Shinboners

I hope you watched South Park last night. It featured KFC.

Okay, I'm going to do a PCL and do my review in more than one part. First, some background information. Mrs. Shinboners and I wanted to enjoy Interlude before it moved into the degustation only format in 2006. We enjoyed the dishes we selected, but Chef Robin also gave us a generous taste of the future of Interlude. First, here's what we chose from the old menu. I had the crisp veal sweetbreads, smoked tofu, peas and broadbeans as an entree. The sweetbreads were crumbed and fried, the outer layer having a perfect crunch and no hint of oil. The flavour of the sweetbreads made its presence felt without being too overpowering. I ate it in small slices, alternating with the tofu and greens to settle the palate before tucking back into the sweetbreads. My fiancee enjoyed the eggplant semi-freddo, marinated octopus, frozen grapes, and Pernod foam. I had a little taste and what struck me was the texture. It was so smooth. One taste wasn't enough for me to get a handle on the flavourings, but she looked lost in contentment. Onto the mains, and we both had the wagyu beef sirloin, kipfler potato mille feuille, brocolli puree, crisp bone marrow, and dijon mustard brochette. There was also little crumbed and fried nuggets of slow cooked beef cheeks. It was sublime. Every component could stand on its own, but they worked together as a whole dish. After eating one small component of the dish, we'd literally stop and spend time considering what part we'd eat next. The wagyu beef was cooked rare, and for the first time, I understood why people revere this meat. It was ethereal in the mouth, the softest hint of flavour before the meat melted on the tongue. Our waiter explained that the wagyu they served had a rating of 9 (out of 10), not only making it amongst the best available, but also amongst the most difficult to source. The potato mille feuille, crisped to perfection on the inside, wonderfully resistant and yet soft texture on the inside. And the bone marrow and beef cheeks - they achieved the same perfect balance of flavour and texture as the sweetbreads. This was truly one of the finest dishes that I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. I've taken a look at the 2006 degustation menus, and this does not make an appearance. I do hope that Chef Robin will bring this dish back in some format in the future. Finally, desserts. I had a chocolate ganache, hazelnut mousse, coffee streusel, with tarragon. This was a memorable dessert. The flavours had plenty of punch, with not much subtlety, but it was so much better for it. Desserts are usually pretty straight forward affairs in that there isn't much room for the diner to play with what's in front of you. But with this dessert, it was game of enjoying each part of the dessert on its own, and then combining the differing flavours. Meanwhile, my significant other suffered dessert envy, but found a certain degree of comfort with her valrhona chocolate souffle with marshmallow and bitter chocolate sorbet. She said it rated amongst the best chocolate desserts that she's enjoyed. The souffle had a perfect texture and lightness with the sorbet providing a good contrast. As for the marshmallow, she said that words like soft, cloud-like, and heavenly would not be adequate.

Speaking of the countryside and fish and chips, I've just returned from Nelson Bay in NSW. As you'd expect from a seaside town, they've got sensational fish and chips, with Bubs Seafood being our favourite (and only) choice.....I went there 5 times in about 9 days. The fish was caught fresh that morning, the portions were very generous, the beer batter was perfect, and the chips were very good.

Hang your head in shame. He deserves 2 chefs hats. As the truckie in the ad implies, it's the fresh (not frozen) Inghams chicken that makes all the difference.

Many cheers to Kim D for her photos of the dish. Wonderful, truly wonderful. I think I'll give the dish a go soon. Cheers for the pictures Dim Sim. I did the thinner batch, but all you end up with is a drier biscuit. I don't think the crunchiness is worth the loss of the moistness. Maybe it could be done with normal flour instead of self-raising. Or perhaps use semolina flour.

I'm planning to make another batch tonight to give away as gifts to some friends at the markets. I'll make sure I make one batch thin and I'll let you know what happens.

