Golden Fields

Golden fields has been on the top of my list to go to and check out for a long time and it didn't disappoint!!!

My girlfriend and I decided to go for a late dinner after our make up class in the city. She was craving for soft shell crab and I suggested Golden Fields. On arrival, we sat at the bar getting a full view of the kitchen and the bar. 

We got to see the chefs prepare and then serve our food. It was exciting! haha The atmosphere was light with many conversations and little clinkers of cutlery on the crockery. It was nice.

Pink lemonade and fresh lemonade

To start off we had refreshing drinks!! Tangy and so what we needed. I loved the fresh crushed raspberry taste laced in my pink lemonade. It was just so refreshing. 

Pickles

Pickles are a great way to start the meal and during hahaha if there was any left. The crunchy textures of the different vegetables and the sweet, vinegary taste just kicks the taste buds awake for the next dishes to come.

Moonlight flat Rusty Wire & Clair de Lune oysters

The oysters were so fresh!!! They were shucked to order and we witnessed it from where we were sitting. Creamy and succulent, I was wanting more! But resisted ordering more, because...

Grass fed Angus beef, kimchi puree, egg yolk, crudite

... the steak tartare came out and I was excited!! I love a good steak tartare, and love it more when I see  different intakes of it. The steak is hand chopped by the chefs and the bits of crispy shallots and the kimchi puree flavour on the fresh wombok stem and cucumber makes a great 'deconstructed' salad. The dish is so fresh!!! We enjoyed the tartare a lot more mixing the rest of the kimchi puree on the side with a generous pinch of salt mixed into it. But wow!! I loved the crudites instead for the normal croutons as a big change.

New England lobster roll, hot buttered bun, cold poached crayfish, watercress and Kewpie

I have heard so many good things about this bun and it was a must to order!!! IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!! I wish I could eat this in a bigger size!!! hahaha It was so tasty and the warm bun against the cold crayfish surprised my mouth!! It was very exciting to eat and we were in silent bliss savouring the bun!!

Crispy soft shell mud crab, fried egg aioli, scuds and holy basil

OMG!! This dish was so tasty!! I'm drooling remembering the taste!! The crunchy lightly spiced batter crab...YUM YUM YUM!@!!! The aioli..TASTY!! Together, it was a whole creamy, crunchy explosion in the mouth!

Twice cooked duck, steamed bread,  vinegar and plum sauce

This dish blended into the background a little after the stars made an appearance (the lobster roll and the crab). However, crispy duck was delicious. I didn't enjoy the sauces to go with the duck much, but that was my opinion. It just didn't blend in with the bun and duck. I was hoping for a soy and chilli oil sauce.

Peanut butter parfait, salted caramel and soft chocolate

YUM!!! Can't go wrong with this flavour combination!! The textures were perfect and yum!!!!

So, I need to go back and enjoy the whole menu and eat the ones I had again!! You guys should too!! I think Golden Fields only takes bookings for more than 6 people. But I may be wrong..so for more detail, go to their website www.goldenfields.com.au

Andrew McConnell is such a master chef!! Golden Fields is definitely a winner!!!

Xx

Restaurant Crawl II: Anada, Wabi Sabi and Movida

Once again I had the perfect occasion to go on a restaurant crawl. With the cravings I had, it determined which restaurants my friend Nick and I would go to.

First stop, Anada.

Anada Bar and Restaurant offers Southern Spanish food and Mediterranean flavours. The dishes are tapas style and this is what we ate.

Fresh coffin bay oysters

Choritzitos

Stuffed calamari with sumac

Fried Guernica peppers with Murray River Pink salt

I love tapas style food. You get bite size items and you can have many different options. I love fresh oysters and the choritzito. I have been mainly craving for the peppers and to my surprise...I think more than half were qualified to raise the fire drill to wash the fire out in my mouth!!! The stuffed calamari was ok, just didn't tickle my fancy.

