food

You can take the boy out of Ipoh... There's a palpable sense of excitement as we descend the winding roads of the Cameron Highlands and head towards the town of Ipoh. This is Billy's hometown and since the start of the trip, Billy has not stopped raving about the food of his childhood. The increase in temperature is apparent as soon as we leave the mountains. Less than ninety minutes later, we

Pappadums $2.80 per serve with side dish platter of mango chutney, raita and kachumber $6.80The joy of the pappadum.There's a happy sense of joy about snapping the thin crisp disc of pappadum into jagged shards, surveying the little pots of cucumber and yoghurt raita,mango chutney and tomato and onion kachumber set in front of you. The biggest decision is which one to eat first, and next, and

Chantarelles fried in butter, boiled new potatoes and fresh green leaves from your garden, dressed with some sour cream. I'll never get tired of that combination!

During the long and light Wednesday night most Estonians stayed up really late, sat around a bonfire and ate lots of barbecued and roasted pork and sausages. So did we, although we chose to stay "in town" this year and enjoy our new garden and patio. Few friends came over and we ate lots of delicious food, including two different types of pork, grilled chicken livers in sherry-honey marinade, boiled new potatoes with lots of dill, Estonian home-made cheese, egg and cottage cheese salad, freshly pickled cucumbers, home-baked rye bread, a crispy coleslaw, and various desserts. (Thank you, P&K and P&K for your potluck contributions ;))! One of the dishes I really wanted to make again - and share with you - was the traditional Estonian-style " šašlõkk " or shashlik. It's a controversial dish. Most people buy their shashlik meat from the supermarkets, already seasoned and marinated. Those who make it from scratch can argue about the best cut of pork to use, w...

"They're worms!" we cry out to Billy as we lean in closer to inspect. Billy laughs. They're actually caterpillar fungus, a parasite that attacks hibernating caterpillar larvae and taps into its circulatory system. The fungus starves the larvae, enveloping the insect and taking on its shape until it is effectively mummified. The Chinese call it dong chong chao. With a long list of reputed

Palak patta chaat $13Who knew spinach could taste so good?The secret, of course, is it's deep-fried. To create palak patta chaat, single leaves of spinach are dipped in a thick besan (chickpea) batter and then fried to a crisp golden brown. Piled into a steep and craggy mountain, the entire mass is drizzled with a rainbow of sauces: snow white yoghurt, pale green mint and chilli sauce, and daubs

Vitello tonnato is a popular summer-time dish in Italy, originating in the 19th century Piedmont. Cold thin slices of cooked veal are topped with a creamy tuna and anchovy dressing. I love the classic version a lot, but the tuna mayonnaise is much more versatile. It's been a frequent visitor in our kitchen this spring, and I've given below the recipe I've come to love. I especially like it on top of crisp crostini slices, but it's also a good dressing for some left-over boiled eggs. What's your favourite tonnato recipe and dish? Crostini with tuna mayonnaise , garnished with caperberries ( Suupisted tuunikalamajoneesiga ): Vitello tonnato aka cold veal slices with tuna mayonnaise ( Vasikalihalõigud tuunikalamajoneesiga ). That's the classic way of serving tonnato : Uova tonnata or boiled eggs with tuna mayonnaise, garnished with some capers and lemon zest ( Munad tuunikalamajoneesiga ): Tonnato aka Italian tuna mayonnaise Serves 4 Note that I make my tonnat...

