Jasmyne Tea

The Worst Meal I Ever Had

Ok, I have to admit that there have been some disgusting things in my mouth.

(I'll just wait for you to pick your mind back up out of the gutter before I continue.)

I've eaten dirt; I've almost swallowed an insect; I've even had a shot of soy sauce straight from Green Valley's Golden King 2000, which most locals will know is an impressive feat considering it has been sitting on the tables there for at least 20 years, and has the consistency of tar.

But this is by far the worst thing I've ever tasted:

It's called Uncle Chin's chicken rice. I don't know who Uncle Chin is or why he's cooking my food, but he is clearly a sadist. The "chicken" was dry and had the texture of overdone pork, while still retaining the chewiness under the skin that is undercooked fat. The rice disintegrated at the slightest touch. We were on a 10 hour flight with a 5 hour stop over.

I ordered some pringles and ribena and decided to eat at the KL airport.

I had always thought people complaining about plane food were just exaggerating - I'd only ever flown Qantas and Virgin, and the food was pretty decent. I was wrong.

Well, thank you AirAsia for proving the myth of Plane Food true. Anything you can do about Loch Ness?

Share your worst plane food stories below, so I can feel better with the fact that people are in the same boat - er, plane.

Sassy's Red, Sydney CBD

I've been bitten by the travel bug; ever since my return from the States I've been planning my next trip. I've got folders full of bookmarked travel advice for Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia - clearly the colder weather has me craving some sunshine and pina coladas.

Unfortunately money is a major factor when it comes to travel, and as we're currently saving for our wedding and another trip to the US for Stephen's research, the closest I'm going to get to South-East Asia for the moment is at a restaurant.

The cuisine and decor at Sassy's Red, run by the brains behind Chinta Ria at Cockle Bay Wharf, is based on cafes in Malaysia. Situated on level 5 in the Sydney CBD Westfield's, everything about Sassy's Red is bold, colourful and bustling, and it's reflected in the food.

Roti Canai - $4.00

This was my first Malaysian roti experience. The outside was flaky and a little dry, but the inside was soft, stretchy and a little doughy. It was served with a spicy chicken curry sauce, which was creamy with coconut milk; chilli gave a little kick to the sauce.

Mee Goreng - $11.00

My sister Katie wanted noodles, so I ordered the Mee Goreng. It was too spicy for her, but it was a perfect heat for me - just enough to tingle the tastebuds. Chunks of chicken fought for attention with cubes of tofu, and bean sprouts and crispy fried onion added some textural variety to this noodle dish.

Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang - $11.00

I ordered the Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang, which Katie stole after rejecting her noodles. The rendang was magnificent, with tender chunks of beef simmered in a gravy redolent with chilli. The rice was meant to be cooked with coconut milk, but I didn't detect any difference between that rice and rice cooked with plain ole water. Pickled veggies, nuts, and an egg split in two filled out the rest of the plate.

It's hard to feel disappointed with a lack of travel opportunity when your belly's full of such delicious food. It was a great experience, and I look forward to trying Chinta Ria's Mood For Love upstairs as well.

Sassy's Red

http://www.sassysred.com/

Westfield Sydney, Level 5, Shop 5002
Cnr Pitt St Mall & Market St
Sydney
NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 8072 8072

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Surprises. Some people love 'em, some people hate 'em. I'm of mixed feelings - every time someone tries to plan one for me, I end up finding out by accident. For example, last year Stephen was hiding my present from me last year, but he hid it in my drawer (the complete set of A Series Of Unfortunate Events - thanks Stephen!), I knew that something was going on when Stephen planned our engagement party and proposed to me the day before, and there are about 50 Christmas presents from my parents that I've found by accident.

Last weekend was in the same vein - Stephen planned a surprise 21st, but people all around me were accidentally letting things slip and I knew something was happening. In an attempt to throw me off (it was held at my parent's house), he blind-folded me, bundled me in to the car, and drove all around the world before we arrived (although once I felt the drive-way under my feet, I knew where I was - I've been walking up that drive-way for 10 years!). The effort is always greatly appreciated, and I love that Stephen goes to so much trouble in an attempt to surprise and delight me.

