Gado Gado (Salad With Peanut Sauce)

Gado Gado - The Heavenly Peanut Salad

Gado Gado is another popular street food in Indonesia. It's a traditional salad of mixed vegetables that is served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce. It can be easily found in many Indonesian restaurants around Sydney. Therefore, for many non-Indonesian, gado gado is not alien anymore. This traditional salad can be easily prepared at home at your convenience, the key ingredient which is the peanut sauce can be made freshly or it's also available from most Asian groceries. It usually comes in block, although I have to reveal that the freshly-made peanut sauce definitely taste better, however off-the-shelf sauce is not too bad either.

Fried silken Tofu (Pre-fried tofu from the shelf can be used too)

The common vegetables used in Gado Gado are cabbage (boiled/fresh), boiled egg,  fried tofu, boiled bean sprout, boiled potato and boiled long beans. However, any kind of vegetables can be used too. So feel free to bring out your inner creativity and include any vegetables of your choice. Cracker like prawn cracker is another common ingredient in Gado Gado, but why not try other type of crackers like nachos, corn chips or any plain unsalted chips? They might turn out to be a good substitute.

The too good to be true Peanut Sauce. Thanks to mum for bringing it all the way from Indonesia.

 Ready to be mix vegetables

This salad can be prepared in no time and is as easy as a pie. All you need to do is prepare your vegetables/ingredients (steamed, boiled or fresh). Prepare your peanut sauce as per packet instruction (make sure it's thick in consistency for maximum enjoyment). Add the peanut sauce into vegetables and toss well.

Indonesian Meatball Noodle Soup (Mie Bakso)

Savouring Mie Bakso Once Again

This post is just a brief introduction to one of Indonesia's most popular noodle soup, Mie Bakso. Mie Bakso (Meatball Noodle Soup) is an ubiquitous street food in Indonesia. Even tough, it is considered a cheap eat, this noodle soup can be found everywhere from street-side stalls to restaurants in shopping mall. However, this bowl of flavoursome noddle is no where to be found in Sydney (or I haven't found one yet). Luckily for me, I get to taste this wonderful noodle soup once again, all thanks to my mum who visited me last week. Mum knows how much I like to eat Mie Bakso, so at 4am Monday morning she rolled up her sleeve to prepare this bowl of delicious noodle soup ready for me when I wake up. Life couldn't be better than this!

(Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe as mum brought the homemade paste for the soup from Indonesia)

Shredded fried chicken

 Chopped celery leaves

This is not a complicated bowl of noodle. It consists of only meatballs (usually beef), shredded fried chicken, crispy fried shallots and celery leaves. However, the peppery and aromatic soup is made from a combination of different kind of Indonesian spices that create the signature flavour.

The usual way to enjoy this bowl of noodle is to add in lots of hot chilli paste and sweet soya sauce enough to make you puffing and sweating, at the same time racing for a glass of cold water to soothe the burning mouth.

Homemade chilli paste mixed with sweet soya sauce

Before adding in the soup

with soup

 Add in the Chilli Paste

Mix well and see you in culinary heaven

Angelo's on the Bay, Cabarita

Angelo's on the Bay is a very special restaurant for me and my husband. This is the restaurant where we celebrated our marriage a year ago. Last week, we revisited this memorable restaurant to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and it certainly brought back fond memories of the most important day of our lives.

 

The restaurant is situated at a beautiful waterside setting in Cabarita. The relax and quiet surrounding allow us to enjoy a magnificent lunch on a great Sunday afternoon. This is a perfect place to enjoy a contemporary Italian cuisine with friends and family.

Garlic Bread $4.00

 Brussel Sprout tossed with Bacon and Onion $8.00

Entree 1: Confit of Pork Belly ($22.00)

The perfectly cooked pork belly is served with daikon and apple salad, chilli jam and apple puree.   The concentration of flavours were held in the meat and every bite of this meltingly tender, rich and succulent pork was a treat.

Confit of Pork Belly

Entree 2: Seafood Antipasto Plate ($24.00)

The seafood plate consists of grilled scallop with tomato salsa and avocado puree, crab and sweet corn spring roll, Kejap manis prawn with basil parcel, Chilli jam tempura fish fillet, Chilli salt and lime salmon cake with aioli. 

This restaurant has a reputation on their seafood dishes.  Even though everything on the plate looks like something you could easily find in a fish and chip shop, but we were blown away by the extraordinary depth of flavours in every single one of these, except for the scallop that has a more subtle flavour. The Salmon cake is an edible alchemy that explode with flavour.

