Cupcakes by Paolo

I love Footscray for the way it constantly subverts my expectations.  One time, meandering through the "little Khartoum" arcade, I spied some golden morsels in the normally-empty bain marie of the little Somali café.  Oh, I thought excitedly - perhaps these are some rare golden morsel of East African street food, redolent with Red Sea spices?  No - they were good old dim sims!  In another subversion, I love that the Northern Chinese places, 1+1 and Dumplings & More, do better lamb kebabs than the tired old Nicholson St kebab shops.  To really enjoy Footscray, you need to "give in" to it, go with the tide, and not let your expectations and preconceived notions get in the way.  Otherwise, you might just stride on past Lutong Pinoy in the Footscray Market undercroft, assuming they are only good for fried milkfish and pork blood stew... and then you would totally miss out on their boutique line of imports by the fabulous Cupcakes by Paolo!

I have been just itching to try these since Maria of the Gourmet Challenge posted her droolworthy photos and reviews.  However, Paolo's little beauties are only available on Saturday mornings, and are usually sold out whenever I have been passing by.  This last Saturday, there were some left, and thank goodness - I don't think my beautiful pregnant friend who was coming over that day would have appreciated the runner-up prize of a bowl of pork blood stew to accompany her cup of tea!

Very Berry Raspberry, $3

First cupcake out of the box was raspberry.  This had the heady, sticky scent of raspberry lollies, and took me back to my childhood, clutching a 20 cent piece in a sticky palm, waiting in breathless anticipation as the milk bar lady filled a little white paper bag with mixed lollies.

Exotic Buko Pandan, $3

Pandan has been described as Asia's "vanilla essence", as it often lends its sweet, aromatic, almost musty aroma to desserts.  This green beauty was fragrant with pandan.  And if you are wondering - yes, the icing is as good as it looks!

Pineapple Crush, $3

The pineapple didn't do it for me, though - Sarah and I both thought it tasted more like banana lollies.  All these three cupcakes were on ultra-light bases, which Sarah likened to Asian-style sponge cake.  Personally, they were not "meaty" enough for me - I prefer a denser, richer cake, especially as a complement to all that sinfully indulgent icing.

Cookies & Cream Delight, $3

Well, Paolo must have read my mind, because the Cookies & Cream was the bomb!  The base was dense, moist chocolate mud cake - like a big, squishy hug.  So many times cupcakes are all about the icing, and you may as well toss out the dry, mealy cake underneath.  Even though I personally didn't like the ultra-light bases, Paolo has really nailed it with the chocolate. 

Next time you're out picking up your vegies from Little Saigon and your lentils from the Indian shop to serve on Ethiopian injera, grab some cupcakes from the Filipino takeaway for dessert.  Now there's a meal fit for Footscray!

Cupcakes by Paolo

Available through Lutong Pinoy, Footscray Market food court (map)

Hours: Saturday mornings only (although Lutong Pinoy is open during the week)

Price: $3, or buy 6, get one free

Free Healthy Recipes!

How would you like to receive 50 free "brain healthy" recipes? Food bloggers from around the world contributed to a special recipe collection called ThinkFood, put together by Posit Science, a leader in brain training interactive software programs, designed to help users think faster, focus better and remember more. Posit Science takes an integrated approach to brain health that includes brain training and now brain healthy eating.

Visit the website to sign up for a recipe of the week. After signing up you'll be able to see the recipe online as well. This week the recipe is for Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and includes brain healthy ingredients such as chocolate, banana, flax, and walnuts. It's from food blogger Tina Haupert of Carrots 'n Cake and it looks great! On the web site you'll get the recipe, cooking tips, meet the food blogger and learn about brain healthy ingredients.

You will also be able to purchase a copy of the hard cover book when it is available in July. I'll let you know when my recipe is available in August.

