Dinner at St Ives, Sydney



A gathering, a birthday and a feast. It was the middle of winter in the Sydney region. The food served was eclectic, inspired by traditions from southern China to Penang to Australia. There was relaxed conversation, it was winding down after a working day. Singapore styled pepper chili crab was appetising, whilst the closer of flourless chocolate cake was topped up by brewed Campos coffee. In between, one went through laughter, thoughtful chatter, change of plates, munching of rather sweet mandarins from an Eastwood outlet, delightful smoked tea and the serving of traditional Straits Chinese braised birthday noodles (lam mee).

The mussels moray stood out as an appetiser (above image) followed by the carving of the Beijing roast duck (below), served on paper thin pancake slices, garnished with hoi sin sauce, shallot strips and cucumber bites.
















Captivating red syrup flavoured jelly (below) provided a contrast to the heavier items on the menu. Uncle Jimmy also brought his home made kuay chap, a Chiuchow concoction not easily found in Australia but a hit with many southern Chinese immigrants around the world, especially in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. It essentially is a dark coloured broth that blends flavour with bite, as it contains cooked innards of pig or cattle, but treated as comfort food from the past.
















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vietnam - Some Souvenirs

Image
Vietnam is a prime exporter of agricultural products, like rice, rubber,coffee and pepper, but to individual visitors, what comes across remarkably are lacquered products , embroidery, pottery, silk fabrics, weaved craft, stone carvings, bamboo and rattan articles, ceramic, wooden contraptions and paintings.  This is a result of long established cultural traditions and a developing economy.  The majority of the current population is under 30 years old, laden with the enthusiasm, agility and promise of youth.  The centre of handicraft is still central Vietnam, with the hub around Hue and Hoi An. You can see many water colours offered by local artists in shops, markets and pavement stalls.  I was more fascinated by origami-like paper cuts which you can come across being sold by vendors all over the place.  Best of all are the hang lanterns, available in all sizes, which are made from varying qualities of Vietnamese silk fabric, the best of which a...
Read more

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

Image
A simple but appetising egg omelette as starters. Gulai Ikan Tumis or sour and spicy fish curry. The previous long standing branch of jewellers B.P De Silva, almost at the corner of Bishop and Beach streets in the old quarter of Georgetown, has a few months ago been transformed into a hub of Straits Chinese cuisine. Straddling two shop lots, located in an evening quiet location but near to the banking district on  business days, Aunty Gaik Lian's provides a refreshing change to the Nyonya food landscape on Penang island.  I have always found that the best Straits Chinese food is found in homes in Penang, like what my Mum dishes out, and it has been exasperating to be really satisfied with commercial outlets in this cuisine.  The Penang variation of such Peranakan food tends to be more influenced by ingredients and cooking styles from Thailand and the Malayan peninsular , when compared to the Malacca version (with more of stronger Indonesian influences and the ...
Read more

85 Degrees Bakery Cafe Hurstville NSW

Image
There are several outlets of this bakery cafe for several years now in Australia.  Did they coem from the USA? Each franchised outlet is in a busy area, often in suburbs so-called by a diverse Asian demographic.   The one in Hurstville is rather roomy and lots of baked stuff on its shelves.   The base of Sydney operations is in Chester Hill, a suburb south-west of the Sydney city centre. Some of the cake creations would be viewed as rather leaning on the East Asian dimension  - Strawberry Angel (with chocolate base and top) and Mango Cheese ( with yoghurt).   However, to counter this perspective, there are also Death by Chocolate, US Cheesecake, Coffee Brulee and Blueberry Marble options.     The pastries are definitely filled with ingredients more suited to perhaps  Anime loving fans and non-mainstream cultures - for example, garlic, pork, tuna, green tea, red bean, shallots, pork floss, coconut, Hokkaido butter cream...
Read more