Snadra

Shame about Selah - I would have recommended it actually, as generally I really enjoy it. I haven't yet been to Rockpool Bar & Grill, although it's just around the corner from me, but I'm reliably informed that it's worthwhile. Spice Temple, just downstairs from it, is excellent. In addition to Chinta Ria (Malaysian), which I've gone to for years and is always excellent, you could check out Longrain (Thai)(http://www.longrain.com/) or Republic Dining (http://www.republichotel.com/), both of which I've been to several times over the past few years and have been reliably good. Pony Dining in The Rocks can be quite fun (http://www.ponydining.com.au/home.html), although the food goes up and down, and it's a bit chilly at this time of year if you're on an outside table. On the other hand, by the time you're there you're not far from the Lord Nelson... For something quite different, and very inexpensive, I love Uighur Cuisine, (http://www.smh.com.au/news/restaurant-reviews/uighur-cuisine/2006/10/13/1160246311755.html) at 8 Dixon Street in Haymarket. I like the kebabs (flavourful but quite chewy) and the special fried pastry particularly. Finally, you can wander down to Woolloomooloo Wharf. Besides Otto's mentioned above, China Doll is quite good, and Kingsleys is reliable for a straight-forward steak. Plus the setting can't be beat. Enjoy your stay.

Where are you located and what equipment do you have? I am an absolute amateur baker, but I used this recipe to make a birthday cake for 25 adults last year and it was a hit and fairly straightforward to make. The whole recipe made the perfect amount of cake for 25 people where it was the only dessert. That said, I did a practice run on several cakes and frostings as well as decorating well before deciding on this one. I used a raspberry curd to fill the cake instead of the frosting with whole raspberries studded into it. This made assembly a bit more straightforward and meant I had no issues with berries going off while the cake was being stored. I did this in an Australian January, right in the middle of a heatwave. I had the aircon on in the kitchen and had no problems. You do need a stand mixer to do the frosting, but I think it's easier than playing with fondant, unless you're already experienced with rolled frostings (I'm not!). The buttercream held up really well in the fridge overnight, and after a few hours at (airconditioned) room temp the texture and flavour were perfect. This link has a lovely and simple decoration, but there are a lot of ideas on Martha Stewart's website as well. Good luck!

So, we take a few short-ish road trips out of Sydney every year, mostly to New England and the Port Macquarie coast, and more often than not, we find ourselves faced with the choice of eating something questionable or McDonald's. Yes, yes, I know many would put the two in the same category, but speaking as someone who just recently has been served 'mexican' nachos with sweet chile sauce and a bacon and tomato sandwich with white tomatoes, nearly raw bacon and BBQ sauce (!!!!!!), to mention just one or two, McDonald's looks like an oasis. We like Top Pub in Uralla on the New England Highway. We've eaten there a few times, and it's a cut above most pub meals, with everything very fresh and flavourful (plus great chips), inluding salads that actually resemble salads instead of afterthoughts. There's a lovely beer garden if the weather is nice and the staff are really friendly. So, what little gems have you found for a quick meal when travelling around regional Australia?

Hi Kitty, Right, that's it! I'm going to Macquarie Centre this weekend... assuming I can find a carpark. I shall report back. The starch sheets dish (it may have been green bean starch sheets - I can't remember) was sort of a cold noodle salad dish, with the starch sheets, and their lovely gelatinous texture standing in for noodles. It had chicken and raw veggies in it and was seasoned with sesame oil. This (almost) makes me wish I worked in Macquarie Park again. There are a couple of Malaysian places in the Hunter Street Arcade in Sydney (near Wynyard). I should see whether they have Chicken Rice on the menu... Snadra

