Another Weekend Too


Mee rebus in Chatswood (above)

Note: Due to some unresolved technical issues, the following blog posting, from a past year, has suddenly decided to re-park itself as a 16 March 2011 entry.




Fresh bean sprouts are mixed with other crunchy and sweet vegetables. These are next poured on to a plate and mixed with a zesty sauce that provides savoury touches of chilli, lime drops and potato smoothness. The key ingredients are the shrimp fritters, small enough to bite into and optimally crispy to provide a contrast from the vegetable bites. This South Indian inspired mix, often referred to as rojak, appears in different forms throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

The Thai vermicelli salad,also dished up by Susan and Boo Ann,was lighter in outlook, with mint leaves, pineapple cuts and the compulsory chili bits. Here the overall effect can be more outrageous, as the sourness combines with the peppery heat - and there are hidden landmines in those small but powerful chillies hidden in the mixture. Asian food preparation is often preceded by lots of detailed ingredients, fine chopping and clever blending of flavours and different sensations.

More than an hour passed before we received our food at the Oscars in Towradgi, not far from my home. The kitchen staff looked over worked and time-pressured. The food was tasty but one had to be patient. Was this a problem of success, where capacity and capability did not match demand on a more timely basis? It can be a hard call of balancing the vagaries and volatility in the seesaw of balancing demand with supply. It was not even summer - I cannot imagine when it is a January Friday night!

My prawn and pea risotto was delightful nevertheless. Shane and Danielle, together with Dave and Jo, had brought their kids - fortunately for me as well, for I was taken off my mind on waiting time. Charlotte and Max could interact well with Nieve and Bridget,and vice-versa, and in fact provided a party atmosphere at our dining table.

Hand-made chocolate from Ju was exquisite - my first bite made me realise the ingredient quality and care that went into her creations. The flavour was intense, and the texture just right. Dark chocolate was finely set with a nutty after thought.

I was not too thrilled with the the version of mee rebus (braised noodles with a spicy twist and gravy) from a Malaysian outlet in Sydney's Chatswood Chase. It can not compare with what Mum makes back in Penang, and the presence of certain ingredients reduced its authenticity. The gravy had a more peanut emphasis than it should be. The Hokkien noodles were not soft enough.

Sucker catfish prices in the Illawarra area, pardon the pun, are shockingly and suckingly expensive. On another day, I had been attracted to such delightful miniature creatures that require no additional feed apart from the algae and moss that thrive naturally in most aquarium environments.At 14 Australian dollars per creature, I baulked at buying them in Hurstville in Sydney's south. Nearer my home, the asking price was much more.

In Wollongong CBD, John called me when I was engrossed texting and checking my sms messages on my I Phone.He and Carla had finished their meal, but were gracious to stay on to drink tea, sip wine and be merry at the table.Carla had her hair done in a new way. No appointments were necessary for us to meet up. We relished in our carefree weekend revelry. John and Carla kindly introduced me to various people in the cafe - and John is a true Wollongong boy.

Yum cha in Hurstville's Mr Chao's Chinese Restaurant on a mid-Saturday in April was refreshingly tasty. I had not been to the venue since the incumbent owners closed it down, when it operated under another name - Forest Court. Nae and Tom had taken me to Mr Chao's for a lazy brunch of a fav Cantonese cuisine- and I was like a kid at a candy shop, partaking with vigour, amongst other things, the tau foo fa ( soy bean curd dessert, mixed with your choice amount of syrup); the char siew so (baked pastry pork buns); the standard siew mai (prawn and pork dumplings); the fong chau (phoenix claws , a re-labelling of braised chicken legs); and the healthy plate of oyster-flavoured steamed kailan vegetables. (All dish names are in Cantonese). We later retreated from the burgeoning surrounding restaurant chatter to Nae and Tom's new apartment, where I enjoyed viewing two fish tank environments that Nae had set up, and tasting some of Tom's dessert wine.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Aunty Gaik Lian's - Straits Chinese, Georgetown, Penang

85 Degrees Bakery Cafe Hurstville NSW

Return to Eythrope