Wabi Sabi

Stuffed chicken wing with Gyoza pork dumpling filling

Diced fresh tuna sashimi, avocado and cucumber marinated in spicy soy

Whole flounder tempura with grated daikon ponzu sauce

Wabi Sabi Restaurant on Smith St was our second stop. We chose more substancial dishes to fill our bellies. The tuna salad was very refreshing in the mouth and we can never say no to stuffed chicken wings!! On the plus side, the flounder was very tasty and the fillets removed from the bone. The bones were tempura battered and fried as well which you could eat the tail and the fins. The vegetables included sweet potato and lotus roots.

 Sopa aju con Vieira: Rottnest island Scallop in Garlic soup

 Croquetta de choco con su tinta: Squid ink croquetta with cuttlefish

Cordero al chilindron: Pyrenees wet roast lamb breast with Fino and paprika sauce

Flan con Pestinos: Creme caramel served with spicy sherry pastries

Churros: Rich drinking chocolate and spanish doughnuts

It's been awhile since I've been to the original Movida. We decided we still were hungry for more savouries and settled on a few small tapas. I definitely felt like we chose the best three dishes ever!! The scallop dish was so good, I wanted more of the broth and wish we had kept some bread to lap up the last bit. The croquette was a delight although tiny, and the lamb just melts in your mouth!! The desserts are always simple but awesomely satisfying, especially the flan.

Yum yum!!! So full!!!

Xx

Electrolux Cooking school at Queen Victoria market

Late September and early October, I held 2 cooking classes at the Queen Victoria Market. One was called "Chocolate Overload" and the other "Desperate for Doughnuts". Each class was full with 16 kids and we had lots of fun. I forgot to take many photos, but here are a few to share with you my experience.

Chocolate Overload!

Reviewing the menus and recipes

The chocolate truffles we all made

Me posing

A take home pack for the participants!

In the chocolate class, we got to make Chocolate pudding which was hot and slightly gooey in the middle. It was accompanied by white smooth chocolate mousse and the lastly the chocolate hazelnut truffles. I think it was a massive overload and we all got to take a few truffles home each.

Desperate for Doughnuts

The class

Show and tell of the sweet potato

Preparing the trays for the sweet potato doughnuts

Piping the creme patissiere into the doughnuts

Making the chocolate sauce to dip the Churros

The frying of the churros and fritters

In the doughnut class, I actually started the class off buying them the jam doughnuts sold at the truck at Queen Victoria Market. Starting the day with sugar, I'm such a great role model!! In this class we made baked sweet potato doughnuts with a custard filling, Churros with chocolate dipping sauce and goat cheese and apple fried fritters drizzled with honey. This class was slightly difficult with the time restraint, but I hope they had fun and all learnt something.

I will be holding another class on 17th January 2012 for kids aged between 11 - 16. The class is "Summer dessert delights". Please go to http://www.qvm.com.au/school_holiday_classes.aspx?event_id=661 for more info.

Xx

The latest desserts at CODA!

Good Afternoon People!

I have been so slack and need to update this regularly! There are more desserts about to be created and these are what we have been offering the last couple weeks!

Passion fruit Souffle with white chocolate mud cake and yoghurt sorbet

Everyone loves passionfruit souffle! It appears on the menu several times a year because everyone just loves the flavour. Going into Spring, I thought it would be nice and fresh to accompany it with the sweet white chocolate cake and tangy creamy yoghurt sorbet. FRESH FRESH FRESH!!

Orange blossom pavlova with mascarpone, berry compote and vanilla persian fairy floss

When I think of Spring, I think of fragrant flowers and berries! The crisp, soft centred pavlova has been spiked with orange blossom giving this beautiful fragrant. The berry compote has slowly been cooked without being too mushy or crushed. It has a little peppery taste to it to add something different. The sweetness overall the dish has been tamed with lemon scented mascarpone to balance out the flavour. YUM YUM for a nice Aussie day!!

Mint Chocolate Ganache in Michel Cluizel White chocolate Coupelles

Tasty little sweet treats we offer at CODA. This week we have PX sherry chocolate Ganache.

CODA Chocolate  bar

Yes, it looks the same but the flavours are slightly different from the last. Starting from the bottom layer, crushed walnut praline, chocolate creme, coffee mousse and caramel ice cream with cocoa nib praline to garnish.

Behind the scenes at CODA...

... It all starts with left over brioche dough...

MASSIVE DOUGHNUT!!!