I won't pretend to have deep experience of Hainanese Chicken Rice, but I have tried a few around Sydney. The one at Temasek in the Roxy Arcade in Parramatta is pretty good, and there is the bonus of a few other very tasty things to go with it. My personal, long-standing favourite has got to be the one at F&L Gourmet in Macquarie Centre in North Ryde near the Woolies. We no longer live near Macquarie Centre, but when we are close it's *the* place we choose. Their chicken rice has a lovely silky texture, with a bit of jelly under the skin, which I assume comes from cooking it gently and letting it cool properly. It comes with two very fresh tasting sauces - a chilli and a coriander/cilantro - and some very delicious broth-cooked rice. Just realised we haven't been there is a couple of years. I hope it's still there, because we might have to make a pilgrimage this weekend. Once a week they also used to have a cold dish made with bean starch sheets which was absolutely delicious as well. ETA: The place at Town Hall - is that the big place in the basement? I used to really like it -it was the first place I ever tried Laksa - but it doesn't seem as fresh anymore. There's a few places in the Hunter Street arcade which may be good for a chicken rice. I must check them out!

I live in a warm and humid climate where little insects love to grow, so storing all dry goods is an ongoing problem for me. I buy one flour 5kg at a time which I keep in a sealed plastic container in the cupboard. It's my go to all purpose flour so I go through it fairly quickly. That's an organic 'white' flour (which is really more of a flecked tan). For specialty products I tend to buy small quantities (here that's a 1kg bag/box, usually). If there are any leftovers I store them in the freezer. At the moment I've got 2kg rye and 1kg each buckwheat, cake & pasta flours in the freezer. Bar the cake & pasta flours, I get the rest mail order from Santos Trading. It does take up some space (my only freezer space is a side-by-side), but it means I've got just enough on hand for a spur-of-the-moment project and I KNOW that I won't find any extra protein in the flour. And at least I've got less room to destroy meat through freezer burn... I'm not an expert baker, but I haven't noticed any difference. I assume there could be problems if your freezer was liable to build up large quantites of frost, in that it might increase the moisture content of the flour. I have read somewhere that storing flours in the freezer for a period of time then in a sealed container will reduce any potential insect hatching as well, but I can't remember the source so I'm not sure how reliable this is. I do keep semolina and polenta in sealed jars at room temperature (ie anywhere between 1C and 44C in my house!) and have had no trouble with them gaining protein content.

I'm only posting this because it's a thread about the uses of curry powder, not because I think what I do with the stuff is authentic. I love curry powder in certain circumstances, but I also love a properly made curry, and I don't confuse the two. When I was a kid my mother made three dishes with curry powder. She knew none of them were authentic, but they were all delicious and I still make them now. Curry Dip: mayo, curry powder, some salt and a bit of milk to thin. I now do this with half mayo, half yoghurt and it's great as a veggie dip. Without milk it's a nice condiment for a grilled chicken sandwich. Curried Rice Salad: A curried rice salad served in a hollowed out orange half. I think the recipe came from her Pellaprat book. I can't remember the ingredients, but it was her dinner party appetizer when artichokes weren't in season. Chicken Curry: An anglo-ish dish (amusing, considering my mother is french). She simmered halved or quartered bone-in chicken breast in water, then added potatoes and curry powder. When the potatoes were done she would add frozen peas, apples, sultanas and bananas, then thicken it with a cornstarch slurry. I still make this. We liked it just hot enough that our noses would threaten to run. I also ocassionally make a Singapore-ish Noodles (as sold by dodgy takeaways here) using curry powder. All these are made with supermarket curry powder. Obviously none of these are remotely indian, and the chicken curry will likely make those who care about maximising flavour feel slightly faint (breasts instead of thighs! no frying of the spices! an excess of fruit!). But frankly they taste very good.

Oooh! I want to come to your place for breakfast. That doesn't just beat cereal, it puts it in aheadlock and makes it promise never to inflict its brand of milksoaked sugar crusted terror on the world ever again.

I third the Bosch. We have a fully integrated one (I can look up the model if you like) and the only way we know it's on is if we stop and listen very, very carefully. It cleans very well (make sure you use the recommended detergent) and the filter is easy to deal with. We tend to rinse most stuff before putting it through because we only run it every few days and in our climate we've had issues with mold growing on the plates if they've been it it for a few days. The heat from the water tends to dry everything but plastic. Generally we use the timer so that it finishes when we get up in the morning (or home at night) so that we can dry any last drops off as we put the dishes away. We will be moving in a couple of years and the next kitchen will definately have another Bosch dishwasher (it probably won't have another Bosch rangehood - noisy thing it is - but that's another thread!). I have had experience with Miele through friends and through work (all less than 5 years old) and would not get one. One installed in a high end kitchen was so noisy the owners almost never run it. The one we have in our office doesn't seem to clean at all despite numerous service calls. The rest seem mediocre, especially for the price premium the brand commands here.

