Spice I Am Restaurant, Darlinghurst

Miang Goong Gaa Tong KrobThai king prawn salad with lime, garlic, galangal, shallot, gingerwith roasted peanut and chilli served in a crispy shellI like to look at my food.As I'd admired the deep-fried fluted cup on my entree plate, I'd remembered wondering if these delicate cups were bought in to the Spice I Am Restaurant. It's not until a cooking demonstration halfway through our meal that I

Freebie Friday winners

Congratulations to the following winners:Andrea has won a copy of Lyndey Milan: The Best Collection and Raine has won a copy of Great, Grand and Famous Chefs.Missed out this time? Don't forget to submit your entries for the Freebie Friday competitions still open!Win a bottle of Bundaberg Reserve Rum with personalised label (5 to win!)Win a gift box of Achacha fruitWin a copy of MasterChef

Haji Lane, Singapore Chilli Crab and Roti Tisu: Singapore Day Four

Arab Street, SingaporeFor years I foolishly dismissed Singapore as a travel destination because of its reputation for being ultra clean and super strict, where citizens were fined for chewing gum, littering or not flushing the toilet. When I finally visited its humid shores, I could see how wrong I had been.In addition to exploring the hawker stalls and kopitiam cafes that reassuringly dot much

Achacha fruit launch and another Freebie Friday Double

Achacha. Try saying that out loud without shaking your hips.I first encountered achacha at the Eveleigh farmers market earlier this year. A native Amazonian fruit, the first commercial plantation outside of Bolivia commenced in Northern Queensland in 2002.Achacha are a distant relative to the mangosteen and have a similar creamy sweet flesh with a slight sherbet tang. The modest crop late last

Food bloggers, a birthday and a mountain of dumplings

How does a food blogger celebrate her birthday? With food. And lots of it.I was fortunate enough to celebrate my birthday with homemade dumplings on the weekend, a happy huddle of food bloggers industriously pleating packages of pork and veal mince. It's been ages since I'd made wontons or dumplings. I love the ritual of seasoning the mince and then settling down for a few hours to patiently

Poporo, Haymarket

Touch screen menu orderingI feel like I'm back in high school. Or, more accurately, I feel like I'm hanging out after high school.The cheerful red and white colour scheme has something to do with this burst of youthful exuberance. Shiny plastic stools--with a very generous seat--cluster around a table at the front and line the kitchen counter. But most of the dining area is situtated on a raised

Adriano Zumbo, Manu Feildel and Somage Fine Foods afternoon tea at L'etoile

"I didn't realise there would be so many women."I feel a little sorry for the lone male at our table during a tea-gustation at L'etoile. As women in floaty summer dresses and strappy heels stream into the outdoor tiered deck area of L'etoile, the hapless husband maintains he thought he'd be enjoying a champagne tasting.Whilst there is a glass of champagne Loire sparkling at the start, today's

Freebie Friday: Win a bottle of Bundaberg Reserve Rum

It's Freebie Friday!This week we're giving away five bottles of Bundaberg Reserve Rum. Reserve Rum is a premium spirit that has a rich, dark character with hints of oak and caramel.For a limited time, Bundaberg is also offering personalised labels, so the winners will be able to have their own name printed on the bottle - that's one way to stop people raiding your liquor cabinet! You can also

Me. A published writer.

It's official. I'm a published writer.The latest edition in the To Asia With Love guidebook series is To Japan With Love. Within it are two pieces contributed by yours truly -- in the food section of course.The process entailed in compiling and editing a travel guidebook has been eye-opening. I was first contacted to be a contributor in June 2005 after the editor, Celeste Heiter, noticed my blog

The Coachmen Russian Restaurant, Surry Hills

Gargoyles beneath the barYou've probably driven past it countless times. The tall sandstone walls of The Coachmen appear rather ominous, but step through the wrought iron gate, walk up the short stretch of red carpet and then let your gaze rest upon the wonder that is the bar area.Red velvet loungeThere's a wondrous sense of over-the-top spectacle in the Imperial Russian decor. Opulent red velvet

Food Safari Book Launch

Tetsuya WakudaTwo book launches, both alike in dignity. In fair Sydney where we lay our scene.On Tuesday night it was the launch of Food Safari, the companion book to the popular SBS cooking series hosted by Maeve O'Meara, at Spice I Am Restaurant in Darlinghurst.Food Safari by Maeve O'MearaOn Thursday night it was a smaller launch at the Global Gallery in Paddington for fellow Sydney food

