Fee Fi Pho Yum...

... I smell the blood of an uncooked eye fillet of beef! Inspired by my impending trip to Vietnam and at the same time pressured to lose my winter food baby, I've turned to Weight Watchers fragrant beef and rice noodle soup as my saviour. And thank the Lord - it's a winner. Never having cooked with fresh lemon grass before (awww newbie), my trusted boyfriend, who has a wealth of tv cooking show knowledge, showed me how to bruise the flavour out of it. The recipe and ingredients were incredibly simple, especially as the beef required no cooking - the raw beef was placed on top at the end and, effectively, poached in the soup. This was a delicious, fresh, super slurpy and healthy dish, which I highly recommend. Bring on Vietnam! 

http://www.weightwatchers.com.au/util/prt/recipe.aspx?Type=1&RecipeID=137031 

More Than We Bargained For At Kotaraya

The family and I went to Kotaraya in St Kilda to celebrate my sister's birthday, and incidentally, a Geelong victory in the AFL (yes, a slight delay has occured in the blogging). Our mood was abundant, and the food and service at Kotaraya allowed it to remain that way throughout the evening. Mum had bought coupons and as there was no limit to the number of coupons per booking we were able to use three between the six of us. The vouchers entitled us to a mixed entree, two mains, two desserts and a bottle of wine between two people. We decided to share all the meals, which was a great move as there were so many delicious options available. The service was prompt and friendly and before no time our entrees arrived. The skewers were delectable and no sooner had they arrived, we'd devoured them! One by one our mains arrived, each looking even better than the dish before (which was pretty impressive as they all looked delicious). Most of the dishes were really tasty (with particular mention going to the coconut butter prawns and sizzling Szechuan beef), but we found the nyonya chicken a little dry. The dessert options were simple - mixed berries and ice cream, but with the amount of food we'd inhaled, it was a nice finish to the meal. I'd go back for a nice, casual meal, and hopefully with a coupon in hand!

Mixed plate entree

(l-r) Singapore Style Chilli King Prawns and Special Thai Fish

Nyonya Chicken

(l-r) Sambal King Prawns and Sizzling Szechuan Beef

Coconut Butter King Prawns

Taste Of Melbourne Festival

The Taste of Melbourne festival was a fabulous affair and a total sensory overload. From the minute we stepped through the doors of the Royal Exhibition Building with our fellow foodies, the senses were in overdrive. The building had been transformed into a market of vendors, bars and mini-restaurants. Unsure of where to start, we headed to the bar (a good a place as any!). We were given menu card's on entry, and sipping on Rekorderlig we highlighted some of the dishes we were interested in trying. As it turns out it would have been simpler to cross off the one's we weren't interested in.. We started with the carpaccio of farmed Barramundi with peas, mint and wasabi sorbet from Esposito & St Peter's. The fish was lovely and delicate and the flavours were really light so it was a nice dish to start with. 

We had a delightful dalliance with French cuisine from Libertine & Le Traiteur. Their coq au vin was juicy and delicious, and I could've happily had another serve.

We were lucky enough to be passing by the Jindi cheese tasting section at the right time and got to sample five of their cheeses with accompanying wines from Mad Dog winery. The Triple Cream Brie is my new favourite cheese - so creamy with a beautiful lingering flavour.

Next up we headed to the Stokehouse for their seared scallops with green chilli aioli and almond and celeriac remoulade. The flavours were nice but as with most of the dishes we tried, the scallops were quite cold as they'd been sitting for ages.

My favourite dish of the night was from an Italian restaurant, Mezzo - wagyu meatballs with couscous and ricotta. Their meatballs were so flavoursome and it didn't even matter they were a little cold, and the raisins added a beautiful sweetness. I will definitely be heading back to Mezzo for those meatballs!

George Calombaris's new restaurant St. Katherine's was a huge hit - it was the only place we had to line up for AND the only restaurant that served fresh, hot dishes. Their signature dish, St Katherine's fried chicken (KFC) was really punchy and served in a super cute colourful KFC bucket.

We finished the night with a couple of cocktails from Longrain Bar (which had a great party vibe) and pistachio panna cotta with caramel salted popcorn from Sarti. The lovely salty and sweet combination worked really well.

All in all it was a fantastic night and the food was really interesting and varied. I'm already looking forward to Taste of Melbourne 2012!

Spring Tuna Spaghetti

This recipe was a bit of a throw-together but it was absolutely delicious. The capers and lemon zest gave it a wonderful flavour, and the asparagus added a beautiful Spring crunch. 

