Soul Food Cafe (Fitzroy, Melbourne) - Review

273 Smith Street
Fitzroy, Melbourne
VIC 3065, Australia
PH:+61 3 9419 2949
Type of food: Vegetarian

Hours:
Monday to Friday 08.00 AM - 11.00 PM
Saturday 08.00 AM - 11.00 PM

Soul food is in the middle of the trendy Smith st in Fitzroy. Smith st is full of shops and the occasional batches of cafes. Even if you are not hungry there is plenty to check out on this street. It was close to 1 in the afternoon and my partner was yet to have any kind of breakfast. I couldn't last and grabbed a sandwich from the seven eleven shop on the way to Fitzroy, a choice which I was to regret later... After wondering up and down Smith st we decided to check out the Soul Food Cafe. It seemed well presented. Not too flash, but nice and comfortable. The service was good too. Even though it is a cafe, it felt more like a restaurant. We were seated right away and the waitress asked if we wanted a coffee while we thought about what food to order.

Anyway, I ordered samosa with a Greek salad, while my partner ordered a lentil burger. We waited for about 20 minutes before the food arrived, and all of it tasted great, particularly the samosa. The lentil burger tasted a bit dry, but then you can't really expect much from a veggie burger!

I was getting immensely full and not even half way through the samosa. I began to regret buying a sandwich 2 hours earlier however continued to stuff myself. It was clear the chef put some time and effort to perfect not just the taste, but also the presentation. The food portions were more than reasonable especially considering the meals were $15 AUD each. The price here range from about $13 - $25. The coffee was satisfying too. These guys use Jaspers Organic Free Trade Coffee, which I think is awesome and everybody should do the same. They also have a takeaway menu so you can ring them up to make an order and rock on up later to pick up.

My only complaint is we were seated right in the middle of people traffic, so at times there were people queuing up to the till right next to our table. They should really relocate this table to a better suited position. However overall this is an excellent place for food and coffee. I'm keen to come back here and try the rest of their menu.

Quality of food: 7.5/10
Quality of service: 8/10
Atmosphere and Presentation: 7/10
Value for money: 7/10

Overall rating: 7.4/10

Healthy Breakfast - Pancake with Avocado, Tomato, and Onion

Ingredients for Pancake Topping:
Half a red onion - Finely chopped
One tomato - Finely chopped
One and half Avocado - Mashed
Salt and cracked black pepper - to taste

Ingredients for Pancake:
1 cup plain flour
1 large egg
300ml milk
For frying - use cooking oil or melted butter
Sugar if you want the pancake to taste a little sweet.

One of the best things about being in a relationship is lazy Sunday breakfasts, no better way to celebrate being alive

Step 1:

Combine the pancake ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly until it becomes a smooth mixture. Add water if the mix is getting too thick, or add flour if it is too runny. Heat up a non-stick frying pan with some cooking oil or butter on medium heat and pour in some of the pancake mix, just enough to make one thin pancake. Fry for about 3 minutes and flip the pancake to fry on the other side for a further 3 minutes. 

Step 2:

Combine the avocado, tomato, and red onion into a bowl and mix together. If the avocado is not fully ripe, chop it into small pieces (it doesn't have to be fully mashed). Add salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

Serve the avo, tomato, and red onion mixture on top of the pancake and eat. Wake up together with a good coffee and ready to take on your blog or that crossword you've been meaning to finish

Mana Bar - Fitzroy, Melbourne - Review

(CLOSED)
336 Brunswick Street
Melbourne VIC 3065
(03) 9417 3432

I am up while A is doing his early morning weekend chores so it is my duty to write this blog review. 

You may be used to his regular incoherent ramblings but I like taking you, the reader on a journey, so expect a great review! We set for the suburb of Fitzroy, with its trendy bars, hip streets, "oh-so bohemian" corners and where you can sit and enjoy the urban lifestyle of the verile population of Melbournian youth. After work, which is sombre and boring, a hump day taste of what Fitzroy has to offer can provide some much needed cultural sanctuary and relief. Better, it has games! 

