Bills, Surry Hills

So on our third day in Sydney, we had originally planned to go to Ms G's for lunch after hearing so much about it and seeing it on Masterchef. All the excitement died as soon as we got there and realised they were CLOSED for lunch, arghhh...

After some quick thinking, one of my friend made a brilliant suggestion to go to Bills in Surry Hills instead, which wasn't too far away. Awesome sauce. So off we went on a Maxi Cab to our next destination...

And MAN, was it a good call or what. I don't know if it was cause of the dishes we ordered, but I was REALLY surprised by how much I loved everything I ate there. So, so much. Especially after the decision to go there that was due to an unforeseen circumstance. I'll be even more bold to say that it turned out to be one of the meals I enjoyed most throughout the whole trip. Let's not waste time...

Soy Piccolo Latte

Coffee was average and a bit more bitter than usual. I don't know if you can tell from the dark colour of the foam... All good though, because I really didn't mind anyway. Just an observation... =)

Sweet Corn Fritters with Roasted Tomato, Spinach and Bacon - $18.50

GREAT! The corn was so buttery and sweet. But what I loved most was that these fritters weren't too dense and made with just the right amount of flour and very crispy. In every way, these fritters were truly perfect.

And beneath that you get these roasted tomatoes which were just divine and bursting with flavour. The bacon wasn't too dry or salty too which was great. Though to be frank, what would've made this even better than it already is, was if they served this with some homemade relish or chutney too. Still, LOVED this!

Ricotta Hotcakes with Fresh Banana and Honeycomb Butter - $17.50

By golly, these pancakes were seriously lighter than air. I only hope that this photo does the dish justice when I say that they were absolutely soft, pillowy and fluffy. Served with that beautiful butter and bananas on the side, this plate of pancakes really does set the bar high for fluffy pancakes everywhere! FANTASTIC!

I love my friends for always lending me a hand and putting up with my foodie obsession despite their hunger! ;D Photo courtesy of Miss Su

Miso Glazed Salmon with Soba Noodles, Avocado, Watercress and Apple Salad - $26.00

Shucks... Another dish that absolutely had me on my knees and I do not even know where to begin to tell you why. First of all, can you please look at how PERFECTLY that salmon is cooked in the middle?!?! Especially for such a thick chunk, the taste of the salmon that was so beautiful and nowhere dry was what first caught my attention about this dish.

On top of that, I really love soba dishes, hot or cold. But preferably hot, which was what this was and it made so much sense to be paired with the salmon. The noodles were light and refreshing with bountiful toasted sesame seeds which gave the noodles extra character in terms of flavour. Not to mention the crunchy apple salad and avocados that were given in just the right proportion to compliment the fish.

I really enjoyed this dish and actually found myself nodding to myself a lot as I was eating from start to finish.... Gosh, I miss this already.

Dishes were shared amongst three of us so we could sample more food together. Do you guys do that too? =)

Thinking back, I keep wondering to myself whether I enjoyed the corn fritters, hotcakes or salmon dish more? What a wonderful debate to have with myself, right? And honestly, I can not decide. They were each fantastic in their own way and I truly hope that they maintain their standard every time. Huge bummer if they don't.

Oh and another thing, I was having brekkie with a friend about 2 weeks ago and he actually mentioned that this restaurant was owned by none other than Bill Granger himself! WHAT?! (FYI, all opinions formed on the day prior to my knowledge of this)

To be honest, I don't even know what Bill Granger looks like or who he actually is. I've only seem his name on the Internet in all the amazing recipes I've come across through Blogs and Facebook, but his recipes really speak to me. From what I've seen, his ideas and execution of food is really what sets him apart, and I don't know even own his cookbook. He takes simple, every day ingredients and presents them in a huge variety of simple, delicious manner. I should really pick up his cookbook and cook my way through it because I have no doubt that it's a great addition to have in my home.

ANYWAY, all the Bill Granger talk aside, I don't think the food we ordered were very uncommon. However, the execution was just impeccable and what brought it home for me. I enjoyed this meal a lot and I hope you will too (that's to say if they maintain their quality, at least). Oh, and my friend shared with me this link of 50 things to eat in Sydney and guess what? The Corn Fritters from Bills made it to No. 14 -- IMPRESSIVE!

