Homemade Fine Foods, Tempe

Miss Piggy and Niecy Poo attended the Master the Mousse class courtesy of Merna Tauok from Homemade Fine Foods. Thanks Merna!

Recovering chocoholics are advised to look away now...this post contains A LOT of chocolate, really really tasty chocolate.

A big thank you to Merna and Pierre from Homemade Fine Foods in Tempe who invited me (and a plus one) down to their factory in Tempe to participate in Merna's Master the Mousse class. I was a bit worried that my lack of cooking skills (especially in the dessert department) would reek havoc in the factory, but lucky for me the class isn't overly hands on -- we all get a chance to pitch in however and also to pick Merna and Pierre's brain on all things dessert...and dairy.

The class begins with a little something to drink (Moscata for the grown-ups and the kids are offered a flute of Country Valley Milk - priceless).  The morning tea is a a great idea - lining our stomachs with something savoury before we pass through the doors into the factory proper and start gorging on chocolate.  There is a HUGE pad of Pierre's salted Pepe Saya butter on hand, and I urge Niecy Poo to make the most of the opportunity to indulge to her hearts content (which we both do of course). The Small Cow Farm cheese is out of this world - well definitely be hunting this down at the local farmers market.

The sight of enormous bowls filled with chocolate buttons greets us when we enter the factory. It's too much for most of us to bare and a taste of each type of chocolate we'll be working with is handed out - a white chocolate, compound chocolate 17%, and a darker 70% couverture - too bitter for my immature tastes buds but the "grown ups" in the room loved it.

So let's get down to business some mousse people! 

Step 1: Melt the chocolate over a water bath, drool at the delicious smell of aforementioned melting chocolate.  Sneak a spool full of melted chocolate when Merna and Pierre aren't watching.
Step 2: crack open a pile of eggs (free range of course) separating the yolks from the whites.  Look longingly back at bowl of melted chocolate.

Step 3: The egg yolks are added into the mix. The heat of the chocolate in effect pasteurizes the eggs making sure they are good to go and don't contain any nasties - very important when you're making food for commercial sale and consumption!  Bat your eyelids at chocolate hoping for another taste.

Step 4: Egg whites go into a mixer bigger than my car and are whipped up into lush French Meringue!

Step 5: The meringue gets mixed in with the chocolate/egg mixture.  Miss Piggy starts drooling again! Surely a taste test is coming up soon.
Step 6: Add in a pile of Country Valley cream - taste test of cream allowed!

Step 7: Mousse making is really tough business, we take some time out to try some of Merna's other creations. The Sticky Date Pudding is amazing, so rich and indulgent.

Step 8: Merna shows us how to decorate the inside of our take-home containers with some tempered chocolate. She makes it look really easy, but I (of course) make a total mess of it and end up with a blob of chocolate smeared up the size of my container.

Step 9: Fill your container to maximum capacity to take home and enjoy! I've frozen our white and compound chocolate mousse - we were told it lasts really well like this. You eat it frozen, a bit like a mousse ice-cream (and it's bloody good)!

Homemade Fine Foods and Pepe Saya are at Unit 4, 3 Wood Street, Tempe.  Phone them on (02) 9519 2793.

Random Eats, Singapore

When The Boy and I weren't busy gorging ourselves at Singapore's amazing Hakwer Centers we were busy...snacking!

Singapore is a HOT HOT and really humid place. We couldn't walk 5 meters without stopping somewhere for a drink - especially if that somewhere had an overhead ceiling fan. The Boy drank more beer on this trip than I've seen him drink in the whole time we've been together. I stuck to lemon juice or sugarcane juice when my beloved Soursop wasn't to be found.

On our first morning out and about I noticed the smell of something slightly...whiffy, but a bit sweet.  Ah ha I thought that HAS got to be Durian, and you know what? It was. We had stumbled upon a stall selling Durian Pancakes. Now I know there are a lot of people out there who love Durian and a lot of them read this blog (you might not want to read this next paragraph or so if you're one of those people...okay? just so we remain friends). I can confirm after this horrendous experience that I am not, nor shall I ever be, one of these Durian loving people. EVER EVER EVER!!!!

This has, without a doubt, got be the worst thing I have ever tasted in my life.  EVER! Worse than boiled Brussel Sprouts! There's a reason Durian banned in so many public places people - it's terrible.  The first bite was OK as I mainly got just pancake. I was feeling brave after this initial bite so took a HUGE bite - OMG. The taste gave me an instant headache and I felt totally nauseous. The sight of two tubby Westerns gagging and trying to wipe their tongues clean whilst desperately searching for anything ANYTHING to take the taste of death out of their mouths has got to be an amusing sight for a Durian lover.

