An Arvo at Pilu's

With two private function rooms, excellent food and cuisine of Sardinia and a location right spot on overlooking Freshwater Beach along Moore Road at Harboard, on Sydney's northern beaches, there is much expectation when you step into Pilu's Restaurant. You can choose seating inside, on a covered verandah outdeck, or below in garden settings, with the ocean breeze and smell of sea and sand up the nose. There is a selection of both Italian and Australian wines. The decor is retro beach house, painted an off shade from white and reminding me of lazy summer days in tropical climes. You dine and have a view over a small bay surrounded by cliff top houses and much activity on the rather sand-powdery beach.

Selections a group of us had to celebrate Charmaine's birthday earlier this month included:

Salt baked New Zealand King salmon, replete with saffron kipfer potatoes, baby leeks and beetroot puree.

De-boned quail wrapped in pancetta, stuffed with chicken livers, fennel and tarragon.
Saffron flavoured spagettini, graced by Queensland spanner crabmeat, crispy guanciale and breadcrumb pangrattato.

Slow cooked Coronga lamb fillet, accompanied by olive and almond salad and cous cous.

Gus found in-grown hairs under the crackle of the deliciously outstanding suckling pig - apparently this is a natural feature of the black variety of swine used for this dish. Jeanette from Perth had to deal with a rather hard serving of an otherwise very juicy and tender selection of cuts on a similiar dish. I am not a fan of sausages, but could not resist the Sardinian version of the pork sausage served.

Going at Gerroa

From Gerroa, one can take in the sight of stunning Seven Mile Beach, on the south coast of NSW, empty, inviting and beautiful. Gerroa is centred on a collection of homes facing a bight.

Around Gerroa Beach and Village, one has a choice of day excursions to the Belmore Falls, the Minnamurra Rain Forest, the Saddleback Mountain Lookout or the Barren Grounds Bird Observatory. Two vineyards, the Coolangatta Estate and the Crooked River Winery, offer a change from beaches, dairy downs and cycling/running activities. I recommend Werri Beach, which come with sandy stretches, good surf waves and caravan parks. There are also tidal pools to consider at the southern end of Werri Beach. The Gerroa Boat Fishermen's Club provides a great weekend lunch of seafood themes.

From a related website, fishermen note:
"Marlin, yellowfin tuna, kingfish, mulloway (jewfish), snapper, flathead & morwong are all within easy reach from a boat launched at one of the boat ramps. Seven Mile Beach is famous for its whiting during the summer months as well as bream, tailor, salmon, flathead and mulloway. Crooked River is a popular place for prawns, good size bream and flathead.

Black Head, Gerroa, has a car park and tracks leading to the rock platform below which is a good spot for catching bream, kingfish, snapper, drummer, trevally, salmon, tailor and groper. However, be very careful, as the waves can be dangerous. Werri Beach is a very deep beach with snapper to 6kg and whiting to 1kg to be had plus Australian salmon galore at times."



The local association fair (above) held on 1 October 2011 - there was a variety of handicraft, well loved books, scones, toys and curry puffs on offer to visitors. I was taken by Daniel to the local grocery along Stafford Street, and later dropped by his house, where his wife Yet Lan had created a diverse and attractive garden. It was delightful to have tea with them and their other visitors, Viviana and Michael.

Nearby Gerroa, the Seven Mile Beach was the take off point for Charles Kingsford-Smith in his successful aviation crossing of the Tasman to New Zealand - the first in the world. On a good drive, Gerroa and its nearby sister village of Gerringong are only a 35 minute drive south from Wollongong. The population is indicated at around 500, but that belies the potential of this coastal delight - with its wide, sweeping bight, holiday homes and iconic Aussie lifestyle.

The Gerringong Deli & Cafe, NSW

A rich omelette on a lazy Saturday morning (above). The Gerringong Deli & Cafe, at 133 Fern Street, the main strip that goes through the business hub of this South Coast village, was busy with many brunch or breakfast customers by 9am. The winds were howling outside, and one could view the open ocean bay if you stood outside the deli and cafe. Inside, it was cozy half-light, with the feel of a souvenir shop, an active crew and the aroma of something baking or cooking. My choice of omelette was richly rewarding - feta cheese, good old Aussie bacon, rocket, tomatoes and smoked salmon, laid out on organic battered yolk and whites. Maybe it was too wholesome for breakfast, but it was comfort food on a rather weather-confronting day.

Coffee and a newspaper(above) - in this case, the back page of the weekend Illawarra Mercury before the NRL Grand Finals the next day. There is a good selection of modern Australian and baked stuff in the deli & cafe, with outdoor seating optional.

The view of Fern Street (above) from the Deli & Cafe. I was also fascinated by the ambiance and display from the shop next door, called MAS, which evoked of Paris and the French countryside.

