eG Foodblog: rarerollingobject (2011) - Mealtimes at the University of

[rarerollingobject]

I will search out a mix and make those pancakes the next time I hit the Korean market! The shot of them in the pan cooking looks like there is little to no oil in there. Can you clarify?

That pomelo salad also needs to be replicated in my kitchen (sensing a trend here...) - did you re-crisp the duck, and are the lobster chips just ready to eat or did they need to be crisped? I love having the fried shallots and garlic in the pantry. Have you ever made your own just to compare?

Oh, there's oil..alot of melted duck fat, to be precise. Trick of the light, perhaps. You need enough oil and a high enough heat that they brown without burning, but not so low that they steam.

As for the salad, it's roast pork, so I didn't re-crisp but if it was duck, I definitely would have. The lobster chips are just ready to eat snack chips..usually use shrimp chips but the shop was inexplicably out of the shrimp flavour in every brand! Must say, I've never tried crisp frying shallots myself..they're so cheap ($1.50 a jar) and I go through them so quickly I've always just resorted to buying.

[rarerollingobject]

Funny thing....I had a seafood Pajeon for lunch yesterday (along with Sashimi) and thought to myself - I should make that for breakfast

Hehe..we're a hivemind, percyn. Food twins? Food SOULMATES?

[rarerollingobject]

Pajeon mix...that sounds like an idea that might put pajeon on the lunchbox menu more often.

Please do share details of your pomelo salad...I　have a favorite pork and pomelo salad too, but it couldn't be more different from yours. Want to know more about the history of yours!

Cold Sydney winter...sounds just the thing, she says, eyeing the airconditioner remote.

My boyfriend goes to Vietnam a lot for work, and I've been with him a few times as armcandy..I still remember these amazing pomelo and prawn salads we had, with every single 'teardrop' of pomelo painstakingly separated..

So that's the genesis. Course, being me, I take a fundamentally Vietnamese salad, add Chinese roast pork, Thai pickled ginger, totally non traditional cashew nuts and Filipino lobster chips! What's your pork and pomelo salad like?

[rarerollingobject]

Lunch on the hop, very little time to stop and smell the wasabi today..got there so late that the pickings were very slim indeed.

Salmon belly:

Scallops wrapped around rice and topped with uni and salmon roe:

Salmon wrapped around rice topped with tobiko roe:

Inside out tuna rolls:

Seared beef:

More salmon belly:

[rarerollingobject]

And this - I pretty rarely crave sugar, but boy, when I do I need a MASSIVE glucose hit..the iconic Aussie Caramello Koala (decapitated):

[Maliaty]

That scallop sushi looks SO good. Okay, girl, dish where you got it...and I will be making a haymarket stop at some point in the near future.

I love the Thai Kee. It has the best little dishes that the kids love to use. AND it's the only place that I could find rice paddles without having to acquire another rice cooker. Don't ask.

Cheers

Maliaty

[annachan]

And this - I pretty rarely crave sugar, but boy, when I do I need a MASSIVE glucose hit..the iconic Aussie Caramello Koala (decapitated):

I was tempted to get a box of them when we're @ Costco....

[annachan]

I so, so, so, so, so miss sushi!!!! I also miss good Cantonese BBQ. I need to either brave the traffic in Sydney or learn how to make some of the stuff at home....

[Shalmanese]

I thought Marigold shut down, that's the one on the top of the Haymarket building right? My favorite Chinese Restaurant in Sydney is still Golden Century. Their seafood hotpot is something special.

[rarerollingobject]

That scallop sushi looks SO good. Okay, girl, dish where you got it...and I will be making a haymarket stop at some point in the near future.

I love the Thai Kee. It has the best little dishes that the kids love to use. AND it's the only place that I could find rice paddles without having to acquire another rice cooker. Don't ask.

Cheers

Maliaty

Umi Kaiten Zushi, on Parker St, which is a continuation of Hay St, which is the street the tram tracks go down (next to the Capitol Theatre).

I know what you mean about the rice paddle..though my problem has (twice) been trying to replace the rice cooker measuring cups..now THOSE are impossible to find. When I begged the manager at Thai Kee to sell me one, he silently opened the box to a brand new rice cooker, took out the cup, handed it to me and said "Go."

!!

[rarerollingobject]

I so, so, so, so, so miss sushi!!!! I also miss good Cantonese BBQ. I need to either brave the traffic in Sydney or learn how to make some of the stuff at home....

No, you just need to get yourself to Sydney one weekend, crash at my place, and we'll go on a two day food bender!

[rarerollingobject]

I thought Marigold shut down, that's the one on the top of the Haymarket building right? My favorite Chinese Restaurant in Sydney is still Golden Century. Their seafood hotpot is something special.

The behemoth 800 seat yum cha place on top of Market City? You're thinking of what was once called Kam Fook, then became Dragon Star, then China Grand, and is now called The Eight.

