Jump to content

Peter Green

participating member
  • Posts

    1,999
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Peter Green

  1. Oh, that's beautiful! I love the way the smaller intestine gape out of the broth like sandworms (Sheena isn't looking at this, I hope, otherwise it's going to get....challenging).

    I do agree, though. There's something about these variety meats that just gets better and better the longer you give it. That's part of the fun of making big, big batches. Like a good wine, it opens up and gets more interesting as you go.

    Darn, now I can't wait until tomorrow.

  2. As long as you store the garlic preserved in oil in the fridge, you'll be fine. Clostridium botulinum bacteria won't grow and/or produce toxin at refrigerator temperatures.

    Not quite true--there's still a limit to how long it can be kept, even in the fridge. From the Canadian Food Inspection Agency:

    Take precautions with home-prepared foods stored in oil (e.g., vegetables, herbs and spices). If these products are prepared using fresh ingredients, they must be kept refrigerated and for no more than 10 days.

    What! A tub of minced garlic is going to last more than 10 days? We go through it a lot faster than that.

  3. Simply Offal

    We lucked out this week. Normally, it’s tough to find tripe, but we stumbled onto several packages in the meat section.

    When I was young (heck, even now, when I’m borderline senile) I liked Chinese tripe, and that honeycomb feel to it. But, when I first went to Italy, I really feel in love with tripe, slow cooked in tomato sauce. At that point I was hooked. Now, if we find tripe, we buy it. I’ll figure out what to do with it once I have it.

    We dragged this home, and on Sunday began cleaning it.

    My plan was to follow (as close as I could) Rodriguez’s Latin Ladles recipe for Buseca – garbanzo beans and tripe soup.

    A trigger for this was the fact that I had both chorizo (spicy) and morcilla (blood) sausages that a friend brought me from Portugal (yeah, I know, they call it a slightly different name in Portugal, but I remember the names from Columbia, and they’re Spanish…so there!).

    gallery_22892_3828_10205.jpg

    First step, as I said, was cleaning it. Health standards are a little different here, so we went through several rinses and vinegar (1 tbsp per gallon water) baths for the first evening and day.

    gallery_22892_3828_11637.jpg

    Then we sliced up the tripe into one inch squares, and boiled it in chili flakes, oregano, bay leaves, thyme, and water and vinegar. That took about an hour or so.

    gallery_22892_3828_2695.jpg

    When that was done, we drained the tripe, and then cooked some onions, garlic, tomatoes, and more bay leaf, and, when it had merged a bit, tossed in the tripe, beans (chickpeas/garbanzos, and white beans), some veal stock, and then let it reduce slowly.

    Today we added in some carrots and fresh chopped parsely, and then I turned my eyes to the sausages.

    gallery_22892_3828_23985.jpg

    The chorizo was a nicely gnarled thing of bright greasy red, looking like an angry disease vector. I cut this into happy little bites, and then looked to the morcilla.

    Oh, you’ve got to like morcilla. That dark, thick, clotted mass of blood, with solid hunks of white congealed fat in there. I did hesitate for a moment, consider the option of just frying this and taking it on its own with some sour cream and avocado.

    But, no, I had a mission. And that mission was to create this soup!

    Plus, I like Doug Rodriguez’s food.

    gallery_22892_3828_19045.jpg

    Once the sausage was cooked through, I hit it with a handle of fresh basil to open our noses, and then served it with rice on the side. (The recipe calls for rice to be added directly to the soup, but Yoonhi pointed out that this doesn’t do as well in leftovering).

    And there we found ourselves, comfortably settled with a thick, luscious soup of blood, guts, and more guts. The tripe has come the way I want it, soft and yielding in the mouth, but with that bit of texture that slightly tickles as you chew it up.

    And I’m a sucker for soft chickpeas.

    gallery_22892_3828_4195.jpg

    Okay, that’s enough for now. There’s plenty left, so tomorrow I’ll see if this ages as well as I think it will.

    Cheers!

  4. kimbap and makizushi?

    I asked Yoonhi where kimbap originated.