Here is the complete list of sites that contributed recipes:

Ambitious Deliciousness • Anne’s Food • Apples and Butter • The Arugula Files • Best Fruit Now • Brown Eyed Baker • Carrots ‘N’ Cake • Chocolate Shavings • Closet Cooking • Cooking with Amy • Daily Unadventures in Cooking • Dash and Bella • Dine & Dish • Dixie Caviar • Eclectic Recipes • eCurry • Fake Food Free • Food Blogga • Food Loves Writing • For the Love of Cooking • Gourmet Fury • Greedy Gourmet • Hangry Pants • Healthy Everythingtarian • Herbivoracious • Katiecakes • La Note Restaurant • Laurel On Health Food • The Leftover Queen • Lisa’s Kitchen • Local Appetite • The Lunchbox Bunch • Make Life Sweeter • My Cooking Hut • My Sweet Vegan • Napa Farm House 1885 • O-Cookies • Off the Broiler • Off the (Meat)Hook • Pink Bites • Project Foodie • Sassy Radish • Seriously Good • Shelteriffic • A Southern Fairytale • Stone Soup • Sugar Bar • Super Healthy Kids • Tastes Like Home • Wild Yeast

Shiso Special

Last week I finally made it to Sushi Park for dinner. It was fantastic, fresh and inspired. The only drawback for me is its price tag is a bit prohibitive to be a place I could frequent.

One of my all-time favorite items when I'm in sushi-land is the scallop with a shiso leaf. It is usually garnished with a bit of coarse salt and a droplet of mirin. It is not to be dipped in soy sauce. This little gem of delight is impossibly delicate, subtle and perfectly rounded in both texture and flavor. The shiso adds an earthy, yet minty accent to the rich and sumptuous scallop bite – which makes sense as it is from the mint and basil family.

As I was waxing rhapsodic about the wonder and delight of the shiso leaf, our chef – who couldn’t help but overhear – generously handed me two small bundles of the little lovelies. I was already on cloud nine with the meal (with the exception of their sweet shrimp – not so hot), but this was just the shiniest, specialest thing ever!

So, the next two days my mind swirled with ideas of what I could do with my bounty of these prickly, pungent leaves. I found that Heidi, at 101 Cookbooks, had a lovely looking recipe for Edamame Salad with Shiso and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette. But I was still trying to find a way to incorporate it into a dish that had no Japanese influence or ingredients. I actually made a pasta salad with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, chives, and – in lieu of basil – I opted for shiso leaves, chiffonade. I dressed the whole thing with some oil, a little mirin and a scant dash of soy sauce, salt and pepper. It turned out nicely: fresh, sprited and surprising, if perhaps a bit busy.
 

That night, for dinner I had planned on preparing a steak using my awesome “perfect steak” recipe. Then it struck me, the steak could topped with a shiso leaf butter! That lovely, crisp and fresh accent to the steak would be a superb idea. I hoped.
 
Well it really worked out beautifully. This would be great item sharing a plate with a crisp salad and some sweet corn. All so fresh and Summery, colorful and creative.

Shiso Leaf Butter

14 medium shiso leaves, coarsely chopped (about 2/3 cup)
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Smooth butter into a container and refrigerate. 

Place a generous dollop on top of your steak!

Asparagus Hot Brown Recipe

When I was in Louisville Kentucky a couple of weeks ago I tried the famous Hot Brown sandwich at the Brown Hotel. It's a rich combination of dreamy Mornay sauce, hearty turkey, a couple of tomato wedges and crisp bacon on top. Broiling the sandwich makes the tomatoes and sauce even tastier. But it's a monster! I really don't know how anyone can finish it. If you go to Louisville, by all means do try it. If you don't have an enormous appetite, you can order a smaller portion of the Hot Brown. It's not on the menu but it is available upon request.

All over Kentucky you will find different versions of the Hot Brown. Some have ham instead of turkey or a combination of both, or seafood and no turkey or ham. When I got home I decided I would try my hand at making a slightly lighter version of this delectable sandwich. But I figured why not try it with asparagus? After all, asparagus and cheese sauce is already pretty tasty. While I love Mornay sauce, I rarely have heavy cream on hand so I made a simpler cheese sauce. I kept the bacon because I think the salty, smoky flavor and crunch really are important in this mostly soft fork-and-knife style sandwich. I also like the juicy tomatoes so I kept them in the mix.

