PCL

If you're a cyclist, you might want to check out Pietrasanta and Forte dei Marmi, on the coast. Birthplaces and hometowns of many notable cyclists... Cipolini, etc... good food too... Lorenzo in FdM is very good, as are Madeo and Bistrot.

Thanks for re-surfacing this thread o' Piper of Olde... The last couple posts have got me thinking hard. It's almost winter down here in Oz, and my grandma gets off a plane Wednesday morning. I'll be going to the market on Saturday. By Sunday, there will be pig's feet in vinegar on the table. I assure you all. And I will report!!

Oh, just read the thread Bleau... so a 20 minute simmer is all's required??? Should I mount with butter after???

800g of lentils sitting in a brown paper bag at home. thinking of the following: mirepoix minus the celery. browned. deglaze with chicken stock fortify with white wine lentils in herbs in bring to boil chunks of smoked belly - browned whack in 130C oven for a few hours chuck in extra belly bits, unbrowned 1/2 hour back in the oven munch... now just need to go get more smoked belly... my procrastination has led me to have eaten most of the belly with baked beans over several breakfasts now... shame on me...

I do like very much indeed Balinese deep fried ayam kampung... 'village chicken'... generally a tough skinny free range bird that once ran around the village before everyone got hungry... No one else does ayam kampung like them, though I must admit, it's just a trace memory from a holiday when I was a kid almost 15 years ago now...

In Indonesia, the kicap manis, or sweet dark soy sauce, appears quite often...

That's what I miss about London! Being able to call up Harrod's and ask for eclectic rare stuff and no doubt, someone will find it, or get it in for you!! I'm interested in the recipe, sounds fab, can someone PM it to me?? Please??

Wow. I did not know this for certain although to be fair, someone in my survey group did mention this as a possibility. I think it's a poo poo situation. I mean, for someone like Deakin, why sell the 'good stuff' OS but not at home? To answer my own question, I guess margins have a lot to do with it. To answer your last question RR, I think the following website would provide superior information to anything I can narrate in this forum... http://www.wineaustralia.com/Global/default.aspx?p=1 It's a marketing site owned by the wine and cognac group and it's quite 'independent' and the historical information and the regional information are very good. And SWISS_CHEF... you're on dude, I'm going to check on restrictions etc for postal imports and get back to you. I'll post a list of things I think you should have a go at, procure a bottle of your selection and we can exchange.

Pretty Bloody Funny Really.

An eclectic list Sarah, and I agree with you on the d'Arenberg Grenache. Miles above the rest. You've managed to introduce some new ones to me and I too shall be returning to the wine store this weekend. Will report on what I pick up and what I find. Really good to see Aussie wines being appreciated overseas!

Struck down with flu after excitement of moving home and unpacking etc etc. Living with Simpson retro classic, but hopefully will be checking out higg BTU stoves this weekend. Not exactly in the spirit of the thread, maybe we can organise an excursion around Melbourne's coolest showrooms??

I don't know Tokar, but will look out for it, even though I'm not drinking Shiraz at the moment! And Swiss_Chef, I'm glad you find some of our Aussie wines palatable, and of good value, but someone's treasure is someone else's crap, and this is just the world we live in. There is no objective truth when it comes to wine, value for money etc etc. I'm sorry you pay so much more for the good stuff that I find good value, and I hope one day you'll be able to get them for a good price and pass it on to your customers. I was really hoping to talk about wines we love over here in Australia, not discuss the availability of particular products in particular places. So cheers again. For what it's worth, I conducted another little survey during a Eurovision dinner party on the weekend, and Deakin came up as cat's piss again. Edited by a moderator at the member's request.

In the same price range as Deakin... so around the $15 to $25 range... well, the list is virtually endless. - Scotchman's Hill Dry Red (Claret) - Fox Creek Shadow's Run Shiraz Cabernet - Penfold's Koonunga Hill - Wirra Wirra Church Block - Terra Felix Shiraz - The Procrastinator Cabernet Franc I've spoken to a few more people since my last post here, and the result is shock and awe that Deakin is held in such high esteem in the US.

I am much enjoying the vintage 1980's conventional electric oven in our new home made by Simpsons, optimistically called the 2001 model. It is slow, which forces you to enjoy and take your time. It heats up, eventually and then gently roasts your potatoes. It's driving me fucking nuts. Need a new one.