Freebie Friday Double: Two Cookbooks to Win

Happy Friday!You wouldn't believe it, but we have another Freebie Friday Double.This week, it's all about cookbooks. Whether you use them as manuals, sources of inspiration, coffee table talk or bedtime stories -- in my case, all of the above -- you can never have enough cookbooks, especially FREE ones!Prize #1:Great, Grand and Famous Chefs and Their Signature DishesDo the names Thomas Keller,

Frogs leg congee, Siang Hee, MOS Burger and a trip to The Clinic

Breakfast. In the sweltering heat and humidity that is everyday Singapore, an iced coffee never looked so good.Breakfast crowds at Tiong Bahru MarketAfter a long day and late night, Suze, the es&t crew and I end up at Tiong Bahru Market the next day for a mid-morning breakfast. The place is packed with locals, a hive of people eating and drinking and chatting in the sticky 75% humidity.I'm

Concordia German Club, Tempe

You don't go to community clubs for the atmosphere. Although perhaps, in a perverse way, you do.The Concordia German Club in Tempe, in Sydney's south, won't win any awards for its design or decor. And yet there's an element of comfort in the dated furniture, the 1980s colour scheme of salmon pink and viridian green, and the quiet unassuming staff who go about their business.The club, in operation

Adriano Zumbo - Macaron Day

Macaron! Macaron! Macaron!It was macaron mania last Friday, a one-off day of nothing but crazy macaron flavours in-store at Adriano Zumbo, Balmain, to celebrate Adriano Zumbo's birthday.Up to sixty flavours had been promised, a bewildering array of creations, ranging from Vegemite sourdough to cheeseburger to avocado and Golden Gaytime.I arrived early on Friday morning with fellow macaron fans to

Freebie Friday Double: Win a Scanpan Classic Roaster and movie tickets to see The Boys Are Back

Thank God It's Friday!Did you back a winner in the Melbourne Cup? If not, never fear, because Freebie Friday is here!Today we have TWO competitions to enter, and there are SEVEN chances to win! You can enter both competitions and submit entries each day. Please note the different closing dates for each competition.Prize #1:Scanpan Classic RoasterLove a Sunday roast but dread the prospect of

Macaron Day at Adriano Zumbo Patisserie, Balmain

Photo credit: Image courtesy of adrianozumbo.com and imagineationBREAKING NEWS: Do you know whose birthday it is tomorrow?It’s Adriano Zumbo’s!How is he celebrating?Adriano Zumbo is having a macaron party.AND YOU’RE INVITED.We’re not talking about 12 different flavours of macarons.We’re talking about a shop full of nothing but crazy macaron flavours!The team at Adriano Zumbo’s kitchens have been

A nose-to-tail dinner party

Do you ever have out-of-body experiences during an amazing meal?I have.Tonight, this is one of them.Fergus Henderon's nose-to-tail barbecue at the Sydney International Food Festival was the catalyst. Nose-to-tail eating is about eating the entire animal and not wasting anything. That means eating heads and hearts and offal and tripe.To me, this philosophy is about making sure we maximise every

A Taste of Peru, a plateful of alpaca

I can't wait to try the alpaca!It's this carnivorous curiosity that has me most excited about A Taste of Peru, a degustation dinner recently staged by Illapu Peru at The Sheraton on the Park for the Sydney International Food Festival.I've yet to visit Peru - all I can think of is Paddington Bear who came from "darkest Peru"! There are no marmalade sandwiches here, but Peruvian chef Alejandro

Sweet corn ice cream, Tiong Bahru Market, crab and oatmeal prawns

Iced coffee SG$1.20 (in a Ribena cup!)Playing the tourist is thirsty work.Our Singapore day tour, hosted by Nuffnang, boasted a jam-packed itinerary. By 1.30pm, we'd already visited the MINT toy museum and the Chinatown Heritage Museum, whilst squeezing in a second breakfast and a heart-shaped barbecued pork snack before lunch at the amazing Maxwell Food Centre hawker market.The touristing

Kaya toast, the MINT toy museum and Maxwell Food Centre joy

Coffee with condensed milk SG$0.80 and kaya toast SG$0.60Mmm... why can't all takeaway breakfasts look so good.Suze and I had promised each other we'd have kaya toast for breakfast and so, despite the bleary eyes and early start, we traipsed our way from the Link Hotel to Hong Kong Jin Tian Roast Meat for kopi and kaya, Singapore-style.The novelty of buying a hot drink in a plastic bag was not