The Hot Brown was created as a late night snack for dancing, partying Louisvillians who craved something other than a midnight breakfast. But actually I think it makes a great breakfast or lunch. I know my other half would it eat it for breakfast if I put a fried egg on it! Then again, he would eat just about anything with a fried egg on it. A sandwich smothered in cheese sauce is a yummy thing indeed and I think there are probably endless variations...

Asparagus Hot BrownServes 4

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt to taste

4 thick slices white bread, such as Pullman or Texas toast, crusts trimmed, bread lightly toasted

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and steamed
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan
1 -2 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 8 wedges

8 slices bacon, cooked

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Instructions

For the sauce:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until pale golden, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and quickly whisk in milk and cheese. Return pan to heat. Cook sauce, whisking constantly, until smooth and creamy, 1–2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and season sauce with salt to taste.

Preheat broiler. Trim the asparagus spears in half, so they are no more than 4 inches long and cut the toast into triangles. Put 2 pieces of toast in each dish, and cover with 1/4 of the asparagus and spoon 1/2 cup of sauce over it. Sprinkle a teaspoon of cheese over each portion. Garnish each dish with two tomato wedges, tucked next to the sandwich. Broil sandwiches until sauce is browned, about 1-2 minutes. Put 2 pieces bacon on each sandwich and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Enjoy!

Delicious Vietnam #2 - Blind banh mi battle

"Move back!  I can't see!"

"Get off me!  You're totally in the way!"

"No, you are, you freak... Oh my god, you made me miss Ba Le's power pâté punch!  I'm gonna kill you!"

"Oh yeah?  You just wait, I'm gonna...  Whoa!  The cucumber screwdriver!"

"What?  Move!  I can't see!  

"You move!  What, it's over?  Who won?"

"You totally ruined it!  Take that!"

As the old black and white TV flickers, two brothers and their cousin wrestle on the floor, replaying the epic struggle they have just witnessed.  The battle of the banh mi is being waged again, this time between beefy twins Footscray and Richmond, as their little cousin Preston - small yet feisty - lands a lucky punch or two.  As the coffee table is knocked over and the glasses of soda go flying, the boys are a blur of arms and legs, and it's impossible to tell one from the other.

We are so lucky here in Melbourne, Australia, to have a number of Vietnamese neighbourhoods woven into the fabric of our city.  Melbourne loves her Vietnamese sons.  Which plucky young one will win the blind banh mi battle?

For this month's Delicious Vietnam, the brainchild of Anh of A Food Lover's Journey and Hong & Kim of Ravenous Couple, I want to share with you our latest Melbourne food blogger meetup and homage to one of Melbourne's best-loved Vietnamese imports - the banh mi.  Following the success of #balutfest and the victory of favourite son Springvale in the hot vit lon department, Billy of Half-Eaten had the brilliant idea of arranging a blind banh mi taste test to judge which bakery made the best pork roll.  The blind testing was crucial to eliminate local bias. Not that yours truly would suffer from that AT ALL...  :)

Banh mi fixings.  From left to right: gio lua, char siu, "jellymeat"

Banh mi are a Vietnamese take on a classic French sandwich.  They can have many fillings, like BBQ chicken, meatballs, roast pork, or even tofu, but the classic is banh mi thit nguoi or "mixed ham roll."  This starts with a crunchy bread roll, which is deftly sliced and spread with a chiaroscuro of flavour - a shimmering streak of pale egg mayo (aka "butter") on one side, and rich, dark pâté on the other.  Three kinds of ham are normally added - gio lua, a pale Vietnamese "sausage" of pounded pork, often seen in a banana leaf-wrapped cylinder; char siu or Chinese-style BBQ pork, often with a red edge; and a type of head cheese (affectionately known by us as "jellymeat"), which is various porky odds and ends, pressed together and bound with aspic.  The meaty trio is topped with sweet pickled carrots, often mixed with similarly pickled white radish or onion; cucumber; coriander/cilantro; fresh chilli; and a sprinkle of Maggi sauce.

