Where to eat? Singapore

Popped rice, straight from the stalk at Teppei

Where to eat? Burma

Bagan for noodles.

Where to eat? Melaka

For a minute I tried to spell Melaka in english and couldn't - how many l's and how many c's which is it? So lets do Malay lots easier.

Honestly
Melaka has some amazing food
Definitely worth a detour
Try Portuguese food and in Umbai, a kampung not far from Melaka is a Malay fishing village
There is a large hut
Outside will be parked mercs snd BMW etc
All races
The Malay villagers will have tanks if fresh seafood
Pick and pay by weight cooked ALa Melsyu
Try udang harimay simply goreng in kunyit
And each table has simple but delicious Nasi lemak bungkus
Just east that and too up with some anazing Malay seafood

Jonker 88
No. 88, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200, Melaka, Melaka, 75200, Malaysia

Best laksa and chendol
To die for

Onde Onde 
Roti John berkas and Ayam golek near tanjung Kling

In limbongan in Melaka there is a small food court that serves breakfast
One side is a hokkien family that serves roti bakar,Telur kukus etc
But the other side is a melaka secret
Roti canai Faizal MohdcYusof
His secret?
He cooks over arang, not gas so heat control is an art form
And try with kari kambing

Where to eat? Penang

Penang

Peace & Joy coffee shop

Peace & Joy Coffee Shop located in the corner of China Street and Queen Street Penang has a stall selling delicious curry mee! Generally, the curry mee soup itself is very flavorful, while the ingredients top it off beautifully.

Curry Mee

Wan Tan Mee

http://www.misstamchiak.com/10-must-try-hawker-food-in-penang/

Alor Setar

ALOR STAR: IF you are a coffee enthusiast who appreciates freshly-brewed coffee, head to Caffè Diem at the heritage building of Pekan Cina, here.

://www.nst.com.my/node/65850

Castlecrag

Unsung food suburbs: Castlecrag, New South Wales

Among the beautiful stone houses and clipped lawns of this north shore Sydney suburb are a host of surprisingly good dining options for those living in the area – and beyond

Roberta MuirTuesday 19 August 2014 04.18 BST

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/19/unsung-food-suburbs-castlecrag-new-south-wales

Artusi in Castlecrag, a dining destination that flies under the radar. Photograph: Roberta Muir for the Guardian

Originally planned by Walter Burley Griffin, Castlecrag on Sydney’s picturesque Middle Harbour, just 8km from the CBD, is known more for its historical than its culinary significance. A love of nature drew Griffin and his wife, Marion, to Sydney’s lower north shore in 1925, where they designed beautiful homes built from local stone. They named the suburb after a huge crag of rock overlooking the water, dubbed by locals “Edinburgh Castle”.

While Sydney’s north shore is rarely thought of as a dining destination, the inhabitants of Castlecrag are better served than most, with a united nations of restaurants close by.

Artusi Italian Restaurant

Artusi’s calamari fritti with lime mayo. Photograph: Roberta Muir for the Guardian

Artusi, run by Paola and Luca d’Adamio from Abruzzo, holds its own in a city that does Italian food very well. Exposed brick and Italian tiles create interest and warmth inside, while diners at outside tables enjoy the streetscape.

House-made grissini and bruschetta topped with spicy Calabrian nduja are a great start, as is calamari fritti with lime mayo. The pasta menu showcases regional specialties from around Italy, from vibrant green pesto trofie enriched with a non-traditional but thoroughly delicious chunk of burrata, to Puglian fusilli with cime di rapa, cacioricotta and chilli.

Risotto, always a difficult dish to get right amid the pressures of a commercial kitchen, is surprisingly good too. A simple tagliata of beef, cooked medium, cut into thin strips and served with radicchio, aged balsamic and roasted potatoes is typical of Luca’s approach to quality produce, prepared simply.

Desserts, including a nougat semifreddo with Ligurian honey, almond milk and candied almonds, are all made in-house and the short, Italian-heavy wine list contains a few gems.

2/122 Edinburgh Rd, Castlecrag, +61 2 9967 5371
Ganache French Patisserie

Master pâtissier Didier Sockeel’s almond croissants. Photograph: Roberta Muir for the Guardian

It’s not unusual to find a queue out the door on busy weekend mornings as locals stop by to grab master pâtissier Didier Sockeel’s almond croissants, pain au chocolate and fruit danishes fresh from the oven.

Later in the day they’re after quiches with short pastry and fillings such as classic lorraine (ham and cheese), spinach, or blue cheese and caramelised onions; individual ones are great snacks, while the larger size is a mainstay of family picnics.