That's right. Mounted to the walls of this bar are large screen LCD TVs, with analogue games and consoles ready to go. Kind of like the 90s when you would go down to the fish and chip shop and waste time for a buck fifty, this had the convenience of an arcade but the decor of a cocktail bar. The lighting was dim, and the screen providing interactive entertainment for old and small. Well maybe just the geeky, as I did a head count, I realised I was surrounded by early-mid twenties geeks, who were also trendy. Smart is really the new cool. 

The games were fun, I played one where Mario was fighting Princess Peach, Donkey Kong and a generic Japanese character I didn't recognise, it was a human not a robotic cat or a small-compactable pet that knows only one word, though happens to also be its name. This meant the club had no reservations for cheap copies from the 70s and 80s, which I decided I liked about it. The other games were Halo and Portal 2. Which probably got taken up with more enthusiasm. 

It was a fun night and eventually I receded to the front bay window where my red wine and house beers were happily sculling down with the company of Alex's friend's girlfriend. We chatted through various girly subjects and even subjects on movies we both liked, I found out she had read all three of the Lord of the Rings in novel form, raising much admiration on my part.

So there you have it. A good bar with fun things to do and I would say great atmosphere, good decor and the funniest thing is that it didn't mind taking the piss a little bit when it came to bringing back the charm of the old days. I am ready to hit the spacies once again!

Presentation & Atmosphere: 7.5/10 stars
Quality of Service: 8/10 stars
Value for Money: 6.5/10 stars
Quality of Drinks: 7/10 stars

Overall rating:  7.3/10 stars

Insignia bar - Melbourne Central - A Review

502 Flinders Street, 
Melbourne VIC 3000  
(03) 9629 7405

It was a Thursday night and raining heavily. Melbourne was showing what the locals refer to is the normal Melbournian weather. We have been wandering about for a good 30 minutes looking for a half-decent pub. My sister and her boyfriend were visiting from Christchurch in New Zealand. Christchurch very recently got destroyed by a huge earthquake so this was a much needed break for the both of them. 

Finally we stumbled on Insigina located right on the corner of Flinders st and King st. From the outside it does not look like much. An old semi-Victorian/Gothic looking building with its neon lighting, is all that pinpoints this place as a pub.

After walking through the giant front green doors you realise what a little gem this place is. The ceiling is almost 2 stories high giving you a sense of an awesome spaciousness. There are several very comfortable-looking couches and low level tables spread out around the perimeter of the floor. The lighting and decor is full of classic old furniture with groovy, mood-setting lighting. This place just felt really comfortable, a type of pub I would love to sit at all day. 

They had some interesting specialty made beers, like the Four Wives Pilsner for example. They also had some of your usual pub grub. We ordered a round of drinks, calamari, and dim sums. On top of that we also ordered a tapas dish which included spring rolls, more fried squid, chicken satay, chili sauce, and tartar sauce.

We waited for roughly 20 minutes for our food to arrive. Even for just ordinary pub grub, the food tasted better than I would normally expect for a typical bar. It all had just the right amount of crunchiness and juiciness. I think the cook at this pub doesn't stuff around and knows what he was doing. In terms of cost you can expect to pay 7-15$ a drink and 12 - 30$ for a meal.

Overall, I didn't really want to leave this bar but it was late and some of us had work in the morning! I can recommend this purely on atmosphere. However they also offer decent food and good beer, which for me hits all the right buttons. 

Atmosphere & Presentation: 8/10 stars
Quality of Services: 8/10 stars

Quality of Drinks & Food: 7/10 stars
Value for Money: 6.5/10 stars

Overall Rating:  7.4/10 stars

Beer Marinated Beef

Here is what you will need

Ingredients:
500g of tenderised beef
Half a bottle of or can of beer
1 tablespoon of coriander powder
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tsp (or more) chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin

Mix all the ingredients together in bowl and add the beef. Mix the beef with the marinade mix and leave it to sit for an hour to allow the beef to absorb all the flavour.

Meanwhile you can make some rice and veggies to go with the dish. Any veggies will do. Its not rocket science, just throw the veggies into a pan and fry away, add salt and pepper.

Once the veggies are finished frying put them to a side and fry the beef. Once the beef is fully cooked throw in the veggies and stir together. Done! This is a very simple and pretty looking dish. I think you can add any veggies and spices provided you have the main ingredient: beer.

