Dream Cuisine

Sorry for the lack of updates here in my blog but it has been a rather busy period around the Christmas. I hope you have finished your Christmas shopping by now, if not...oh well, you've got one day left =P

Just a quick post about Dream Cuisine which you may have already read about from my past post. Why blogging about it again? Apart from making one of the best macarons in Canberra, i was extremely excited when i found out that they are now selling their delicious macarons in a little coffee shop called Bean in the City (28/36 Ainslie Ave, Civic - (02) 6162 0866). I have been indulging (not alone) in macarons for the past few days and i've already eaten the following flavours: Strawberry & Champagne, Pistachio & Lime, a yellow one which i couldn't quite figure out what it was (wasn't passionfruit though), Cherry Ripe and Salted Caramel - so far my favorite ones are the Strawberry & Champagne and the Salted Caramel ones! Can't wait to try more from their Summer and Christmas range =)

Here is a picture of their macarons, taken when i visited them at the EPIC Markets a while ago:

Green: Pistachio & Lime / Purple: Lavender & Honey / Yellow: Passionfruit / Cream: Salted Caramel / Dark Pink: Cherry Ripe / Petit Macaron: Strawberry & Champgne 

Pay Bean in the City a visit for some awesome coffee and delicious macarons! If you would like to visit Dream Cuisine itself, you can find it at the Canberra's Capital Region Farmers Market at EPIC in Mitchell on Saturday until 11am or Sunday at the Woden CIT!

Taze Mediterranean Cuisine

It's always a pleasure seeing new restaurants being opened here in Canberra, especially when you least expect it. I was walking along Genge Street on a random day when i suddenly spotted Taze Mediterranean Cuisine (4/21 Genge Street, Civic, Canberra). Taze's decor is just as elegant and chic as its counterparts on Genge Street: Tongue & Grove and Blu Ginger, with big glass windows, modern-looking straw lamps and wooden fixtures with a little Mediterranean touch.

After a few months, i finally found some time to go to Taze with another two friends for lunch. It wasn't a particularly good day and the sky seemed gloomy, but on the bright side we had a very satisfying lunch with heaps of laughters. 

We started off with the Trio of Dips - we chose the Pembe Sultan (beetroot), Tzaziki (cucumber) and Babaganhoush (eggplant) - which was accompanied with refillable Turkish Bread. The dips are deliciously well made and i particularly liked the Tzaziki, which had a well balanced acidity and freshness to it.

We then had the Mushroom, Fresh Herbs, Feta Cheese and Spinach Risotto and the Bursa Iskender (shaved lamb simmered in homemade tomato sauce, Tazè Turkish rice with roasted garlic and yogurt dressing). The risotto was done al dente and the fetta really added that needed saltiness to complete the entire dish.

I am not a big fan of lamb but i have to say that the lamb slices Bursa Iskender were quite tender and flavoursome (i tasted two slices of lamb)! The highlight of the dish for me was the pilaf with the tomato sauce, simply beatiful!

After finishing our mains, we were definitely full. Not just full, but very full...it must have been all that bread that we consumed with the dips. That, however, didn't stop us from ordering some of the desserts that they had in their dessert cabinets. We ordered a Baklava, a Kadayif (sweet made with fine vermicelli-like pastry) and three Turkish delights, and we got to try some Revani (Turkish soft and sweet semolina cake with a sweet syrup) and Halva (almond dessert). Overall the sweets were good but probably a bit too sweet for my liking - my favorite ones were the Kadayif and the Revani though. *no photos for the Revani and the Halva, sorry! 

Overall lunch was good with nice food set in a well-decorated restaurant. The staff is enthusiastic and attentive who makes sure you are well looked after. Taze Mediterranean Cuisine is definitely a good place to go to with family and friends for a comfortable and relaxed meal.

The Starfish Deli

I was in Bateman's Bay a few weeks ago and decided to try The Starfish Deli Restaurant (Promenade Plaza Shop 1, Clyde St, Batemans Bay 2536 - (02) 4472 4880) instead of going to The Boatshed for fish & chips (like most times). The weather was beautiful and gladly, we ended up getting a table by the window which allowed us to enjoy the view to the sea while eating.

We decided to order a dish each and we ended up getting Fishwich (it's basically fish & chips on a baguette), Eden Mussels (garlic, chilli and ginger spiced tomato, white wine and herbs, with pane di casa), Kilpatrick Wood Fire Pizza (crispy bacon, clyde river rock oysters, leicester cheese and worcestershire sauce) and the Garlic Prawn Pasta (in a garlic and parmesan cream sauce with tagliatelle and wild rocket).