The sweets case is crowded with cold fruit flans and baked open tarts, beautifully decorated cakes and bite-sized treats as well as bags of biscuits including delicate tuiles and langues de chat. Crusty baguettes, meltingly soft brioche and great coffee complete the package.

85 Edinburgh Rd, Castlecrag, +61 2 9967 2882
Flavours of Peking Chinese Restaurant

Northern Chinese food worth crossing Sydney for. Photograph: Roberta Muir for the Guardian

While Sydney has plenty of Cantonese food, it’s harder to find good food from China’s north. This unprepossessing restaurant tucked at the back of a small shopping centre attracts many Chinese families and others willing to travel for great noodles, dumplings and Peking duck.

The space is humble but the service is friendly and there don’t appear to be any double standards when it comes to what Chinese and non-Chinese speakers are offered. Everyone can enjoy falling-off-the-bone braised pork belly, large garlicky prawns steamed in lotus leaf, and deep-fried tofu in brown Peking sauce. Or make a meal of the excellent three-course Peking duck (pancakes, san choy bau and soup).

Northern Chinese specialties such as steamed, or pot-sticker, dumplings are among the best in Sydney, and the crisp, salty shallot pancakes and smoked vegetarian goose are moreish. Even more familiar dishes, such as salt and pepper prawns, are treated with respect, with fresh hot oil used to fry large meaty prawns in a thin crisp batter, finished with a scattering of fresh green onions and chillies.

Quadrangle Shopping Village, Shop 7/100 Edinburgh Rd, Castlecrag, +61 2 9958 3288
Cyrus the Great Persian Restaurant

Music and food meet at Cyrus the Great Persian Restaurant. Photograph: Roberta Muir for the Guardian

Persian food is also under-represented in Sydney, so it’s exciting to discover Cyrus tucked away behind Artusi.

It’s a large space designed for big groups who enjoy Persian music videos projected on to a giant screen dominating one wall, musicians and a belly dancer who keep things lively on Saturday nights, and generous banquet menus.

But earlier in the week it’s usually much quieter, perfect for couples or smaller groups to sample superb charcoal-grilled kebabs of chicken, minced or cubed lamb, or fish, alongside yoghurt or eggplant dips, fresh salad and big discs of charred Persian flat bread.

6/120-122 Edinburgh Rd, Castlecrag, +61 2 9967 0051
Castlecrag Cellars

Castlecrag Cellars, one of Sydney’s best independent bottle shops. Photograph: Roberta Muir for the Guardian

Cyrus isn’t licensed and Artusi allows BYO early in the week so it’s handy that they’re either side of one of Sydney’s best independent bottle shops.

George and Anna Doukas at Castlecrag Cellars carry a great range of wines, including multiple vintages of the sought-after Moss Wood cabernet and Leeuwin Estate Art Series chardonnay. There are also single-malt whiskies alongside other spirits, liqueurs and beers, including some harder-to-find treats such as Cynar artichoke aperitif.

122 Edinburgh Rd, Castlecrag, +61 2 9958 1507

Adam Liaw's top 16 dishes 2013

Eating each one of these dishes was a special moment for me this year. Thanks so much for letting me share them with you.

So here they are, in no particular order:

1. Grilled Nagoya cochin chicken with yuzu kosho – Toriyoshi, Nagoya
2. Pumpkin cooked in mead with white rice ice cream – Sixpenny, Sydney
3. Babi guling – Pak Malen, Bali
4. Sumi 2009 – Narisawa, Tokyo
5. 25-year aged kombu stock – Takashi Okuda, Fukui
6. Cheeseburger and root beer float – Gordie’s, Okinawa
7. Marmite spicy frog porridge – Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur
8. Daiginjo sake soufflé and salt soft serve – Ryugin, Tokyo
9. Hairy crab and sea urchin nori roll with orange ankake – Kappo Okada, Sapporo
10. Yang rou chuan – Roadside stall, Beijing
11. Noto beef jibuni – Tsuruko, Ishikawa
12. Kumara scones – Mavis Suckling, Dargaville, New Zealand
13. Tea ceremony (Azaleas with their roots in a stone) – Kimura Soshin, Kyoto
14. XO Sea – Quay, Sydney
15. Eel spine kara-age – Kawatatsu, Kyoto
16. 2013 Christmas lunch – At home, Sydney

Marble Ice cream

This is the best chocolate ice cream ever. I thought that in 2009 before I left Japan. Tasting it again, I re confirm this. I wish I could taste the other flavours - citron milk.

