Hooters.

Now that I have your attention, can I share with you just how sick I felt after an outing to the family friendly Hooters?! Looking at these pictures I know why - everything was deep fried, americano style.

Before you start judging I would just like to point out that this was very much a birthday party with great company (and the snazzy strawberry daquiris with vodka added) over anything else. At least it provided a charming conversation topic come Monday morning catch ups at work :)

The Western burger came with your cheese, bacon, onion rings, smokey sauce and curly fries. Despite being better than expected, after the oily carnage below I only managed around 3 bites before calling it a day.

Western burger

Lots A Tots: Tater Tots covered in plastic cheese sauce, bacon, sour cream and chives. The tots are deep fried, not baked. Such an indulgence that turned into such an error after consuming the 5th tater tot. (and the fifth, and sixth, seventh and probably also the eighth....) . The onion rings aren't great and I'm pretty sure they came out of a packet - but I love deep fried onions and these ticked both boxes (being "onions" that are "deep fried) so really, who am I to complain?!

Lots A Tots

Onion Rings

Chicken Wings in spicy garlic marinade

I had heard much male excitement over the wings and I started getting my hopes up when I found they came boneless, and you can pick from 8 different marinades that vary in spice and flavour. The spicy garlic hit was certainly there but it was probably fried for a few minutes too long and these were a little on the dry side. Others with boned wings didn't seem to have the problem.

And thus brought the end to an interesting night. The girls are attractive and the service extremely friendly. I was bombarded with tacky dancers, but what else would you expect at Hooters?!

xx emmsy

 

Hooters Australia
132 James Ruse Drive
Parramatta

Cafe Mint, Surry Hills

I love finding new spots that just pleasantly leave you walking out full, happy, and regretful that such a nice experience has come to an end. Cafe Mint can be summed up as exactly that sort of cafe. It is small, friendly, vibrant with a delicious modern middle eastern fare to match.

Coffee is done by allpress and it is strong (just how i like it) if a little on the creamy side, i think due to their choice of milk. It is definitely not a "Weak" drop and I found myself considering a second cup to take away with me. We ended up at Mint by accident - a trip to Mecca at Pyrmont was waylaid (closed. on. sundays.) and four ate five was, as usual, way too busy. and this was pre-10am!

According to Cafe Mint's website, it has been recently renovated and it does dinners from Tuesdays to Saturdays. Definitely going into my little black book of places to try!! :)

On a Sunday we were limited to the breakfast menu only (hardly a "limitation") but lunch specials do start from 10.30. Smaller, cheaper meze options are also available and sound deeelicious.

The kuneffa is a clear winner for the table. Sweet ricotta baked in kataifi pastry with poached fruit and yoghurt. I could eat this all day, every day, and it is what a giant baklava would be like when served in dessert form.

Kuneffa, $14.50

breakfast hummus, $13.90

Next up is the breakfast hummus, the type of breakfast that dreams are made of. Spiced lamb mince served on hummus with za'atar spiced turkish toast. This is addictive and completely moreish, a perfect breakfast. I am such an avid egg fan and I didn't even miss it on this dish.


Cafe Mint serve several sweet breakfasts and the daily muffins out front looked perfectly baked and fresh out of the oven. We stupidly thought we would have room for it - luckily we ordered on the side of caution :). The bircher muesli comes with a variety of fresh fruit (and the fruit is super fresh) and yoghurt. It is a little on the sweet side and will fill you up quickly. The breakfast cous cous is served warm and isn't too sweet, perfect for breakfast! It is beautifully spiced with (i think) - rose water, blossom, cardamom and cinnamon and is served with poached dried fruits (turkish figs, peaches, apricots), yoghurt and pistachio. The dish is a hit with the girls, who are generally better inclined to enjoy such a dish, with the boys at the table feigning the need to "adjust" to the flavour.