1 bunch asparagus, chopped

3 spring onions, chopped

1/2 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup vegetable stock

185g tuna in spring water

1 teaspoon of capers

big handful of rocket

1 tablespoon of light double cream

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 tablespoon of olive oil

zest of one lemon

spaghetti

1. Process onion, garlic cloves and chilli flakes

2. Heat oil in a pan and add the processed ingredients and fry for 5 minutes.

3. Bring water to the boil and add spaghetti. 

4. Add white wine, stock, capers and lemon zest to the pan and simmer. 

5. After a few minutes add the spring onions, stirring frequently. 

6. After another few minutes add the asparagus.

7. When the pasta is almost ready add the rocket, tuna and double cream to the sauce.

8. Once pasta is cooked add to the sauce, along with a quarter cup of the pasta water and the parmesan cheese. Mix pasta through so the sauce is evenly spread throughout. 

9. Eat up and enjoy!

My Thai

On Sunday I got back from an all-inclusive weekend at the snow which comprised of minimal skiing, excessive drinking and a citrus food fight. Orange-stained and feeling extremely unhealthy, a fresh, wholesome dinner was calling me. Trawling BBC Good Food's website (my fallback for any meal) I found a couple of delicious recipes and decided to use them together. I made Thai chicken cakes (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1883/thai-chicken-cakes-with-sweet-chilli-sauce) with a vermicelli noodle salad from this recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/12261/spicy-prawncakes-with-noodle-salad. I added about a teaspoon of cumin to the minced chicken mixture and after rolling them into cakes left them in the fridge for about half an hour. The dressing for the noodle salad didn't taste quite right so I added a tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce. I was worried the chicken cakes might have been a bit dry but they were lovely. The fresh coriander brought the dish together and it was sooo good. Sorted me right out!

The Banff

Since recently relocating to St Kilda I cannot get enough of this place. The vibe is relaxed and friendly, and their happy hour is super good value - $8 jugs and $3 vinos! 

Their pizzas are delicious and student friendly (In-house pizzas are $5.50 all day Monday and Tuesday and between 12 and 5.30 Wednesday to Friday, but they're still very reasonably priced at other times. The last two occasions I was at The Banff I had the  pumpkin and gorgonzola with rocket and walnut pizza (beautiful!) and the squid with lemon, rocket and capers pizza. Both were really lovely. This place is a winner. 

Squid With Lemon, Rocket And Capers

Stalactites

Stalactites is a Melbourne institution and undoubtedly the best place to grab a kebab at any time of the day or night. Yep, it's 24 hours baby! It's a popular haunt with a busy, rather frenzied vibe. In an effort to reduce the queue waiting for a table a waiter offered a complimentary glass of wine for those who wanted to sit outside, in which we happily obliged. Being a poor uni student I always stick to the souvlaki - anything else and the price gets a bit ridiculous. Plus the souvlakis are amazing and HUGE! My friend went for the lamb skewers and commented on how tender the lamb was. Stalactites has a great atmosphere and it's a good place to go for a casual friendly meal. 

Tarama and Pita Bread

Lamb Skewers With Salad And Chips

Mixed Souvlaki

Chicken Parmigiana With Rocket Salad

Shocking as this may sound, only once have I eaten a parma. And it wasn't even a whole one - I think I had a bite of my boyfriend's. Given the amount of time I've spent in the pub over the years I feel not having eaten one is almost sacrilegious. But thanks to Weight Watchers (enough already!) I cooked a chicken parma (http://www.weightwatchers.co.nz/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=152891) and ate the lot. Of course there are some slight variations - mainly that the Weight Watchers version actually fits on the plate. I halved a 300g chicken breast and made a few incisions on the fatter half so it would lay a bit flatter whilst in the fry pan. The recipe asks for bocconcini but I used a piece of Jarlsberg cheese and put half on each piece of chicken. And instead of having potatoes with the parma we just had salad with chickpeas. Other than that I followed the recipe to a tee. Easy, Weight Watchers-approved comfort food. 

Beef Koftas With Chickpea Couscous

I actually don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of Weight Watchers recipes to try. I feel like I've fallen on an untapped resource of guilt-free meal options. The other night I spiced it up with some beef koftas and chickpea couscous (http://www.weightwatchers.com.au/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=153951). I made the recipe more student-friendly by leaving out the parsley and fresh mint (instead I used dried mint), and made a greek salad, which is not part of the Weight Watchers recipe (but I used reduced fat fetta and left out the olives so surely that counts for something!). The recipe was easy to prepare and tasted great (although next time I think I'll season the beef mixture before making into koftas). I really loved the natural yoghurt and mint sauce, which went so well with the koftas and chickpea couscous. This would be a great recipe for a summer bbq.