Restaurant: Alexis, BSC

Looking for a place for lunch one day I had decided on Dim Sum as I knew it would be easy to find something for Nathan to eat. But on our way there we walked past Alexis while looking for the race track he wanted to play on before lunch....

Oh, but it was too enticing, we decided the difficult option and walked into Alexis. We were in Malaysia when Alexis first opened in Bangsar in the 1990s. They used to order their cakes from Suchan who had a cafe in PJ opposite University hospital. Suchan's tiramisu cake was legendary in KL (it is different from the pudding, but tastes great) and we were thrilled we could have some easily in Bangsar.

Eventually Alexis made Suchan's tiramisu cake and all the other cakes themselves although it wasn't exactly the same.They also made a banoffee cake - a banana toffee and coffee pie made into a cake.  While I was in university it was my second favourite pie after a meringue pie . I was surprised Suchan knew about it and made the pie into a cake.

The Sarawak Laksa at Alexis was the best! Once I had a birthday party there and that's when we introduced Stephen to the Sarawak Laksa, his favourite too. So we try to go there as often as we can but sometimes getting there isn't easy. Now they have branches all over and unlike Madam Kwan's their standards remain good.

Coming back to our lunch, Nathan and I walked in and I immediately ordered my Sarawak Laksa and took ages to decide on a plain pasta tomato sauce for Nathan. Everything else looked too big and perhaps too spicy. The Sarawak Laksa is so popular that it arrived very soon after but the pasta didn't arrive for a while. Nathan was so hungry he said he wanted some. He tried it, said it wasn't too hot and ate more and more. He even drank the soup and eventually didn't touch the pasta!!! It was still yummy but without the chilli heat. The sambal on the side would have helped but I didnt add it to the soup.

That weekend I met up with Jenny, Mas, Norhayati and Nor Azrina at WIP. It was a little to loud to talk there so we adjourned to Alexis for cakes. At thie visit I got to try their cakes again. Here is a picture of the tiramisu cake. Yummy huh?



I am not a dilligent photographer. But I thought this blog needed some posts and one from my travels. So I googled alexis and tiramisu and sarawak laksa and got these fab photos from A Whiff of Lemongrass's very aptly titled post "The Things that make a girl go weak in her knees"

Restaurants in Japan

Here is a list of restaurants we visited while in Japan.

Aozora, Tsukiji Market
Aburiya - Fu Do, Nakameguro
Bills, Kamakura
Burger Arms, Yoyogi Park
Ceylon Inn, Nakameguro
Ho Ho Ho, Shirokanedai
Karashi, Shirokanedai
Ninja Restaurant, Akasaka
Negiya Heikichi, Shibuya
Omotemise, Tsukiji Market
Seirinkan, Nakameguro
Su Shi something, Shirokanedai
Ten Ichi, Ginza

Ninja Restaurant,, Asakasa

Janet invited Nathan and I to dinner while Stephen was away. She took us to a Ninja themed restaurant in Akasaka for Nathan. He got a little scared going in, but it really was a training session not the real thing. The food was pretty spectacularly presented. Lots of camouflage and disguise.


Prawn salad.

See the gold leaf on top?

Tofu salad.

This is a fish dish. It was served looking like this. We wondered which vegetable dish we ordered?

But no, the waiter then lifted the grill with his bare fingers, and said the coal was the fish? Each piece was wrapped in nori and fried. Then it was laid on a battery operated red light which gave the amber glow we thought was heat and each piece was black like charcoal. The vegetable accompaniment was served on top, grilled.

Aburiya-Fu Do

While Daniel was staying here I found this restaurant on www.bento.com. The review suggests that they use a superior choice of beef in their yakiniku. So we got into the car and headed for the 'unknown'.

They dropped Nathan and I while the boys went to look for parking. I got nervous - what if they didnt like the place?

It was fantastic. A small well used restaurant, heavy with wood and charcoal. Downstairs is the bar in the picture but the customers sit on the floor and not bar stools. We were seated upstairs in a wood panelled room. And our host didnt speak a word of English and we too little Japanese.

First the appetizer arrived. It was a wonderful cabbage salad with a strong fried garlic and soy dressing in the silver bowl. The first food competition to arrive. We had yakiniku which brought us a braisier to cook the meat on. A most delicious nabe: Daniel wanted a soup and this came with some offal. Our host suggested he put it in and we didnt have to eat it and we all agreed. It was delicious. The combination of the offal, collagen, and simple ingredients of cabbage, chilli threads and whatever was to die for. Just dipping this rich soup into rice was all we needed to eat.

