Cherried Lemon Panna Cotta

I was waiting for so long to buy a mould for making panna cotta and finally got four during my Melbourne Trip early December. Got it at Essential Ingredient (Albury) and for some reason it's cheaper than the one Canberra (Manuka) and i also bought some nozzles - the ones that are wide enough to make macarons! *YEY, but haven't made them yet because 1) trying to overcome the fear of failure 2) busy during this Christmas period. Anyways, this post is not about macarons but about Panna cotta and as i was saying...I finally attempted to make some. I managed to buy some big and juicy cherries in Supabarn for only $6.99/kg and that was awesome since our short trip to pick cherries at Young was cancelled due to the extreme heat that was affecting the cherry trees.

Initially i wanted to make a cherry flavoured panna cotta, then i decided to make a lemon flavoured panna cotta that had a jelly layer on top filled with cherry pieces - because that's pretty. I've utilized this recipe as a reference and adapted from it. I only put a pretty cherry as a decoration because i was too lazy to make a coulis =P

Here is how it turned out:

My Cherried Lemon Panna Cotta, a perfect dessert for summer.

I think it's a nice dessert for this coming summer...yum!

La Scala - Christmas Dinner for work

This year's work Christmas Dinner was held at La Scala - an Italian restaurant located just next to Milk & Honey in Garema Place. I always see it when i pass the alley of cafes or to go Milk & Honey but in all these years, i've never stepped in La Scala. I guess that's because the restaurant looks rather dark from the outside and some graffiti on the restaurant sign just makes it less appealing. However, I have to say that it's a different story when you go inside, the first thing you see is an artistic and beautiful mask in a shape of a violin...there are other masks around the restaurant too. Tables and chairs are very simple and of dark brown colour which adds that extra Italian atmosphere to the restaurant.

We all started out with some entrees and i shared mine with Mol and Belz. We ordered Insalata di Mescardini Grigliati (tender baby octopus marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and a selection of Italian vinegars and herbs; served grilled on a cos lettuce bed and topped with chilli lime mayonnaise), Cape Sante alla Siciliana (seared scallops served on a bed of mesculin lettuce with olives, capers, anchovies and fresh Roma tomatoes; drizzled with oilve oil and a balsamic vinegar reduction) and the last one was Gamberi alla Lidia (king prawns wrapped in bacon and finished with garlic, wine, cream and a pinch of chilli; served with a timbal of saffron rice). I liked the scallops as they were of decent size and quite juicy. It was just a bit undercooked and probably needed that golden searing to make it taste nicer. The prawns and the saffron rice were lovely and i think that it's the richest entree i've ever had; the baby octopus were good but i think there was too much mayonnaise on them.

We moved to the Mains and i ordered a duck breast dish, it was duck breast laid on a bed of pumpkin mash finished with a sauce whose name i have forgotten. It said on the menu that the duck was going to be served medium rare but the one that i got was rather dry. I think the mash went well with the duck but it would have been better if there was less of it. Dishes that were ordered were: Filleto Di Manzo ai Ferri - beef fillet with the choice of mushroom, bacon and port sauce, Tortelloni Genovese (saffron and poppy seed tortelloni filled with sun dried tomato and ricotta, cooked with sundried tomato, persto, cream and brandy) and Scaloppine La Scala (veal).

To finish off the night we couldn't have missed out on the desserts!!! Knowing the teeny size of my dessert compartment, i decided to share the Strawberry Princess dessert with Mol! It was a beautiful and light dessert, definately suitable for summer and for people who just love a light dessert after the meal. It had layers of filo pastry filled with fresh (and awesome) strawberries, frangelico cream and strawberry jam topped with crushed hazelnuts! If you are a CHOCOLATE fan No.1, you should totally go for the Chocogasm! If you just want to try a different dessert, then maybe a Dark Knight (panna cotta) will be a nice option.

Insalata di Mescardini Grigliati

Gamberi alla Lidia

Cape Sante alla Siciliana

Forgot to mention about the Coffin Bay Pacific Oysters, they were not bad

Filleto di Manzo ai Ferri

My duck breast dish =P

The Dark Knight

Strawberry Princess Dessert

Chocogasm

Jazz Apple Cafe - another cupcake to my 'tried' list

This time i decided to try another flavour - The Triple Chocolate Mud Cupcake - somehow i had a slight suspicion that the cupcake size grew smaller and yet the price remained unchanged. Well, i didn't have the Moist Vanilla Cupcake next to me to compare if the size really did go smaller or not. I chose this flavour because it seems to be an all-time favorite and seriously, who doesn't like chocolate? (well, i know my bro doesn't, but he is a REALLY RARE human being) I would say that nothing really stood out from the cupcake, it was the expected - the cupcake base was spongy and the icing was soft and tasty. I guess i shouldn't be trying the 'normal' flavours but the more 'interesting' ones. Will keep you guys updated when i try more flavours...i still haven't had the chance to try the 'Key Lime & Coconout Cupcake'! *sad

Triple Chocolate Mud Cupcake

Calibre Cafe & Bar

I never really walked into Calibre Cafe & Bar (Westfield Woden, near Hoyts) though i always pass by it whenever i go to Woden Westfield. So to cross it out from my enormous list of 'restaurants that i have been to in Canberra', i had to give it a try. Calibre is where the former Lisboa restaurant (for portuguese food) used to be but for some reason, they still make Portuguese Chicken. I ordered the Grain Fed Sirloin Steak Sandwich ($16.90) and tried a bit of the Beef Thai Salad ($16) and shared the Tapas Platter ($21.50) - which consisted of flame grilled baby octopus, chorizo sausage, salt & pepper squid, piri chicken, citrus & cracked pepper prawns & tomato chilli jam served with fresh Turkish bread. I just have to say how much i liked the chilli jam...we finished it before finishing the other components in that platter. My sandwich steak was ok and the only thing that i didn't like about it was the slices of TASTY cheese in it (yes, TASTY CHEESE!), its flavour is just too strong for the whole sandwich. The Thai Salad was quite refreshing, the beef wasn't overcooked and the homemade Nam Jim sauce complemented well with the fresh leaves and vegetables. 
Overall the meal was nice especially because with the entertainment card, you get one free main when you order a main. *happy

One of the entrance to the restaurant, i just love the humoungous red light tubes attached to the ceiling. They add a modern touch to the restaurant

Grain Fed Sirloin Steak Sandwich, $16.90

Beef Thai Salad, $16

Tapas Platter, $21.50 - CHILLI JAM!!!

Bateman's Bay - The Boatshed

Went there on the last day of M&M Retreat for lunch. It's a humble looking place with a balcony (at the back of the restaurant) filled with tables and chairs overlooking the waters - perfect for enjoying your lunch! I am not too fond of Fish & Chips because i don't like my fish fried (at all), i prefer it to be grilled or steamed. Well...unfortunately they only make the fried version, but the good thing is that you can choose what kind of fish fillet you want. I tried the Grenadier and the Albacore fish fillets ($8/$12 with chips & salad), and my favorite was the Albacore! It's softer and not too flaky. I also tried some oysters ($15/dozen) and they were alright.

Overall, lunch was quite nice and relaxing...if only they had the grilled option...

Fish & Chips & Salad ($12)

Dozen Oysters ($15)