Sunny, sparkling Sydney

Posted on May 27, 2021 by admin

Sydney has many beautiful blue sky days. When the sky is blue, Sydney, especially, by the water, is absolutely stunning! It’s a busy, bustling city that appears to have been less impacted by the pandemic than Melbourne. There are lots of lovely places to visit. Big name, iconic sights as well as more hidden treasures. Old buildings and gleaming skyscrapers sit side by side.

The back of Governor’s House – The free tour is interesting and worth doing.

The gardens behind the Governor’s House is beautiful and has a stunning view of the harbour. Spot the Opera House in the background!

The copper domes of the Sydney Observatory on the left and the gleaming new skyscraper of the Crown Barangaroo on the right.

Donations at this pig statue go to the hospital and a rub on the nose brings good luck.

The Grounds of Alexandria, a green sanctuary in the midst of a semi commercial/industrial area.

Some of the many offerings at the Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont

View of the iconic Westfield Tower from Hyde Park

InBloom display at the Calyx at the Botanic Gardens

Wendy’s Secret Garden – lush gardens planted by Wendy Whiteley when she was grieving the death of her husband on unwanted, overgrown land by a railway line. The value of this has since been recognised and preserved for public enjoyment.

In Sydney, it is possible to eat well in any cuisine and the large population supports restaurants serving a wide range of specific regional Asian cuisines.

Xian Biang Biang Noodles – noodle shop serving food influenced by the spice trail

Try a bubble tea at one of the dozens of bubble tea shops in Sydney. There are endless varieties to suit your taste and mood!

Half the display of items that can be added to your customised bowl of soupy noodles at this Ma La Tang store. Price of your meal is by weight.

How to eat out cheaply!

Posted on May 27, 2021 by admin

Eating out is fun. It’s enjoyable to try food from diverse cuisines. It’s a way to get inspired for home cooking or a way to eat food that is clearly beyond the ability of the average home cook! Unfortunately, it can cost a lot. There are some ways to keep the costs down. Many of these techniques relies on the privilege of time both for research and time flexibility e.g. to eat at off-peak times. These methods also work better in big cities rather than small towns. It also assumes the ultimate privilege i.e. not being in a pandemic related lockdown, either mandatory or voluntary! Nevertheless….here are some ways to eat out at reduced prices….

Lunch is cheaper than dinner. Eat a bigger meal at lunch time rather than dinner. Eating out is usually always cheaper at lunchtime and there will often be more deals and combos which are good value.

Eat Asian Food. In most cases, Asian food tends to be cheaper than Western food. There are plenty of cheap and cheerful Asian places that are amazingly delicious, diverse and require a level of skill or time that cannot be replicated easily at home. Western food is viewed (unfairly) as a more premium product and often involve dishes which includes a large amount of meat, a high value item. This tends to result in Western meals costing more than Asian meals.

Zig when others Zag. A food business is much more likely to offer a discount when it suits them e.g. when they are less busy or when they can get something so the discount. One example is the discounted food offered at food court stalls late in the afternoon before they close. Another example is reduced price dishes which only applicable between 2 and 5pm in the afternoon. If you are willing to behave opposite to the crowds, there may be some savings to be made.

Look for outlets and deals at a lower price point for big name chefs. If you are foodie who wants to try the food of a big name, celebrity chef, their premium restaurant will usually be an eye-wateringly expensive degustation dinner affair! In some cases, there may be an separate bar snacks menu which is more affordable or an entirely different restaurant by the same chef which is designed at a lower price point to capture a different part of the market. There may also be a more economical lunch time menu so you can try their offerings without emptying the wallet!

Markets, street food stalls, food trucks, hole in the wall places. These type of places have lower overhead and staff costs so the food should be cheaper than a sit down dining place.

Hotteok, filled Korean pancakes, store at the Chatswood Mall Market

Scallop Aburi from the Sydney FIsh Market, 3 for $10AUD – much more affordable than a sit-down restaurant

Keep your eye and ear out for discounts. Check the website and Facebook place for special deals e.g. Taco Tuesday, Schnitty Wednesday, discounted bucket of beers etc. Keep an eye and ear out for discounts, deals and specials as you walk around. There are also places around which are “pay what you want” which can be a cheap feed if you are happy to pay less.

To get more customers onto their app, Easi was offering a 90% discount at this store!

50% off the bill to celebrate the opening of this store! The queue to get a discounted meal was understandably very long!!!

Sunday 11am to 8pm, pay what you want at Ikhwan restaurant at Pyrmont in Sydney. A delicious meal, dessert and drink at a price that you deem fair!

Book via a discount app or website. Eatclub, First Table, Entertainment Book and The Fork are all pretty good but do come with their pros and cons.