Hope you enjoyed this post!

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Suminoya, Sydney CBD

G'day everybuddy!

How's everyone doing? Well, I hope! So, Suminoya was one of the few meals that we were particularly excited about prior to the our Sydney trip. I mean, we were doing a Food Trip and what better way to celebrate that than to go for an all-you-can-eat Buffet. And not just any buffet... A JAPANESE buffet... Well, Japanese BBQ Buffet to be more exact. Yeaaaaaaa boy.

I was actually talking to a friend who recently moved to Melbourne after growing up in Sydney his whole life about places to eat, and one of the places he mentioned was Suminoya. My eyes lit up O_O. I actually remembered this place when I was in Sydney about 3 years ago! A friend brought us there for dinner on our last night that trip and it was GREAT. At least, from what I could remember. I immediately decided that we HAD to go there for dinner again! Even though I hadn't heard about this from food blogs or Urbanspoon.

Honestly... SO glad we did because it was actually better than I remembered it! Thank goodness... This restaurant is tucked away in a tiny alleyway just adjacent of Martin Place in the CBD. Price per person is either $41 or $49, the latter being more extensive with an additional page to the menu, which includes sashimi. You can check out the full menu: here.

We went with the $49 one because we came all the way so, "why not"? It was steep but we really did feel we ate our money's worth. Seriously.... We ate a LOT.

View of one side of the restaurant

Starters:

Salmon Sashimi

You know how when you go for buffets you normally try to eat the most expensive/valued dish you can find? That means lots of seafood and the most expensive meat you can get. Yeeeeeerp.... Sashimi is usually one of them and let's just say that we ordered a LOT of these...... Hur hur hur... We're Asians in that way ;p

Prawn Salad

Prolly the one and only veggie dish we ordered that night. Even then, it was shared. It was okay, not bad. Your usual greens with a few slices of tomatoes and a couple of tiny pieces of fried prawns.

Rice:

Eel Rice

Pretty good. Nice to eat and accompany the mains with...

Bibimba

No sauce... =(

"Salmon Flakes" Rice

Was okay. Tasted alright but a bit dry to eat (no sauce with the flaky fish)

Soup:

Beef Rib Kuppa Soup or Udon

Not sure what the name means but quite forgettable hmm...

Egg Kuppa or Soup

Simple broth with egg flowers and rice. I love eggs.

Mains:

Ox Tongue

SO GOOD! You have no idea how many rounds of these we ate....

Scallops

We like scallops...

Shabu Shabu Style Pork Loin

Nice, thin and delicious cut of meat. But we were more interested in the beef that night...

Chicken Gristle

Curious to try this. Wasn't sure what gristle was until we realised it was the cartilage. I normally love any cartilage but this was still a bit hard because it wasn't cooked or stewed as long until tender soft. BBQ-ing them seemed a bit weird...

Mushrooms and Beef Harami

Not enough fats in the beef haha...

Pork Sausage, Pork Ribs and Beef Rib Fingers

Guys... Out of all the things that we ordered that night, those beef rib fingers (whatever they were) were hands down my FAVOURITE!!! Ox tongues were a close second. I was really surprised by how tender it tasted as soon as I put them in my mouth, as were my friends. They had good marbelisation in the meat and you wouldn't believe how good the meat tasted from the little grains of fats in them. When nicely charred and cooked to your liking... Seriously, AMAZING! We immediately ordered 5 more plates of these (and many more after that) as soon as we had the first bite.

The sausage was surprisingly nice too cause after they were grilled, the skin was so dry and crispy but the meat remained moist and chewy. Mmm =)

MORE Ox Tongue

Garlic Prawns

Cooked on the grill in the plate it came in. It was Butter. Garlic. And prawns. That's all I need to say.

FIRE!!! Can you imagine how good the meat tasted after that? It needs direct contact with fire like that to be charred to PERFECTION

One of my many, MANY ox tongues that night. While I could still be bothered taking pictures

The beef rib fingers I was telling you about. SO delicious. Had a BUTT load of these as well.

More beef rib fingers, eel rice, chicken gristle and shabu shabu pork MMMM

Dessert:

Green Tea Ice-Cream

Not a huge matcha or green tea fanatic but I liked this. Especially loved that it came with a tiny bit of red beans and CORN FLAKES. Really, really enjoyed the corn flakes in the ice-cream, actually.