Why is there no fine for brining Durian onto the train? Do they just push you out of the moving train as punishment?

So how about we move on to the BEST thing I ate during my entire trip - Kaya Toast.  If Durian is the spawn of the Devil then Kaya Toast is manna from heaven.  I'm kicking myself though that I didn't try it until our last night in Singers. I was so desperate for more than I gorged myself at the airport at the only Kaya Toast stall I could find. Looking at this picture makes me sad...sad that the Kaya Toast is in Singapore and I'm in stupid Sydney.

I have to tell you people that I was pretty happy with a discovered Soursop juice IN A CAN! I wonder if we can get this at home? Surely they have it in Cabramatta, right?  Not sure what this orange jelly/cake/dessert thing is called.  There was a bit of a Lost in Translation moment when ordering this as we were quite taken with the green cake, but eventually found it was DURIAN flavoured - talk about a close call.

Fellow blogger Citrus and Candy has such a fondness for Bak Kwa (Pork Jerky) that she makes her own at home and that convinced me to give it a whirl whilst we were in Singapore.  I have to say it's pretty bloody good. We bought a small bag of the round jerky which called "Golden Coins". The "coin" is quite thick, unlike the paper-thin Nobby's jerky I'm addicted to (and it is not as "dry"), and is also quite charred.  The jerky is slightly oily and really quite sticky with a sweet flavour as honey is one of the ingredients.

Oh Singapore, I miss you already!

Coco Cubano, Parramatta

Miss Piggy dined as a guest of Coco Cubano. 

Coco Cubano is one of the more eclectic and interesting looking cafes to set up shop in Parramatta's "Eat Street" (that's Church Street to Google Maps).  The Cuban inspired restaurant has an open frontage that looks onto bustling Church Street - nab one of the prime seats in the window and watch the world go by! Grab a Mojito and a Cigar, sit out on the sidewalk and pretend you're in Cuba...

But for this Sunday lunch there was no watching the world go by for this group of hungry bloggers (ChocolateSuze, Phuoc'n Delicious, Raspberri Cupcakes, Ramen Raff, Excuse Me Waiter, Citrus and Candy, Bite Me Show Me and Everyboy Loves Ramen) who had been invited to dine at Coco Cubano by co-owner Tony Melhem (Coco Cubano Founder and El Presidente).

Tony has a real passion for all things Cuban and is enamoured by the country's retro 1950s "land the time forget" vibe. The colourful photos on the wall are all taken during his Cuban travels, and the old Black and White prints are those of his family. There is an interesting mish mash of vintage looking bric-a-brac that give the cafe a homey feel.  Before meeting Tony I had no idea that this cafe was someones passion project and it really made me look at the place with a new eye - after all Tony was an office-slave like moi, and he's now gone on to open three successful Coco Cubano's in Sydney. There's hope for us cubicle dwellers yet!

Someone in our group is a bit of a Sangria fan so we order a jug of both the White Sangria and traditional Red Sangria. WAY too much Sangria considering most of us drove to the cafe, but we gave it a good effort I must say (Sangria is $28 per jug).  The White Sangria is really light and refreshing (and alcoholic) but my heart still lies with the good old red - call me old school.

Coco Cubano does a stellar Mojito (Cuba is the birthplace of the Mojito after all) so I think we ordered every type of Mojito on the menu and passed the glasses around so we could all try. I quite fancied the Lychee and the Passionfruit Mojito - both quite sour which I love. And that's enough booze for one afternoon - I switched to water and this lovely Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri made with fresh strawberries, lime and a touch of sugar.

And of course this was not a liquid lunch so what about the food?  Coco Cubano offers a range of basic tapas, Cuban inspired sandwiches and wraps, nachos and pizzas.  It's a twist on your basic cafe fare and quite enjoyable.  We kicked things off with Grilled Haloumi, Charred Peppers and Capers ($10.90). This is one of those dishes where you need a little bit of everything in one mouthful to really appreciate all the flavours.

The Mini Beef Burger Sliders with Grilled Cheese and Onion Jam ($9.90 for two) were so cute and big a hit at the table - though I want to know why no-one wanted to take a photo of my Vegetarian Sandwich...hmmm?  The sandwich isn't on the menu, it was something the staff made up for me. I guess it's probably the same price as all the other sandwiches at around $10.00.