Hi Pat, I'm assuming this is one of those things Victoria markets isn't likely to have? I can't recommend any specific butchers (not being in Melbourne and all!) but my first stop would be my local butcher (assuming it isn't affiliated with Bush's or any of those other chains). Mine has been able to get me specific orders before, and I'm in the forgotten, non-foodie suburbs of Sydney. My next stop, if that didn't work, would be a Chinese butcher. They often get half/whole carcasses, including the head, to break down (unlike many other butchers these days). I assume you might not be able to pick one up on the day and may have to order in advance. You could always try King Valley Pork as well. They do market sales(their website says they'll be back in February). Maybe they can supply you? Then you'd have some lovely free-range...head! I haven't had brawn (we called it headcheese) in years! Good luck with your project.

The depth of knowledge among the members of egullet never fails to astound me! I spent a bit of time on a farm in Germany (Schleswig Holstein) years ago, and the evening meal, Abendbrot, was often eaten with tea. I only remember people taking it black, usually with sugar and often in glasses rather than cups or mugs. Abendbrot was always a variety of cold cuts, cheeses, etc (maybe also a cold boiled egg leftover from breakfast or a piece of meat from lunch) eaten on bread as an open sandwich with a knife and fork. I still enjoy a cup of tea with rye bread and cheese or ham or salami. It works with a wide variety of teas, but I like it best with something lighter and slightly fragrant. Lady Grey is my current favourite. The flavours of the food are strong, but the tea seems to enhance it rather than be swallowed by it.

I made this a few days ago but didn't have time to post. The techniques in this recipe are unusual. The lamb is first "sweated" in a covered pan, then browned before the onions are added. This recipe which accompanied an article on Georgian cuisine by Darra Goldstein in Gourmet uses the same technique. I'd never seen it before, but it works really well and I make the pork dish 3 or 4 times a year. It seems a lot less troublesome and messy than browning in small batches and you still get a nice fond. I made this dish on Sunday. Unfortunately no pictures, as while I was chopping onions for a bolognese sauce at the same time (I've also been inspired to clean out my freezer thanks to another thread!) my attention wandered and I removed a piece of my thumb. Ouch. On the plus side, by the time we managed to stop the bleeding the lamb was nearly done! A highly recommended dish for one-handed cooking. This was very good, although I don't think I had the best quality lamb (it was in the freezer too). The chile dressing (for which I forgot to make the salted chiles, so substituted Vietnamese ground pickled chiles instead) gave a nice lift to the richness and slight sweetness of the lamb. To finish off the leftovers, I'm going to make some steamed buns like these ones from Momofuku and fill them with the shredded lamb and cucumber tossed with the chile dressing. And now I have some masterstock in my freezer ready for my next experiment!

Well first, I personally don't know any Aussies who drink Fosters, although I'm sure they exist! When I moved here 15 years ago cocktails barely seemed to exist outside of Chinese restaurants. Mostly it was beer (usually Victoria Bitter, but Crown Lager if you were being posh) and wine for 'the ladies'. This is outside of the hip city centres of course. If you were at a particularly bad BBQ the wine was out of a box and the 'salads' were unadorned bowls of tinned pineapple, tinned beetroot and iceberg lettuce. It was all about the overcooked meat. Bars were the same you accepted what was there and it was good enough. About 10 years ago it started to change and there's a higher level of sophistication now, I think, and it's slowly spreading to the suburbs. When I go out in the city now there are some fantastic cocktails, with really fresh, intense flavours and light textures. I've noticed a lot of tropical fruit, some judicious use of herbs and a focus on quality ingredients that wasn't there a few years ago when the cocktail menu was a dusty brown vinyl folder with Brandy Alexanders in it. Of course, the prices match! I don't go out cocktailing in Sydney a lot, and I'm certainly no more than an occassional appreciator of cocktails, but I've loved the menu at Pony and also at China Doll. Thre's a drink at Pony that arrives flaming that is wonderful in the evening in their outdoor area. But these are only two places - I know there are a lot of fab cocktails being made in Sydney these days. **Edited for clarity and so that I don't make out that there was NO sophistication in Australia 15 year ago - there was, it just wasn't anywhere near the suburbs or regional areas.