    She said "my mom's kitchen".

    Korea and Japan. While it's a straightforward idea, wrapping dried seaweed around rice, you only really see it in these two countries. The idea of seasoning the rice, could come from either location.

    Historically, you have centuries of cultural exchange between the two, interspersed with high points of active aggression by the Japanese (the Wako pirates, the Imjin/Pottery War, and the Occupation). The Japanese invade, and bring elements of their culture with them, but they also bring back Korean slaves, who likewise bring their own tastes across the Straits.

    Chicken and egg.

    Both taste good, so it's not something to stay up late worrying about. :smile:

  5. LIME????? In curry??????? *boggle*  :huh:  :blink:

    To each his own  :raz:

    What's the problem?

    I'm used to coconut based curries and the addition of lime would curdle it wouldn't it? Make it look like off milk? *shudder* I think tastewise it might be good. Just concerned about appereance. Vain of me I know. :rolleyes::laugh:

    I wouldn't know, I'm still waiting for my granite mortar and pestle to arrive. Being in the food biz, appearance is important to me as well. I can't say I won't experiment with this though. :raz:

    Onigiri and I worked this one out offline. Hitting it with lime at the end won't curdle things, so don't worry.

    But I still figure the dish (as I've done it) looks ugly enough that some more disfigurement would hardly hurt.

    :biggrin:

  6. Huh not familiar with Laotian food, like the real Luang Prabang stuff but I can see that. I guess without the coconut milk base that it wouldn't curdle. Um, I noticed you did not apologize for pustules! *shudder* I don't even like typing that I copy and pasted last time  :hmmm:

    I figured the less I said about it, the better off you would be :raz:

  7. Um... never thought of a cheese grater for palm sugar. I usually just shave it with a sharp knife? (Another trick us women do to make only one dirty pot and one dirty knife. It's something woman learn from having to clean up after dirty men and boys so we learn that when WE do something we need to be neat.)

    Yoonhi made me use the grater for the sugar. She didn't share my benevolence regarding feeding the ants with stray bits of sugar all over the floor.

    LIME????? In curry??????? *boggle*  :huh:  :blink:

    To each his own  :raz:

    A bit of tamarind for the acid would've been better, but we were out. Anyways, in Luang Prabang you'd generally hit just about everything with a bang of lime at the end, and I was extemporizing from Phia Sing's book.

    Tonight it's salt baked chicken. I love doing salt domes. I can reallly trash out the kitchen. :biggrin: (mind you, that'll have to go in the China thread)

  8. Peter, when you say roasting eggplant

    1) how do you roast?

    2) what stage do you take the eggplant to (how does the skin look?)

    3) do you remove the skin

    4) do you mean blending the cooked result? is it wet? grinding says dry to me but that might be the English (rather than US) use of the word

    5) then what?

    :smile:

    cheers

    I use the open flame of the bbq out back, turned to medium, and then turn to get fairly even blacking of the skin. The inside of the eggplant is just giving up some wetness when I cut in.

    I scrub off the blister on the skin, but leave the part that argues adequately with me. I want that "burnt" element in there.

    The chilis I just char a bit, but looking here for more of a light charring. I also use a head of garlic, as I like roasted garlic.

    Once everything off the fire I chop it into manageable bits, and then put it all into the cusinart for a wet mix, except for the garlic, which I squeeze out of the skin like pustules (I could use the mortar and pestle for a bump and grind - which would also be wet with these ingredients - but I'm just dog lazy. Hey, I've been outside grilling in 115 degree weather! Have some mercy :blink: ).

    Then it was work up the coconut cream, add in some red curry paste (I've still got some of those chunky wet sachets), fry in extra garlic (you can never have too much garlic) toss in some julienned kaffir lime leaf, get the nose wilting, and then work in the chicken meat. Once that's skin-fried, then it's add more coconut cream, include the blended veggies, add in the fermented bamboo strips, and let come up to a boil.

    I've found that the grater I use for parmesan works well on those otherwise indestructible cow patties of palm sugar. I'll season the mix with nampla and palm sugar.

