Bowl n Roll

Duck banh mi-$8

 

inside/cross section

If you didn’t know already, duck is one of my favourite proteins. This banh mi was packed with duck and filling. Duck was a bit fatty in places so didn’t eat all the skin. It’s more pricey compared to other pork rolls, but there was a decent serving of meat inside, and the actual roll was quite large I couldn’t finish it. After a bit of time, the soy sauce did soak into the bread and also at the bottom of the roll, but the bread was nice and crunchy. 

Cloud Thief

Didn’t have this at night noodle markets last year since I knew they would have a permanent store after the markets finished, and it’s not as overpriced compared to the markets. It’s still pricey for a a bao since in theory it’s just plain flour and water, but I guess you’re paying the the technique in which they can make the baos so light and fluffy.

Left- Beer Battered Barramundi: Beer battered Barramundi fillet, Cloud Thief’s Asian tartare sauce, crisp iceberg lettuce, red radish and wasabi pea and seaweed crumb-$6.50

Right-Peking Duck: Crispy skin Peking duck, crisp cucumber, shredded iceberg lettuce with spring onion and our signature Peking sauce-$8

The fish was cooked so well, and loved the flavours in it. This was our favourite since it was something a bit different. 

Wasn’t going to order the duck originally, but they didn’t have the pork (?) on the day and the other normal ones didn’t sound that interesting, so went with a more ‘premium’ option. There was a decent sized portion of duck which wasn’t too fatty. 

Duck In Duck Out

If you didn’t know by now, Duck is one of my favourite proteins, and I didn’t even realise a permanent store which is also promoted by Manu from MKR opened in World Square until I walked past. It’s fast food but a bit fancier, and hence cost more than your average burger and fries. They have mostly outdoor seating, or bench stools inside. It is quite windy sitting outside.

food spread

Quack Daddy: crispy confit duck, celeriac remoulade, red onion jam, pickles, rocket, harissa aioli-$14

inside

The burger had a decent amount of duck in it, and could taste the duck flavour in it as the toppings/sauces didn’t drown out the flavour of the meat. The duck also wasn’t too fattening. The aioli gave a very mild spicy kick to it, and the jam helped compliment the burger with some sweetness.

Duck dog: duck sausage, fried shallots and other stuff-$12

First time having a duck sausage hot dog. This was a special for the week and forgot what other ingredients it had. I think if I used my imagination I could taste the duck in the sausage, but really it just tasted like a mix of beef and chicken. Sausages are normally a mince mixture anyway, so hard to distinguish the duck flavour. I like the fried shallots as it gave it a slight crunch. 

Ducking loaded fries: crispy confit duck, harissa aioli, spring onion-$12

The chips were cooked well with a nice crunch, but I would have liked a bit more potato inside. Loved the bits of duck and sauce which topped the fries. I didn’t think it needed the additional salt on the fries itself.

 

Switch

All members of the G8s that were in the Southern Hemisphere met up tonight, as Jo correctly put it. I think 6/8 is an achievement, really don't remember when we had 8/8...at least 3 years ago though. 

I played the Nintendo Switch last week but only on Mario Kart, which is a go to classic. Didn't realise how portable the Switch is, with super cute tiny controllers! Didn't realise consoles still cost a fair bit, but $500 now is worth a lot less than $500 13 years ago when we got our first big console...Love how the multiplayer games are team games, rather than versing each other. Overcooking is hilariously fun, a stressful fun if that makes sense. Half the time I couldn't see where I was, but I like how it's relatively realistic, like if the kitchen catches fire then you need a fire extinguisher before you can keep cooking. Thanks Tess and fam for having us over and the delicious home made food!

Vegetarian rice paper rolls

Those wrapping skills which I don't have. Love how it's filled with so many veggies, and don't need vermicelli noodles to fill up the space. Peanut sauce with it is so good. I hardly ever have this stuff, and just walking past places at the shops they're pretty pricey compared to buying the ingredients and making it yourself. Just a whole lot of prep to chop up the veggies etc.