When we were getting married my future inlaws asked me what I would like as a 'kitchen gift'. I said rice cooker, and they insisted that a rice cooker was a useless piece of equipment but an electric wok (non-stick!) would be useful for years. I politely (truly politely) refused, saying I would prefer a steel stovetop wok and not to waste their money, but for weeks every phone call turned to the usefulness of electric woks and the uselessness of rice cookers. I held my ground and was branded as fussy. Electric woks were still purchased, but none made their way to our house. And now? Their woks stopped being used within 6 months and mysteriously disappeared, but they all have rice cookers after seeing ours!

That's what Lurpak Spreadable is for (although I prefer the unsalted one)! While I love real, cultured butter on my rye bread, this stuff is pretty close.

This NYTimes article suggests that cheap wine for cooking might be just fine. I've done some unscientific testing myself, and have to say I agree based on my experiences so far.

Yeah, I can't really mince garlic very well with a knife, either. I keep trying, though, and give my family members the eye if they say anything about getting a too-large piece of garlic in their bite of sauce. It doesn't help matters, either, that I actually like bigger pieces of garlic. I saw Gary Rhodes mincing garlic to paste with his knife and thought: why not just use a press? Surely it's the same result? Although it would be nice to have the knife skills to do it without fear of losing a digit or two... I use the microplane to 'mince' garlic now. And rub my hands on the sink to get rid of the smell afterwards. My shame: I prefer chicken breast to chicken thighs. I HATE innards and offal. The texture [shudder]! The taste [double shudder]! And I grew up on a farm, so it's not like I haven't had plenty of opportunity to try them. I firmly believe that nothing is improved by the inclusion of pickles, cornichons, gherkins or related products. I like hotdogs with lots of ketchup (NOT tomato sauce!), so long as they're the north american style ones (Aldi does a good one), not the soft, flabby ones you get here. Mmmm...high sodium manufactured meat products. I am fundamentally incapable of making a yorkshire pudding that doesn't resemble a fossilized hockey puck.

In the end it's how much you use it and whether it makes a real difference. Despite my allegiance to my ice cream maker and rice cooker, I turn up my nose at cheap (or sometimes not so cheap) single purpose appliances that do something you can do as easily in your oven or on the stove. I'm looking at you pie makers, egg boilers, pancake makers, omelette makers, etc, etc, etc.... But the things sell and keep selling so someone out there must be using them, musn't they? I'm a bit iffy on glass extractor hoods. They can look dirty in a hurry, but frankly my stainless steel hood is no different. And in a space where you don't want them dominating or blocking view lines, I think they can be great. But in the end the best hood is the one that extracts the most with the least amount of noise. But I LOVE my granite countertops. They are light, and matte-finished iinstead of shiny and brilliant to work on. Any light stains come right out with a scrub of baking soda. Bliss!

What a great idea! 1. Mozzarella - ever since I saw the article about making it at home in Gourmet magazine I've wanted to make it! 2. This lamb dish from Neil Perry - sounds perfect for summer with a cucumber salad and cold beer. 3. Noodles with Laghman Sauce from 'Beyond the Great Wall', including the handmade noodles - I got the book just before Christmas last year and have made the Miao Pork with Corn & Chiles and Tofu Batons with Hot Sesame and both were wonderful. Although this might have to wait until winter 4. Sauerfleisch - If you have a good recipe, please let me know! I've found some on the web in german, but I worry my translations are a bit iffy. Another good summer dish. My father grew up on a farm in Germany and told me that they made barrels of it in pre-refrigeration days. 5. Grilled rabbit - I remember eating it in Spain about 20 years ago, and it was delicious and garlicky. And if I get through these - croissants!