Marinated Chilli Cod Fish with Avocado Sauce

Here is what you will need:

Ingredients:

500g of Cod fish fillet (or any other fish you like)

3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 teaspoons of chili powder

1 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of minced garlic
2 teaspoons of ground peppercorns

2 ripe avocados

3 table spoons of sour cream

First take the fish fillet and mix in a bowl with the olive oil, chilli powder, salt, garlic, lemon juice, and ground peppercorns. After mixing together well let it sit for 20 minutes to allow the fish to absorb the marinade.

While you wait you can make the avocado cream to go with the fish. Mix the avocado with the sour cream in a bowl thoroughly until the mixture becomes creamy.

Now start frying the marinated fish. Be careful when over turning the fish pieces as they may crumble. Fry each fillet piece for about 10-20 minutes on each side. Add a touch of olive oil to help cook if you like.

Done! This is a very simple and yummy dish, which will impress your guests. The avocado cream complements the fish perfectly, but you can also serve with rice. You might want to add extra salt and lemon juice to suit your taste. To add a touch of class sprinkle a bit of parsley on top of the fish after it is done. Enjoy :)

Spicy BBQ marinade for beef, lamb, pork or chicken.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon crushed red chili (or sambal oelek)
2 large garlic cloves

Instructions:

Crush the garlic and throw it into a large bowl. Throw the rest of the ingredients in there and mix well. Now add your meat and mix well. Cover and put away to your fridge over night for BBQ the next day. If you want to put away some for later place a funnel into the neck of a sterilised bottle and pour in marinade. Secure lid. You can label the bottle and decorate if you are into that sort of thing.

Pork schnitzel with mashed potato and gravy

Ingredients:
For the pork schnitzel you will need:
Pork steak pieces (as many as you want)
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
2 eggs
Cooking oil
Ground pepper corns

For the gravy you will need:
1 cup of chicken stock
1 tbs butter
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup flower
Ground pepper corns
Salt

For the mashed potato you will obviously need the potatoes, some butter, water, milk, and most importantly salt.

I'm not going to explain how to make mashed potatoes here as I have faith that everybody knows how to do this. When you mash the potatoes you should always add some salt to taste. You can also add butter and milk to give it that creamy taste. If you want the potatoes to be a bit less thick you can add say 1/2 cup of water when you are mashing.

To make the pork schnitzel:

Find a large bowl and into it throw 1/2 a cup of flour and 1/2 a cup of bread crumbs. Mix it together and put to a side.

Now get another bowl, which is relatively flat, and break the 2 eggs into it. Mix the eggs until it becomes an even yellow mixture. Put this to a side.

Take the pork steak pieces and find something hard to bash them with. I used a sturdy cup bottom to do this. Hit the pork steaks to flatten and tenderize them. Do this evenly over all the pork pieces surfaces. Put the pork pieces to a side for now.

Now take another bowl and pour into it about 2-3 tbs of cooking oil, and add some ground pepper corns. Now throw the pork pieces we bashed earlier into this bowl and mix well together with the pepper and the oil until all the pork pieces are evenly covered.

Pre-heat a large frying pan with a very thick layer of cooking oil. Take each of the pork pieces (covered in cooking oil and ground pepper corns) and fully dip in the egg mixture we made earlier. Make sure the egg mixture covers the entire pork piece. Now take pork piece out of the egg mixture and throw it into the flour and bread crumb mix we made earlier. Roll the pork piece around until completely covered in flour and breadcrumbs. Now take the pork piece and throw it into the pre-heated frying pan. Repeat the same process for the pork pieces.

When frying, flip the pork pieces over often. Do this until they are nicely brown on both sides. Be careful not to fry for too long because you will end up with a dry tasting schnitzel without all the juices (still yummy but not as good). That's your pork schnitzels done!

Now were are going to make the gravy: 
Take a piece of butter and throw it into a frying pan. Wait for it to begin bubbling and then add the flour and mix together. Once it has become one mixture take it out of the frying pan and pour it into a small bowl or a cup. Mix it with some dry wine and throw the entire mixture back into the frying pan and on top of that add the 1 cup of chicken stock. Mix everything together, add salt and pepper to taste, and let simmer for a few minutes. You can add more water if you don't want the gravy to be to thick... And we are done! If you are like me you then you can't wait to eat it!

