Wine and Dine

I have truly come to understand the phase of wine and dine, that's not merely food and wine but a kind of lifestyle, and it was my trip to Johannesburg that shone light upon such lifestyle. I wouldn't say anything bad about a lifestyle of wine and food but it certainly will and already added a few inches to my waistline. It has been a good 4 years since I came anywhere close to Africa, and I was quite eager to do so this time, I even made a mental note to visit the safari if the weather was not too cold to do so. But as one knows, when you arrive at a destination, all the past planning seems to be so... unimportant.. the only thing that matters is what lies in front of your eyes. And for me, lazing in the room was a fabulous idea since the morning that I checked in was kinda of chilly. To top it off, there were plenty of restaurants within walking distance, a casino, cinema theater, all within the compound itself, what more can I ask for? Let me summarize the story of my life for these few days:

Day 1 - Slept through lunch, had dinner at Ocean Basket with 2 others, something similar to Fish & Co. Ordered a platter for 2 that came with linefish, calamari, princess prawns (the prawns comes in king, queen, prince and princess, with king being the largest), mussels and squids. A village salad consisting of healthy vegetables and feta cheese. A small pan of creamy garlic mussels. And I ordered a glass of white wine to top it off. Out of the platter, my favorite was the linefish that crumbles away in your mouth without you chewing it, that's how fresh it is. The salad was a refreshing change to all the grilled and creamy dishes.

Day 2 - Breakfast at the hotel. Walked right into a room filled with tables of delicious food. As always, fruits first, papaya, pineapple and watermelon, not as sweet as I hope it would be, and the grapefruit made its appearance when I swallowed my last mouthful of papaya, shucks... Never mind, will have that later, next was the bread table, it was a gorgeous spread, all kinds of pastries, bread loafs...etc I went straight for the croissant, it wasn't warm but it was crunchy on the outside and so airy and soft within, a perfect pair with the butter, it would have been a perfect croissant if it was warm. Next would be the eggs, ohhh, I am always impressed when a hotel breakfast comes with a chef on the spot to cook your eggs. I ordered a mushroom, tomatoes and cheese omelette, it wasn't bad except that it was a little tad gooey, would have been better if the omelette stayed in the pan a little while more, there were beef, chicken, pork and lamb sausages, without a doubt, I went for the lamb sausages and it was the right choice, chewy and a tinge of spiciness, goes very well with my omelette. I caught myself taking a peek at something that one wouldn't consider for breakfast, lamb chops... But my love for lamb told me that I had to try a piece of the lamb chop glistering in its gravy and boy, am I glad I did, it was juicy and tender, the brown gravy covering the lamb chops just made it so much better, and I had to go for more. I was filled but I managed to down another one of the almost-perfect croissant before I ended my breakfast tour.

Dinner was the one that I was looking forward to, strongly recommended by the rest, the whole group of us set out to Tribes, a restaurant famous for its steak. We settle down at a smoking-area which I was glad wasn't that smoky and seems to bring out the atmosphere of the restaurant. All of us agreed that steak should be accompanied by a good bottle of red wine, and it was the start of a fabulous dinner. Starters were a must of course, escargots and mussels in creamy cheese sauce, chicken liver braised in a special brown sauce that tasted so good with mini baguette, and good old greek salads filled the table. It was time for our choice of cuts, I was deliberating between the T-bone and rib eye, finally went for a medium rare rib eye with no sauce and Morogo, an african dish - spinach cooked with onions and tomatoes. I believe that if a steak is good, there was no need for any kind of sauce. And I was right, the thin layer of steak juice covering the steak after grilling only serve to perfect the rib eye. The meat was so tender and juicy, every mouthful was an enjoyment. It was one of the best steak I have ever eaten and to add to it, it was value for money, comparing to what I usually pay for a steak, the price charged for the steak was embarrassing. The steak came with some onion rings which was lightly covered with a layer of flour and not batter, it was really crunchy with a tinge of saltiness, just the way onion rings should be. It was a sinful meal but who cares!

Day 3 - Nandos, I have eaten the grilled chicken with their famous peri-peri sauce a numerous times in Australia, but never in the country of Origin. I was looking forward to it, to gauge the difference in standards. Please do not misunderstand me, the one in Australia is good, but the one in South Africa is great. I love the red powder spice that one can shake onto the chips, its not sweet but gives off a combination of spice and salt, at the right level, when coupled with the tasty chicken with mild peri-peri sauce, it was exactly what I wanted.