That's a very good idea (although they would never have survived the jawbreaking trip we had to the last place we rented for a long weekend). Drinking out of melamine or plastic reminds me of being in hospital drinking coffee that a baby would reject as too cold. Actually, cold packs and insulated bags are practically mandatory for us on a summer roadtrip. Last year it topped 43C = 109F on the day we drove home from holidays (hotter than hospital coffee!), but baggies would be really useful for snacks on daytrips and storage while we're there. I am seriously considering building a 'holiday home' kit box to go in the back of the car with dedicated slots for things like knives, cutting boards, tea towels, spice caddy, etc! We're also going to print out a short cookbook with a few recipe/meal ideas for when we get tired of plain grilled meats and salads, and desserts, of course! Snadra

I just want to bump this up a bit because we're leaving for a 2 week break at a holiday cottage next month and I'm trying to come up with a general plan of attack for equipment and meals. It's the height of (40 degrees celsius) summer here, so minimal cooking/time spent indoors in front of a hot stove are prime goals! My equipment list so far(some of which have been mentioned above): Stick blender/mini processor thing (herb pastes for grilled meats, hummous, mayo) Microplane Grater Knives (of course!) Frying pan Cutting board Mixing bowl Any other suggestions? I'm also keen to hear some meal inspirations for hot weather using minimal ingredients. My feeling is we will be doing a lot of grilling (fine by me!). Time consuming is probably fine, because we're not doing much but relaxing and taking a few day trips. We will be 40 minutes from the nearest grocery store/restaurant/takeaway, so daily trips are out, but we will be going through town every couple of days. From a previous stay at a different holiday house we know that the grocery stores are actually quite decent (in fact better than some of what I see out here in Western Sydney!).

That's good to hear as I've not been able to find corn tortillas in the shops for some time, and I'm thinking of getting into a bit of mexican cooking. Also, if you are looking for dried beans, I can recommend Santos Trading. Their prices for pinto & black beans are great and the quality is fantastic. I also use them for organic flour, quinoa and a few other bits and pieces. Snadra (good to be back after a long time away!)

I've been to Cafe Sydney (does that qualify as fine dining? for the price it certainly should!) several times in the past year. I used to think it wasn't worth the price, but on my last two visits the food really met my expectations. The views from the outdoor area are fantastic, and it's especially lovely in the evening. For something more low-key, I can heartily recommend Selah at Circular Quay. It's a small, cozy room, service is lovely, warm and knowledgable and food is really excellent. Great value as well. Finally, what about Level 41? I know it's not the 'in' place it used to be, but I think it still makes for a special ocassion, and great food. Parking, easy access and comfortable chairs are also most likely here, I think, which might be important to you at this point! Snadra

We eat supermarket cheese all the time. Why not? "Fancy" cheeses are good, but I say keep them special, and enjoy them fully when you do get them. That doesn't mean, though, that just any supermarket cheese will do. Of course, in Australia cheddar is always white. I LOVE telling Aussies about orange cheese, which they think only comes on McDonald's burgers. My first trip to the supermarket here: staring dumbly at banks of white bricks labelled "Tasty", wondering where the normal cheese was! I thought Tasty might be code for 'processed'; it turns out it just means medium-aged. We like Bega and Mainland the best in the cheddar department. Aged for me please. The flavour is excellent - it goes nicely on hard rye, or in a toasted sandwich. Nimbin 'Elbo-style' is quite nice too, especially on a sandwich with some double-smoked ham. We stay right away from those curious rubbery white hockey pucks sold as brie or camembert though. And I'm not fond of Devondale, which is too soft and rubbery. I hate processed cheese (we get it here too, although outside of McDonald's it's always white). I don't care how well it melts, it still tastes like an industrial chemical accident to me. Don't even ask about cheese whiz or Kraft Dinner - I may never be allowed back into Canada if my true feelings are known! Snadra

We did this last night - peas with bacon, butter and parmesan, and it was fantastic with farfalle, really bright and vibrant. Also super quick! There's so many possibilities with this as well (although I think next time we'll see how it is with just some butter or olive oil). Thanks Shalmanese.