Marigold is opposite Market City, above the Commonwealth Bank.

But yes, Golden Century is the seafood hotpot standard to beat..

[rarerollingobject]

A quick meal tonight before a concert (Elbow at the Enmore Theatre, for those playing at home), at a fabled institution called Faheem's Fast Food - virtually every taxi driver in Sydney eats there, so you know it can't be bad.

They advertise themselves as "Indian/Pakistani"..it's hardly an attractive place, but the food is pretty damn good. Just snaffled up some naan, lamb and okra curry and a beef korma, with hot hot hot mango pickle. I love okra and will order it any chance I get, but what I REALLY wanted was the lamb brain masala curry...it's hard to describe how creamy and rich and glorious it is, but I'm always end up the only one eating it and didn't think it was a good idea pre having to sit still for 3 hours.

And a mango lassi, with lots of salt and green cardamom!

[rarerollingobject]

And so, to bed..a big day tomorrow, of farmers' markets and a lovely cheese shop, a crazy-ass butcher, the most incredible gelato in Sydney, and hopefully, a bit of cooking somewhere in there too.

[nickrey]

Kate,

What a fantastic blog! I've been incommunicado in rural Victoria with erratic Internet access but have been following on my iPad where I can.

Great to see more of the Asian side of the city and finally understand how you come up with those scrumptious fusion foods. Looking forward to trying out some of your recommendations.

[helenjp]

Gosh...I'm sure everybody in Japan has a good half dozen rice paddles and plastic measuring cups!

Are you sure you can't find one in a dollar shop?

[patti]

Check to see if the manufacturer sells replacement cups? I ordered one online a few years ago.

[johnnyd]

There comes a point in a man's life when he must contemplate selling all possessions so he can purchase a one-way ticket to Sydney.

[heidih]

The stars aligned at the Korean market today- green onions were 7 bunches for $1 and the only pancake mix that had English instructions was on sale for around $2. That was for a 1kg. bag so once I get the hang of it a party is in order. I did not realize that it was the same brand as yours until I got home and checked your blog. Thank you so much for the inspiration!!!! I will pick up seafood tomorrow - the selection at that market did not inspire today.

[haresfur]

I'm so behind - I need to come back over a few weeks so I can savour everything. I made a brave attempt at your Moroccan veggies over quinoa this week and it was good but probably not as good as yours. I promise to practice more. I bought my quinoa at Bendido Wholefoods and it was from Tasmania, which I thought was great. Is yours from there or from S. America?

I think savory oats (what I call goat meal) sounds brilliant. I'm not big on sweet first thing in the morning.

I measured my rice cooker cup after learning the hard way that it isn't a standard "cup". I'm pretty sure it was 330 ml. But now I just fill the bowl to the 1 cup mark and add water until it is just a bit over the 2 cup mark and it turns out fine. I figure the fuzzy logic should work for its living.

Thanks again for the sensory overload.

[ChrisZ]

Thanks Kate for a truly inspirational blog. I'm looking forward to visiting the places you've mentioned, and I can't wait to see where the best gelato in Sydney has been hiding.

Just wondering, how often does someone say to you - "You should go on Masterchef" ? ;-)

[annachan]

And so, to bed..a big day tomorrow, of farmers' markets and a lovely cheese shop, a crazy-ass butcher, the most incredible gelato in Sydney, and hopefully, a bit of cooking somewhere in there too.

Just got home from our local farmers market, which I do love. Can't wait to see what yours look like!

2 days of food with you? Very tempting....

[percyn]

That Indian Pakistani food looks pretty authentic, too bad I couldn't taste test it

Do they serve Kheema (minced goat) there? If they do and you have not tried it, ask for the dry spicy, slightly oily version.

[Kim Shook]

I’ve always thought that the eG foodblogs were the very best part of the site. I love that peek into other folks’ homes and lives. I am a natural born culinary voyeur – at the grocery store I enjoy looking at what other people are buying as much as I enjoy choosing my own food. And you are living up to the best in your blog, Kate! Every time I log on to eG, I see something new and exciting and fun and delicious! What a fantastic ambassador you are to Australia! I could literally respond to every post and every picture. What I keep thinking about are the shellfish – the bugs (I want to try bugs), those incredible sapphire blue crabs, the gorgeous head-on prawns. But tonight, what hit me between the eyes were the spanner crabs. I’ve never even HEARD of them! I'm just mesmerized!

[rarerollingobject]

Kate,

What a fantastic blog! I've been incommunicado in rural Victoria with erratic Internet access but have been following on my iPad where I can.

Great to see more of the Asian side of the city and finally understand how you come up with those scrumptious fusion foods. Looking forward to trying out some of your recommendations.

Thank you so much, Nick! You set such a high bar for Sydney foodblogs and it's one I keep coming back to read again and again.