One thing that surprised me was the sheer amount of desserts that night - not only was there a giant croquembouche (made with the Zumbo recipe ;)), but there was a 3 tiered monstrosity composed of Earl Grey chiffon cakes, mini cup-cakes, and my favourite pandan chiffon cake.

I'd only ever had the store-bought variety, but this was SO much better. It was a little more dense than the super-soft version I'm used to, but still silky and smooth, and packed full of pandan and coconut flavour. Everyone was impressed with the showy croquembouche, but I was sneaking back for more pandan cake.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

INGREDIENTS

12 pandan leaves
4 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons coconut milk
180 g self raising flour
100 g castor sugar
8 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 tablespoon baking soda
8 egg whites
100 g castor sugar
1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar

    1. Pre-heat oven to 170°C. Prepare a clean, rectangular 24cm x 12cm chiffon cake tin (do not grease). Wash and cut the spears of pandan leaves into ½ inch pieces. Place into a blender and add water. Blend to form a thick paste, add another tablespoon of water if it is difficult to blend.

    2. Strain out the liquid from the paste through a fine strainer - this should produce close to ½ a cup of liquid. To make exactly half a cup, add some more coconut milk.



    3. Sift the flour and baking soda into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the vegetable oil for about 2 minutes, then add the pandan mixture and mix well. Add the sugar and whisk till sugar has dissolved. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and whisk well into a smooth batter.

    4. Whisk together the egg whites and cream of tartar at a high speed. Slowly add the sugar once the egg whites begin to foam. Beat till the meringue until smooth peaks form. Gently fold in 1/3 of the meringue into the batter. Add the rest of the meringue and fold until combined.

    5. Pour the cake mixture into the cake tin and give it a quick stir with your spatula to get rid of air bubbles. Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes, then lower to 160°C and bake for another 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

    6. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then overturn on a cake rack and leave to cool completely for at least 2 hours (if it's hard to get out of the tin, run a sharp knife around the edge).

Slice, and serve! :)

Thanks Stephen :)

Chinta Ria - Temple Of Love, Cockle Bay Wharf

The minute I saw Chinta Ria on my way out of I'm Angus, I knew I wanted to come here for Valentine's Day. The allure of something exotic and mysterious, as the restaurant appeared that night, drew me for a visit when Stephen and I went to the State Theatre to see Mulan (isn't the State Theatre the BEST?). Seeing the restaurant in daylight gave it a more approachable air, until we tried to enter - apparently they close after lunch, and open again for dinner at 6pm.

When the doors were opened, we were shown into the restaurant. Beside the doorway was a beautiful flower display, and incense filled the air. Sitting in the middle of the restaurant is a giant stone statue of a smiling Buddha, and there are colourful banners behind it. There was peaceful meditation music playing all throughout the restaurant. We were shown outside, and given menus and table water.

Service was friendly and brisk, and it wasn't long before we had our entrees in front of us:

Springy's - $7.00

 These spring rolls came out piping hot within 3 minutes of our ordering them, and they were amazingly fresh. The spring roll paper had a nice crisp to it, and had no residual oil that I could detect. The vegetables inside, amongst them carrot and onion, were also wonderfully crisp, and were full of flavour - normally my experience of spring rolls is that the oil seeps in and ruins the taste of the vegetables.

Golden Browns - $7.00

The texture of these wanton skins were denser than the spring rolls, but still had a satisfying crunch, and the filling consisted of flavoursome chicken, water chestnuts that supplied some great contrast in texture, some sort of mushroom and onion.

Ayam Jo-Get - $26.50

This dish was on the 'Signature Dish' menu, and the combination of tender, diced chicken, onion, lemongrass, turmeric, chili and lime worked really well together. It was too hot for Stephen, and after a while all he could taste was chili, but the meat was pull-apart soft, and I could taste a lot of lemongrass under the chili.

Hey Tango - $23.00

In contrast, my dish was very sweet. The chicken, again very tender, was lightly battered and deep fried. The sauce was made up of plum and lemon, and was sweet with a bit of a tang. Sitting on a bed of shredded lettuce and topped with corriander, this dish was delightfully simple.

