Gurney Drive, West Melbourne

UPDATE:  This restaurant is now closed.  Kari Leaf is in its place and is reportedly not as good.

Walking to Gurney Drive past window after window of happy people eating Korean BBQ, resist the temptation to text your friends "want beef ribs instead?"  This small Penang-style hawker restaurant is worth holding out for.

Gurney Drive is apparently the name of a famous hawker centre in Penang, an island off the coast of Malaysia, somewhat near the Thai border.  Penang is most famous for its Assam laksa which is a non-coconut-based laksa, dark and tangy with tamarind.

Penang Char Kuey Teow, $9.80

THIS HAS COCKLES.  I repeat... COCKLES.  Here in Melbourne, it seems these tiny molluscs are the most elusive feature of authentic char kuey teow.  This version was unlike the Singaporean style which is much darker and richer from the dark soy used.  This was lightly seasoned, had good chilli heat and really tasted fresh and lively.  It was simply the sum of its parts, which were all good quality and so tasty.  Thanks Wendy for the tip a while ago!

Combination hor fun, $9.50

This is a new favourite of mine even though at first glance it looks so unappealing with so much wet sauce on a small amount of noodles.  The noodles here were the classic wide rice noodles, licked with wok hei and then buried beneath lots of thick, delicious, mild gravy.  Very fresh prawns, calamari and fish cake featured and were divine with a little soy and fresh chilli.

Nyonya fish, $16.80

A heaping plate of rice flour-dusted, thin fish fillets, curled and crispy, doused in "Nyonya-style" sauce which was tangy with tamarind, ginger and tomato.  This was well executed and tasty but I would try something else next time.  I always think deep frying is wasted on things that then have a sauce over the top!

Sambal kang kong, $13.80

I must have been a water insect in another life as I can't get enough of this aquatic plant, kang kong or water spianch.  It grows like a weed across Southeast Asia and has intriguing, tender, hollow stems.  You can see huge bunches of it in the markets in Footscray under its Vietnamese name, rau muong.  This was so fantastic - cooked with sweeter Malaysian-style sambal, heady with belacan and dried shrimp and with plenty of well-fried garlic.  I loved it - I could eat this every day!

Gurney Drive was packed when we left with not a spare seat in the house, and for good reason.  Two big thumbs up!

Gurney Drive

284 Victoria Street, West Melbourne (map)

Phone:  9329 6649 

No Wheelchair access 

News!

I have som exciting news! Starting today, I'm not only blogging right here, but also at Sweden.se which is a large portal site for anyone interested in Sweden and Swedish culture. I'm writing about Swedish food - what else? - and for now just twice a week. No massive changes for this blog, but I'll definitely link to the recipes I blog about there, too. And if you're interested in specifically Swedish food, you might want to bookmark the new blog!

Anne's Food at Sweden.se

This is exciting for me - partly because it also means I've started up my own business. That means that it'll be much easier to do freelance work, and sell text or pictures. (Heads up any editors that might be reading this - this means I can do magazine work, for example.)

This blog won't be changing - I still aim to post as often as possible. Maybe not every single day, but pretty close to it.

And the winner is...

Wow, I had so many entries for the smoothie contest! Awesome, I'll have smoothies to try out all summer long. In the end, I had to pick a winner.. and it ended up being a very adult smoothie with raspberries, coconut milk, vodka and vanilla. It was suberb - really great for a hot summer evening! The combination of raspberries and coconut was really good, and it was definitely our favorite of the three we ended up tasting. (Titus got his sans the vodka, obviously.) Congratulations to Dagmar for the winning recipe!

An honorable mention to Alva, 7, who sent in a entry for her very Special Easter Smoothie, containing strawberries, raspberries, melon, currant, blueberries and orange! Very yummy as well!

Lime Ice Cream with Berry Sauce

We're having very, very, very warm weather at the moment (well, for Sweden) so I'm trying my best to cool down. Ice cream is always good, and I've been trying out a bunch of different smoothies from the smoothie contest as well! (I hope I can announce a winner this weekend, so stay tuned for that.)

This is a super fast ice cream that I made a few weeks ago, as a light dessert. It doesn't contain eggs, so there's no need to make a custard and let it sit overnight. Instead, you do all of your hard work - not so hard - in a food processor. There's a similar recipe in my favorite ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, but using lemons. Will definitely try that, too!