    When it's ready, add the last bit of coconut cream, hit it with some lime to balance, and then cut the heat and toss in a handful of basil to wilt in.

    It's very important when you do all this, as a guy, to try and use way more dishes and gear than any woman would think humanly possible. Ideally, you should have a mess that stretches from the yard, through the kitchen, in and out of the pantry, and with the sinks stacked up.

    If you're a woman, you've probably got one pot and a knife to wash up. I don't know how you do it.

  9. Awww nothing wrong with brown UNDIGESTED food. :P

    :laugh::laugh::laugh:

    Peter, I would love to see your experiments, however brown.

    gallery_22892_3828_49160.jpg

    I dunno, this looks pretty close to Onigiri's description of what can be "wrong".

    The long strands are fermented bamboo, and the big chunky bits used to be chicken meat. Oh, and there was a big handful of fresh basil, some of which manages to give a glimmer of spectral diversity.

    A nice smoky, burnt flavour, but it's just not pretty. (Maybe some red food dye?)

  10. Something different......

    I've been playing lately with ideas from the Lao or lam, and roasting my eggplants and chillis, and then grinding the roasted veggies down and adding it into the curry.

    It really chunks it up nicely, and gives that Luang Prabang smokiness. You don't get the smooth coconut delivery of a central plains Thai, and it's not the coconut free clean of the North, but it does make for an interesting combination of texture and taste (I'm a sucker for coconut).

    However, it isn't pretty. So we won't worry about pictures of "brown" food.

  11. Not sure if this really qualifies for a food flick, but years ago I really enjoyed "Chicken and Duck Talk" (not sure what it is in characters) - a Hong Kong comedy by Michael Hui about a run-down roast duck shop.  Has anyone else seen this?

    I'll have to look for this one.

    Plus, it made me remember Stephen Chow's The God of Cooking (like you, I have no idea what the characters are). I only have a VCD for that. I'll have to hunt down a DVD and watch it again for the Shaolin cooking scenes.

  12. Here's a question;

    Of the Eight Schools; Beijing, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian, and Guangdong, the two that we're not very familiar with (at least not overtly) are Jiangsu and Anhui. These are, from what little I know, typified by "delicate" flavours.

    Sooooooo.......

    What dishes should we be looking for as archetypes for Jiangsu and Anhui?

    Because inquiring minds need to know!

    :smile:

  13. That's interesting. The chicken is done when it is put into the watermelon.

    I don't have a recipe at hand, but I think that the wintemelon version actually cooks the chicken in the melon. Of course, winter melons are much sturdier than water melons, and they have a great flavor of their own.

    On the other hand, water melons are so easy to get in season. I have never even considered doing the "winter", but the "water" would be fun for a summer party.

    BB

    One big failing of this book, they don't identify what the origin is of the dish.

    Which region is the wintermelon from?

  14. I've got an odd book I'm experimenting with just now.

    One Hundred Recipes of Chinese Food by the Foreign Language Press Beijing, 1990

    I'd bought it more than a decade back on our first trip, and then set it aside as the instructions didn't do much for me.  Now that I've got a little better feel for technique, I was leafing through this and was struck by some of the items.

    Tonight is Wine Fragrant Hen, which looks very reminiscent of something I ate out of an old fuel drum in Guilin last year.  It calls for a long time at low heat in the clay pot, so this could be good.

    There's also a recipe for chicken in a watermelon that has me waiting for watermelon season.

    We'll see how this comes out.

    I love "odd" little cookbooks. It is frustrating that the same recipes appear so often in cookbooks (not just Chinese.) But sometimes we find little gems that give insights into either an idiosyncratic regional style, or perhaps a personal or family specialty.

    Is the "Chicken in a Watermelon" like the classic "Chicken in a Wintermelon" dish? It would be fun to have a variation on that.

    BB

    I've got the book open now.....I hadn't come across the classic, and this may be it, as the thrust of this book was to capture representative dishes from all of the 8 cuisines.