Our rice, which was meant to end the meal but we requested early for Nathan was a red rice full of grains and health. A kimchi and yakitori to complete the meal.

Ho ho ho, Shirokanedai

No, I am not laughing at Shirokanedai. Its a very civilised place. There is a new Vietnamese restaurant next to the Barkery. The Barkery is a shop for dogs, and they bake and sell their own dog biscuits. A bakery for dogs. But I am sure they make more money from the other stuff the sell - dog bags, royal canin, cushions, you get the drift?

This vietnamese restaurant serves pho, (YEAH!!!), spring rolls and a Vietnamese roll (for 1050Yen I bet, it sells for $2.50 in Melbourne). I LOVE the Vietnamese roll, even though people have had salmonella poisoning from it. It is THE most delicious sandwich - liver pate, grilled chicken, coriander leaves, fresh red chilli, avocado perhaps, grated cucumber and carrot salad. As an Asian salad should taste.

Stephen and I went there for lunch and it was too cold and rainy outside to have anything but pho. It was delicious! A simple broth with rice noodles and lots of herbs. It just clears the world away and renews you. Will be our new haunt, I bet.

Negiya Heikichi

The JLIP class mums went out to Negiya Heikichi in Shibuya.

A lovely negi (onion) restaurant down an alley but in most beautiful setting.

Ten Ichi, Ginza

When this restaurant is Googled, all you get are fav reviews of this restaurant. Some say its one of the best tempura restaurants in Japan.

Tempura is one of the easiest foods to eat in Japan. Most everyone likes it and its available everywhere. Its simple food, the basic ingredient, deep fried with a light crispy batter. Take a string bean, deep fry it. The high heat ensures you probably wont get food poisoning. The simplicity ensures there are no hidden ingredients to baulk at the taste. I like it mostly because of all the types of Japanese foods, this has the most vegetables.

Then you have Ten ichi.

There is tempura and there is tempura. Here the most excellent vegetables are sourced specifically for its freshness and natural tastes. The batter is perfectly mixed to form a crispy outer coating to cook the vegetable quickly and seal in all its goodness. The oil perfectly clean heated in a copper basin with thermometer attached.

When the food is served, the chef gently explains how to eat it - the prawn head: with salt only, the prawn: with salt and lemon then the fish and vegetables, as you wish - salt or the delicious home made tempura dressing with grated daikon.

Seated around the chef, each morsel is served consecutively. He watches how you eat, and times the moment to start cooking the next selection. It starts with prawns, vegetable, fish vegetables, fish, etc ending with a mixed tempura on rice.

Nathan asked for a second helping of asparagus, which cost USD5. He wont eat asparagus without being reminded of this visit.

So I took my Dad to this restaurant. The chef had changed to a younger person. My previous visit with Jon and Suzi the older one was training the new one. I hope he enjoyed it.

I noticed yet another wonderful thing here: the rice at the end. They serve a smaller grain rice than I have tried before. The smallness reminded me of broken rice at home, but you could feel each roundness tinier than what we are used to. perfect.

Chocolate shops in Shirokanedai

I thought I should list the chocolate and cake shops around here seeing there are quiet a few.

• Oriol Balaguer
• La Farine
• Lettre D'armour
• aeschbach chocolatiet
• Chocolatier Erica
• Kinmugi
• Shirokanetei
• Atelier Pattiserie Reive
  

Seirinkan, Nakameguro

We cycled over to Naka Meguro for lunch this New Years Eve. It was a lovely day with not many people about. I wasn't hopeful of a great choice of restaurants. They say everything closes on the New Year holiday as people all return to their hometown.

We cycled past this enticing restaurant next to the closed Ceylon Inn. We had seen it before and thought we might try it one day without Nathan. It was opened this day for lunch. So we trooped in.

The decor is different - all wrought iron and glass. There are no tables on the first floor - just a wooden/iron spiral staircase leading upstairs, a bar with the chef and a pizza oven. There was a small shelf next to the stairs with a book about tanks which gave something away. Upstairs were small tables for 4 and a small drink bar. The front wall was just wrought iron with frosted glass like in a warehouse. The bare walls were dotted with rebar bolts and handles.

Stephen loved it. Very military - very eastern european, concentration camp-ish. The name of the restaurant is written in Russian, the menu is in Japanese. Luckily it was simple. This restaurant has just 2 dishes - 2 pizzas - a Magherita and a Marinara. Both tomato based, one with cheese and the other garlic, basil oil. We had one of each and although tiny they were delish. Nathan ate 1/2 of Stephen's. And the coffee, although twice the price of normal coffees were the best in Tokyo.