Kung Pow Pork

Ingredients
300g pork tenderloin pieces
½ cup unsalted roasted peanuts
8 dry red chillies
5 cloves of garlic
1 florette of broccoli
Onion or spring onion
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
3 cups cooking oil for deep-frying
2 Tablespoons cooking oil for stir-frying

Marinade:
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ Tablespoons water

Seasoning sauce:
1 Tablespoon rice wine (if you can find it)
1 ½ Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ Tablespoon brown vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Step 1:

Prepare the marinade with the ingredients shown above. Mix the pork pieces in the marinade until evenly coated and set aside.

Step 2:

Take another bowl and prepare the seasoning sauce with the ingredients listed above and set aside.

Step 3:

Take a pot and pour into it the 3 cups of deep-frying cooking oil. Wait for the oil to heat up until it is very hot. Now throw in the pork pieces one by one to deep-fry. Deep-fry for about 20 seconds. Make sure not to throw in too many at once as you want each piece to cook evenly. Strain the oil and set the pork pieces aside.

Step 4:

Chop up the broccoli into bite size chunks and set aside. Chop up the onion into long pieces and set aside. Crush chopped chillies and garlic into a paste. You may want to leave some whole chillies for presentation.

Step 5:

Heat wok on high heat with the stir-frying oil. Throw in the garlic and chillies paste we made earlier, and the whole chillies. Stir-fry on high heat until the chillies begin to look brown. Remember to always stir so chillies don't burn. At this stage the kitchen should smell very hot.

Step 6:

Before the chilli and garlic paste, and the whole chillies are completely brown, throw in the deep-fried pork pieces we made earlier. Add the seasoning sauce immediately. Constantly stirring throw in the broccoli chunks, onion slices, and the peanuts and mix everything together. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes (about 10 minutes if you are using a frying pan). Add salt and pepper to taste. Your Kung Pow Pork is ready! Serve immediately with rice. Enjoy!

Hosier Lane Graffiti and Street Art, Melbourne

We were out and about before accidentally stumbling on Hosier Lane, a street completely covered in graffiti art. Literally every square inch was covered in wicked bombings, and artistic impressions. Some looked like it was just meant to look seriously cool while other looked like they were trying to raise a much deeper, maybe so far as a political statement. What ever it is it is, the artists' talent is genius! You can find the street by walking along Flinders st in the east direction away from the Flinders train station. Just before Russell st to your right you will find Hosier Lane.

Penne Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Cheese

This is a tasty dish, which can be prepared with relative ease and is a good way to introduce one self to making tomato sauce. 

Photo Source: Myrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 celery stick finely chopped
2 shallots finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tbs of tomato puree
2 tsp of olive oil
25g of butter
100g of Parmesan cheese
400g can of sliced and peeled tomatoes
Penne pasta - about 200 to 300g
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Cracked pepper to taste

Place the oil and the butter into a frying pan. Melt the butter. Now place the celery stick, shallots, and the garlic cloves into the pan and fry on medium heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture is starting to reduce. Now throw in the canned tomatoes and the tomato puree, bring the mixture to boil and reduce heat to medium. Add sugar, cracked pepper, and salt to taste. Simmer for the next 10 to 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile prepare the pasta in a pot of slightly salted water. Take the pasta out of the boiling water when it is almost cooked but still firm. Rinse it under the cold water and set aside. 

After your are done simmering your sauce, place the pasta into the frying pan and add the cheese. Mix everything together on medium to high heat until the pasta is evenly covered with the sauce and the cheese has melted. Check that the pasta has heated right through before completion. Serve and enjoy!

Grill Steak Seafood Restaurant, Melbourne, VIC - Review

Photo source: www.grillsteakseafood.com.au  

66 Hardware Lane,

Melbourne CBD

PH: (03) 9642 0776

Website

This place offers tidy interior as well as cosy outdoor seating. Their menu is not very comprehensive but the food that they do make is prepared to perfection. Here you can expect to pay between 30 to 50$ for a main.  

Our mate was down for a week utilising free accommodation. On his last day we came here. We ordered grilled kangaroo steak, pork belly, and fish of the day. The services was prompt and the outdoor seating was very pleasant with a decent amount of space around us. For a change we did not feel like we were cramped in into a tight spot. Despite quick services their staff did not care to smile and at times appeared like they were going though torture as though they could not wait for their shift to end.