I arrived at the our "kitchen stadium" (penny aka jeroxie's cosy kitchen) and added my wager of 6 rolls from Footscray's finest bakeries to the growing pile on the table.  We started nervously at the piles of banh mi, dormant in their white paper packages.  Billy had devised an ingenious "blind tasting" system where all tasters would be unaware of the provenance of each roll.  With a nervous gulp of tea, we began our quest, slowly munching our way through 18 carefully segmented sandwiches.  Screwed up noses contrasted with emphatic nodding of heads as carrot and crumbs piled up in our laps like a snowdrift.

What I discovered was the best sandwiches began with good bread.  For me, banh mi cannot be made with regular, Australian-style white bread that is thick, chewy, and with a soft crust.  My favourite rolls had crackly crusts that shattered when you bit in, covering you in a confetti of crumbs and crust.  The interior of the bread should be quite airy and with an open crumb, so the filling takes centre stage.  The meat had to be fresh, tasty, and not too fatty; the pâté rich, non-grainy, and equally distributed; and the salad zingy with sweet vinegar, but not overpowering.

Banh mi sushi!

Sports fans - there was a clear winner.  Both everyone's individual top score and our totalled combined top score pointed to Nhu Lan of Footscray as the far and away victor!  In my own notes, Nhu Lan scored full marks for their excellent crusty bread and fresh, balanced ham combination.  I deducted marks for salad and overall flavour, which I find somewhat bemusing as I often buy a salad-only banh mi from Nhu Lan, so enamored am I of their pickled carrots.  This little shop is the busiest bakery in Footscray by far, and it's also the most expensive, at $3.80 for a banh mi thit nguoi compared to $3.20 - $3.50 elsewhere.  But let's be serious - for such freshness, flavour, and variety, how can you call $3.80 expensive?!

On the scorecard above, the numbers along the top correspond to the following bakeries.  You can see each taster's individual scores, and the numbers in circles down the bottom are the bakeries' overall rankings.

1 - Lee Lee (Victoria St, Richmond)
2 - Huong Huong (Victoria St, Richmond)
3 - Tina (High St, Preston)
4 - Nhu Lan (Hopkins St, Footscray)
5 - To's (Little Saigon Market, Footscray)
6 - Phuoc Thanh (Victoria St, Richmond)
7 - Mai Lan (High St, Preston)
8 - Saigon Bakery (Victoria St, Richmond)
9 - Ba Le (Leeds St, Footscray)

That night, a battle was waged in my belly.  Over twenty-seven different pieces of ham roiled in a sea of egg butter, and a single, crisp green apple was all I could manage for dinner.  This fighter is hanging up her banh mi boots.

What's that?  You're off to Nhu Lan?  Oh, go on.  I'll have a banh mi with BBQ chicken.  Hey, I'm always up for a rematch.

Thank you Billy for organising the battle and to Penny for hosting it.  I look forward to future food forays!

COKE PORK in a CROCK

i beg you to try this just once.

it is absolutely the best, easiest...melt in your mouth pork recipe EVER.
i know just a little while ago i wrote about the slow roasted pork and i still think that is a fabulous way to cook a pork shoulder. this is equally as good...and just as easy. this one doesn't require the huge layer of fat that is on the shoulder and, of course, it won't tie up your oven all day.

maybe not the most beautiful pork roast picture you've ever seen, but it's the only one i could get before it literally fell apart. getting it out of the cooker in one piece for the photo was quite a task. i'll bet it's even a bit blurred from the "falling off the bone" factor.

i think the "picnic" pork roast works best for the slow cooker method. this cut is usually cheap or on sale somewhere.

directions...

3-4 lb. picnic pork roast

1 can of coke (not diet)

1 package Lipton's Onion Soup Mix

1 large onion sliced thick

sometimes the roast will come with a HUGE layer of fat on the bottom...i like to trim this just a little. the fat is necessary, but sometimes there's just too much.

layer the sliced onions on the bottom of the cooker. place the roast on top. sprinkle the onion soup mix all over the roast. pour the coke in. cook on LOW for 8 hours. if you're around while it's cooking..check it after 5-6 hours and you might want to flip it over carefully. if you're not around don't worry...it's all good.