The berry sauce should be fairly sweet to go with the tart ice cream. I use a white baking syrup which I imagine is close to corn syrup. You can use honey instead, if you'd like.

Lime Ice Cream
zest from two large limes
125 g sugar
125 ml fresh-sqeezed lime juice (I needed three large limes for this)
200 ml milk
300 ml cream (full-fat)

Zest the lime directly into a food processor, and add sugar and lime juice. Mix until the sugar has dissolved - about five minutes. Add milk and cream, and process for a few more minutes, until it's well mixed and starts to thicken.

Place the mixture in the fridge for at least an hour, then freeze in an ice cream maker.

Berry Sauce:
150 g strawberries
150 g raspberries
3-4 tbsp white baking syrup

I used frozen berries - semi-thawed, but it'll be just as good - maybe better using fresh berries. Mix berries in a blender and add syrup gradually. Taste to see that it's sweet enough, and not overly sweet. Serve with the ice cream.

Recipe in Swedish:
Limeglass med bärsås

Summery Tomato Soup

Summery Tomato Soup
serves 2

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
½ red bellpepper, in small dice
400 g cherry tomatoes, tinned
3 basil sprigs
2-300 ml water
1 cube chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
50 ml cream
salt, pepper

Heat a little olive oil, and fry onions, garlic, carrot and pepper on medium heat, for about five minutes. Add basil and tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add water and stock cube, and cook for ten minutes,



Blend the soup until smooth - I use a stick blender. Add the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with more fresh basil if you'd like, and grilled cheese sandwiches. I made yummy ones with cream cheese as well as regular sharp cheese that melted when I fried them in a little butter.

Recipe in Swedish:
Somrig tomatsoppa

Wednesday bookmarks, June 8

I rarely show photos of myself, but this one, taken by Tea at our blogger's picnic on Monday, turned out pretty good. Besides, you can see how nice the weather is here in Stockholm!

With summer in mind, I immediately bookmarked a lovely flank steak marinated in coca-cola - perfect! Unfortunately, Gittos Mat is only written in Swedish, but you can always use an online translating tool.

And when you have that translating tool handy, give these Knäckebrödshjärtan a whirl as well. Crisp rye bread, cut out with cookie cutters, and topped with caraway seeds. Yum!

I'm a fierce noodle fan, and I have to try the Spicy Peanut Sauce from Amateur Gourmet, as well as Mexican Vermicelli from Weelicious.

With both my own and Titus birthday behind us, I'm not sure when I'll get a good reason excuse to bake a cake again. But when I do, it'll be this Thin Mint cake from I am Baker. It looks incredible!

I keep all of my bookmarks here. For non-food-stuff, I've just started using Pinterest!

Creme Brulee...Guilt-free version

yup...another "guilt-free" dessert...

sorry, but i live in Southern California and i know at some point in the next few months i AM going to to be in public wearing  a bikini...scary thought...so i'm dishing up all these sweet treats that won't kill the waistline.

not to worry...i'll still throw a few REAL GOODIES in the mix.   one can only go so far with splenda and egg substitute.  chocolate is calling my name...

and bacon hasn't left the game

these are pictures of the custards straight out of the oven...

i must say they DO resemble an egg custard rather than a "true creme" that would naturally be rich and creamy, but this will surely trick the eyes and the palate with a crunchy crispy brulee'd topping.

quick note...i just had one of these that was left in the fridge.  plain with no sugar topping, no brulee treatment...it was fabulous.  better than an egg custard.  it DID actually have that creme brulee taste.  i made the custards 2 nights ago and it was even better tonight than the first night i served them.  i bet the vanilla bean had something to do with it.  so don't leave the fresh bean out...AND might i suggest making them the day before.  let them sit in the fridge over night...yummm!

definite winner...i'll make these again and again.  i think these would make a fabulous ending to a savory Sunday brunch.   if i had time in the morning i'd torch one up for breakfast.

HEALTHY CREME BRULEE

adapted from Walking off the Weight-Dessert Recipes

 original with nutrition values linked above.