    Watermelon Filled With Chicken Xi Gua Ji

    In general, you boil a chicken then take the water it was boiled in, season and reduce a little, then pour it back over the bird.

    Then you toss the bird, liquid, pork, mushrooms and bamboo into a pot cover, and steam it for a few hours.

    Then you cut out "rhombic forms" from the upper part of the watermelon.

    I love that. "rhombic forms"

    Separate a piece of this to be your lid, then hollow out the watermelon, and take out the seeds.

    You want a fairly thin wall. Then you can decorate this with carvings, characters, or pictures of Elvis, and then blanch the skin and then cool it with water.

    Put all of the other ingredients into the watermelon, then put the deseeded pulp (cut into chunks) on top of the chicken. Then pour in the steaming liquid.

    Seal everything into the watermelon with some toothpicks.

    The put the whole stuffed watermelon into a steamer and cook for ten minutes.

    This sounds great! Yoonhi'll kill me after she sees the mess I've made, but it sounds great!

  15. I've got an odd book I'm experimenting with just now.

    One Hundred Recipes of Chinese Food by the Foreign Language Press Beijing, 1990

    I'd bought it more than a decade back on our first trip, and then set it aside as the instructions didn't do much for me. Now that I've got a little better feel for technique, I was leafing through this and was struck by some of the items.

    Tonight is Wine Fragrant Hen, which looks very reminiscent of something I ate out of an old fuel drum in Guilin last year. It calls for a long time at low heat in the clay pot, so this could be good.

    There's also a recipe for chicken in a watermelon that has me waiting for watermelon season.

    We'll see how this comes out.

  16. Nice knives Peter, i too bought some knives from Tsuikiji - Nenohi & Masamoto parers.  Like i need any more!  But how can you resist?

    Resist? I suppose you just have to steel yourself. :smile: (I couldn't help using that one)

    I bought some steel moribashi from Kappabashi too.  But that was the only thing i bought in Kappabashi.  I intended to stuff my suitcase full of those plastic food models but they're actually quite expensive.  Did you find that too Peter?  I thought they'd be cheap but was surprised by some of the prices, especially on the really life-like ones.  I remember picking up a miniature matchbox size sushi set priced at 1500Yen but as i took it to the till i realised the price was in fact 15000Yen!!!  The cashier could literally hear my gasp as i gingerly replaced it and slid out the door.

    I also found the price, when I inquired to be beyond the "cheap like borscht" stage, enough that I didn't act as spontaneously as I might.

    Plus, while I would dearly love to own the world's largest plastic plate of kare rice, it wasn't immediately obvious to me just what I would do with it in a household that's already in a state where it's not going to be profiled in any upcoming issues of Spartan Living.

    And then Scud sealed it by making some statement regarding Yoonhi's potential displeasure, and the consequences.

    I think he might've used the term "gut you like a fish".

    :blink:

  17. What'cha cookin' in that pot?

    Ah, that would be my attempt at a Sichuan hotpot. I'd brought back some fresh lotus root, that I can't get here, and I turned cooking that into an excuse to do a whole bunch of stuff.

    But that's hardly on topic.

    :biggrin:

  18. There, I've finished the last of Hong Kong, ending on Cathay's seared tuna to bring things close to a closed circle from the beginning.

    It's been good to be back home, with all my toys at hand.

    gallery_22892_5999_12933.jpg

    I've put my ying yang hotpot from Kappabashi dori to use already, but I'm thinking, "this would be really cool with an MI unit on the table top".

    gallery_22892_5999_19283.jpg

    And I'm in love with my knives. The Aritsugas I bought aren't their most expensive models, by any means, but I've read too many times about people buying the sashimi knives and then never using them. I'm using my nakiri daily for vegetables, and getting good use from the santoku. (And I haven't lost a finger yet)

    gallery_22892_5999_16401.jpg

    I just have standing instructions that I'm the only one to clean them. I have nightmares about coming home and finding them chipped, or in the dishwasher, or helpfully sharpened (some of my knives have really odd shapes now - you just can't get good help).