DONE !

Whew.

You know it was a party when, the next morning, your guests send pictures as evidence and call with stories of their maladies that occurred in the aftermath of the evening. That reminds me, someone promised a picture that I have not yet received...

No, really.

What a cool night. The setting was ethereal, the wine was flowing, the food turned out pretty great, and everyone seemed to have a blast. The only sad part is that this is all hear-say for me as I was in the kitchen the entire time. And I was a little crazed. But I was happy. I was in The Zone.

Vichysoisse atop a Hama Hama Oyster, Garnished with Caviar

But, with a few pacing and plating issues figured out (too little time between a few courses, way too much time between another and I need to plate slightly smaller portions) I believe this whole Dinner at Eight brain flower of mine might just take off!

Grilled lamb chops with mint and lemon over spring pea risotto and heirloom carrots braised in vermouth, sweet butter & sage

The next day (or maybe a couple of days later to allow everyone to cater to their recovery period) I emailed, called, texted and sent smoke signals to everyone for their - no-holds-barred - input. Theoretically this was why I wanted them to come in the first place. What I found the most interesting is that everyone found the salad course, and the pairing with it, to be their favorite. The salad??

It is an interesting salad, I must admit. It is composed of endive, which is great fun to eat with one's hands. In the spirit of Alice Waters, who prefers to eat salad with her hands, I had Heather (our awesome server for the evening AND one of my oldest friends) instruct everyone to do just that. And to add a little more fun to the course, Heather had suggested we provide the guests with rolled, hot hand towels both before and after the course was served for clean hands. I'm guessing the delicious salad was even more so with a little process, a little story.

So, from the maiden voyage of Dinner at Eight, I share with you today the recipe for the salad course. For last Saturday’s complete menu and pairings, and for future dates, reservations and menus, visit Dinner at Eight.

Endive salad with roasted garlic, walnuts and oil cured olives with Meyer lemon cream

Serves 6

1 Meyer lemon, very thinly sliced

5 Belgian endives, cores removed, separated into spears

Meyer lemon cream (recipe follows)

3/4 cup toasted walnuts, in small chunks

1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots

1 bulb roasted garlic (minus a couple of cloves for the Meyer lemon cream)

1/3 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Place the endive in a large bowl and pour the Meyer lemon cream over them. Add the walnuts, lemon slices, and sliced shallots. Season with salt and pepper and toss gently to coat the endive with the dressing. Taste for seasoning, and arrange on plate. Scatter the olives and herbs over the salad.

Meyer lemon cream

2 tablespoons finely diced shallots

1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
2 cloves of the roasted garlic

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the shallot, roasted garlic, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil. Gently stir in cream, add a few grinds of pepper, and taste for balance and seasoning.

Printable Recipe

 

Bestest Moistiest Apple Cake

BESTEST MOISTIEST APPLE CAKE...

this is one of the BEST Apple Cakes i have ever tasted. the best for a few reasons beyond just fabulous flavor and texture...my MOM baked it and she discovered it from a fellow blogger at Food Tale. Mom and i are just a little nutty about food. i love that she is a foodie like me...or rather, i'm a foodie like her. we live eat breathe and dream of food...well, i can't speak for her, but all i know is we discuss what's for dinner before anything else happens in the morning. sometimes we'll discuss the next dinner WHILE eating dinner...one could say...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...oh come on...i had to say it. needless to say i was very proud of her web surfing and finding this beautiful delicious cake...it's earned it's place in the go-to pile for winners. by the way...this makes for an awesome breakfast treat and would make quite an impression for Sunday brunch.

this recipe comes from FOOD TALE and she adapted it from COOK EAT LOVE
many thanks to these 2 fellow bloggers for sharing this recipe.

unlike myself, Mom followed the recipe to a T so i have copied the recipe below for convenience, but please visit the original bloggers to enjoy their comments as well.