There's a really cool re-conditioned commercial stove/oven specialist in Prahran, I forget their name, in fact, never knew it!!! They're near the corner of Chapel St, on either High St or Malvern Rd, a block or so away heading away from the City, on the left hand side... That's where I'm going next week to check out possible toys... People have been known to pick up decent commercial quality setups for around $2500 to $6000 depending largely on size.

Look, in my opinion, it's okay to refer to stuff like points and things, but one should really think for oneself. I myself, am a plonker, in that I know what I like and Deakin ain't one of 'em. Maybe it suits your taste and I respect that, but to me, it's still cat-piss, and the majority of people I know who've experienced it with me seem to agree. And at $9 a glass, you're getting ripped off. And for a Merlot at that! Sorry, that's below the belt, but any good wine conversation should be emotive in my opinion And by the way, I don't go for points, I go for smilies. Much more user friendly.

It's precisely that it's cat's piss that they serve it every Friday, the cheap bastards!! It's what they pour to us lowly designers, but at least the beer and snacks are okay. If you take a Deakin Cab and mix it with a Deakin shiraz, you're on a good thing, or so I've found after many Friday's experimenting! Will note the Laughing Jack.

This is turning out to be a fun thread. chefzadi & busboy, the nitrous would make great laughing gas to follow copious numbers of smokeable herbal cigarettes Kanga, they were puy... firm, solid, dependable. The polish deli in the QV is THE place to get smoked pork belly. I'm moving into a new house this week, but will fire up the stove once I unpack.

Foam? Gelee? See, at home, you want to feel and taste the food in your mouth. At least I do anyway. Big waste of time and the wanker-factor is stratospheric. The herb is lovage apparently, Liebstockle... is the German ... anyone know it?

Grutze to you Swiss Chef, but just in case, bonjour and ciao as well!!! We serve Deakin Estate here in my office every Friday night after work, and the general consensus is 'Cat-Piss'. But, that's just us! Maybe you people get the good stuff and we get left with the piss.

Agree fellow 4x4'er!.... The lunch I had in LA, well, Santa Monica was a boardroom lunch, but very well catered. It was a Friday, so everyone was in Hawaiian shirts, and we were fed excellent Tex-Mex. I even 'super-sized' my burrito.

Thanks dude. I guess some stock should go in. My mate said he didn't use any stock, just water, and added the pork towards the end of cooking as he didn't want it to cook out and become dry. Makes sense. I've looked at the other pork belly thread, been there done that! IT's this lentil thing that's got me now. Winter's on its way and it is all good!

A friend made a lentil stew with onions, peppercorns, and smoked belly pork chunks. It was simple and tasty beyond belief. He also spiked it with a German herb, starting with 'S'?? Now, I'd usually go dig around The Book first, but it's been packed as we're moving house later this week. Anyone got any good ideas as to how to accomplish the above?? Thanks in advance.

Hi All. Done the trip, only 4 days in total, with a day trip to LA. Thanks to rjwong for the limo info in LA, but will probably make use of it next trip when it'll be 4 days in LA. As for SF, I ate at Cafe Zuni one night, Luna Park in the Mission another after missing out on Limon, and drank the other night away in several bars around town including the ultra-kitsch Tonga Room. I did make it to Berkeley, but only to the North Face outlet store...<gulp> But hey, Zuni was great. I was alone, and service was sympathetic, and the food, well pretty good seeing as I was jetlagged and taste buds were not fully functional. A Californian chardonnay and a riesling later, the following were real taste: - shredded raw white asparagus with bottarga - roasted rabbit with balsamic veal jus reduction almost went for the creme brulee, but then the waitress mentioned a couple places I could go for a drink and have a cigarette indoors. For the non-PC's out there, the smoking bars are: Amber on the corner of 14th and Church, and Tunnel Top downtown near Powell St. Fantastic trip all in all. Loved SF and looking forward to visiting LA in depth next time! Thanks for all the chit chat. Bouchon will have to wait!

Fox Creek JSM... outstanding wine. What do you drink it with?? I like steak... I like roast chicken with garlic confit... I like lamb...