Lemon Sorbet

PERFECT palate cleanser. Not too sour and I liked that it was shaved super fine. Really great way to end the meal.

OVERALL, what I really enjoyed most about the food in Suminoya was not just the quantity, but the QUALITY. Honestly, I was quite surprised by it. Really top notch and not everywhere maintains this standard, especially when it comes to buffets. Quite consistent seeing as it was still just as good even after 3 years. We just kept going for rounds after rounds of the beef rib fingers, ox tongue and sashimi it was crazy. We loved it so much.

As for dining experience, I must warn that the whole restaurant was seriously smokey. So many BBQs. Don't come unless you're like us who didn't mind the smoke and even smelling like it after our meal. We expected it already. Also, the restaurant has a strict time frame policy. You can only order for 60 minutes but allowed to eat for 90 minutes.

Despite the strict policy, we really still enjoyed our dinner because the food was SO good. Also, the time frame isn't actually as bad or short as you think. But then again, we were ordering, cooking and eating non stop the whole time so we were quite happy with the time. Really enjoyed this meal and if you're looking for a good place for Jap buffet or are into Jap BBQs, you'll definitely love this!

Happy eating and take care, every one! =)

Orange Butter Cake Recipe

Harrow...

So while I was trying to decide on which of my recipes to post today, I realised that I've been sharing a lot of Asian recipes lately. I'm not complaining (and hopefully you're not, too ;p) but a change would be good. Starting with quite possibly, my all-time favourite, feel-good cake: The Orange Butter Cake.

For some reason, I'm not very much of a Dessert person, seriously (which is sad to say, sorry!!). I actually struggle to finish a whole slice of chocolate cake, cupcake, muffin or more than one macaron... My sugar tolerance is just lower than most and I feel full from desserts relatively quickly and I don't know why. That said, it doesn't mean I don't appreciate a good dessert, I really do. I just eat less of it.

But then again, there's certain types of desserts that I REALLY enjoy and can eat a lot of. I hope to share them all on this blog, eventually. And Orange Butter Cake is definitely one of them. Even friends that I know who aren't really into desserts enjoy this cake a lot. Boy oh boy, you have no idea how much Butter Cake I can eat especially when they're fresh out of the oven, warm and still crusty. Generally, I enjoy less sweet, light or warm desserts.

Mum wrote down this recipe for me on a piece of paper about a year ago. Though to be honest, I wasn't very sure about whether or not I should be sharing this recipe because it's such a common cake and I'm sure everyone's already got their own favourite good old-fashioned, classic Butter Cake recipe already. And there's not much variations across all of them anyway. Another thing, baking is SERIOUSLY not my forté. But, I've been making an effort to learn and improve in that department =)

But I guess that's besides the point. All I really want is just to share with you things that I love to eat. And also, what I LOVE to use when I'm baking this cake, i.e. Homemade Butter (!!!!). Ever since I bought homemade butter from Victoria Market for the first time about 3 years ago, I've never looked back. It is soooo much more fragrant and better in flavour than even the more "premium" brands, such as Lurpak or President. You have to try it for yourself to know what I mean.

But more than that, it is almost half the price. Only $10/kg which means my usual 2-stick-block of butter is only $2.50. How friggin' cheap is that?! Good for my student wallet. I buy it all the time and use it for everything now. Unless, I've run out and it's inconvenient for me to go to the market, then I would get butter from the supermarket. But, yeah. Please try buying homemade butter if you've never done so before. It makes a HUGE difference in recipes, such as this Orange Butter Cake and the aroma just comes through so beautifully with this cake =)

"Curds & Whey", where I normally buy my butter from in the deli section of Victoria Market

__________________________________

Orange Butter Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter (softened) *

175g caster sugar

200g self-raising flour (sifted + 1/2 tsp salt)

5 eggs (separated)

zest and juice from 1 large orange (or 2 small) **

* Use the best butter you can find

** I normally prefer my Butter cakes more crumbly and fine. Some people prefer their butter cake moist. For that, use 2 large or 3 small oranges instead of one (as per picture below)

If prefer Classic Butter Cake, omit oranges altogether

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 deg C. Line a bread baking pan/20cm square cake pan with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Drop in egg yolks, one at a time until well combined. Stop beater.