Moistest Apple Cake Recipe

•1 1/4 cups sugar (DIVIDED 1 and 1/4 cups)- original recipe was 1 1/2 and 1/4 cups
•1/2 cup vegetable oil/butter
•1 tsp vanilla
•200 gm cream cheese
•2 large eggs (Food Tale used Egg Replacer)
•1 1/2 cup flour
•1 1/2 tsp baking powder
•1/4 tsp salt
•2 tsp cinnamon
•3 cups chopped peeled apples (Food Tale used red apples)***

***note...the original recipe called for Granny Smith so that's what Mom used. i think they made the cake. Grannies are always crisp, tart and reliable

1.preheat oven to 175 degree C and spray 9 inch spring-form pan with cooking spray (or lining with baking paper)
2.Beat 1 c sugar, oil/butter, vanilla and cream cheese until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time and beat until blended after each. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry to creamed mixture and beat on low til blended.
3.Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon (to be honest you can use a little less). Combine 2TBSP of cinnamon mixture to apples and mix to coat. Stir apple mixture into batter. Pour batter (it is THICK) into a 9 inch spring form and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mix.
4.Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until cake pulls away from pan at sides or a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t be afraid-it takes a long time to bake, maybe even longer than written. If it gets too brown cover it loosely with foil.
5.This is under dessert but it is the best breakfast ever. Make muffins too.

Mi Pueblo Supermarket

Have I mentioned how much I truly enjoy grocery shopping? I might not even buy anything but no matter where I go, home or away, I am fascinated to see what is on offer. As my friend Joe Kowalke says, "Grocery shopping is my baseball." And I am an equal opportunity shopper. I like everything from fancy shops like Dean & Deluca that carry artisanal products, to Asian, Middle Eastern and Russian grocery stores and even supermarkets. I like discovering spices, produce, cheeses, sausages, prepared foods, baked goods, even packaged food I've never seen before and noticing what people are buying.

My latest shopping discovery comes courtesy of my dad, who shares my love of grocery shopping. It's Mi Pueblo, a supermarket that serves the local community in the Canal District of San Rafael. It's the first Latino supermarket I've ever visited and I loved it! There were so many interesting things to see like yards of chorizo, aisles of packaged flan, exotic spiky vegetables and piles of piioncillo sugar. There's even a taqueria and a panaderia right inside the store.

The prices for fresh produce were very reasonable and they carry many unusual things like fresh garbanzo beans and all types of crema that I can't easily find elsewhere, so I know I will be back again. The chickens roasting over mesquite smelled amazing and the guy out front selling oysters in shell was doing a bustling business. I probably won't be buying margaritas in a can or Peruvian soy sauce, but I now know where to find both under one roof!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

See the slide show of my visit to Mi Pueblo.

More posts and stories on Mi Pueblo:

Julie's Update
Silicon Valley Moms
Marin Retail Buzz
Marin Independent Journal

Dumplings & More

For the last few weeks, my daughter and I have been hung up on this place, where we go and eat lamb on skewers and potato salad.  Hmm, you are thinking, how very un-Footscray of you.  What is this place - some kind of el-cheapo pub buffet?  A fundraiser BBQ in a windswept parking lot somewhere?  What if I told you it's a restaurant serving mainland Chinese cuisine?

When we left Richmond, I was devastated to part with Xiao Ting Box on Victoria St.  Their fabulously fat, juicy, Northern-style dumplings were enough to make me overlook the grotty floor and sticky tables and keep me coming back.  I still eat there on the odd occasion I make it back to Richmond, but as those visits are fewer and farther between, it was time to cut the apron strings and find a new dumpling purveyor.

I like the intimate feel of this little restaurant.  Service is attentive and earnest, and they love kids.  One time, after taking our order, the waiter walked out the door to return 5 minutes later with bags of vegetables and meat from the nearby Asian supermarket.  That's fresh!

This is home-style Northern Chinese cooking.  Rice and wheat are equal partners, potatoes pop up unexpectedly, and lamb features in authentic recipes.  Their cold salad offerings are a real surprise if you are used to Cantonese food, in which vegetables may be cooked very lightly, but they are still served hot.