You know that sound? The crackle of a knife making that first cut into a loaf of crusty bread?It reminds me of footsteps crunching on a pile of autumn leaves. The splintering of the outer shell, the tumble of crust shards onto the chopping board and then the gentle sawing through soft and fluffy pillows of dense sourdough.This must be one of my favourite sounds in the world.Brasserie BreadIt's

Hungry? I know I always am.Feed your imagination with this week's Freebie Friday prize, a subscription to one of four fabulous food magazines from mag nation. For twelve months, one lucky winner will find new and delicious reading material in their mail box for breakfast, lounging and bedtime reading. You'll never be short of cooking ideas again!THE PRIZE:A 12-month subscription to one of the

This beautiful girl keeps me from blogging more often these days :) My little foodblog, Nami-Nami, turns five today. It's been five fun years, and although I've been blogging less frequently during the last year or two (I've got a good reason, trust me - see above), I'm still enjoying it immensely and have no plans of stopping in the near future. Hope that you, my dear readers, will stick around as well :) For those of you who have actually tried some of my recipes - would you mind naming your favourite one? Here are links to some of the recipes that you've mentioned in the comments: Canadian Apple Cake (November 2005) Colorful quinoa salad with crayfish and avocado (February 2010) Minimalist banana bread (May 2009) Upside-down onion pie (January 2006) Blueberry tart (April 2006) Carrot ragout (December 2007) Caraway teacake (December 2009) Spiced rhubarb cake (June 2009) Warm Ginger and Carrot Salad with Feta Cheese (November 2005/June 2009) Raspberry foc...

Food bloggers go wild One should always be adventurous when it comes to eating overseas. We found a bounty of food to savour on our Malaysia trip. Luckily for us, millipedes were not one of them, even if Billy did appear keen. On the fourth day of our trip we found ourselves departing Kuala Lumpur and heading 214km north to the Cameron Highlands. At 1500m (5,000 feet) above sea level, the

So it's not every day you find yourself having dinner with Antonio Carluccio.In fact dinner had started ordinarily enough. On our second night in Adelaide for Tasting Australia, Billy and I find ourselves dispatched with six other journalists for dinner at Enoteca, a modern Italian restaurant. We'd been transported by coach to our destination, the assembly of media in town dropped off at various

It's Freebie Friday time!What better way to kick off a long weekend than the promise of a free meal. Grab Your Fork readers have the chance to win a $50 dining voucher at Helm Bar, Darling Harbour. Can't wait that long to try their $10 bbq beef ribs? Get down there this weekend for the start of the World Cup - Helm Bar will be broadcasting all of Australia's games as well as all 9.30pm and

I realised today that I haven't been posting many Estonian recipes lately, which doesn't mean I haven't been eating lots of local food recently. I have. Especially cabbage dishes, as the new season's cabbage has hit the stalls. Today's dish is not strictly seasonal per se - it can be made in the middle of a rainy autumn, dark winter and promising spring. But somehow I always crave this dish in the early to mid-summer, when the cabbage tastes sweetest. Estonian Cabbage and Mince Stew ( Hakkliha-kapsahautis ) Serves 4 1 large green cabbage (about 2 pounds/1 kg), finely shredded 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks 1 Tbsp vegetable oil about a cup of freshly boiled water salt freshly ground black pepper 400 g (leanish) beef mince 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced 1 Tbsp vegetable oil fresh parsley (optional) boiled potatoes, to serve Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the carrots and the cabbage, season with salt and sauté for a few minutes, until the cabbage wil...

Wagyu beef burger $9.50180g wagyu beef, red onion jam, marinated tomato,cheese, bacon, mayonnaise and lettuceFood always tastes better with a harbour view. We're no strangers to the venue at Helm Bar, a space that used to play host to our lunchtime favourite Pier 26. Over the past 18 months, renovations have been afoot. In addition to the name change, the central bar on the upper balcony has been

I've been playing with the idea of a rhubarb cheesecake for a few years now, and finally settled for this simple rhubarb ripple cheesecake (or should I call it "Marbled rhubarb cheesecake"?). I use the base from my lingonberry cheesecake (but feel free to use the regular Digestive-base), the filling from my Manhattan cheesecake and a simple addition of poached rhubarb (with some candied ginger added for a zing). We loved it. The creamy simple cheese filling, the tart rhubarb and moreish base work together like a dream.. Rhubarb ripple cheesecake ( Siiruviiruline rabarbri-toorjuustukook ) Serves 8 Beautiful poached rhubarb Base: 100 g unsalted butter, softened 85 g caster sugar (about 100 ml) 1 large egg 180 g plain flour (300 ml) 0.5 tsp baking powder a pinch of salt Poached rhubarb: 250 to 300 g slender pink rhubarb stalks 2 Tbsp demerara sugar 3 Tbsp candied ginger pieces Cream cheese topping: 600 g full-fat cream cheese, softened 125 g caster sugar (150 ml) 3 large e...