2 cups non fat milk

2 Tbsp n on fat powdered milk

1/2 cup egg substitute

1 whole large egg, slightly beaten

1/3 cup baking splenda or sugar substitute...not quite 1/3 cup is sweet enough

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 real vanilla bean, scraped

sugar for brulee

preheat oven to 325 F degrees

NOTE...i did mine in a convection oven at 310 F... i think the forced air affected the surface.  i will use a regular oven next time to get a smoother more uniform looking top.

lightly whisk milk powder into milk.  lightly whisk egg and egg substitute until combined.  add eggs to milk mixture with the splenda and vanilla extract and bean scrapings....TIP---in a little bowl, mix the vanilla bean scrapings with a couple of tablespoons of the mixture so that it will not clump together.  when the bean specks look like they have separated pour this back into the whole mixture.  (i learned this after i had to deal with vanilla bean clumps.)  

whisk until combined, but do not whisk hard...you don't want a lot of foam or bubbles.

pour mixture into custard cups

NOTE...this made a little more than 4  7oz. custard cups...do not over fill.  i did not use it all.

bake the custards in a bain marie...make sure you fill your bain marie with very hot hot water...but not boiling water.

bake for 35 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean and they look set...might appear slightly jiggly in the center

let them cool then move to the fridge...uncovered for a couple hours...

or as i mentioned above, leave them in over night.  after they have fully chilled (an hour of so) cover them with plastic wrap.  press the plastic wrap right down onto the custard (like you would a pudding).

when ready to serve remove from fridge and dab off any moisture that might have collected on the top. let them come to room temp....if you can wait.

sprinkle with at least 1 - 2 tsp of sugar...i did not skimp on this part.  you want a good hard top to crack through

FLAME ON !!!   torch your sugar

if you do not have a torch i suggest you purchase one...it's much more FUN and satisfying than trying to get the "brulee effect"  in the broiler.

don't forget to let cool off a little before handling.

Hawaiian Meatballs

Honestly, I had never imagined such a thing as meatballs in a sweet- and sour sauce with pineapples and peppers, served with rice until I found it at The Pioneer Woman. It sounded rather strange to me... but appealing, too. I bookmarked it and cooked it as soon as I found a nice pineapple - and it was actually really good. Definitely a keeper!

I've changed the quantities slightly, but if you prefer US measurements, just use Ree's recipe.

Hawaiian Meatballs
serves 4

500 g ground beef
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 egg
100 ml breadcrumbs (panko is preferrable, but regular are fine)
salt, pepper, chili flakes (about 1/2 tsp of each)
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
cooking oil for frying
2 green bellpeppers, diced
1/2-1 fresh pineapple (depending on how big it is and how much you like pineapple), diced
500 ml beef stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
100 ml sherry vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
salt, chili flakes

Mix beef, onion, egg, breadcrumbs, and a little salt, pepper and chili together. Shape small meatballs and place on a cutting board or baking sheet. Freeze them for about 15 minutes, so that they firm up - it'll make them hold their shape much better.

Mix stock, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and corn starch. Set aside.

Roll the meatballs in the flour, and brown in cooking oil on medium-high heat. They don't need to be completely cooked through at this stage, but they should be nicely browned. Work in batches. Set the browned meatballs aside.

Pour out any remaining oil, and fry the bellpeppers for about a minute. Add the pineapple, and fry for another minute. Add the sauce mixture, and the meatballs. Stir, and cook on low-medium heat until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs are cooked through.

Season with salt, and some more chili flakes. Serve over rice.

Recipe in Swedish:
Köttbullar Hawaii

Fluffy Rice Pancakes

I have a (very vague) memory of my grandma making tiny rice pancakes for me as a kid. They were not at all like these, but the flavor is similar. Hers were more like Swedish (thin) pancakes, but small, and with rice. I haven't been able to find a recipe that looks promising, so for this, I just took my favorite recipe for American pancakes and added rice.

This is the perfect dish to make when you have leftover rice. I often do, because I always aim to have a little extra - either to make fried rice, or now that I've discoved this dish, to make this.

They're more filling than regular pancakes, and a bit sturdier. Easy to eat cold as well, and without anything else - I liked mine with maple syrup, but they were great on their own too.

Fluffy Rice Pancakes
10-12 pancakes

250 ml buttermilk, filmjolk or neutral yogurt
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 egg
1-200 ml cold, cooked rice

2 tbsp sugar
250 ml all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk the wet ingredients with the rice. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and add the wet ones. Stir until all lumps are gone.

Fry small pancakes in butter on medium heat. They're ready to flip when they start to look dry, and when they have small bubbles on the surface.


And Titus loved them...