Vegetarian peking duck

First time having vegetarian duck, didn't even know it existed. It taste just a tiny, tiny bit like duck. It's still nice for fake meat though. Loved the cute coriander poking out in the presentation. We also had a 'third course' of the typical Chinese beef and bean sprouts stir fried flat rice noodles. Dessert featured Happy Apple and Dandelion's cookies and an ice cream cake we got Nancy last week lol. 

So good seeing everyone. Once again, we didn't end up playing boardgames but just ended up chatting and talking about random stuff. I think the best catch ups are not what you do, but just talking with people and the company. So great to see Happy Apple!

Didn't realise you don't have to do any more tests to get your full licence...I also never experienced the 'paper' temporary licence, and you just get the licence immediately after you pay for it...how times have changed since I got my fulls over 3 years ago...

Didn't realise how much Castle Towers has changed, since nowadays I don't go shopping, and if I do, it's normally in the city since it's on the way home from uni. Or it's overseas since I feel spending money in Aus isn't as worth compared to spending overseas. So many shops have moved around, I feel like at least a quarter of the shops. You can tell which stores are profiting. Pandora is finally in a larger space, cause the Towers one was always in relatively small shop but always packed with people. I have to say, whoever did the marketing for this year's promo, the green is quite an ugly green. Not as ugly as Baulko olive green, but it's like a dark Christmas green which doesn't really match their sort of stuff. I don't mind the green, but seeing people hold multiple bags of that stuff feels like that green doesn't match it. Nespresso also moved into a much larger space since they used to only have a tiny store which sold the pods, but now they demonstrate machines like the store in the city.

Other shops moved into an old bank fit out which is weird, cause they took out the glass windows, but there's still metal poles in between what used to be the service desk and the actual bank behind it...And what happened to the 3rd floor of Myer...they added an extra floor a few years ago and then took it away..? What a waste of money...Apparently Wendy's ice cream got rebranded...There's also more 'hipster' stores like a place that does men hair cuts, and super spacious with a pool table inside, and selling just a few other guys products. Like I'm pretty sure rent ain't cheap, how do they afford such empty/spacious spaces place have room to put in a pool table?

Other photos from the past week and don't know where to put them. Neighbours from across the road made us cute pot plant cheesecakes as an xmas present. 

 

love the whole pot plant and spade spoon

There was too much soil on top, and had to dig a bit before you get to the cheesecake. It's a more lighter Japanese style cheesecake, rather than your usual cream cheese cheesecake. 

Also, fresh xmas trees were on sale for $20 day at our local Woolies. We would have bought one, if not for the fact that you need a proper xmas tree stand so you can continue to water the tree and it'll actually stand up. We also don't have the space at home, and it's a lot of maintenance since you'll need to keep vacuuming and watering daily. We don't even have time to vacuum weekly to begin with...$20 is pretty good price to have fresh pine smells at home, cheaper than flowers and the tree lasts longer as well.

Someone gave us this to try, and I don't like Vegemite, but here it's only a tiny bit salty to flavour it. It's made of bread 'bagels' instead of potatoes, and a lot harder than normal. Also, Tyrell veggie chips are really good.

Internal placements are finally up for the first 6 or so weeks. Always takes a while to figure out how to read optom timetables, esp with each week changing. Like what if I miss a clinic lol.

Fine Food Australia 2017

Every two years, the Fine Food Expo is in Sydney where they showcase new food products, equipment and technology related to the food and hospitality industry. This time they are in the new ICC at Darling Harbour. It was massive, spread over 2 full floors. A lot bigger compared to Moore Park or the previous convention centre. I completely understand why they got rid of all our childhood fountains that we used to run across, and patches of grass the expand this place. I have to admit, the landscaping in the area is pretty good. It's amazing how quickly they finished building something of this capacity. Moving on...

This sort of reminds me of Harpa, the concert hall in Iceland

Sunset views

Really loving the new Darling Harbour. The actual exhibition was spread under the overpasses on the left on level 1 and 4. the main building has smaller function rooms but still pretty big, and the concert theatre is even further to the left. It can accommodate 3 different exhibitions at the same time. Inside the building everything is just so spacious, clean and new!