Malacca. One of the oldest cities in Malaysia, Malacca - also known as Melaka in Malay - was conquered by the Portuguese in 1511. Its capital city is Malacca Town, preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. We made a day trip to Malacca on day three of our recent trip to Malaysia. Now a road trip requires one essential thing. Snacks. We had plenty of them. Twisties in flavours of "

Ottolenghi 's new book, Plenty , is just out, and I've already bookmarked several recipes from the book that I'm keen to try. Meanwhile, I'm still in love with their first book, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook . I've blogged about their bright and beautiful cucumber and poppy seed salad already (and I've made it twice). I've tried their orange florentine cookies twice. But there's a dish I've made thrice at home, as well as twice at a Middle Eastern cooking club session I hosted few months ago. That's their fabulous recipe for roasted aubergine (eggplant) with saffron yogurt. I cannot imagine anyone not liking this salad (well, perhaps if you hate aubergine/eggplant and saffron :)) - it's bright and colourful, with contrasting textures and bold, interesting flavours. I've followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, apart from roasting the aubergine slices on a hot griddle instead of the oven, and slicing them into rounds as opposed to wedges...

It's no secret. There are Iron Chefs in town.At the press conference on Friday at the Sydney Hilton, event hosts Simon Thomsen and Joanna Savill welcomed Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai and Iron Chef Chinese, Kenichi Chen to Sydney.Simon Thomsen and Joanna SavillRelaxed and jocular, Chen and Sakai were dressed in their signature outfits, and happy to answer questions from the assembled crowd

There's a weekly farmer's market in our suburb, Viimsi, and there's a rather good fish stall run by Pepe Kala. The choice of fresh, cured and smoked fish is excellent, both local and imported, and we're thrilled to bits. During the winter we usually tend to buy salmon or trout - delicious and easy to prepare, but obviously a simple and non-challenging choice. So we've decided to buy some fresh whole fish (read: ungutted and unscaled) every weekend and try some new and more interesting recipes. Several friends have lined up for our Saturday Night Fish Feasts already, so the motivation is high :) First up - a large, 2 kg carp bream ( Abramis brama , 'latikas' in Estonian) that we baked under a salt crust and served with butter-fried lemon slices. You could use any other large white fish (red snapper, carp etc), if you prefer. The serving idea came from a Finnish food magazine MAKU. Whole Bream Roasted in Salt Crust ( Latikas soolateki all ) Serves about 4 to...

An interesting article in today's Sydney Morning Herald with a surprising but welcome endorsement of Grab Your Fork. I wouldn't say that I try to emulate Matt Preston - only he can pull off candy pink trousers and a cravat, I say!"Like the Tea Party movement, then, aspirational eaters love to upset the status quo. They're a paradox unto themselves: awestruck observers of time-honoured culinary

A short photo essay of a wonderful café in Pärnu. Definitely worth a visit, if you happen to be at the Summer Capital of Estonia, Pärnu. You'll find Supelsaksad at the corner of Supeluse & Nikolai street. Our daughter thoroughly approves: :)

Ayam goreng tulang lunak $8 Deep-fried soft bone chicken If fried chicken makes your heart skip a beat, have a defibrillator on stand-by for soft bone chicken. The Indonesian favourite, ayam goreng or fried chicken, is lifted to new levels of crunch at ATL Maranatha, a family-run restaurant on a quiet suburban street corner in Kensington. THE SPECIALTY Ayam goreng tulang lunak ($8) is fried