Fold in half the flour, orange juice and zest until well combined. Fold in remaining flour, orange juice and zest. Beat egg whites until soft peaks formed. Fold in egg white to get smooth consistent batter (do not over-fold!). Pour into baking pan and bake for 45 minutes (or test if skewer poked through the cake comes out clean). Rest on wiring rack for 10 minutes.

Optional: Dust with icing sugar after cake has cooled. Just to look purrty.

Baked sometime last semester at 11pm during a midnight cake craving after watching Masterchef lol

Baked for family when I was back in Malaysia during Winter

Baked about a month ago as an afternoon snack when my friends came over to study =)

Moist version with larger granules didn't rise as high but more orange flavour and still just as yummy

This Orange Butter Cake was really the first cake that I actually baked successfully all by myself (phew!). If you're a beginner baker like me, I definitely suggest you to try this recipe out too. Good luck! =D

House, Surry Hills

Howdy y'all,

I was planning to post a recipe today, but was kind of on a high after looking back at my inventory of Sydney posts that I can't wait to share with you so I'll do that one next (in a few days) hehe.

Anyway, if you've done enough research about places to eat in Sydney, House and Chat Thai are two Thai restaurants that must've caught your attention, as it did mine. However, we ended up choosing House over Chat Thai this time around for two main reasons (though, I hope I get to try Chat Thai in my next visit to Sydney). They were:

1) It was also recommended by the same amazing blogger that introduced me to Porteño

2) I've read so much about their BTS (Better Than Sex) dessert that I had to try it

What I enjoyed most about eating at House is that it introduced me to a whole new world and dimension of Thai Cuisine. Specifically, Northeastern Thai cuisine. In a nutshell, the website explains that Northeastern Thai cuisine places a heavy emphasis on the use of fermented anchovies, contains very little soup/gravy and uses close to no coconut milk. Inneresting, riiight?

So NO, you wont find your usual Pad Thai, Green Curry or whatever you've been used to anywhere here. It totally broke my mindset of what I knew and expected Thai food should be and I LOVED it. Let me show you what I mean...

View outside of the restaurant (located within walking distance from Central Station)

"Nua Daed Deaw" -- Deep fried sun dried marinated beef strips served with jim-jaew dipping sauce

Tender and lots of flavour. A really appetising starter to the meal...

Sticky Rice

What a charming way to serve your rice. To me, it was more chewy than sticky. Different to the texture of glutinous rice, or "lo mai fan", served in Chinese cuisine. This long grain rice was really enjoyable to eat, well separated with a nice bite

"Tom Saap Kra Dook Aorn" -- Spicy soft pork ribs soup with lemongrass, glangal, kaffir lime leaves, Vietnamese coriander, Thai sweet basil, lime and chilli

Soup was great. The consistency was slightly thick but jam-packed with natural flavours. It was intense, but the mixture of sweet, salty, spicy and sour really opened up my appetite to keep going for the next sip. Really well balanced. Also, the soft, tender pork was simply delicious!

So much fresh ingredients that went into making just one bowl of soup. Lovely

"Yum Sea Food" -- Spicy salad of calamari, prawns, green mussels, celery, tomatoes, coriander and onion served with chilli and lime dressing

To me, the calamari in the salad was the most outstanding part of the dish. It was perfectly chewy and tender. And together with a bit of crunchy raw onions or tomatoes in one bite, DELICIOUS.

"Tum Mua Pla Krob" -- Green papaya salad with crispy anchovies, dried shrimp, beans, thai eggplant, cherry tomatoes, peanuts, garlic lime and chilli

Though we had two salads, this one tasted totally different from the one before. It had a stronger peanut flavour in the dressing but was just as delicious. Loooove crunchy young papayas. Or even mangoes, for that matter.

With the meal, they also gave a complimentary cup of raw vegetables (cucumber, green bean, lettuce, cabbage) which was SO nice to eat with all the leftover dressing from the salads.

I really enjoyed the flavour and freshness of the salads. Would love to come back and try more of the other salads one day, if possible. They've got such a wide selection.