Fishwich

The mussels were quite fresh and plump and they went well with the tomato sauce. The amount of king prawns in the pasta was quite generous and overall the dish was nice but lacked a bit of saltiness. I think the pizza was probably my least favourite dish (though i chose it) because there weren't many oysters on the pizza and some of the bacon pieces were hard and burnt. On top of that, all i could really taste was bacon and cheese *disappointed.

Eden Mussels

Kilpatrick Wood Fire Pizza

Garlic Prawn Pasta

Although the food wasn't spetacular, the lunch was still enjoyable. Heard that they make really good Crème brulée, maybe next time?

My little book preview

Remember that blog post about the book competition held by Nuffnang way back in August?

As some of  you probably know i was one of the three happy winners of the competition and we all got to publish our book idea, thanks to Blurb. Since the book was due mid-October, i spent most of my free time making the book and didn't have much time to update my blog during that time (i apologize for that). Anyways...without further ado, i present to you a preview of my little humble book...

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My Misc. -sometimes life is about the little things that make your day- by Mavis Wong

I also decided to use my blog post for the book competition to enter The Nuffnang Christmas Blogger Challenge because it stood out from all the other posts that i wrote in 2010. It made me realize my (EVEN GREATER) love and appreciation for food and also for the other little things that are part of my life. The book challenge made me think of what i wanted to share with my readers and how to convey that. It was hard work, especially given the time we had and I don't think i did an particularly good job - being a rookie myself with no expertise in book making. Despite of that, I hope that the book will still, in a way or another, be inspirational to you. I will use this experience as a learning opportunity and improve my skills.

Lastly, i would like to thank Nuffnang for bringing all these awesome challenges every month and i hope i can win the oh-so-cool iPad for Christmas! That'd be seriously awesome and it will definitely be very useful to a food blogger like me!

Coxinha Recipe

It was one of those days where i suddenly had a craving for Brazilian snacks, particularly coxinha. It's one of those things that  eat during your childhood and that occasionally hits you out of nowhere, making you suddenly crave for them. As it is not readily available here in Canberra, my best option was to search for the recipe and make some. I always thought the the process of making coxinha was quite daunting, but in fact, it turned out quite easy - just time consuming! Coxinha, which literally means 'little thigh',is a popular Brazilian snack made from shredded chicken enclosed in a batter and fried. I used mozzarella cheese here because i couldn't get some catupiry (soft, mild-tasting cheese).  The name coxinha is given as the snack is roughly shaped like a chicken drumstick.

It was my first time making coxinha and i think they turned out quite nice - at least they tasted and looked like one. It's best eaten within the first few hours after deep-frying (with tomato sauce, if you like). Alternatively, you can freeze them and heat them up when you decide to have some (200C for around 15-20 minutes or until golden brown)!

Coxinha Recipe

Makes around 25

Ingredients

Dough

-1.7L of the stock used to cook the chicken breast

-1 cup of vegetable oil

-1 chicken stock cube

-1kg of plain flour

Filling

-1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded

-1 large tomato, finely diced

-1 onion, finely diced

-1/2 cup of continental parsley, finely chopped

-1 chicken stock cube

-1 pack of shredded mozzarella cheese (optional) OR catupiry

Coating
-1 egg (+75ml of water)
-350g of breadcrumbs

Method

1) Dissolve 2 chicken stock cubes in 2.5L water. Add chicken breast and cook until it is done.

2) Shred the chicken breast and save 1.7L of the stock.

3) In a pan, add 2tbsp of vegetable oil and cook the onions. Add in the cube of chicken stock; add a bit of the liquid stock to help to dissolve the cube.

4) Add in the shredded chicken breast, tomato and parsley and cook for around 20 minutes. Leave the mixture to cool.

5) To make the dough, use a big pot and add in the saved stock, chicken stock cube and vegetable oil. Bring it to boil.

6) Once boiled, bring it down to low heat and add in the flour. Keep mixing until a dough-like mixture forms. The right consistency is reached once the dough no longer sticks to the bottom of the pot. Take the dough out and let it cool down (CAUTION: it is really HOT!) before kneading it until smooth.

7) To make the coxinha, get some dough and roll it into a ball. Flatten the ball and press the centre to form a little 'well'. Fill the bottom with a bit of mozzarella and then some chicken filling. Bring the edges together to seal and work on its shape until it resembles a 'little chicken drumstick' aka coxinha. (MAKE SURE BOTH CHICKEN FILLING AND THE DOUGH ARE COMPLETELY COOLED DOWN).

8) Dip the coxinha in the egg mixture (1 egg + water) and coat it with breadcrumbs.

9) Refrigerate the coxinhas for 30 minutes before deep frying them with vegetable oil. Enjoy!