The food was simply fantastic and great size to satisfy even those of us that can eat seemingly non-stop. Atmosphere is very suited to bring a date or your closest friends. As the wine gradually sinks in you'll find yourself submersed in the atmosphere and the food with all of its superb flavours.  

Quality of Service - 7.0 / 10 

Quality of Food -  8.5 / 10 

Atmosphere and Presentation- 8.0 / 10 

Value for Money - 6 / 10

Overall rating - 7.4 / 10 

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Pan-fried Udon Noodles with Beef, Broccoli and Shitake Mushrooms

Ingredients (serves 3-4 people)
1 package dried udon noodles (usually sold in 8.8 oz packages) or about 1 pound fresh udon noodles
10 ounces chuck steak, sliced for stir-frying
2 tsp cornstarch
¼ cup + 1 tbs mirin (keep divided)
¼ cup low sodium tamari (or 3 tbs regular soy sauce)
2 tsp sugar (more to taste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs minced ginger
½ pound broccoli, cut for stir-frying
1 ounce dried shitake mushrooms
1 tbs sesame seeds, toasted

If you have dried noodles, first cook them in boiling water for about 2 - 3 minutes less than indicated on the package. These will cook further when we stir-fry them. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Set these aside. If you are not ready to use them straight away pour a little olive oil over them to keep them fresh.

Next soak the Shiitake mushrooms in boiling water until they soften up. Then squeeze them dry and set aside.

Now for the beef marinade combine the sliced beef, cornstarch and 1 tbs mirin in a bowl. Mix the ingredients together and allow to marinate for about 10 minutes. Set the bowl aside.

For the sauce combine the remaining mirin, tamari and sugar. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved.

Ok we now have all the ingredients ready. Heat a wok over high heat. Add about 1 to 2 tbs oil (you can also use refined sesame oil for this). When the oil is really hot, throw in the marinating meat and garlic. Stir-fry until the beef is no longer pink, but not fully done. Remove the beef from the wok and set aside. Add a small amount of more oil if necessary.

Now add the ginger, broccoli, and mushrooms and the cold, drained noodles. Stir-fry without over-stirring for about 2 until the noodles begin to take on some color. When the noodles are warmed through, add half of the sauce we made earlier and allow the noodles to absorb it. You can cover the wok to help this happen faster. Next throw the beef back into the wok along with the remaining sauce.

Once you are satisfied that the beef is cooked through the sauce is absorbed you are done. For presentation sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

This is a very sweet tasting dish well worth the effort. 

Steak sauce with mushrooms and shallots

Ingredients:
Shallots - finely diced
Mushroom - sliced
Red wine
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Standard flour (optional)

This is a great sauce for pan-fried steak and mashed potatoes. By the way, you can find the guide to cooking a steak here. After you have finished frying your steak, set it aside and cover with something like tinfoil to keep warm. In the same pan leave the steak juices, and scrape off some of the bits that are stuck to the pan as these will add a lot of yummy flavour. Add the shallots, and mushrooms, and saute them in some red wine on high heat. Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a touch of standard flour to help thicken up the sauce. Saute until the shallots and mushrooms become brown and soft. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in a small nob of butter. Done.

Pour the sauce over your steak and potatoes and eat! You can experiment with this recipe by trying different herbs, and also using sherry or port instead of wine.

How to make Alfredo Pasta

You will need the following ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 cup fresh, finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, minced or crushed
1 tsp parsley
Broccoli (any amount you like)
Chicken (any amount you like)
Cooking oil
Grounded black pepper
Salt

Start up a boiling pot of water and throw in some pasta. Leave this to boil until the pasta is fully cooked. Remember to stir once in a while. While the pasta is cooking you can do the steps below:

In a bowl mix together the whipping cream, butter, egg, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and parsley. Mix until all the ingredients are all nicely combined. Put the mixture to a side. This will be our pasta sauce.

Take the chicken and fry on a pan until fully cooked and slightly brown, then put it to a side. Now take the broccoli and fry on a pan until fully cooked and still crunchy. Remember to put in some cooking oil to help the chicken and the broccoli fry. Put the broccoli to a side.