Potato salad, $2

You can keep your salad cream and your hard-boiled eggs - this potato salad would give any Aussie version a run for its money.  The potato is grated, lightly cooked, and dressed with vinegar, a little chilli, and a touch of sesame oil.  So delicious and refreshing.

Seaweed salad, $2

I just love Japanese seaweed salad - a tangle of emerald green, often stuffed atop rice in a boat-shaped, wrinkled inari or sweet beancurd pocket.  Dumplings & More's seaweed offering is its plainer older sister, reserved and demure - but still waters run deep.  This seaweed is more like kelp, very thinly sliced but with an almost leathery feel.  The texture upon eating is fantastic though, pleasantly chewy, with the same tangy, spicy dressing as the potato version.

Steamed pork dumplings, 15 pcs for $7

I love Cantonese dumplings like har gow and siu mai, with their paper-thin, delicate wrappers.  Northern Chinese dumplings are so different, with thick, fat, white skins.  These pork dumplings were not the best I've ever had, though.  The filling was quite rustic and coarsely minced, with a little too much ginger.

Fried beef dumplings, 15 pcs for $8

Their beef counterparts, fried this time, had the wonderful contrast between the dough's soft interior and its crispy exterior.  Unfortunately, the filling did lack flavour.

Pork with capsicum, $10

This was a simple, honest dish of tender pork and crunchy capsicum, cooked quickly and simply in soy and a little rice wine.  It was great, but the bottom layer had to be sacrificed due to the puddle of oil it sat in.

Pork mince with cucumber and noodles, $8

Beijing-style noodles - these ones handmade I suspect, long, slippery, and ash-grey in colour - topped with roughly minced pork and shredded cucumber.  Could this be the precursor to spaghetti bolognese, carried along the Silk Road back to Italy?  Dumplings & More's version was good, but lacked punch and the sweetness that should come from the brown bean sauce.

Lamb skewer, $1.50

With ho-hum dumplings and lacklustre mains, why keep going back?  Dear readers, I will overlook a multitude of sins for just another of Dumplings & More's lamb skewers.  Tender, smoky, juicy lamb, quickly grilled, then sprinkled with an Aladdin's spice mix of cumin and chilli.  The flavour is absolutely superb, and makes me daydream of caravans along the Silk Road, open fires on shifting sands.  A couple of these skewers and a salad will set you back $5 and I promise will be one of the best lunches you've ever had.

One time I was in there, a burly truckie came through the door.  Like a lighthouse in his fluoro yellow safety jacket, he squared his broad shoulders up to the counter, smiled a familiar smile to the owner, and called for three lamb and three kidney skewers.  Here is a man, I thought, who looks like he has the pick of roadhouses from Kealba to Kalgoorlie, but when he gets a hankering for steak & kidney, Dumplings & More is his pick.

Dumplings & More
96 Hopkins St, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9689 2165
Hours: 11.00 a.m. - 9.30 p.m., 7 days

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice .... What I thought is the best Hainanese Chicken Rice

Maxwell Food Centre is one of the popular food centres in the CBD that is always filled with the office crowd during lunch time on weekdays. Many of the stalls would have queues. When the weekend arrives we can see which are the few stalls that really stands out. During Sunday lunch time, there weren't too many people in the food centre. One of the obvious consistent queue led up to Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Why there's this consistent queue for Tian Tian's chicken rice?

First, the chicken that was prepared was juicy and tender and this includes the chicken breast. I prefer to eat chicken breast and Tian Tian prepares the most tender chicken breast that I have ever eaten in Singapore.

Second, they got the fragrant rice. However, I find that the rice, although fragrant, was not as oily as before. I prefer the rice oilier though. It tasted smoother.

Finally, the chilli and garlic sauce that they provide were superb. I read that the chilli was mixed with lime rather than the typical vinegar.

So far, Tian Tian still have my vote for the best Hainanese chicken rice ....... and of course, best tasting breast meat!

Apart from the chicken rice, Tian Tian do provide some side dishes. We ordered the cuttlefish mixed with a generous portion of bean sprouts to share.