They had an Adolf Hitler plastic doll, still in its box with the label "War Criminals of the 20th century" behind the drinks bar. 2 tv radio machines, model war planes, more similar sized soldier dolls against the walls. All grey. And their card holder was a row of bullets.

Merry Christmas

We had Christmas dinner on Christmas eve at home. We roasted a leg of lamb the way we do it in Mallacoota - pierced with garlic, stolen rosemary and anchovies. Served with roast potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, garlic and tomatoes. Delicious. It was a bit dry because Stephen isn't patient enough for gravy. The roast tomatoes provide some sauce. Special Japanese garlic was roasted and its soft juicy flesh spread like butter over the slices of lamb. I must remember to start the roast with potatoes, to put it in while preparing the lamb. I think that it needs the opportunity for its temperature to rise and that next to the lamb the temperature is the same as the lamb which is not hot enough. The roasted meat and vegetables was served with green beans and a salad. Sancha on the side was a new addition to the mix. I should have bought the aubergines and roasted that too, would have gone well together.

Christmas Day, we spent by the beach at bills cafe. After trying to get directions from their japanese speaking staff, we managed to see the tiny word bills on a grey building and not a white one that they told us. Great aussie food - they had scrambled eggs, wagyu burger, chicken schnitzel, pasta, rissoto, pavlova. Obvious business formula to locate its japanese branch in kamakura,right next to the ocean, very Sydney. Stephen had seafood stew which both Nathan and he thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, they ordered only one dish to share and Stephen didnt have enough. We couldnt order anymore as it was past their last order, in fact we couldnt order a coffee after 2pm. I would recommend they change their chairs.

For dinner we had lamb soup. The left overs stewed with a tin of tomatoes, left over vegetables and beans served with cous cous.

Aozora III

Martin Axe was visiting and Aozora was in need of another visit from us so off we went. It was packed. Their junior staff turned us away. No free tables till 9pm. Then the lady hostess saw us and called us back in. She found us a table, phew.

We had:

chutoro with shiso leaves,

akagai with shreded ginger shoot and lime,

saba

The sea bass was in season and the best!

This was followed by:

japanese foie gras (a type of fish liver) in soy sauce, spring onions and wakame.

grilled scallop with nori,

aburi anago sushi,

kawahagi,

aburi toro sushi,

miso soup,

home made caramel and salt ice cream.

Ramen shop

Now there is this dish that keeps appearing in photos in front of Ramen shops. The intrigue is that it looks like a delicious version of Laksa. All that chilli oil floating on top, the brown sauce that could only be the chilli belacan I remember from primary school and the green boiled vegetables to temper the heat.

I found myself in Omotesando, childless (he was in kinder) and having finished my last errand - at the post office - standing in front of a ramen shop, looking at this photo. I must try it someday flashed across my mind, then why not today? I can eat as hot as I like without Nathan!



It was a bit downhill from here. This is Japanese tantanmen (whoppee! - I love the Chinese dan dan mien) which is described as noodles served in a sesame broth with chilli. And the brown 'belacan' was marinated pork. Not as hot as i thought? Ah well, still should be tried. I ordered it and was asked which 'lunch time free' item I wanted: a bowl of rice??, an upgrade to a large size, soy sauce egg, pickles, chinese almond jelly or caramel pudding. Guess which one I chose.

It wasn't hot at all - I toyed with putting more chilli oil in it, but it was oily enough. Sesame oil. But it was delicious. I couldnt stop drinking the soup and finished all of it. Yum!. The marinated pork was like char siew, just like a laksa without any spice. I'll have it again and put lots of sancha.

Note added later: I am discovering that Japanese people have rice as a side dish with their spicy/strong flavoured ramen. After eating all the noodles they dip spoonfuls of rice into the soup to finish it off!

Aozora, again

We took Jocelyn's visit for another opportunity to visit Aozora. This was our sashimi plate. Not just a beautiful picture - we had:

suzuki with japanese chives,

toro with shiso leaves,

maguro with shiso flowers,

akagai with shreded ginger shoot and lime,

iwashi with grated ginger and spring onions

and ikura with salt and lime.

The sea bass was in season and the best!

This was followed by:

japanese foie gras (a type of fish liver) in soy sauce, spring onions and wakame.

grilled scallop with nori,

fried white bait, lemon and salt,

anago sushi,

kawahagi,

aburi toro sushi,

miso soup,

home made caramel and salt ice cream.

Lots of bowing and sushi kata des, wow.