Fathers Day

At 8.30am on Sunday morning, three dutiful daughters and one obliging boyfriend boarded the train to Benalla to personally wish their amazing Daddy (and gf's Daddy) a fabulous Fathers day. Thanks to the XPT's prompt service we were coffee and caking it by 11am, before setting into lunch preparations. As Mum and Dad are on Weight Watchers (Dad by default), this was no ordinary Sunday lunch. We had prawn and vegetable fried rice which was sooo good. The sauce was lovely and sticky and the asparagus added a crunchy bite. I was so full after one bowl, but because it was Weight Watchers I had another... AND a Weight Watchers chocolate mousse dessert. I actually had to have a nap afterwards. I posted a photo of the recipe which is probably illegal, but I feel I have an obligation to share amazing food with the world... 

Prawn and Vegetable Fried Rice

Chocolate Mousse and Berries

Click To Enlarge!

Veludo

The challenge of eating on Acland Street is not finding a place to eat (there a dozens!), but finding a place to sit. If you're lucky enough to score an outside table at lunch time, the rest of your afternoon is sorted! When we first arrived at Veludo (about 3pm on a Saturday afternoon) we begrudgingly sat inside as no outside tables were available. But as luck would have it one of the benches outside freed up, and dropping everything I made the mad dash outside, destroying all obstacles in my path (not quite), and triumphantly claimed the table. In celebration I ordered a glass of Tyrell's premium brut which was so tasty I ordered a couple more... I'd had a late breakfast so wasn't very hungry. The breakfast/lunch menu was still being served so I ordered the Sicilian calamari salad with tomato, capers, red onion, ciabatta croutons, raisins and red wine vinegar dressing. The raisins were a nice touch and the calamari was lovely and tender, not stringy, but for $17 I thought it was quite expensive for what it was.

Sicilian Calamari Salad

My boyfriend ordered the wagyu beef burger on turkish bun with caramelised onion, cheddar, tomato relish, gem lettuce, dill pickles, chips and aioli, which lead to a serious case of food envy. The burger bun had been 'branded' with a V which was pretty cool and the patty had a lovely texture and was still pink in the middle. The aioli was delicious - I was dipping my calamari in on the sly... The only negative of the experience would be we asked for water on two separate occasions from two waitresses but never received any. Their tapas menu sounds really tasty so I'm planning to return on a Wednesday night when they do BYO and no corkage. 

Wagyu Burger

Return To Galleon

Where's the perfect place to take a bunch of hungover mates for a lazy Sunday brunch (within crawling distance)? Galleon, of course (http://galleoncafe.com.au/). We managed to get a table straight away, and more importantly, a round of coffee (which was just lovely).We were there past 11am so the lunch menu was being served, but we all opted for breakfast. The breakfast menu always makes me drool - there's too many delicious options. But this time I went for the truffled eggs served with goats cheese and wilted spinach on pide toast. At first I thought it was a little dry but as I got into it I really began to enjoy it. The sprinkling of dried mushrooms complemented the juicy spinach, and the goats cheese added a luxurious bite. The servings are very generous at Galleon, but I finished the lot! The affordability and exciting menu will keep me coming back again and again. 

The Anti-Weight Watchers

In an effort to convince my boyfriend I hadn't secretly signed us both up for Weight Watchers, I turned to the ever reliable Jamie Oliver for some pucker pasta. The chosen dish was rigatoni with sweet tomatoes, aubergine and mozzarella (http://leitesculinaria.com/6736/recipes-rigatoni-tomatoes-eggplant-mozzarella.html), and it was a beauty! I ripped up a ball of buffalo mozzarella and added it right at the end, so it melted through the pasta and went stringy - yum! The texture of the aubergine became really silky and was just lovely. Unfortunately the quantity of buffalo mozzarella and double cream in the recipe means I won't be making it again any time soon...

Vegetable And Chickpea Hot Pot

Last weekend was all about carne, so to get my body back into equilibrium it was a complete veg fest this week. Still working my way through the Weight Watchers cookbook I gave the vegetable and chickpea hotpot a crack (http://www.weightwatchers.co.nz/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=34311). Right until the very end I was highly doubtful the hot pot would taste any good as the only flavours (apart from the veggies) were from cumin and vegetable stock. But I needn't have worried as it was absolutely delightful! And in defiance to the Weight Watchers recipe I added a dollop of double cream...

(Almost Spring) Lamb

This weekend was all about succulent market fresh lamb, and for that I'm eternally grateful! After being introduced to a surprising array of Weight Watchers recipes last week, I found the perfect recipe to satisfy myself and my carbivore boyfriend. Lamb shanks with mushroom ragout (http://www.weightwatchers.com.au/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=46811) was very easy to cook and the rich, sweet flavours were absolutely amazing. I only cooked one lamb shank between the two of us (but it weighed in at about 400 grams!), and pulled the meat off the bone before adding it to the pasta and mushroom ragout. 