I'd go for Arabesque ahead of Moorish. The book's chapters are set out according to ingredients - Almonds, Apricots, Artichokes etc. 43 ingredients/chapters in all plus acknowledgements, introduction, cooking notes, bibliography, and index. Each chapter opens with a discussion on the ingredient with sections on selection and storage and how the ingredient should be used. Then you get four to six recipes featuring the ingredient. At the end of the chapter, the ingredient is cross referenced to other recipes in other chapters. There are a few colour photographs through the book on a few of the dishes. Moorish is a more traditional cookbook. It has chapters on soups, salads, snacks, poultry etc. with around a dozen recipes for each chapter. There are colour photographs of some of the dishes. I've used Arabesque more than Moorish. Personally, I think that if the Maloufs were based in the United States, they'd be as revered as Wolfert and Roden for their work on Middle Eastern food.

Back to the cooking for a moment, I did the crunchy sesame-pistachio biscuits from Saha tonight. My baking skills are somewhat ropey, so keep this in mind. I did two batches. The first was baked according to the 10-12 minutes as stated in the recipe. The vanilla flavouring was strong, but it dominated the flavour of the sesame seeds and pistachio nuts. And the biscuits were light, but not really that crunchy. The second batch was baked for 20 minutes (well, that's how long it took to get to golden brown). The vanilla, pistachio, and sesame seed flavours were much better balanced, and the biscuits were nice and crunchy. And as Dim Sim said, these things are very addictive! Kim D, how did you go with the quail recipe?

Yes, it's unfair, but I doubt that either of these would register on the radar of most consumers. I don't disagree with any of that. If I earned more money, I'd be happy to buy my books exlcusively from local bookshops for the reasons you posted. But since I don't earn enough money to make that happen, I have to make choices. That $70 I saved by buying from Amazon means that I can now go out to dinner at a nice restaurant, or put that money into my beloved football club, or if I'm really sensible about it, help reduce the mortgage. In regards to bookshops, restaurants, and the footy club, I have to make a choice between which "local cutures" I wish to support and to what extent. And with the third option on what to do with the $70, I doubt any bookshop (or restaurant or footy club) is going to come to my aid if I happen to miss out on a mortgage payment. You could argue the reverse and say that deep discounting makes the very same artistic efforts accessible to more people. So, are you saying that if one person pays $70 for Saha, they will value it more than someone who pays only $50? And would the person paying $50 value the book more than someone who pays $10 for it secondhand at a garage sale? Or how about the person who gets it as a gift, and thus, hasn't paid anything for it? Ultimately, people value things for what they are, not due to what they paid for it.

Let us know how it goes Kim. I'm going to follow Dim Sim's lead and make the pistachio and seasame crisps.

Tell me about it. Usually, I can go to a restaurant and have the review posted up here within 24 hours. Maybe 48 if I'm feeling lazy. But geeze...I went to Interlude last night, and right now, words are pretty damn useless. I’m just at a loss at the moment. All I can say is save up some money, find the first available date in 2006, and just make a booking at Interlude. And if you happen to be wanting to celebrate something, propose to a loved one, or if it’s just a first date, you can thank me later when you get the honey at the end of the night. How can you do justice to sucking on a foie gras and roasted apple lollipop? Or how your eyes pop when the "Tomato Explosion" does its job? How about the everyday turning into the extraordinary as with "Bacon and Eggs" or the extraordinay turned into the heavenly as in the "Wagyu Beef Sirloin". Can you really explain the extent of the dessert envy when Mrs. Shinboners realised she should have ordered my chocolate granache instead of her (still sublime) souffle? A principle joy for me is Wickens taking foods that we grew up with (bacon and eggs, macaroni cheese, caesar salad, chicken noodle soup) and present them to us in a new context. It becomes an intoxicating combination of haute cusine and comfort food. It's not a case of giving the diner odd flavour combinations or throwing in a few ingredients that most diners have never heard of (or even worse, expensive ingredients for the sake of prestige). His approach provides a sense of humour and warmth. I'll write up a dish by dish review. You're going to read it, think that it all sounds pretty amazing, and when you get to Interlude, you'll understand why words can't do Wickens' food justice. p.s. And unbelievably, the night got better because when I got home, I found that Teenage Fanclub were progamming Rage.......