Recipe in Swedish:
Fluffiga risplättar

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cookies

As I've mentioned in the past, my husband is a dental student out here in Philly. Because of this, virtually all of our friends are students as well, all of us away from family, and most of us experiencing the east coast for the first time. It's really nice because we can all sympathize with each other when we get homesick, or when we're feeling exceptionally poor that day. We all rely on each other for babysitting, support, or even just a shoulder to cry on. For four years, they ARE your family and we become very close.



The hard part about having student friends is that every year you have to say goodbye to a fraction of them who are lucky enough to be graduating and moving on. It's always sad, but it's also so exciting for them to reach that next step. About a month ago we had a big bbq for the families leaving. It was a lot of fun and a good chance to give hugs and well wishes. Everyone contributes to the potluck and there is always lots of good food.



These were my contribution, I found these cookies on Maria's blog Two Peas and Their Pod. I love Maria's blog, her food is so beautiful and fresh and there is NO shortage of cookie recipes, this girl can bake! These were bright and delicious, and my favorite part was biting into a juicy blueberry. They're perfect for summer and the recipe can be found here. Thanks Maria!

Nepalese food in a Braybrook business park

 

Food in a business park - what springs to mind?  Bowling ball-sized muffins, hot dogs in a water bath?  It did to me at least.  Who would have thought the unprepossessing Cafe Centro on semi-industrial Ashley Street metamorphosed into a Nepalese restaurant by night?

These guys need to do some serious marketing.  On a cold winter's night, the lights are dim and the entry concealed.  No one would think to visit unless you had a hot tip (thanks Chris!)  There's no helping the corporate vibe once inside but at least the cavernous space means the kids can run around without upsetting anyone.

The menu has Indian overtones but with some Chinese accents, reflective of Nepal's location sandwiched between India and China.  Complimentary pappadums to start with a quite lovely sauce made from ground sesame, chilli and tomato.

Spring rolls, $5

These spring rolls were quite nice, evidently home made and served with a light plum sauce.  The deep fryer needed to be a bit hotter as both these and the pappadums were a little oily.

Pakheta, $6.95

Pleasant chicken wingettes with a spice mix that was quite unique - I tasted cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper.  One was a bit underdone, but Grandpa still ate it!

Momo veg, $6.95

I think momo are so cool - they are a bona fide fusion food and are so delicious.  They look like Chinese dumplings but inside these vegetarian ones is a very Indianesque spiced, mashed vegetable filling.  These were good but the steaming seemed inexpert as the skins had cooked unevenly and split in places.

Momo meat, $6.95

You can find good momo in Footscray at Fusion Cafe and Momo Bar.  These meat momo didn't stack up to Fusion's, however.  The filling was tasty with ginger but somewhat heavy and the skins had split.  The price is also vastly incongruent - 10 for $8 at Fusion.

 "Matar paneer" (sic), $11.90

Things picked up with the main courses.  This was great aloo matar (incorrectly called matar paneer or peas with cheese on the menu).  Unlike some more Northern-style Indian versions that have a thick brown curry sauce, the sauce was light, tangy tomato with a sprinkle of fenugreek leaves.  I liked the addition of capsicum a lot.  I actually got a child to eat this which is testament to how yummy it was.

 Okra, $11.90

Excellent okra, diced and dry-fried with tomato, onion and chilli.  This was simple and tasty with quality ingredients.  Props that they had okra - in so many places when you order the more obscure vegetable dishes, they don't end up having them in stock.  The menu says that "meals are served mild to fit local taste" - ask for spice levels to be authentic and you will be rewarded.

Goat curry ("mutton curry" on menu), $13.95

Boneless goat pieces in a very rich, thick curry sauce spiced with cardamon.  This was good - some pieces of goat were fatty, others meltingly tender but I think that is authentic - the textural variation is part of the appeal and goat always seems very rich.

Chamre, $5

Oiled, seasoned saffron rice that was quite delicious.  I liked the crunch of the cashews and peanuts.  We had gorgeous, deep-lipped brass trays to eat our meals from.

Roti baber, $3.90 (2 pieces)

This was yummy roti, I think house-made, cooked as is traditional on a somewhat dry griddle so you get the contrast between the dark, flaky spots where it has touched and the tender pastry in between.

Masala roti, $4.95

Roti stuffed with spiced mashed potato.  This is really a meal in itself rather than a bread to mop up sauce.  The potato was thick, tasty, spiced with cumin and well seasoned.