Gerringong pretty much is a quiet haven after lunch time, but the Deli & Cafe remains open every day till 530pm. Gerringong and its sister seaside neighbour, Gerroa, are situated between Kiama and Berry, and worth a diversionary tour and drive. Allow yourself around 2 hours driving if you are coming from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Art of Making Fruit Cake

Recently, dear Aunty Poh Sim supervised a few of us in making Christmas fruit cake. Her measurements followed the Imperial standards and one needs to convert them to the metric system.

Cherries are to be prepared ahead of the baking session - it is ideal to soak them with 3 to 4 tablespoonfuls of sherry at least over night. Cherries are to be sliced, before mixing with seedless dates, brown raisins, mixed orange peel and almond thins. (images above and below). Use 1.5 pounds of brown raisins, half a pound of seedless dates, a quarter pound of mixed orange peel, another quarter pound of cherries and a half pound of almond thins.

The oven has to be preheated to at least 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a nine inch round or square baking container - brush it with butter and then line the surface with two layers of grease proof paper. Also brush the butter between the paper layers and on to its outside surface.

Cream the ten ounces of butter and five ounces of brown sugar together, until they are soft and pale in colour (below). Add in contents of 5 well beaten eggs and ensure consistency and thoroughness of the resulting mixture. Then add in 4 tablespoons of golden syrup.

Stir in first only half the amount of fruit mixtures prepared and sift in likewise half the dry flour ingredients. Then separately add the other half of fruit and dry ingredients. Add another four tabelspoonfuls of sherry to the mixture. The dry flour mixtures consist of seven ounces of plain version and another three ounces of raising flour. (image below)

Two teaspoons of all spice powder and half a teaspoon of nutmeg powder are then added to enhance the flavour of the resulting cake mixture (image above).

Before placing in the oven, ensure smoothening the cake mixture surface to slope towards the centre - this shall better ensure the resulting baked cake is level, once the mixture has risen when baked. First place the cake mixture tin on the lower half of the oven, to help ensure that it is not over browned in the baking process. Bake on this lower section of the oven for 120 to 150 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Monitor the emerging fruit cake when in the oven, especially during the second stage baking at the lower temperatures.

Reduce the oven heat to 275 degrees Fahrenheit for the second stage of baking, for another hour. For this second phase, cover the cake with grease proof paper folded over a piece of dampened paper.

Always use a cake skewer to test whether the resulting cake is ready to be taken out of the oven.

After taking the cake out of the oven, do rest the cake for at least five minutes in the oven before placing it on a wire tray. The result is not ready to be consumed at this stage - it should be soaked with two tablespoons of sherry every two or three days for a fortnight, before being served.

From an idea and flour, to the piece that we bite into on Christmas Day, the process requires love, concentration and patience. A wonderful reflection of care we have for family and friends.

The Art of Making Roti Jala

Netted crepes are made of eggs, so there is some similarity with the ubiquitous noodles but they can then be so different. We eat such crepes dry and not in soups, but accompanied by luscious gravy of meat curry (image below). Best made fresh, best consumed fresh and while they retain their texture. In order to make such crepes, a mould (first image above), which allows the dough to be pressed through constrained holes, is used to produce the netted results (second image above).

Roti jala, the South-east Asian name for netted crepes, offers an alternative to rice, naans or baked bread, in accompanying chicken curry, mutton kurma or curry kapitan, at a meal.

Its origins are from south India, but are a popular choice in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, especially with Straits Chinese families and Western backpackers. A dash of butter, one and a half cups of coconut milk, five eggs lightly beaten, a touch of tumeric powder and 20 ounces of sifted plain flour are all the ingredients required (image above). The pan used must be greased before hand to allow non-sticking of the dough when making the roti itself.

To Prepare : Recipe from malaysiafood.net

In a bowl, lightly whisk coconut milk, eggs, water, salt and turmeric powder
Sift all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl
Stir in the coconut-egg mixture gradually and mix, until a thin 'crepe-like batter' is achieved
Strain the batter through a fine sieve
On medium-low heat, grease and heat a griddle or a medium sized non-stick pan
Put a ladleful of batter into a Roti Jala mould/cup and in a circular motion, form a thin lacy pattern in the pan [about 8 inch in diameter]
Cook until set, turn over onto a plate [There is no need to cook the other side, much like a regular crepe]
Fold each crepe into quarters, staking them up as you go
As you make the crepes, grease the pan ever so often. Add a little water to the batter if it becomes too thick to maintain a crepe-like batter.

The flour has to sieved into a mixing bowl (image above) before adding the other ingredients, and as a general rule of thumb put in the dry ingredients before the wet ones. It is best to blend the dough in small portions to attain a rather smooth texture and to ensure no lumps exist by adding around 2 cups of water. (Image below - adding the coconut milk).

Once you are satisfied with the right texture/consistency of dough, pour small amounts through the mould contraption with minuscule holes - this allows the dough to be strained and fall out dripping on the other side to form a net like result.