This one will do. Fragrant rice: 1 fl oz olive oil 2 oz dried vermecelli noodles 14 oz medium grain rice 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 22 fl oz chicken stock 8 x 7 oz quail, cut into quarters salt and pepper 2 fl oz olive oil 1 leek, white part only, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 thumb fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped 10 pearl onions, peeled and halved 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 18 fl oz chicken stock 1 tomato, seeded and diced 2 dates, seeded and diced juice of 1 lemon Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan. Use your hands to roughly break the vermecelli noodles into the hot oil. Stir vigorously, until the yellow threads deepen to golden brown. Add the rice to the pan and stir so the grains are well coated with oil. Add the spices and stock and bring to the boil. Cover and turn down the heat. Cook for 18 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated. While the rice is cooking, prepare the quail. Trim them of their necks and wing tips then split each bird in half down the backbone and neatly slice out the breastplate in the middle. Season lightly. Heat the oil in a large heavy based pan, then drop in the quail pieces. Turn them around quickly in the oil until they colour, then take them out of the pan and putthem to one side while you make the sauce. Put the leek, garlic, ginger and onions into the same pan and saute for a few minutes until the start to soften. Add the spices and stock and stir everything together well. Cover the pan and simmer gently until the pearl onions are tender and everything has deepened to a golden yellow. Return the quail pieces to the pan with teh tomato and dates and season with salt and pepper. Bring the pan back to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the quail pieces have cooked through - it will only take a few minutes. Squeeze in the lemon juice. To serve, pile the rice onto a large serving platter and arrange the quail pieces on top. Spoon the sauce and vegetables over and around. Accompany with plenty of yoghurt. Serves 4.

Went to Mexicali Rose tonight. I still don't get why people go ga-ga over Mexican food. I did have the fish tacos....they were nice and all, but not really all that memorable. I think I'll go back to the beef combination next time.

Thanks for that report. I came across the book on Amazon and it sounded interesting. I think I'll have to put it on my wishlist now.

You know your kids. If you want them to be there and feel that they're not going to affect the enjoyment of the evening for you, your husband, and other patrons, then take them along. My fiancee and I have a 2 month old daughter. She has already been to a few restaurants and cafes with us. The funny thing is that she'll sleep in the noisy places and get restless in the quieter ones! But this weekend, we're going to one of Melbourne's best restaurants, so we've got a baby sitter organised. Personally, I reckon it's great that your kids are keen to go to a great restaurant. It makes a change from wanting to go to EuroDisney!

I think the perception is changing, and to my mind, chefs have a much better profile than even ten years ago. We could probably put a few broad explanations. Firstly, from a consumer viewpoint, people have become much more aware of what they put into their mouths. It didn't seem that long ago that the Queen Victoria Market was marked for closure and it seemed that supermarkets and fast food chains would be the only source for food. Now the Queen Vic is flourishing (along with the other main markets), farmers markets have prospered, and specialty food stores are everywhere. Naturally, this flows into consumer expectations on the food they get at restaurants and a higher degree of adventurism. People become more open to new food, just look at how Vietnamese and Middle-Eastern food has flourised in Melbourne. Things like chicken livers were not on menus five years ago, but now you can find them at many restaurants. Naturally, this all leads to people being interested in the chefs who prepare the food. The second thing is how chefs have promoted themselves. The advent of Pay TV that has allowed people like Bill Granger and Neil Perry build a profile for themselves. Bill Granger's profile is now so strong that there are billboards around town promoting his new cookbook. There seems to be more food orientated TV programs than ever - Beat the Chef, Ready Steady Cook, Food Lovers Guide To Australia, Surfing the Menu, and My Restaurant Rules all spring to mind very quickly. My friends in the professions tell me that the Epicure is the first part of the Age to disappear on a Tuesday morning, and there is the monthly Melbourne Magazine that always profiles chefs. There are also the other food magazines. Readings will often tie in cookbook launches with dinners. It's almost quite sneaky the way it happens. I remember a while ago, there was an advertisement promoting the David Jones Food Hall. It was a photo of a table surrounded by a dozen people - I realised that I recognised nearly all of them, and they were all chefs or ex-chefs! It's interesting that you talk about hair dressers and interior designers as they are people that deal with lifestyle. Food has now become an important part of lifestyle. It's not seen to be a stuffy businessmen's lunch or "posh restaurants for old money" thing anymore. Good food is accessable at lower prices, and I think that once people get a taste for it, they will move up to more expensive options down the track. Many Melbourne restaurants already have a degustation option on their menus, so it's not going to be a new concept for most diners. And you already have a reputation for producing fine food, so I think most will be happy to trust you with their evening's dining.