As is often the case in Indian restaurants, the price here really added up fast once you add in all the entrees, rice and breads.  I did really enjoy the main courses - it seems like really authentic food, not overpoweringly rich like some restaurant Indian that is so inflated with ghee and cream.  The prices seem steep for the location and atmosphere, however.  Next time it would be worth trying the thali-esque dhal bhat masu or dhal bhat tarkari ($15.95) for variety but lower price, or one of the banquets which start at $20 per head.

Cafe Centro

9 Ashley Street, Braybrook (map) - if coming from Barkly, go straight over Ashley and turn right at the security gate

Phone:   9396 1400

No Wheelchair access

Curried Potato Salad

This is the first, but certainly not last, potato salad of the season for me. We eat quite a lot of cold salads in the summer, as they're the perfect thing to serve along barbecued just-about-anything, and potato salad is really my husband's favorite. This one is adapted from a recipe in The Lee Bro's Simple Fresh Southern cookbook, and I think it turned out really tasty. I used a light hand with the curry as it can be overpowering, but if you like curry - bring it on.

Curried Potato Salad
Serves 4

900 g new potatoes, cut into small dice
100 ml mayonnaise
4 tbsp buttermilk (I used Swedish filmjolk)
4 tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 tbsp lemon juice (I didn't measure, but used one large lemon)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 yellow bellpepper, in fine dice
1 red onion, finely diced

Cook the diced potatoes in plenty of salted water in a pot with a lid. Bring to a boil, and cook until it's just starting to soften - about 3-5 minutes. Cover with the lid, remove the pot from the heat, and let it sit for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the mayo, buttermilk, relish, lemon and vinegar. Season with salt, curry powder and garam masala.

Drain the potatoes and rinse with cold water. Toss with the dressing, the red onion and the bellpepper, and serve.

Recipe in Swedish:
Potatissallad med curry

Healthy Faux Cheesecake ...

always on the hunt for a healthy treat...?

this Creamy Lime Pie seems just right for both the health conscious crowd...

AND...

for those, such as myself, who prefer filling their calorie quota with PORK BELLY and other various savory indulgences.

this creamy cheesecake looking pie is just right for a light dessert...breakfast even.  all sweet and smooth with a little tang and that graham cracker-ish crust, but it's all good for ya.  made with Fiber One Yogurt, a little lite cream cheese and Fiber One Cereal.

it might look like cheesecake, act like a cheesecake, but you'll know it's yogurt so don't try to pass it off as "cheesecake". 

BUT, i must say...you WILL have yourself a fabulous guilt-free dessert with plenty of room for that late night snack of baby back ribs slathered in extra BBQ sauce.

Creamy Vanilla Lime Yogurt Cheesecake pie

slightly adapted from Fiber One

original with nutritional info found here.

Crust

2 cups Fiber One original bran cereal

1/4 cup melted butter

1 Tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Filling

1 Tbsp cold water

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tsp powder unflavored gelatin

4 oz. fat free cream cheese
1/2 tsp lemon extract

4 containers Yoplait Fiber One vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup frozen (thawed) reduced fat whipped topping

1 Tbsp grated lime zest

preheat oven to 350 F.

finely crush the bran cereal in a food processor until it resembles graham cracker crumbs.

in a medium bowl, mix crust ingredients until blended.  press mixture evenly and firmly in bottom and up sides of a 9" pie plate.  bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until firm.  cool completely, about an hour

in a 1 qt. sauce pan, mix water and lime juice.  sprinkle gelatin on lime/water mixture and let stand for 1 -2 minutes.  heat over low heat until gelatin is dissolved.  cool slightly about 2 minutes
NOTE...i did this step in a small glass bowl and then the microwave

in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  add yogurt, extract and lime juice/gelatin mixture and beat until smooth and well blended.  fold in whipped topping and lime zest.  spoon onto crust.  refrigerate until set...about 2-3 hours

serve with a dollop of whipped topping

News from Nespresso

I've been using my Nespresso Citiz for about a year now, and while I love it, I was pretty excited to try the new Nespresso Pixie. It's slightly more compact in size, but otherwise very much comparable. It's a little faster, but the difference is small. The Citiz feels sturdier and seems to have better build quality. All in all, I'm not completely sure which one I prefer...

A boy and his bun

Since we're away, I'll keep the blogging short for a few more days. We stopped on our way for a coffee break, at Kupolen Cafe in Borlänge. Titus enjoyed a huge cinnamon bun, as you can see. It was a nice place with a good pastry assortment, and everything looked like it was actually made by them and not just bought frozen or bake-off as is sadly quite common in Sweden nowadays.