    But now I can relax, and just sit back for awhile. Just rest and let the world come to me, instead.

    But I am getting a hankering for good Thai food.........

  19. April 1 – Strange Stool Samples

    And so, after my brief, odd stopover in Hong Kong, it was time to be finally heading home.

    I’d promised a shot of the dwarves in my room at Jia, and I do hate to disappoint.

    gallery_22892_5999_18702.jpg

    Of course, I could be wrong. They may be gnomes. It’s a tough choice.

    As for the middle stool……..I’m stumped.

    I took a cab to the airport, rather than try to negotiate my wounded luggage through to the train. This gave me time to reflect on my visit to the “new” Hong Kong.

    This trip isn’t really a basis for any conclusions. I should come back for more of an extended stay. As a tag-on to the Japan jaunt, it was pleasant enough, and I was glad that I’d stumbled into a structure (of sorts) for my day.

    I was also very glad that I contained myself to the stretch from Causeway Bay to Central. That was enough for a day. I’m getting old, after all.

    To me, though, it felt that something was missing. The feeling I’d had back in the early 90’s – that there was just money flying past you everywhere, and all you had to do was just reach out and grab it – that was gone. That feeling of holding a live wire, which I’d felt recently in Shanghai wasn’t here anymore.

    But, like I say, it was just a day. And a rainy, enclosed day, at that.

    Still, with the exception of accommodations the prices had all been right, coming from Tokyo. I may revise that opinion after a return to Bangkok, but for now Hong Kong was good value for money.

    And I found that I still had some left. A deplorable condition for someone like me. I burned the last of my HKD on foodstuffs at the airport, grabbing some mochi and bags of shredded “Korean-style” squid snacks.

    If you want to put that certain glint into your girl’s eye, shredded squid snacks are just the thing, say I.

    My hand carry bursting with a mispacked jam of breath-mint-challenging snacks, I was back in the lounge.

    gallery_22892_5999_16096.jpg

    This time I had more of an appetite, and ordered a bowl of the noodles from the noodle bar. In return for my order, I received an air-hockey puck with an LED.

    gallery_22892_5999_29557.jpg

    That seemed to call for a beer, so, given that this was the end of the Japan trip, I went for a brewed-in-China Kirin (they also own a big stake in San Miguel, touching on our last discussion). The two kept good company, at least until the puck started flashing. This seemed to offend the beer, so I took the puck away and traded it for some noodles.

    gallery_22892_5999_16068.jpg

    And from there, it was in the air, and back in the capable catering of Cathay Pacific.

    gallery_22892_5999_712.jpg

    The seared tuna I’d had on the outbound leg was still the appetizer, but it was dressed now with some asparagus, which isn’t something I can get enough of.

    The main was just beef. I’d really been hoping they’d do that pork belly they’d had on the Hong Kong/Japan flight, but I suppose that would be asking too much.

    gallery_22892_5999_15328.jpg

    (I was sorely, sorely tempted to make off with the salt and pepper shakers they had on the tray. )

    I finished with cheese, fruit, and port, just to give some semblance of health to my trip.

    gallery_22892_5999_27959.jpg

    There. Two and a half weeks away from home, and it felt like it was time to get back to a normal life. I had most of Japan still to write, another load of video tape to add to the pile waiting for editing, and some food to cook (I did some vegetable shopping in Hong Kong).

    And I could really, really, really use a weekend doing nothing.

  20. PC,

    A wonderful tour. Like Insomniac, I wish I had your metabolism (and your photo skills).