Bircher muesli, $15.50

breakfast cous cous, $14.90

The merguez sausages are served with chackchouka, an Israeli spiced sauce with a base of red capsicum. It comes on a bed of cous cous and is a large, man eating portion. I think we counted about 8 merguez sausages in there!!
And last but not least, the turkish breakfast (possibly the healthiest plate of the table!). Boiled egg with roast tomato, spinach, olives, haloumi and za'atar toast.

merguez sausages, $15.50

turkish breakfast, $15.90

 The meal draws to a close after plenty of laughter around the table and friendly banter from staff. We will definitely be back to eat up the rest of the menu - lunch, dinner and meze!

Thank you, Cafe Mint, for such a pleasant start to Sunday.

xx emmsy

Cafe Mint
579 Crown St
Surry Hills
http://www.cafemint.com.au/home/

Cauliflower & pea soup with roasted garlic

On a stormy, tumultuous night such as this when you know winter has definitely hit, there is nothing tastier or more appealing than a creamy, warm soup.

Cauliflower & pea soup with roasted garlic - an original recipe

1 large cauliflower, chopped roughly
1 cup peas
1 L chicken or vegetable stock
3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped or minced
200 ml thick cream
1 tablespoon butter
salt & pepper, to taste
chopped chives
grated cheese (tasty, swiss, mozzarella or gruyere)

In a large pot, bring stock, cauliflower and peas to boil. Turn to medium heat and cook for around 20 minutes.

Separately, fry garlic in some olive oil (i used truffle infused oil) until it starts to caramelise. Add to soup.


Once vegetables are soft, place in blender or food processor and whiz until smooth.

Place back in pot on low heat and add cream. Add salt and pepper to taste, and extra water if soup is a little lumpy.

Just before serving, add butter into pot and stir.


 

Serve with grated cheese, chopped chives and a dash of olive oil (all optional). Best slurped up with a soft dinner roll.

Enjoy :) xx emmsy

Lammys

I have been wanting to make pink and white lamingtons for the longest time...and now here they are! Vanilla sponge squares decorated with a white chocolate ganache (equal parts cream and white chocolate), and covered in lightly toasted shredded coconut.

xx emmsy

and finally, the top ten: les premiers dix

I know it has been a while but it really has taken me this long to sort out my top ten. And I feel I need to post this now, before I think too much about it, again.

So here it is : my perfect ten course meal.

1. Bistro Felix's Gruyere Souffle. 
As far as one dish goes, this packs a mean punch. It is pillow soft, cheesy goodness with baked cheese sauce and a souffle so fluffy it just melts away. Highly recommended. Your greedy eyes tell you you can finish it - your stomach will tell you otherwise. Listen to the latter.

2. BarRaval's Carpacho Barraval (Beef Carpaccio) served with garlic toast. 
Barcelona's BarRaval provided without debate the best meal of my time there. The grey goose came filled in a large glass, with our very own soda maker. The huevos estralados; chorizo, potato and runny egg, was a close contender but this dish won out for its freshness: quality beef, sliced envelope thin; garlic compote; the best spanish olive oil one could find; and the perfectly toasted baguettes. A dream meal.

Beef Carpacho, BarRaval

3. Aria's Peking Duck Consomme with duck dumpling and asian mushrooms.

Peking Duck Consomme, Aria

This dish is so much more complex than it looks, and the flavour of the consomme really surprised me. At Aria's degustation only two things stood out for me - this consomme, and the mango pavlova. The dumpling is what I imagine a soft, juicy peking duck to be like if it came in dumpling form, and the consomme was so clear that I feel sorry for the poor chef cooking it for hours and constantly skimming it. Perfect on a cold night like tonight.