"Larb Gai" -- Traditional Isaan salad of minced chicken with eschallots, shallots, vietnamese coriander, mind ground roasted rice, ground chilli and lime

This dish was spicy but sooo delicious to eat! Minced chicken was still tender and not overcooked. Yummo~

BTS (Better than Sex) Dessert

(can you see the syrup dripping off the sides?! sexxxxxy)

Finally, I present to you... The long awaited, one and only... BTS (Better Than Sex) Dessert *rooooaring applause from the crowd*

The BTS was so good... Sooo FRIGGIN' good............ You absolutely need to eat it with all the brioche, ice cream and syrup in each bite to fully taste this FOAHHH... I almost stood up in excitement.....

The "Pandan" ice cream served on the thick, crispy brioche was really smooth and creamy. And the "Gula Melaka" syrup, which had a slightly more roasted flavour was just incredible. You CAN NOT go wrong with putting pandan and gula melaka together, the combination is just unbeatable.

One last, glorious look at the BTS... Ooooooh... Aaaaaaah... FOAHHHHH ok, stop.

Can you see how cleanly we finished off the plate of BTS in the middle? Joy... Pure, unadulterated joy......

Overall, what I really enjoyed about the meal there (besides the BTS, of course) was that though the food was flavourful, it was still light (from the soup and salads). We didn't feel overly full, but it was just nice. Also, it was great to sit outside during the day because it was more open and the weather was perfect.

Hope to come back and try more of the other stuff on the menu because now that I've had a taste of what Northeastern Thai cuisine is like, I simply love it!! It's just a refreshing change...

Peace! =)

Yours Sincerely...

So just a few hours ago, Leaf (The Indolent Cook), a dear friend from the Food Blogging community that I've been fortunate enough to know, was just hosting a giveaway competition on her blog.

It was for this book called, "Will Write for Food" by Dianne Jacob. To participate in the lucky draw, I basically had to answer the following questions and I thought I'd just share with you my entry:

FOOD WRITING ASPIRATIONS:

My passion is to reach out to people everywhere through Food Blogging with my writing and photos. I would like to appeal to the average person, from an average person's point of view. Though I don't have any professional knowledge and experience on Food, but I believe this is what makes my point of views more personal and easy-to-relate.

I prefer to adopt a more honest, light-hearted and friendly approach in my form of writing. As far as I'm concerned, Food is always meant to be Fun and never to be taken too seriously.

At the end of the day, I truly I hope I can show people that Food really is more meaningful when it is shared and that they, too, will feel inspired to open up spaces to share Life* with other people over Food, whether at home or at a restaurant. It is for this reason that Food Blogging, to me, is more than just a hobby, but a passion.

WHAT I'M DOING TO ACHIEVE THEM:

I have begun food blogging again about a month ago and I believe that's a start. I have been dedicating time out of my week to share recipes and reviews and can only hope that people find it just as Fun to read as it was for me to write.

At the same time, I feel very strongly about showing the same support and encouragements that I have been so blessed to receive during my short time of blogging to as many people out there, both in and out of the food blogging community. These people have truly made this whole experience so enjoyable for me and has reaffirmed me of the reasons I do the things that I do on my blog.

My plan is to keep blogging for a very, very long time. Why stop now, right? It's been great so far and I'm sure it'll only keep getting better. It is a journey and I hope to find growth in my writing and pictures continuously over time.

I guess what completely caught me by surprise was how convicted I felt about every single word that I wrote. I totally didn't expect it as I thought I was just writing words that came to mind, only to realise that they were words that came from the heart. To be honest, I'm still a bit shaking from that.

I know I've been very "interested" in Food Blogging for a very long time, but I wasn't exactly sure why. Sometimes you never know how you really feel about something until you actually write them out, don't you? One of those times when I'm reminded by how powerful journaling or blogging can be.

Anyway, I don't mean to sound overly lame, but I somehow feel really blessed by this competition because it's helped me put into words and realise what I have been truly passionate about all this time.

Finally, all I want to say is that I feel really thankful I am to all of you who has allowed me to share my Food Journey with you on this space. Whether you're a blogger, reader or just anyone with a hungry stomach who keep coming back, you've certainly made this dream come true for me! And maybe, just maybe, I can be so lucky as to sit down and share a meal with each of you one day. Just give me a holla and I'm there.

Thanks again for everything!

Much Love,

Winston.