I sort of can't believe I'm sick of ice cream (for this week). So many full sized samples everything, and so many small samples that even I had to say no to having more ice cream. There actually were less food samples this year, but it was still more than enough for me, and at the point where you have to 'selectively eat.' Still over ate though...but it's only here twice a year, and probs last time I'll have the time to come, unless once I work one of my days off falls on a weekday (which is most likely).

- Charcoal activated ice cream is the new trend

- Tumeric latte is the new matcha latte

- The health food market is exploding, think yoghurt drinks, flavoured almond milk with more almonds than water (unlike the current supermarket stuff), protein bars/balls, weird but delicious dried fruit and veggies

- So many new food start ups

Some food highlights: 

gelato

So many gelato/ice cream stalls. Mainly these people are trying to sell the actual machine or for other people to rent. Like there are heaps of cakes around, but really they trying to sell the cake cabinet.

activated charcoal coconut water soft serve, cold brew soft serve

The black one sort of tasted like a muted down coconut flavour but a bit nuttier. You can definitely taste the cold brew coffee in it. I find cold brew less acidic/creamy, but a more watered yet concentrated coffee flavour. I'm no coffee connoisseur, but cold brew coffee just has a super distinct taste which you all should give it a go sometime. I was just surprised at how accurate they got this flavour in this soft serve,

I found KOI!

They were actually partnering with a new app where apparently when you order on their phone/device, you can just tap, so you don't have to wait in line at the register or something and then you receive an instant notification to let you know your order is ready...idk, I was really just eyeing the cakes the whole time the guy was demo-ing.

Matcha strawberry: Almond & pistachio jaconde with greentea matcha mousse, berry consome jelly, strawberry

Watermelon: Lychee creme diplomat, dehydrated rose, watermelon, chia seed and almond crumbs

These small bite sized mini desserts are actually a good way to try KOI stuff, since was already super full. The matcha had a decent hit of matcha, and the watermelon one was quite fragrant, just odd to put chia seed in a dessert imo.

First year they had a section dedicated to wines/drinks.

Look how cute this cup is!

Vanilla liquor from Spain, pretty strong at 43 but also tasted quite nice

46% alc.

I can do 26%, but 46% dry gin was just a bit too much, and I only had like 2 sips. The tonic water added to it made it taste more like medicine. Yeah, can't do shots. Give me fancy wines any day.

beetroot latte

I actually hate beetroot despite my love of food, now I can eat it if I have to, but beetroot in latte form is pretty good because there's a nice earthiness to the latte. Beetroot chips are quite nice as well. I think I mainly hate canned beetroot...

Byron Bay cookies x Zest Coffee Taste Test

It was actually really hard to match the cookies with the complementing espresso. Surprisingly I could taste the difference between all the cookies, but to match was too subjective.

 

edible glitter!

I don't like glitter on accessories, but when it comes to food-yes pls. Watching people make fancy chocolates is pretty cool Saw the 'ferrari' of ice cream machines work (they've used it before on MC when they went to Dinner By Heston where you pour in your anglaise, and it immediately churns and freezes so ice cream is ready straight away). This time they used it for caramel where it was ready really quickly. I only attend these shows cause then you can answer questions and win stuff. Got some smoked Urcin salt...

 

more activated charcoal coconut water ice cream with some chocolate/cookies, caramelised fig (pretty sure I had over 10 scoops by this stage)

Day 1: 13kg haul of freebies

My mum is amazing at getting freebies. I have my limits and will get stuff I know I'll like, but mum sort of gets everything (although I had to limit her since I don't want to waste food and chuck it if we're not gonna eat it back home). How do I know I'm stronger? When I can carry/lug around 13kg go food/drinks the whole days and it's ok. We did bring a tiny suitcase to be more 'professional.' The trick with this sort of stuff is you only bring those trolley things to markets/food festivals/shows but not to a business related expo. My strength is compared against the weight of the suitcase, so surprisingly 13kg wasn't too heavy. Normally I start my travels with 15kg in my big suitcase. I guess I also felt stronger after July after lugging back 50kg on public transport back home...Next goal is still carrying suitcase up multiple flights of stairs...