Eatclub app – pros and cons

Pros

Allows restaurants to advertise discounts specifically when they require them e.g. on a rainy quiet afternoon.
Discounts on food ranging from 10 to 50%.
App is easy to use and allows the consumer to locate discounts in the vicinity of their location.

Cons

Deep discounts of 30 – 50% have been increasingly more and more rare. This could be pandemic related.
Only available in the big cities i.e. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Does not allow much planning and booking ahead for the consumer as discounts are only displayed on the day.

First Table – Pros and Cons

Pros

Allows the restaurants to fill tables early in the evening by giving patrons a deep 50% discount i.e. first table. This hopefully sets a restaurant up for a good night as they can bring in more foot traffic by looking busy!

Massive 50% discount on food for the consumer.

Cons

A booking fee of $10 is required – which means there is a penalty if you change your mind about going to the restaurant!
There are often conditions of what is not included in the discount e.g. seafood, high value dishes etc.
Having to eat at a very early time e.g. 5pm, 5:30pm etc.

Entertainment Book – Pros and Cons

Pros

20% of the annual subscription cost goes to a charity of your choice. There is a large list of organisations to choose from and many organisations choose to sell the Entertainment Book to fundraise.
Discounts of 25% off or 2 for 1 for dining, sightseeing and services.
Entertainment Book are good if you have a complaint e.g. when advised, they provided an additional discount of my choice when a listed business refused to honour the discount.

Cons

There is an annual subscription cost of $70 for 1 city or $120 for multi cities i.e. all cities in Australia and NZ.
The mobile app is quite annoying and terrible to use.
The number and quality of the discounts has deteriorated over the last few years. This may be pandemic related but is more likely due to the horrible app!

The Fork – Pros and Cons

Pros

Ability to make restaurant bookings online and receive instant confirmation either by the website or mobile app.
Some restaurants provide deep discounts of 30 to 50%.
Loyalty points for bookings which accumulate to give $20 or $50 off meals. Booking via the mobile app gives you more loyalty points.

Cons

Requires some advanced planning to make a booking.
Number of restaurants offering deep discounts has reduced in the last few years. This may be pandemic related.

In conclusion, with some effort, discounts are available to making eating out more economical! Hope this post has been helpful and finds you in the privileged position of being able to eat out. Stay safe and well!

Musings about Food

Posted on April 5, 2021 by admin

I love food! Eating a delicious, warm meal fills me with a sense of contentment, a kind of happiness. There are a number of aspects about food that I love …other than how good it can taste!

Food reflects history. It is often said that “history is written by the victor”. It is therefore a biased view or what happened. Food shows us history in a more unbiased way. A local dish can tell us about scarcity, ingenuity borne of necessity and thrift. Every culture and cuisine has its version of nose to tail eating derived from the need to use all of the animal and avoid waste. Another dish can tell of excess, wealth and gluttony e.g. royal cuisines. It can tell a story of migration and adjusting to new lands and cultures e.g. Nyonya cuisine. Historical foreign influences also show up in local food, for example, the French influence in the Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich and Pho. Local dishes reflect the local climate and available resources e.g. Korean kimchi.

In many cultures, love and hospitality is expressed through food instead of words. A special dish made to nourish a loved one is a form of giving care, time and love. Memories of loved ones long passed can come rushing back with the tasting of certain dishes and the act of making their recipes. Food is central to a warm welcome and kind hospitality.

Food can be used to change our future as well. An overall decrease in the amount of meat eaten can shift the needle on climate change. Eating more locally can reduce the transportation emissions. Healthier eating is a strong factor in preventative medicine.

There are products that are complete meal substitutes to allow a person to avoid any meal preparation and minimize time spent consuming food. This may suit people who consider food only as fuel for their bodies but for others, replacing real food with a meal substitute slurry is akin to turning off the colour to the world and surviving only in shades of grey! A lot is lost!

What are your thoughts about food? Who do you nourish?

Eyre Peninsula – seafood and wild coastlines

Posted on March 15, 2021 by admin

We left Port Hughes in the Yorke Peninsula with a spectacular sunset and headed onwards to explore the Eyre Peninsula.

Working fishing boats at a marina at Port Lincoln

Port Lincoln and the other towns of the Eyre Peninsula are towns that have seafood and grain industries. The Eyre Peninsula is famed for its seafood and it was indeed the freshest, most local seafood I’ve ever tasted. There’s also something about eating seafood when you can feel the ocean breeze on your face!

The small coastal towns of South Australia have often a similar feel and configuration about them. They will almost have a jetty, some old buildings, old artillery pieces, grain silos, vacation homes and a caravan park. They common thread is how neat and tidy they all are. Often, a strong sense of community can be felt in the small thoughtful touches around town like the local art displayed at the public toilets or the public art works at tourist vantage points.