Stall 10 Maxwell Food Centre

Maxwell Road

Singapore

Hatched ..... Some Eggy Breaky

Epicurious Singapore magazine placed Hatched as one of Singapore's top 10 breakfast places even though, base on some local food reviews, many would disagree. We've tried Jones the Grocer, Cafe Hacienda, Kith Cafe (all these names are in the same top 10 list of the Epicurious Singapore magazine) and we have to try Hatched to see for ourselves the disparity in opinions about Hatched. For egg lovers, Hatched must be the place to visit, for its a cafe with EGGs as the main theme.

Hatched is located along Evans Road, in Evans Lodge (previously known as Eusoffe College), an old building amidst greenery. I thought one of the best thing in life is having simple breakfast in a nice relaxing environment. The wooden tables and chairs helped in creating just that environment. There were a couple of the long communal wooden tables right in front of the bar counter that can accommodate a family breakfast or a gathering of a group of friends.

2010 Catalog of Eggs

2010 Catalog of Eggs is Hatched menu which looked like a comic book. In it, there are the list full of egg dishes that Hatched serve.

Usual Suspects

Enjoy 2 eggs one style, bacon, ham or sausage, toast, and a freshly squeezed juice, coffee or tea. The sunny side ups were cooked well and the yolks were still runny. The bacon and and hams were how HY liked, slightly browned and not charred.

Smoked Royale

Half an English Muffin topped with smoked salmon, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce, served with homemade mashed. I had asked for extra chorizo sausages to add to the standard Smoked Royale. The smoked salmon, the only obvious savoury in the stack above the muffin, tasted quite good. The Hollandaise sauce somehow tasted weak in lemony proportion which I thought a more sour taste would make this dish better. The chorizo sausages splattered a little red chilli oil as I cut through them. It was a little spicy but tasted pretty good.

Hitched Me Up

A balance of the yin and the yang, sweet and the savoury, enjoy 2 eggs one style, choice of 2 meats (bacon, ham or sausage), waffles, toast freshly squeezed juice, coffee or tea. This is one dish in the menu that one would order if you are in love. At least it was what the menu suggests. Hatched created this dish for the couples, the love birds. W and J ordered this to share. Looked like they're pretty much hitched up even though Vic (their little princess) is already past a year old!

Savoury ......

Sweet .......

The latte looked promising but ended up having too much milk that it made the espresso felt weak.

I thought breakfast food in Hatched just OK and nothing too impressive about their egg dishes to match the creative names they tag to them. Also, my mouth was not good enough to pick up anything special about the eggs except that the sunny side up were executed well with that still runny yolk. However, having breakfast in the relaxing ambience at Evans Lodge did make it a rather nice experience. I find the service at Hatched not too bad, contrary to some reviews that I read. So will Hatched be your favourite breakfast place? Good or bad, go try it and decide for yourself.

26 Evans Road

#01-06 Evans Lodge

Singapore

Tel : 6735 0012/13

Hatched Website

Cantaloupe, Proscuitto and Blue Cheese Salad and a Summer Break

I'm as giddy as a kid in a candy shop right now! By this afternoon I'll be greeted by two of my very favorite people in the world.

And it's so appropriate that we're sitting with food in this picture because one of things we love to do most, besides laugh, is EAT! We've already had several discussions on what we will be making and where we will be eating when they get here. My reason for sharing this is that I am going to be MIA, for a week, or month, or two. It's hard to say really, but I just really want to soak up all the time with my family while I have them with me.

But as a goodbye, I'd like to share my new favorite summer salad. When I came across this recipe in this month's edition of Cooking Light, I got scared, and then a little intrigued, and then really excited to make it. It's an interesting combination of foods, but all of their flavors come together so well, making this a very filling, yet very refreshing salad. Definitely give it a try, you can find the original recipe here.

A few changes I made, I couldn't find Cabrales cheese, so I just used a low-fat blue cheese, which was delicious. I also used red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar, but the second time, instead of making a vinaigrette, I just used my Newman's Own balsamic dressing, which was also very good. This is one that I can't wait to make for my mom and sister!

Enjoy your summer months! Soak up the sun, eat great food, and I'll be back soon to read all about it!