Your pasta is probably cooked by now. Check by tasting. If it is ready, pour out the water and put to a side.

Now take the sauce mixture we made earlier and pour onto a pan on medium heat. Stir the mixture until the butter and the cheese are fully melted. Now we can put the broccoli, chicken, and pasta into the sauce in the pan. Mix everything together until everything is evenly distributed. Now add salt and grounded black pepper to taste. I find that at the end some salt is definitely needed but be careful not to over do it. 1 to 1 and a half teaspoon of salt should do it. That's it! Finished! Very easy pasta dish but looks and taste so impressive.

How to make Chinese dumplings.

To make Chinese dumplings you will need the following ingredients:

Half of a whole cabbage
400g of pork mince
200g of shrimp
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
1.5 tablespoons of salt
0.5 tablespoons of sugar
A small lump of Ginger
1 whole garlic
Spring onion
Flour
Water

Apparently this recipe has been passed down in my girlfriends family for several generations. OK lets begin.

Step1:
First we are going to make the dumpling filling. The filling will consist of the pork mince, finely sliced shrimp, cabbage, spring onion, garlic, and ginger. We only need a small amount of ginger to cancel out that meaty pork smell. Once you have everything chopped into very small pieces throw it all into a large bowl, add 1.5 tablespoons of salt, 0.5 tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and mix everything together until evenly distributed. Don't be afraid to use your hands to do this!

Step 2:
Now we will make the dough. Take the flour and mix it with some water to create the dough. You can make as much as you want, it all depends on how many dumplings you want to make. Once you have the dough, roll it into several of sausage like shapes. Then cut each of these sausage things into smaller equal pieces as shown in the photos above. Each one of these pieces will be used to create the individual dumplings.

Step 3:
Now take each of these little pieces of dough and bash it with the palm of your hand to turn into a pancake shape. Now take a dough roller and flatten each one of these little pieces into a circle shape. Try to roll around the outside away from the center of each piece. This is so that the center of each piece remains a tad thick. This is a technique to help the dumplings maintain their structural integrity while being boiled later.

Step 4:
Ok now that we have made the flat dough pieces we can start putting in the filling. Take a small bit of the filling similar to what is shown in the images above and put it in the center of the dough. Now fold along the center and then the sides until you get a similar shape as in the above photos. Now take one of the corners and fold it onto the adjacent corner. Repeat for the opposite end of the dumplings. Now press firmly all along the edge of the dumpling to ensure its tight and that no filling can fall out. That's it! You have made your first dumpling. Make as many as you like.

Step 5:
Now start up a boiling pot of water. Once the water is boiling throw in several dumplings. The water will stop boiling. Wait for the water to boil again, and then pour in a glass of cold water into the pot. The water will stop boiling again. Again wait for the water to boil. Once it is boiling wait roughly 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes take the dumplings out. That's it! Your dumplings are ready to be eaten!

Step 6:
You can have the dumplings on their own but you can also dip them in some soy sauce, or vinegar, or chili sauce. Or you can combine soy sauce with chili, vinegar, and sesame oil to create a mixture sauce. You can experiment on this one. If I were you I'd make a lot and freeze some for the next few days. To defrost them simply throw them into a pot of boiling water and eat. Alternatively you can boil them and then fry them to make you very own fried dumplings :) 

Slow Cooked Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients:

700-800g of chuck casserole steak cut into chunks
4 large potatoes - diced
5 carrots diced
1 onion diced into large chunks
caraway seeds - 2 tsp
bay leaves - 3 -
1 cup of whiskey for fragrance and get rid of meat smell
half a can of tomatoes
2 cups of light soy sauce
sugar - 4 tbs
6 cups of water
vinegar - a couple of splodges
salt - 1 tbs (to taste)
ground pepper - 1 tbs (to taste)
garlic - 4 cloves diced
vegetable oil - 4 table spoons

Step 1:

Prepare a hot casserole pot with the vegetable oil. When heated, throw in the garlic, onion, and the steak.
Saute until meat is brown.

Step 2:
Deglaze with the canned tomatoes, whiskey, and water.