As a special treat, my boyfriend (ex-lamb hater) cooked an absolutely delicious feast for the two of us. After getting our hands on a deliciously juicy rack of lamb from the markets, the boyfriend busied himself in the kitchen for about an hour before producing a lovely meal - rack of lamb with warm salad of mixed beans & slow-roast tomatoes (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/711659/rack-of-lamb-with-warm-salad-of-mixed-beans-and-sl). The lamb was cooked beautifully, and the beans and almond salad added a really lovely texture. I'm a lucky lady - he can cook for me anytime! 

Freestyle Espresso

I think I may have just found my local brunch spot. Freestyle Espresso is tucked away in a side street about a block away from the South Melbourne Markets (perfect for some pre-market gnosh). The somewhat secluded location meant we were easily able to grab a table at 10.30am on a Sunday. The service was relaxed and friendly, the coffee was lovely and creamy, and the menu was mouthwatering! My boyfriend had the thyme mushrooms with lemon zest fetta on sourdough (and a couple of big juicy sausages on the side) and I had the free range poached eggs with bacon, basil and vine tomatoes. The servings were generous (took us through till dinner!) and very satisfying. We'll definitely be back. 

Thyme mushrooms with lemon zest fetta on sour dough and a side of 'chipolatas' 

Free range poached eggs with bacon, basil and vine tomatoes

Cafe 58

Whilst googling cheap Vietnamese restaurants near Melbourne Uni, I found Cafe 58. It definitely ticked the cheap box, with all mains being about $9 (this was at lunch though), but whether it was an authentic Vietnamese restaurant, I'm not so sure. Their shrimp rice paper rolls with satay dipping sauce were wonderful - the fresh coriander and delicate texture could've convinced me I was in Hanoi. The beef spring rolls were nice, but after the rice paper rolls I was all about freshness! But once the mains came out I was no longer in Hanoi, but back on Johnston Street eating an asian meal. Not for one minute am I saying I didn't enjoy the meal - it was great - i ate the lot! But it wasn't real Vietnamese - I had rice vermicelli with vegetables and Mongolian sauce and my sister had Pad Thai... Need I say more? Nevertheless the food was great, the owner was friendly and attentive, and the value for money was excellent (especially when your Mum's paying!).

Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls with Satay Dipping Sauce

Beef Spring Rolls with Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

Rice Vermicelli with Vegetables and Mongolian Sauce

Chicken Pad Thai

Pass The Salt

Never one to say no to a curry (or any food for that matter), I cooked an Indian-inspired mushroom and potato curry with chicken (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2027/onepot-mushroom-and-potato-curry). As it was a mid-week meal I cheated and used tikka massala curry paste instead of making my own. The recipe was straight forward but the timing was off - it took at least 30 minutes to cook the potato (if I was to make it again, I'd parboil the spuds). I added some chicken make the dish more appetising to the other half, but all in all it lacked real flavour (even though I added 6 teaspoons of curry paste). The eggplant was lovely and a few good shakes of salt sorted it out, but compared to a Thai curry, the flavour complexity just wasn't there. 

Sicilian-Style Fish Stew

I keeping with the 'quick and healthy' theme of late, I cooked Sicilian-style fish stew (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13193/sicilianstyle-fish-stew) last night. The recipe was incredibly easy to follow but I made a couple of adjustments. I used up the rest of the celery I had in my fridge (about 6 sticks), and put them in the food processor with the onion and garlic cloves. Then the celery mixture went into the pot and I added an extra anchovy (because I absolutely love them!), a few good shakes of chilli flakes and a sprinkle of paprika. I used boneless hake fillets as they were on special this week. The fish only took 5 minutes to cook until it started to fall apart - the texture was lovely. I topped with basil as I didn't have any parsley, but it complimented the dish nicely. The flavours were really strong and delicious. Try it if you don't mind a bit of spice in your life!

Skinny Cow

I've always thought that Weight Watchers meals would be awfully bland and require a microscope to eat, but while at home on the weekend my Mum cooked a fabulous Weight Watchers lamb shank and lentil stew. Encouraged by the satisfying meal, I flipped through the cookbook and found a Thai Lamb and Noodle Salad recipe (http://www.weightwatchers.com.au/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=152901) that looked delicious. I couldn't source any lamb steaks at the supermarket so I used beef sirloin steaks instead (which probably isn't allowed on Weight Watchers, but I'm not counting points!). I left out the peanuts and used lemon instead of lime, which didn't detract from the dish at all. The recipe was incredibly quick and easy, and the flavours were amazing! It tasted really fresh and healthy (in a good way!). I'll definitely be making this again.