Headed for a quick pit stop before an optom event on the 3rd day of the expo. They are the stingiest on this day since they generally have to make stuff last on the 4th day, but then give everything out on the 4th day since a lot of companies don't want to pack it or take it back interstate.

KOI but with more variety

Citrus jar: Passionfruit curd with bergamot jelly, almond crumbs, swiss meringue, seasonal citrus and yuzu marshmallow

Not gonna lie, I was already full to begin with, but want to slowly make my way through Koi's cake collection. Got something light and this passionfruit dessert was perfect. Also edible purple flower!

Couldn't resist having a coconut ice cream. It's not as nice as the other coconut ice cream in supermarkets since the flavour wasn't as strong, guess it wasn't too sweet which is also a plus.

Mum brought home another 13kg suitcase, Dad brought home veggies from neighbouring expo stands

haul 2, too much food to even bother with a flat lay

Yep, groceries done for the month...

fav!

Loving earth chocolate ain't cheap, from memory the normal flavours are $8 for a larger packet, and one time I bought something which was flavoured and about 1/4 of the above size for $6. They are so good and smooth though, nice darkness through them. Still find it ironic how we haven't finished our Europe and Jap chocolate though...Yay for the coconut yogurt since I was way too full the other day to even sample it, but Mum brought home a decent sized tub back.

Really enjoyed seeing new products to come or are already out on the market. It sort of doesn't help that I'm at home with all this food...now what to try first...Definitely over ate this week, but that's the whole point of me exercising so I can try more food, as counterintuitive as it sounds haha.

LuMi Bar and Dining

Birthdays are really just an excuse to go out and eat. Every year I treat myself to some fine dining, because what is life if you don't enjoy the finer things in life? (Well every year I've worked...) Literally all my savings go into food. This year decided to go somewhere 'cheaper' (*cough under $200pp) since I've already gone around the world in both Europe and Asia, and have long well reached my food quota for the year. Decided to come here since the chef was on MasterChef as a celebrity chef (who lost but that doesn't really affect the quality of the restaurant since when was reality tv all that real...). This place is a fusion between Italian and Japanese (so many post-Jap feels...). Be prepared for a photo spam.

Different side of Sydney

The restaurant is actually quite quiet around this area, so it's nice to come this side of Sydney.

Cute tea set

menu

Went for the 8 course degustation for lunch $115pp. Normally they have the 5 course menu for lunch, so you have to call them up if you want the 8 course for lunch. I think price wise it's decent since you get a few snacks, and a petit four to finish. Even though the blinds were drawn it was still quite sunny.  The main problem was dealing with moving shadows when taking photos...

bar

Snack: snapper jelly with fish mousse and Neptune seaweed

inside

The flavours of this jelly reminded me of miso soup rather than a fishy taste. It was really flavourful and you have the slight creaminess from the fish mousse inside.

tapioca with seaweed

So crispy and love the way they used seaweed as a seasoning. Interesting how they placed it on top of the the raw veggies.

soft cheese- not too cheesy, and yes it was soft. 

Jap steamed egg custard with shell fish oil and caviar

Loved the presentation of this in a scallop shell on top of the sea shells. The flavours were quite interesting and not too salty. I do prefer the crab steamed egg custard I had in Tokyo since it was more eggy/flavourful.

Brioche bread + breadsticks 

This is probably one of the best brioche breads I've ever had, probably even better than some French bakeries. From far away they looked like muffins. It was still nice and warm when it came on the table and super easy to pull apart. Super soft and flavourful, didn't even nee the extra butter on the side. Since it's not your normal complimentary sourdough, they do charge $4 for each additional bread, which is pretty cheap if you compare it to Asian bakeries where it's just all air inside. If only I could take one of these brioches home...Breadsticks were average, but I did notice you only get them if you have the 8 course tasting menu.