Step3:
After deglazing, throw in carrots and potatoes. Now throw in bay leaves, salt, caraway seeds, vinegar,  ground pepper, salt and sugar. Wait for the mixture to boil and reduce to heat right down to low so that it is just at boiling point. Cover the pot with lid and leave to cook for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with rice or noodles. This is a great winters meal and a good source of iron. A good vitamin boost for winter. If you have a  cold, this can help get rid of it. You can accompany the dish with some greens but this is optional.

Peko Peko (South Melbourne, VIC) - Review

Photo source: Urbanspoon.com

190 Wells Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 (03) 9686 1109

‎Peko Peko is tucked away in the business end of South Melbourne next to a small collection of take-aways, cafes, and sandwich shops. This place is bustling with people around lunch time so be sure to order in advance before you arrive otherwise you will wind up waiting for about 20 minutes. This is a nice place to sit down and unwind from the stresses of work. I can't say much for the food though.

You will pay 15-25$ per meal here and to tell you the truth it is way over priced for what it is. We ordered combination seafood noodles and ginger fish fillet on rice. The noodles looked like somebody popped open a pack of instant noodles and mixed it with some vegetables and prawns. The ginger fish did not taste ginger at all and was an extremely simple dish anybody can make at home.

Half expecting for this dish to blow my mind instead I found myself staring at a clump of rice, a pile of vegetables, and a fish fillet served on the one and only soy sauce! Where is the ginger and couldn't the cook use something more imaginative for the sauce? This place should not advertise like you are about to taste genuine Japanese cuisine. I found the food to be simple, bland, and unimaginative hardly worth the 17$ I paid for it.

Quality of Service - 6.5 / 10 stars

Quality of Food -  5.0 / 10 stars

Atmosphere and Presentation- 7.0 / 10 stars

Value for Money - 6 / 10 stars

Overall rating - 6.1 / 10

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The Hanger Bar - Waitakere, Auckland, New Zealand - Bar Review

104 Central Park Drive
Henderson
Waitakere, Auckland
Website

The Hanger opened roughly 4 years ago. This was new to me since I have been away from Auckland since that time. To my surprise the Hanger turned out to be a very pleasant, down to earth bar.

For many of you who don't know much about Auckland City, Waitakere is located in the West region of Auckland City and is renown for its  extremely down to earth, friendly locals. To me this will always be home.

The bar itself was actually constructed to look like a hanger. Here you will get the benefits of a neat, tidy, and polished bar atmosphere with nice music and very good deals on alcohol like 10 shots of spirits for only 27$. Normally I would overlook the local pubs because to be honest they are a bit of an eye sore. However the Hanger will win you over with its polished and charming appearance, pleasant atmosphere and music, and most important of all the friendly locals.

Presentation & Atmosphere: 8.0/10
Quality of Service: 7.5/10
Value for Money: 8.0/10
Quality of Drinks: 7.5/10

Overall rating:  7.7/10 



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Russian Winter Salad ('Zimney Salad') - Potato Salad.

For this you will need the following ingredients:

Potatoes
Roast beef slices (200g) - this can found in any supermarket deli
Gherkins
Canned peas (these can be mint flavoured if you like - works just fine)
Mayonnaise
Salt

This is the potato salad we used to make in Russia all the time. The reason it is called winter salad has something to do with the growing seasons for some of the veggies. Not sure what exactly.

The amount of potatoes, gherkins, and canned peas can be any amount you want as long as they are all equal. Peel all the potatoes first then give them a good rinse under cold water. Prepare a large pot of boiling water and throw all the potatoes in there. Leave the potatoes to boil. While you wait for the potatoes to cook you can do the following steps:

Take the sliced beef and cut it into small rectangular pieces similar size you can see in the above photo. Do the same with the gherkins. Take the cut up gherkins and beef pieces and throw into a bowl. Pop open the can of peas and throw this into the same bowl.

Check if the potatoes have cooked. If they have, pour out the water and cut the potatoes into small cubic pieces slightly larger than the beef or the gherkins pieces. Throw all the cut up potatoes into the same bowl with the peas, gherkins, and the beef.

Now we add the mayonnaise. Put just enough mayonnaise to cover everything nicely. Mix the whole mixture together until everything is evenly distributed. Try tasting and if need be add a touch of salt (say 1 teaspoons) and mix again. Finished! Now store the salad in a fridge for 2 hours or longer to allow it to reduce in temperature. When the salad is fully cold it will taste much better. If you ever have a BBQ or a party to go to, this salad will go down really well.