The Patatas Bravas with Spicy Tomato Sauce ($9.90) were essentially big fat fluffy chips. A crispy outer hid soft fluffy tatter innards (sounds like I'm describing myself there doesn't it), really tasty.  The Serrano Melt ($14.90) was another bit hit - an open sandwich with serrano ham, queso (aka cheese for us Aussies0 with jalapenos and olive bread.

Next up we have Calamari with Chilli Salt and THE MUST DELICIOUS Roasted Garlic Sauce ($12.90).  I must have stunk when I got home that afternoon as I ate a good half of the garlic sauce on my own (it goes really well with Patatas Bravas you know).  We also ordered a serve of the Grilled Chorizo with Warmed Olives ($9.90) - the olives were great, the perfect temperature, plump and meaty.

The last of the savoury dishes comes out - a Vegetarian Nachos ($12.90), oozing with cheese and guacamole.  I really love Nachos and this is one of the dishes I can make REALLY well at home (pity as it's not exactly health food is it). And what lunch would be complete without a bowl or two of Fries with Chilli Salt ($7.90) with more Garlic Sauce! 

Oooo, dessert! The desserts at Coco Cubano are a chocolate lover's dream come true.  The Chocolate Fondue ($9.90) is irresistible and the chocolate is all sorts of delicious. If I was here on my own I imagine I'd just spoon the melted chocolate out of the pot and straight into my mouth. This was a gooood dessert.

The Choc Cinnamon Churros ($13.90) came drizzled with melted chocolate, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a enough strawberries to assure your cardiologist that you ate healthily over the weekend. I'm pretty sure this is my first foray in the world of Churros and I'm sure I'll be back - they were nice and crispy so the texture appealed to me. And last but not least the Revolution Waffle ($13.90) - Belgian waffle, strawberries, ice cream, chocolate.

I really enjoyed my afternoon at Coco Cubano - can't wait to come back for some more cocktails...and maybe some chocolate fondue too.

Coco Cubano is at 302 Church Street, Parramatta.  You can phone them on 0450 956 382.

MoS Burger, Singapore

After finding The Best Cheeseburger in the World last year at Shake Shack in NYC I was hellbent on giving Japanese Burger chain MOS Burger a whirl whislt in Singaproe as I was convinced I would be embarking on another mind-blowing burger experience.  Sadly the experience was...average at best, but we had this as an afternoon snack so at least I didn't blow any valuable stomach real estate on a so-so burger experience.

The Boy was really keen to try a Peach Fanta which he thoroghly loved. He's on the hunt now to track it down in Sydney he's become such a fan.

I was really wanting to try one of MOS' famous Rice Burgers.  Although Momofuku's David Chang seems to be under the impression Dani Venn from last seasons Masterchef invented the Rice Burger I'm sad to say that Mr Chang is wrong. Rice Burgers were on the menu at MOS long before Dani was a twinkle in Masterchef's beedy little eye.  We tried the Tsukune (aka Chicken) Rice Burger (SGP $3.80) which was...OK, nothing mind blowing, but I did enjoy trying the compressed and fried Rice Cake.

We also bought a Cheeseburger (SGP $2.10) to share. It wasn't too bad - the bun was nice and soft which I think is critical to a "great cheeseburger".  I can't remember if the burger was "with pickle" or not. Hmmm.

I won't be rushing back to MOS Burger anytime soon (seeing as the closest one is on the Gold Coast) but I'm chuffed to have been able to tick this off my Food Bucket List.

On the way out of the shopping center and back to our hotel we spied Best Fries Forever. As I was still filling up my Afternoon Tea Stomach I thought we could fit some in and not impinge on Dinner Stomach room. These were good, bloody good when topped with a melty nacho cheese sauce.

We ate at MOS Burger and Best Fries Forever in the Plaza Singapura shopping centre (68 Orchard Road, Singapore).

Booth Street Bistro, Annandale

After the success of our first #twEAT up at Red Lantern in January it seems like the idea has taken flight with a bunch of new Tweepers joining Karen and I at Annandale's Booth Street Bistro for a long and lovely Sunday lunch.

Along with fellow bloggers The French Wench, Le Bon Vivant and My Gourmet Feast we had Darren and Bernie from Restaurant Atelier in Glebe join us and also Adam - a chef who currently has a prime gig with Arnotts and who is now my favourite person in the world as he has a never ending supply of Turkish Delight Tim Tams. Cenk, the founder of The Social Dinner Club also came along, but without any Tim Tams to give me...hmmm.

