe it's just me... eating out is for food. Romance, well, let is build then go elsewhere... eat first I say. Sit where it's comfortable, and eat.

I wholeheartedly agree with HKDave. I don't think of dim sum as an arena for innovation and mind-blowing. It should do no more than the term suggests, touch you and provide some comfort. A good siu-mai and har-kau can make many bad things go away. A simple dish of cheung-fan brings a smile to my face. While living in London, through the dreariness and crap weather, Sunday dim sum took it all away and made me happy. Familiarity is always welcome, and when done well, it can be sensational. Let's not forget conviviality as well. The bustle and chatter of a heaving dim sum restaurant with generations sitting at one table eating and drinking tea, not much else compares.

i'm checking out coles/safeway/iga tonight on my way home... and loiosh... might want to change your profile to reflect your new residential status!! You're a Sydneysider now!!

when you open them, do they look the same? ie. milky?? i mean, the pure stuff is just the following: - mature coconut flesh - ground/shredded into pulp - coconut 'milk' is extracted via squeezing through cheesecloth or similar...

This is quite bizarre. I'm quite sure any Coles/Safeway/Woolworth's would stock jars of the stuff in the baking section probably. Right next to cake mixes... I'm... quite.. sure...

The raw feel and translucence is probably a result of the buggers being disinfected and then frozen solid in ice blocks in some processing plant in Bangladesh/Thailand/wherever. I first encountered this type of shrimp/prawn (as we call them here in Australia because shrimp are only babies to us) when living in the UK. I find that nothing really helps to improve them except for blanching as mentioned earlier. If you grill or bake or saute them, then you're not going to get a good plate no matter what.

Nice one Shin. Finally got my hands on By Farr Pinot Noir 2004. Verdict? Superlative. The man's got balls and the wine's got class. Too bad it's so rare...

So Flower Drum has fallen off the world's best list. The family converged there anyway on Wednesday night for a 20 person banquet. This was the menu: Steamed Oysters and Scallops, with spring onion and black bean sauce respectively. Honey Glazed Duck. Braised Abalone. Beef Fillet. Stir Fried Cray with Noodles. Fried Rice. To Drink: Moet Chandon, and a lovely Clare Riesling that I can't remember the name of. The result? Still bloody damn good. The summary? Not many Chinese people seem to eat there. One reason I think they've fallen off the list is because everyone is so damned concerned with 'innovation' and the such these days. It's all so showy and ego driven and tiring. CONSISTENCY should be rewarded I say. And of course, the Flower Drum bill is also consistently high...

All the shit on the menu, nah, never read that crap. Wow, I'm really in a bad mood today! edit to add: ...but i did read the crap, hence I said, 'faux crowdedness' they really tried too hard.

The Brasserie at Crown, Melbourne. About the only decent thing they did when I visited them. Special's board, not on the regular menu. When two of us ordered it, they had the good sense to serve it in one large tureen. About all I can say that is positive about the place, based on one unbiased visit of course.

It's weird, Dim quoted one of my posts above, but it ain't here on the thread... very strange. Even weirder is that I was at the Brasserie on Sunday night with a relatively large group, and it wasn't even full, and I was going to write something, and then Shin pops up there and has a good time... I am like, so confused... Because, I didn't have a good time. For the following reasons: Service was exceptionally incompetent. None of the servers pronounced Cassoulet properly. Each time they came by to perform some act of ineptitude, they seemed to bump someone with an elbow to the temple. The wine service was poor in that they brought out 2 bottles of the wrong plonk before getting it right. When we asked for share plates, they were unceremoniously dumped on the table in a stack. The maitre'd spent most of his time giggling and gossiping (a generous term really) about customers. And the food? Well... I ordered the terrine, standard procedure for myself if I'm first-timing in a French establishment. I find that it helps me gauge just how French they are. So the terrine arrived, and it looked good, felt good on the first prod, then things quickly avalanched from there. It was underseasoned... this is tantamount to a gross violation of all that should be good about a terrine... I mean, it can fall apart and look a mess, but if it's seasoned well, you can just mash it onto a chunk of bread and chew it up happily. There were pieces of liver and forcemeat that simply didn't combine on the palate, and texture was akin to sponges and grit. And yes, being a sucker for it, I ordered the cassoulet. Thank god there was no parmesan in the crust. Beans were good, soft but still whole and totally flavoured. Sausages were garlicky and tender, and smoked belly pork added the right amount of unctuousness together with a true piece of confit and lamb shin meat. This one worked, but it didn't do enough to lift me out of the doldrums. I didn't like the dining room, especially the faux crowdedness and tables hidden behind columns (architectural fault of the whole complex really) so you couldn't see the servers and they of course, didn't really want to see you so it seemed like. Which brings me to the point: CONSISTENCY. Maybe it was a Sunday night, so people were tired, the chef not around, and the B-crew on duty, but like we've said time and time again, if you're charging those prices and touting BIG NAMES, then really, they can do better in terms of QUALITY CONTROL.

It is debatable, as all things are, but I truly believe Melbourne has better Chinese than Sydney. I was at Flower Drum recently, two nights ago in fact, as well as the Tea House on Bourke... both superlative cantonese restaurants here in our City by the Bay... do check out the restaurant review links posted in pinned section of this forum.

Liquidised seafood soup... now that caught my eye. I mean, wouldn't it be nicer to have small chunks of fish or shellfish floating in the soup for texture? In the spirit of "Read, Chew, Discuss" I'd like to put forward the suggestion that perhaps having a pureed seafood soup kind of hints of using only the bare products required for flavour, ie. fish racks, roasted shells and 'trimmings' of flesh and smart seasoning. If one were to work to the tenets of providing what's fresh and available, then you could take it literally and say that racks and shells are always available. Just playing devil's advocate here. I'd still like to visit this place one day.

thanks for the extract whisks. has anyone been there? i've just checked out the website and menu etc. any reports?? i'm mildy curious...

Greasing definitely works in London. Just watch Hotel Babylon...

i've got that book... i just never read dessert section... i'll check it out tonight...

did u want the recipe? ← wouldn't say no!