 4. Paul's Famous Hamburgers' Special Burger with special sauce, cooked onions, chips with extra chicken salt and a 2L bottle of pineapple crush. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, you can not have lived until you have had this. The "Special" is the bacon and egg burger, and the special sauce is aioli. Order it with the cooked onions and you won't be left with Paul's breath the following morning - I am very proud/embarrassed to share with you that it took many, maaaany Paul's burgers for me to work this out. A burger is not the same without the crispy chips with extra chicken salt. Ask nicely enough and they will let you sprinkle your own outside. And of course - slam it down with the legendary cold, refreshing and chunky pineapple crush. I have tried replicating this at home to no avail, and at around $7 for a 2L jug it is the best value ever. Yes, I have found other burgers just as delicious but nothing comes near Paul's - its unrateable.

Paul's special burger

Pineapple crush

5. Oink's Hog Roast Roll with crackling. 

Oink hog

If you ever find yourself in grey, overcast Edinburgh, make your way to Oink and be greeted by this - lunch :). Hog Roast Rolls are served on small, soft dinner buns and come with/without crackling and four options - the only four you will ever need: apple sauce. sage and onion relish. chilli relish. haggis. I had mine with cracking, apple sauce and sage and onion relish, which tasted like stuffing. While Haggis definitely isn't my thing, my travelling companions ordered it and were pleasantly surprised. I have also just read that the pigs are raised on the owners farm in Berwick - one of the most beautiful places in Scotland and a mere hour or two away from Edinburgh.

granita

To quench the thirst of a hog roast roll, the only choice would be the lemon granitas of Amalfi/Sorrento, Italy. I die.

6. Quay's White Nectarine Snow Egg

Since making an apperance on last year's Masterchef, the Snow Egg has become arguably Australia's most recognised and highly sought after dessert. Only two top restaurants have completely taken my breath away with every single component of its degustation menu, and Quay is one of them. Sepia is the other. The Snow egg is a poached meringue "egg" with a "yolk" of flavoured ice-cream, coated in a crunchy praline maltose shell that sits on a bet of white nectarine granita and white nectarine "fool". Cracking it open to discover its hidden surprise could be one of the best moments of my life. I was given a voucher for Quay (and even a surprise booking!) for my birthday this year and it is absolutely the best gift of my life. Thank you. 

Quay's snow egg

Inside the snow egg

 7. Maze's Peanut Butter and Cherry Jam Sandwich with tonka bean cream and dehydrated cherries

Maze's peanut butter cherry sandwich

I know when I have had a killer meal when I am at the end of a 3, 5, or even 10 course meal, and I am so inquisitive about their other dessert options that I find the stomach space to order it. After a three course meal at Gordon Ramsay's Maze in London, I was a very lucky girl. It was an early dinner on a week night and we were seated right in front of the "private dining room" which was empty, and provided me with a perfect view into the glass windowed-kitchen to discover that magic really does exist. How do I explain this? Peanut brittle that was buttery and broke with a sharp crack. Cherry Jam ice cream that was slightly tart and a perfect marriage with the salty peanut. And the tonka bean cream and dehydrated cherries, fused together to have the best. ever. party. in. my. mouth. I miss this dessert. 

8. Bodega's Banana Split with cream flan, dulce de leche ice cream, ginger biscuit and banana

Not your average banana split, this dessert knocks your socks off and keeps you needing more. The "banana" is in the form of a banana marshmallow (in the background), served like a "smore". Its smokey flavour melds with the peanuts, the cream flan, the biscuit and the ice cream. Each component has an element of brilliance but when its powers combine, it becomes the Captain Planet of all desserts.

Bodega's Banana Split

 9. Sepia's Chocolate Forest Floor with Soft Chocolate, Lavender Cream, Hazelnut cream, Sour Cherry Sorbet, Licorice, Green tea moss
As they set this dish down you are transcended to the type of forest floor that would be present in Elvandar meets Willy Wonka. Bliss. It is recommended that you mix it all up to have a taste of everything in each bite. Give in to your inner child and do it. So many textures, so many flavours, so much love for Mr Benn and his team. eff. my. life.