    Great , great rundown of your culinary "sprint" through Tokyo. I came across it while reading up on Tokyo and Japan for a trip next April. My wife is Japanese and has plenty of recomendations for food and places to visit but I want to be well prepared. Of course, at the top of my list is Tsukiji fish market, a veritable Hajj for any self-respecting foodie! My question is, what is happening there? You alluded to an upcoming move and an ominous forecast. When will this happen and will it happen before April of next year? Will it move nearby and be just as big and beautiful? and...and..and...It'll still be there, right? :sad:  For a food enthusiast, that'd be like going to Disney and finding out they laid-off Mickey! I even printed out your picture of Iwasa Sushi in order to keep an eye out for it! Oh, with my luck, by the time I get there something so gorgeous will no longer exist and will have been replaced with an American style food court with two Starbucks right across from each other and a McDonalds padded play pen in the middle. At that point, I believe seppuku will not only be justified but necessary, utilizing, of course, the plastic spork conveniently provided with the McGriddle breakfast. Don't toy with me, man, what's going on at Tsukiji?

    Pardon me if I butt in on this!

    As I understand it, the municipal government is going to move the market to a new spot on Toyosu Wharf, increasing the market to 38 hectares from 23. That sounds pretty good, in terms of getting people more room to work, but bear in mind that the government is going to be using part of that space for shops, museums, cooking schools, and a theme park.

    The plan (according to the Cathay Pacific Discover magazine that I read it in) is to have the move completed by 2012.

    As the current market has 70 years of history about it, there's an obvious feeling of melancholy about the whole thing.

    On the bright side, I was able to get my son out of bed by threatening him with the market's imminent demise.

    Cheers,

    Peter

  21. gallery_11355_5877_17791.jpg

    "I love the presentation of the ayu. When it was placed in front of me, I sat up straight, my eyes grew wide, and I couldn’t help but smile. One of the other waitstaff passed by as this happened, and she laughed a little at my reaction."

    Reading this, I can picture exactly the look you must have had when this was placed in front of you. :biggrin:

    I wish I could've been earlier in the night and have done the longer menu like you did, but I was just happy they could fit us in. It was one of my favourite meals in the Japan trip.

    But I'm still waiting for the DHL with the leftovers! :sad:

  22. spot on DG, normally in HK you have to ask for a Filipino San Mig or you will get the vastly inferior local brew....big mistake for a beer drinker to make...

    No such thing as local brewed San Mig here in HK any more. Although San Mig has been quiet about it, in September last year they closed the Yuen Long (HK) brewery, and since then all their Hong Kong beer has been coming from their Guangdong plant. It's even worse than the HK-brewed product.

    However, because of the increase in value of the RMB and also because the GD plant is getting close to capacity, they're tentatively planning on re-opening Yuen Long next year.

    I suppose just importing more from the PI is out of the question? :sad:

  23. March 31 – A Final Dinner

    I was being lazy.

    I was dining at the hotel.

    Jia’s associated restaurant, Opia , has had a number of good review over the last couple of years. When it first opened it was a vehicle for the food of Teage Ezard, and his emphasis on Southeast Asia, with Dane Clouston as the executive chef. Now, however, it’s Dane Clouston’s shop, and their emphasis on the cuisine is “Australian cuisine with accents of Asia and the culinary traditions of Europe”. (I lifted that from the little purple booklet they had).

    Chubby Hubby has a short piece on the contrasts of the two chefs, so I’ll leave that for you to read on his site. Plus, there's a lot more fun stuff there as well.

    gallery_22892_5999_61483.jpg

    I entered from the street. There’s actually an elevator in the hotel that will open onto Opia, but there’s only one, and you have to get the right one.

    It just seemed easier to go outside and then back in.

    Plus, I thus had the opportunity to take in the entry.

    Think “shinyyyyyyy”.

    Coming from the sometimes austere whites of Philippe Starck’s Jia, this place is rather, well, overwhelming. “Swanky” is a term used in a lot of the reviews.

    The designer in this case is Andre Fu, who’s done an extremely rich interior for the space. (He’s also got a hand in the new Jia hotel just opened in Shanghai off of Nanjing Lu). I also rather liked the glassed off (and humidity controlled) pastry section, which gave a nice contrast of industrial jumble to the place.

    gallery_22892_5999_42255.jpg

    But enough of idle knick knackery. You want to know what I ate.

    gallery_22892_5999_6547.jpg

    Well, first up was the oyster shooter. Japanese inspired oyster shooter with mirin tamari and seaweed green tea soba roll This is an interesting take on wheat free dining, as tamari is the “original” Japanese soy sauce, generally the soy sauce of choice for those on” a wheat-free diet” (according to Wiki). Then this is paired with a nori wrapped bundle of soba, wonderful for the firm starchiness of buckwheat (again, not-wheat) it delivers to contrast the nasal expulsion texutre of this fine oyster (I really do like oysters, but it’s hard not to take cheap shots at the texture).