Steamed Basmati Rice, $3 a person

The food here is beautifully simple and delicious, well executed and the service is very fast, but friendly enough that you don't feel like you're being kicked out. However, the priced are pretty steep for a restaurant that is supposed to be selling 'Hawker-style Malaysian' food. Obviously you're paying for location as well, which is right at the top of Cockle-Bay Wharf. Still, I would come here again!

What are you doing for Valentine's? If weather permits, Stephen and I will be walking Mt. Kiera! :)

Chinta Ria

Roof Terrace of Cockle Bay Wharf
201 Sussex St,
Sydney, NSW
2000

Phone: 9264 3211

http://www.chintaria.com/

The Difference Between Mi Goreng and Mie Goreng

Stephen here.

When you bring up the term Mie Goreng (also spelt Mee Goreng or Mi Goreng) an individual’s mind will automatically flicker to the instant noodle snack by IndoMie. However, Mie Goreng is also a famous dish with origins from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, which is composed of thin noodles with other ingredients varying from place to place as well as individuals (it is usually composed of garlic, onion, fried shrimp, vegetables and chilli). 

It is believed that the dish was derived from the Chow mein dish from China and was introduced to Indonesia by Chinese immigrants.  This dish has a heavy presence in Indonesian cuisine, and can be found from street-side stores to high-end restaurants.

The instant noodles packet is a very popular product around the world, especially in Australia and New Zealand.   However, a few people have concerns with the ingredients of this instant noodle.  Other than containing a large amount of salt, there are also a number of preservatives and flavour enhancers (including monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, in three forms: L-Monosodium glutamate [621], 5’-Disodium guanylate [627] and 5’-Disodium inosinate [631]).  Although the term MSG sparks fear in the eyes of many westerners, this compound has no conclusive evidence of actually causing any health issues.  In my opinion, MSG is in fact a safe compound, which is found naturally in many foods and fresh produce.  If one was to avoid MSG then they would be depriving themselves of many foods and dishes, including hard cheeses, tomatoes and their products, certain sauces and store bought stocks.  To back these statements up the food writer Jeffery Steingarten has titled a report “Why Doesn’t Everyone in China Have a Headache?” , since MSG has been marketed and used in cooking in Asian countries since 1908 and is used to a similar extent that salt is in a western kitchen.

Here is a recipe for Mie Goreng that I have been cooking for a good five or so years:

Mee Goreng

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

• 600g fresh hokkien noodles.
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil.
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten.
• 500g beef, trimmed and cut into thin strips.
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed or minced.
• 2cm fresh ginger, finely grated.
• 4 spring onion bulbs or 1 large brown onion, sliced thinly.
• ¼ cup kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) (may need more according to taste)
• ¼ cup beef stock
• Fresh vegetables, including a carrot, washed, peeled and Julienned; broccoli or broccolini, washed and trimmed accordingly; 2 baby bok choy, washed and roughly chopped; and snow peas, washed.
• Optional: ¼ cup fresh coriander, washed and coarsely chopped; 2 tablespoons dried shrimp; sambal oelek or chilli flakes, to taste; and 75g unsalted peanuts, toasted, coarsely chopped.

 

1.       Coat the meat in the garlic and ginger and marinate for at least two hours.

2.       When ready place the noodles in a large bowl, cover with boiling water and pull noodles apart with a fork.  Leave to sit according to manufacturers’ guidelines or until the noodles are heated through and soft, then drain.

3.       Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of the oil on medium heat in a large wok.  Cook the egg until the mixture has just cooked through.  Remove the omelette from the wok, roll and cut into thin slices.

4.       Add a tablespoon of oil in the wok and stir-fry half of the meat. Once brown set to the side and repeat, adding the last of the oil before the second batch of meat.  Remove second batch of meat.

5.       In the same wok, add the onion and stir-fry until softened then add the vegetables and stir-fry until the bok choy has wilted.

6.       Combine the meat, noodles, kecap manis, stock, coriander, shrimp, and sambal oelek or chilli flakes. If required add more kecap manis to taste and to form a sauce. Mix well and heat up the contents of the wok.

7.       Serve, topped with the sliced omelette and peanuts.

8.       And enjoy.