Of course with so many foodie people at the table and "real chefs" I had to be careful not to put my foot in it and make it known that, well...I really don't know much about food other than it mostly tastes good (but not Durian, that tastes BAD). Of course my carefully laid plans all came undone when I thanked Wayne, the chef at Booth Street Bistro for my lovely Salmon to the reply of "ah, that was Ocean Trout". I may have then mumbled something about "all orange fish looking the same" whilst looking at the floor.

And with that stunningly embarrassing admission of my lack of food knowledge let me show you pictures of our FANTASTIC lunch with inadequate and possible wrong descriptions.

We kicked things off with a few different starters that our waitresses recommended.  For some reason only the ladies at the table partook in the Freshly Shucked Oysters with a Eschallot Vinegar Dressing ($3 each).  These were a mix of Pacific and Sydney Rock Oysters. Karen said she could really tell the difference between them, the Pacific (or was it the Sydney Rock) being lusciously creamy. Ah sure...I totally could too, no really I could.  I do know a good olive when I taste one and cos they are colour coded I have no problem telling the black from the green - Australian house marinated Olives ($6.00).

Next up is my favourite entree of the day - Marinated white anchovies on crusty caibatta ($6.00). Oh boy, the anchovies were beautiful, slightly oily but not too strong in that anchovy flavour that so many people find off putting.  I snuck a few pieces of this whilst everyone was busy chatting.  And what Sydney lunch would be complete without sourdough bread with Pepe Saya butter (complementary too)!

Starters finished with a really nice Crunchy Fried Calamari ($16.00) that was served with an eggplant wafer and a green bean fig dip.  I only took one small piece of calamari as I was trying to be polite - stupid me hey?

I had joked whilst we were planning our #twEAT up that this should really be my birthday lunch seeing as I turned...a year old earlier in the week. Somehow Booth Street Bistro cottoned on this and sent out a glass of sparkling wine for each of us on the house...a very nice thing for them to do. Thank your Wayne & Teresa for that!

Le Bon Vivant also raided his (very impressive) wine cellar for the lunch and shared a few lovely bottles with the table. I don't know much about wine (or food so it happens) but I had a taste of what was on offer and it all tasted great to me...just like...wine!

Even after all those entrees we still had plenty of room for mains which we kicked off with a Quinoa and Roast Vegetable Salad ($17.00).  Is there anything Keenwah (aka Quinoa) can't do I ask you?  I wouldn't mind make a salad like this at home, but I don't fancy my chances of it working out.

I ordered a lovely Pan Fried Salmon Ocean Trout (around $27 I think) for my main which was served with watercress and the most delicious creamy potato salad.  The skin of my "orange fish" was so perfectly crisp that I could have eaten a bowl of the skin alone.  The Boy was in raptures over his Braised Beef Check Sandwich ($16.00) served on toasted sourdough with picked vegetables.

I managed to snap two other mains during lunch - Karen ordered a delicious looking Confit of Tender Creek duck leg that came with Persian feta (so creamy!) and watercress and Cenk went for the Twice Cooked Blue Cheese Souffle (16.00) which was going to be my second choice. The Souffle is served with pears, hazelnut and truffle honey.

I wasn't planning on having dessert, but everyone else on the table was opting in and I didn't want to be the odd one out.  Passionfruit is one of my all time favourite fruits so it would've been remiss of me not to try the Passionfruit tart with lemon delish ice cream ($14.00).  The tart was amazing...and the combination of passionfruit and the lemon delish ice cream was perfectly...tart.  I was so engrossed in my own dessert I didn't even think of helping myself to some of The Boys Chocolate Tasting Plate ($14.00) which was a chocolate lovers delight with white chocolate sorbet, milk chocolate mousse and dark chocolate delice.



The Classic Crème Brulee with Biscotti ($14.00) was the talk of the table however. I mean look at this thing - the Brulee is HUGE, taking up an entire bowl rather than a teeny little ramekin we've all seen before.  Our French Wench was pretty chuffed with this I have to say so it gets the French tick of approval.  And of course who can pass up an Affogato when it's on the menu ($12.00).  This one came with a scoop of Vanilla bean ice cream, and a shot of espresso and Frangelico.

Booth Street Bistro is at 127 Booth Street, Annandale. We'll be back soon to try out the breakfast pancakes made with Pepe Saya buttermilk when they can get their hands on the stuff!