Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2009

Congee simpang (mixed) SG$3.00Welcome to Singapore.We step off our Singapore Airlines jumbo from Sydney to Singapore only to be hit by a wall of tropical 30C heat and 75% humidity.Suze and I waste no time in looking for food once we check into our hotel. We explore the surrounding streets and end up at a corner cafe/eating house which will become our regular haunt over the coming days.Hong Kong

Sugar Hits at The Grace Hotel, Glass and Azuma Kushiyaki

I'm baaaack.Singapore was an absolute blast - a blast of heat and humidity but much fun nonetheless. Food? Photos? Of course there was plenty of both, but because time is of the essence, I'm uploading a backlog of SIFF posts whilst it's still October.Remember this? Last year, Billy hosted a sponsored Stickier and Sweeter Sydney Tour - a quest to consume as many Sugar Hits in one night. We managed

Interview: Ten Questions with Luke Nguyen (and another Freebie Friday!)

Luke NguyenThe night before Luke Nguyen's Cabramatta Tour, I read Secrets of the Red Lantern, written by Luke's sister, Pauline.As Pauline unravelled the threads of her family story, there was one anecdote that immediately leapt off the pages, making me smile. It was her description of her younger brother Luke as a kid...It came as no surprise to any of us when Luke told of his plans for Red

Canh Chua tamarind broth with silver perch and elephant ear stem

Elephant ear stems must be up there as one of the most exotic-sounding and evocative vegetable names in English.The Fairfield City Council guide to South-East Asian Greens explains that Elephant Ear Stem (Khoai So)"...gets its name from its wide elephant-like ear leaf (not shown). The stem and stalk are used for cooking and yield mild grassy flavoured spongy flesh. Khoai So is a good source of

How to make your own mozzarella and camembert

"I'm just crackers about cheese!"- Wallace, The Curse of the Were-RabbitWe were all crackers about cheese, a group of 18 cheese lovers assembled for the Cheese Making Workshop by McIntosh and Bowman as part of the Sydney International Food Festival.Much like making one's own bread, creating your own cheese can seem a little intimidating for the uninitiated. It all seems so complex and

Gorkha Palace Restaurant, North Strathfield

The forks. They are tiny.I've never been known for any semblance of graceful movement, but at Gorkha, the tiny forks that accompany our dishes have tines the width of a pea. It's a struggle to manouevre any more than one cube of food at a time. Perhaps this is a deliberate dietary hint from above I need to take heed.In other ways, the tiny forks match the petite servings. At first glance the

Cooking Modern Mexican at VictorsFood

Victor Pisapia with an ancho chilliMention Mexican food to an Australian, and most of us will immediately think of corn chips, sour cream and cheese.It's no wonder that Mexican cuisine tends to get a bad rap. In fact, much of what is labelled here as "Mexican", is more Tex-Mex - an American interpretation of Mexican cuisine that spread from Texas and other states in the southwest. Nachos and

Recipe: Vietnamese caramelised pork belly (thit kho)

After a fascinating tour of Cabramatta with Sydney chef Luke Nguyen, we stumbled upon an outdoor kichen set-up in the local mall. Only then were we told that we would be shopping and cooking dishes to share with everyone for lunch.I was instantly drawn to the caramelised pork belly, a favourite dish of mine, and one I was keen to learn how to recreate at home.Cooking in public on portable gas

Cabramatta Food Tour with Luke Nguyen

Luke Nguyen rips open his coat with a flourish.

Beneath his assuming attire is a fitted black t-shirt that proclaims "I love pho". It generates a round of laughter amongst the assembled crowd as he stands there, chest puffed and proud like a Vietnamese superman.

Luke's family story is not dissimilar to thousands of other Vietnamese refugees who fled to Australia following the fall of Saigon.

World Chef Showcase, Sydney International Food Festival 2009

International acts, tatts and one big nosh pit. The weekend's World Chef Showcase was the gastronomic equivalent of the Big Day Out, with renowned chefs from all over the world descending on Sydney for the headline event of the Sydney International Food Festival. Sebastien Bras, Sergi Arola, David Thompson, Alexandre Bourdas, Peter Gordon, Pichet Ong and more... their arrival has created a

Interview with Poh Ling Yeow - before and after Masterchef

Image from thesecretrecipe.com.auWhen I was very little I used to shred my graph paper and pretend I was a hawker stall vendor selling noodles instead of paying attention in maths class. - Poh Ling YeowWith Celebrity Masterchef currently on our television screens, it's hard not to reminisice about the Masterchef contestants from the original season. Runner-up Poh Ling Yeow was perhaps one of the

Chocolate bacon cupcakes

I blame Matt. I also blame Fergus.In a week involving non-stop salami and the hypnotic display of roasting pigs on a spit, I had pork on the brain.I'm a pig that way.I'd like to think this is why I could not stop thinking about bacon last weekend, and why, when brainstorming a dessert--my favourite pasttime--to bring to Simon's luncheon, I'm thinking cupcakes. With chocolate. And bacon. Mother

Azuma Kushiyaki, Sydney - Sugar Hit 2009

East Meets West Dessert Tasting Plate $20Sydney International Food Festival Sugar Hit - Azuma KushiyakiWe are suitably excited. Our first Sugar Hit for 2009.You would not think that we had just eaten a dinner of dumplings, of pan-fried buns, of crab in salted egg yolk and crisp and golden shallot pancake.And yet a short car-ride from Ashfield to the City followed by a mad dash through the driving

New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant, Ashfield

Dumpling kitchenOn a wet and wild evening, New Shanghai is a welcome shelter of warmth and cosiness. The tables are already mostly full when our group of five arrive, but our focus goes straight to the back of the room featuring a modern glass-walled view into the dumpling-making station.Stuffing the pastry with pork minceDressed in crisp white uniforms and red-and-white checked aprons, the two

Eveleigh Farmers' Market

CeleriacThe best thing about getting up early on a Saturday morning is being rewarded with so much extra time to play with.This is how, after a morning spent at the SIFF Good Living Growers' Market with Fergus Henderson, a pig on a spit and 12 Sydney chefs serving up nose-to-tail inspired dishes, Minh and I still have time to stop by the Eveleigh Farmers' Market on our way home.The huge

Fergus Henderson and a nose-to-tail barbecue - Sydney International Food Festival

Pigs. On. Spits.Three words guaranteed to get me out of bed early on a Saturday morning.The Sydney Morning Herald Growers' Marketcelebrating Barbecue Madness for the Sydney International Food FestivalThe October Good Living Growers' Market was one of the first big events on the calendar for the inaugural Sydney International Food Festival. It promised to be a event like no other, featuring

Yum Cha at The Dynasty, Belmore

Fung jao phoenix claws (chicken feet)I'm looking forward to the long weekend.More often than not, we find ourselves at yum cha. For some people, the chaos of yum cha sends them into a frazzle from sensory overload. I revel in it.There's something comforting about the ritual of yum cha. The inevitable queue out the front, the hustle towards your table - still being cleared by efficient but surly