          

Main 1: Fillet of Beef Rossini ($35.00)

The Beef is served with duck liver pate, confit of truffled mushroom and madeira jus. We were abit surprised

to find a toasted bread under the beef. But when me and my husband put the combination of all into our mouth, we were stunned, we looked at each other with a grin on our faces, there was at least 5 seconds silence, before we could say 'Yum'. This is the dish that makes a difference.The toasted bread was a perfect combination with the beef and the madeira sauce added a lovely flavour component to the dish.

Fillet of Beef Rossini

Main 2: Barramundi Fillet ($32.00)

The pan fried barramundi is served with grilled scampi, tomato, basil and citrus salad with mustard dressing. The zesty citrus certainly enhanced the natural flavour of the fish.

Barramundi Fillet

Year one of our marriage was filled with joy and laugther (mostly came from completely silly and corny jokes). Today we began year two of our marriage indulging ourselves with a delicious and memorable meal.

 "Chefs, authors, musicians, actors, poets, so many of us have very strong feelings about food.  Why is food so emotional?  Scents of food stir up childhood memories, cooking for and feeding someone is one of the sweetest gestures in the world, even watching someone eat can be a delight.  Food and love are undeniably connected". (Heidi-Savory TV)

Angelo's on the bay

Prince Edward Park,
Phillips Street - Cabarita

NSW 2137
(02) 9743 2225

Laurent Patisserie, Bondi Junction Westfield

That's Why They Call It Celebration Cakes

Last week, my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. They say that first anniversary is a celebration to rejoice the romantic time that two people have spent together that will further enhance the intimacy in the years a head. I'm not sure how true it is but I believe a wedding anniversary is a celebration of love. It's a day to reminisce the promise to each other. Is a day that nothing else matters but love.

Of course a celebration is never complete without a cake. That's why they call it 'Celebration Cakes". It will certainly sweeten the already pretty sweet day. 

We sweeten our special day with the the Flourless Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse with Sponge Cake from Laurent Patisserie. Laurent Patisserie is a classy French bakery where you can savour great selection of finest French breads, pastries and cakes. 

There were layers of intense hazelnut chocolate mousse in between layers of flourless sponge cake and topped with chopped hazelnuts. Although the sponge cake was more to the dryer side but I think  it complemented and added some texture to the cake. The mousse was so smooth and silky, it felt wonderful in the mouth.

Flourless Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse and Sponge Cake $33.20

It's practically a sin for me to just buy one item in bakery shop, even though that one item is a 16 inch cake. When I saw the 'Van Gogh', I knew I gotta get it. The cake looks amazing, it's like rainbow circling around the cake. It's almost like there's light coming out from the cake that's calling for me. It reminds me to the childhood myth that there's a pot of gold at the end of a  rainbow. I actually thought it was true until who knows when =p.

Van Gogh $6.60

When I cut through it, there was fresh berry mousse inside the rainbow sponge cake. The berry mousse was so delightful in every 'Berrily' possible way. It was slightly sour and deliciously rich but not in a way that could make you sick. I think I can easily finish two in one go. Even though the sponge cake was again a bit dry but maybe it's how its supposed to be. It didn't really bother me, as I was all over the berry mousse.

Of course when I say I never just buy one item in a bakery shop, I didn't mean two, I mean it should be at least three. I can never go pass pastry. So, I was tossing between my favourite Almond Croissant and Apple Danish. Didn't want to annoy the inpatient staff further, I quickly settled on the Apple Danish.

Apple Danish $4.60

The danish was not as flaky as I expect it to be, but it was buttery rich and moist. However, flavour was excellent with pieces of apples and strong aroma of cinnamon. It was a delightful treat for me.

Laurent Patisserie

Kiosk K107 Bondi Junction Westfield

NSW

(02) 9386 5181

In Chan Thai Restaurant, Kingsford

 

In The Mood For Thai

Last night, a friend of mine was in the mood for Thai food, so we went to In Chan Thai Restaurant at Kingsford. I was first introduced this place by a Thai friend of mine, you know it gotta be something good if the Thai likes it.

Since then, this is a restaurant that I come in with expectation. An expectation to have a good meal whenever I dine in and so far, it has never let me down. This is a  perfect restaurant for your Thai palate and money.