Perfectly matched with a Greek coffee frappe... one can dream :) 

Sepia's Choc forest floor

Greek coffee frappe

10. Pastricceria Papa's Ricotta Cannoli

PSP's ricotta cannoli

PSP is truly the only place to get your cannoli fix from, and one cannot deviate from this nor can one match it. The cannoli shells are so fresh and crunchy, the ricotta is smooth and perfectly seasoned, and at $2.50 a pop (don't waste your time on the minis - large large LARGE!!!) I walk out with my wallet much lighter than before. There is a reason why PSP's display is 5 metres long. There is a reason why every italian family in a 20km radius lines up non stop. Be a good sydney sider and find the crowd, and jump in. (I only say that because I have learnt that Melbournites never, ever line up. Silly if you ask me...)

egg tarts

 And no 10 course meal is complete without a petit four: an egg tart from either Emperor's Garden in Chinatown, Zilver's chinese restaurant or Sky phoenix. Why these three? Because their egg tarts are served warm and coupled with gorgeous flaky pastry - not that short crust rubbish.

And there is, very difficulty, my top ten. I must confess that even while typing I have added and removed about four different dishes... and I end this at 10.40pm starving and in desperate need of anything.

xx emmsy

the 20 minute meal

This is the meal I find myself cooking at least once a week because it is quick, nutritious, tasty and EASY. It is full of protein and good, complex carbs and you can include pretty much whatever takes your fancy.

Okay, so the only reason this meal takes 20 minutes instead of 10 or 15 is because brown rice takes about that long to cook slowly and softly. But if you have rice on hand, or would prefer to replace it with canned lentils or beans, this meal is on the table theoretically in under five minutes...

Tonight's meal is made using the ingredients below, but you could also make it with steamed green beans, potatoes, cannellini beans, lentils, quinoa, roast pumpkin, poached chicken - the list goes on :)

Ingredients:

• 1 can of good quality tuna
• 1 medium-large cucumber, cubed
• 2 medium tomatoes, cubed
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
• 2 Tb of olive oil (i use half extra virgin, half lime)
• 2 Tb pomegranate
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup of cooked brown rice
• Haloumi, fried to perfection

Cold ingredients

pomegranate suckers

While cooking the brown rice (in a pot on low heat - it will burn in a rice cooker!) I cube and mix all cold ingredients in a bowl - tuna, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, pomegranate.  I drain the oil out from the tuna to add my own but if you decide to keep the oil, you might not even need extra olive oil.

I haven't used pomegranate before and it is a mean thing to tap out of its shell but it is so tasty that it is worth my while. I tapped out each and every mean sucker inside (except around 1/8th that fell on the floor....)

Just before the rice is cooked, I lightly fry the haloumi. Once done, I mix the hot ingredients with the cold and voila - le dîner!

If adding canned legumes, I will add these to the pot of rice to heat for a bit - I like this salad served warm. The unhealthiest it gets is when I decide to have 5 slices of haloumi instead of 3...


xx emmsy

food to die for: your top ten

If you had to pick a ten course meal based on your absolute favourite meals, what would make the list?
At first I would be spoilt for choice in ten courses but then when I think about my favourite cheap eats, my favourite meals from my mother, my favourite meals at a nice restaurant AND my all time favourite desserts... it doesn't leave much space for each.

I am thinking that a Paul's special hamburger with special sauce, chips with extra chicken salt AND a 2L bottle of pineapple crush would definitely make the list. It is one complete meal because you couldn't possibly have any one of those components without the other. I am also thinking that this peanut brittle and sour cherry dessert that I had at Mr Ramsay's Maze in London would make the list. But what about mum's chicken soup? And xiao long bao? And peking duck? Shang Tung chicken from Kingsford Chinese? Bodega's entire menu? Rice and Tabouli from Hannibals? And the amazing bread from Justin North's Becasse? Pierre Hermes macarons? The Snow egg from Peter Gilmore's Quay? Hot & Spicy KFC chicken?!

I will give this some serious thought and get back to you... stay tooned... and tell me what makes your list!

Paul's famous hamburgers, San Souci

xx emmsy