Veal, yoghurt, jerusalem artichoke

First time having raw red meat. I was too scared to have steak tartare in France just in case I got sick. I do love my steak pink inside, but having it completely raw is a new experience. It was surprisingly nice, and the flavour of it reminded me of a cross between salmon/tuna, texture wise sort of was similar to sashimi. The yoghurt added a lovely creaminess to it whilst still being light. Loved the crunch of the jerusalem artichoke, if only they were readily available in packets to buy off the shelf...

Miso-stone

A spin on the classic minostrone soup. The scoop mini balls from different veggies and other ingredients such as cucumbers, radish, pickled radish, potatoes, carrot, pumpkins, potato, macadamia nuts, and poured in a tomato soup, but unlike the normal red tomatoes in the original dish, this one had a clear green tomato soup base. Really an interesting concept. I saw that they do chop up the core of the veggies, for example, the cucumbers have the skin on, so I guess they use the middle for other stuff.

Agnolotti, parsnip, truffle (added more truffles-$15)

without truffles 

inside

It's almost the end of winter and I missed the beginning of my favourite season since I was overseas, which also means that the truffle season is almost over. I am a massive truffle fan, and if I could have truffle everyday, I would. So it made sense to pay the extra $15 for some shaved pieces of truffle. If you had the 5 course lunch, you could opt to add truffle in the pappardelle (below), but it was in fine strands, rather than seeing the fine grains of the truffle. I found the truffle they used here smelt good but it didn't taste as strong compared to other truffles I've had. The pasta itself had a parsnip sort of liquid cream inside which bursted with flavour. The sauce was supposed to have some truffle flavour already, but couldn't really taste that much.

Pappardelle, duck, hazelnut

I love when I see duck on the menu since it's my favourite protein. Although it is more in a ragu form, it really complemented the flavours of the pasta. It was super flavourful, probably because it was cooked in individual saucepans with a large slab of butter. The pasta was super silky and cooked al dente. Loved the crunch from the hazelnuts as well.

Lamb, celeriac, chilli kosho, carrot puree

Lamb was super soft and melt in your mouth. There was quite a bit of fat though since they used the shoulder. Loved the plating of the sheet of celeriac. The chilli kosho wasn't actually that chilli, and helped complement the spices in the lamb (slowly building my chilli tolerance). The puree was super sweet and tasted like pumpkin more than carrot, pretty sure they said it was a carrot puree. There was a rosemary (?) powder sprinkled on top as well.

Granny Smith Apple: green apple sorbet, liquorice mousse, finger lime

inside

My favourite dish was this apple, it's unlike anything I've seen or tasted before! It's a real apple with the top cut and stalk still intact, then they core it and hollow out the apple, before putting in a mousse, sponge and green apple sorbet on top. How do they manage to make the apple hollow inside whilst keeping the skin intact? I loved how it was presented on gum leaves, and they sprayed a food scent on it, so it smelt even more like a super fresh and sweet granny smith. I love a bit of theatre in food and it delivered. The sorbet was on of the bests ones I've had and really kept true to the flavour of the granny smith without being too acidic. Couldn't really taste the liquorice mousse, but loved the burst of the sour finger lime, making this dessert really refreshing and not sweet.

cute candle (which I slightly burnt my finger and left wax all over the table for them to figure out how to clean once it dried....)

Douglas Fir ice cream, rhubarb, extra virgin olive oil

Another refreshing and light dessert to finish. This is not your normal ice cream, since it was super light and texture reminded me of foam from a foam gun. It tasted sort of like pine, well the scent of the fresh Christmas trees. The olive oil helped to cut back the sweetness of the rhubarb, which I did find was just a tad bit too sweet.

Petit four: pear and rosemary friand

For once, the petit four wasn't chocolate. Although it does seem a bit stingy giving one petit four, for the price you pay it's ok. The friend was quite buttery inside with a crisp edge. It did have pieces of pear and rosemary sprinkled on top. Again, needed to go with 8 courses to have the petit fours.

open kitchen!

the chef!

If you're after something a bit different and not too pricey, I think LuMi does a pretty good job. I would even come back here just to have the apple and brioche bread again. Too bad there's no a la carte here...