We really like the Gang Ped Yang (roast duck curry) here. It was served in mild red curry with tomato and pineapple. The curry was creamy and thick. It complemented the rich and tender slices of duck meat.

Gang Ped Yang $ 16.90

The Moo Yang (BBQ Pork) could easily stand up being served on its own. The tender pork neck was marinated with honey and served with special sour sauce that balance up the meat.  It was a sweet and flavourful  meat with an amazing smokiness that came off the grill.

Moo Yang $ 12.90

Next, we had something similar to the pork, it was the Kai Yang (BBQ chicken). The chicken was marinated in Thai herbs and served with sweet chilli sauce. You can never go wrong with BBQ chicken. The sweetness and a hint of the lemongrass spices really delivered a flavour that my taste bud enjoy.

Kai Yang $12.90

Then, we had the Larb Gai (Minced Chicken Salad). This popular Thai chicken salad is a common menu selection in a Thai restaurant that mixed mint, lemon juice and coriander leaf. This salad incorporates all kind of flavours- sweet, salty, sour and spicy. Although this dish is good to eat it on its own, but steamed rice and fresh vegetables are excellent accompaniments.

Larb Gai $12.90

Pad Thai is another staple in Thai restaurant's menu. Not every restaurant can do this popular rice noodle right, but In Chan Thai certainly got it right. You have the option to choose between different kind of meat, seafood or vegetables. We picked mixed vegetables Pad Thai this time. The texture of the chewy noodle to the blend of tamarind, fish sauce, crisp bean sprouts and crunchy peanuts were simply delicious.

Mixed Vegetables Pad Thai $ 11.90

We also had a Roast Pork Pad Ka Na, it was a simple stir fried Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce and roast pork.

Pad Ka Na $14.90

Last but not least, we had the Som Tum (Papaya Salad). This Thai style papaya salad again combined 4 primary tastes of Thai cuisine- sourness of lime, hot and spicy of chilli, salty from fish sauce and sweetness of palm sugar. The flavours of these four did compliment and at the same time contrast each other out that create a unique tasting papaya salad.

 Som Tum $11.90

One of the good things about this restaurant  is the service is really fast. All our dishes came out at the same time. Once all the dishes arrived, the rest was about passing around the dishes so everyone gets to enjoy a little bit of everything.

In Chan Thai Restaurant

482 Anzac Parade

Kingsford NSW 2032
(02) 9663 3356

Minced Pork With Tofu and Mushroom

“People who like to cook like to talk about food....without one cook giving another cook a tip or two, human life might have died out a long time ago.” (Laurie Colwin, 'Home Cooking')

  

I love tofu/bean curd. It's so versatile that there's so many things you can cook with it.  This is another convenient and simple dish that needs to be accompanied with a bowl of hot steamed rice. The succulent minced pork combines with the tasty sweet gravy is truly appetising.

Why not add this lovely dish in your next home-cooked dinner!

Feel free to substitute minced pork with minced chicken if you like. Please adjust the measurement below according to your preference.

Minced Pork with Tofu and Mushroom

Ingredients:

- 250gm Minced Pork (season with a dash of white pepper, garlic, soya sauce, sweet soya sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil)

- A handful of shitake mushroom (cut into pieces, if you use dried mushrooms, make sure you pre-soak in water)

-  Some chopped fresh prawn

- 1 to 2 tbsp dried shrimp (Can be substituted with salted fish)

- 1 tbsp chopped garlic

- A handful of spring onion (cut into 1-2 cm)

- 1 block of silken tofu (dice into desired size)

- Water

- Cooking oil

- Cornstrach solution - just mix some cornflour with water (Optional)

Seasoning sauce:

- Soya sauce

- Sweet soya sauce

- Oyster sauce

- Sesame oil

Method:

1) Heat up some cooking oil in wok/pan and add in garlic and dried shrimp.

2) Add in the shitake mushroom.

3) Add in the chopped prawn and stir well

4) Add in the minced pork and strir well, add seasoning sauce according to taste

5) Add the silken tofu, give it a quick stir and allow to cook for 30 seconds, then add some water. Stir well then allow to boil.

6) Add more seasoning sauce until you get the desired taste

7) Add in the chopped spring onion and mix well.

8) Simmer for another 5 minutes to allow the tofu absorb the gravy

9) Optional: Add in some cornflour solution and mix well to achieve a thicker gravy

10) Serve warm with steamed rice. Enjoy!