How to make a Chicken Laksa super quick

Ingredients:

Dry noodles (100g)
Laksa paste (120g)
Chicken fillet, sliced (150g)
Coconut milk (200ml)
Water (3/4 cup)
Cooking oil

First boil the dry noodles, drain and set aside.

Now fry the Laksa paste with a bit of oil on low heat until it becomes fragrant.

Then add the chicken pieces and the spring onion and stir together with the Laksa paste until chicken is cooked. Now add water and coconut milk and bring to boil. Add salt to taste.

That's it! Its nice and easy. Now just put the noodles into a bowl and pour the Laksa soup over the noodles. You can garnish with some herbs to make it look nice if you like. Instead of chicken you can use all sorts of ingredients, like prawns for example. Enjoy

Chorizo Sausage Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:
Pasta (any amount you like)
2 decent size chorizo (or just one large one)
8 tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic
Chopped up rosemary (as much as you like)
1/4 cup of cream
100g Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Ground pepper
Salt

I saw this on Market Kitchen show and decided to give it a go. First we are going to start up a pot of boiling water and throw in the pasta. After it is cooked drain the water and set the pasta aside.

Next we are going to peel the tomatoes. In order for the skin on the tomatoes to come off easily we need to boil them for about 3-5 minutes. Take the tomatoes out of the water and make a cut in each one. Now pull the skin off, it should come off with relative ease.

Next we chop the tomatoes into quarter slices. Pre-heat a frying pan on medium heat and pour into it some olive oil. Next throw in the tomatoes and some chopped garlic and leave on medium heat for about 5 minutes. After this time the tomatoes should begin to break down and it will look almost like a uniform, thick mixture.

The next step is to chop up the chorizo sausages into slices about 5mm thick. Now throw the sausage slices into the frying pan with the tomatoes and the garlic. Next chop up some rosemary and throw it into the frying pan. Then we add about one quarter cup of cream, and the 100g of Parmesan cheese. Mix everything together and add salt and pepper to taste. Leave the pan on simmer for about 10 minutes. Our chorizo sauce is now complete. Next throw the pasta into the sauce and mix well. The dish is now ready to be served.

This is probably the yummiest pasta dish I have made so far. The chorizo sausages give off an amazing flavour, which is soaked in by the entire sauce mixture. 

Garlic Uses

Garlic is my favourite ingredient in just about any dish. It's spicy and pungent flavour can complement literally thousands of dishes. As you cook it, it will take on a more sweet and juicy taste. It is ideal for Asian stir-fries and meat marinades. 

Also if you are ever roasting beef, lamb, or chicken, you can add whole cloves of garlic inside the roast, and over the next hour or so while the meat is cooking inside an oven, all that great garlic flavour will infuse into the meat giving it more depth and of course it'll taste better!

In China many people like to nibble on raw garlic as well while eating various noodle soup or stir-fry type dishes. This can add a heightened sensation to your taste buds.

For those of you who have never cooked with garlic before the trick to peeling it is to smash it with a flat surface of a knife. First separate out the individual cloves of garlic. To peel the skin off each of the cloves just hit it with a flat surface of a knife (a cleaver will work perfectly here, although any knife will work just fine). Now pick up the smashed clove and you will notice that the skin can now be peeled off by hand very easily. 

Emily's Place, Melbourne Central, Australia

Emily's Place

ABC Melbourne Central, 211 La Trobe Street
Melbourne Central
Ph:(03) 9654 7971 ‎

Emily's Place is tucked away along a narrow corridor, which leads to the central Melbourne mall. In contrast to the modern, clean finish look of the surrounding shops, bland footpaths, and cheap décor, Emily's Place is covered almost entirely in vanished timber. Coupled with decorations, which look like they've been pulled out of 18th century London, the cafe pulls you in with its comfortable and warm atmosphere. Oh yeah the coffee here is great too.

I personally think this one of my most favourite cafes so far. I say that because somehow among all this chaos you can still find little gems where its just nice to sit back, unwind, and let the weekend begin. 

Quality of service: 7.5/10

Quality of coffee: 8/10

Atmosphere and presentation: 8.5/10

Value for money: 7/10

Overall rating: 7.8/10