I wanted to skip dinner since I was still feeling quite full (I bought back a Nandos drumstick as tea) but decided to give the Italian restaurant a try and I was glad that we went in a group which meant we could have a variety of food. Started off with a bottle of red wine, greek and rucola salad, a rocket and parma ham pizza, I love the salads, always good and makes me feel good about eating salad too after all the other sinful meals. I ordered a funghi bianco, mixed exotic mushroom in light cream sauce with linguine. I was worried that it would be too creamy but it turned out to be really light and the musky aroma of the pasta could be detected easily, the only thing that ticks me off is the width of the pasta,I like my linguine flat and broad, not skinny like spaghetti, the one used in my pasta was thin and flat... but that didn't hinder how good the pasta tasted. Tomorrow, I would be heading back after a life of wine and dine for a week, I enjoyed it but I wouldn't give up seeing my love ones for another week of WINE AND DINE! Cheers!

Beef Rendang

If you were a faithful reader of my blog, you would have noticed by now that there has been a lack of food posts recently. Well, it isn't that I am not trying out new food and stuff but sometimes, I am simply too lazy to post it up. And I can't deny that I was away for some time over the Christmas, where to? To Los Angeles, in Torrance, will put up a post of my trip later on when I am feeling less lazy... *chuckles*

Beeeef rendang... I love it, the strong aroma and taste of this dish never fails to make me wolf down more rice than I usually would. And this time, I decided to make my own so I never have to go round to hunt for it when my craving hits. As one knows, the key to beef rendang lies in the paste, and with my limited knowledge of spices and its counterparts, I didn't have much choice but to use a pre-packed paste. But I added kerasik which is grated coconut that has been toasted till brown, it was really easy with the pre-made paste. All I had to do was toast the grated coconut till brown and its nutty aroma fills the kitchen, making me feel dreamy all of a sudden... hmmm. The beef (either shin or top side can be used) is lightly brown to seal in its juices before being added to the paste which has been lightly cooked in oil and garlic, kerasik and water is added at the same time. Leave it to simmer for an hour or two depending  on the cut of the meat. When the beef is tender, remove the lit, use a bigger flame to reduce the liquid  in the rendang, it is done when you can see a thin layer of oil on the top which by then, the gravy should have thickened and it is ready to be enjoyed.

Well, the end product is not bad but the beef was a little too tough for my liking, shall use the top side in the future and the taste was not strong enough. I will be sure to make it from scratch the next time!

A Japanese Dinner With A Flip & A Flop

"Can you think of some Japanese dishes?"

My mum asked me out of the blue one day, and I nodded my head and told her that I would come up with something. At that moment, the image of the new cookbook that I just bought from Los Angeles floated into my mind...

Well, it certainly proved to be quite useful. We finally decided on vegetable tempuras, chicken yakitori, beef wraps, salmon tofu balls...etc. Japanese dishes are not that easy to cook, lots of preparation work and everything has to be eaten right after they are cooked, when it turns cold, it is a flop.

Here are the flips and the flops:

Prep-work:

Beef and asparagus wraps

Pork and golden mushroom wraps

Crispy Salmon Tofu Balls

Chicken Yakitori (the sauce was a tad bit too sweet)

Beef and Pork Wraps

1 picture a day

When I am home, my camera is only used when I baked or cooked something special but that is not the way to hone your camera skills so I told myself: 1 picture a day, all I need is one good picture a day with the correct lighting and exposure.

Well, I returned from Milan 2 days ago, was contemplating buying a Chanel wallet when I was there. But I was glad I managed to resist the temptation even with the other girls around, it is hard not to give in sometimes, they usually seem to have the power of persuasion, that is why I dislike going out with anyone that has a goal - a goal to purchase something branded. At that moment when you see someone else holding something new in their hands, you find the need to do the same, and that need can really burn a hole in your pocket.

Instead, I bought cured beef, parma ham, mascarpone... etc. Salads have become a staple food in my life, something which I crave for time to time and having salads in the States or Europe can be costly at times even though all of us knew that vegetables are not expensive itself. So I do enjoy a home-made salad which is put together in matter of minutes, no fuss at all. I can't stress enough how much I love cured beef and smoked salmon. They pair perfectly with almost any kind of salad leaves and dressing but not the creamy kind like caesar salad dressing. My all time favorite salad with cured beef as the topping seen below, dressed in balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil. Simple yet delicious!

own meals

last three weeks, i was barely eating at all...

now, i am eating like crazy, i can't stop even when i feel the additional weight piling on me. usually, i am really weight conscious, but for some reason, i didn't care. ... i do care, but everything look so tempting and i was always looking forward to the next meal, thinking of where i should lunch or dine overseas, always thinking of new recipes to try out. oh god, this has to stop before i reach a point of no return, with the bulging stomach and heavy thighs, how many crunches and laps to get rid of those!

but wait, you wouldn't fault me after looking at these... in addition to all my cakes and pastries =)

chicken sausages with garlic coupled with asparagus and mashed potatoes

grilled beef on a bed of caesar salad with bacon bits and marinate dressing