Chef Joel filling in the jam!!!

Me being the hog, then I decide to share..hehe

Massive cut doughnut!! YUM YUM YUM!!!

Halloween Special for staff.. using meringue!!

SWEET SPIDERS!!!

HEAPS OF SWEET SPIDERS!!

Xx

Union Dining!

Hi all!

It's been a while since I've blogged I know, however, I've been trying to find some inner peace and just have fun and relax while I have the chance. Anyway, getting back into it... I feel light and very excited thinking about food I've eaten recently.

Union Dining is one of the restaurants I visited in September and it was fabulous!!! I got to try several dishes which were stunning. The chef Nicky Riemer, shares a European provincial dining experience and with her business partner Adam Cash, the two clever people made this night a night to remember.

The menu opens up and we got to order, starting off with the oysters...

Oysters mignonette

As always, the oysters were fresh with a tangy shallot vinaigrette to compliment the creaminess. DELICIOUS!! It was a great first impression to get us excited for the rest of the dishes to come!!

Caramelised onion tart with olives, anchovies and roquette

This dish was so tasty!! It was absolutely delicious. The warm butter pastry, saltiness of the olives and anchovies just married beautifully with the sweet onion. 

Terrine de maison with pickled Dutch carrots

I forgot what the meat component of this terrine was, however, it was colourful and layers of mixed meat and herbs, lined with thinly cut proscuitto. The pickled carrots gave just the right tang to go with the cold meat. YUM YUM!!

Piedmont steak tartare with pecorino & horseradish

This dish was quite different to any traditional steak tartare. There was no egg yolk, but a big shaving of pecorino cheese and loosly cut parsley and celery leaves. I don't mind it, it is very different, however, I wish there was an egg yolk in there to add more moisture. The traditional steak tartare definitely has a lot of taste and texture, but I'm glad I got to experience a different take on it.

Grilled quail with grapes and verjus

This was a special presented to us on the night and it sounded delicious. I made a ridiculous joke by moving the quail and said to my fellow diners, "Look! Snow Quail!" Immature of me I know, but if you move it around long enough, it does look like a different way of creating a 'snow angel' on a plate. Yes, I play with my food, but nonetheless I loved the flavours of this quail!! It just married so well with the creamy semolina and the juicy grapes...I wanted to lick the plate!!!

Coleslaw

I forgot what this salad was called, but as simple as it looks, we all agreed it was an amazing salad!! Fresh spanish onion, red cabbage, toasted pinenuts, currants and mint were tossed together with a slightly tangy vinaigrette... YUM YUM YUM!!

Pan seared baby snapper fillet with a lemon pearl barley risotto

The texture of the pearl barley just went really well with the soft tender fish. Although one of us had a few bites with bones piercing our mouths, it was truly delicious.

Half a roast poussin, charred bread stuffing, pea, leek & broadbean fricassee

This small bird was cooked very well and again complimented the fricassee and the roasted grapes still on the vine.

Spring baby lamb with oregano, green chilli, pecorino & baked semolina gnocchi

We all loved this lamb!!! Wish there was more on the plate hahaha we almost had to fight...but we were very civilised haha The taste of the whole dish was AMAZING!!

Aged scotch fillet with Roquefort, walnuts & Madeira

I love steak and the whole texture of the tender juicy meat with the bits of blue cheese and walnuts finsihed with the jus was OMG in my mouth!!! It's great to taste little bits of blue cheese without steak being drowned in blue cheese sauce. I've had it before at another place and definitely, that was a artery clog/heart stopper. 

Banana ice cream, almonds, passionfruit & chocolate sauce

With the amount of savouries we ate, we were definitely full, but there is always room for dessert!! The whole combo was interesting and very flavoursome, however, the banana ice cream was slightly under ripe and icy. Overall, the dish was good.

Italian trifle with zabaglione

This was kinda like a modern intake of a tiramisu. It was airy, light and creamy. Just so yummy and a great way to end the meal.

Many thanks to Adam Cash (Owner/Manager) who looked after us! The meal was one to remember and I would definitely recommend it to everyone!!!

Please visit Union Dining when you get the chance. The food is well executed and such a great atmosphere.  

Xx