Yeah, that's a fair point with the low volume leading to a high price on books. It is a hard decision on where to buy books. Generally, I'll buy locally if there isn't a great price gap. But I've found that in the past few years, I've bought most of my overseas produced books from Amazon. For me, the pricing difference is too great to ignore. For instance, the other week, I received a package containing "Charcuterie", "Mangoes and Currey Leaves", and "The Cooking of South West France". All up, it'll cost me around $135. I think Charcuterie will retail here for around $50, the 2nd book is for sale at $100, and I saw the re-issued Wolfert book for $57.....$207 vs $135. On UK books, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The new River Cottage book is retailing here for $65. I know I can get it from Amazon UK (including postage) for around $50. But I bought the "Roast Chicken And Other Stories" book here for $35, which was slightly cheaper than buying it from Amazon UK. CDs are another tricky one for me. Most of the stuff I buy doesn't get a general release here. Many are "imports" only....or if they ever get released, there's sometimes a 6 month gap between an overseas release and a local one. In terms of general music, there wouldn't be that much difference, especially if you shop at places like JB Hi-Fi.

This thread has been an interesting read. I was looking through my collection of cookbooks, and there is a gap in that there is no definitive book for Chinese cooking - or at least no equivalent to something like the Larousse Gastronomique (French), Essentials of Italian Cooking and Silver Spoon (Italian), Cooks Companion (General), Thai Food (Thai), etc. It seems that "Modern Art of Chinese Cooking" is the closest thing to a Chinese equivalent to those books. From those who can get access to Australian books, Kylie Kwong's "Recipes and stories" is a very good book, and Neil Perry's "Simply Asian" has some good Chinese recipes in it.

Books (or for that matter, CDs and DVDs) in Australia tend to be expensive. For instance, the Alford/Duguid and Thomas Keller books cost around $AUD100 (or approximately $US75). A couple of years ago, they were $AUD120 ($US92). Anyway, I'll post up a recipe in the next few days. Is there anything in particular (poultry, meat, pastries etc.?) that you want a recipe for?

Herbie's Spices: http://www.herbies.com.au/

Maybe we could start a listing of internet produce suppliers. I know that for meat, there's at least a dozen suppliers in Victoria and NSW (I'll try and track down the listing from Epicure). Just to start, here's two: http://www.rutherglenlamb.com.au/ http://www.farmgatelamb.com.au/index.php?o...&id=5&Itemid=28 I haven't explored the Simon Johnson site to any great degree, but there is a link to an online store here: http://www.simonjohnson.com.au/homeright.htm

And some changes at Interlude for 2006 - taken from http://www.interlude.com.au As from the 10th January 2006, the dinner pricing structure at Interlude will change. We have decided that, due to the current popularity of our dégustation menu, the prix fixe menu will no longer apply at dinner time. In its place, Interlude will offer three dégustation options: Introduction Dégustation 8 course ($90 for food, $140 with matched wines) Intermediate Dégustation 11 course ($125 for food only, $200 with matched wines) The Tour - The Largest Dégustation in Australia 25 course ($185 for food only, $285 with matched wines) For lunch, we will continue the $30 2 course/$40 3 course Set Menu, with a limited a la carte menu. Dégustation will not be available for lunch. Details of the menus will be posted on our website late December/early January. If chef robin has the time, I think many of us would be interested to read a few comments from him about the changes.

Ok, that freaked me out. Amazon has the book priced at $10.17 (USD). Much better. Although that sounds too good to be true for a 352 page hardback. ← $USD10.17???? Assuming postage of about $USD10.00 to Australia and an exchange rate of $AUS 1.00 = $USD 0.75, then the book would $AUS 26.90. I know that for many cookbooks, it's between 10 to 20% cheaper to buy them from Amazon than from an Australian bookshop, but this price difference is too good to be true.

Thanks for that bit of info cherimoya. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

I'm heading up to Sydney next month for a wedding. We've got one night free and I'm going to head over to BBQ King. I can't wait.