    For wine I started with a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from the Silenis. I’d really enjoyed their wines when they came through Bangkok a couple of years ago, and I’ll happily drink what they put in a bottle. (I really do need to get to NZ one of these days).

    gallery_22892_5999_11879.jpg

    Next was kingfish sashimi with black bean dressing, crispy wonton, cucumber oil and shiso. It certainly smelled like shiso. Not a bad bit of fish, although I found the black bean dressing took away a bit from the actual flavour of the kingfish. Still, I’d been eating plenty of sashimi, so this should be taken just on its own merits.

    After that it was a choice of sea perch with truffled potatos, or else a dumpling of quali and foie gras with sticky chilli relish, salad of crackling, ginger, shallot, and baby cress.

    gallery_22892_5999_9186.jpg

    Foie gras always wins. Especially when it has crackling.

    I’d switched to a sauterne at this point to go with the foie. But I really liked the last bit of sauvignon blanc I still had on the go alongside the chilli relish with the dumpling.

    Like I say, foie usually wins. It was my next choice as well, driven in part by the presence of the sauterne. This was delivered as a char grilled foie gras with toasted onion oil, milk chocolate, caviar and baby basil.

    gallery_22892_5999_8581.jpg

    I gotta admit, I’m not a big fan of stacked foods. They look pretty, but they don’t eat well. The first thing you have to do is topple it, which questions the purpose of stacking. Give me Sergi Arola’s approach of approachable portioning of a dish (but that’s another discussion).

    I liked the milk chocolate touch. This reminded me of Sarah Schafer from Frisson, when she did a seared foie gras with peanut butter. Add some caviar to this to get the salt factor up, and you’ve got the makings of a snack bar to properly incense the powers-that-be in Chicago (is the import of caviar still banned in the US?).

    gallery_22892_5999_24545.jpg

    A pretty little sorbet cleaner came by, spoon defiantly plunged in the middle. I would love to comment on this, but for the life of me, I can’t put much of a flavour to it now, other than it was citrusy.

    I’d pushed back the sauterne for dessert, and now turned my attention to another Kiwi, this a Kumeu River Pinot Gris.

    This was to go with the last course, a sumac spice black cod with red harissa dressing, queen green olives, mint and saffron yoghurt

    gallery_22892_5999_11995.jpg

    The Tunisian-style harissa was a nice touch, the backdrop of chilies in it, along with the smell of the mint, perking up the gentleness of the yoghurt.

    Plus, it was a very nice bit of fish.

    I pushed back feeling quite well. It’s not an outstanding meal, but it was well-executed, the flavours all worked well, and there was enough playfulness in the items that I was smiling throughout dinner.

    I retired to the bar for my dessert.

    gallery_22892_5999_10059.jpg

    Dessert was a pavlova with dark sour cherry sorbet, chocolate and cinnamon sauce. As with the rest of dinner, I had no complaints with regards to this. The work was well executed, and it was a pleasant combination of familiar flavours to close with, touched up with the remains of the sauterne.

    It was a nice meal, clearly identifiable as Australian. Hong Kong seems like an outpost of Melbourne at times, with Opia getting good mention, Geoff Lindsay’s Pearl On The Peak, and a gaggle of others. If you’re interested, there’s a tidy little article in The Age from last October covering a number of the Antipodean (and other) openings in the Colony, and looking at some of the “differences of taste and business” they’ve been addressing.

    There. I was fed. And from here it was a small matter to get home to the room (I just had to negotiate those stairs and get up the elevator).

    gallery_22892_5999_3284.jpg

×
×
  • Create New...