We saw a lot of wild and windy coastlines in the Eyre Peninsula. They are treacherous and beautiful.

The amazing thing is, despite the wild coastlines, there are also quiet, calm, protected bays.

Stamford Hill Lookout at Lincoln National Park

Just south of Streaky Bay are the Murphy’s Haystacks. These amazing rock formations are an aberration on flat farming land!

Murphy’s Haystacks, south of Streaky Bay

Streaky Bay has an ocean pool built to the jetty due so people can swim without worry about sharks. In the local Shell fuel station, there is a replica of a 5m white pointer shark that was caught off these waters.

That’s it for this post. Stay well!

Dry Season in Darwin

Posted on May 22, 2016 by admin

The dry season has arrived in Darwin and fun events are filling up the calendar! The Mindil Sunset Markets are held twice a week and we’ve had a few wonderful one-off events like the Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival and an Opera Gala with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra on the Darwin Waterfront. The wet season afternoon tropical downpours have stopped and the oppressive humidity has significantly reduced. What a relief! The early mornings are gently cool and the evenings are the perfect temperature for a stroll.

A few weeks ago, the Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival was held and it stretched along the striking Nightcliff coastline. It was stunning to see the colourful coastline and feel the ocean breeze as we perused the food stalls and watched local performers on multiple stages. It’s really heart-warming to see a lovely community events where you can see a diverse cross-section of the Darwin community enjoying themselves. This cross-section includes the whole bunch of happy dogs in attendance too!

Nightcliff Colourful Rocky Coastline

We made a yummy food discovery during this festival. It must be a Darwin creation! It’s the roti wrap. We had the beef rendang wrap. Tender, flavourful beef rendang, crunchy fresh carrot slivers, satay sauce all wrapped up in a giant roti paratha. It was filling, tasty and portable. Perfect festival food! (Sorry, too busy eating for a photo!)

Tree with Exposed Roots

Check out this picture of a tree on the Nightcliff coastline. How often do you feel like that in life? Like the very roots anchoring you have become exposed and you may collapse into the crashing waves and rocks below. I have to return to this spot. I think the tree is probably still standing straight and tall because it’s roots actually go much deeper and it can withstand much more. (I hope so anyway, to make my life analogy more inspiring!)

Last night, we had a magical evening of opera under the moon and stars at the Darwin Waterfront and only for the cost of a gold coin donation. Some of the big names from Australia’s Opera community sang some operatic highlights whilst accompanied by the Darwin Symphony Orchestra. What a cultured event made totally accessible to the average person! Nothing better than laying on a picnic blanket with a few delectable nibbles and being treated to a display of amazing musical talent. To put the cherry on top, there was a glorious fireworks display to finish off! What a great event!

Darwin Symphony Orchestra at the Darwin Waterfront

People relaxing with their picnics ready to watch an Opera Gala.

Twice a week in the dry season, the Mindil Sunset Markets are open and the best thing about them in my opinion is the Sunset Oyster Bar. You can get a dozen natural oysters for only $20 and oysters with all kinds of delicious toppings for a tiny bit more. They’re such an indulgence and so good! I might go again tonight just for the oysters!

There are lots of other aspects of the Mindil Sunset markets which are lovely. The stalls are lined up under a whole bunch of big, green, shady trees. When you get your delicious food from the stall, you can cut through the dune and sit on the beach or you can lay your picnic rug down on the grassed area and consume your delicious finds whilst listening to some local performers. If you are looking for an unusual souvenir, this is the place! There are lots of interesting, unusual and unique things to buy. It’s pretty crowded but that’s sign of how good it is. Locals and tourists rub shoulders and enjoy the evening together in this relaxing location.

Cute little Dutch Pancakes on the BBQ

Colourful Paintings at Mindil Markets

Picnic at Mindil Markets under the Trees

Peruse the stalls in the shade of green leafy trees.

Beach Volleyball on Mindil Beach

Jerky made from all kinds of exotic animals!

This blue extraction fan sucks the smoke from the spit roasting meats below and direct it to the leafy tree canopy.

Crocodile Hot Dog anyone?

You can even try out your new whip at the market!

Didgeridoo display

Interesting, colourful jewellery

Parap and Nightcliff Markets in Darwin

Posted on February 21, 2016 by admin

Markets galore! It’s the wet season in Darwin yet there are still a number of awesome markets to visit in Darwin. Yes, you will be drenched in sweat when you finish visiting them but hopefully you will also have a big smile on your face!

This weekend, I visited 3 markets. Parap Markets operate on Saturday morning while Nightcliff and Rapid Creek Markets run on a Sunday morning. My favourite markets for value and Asian fresh produce is definitely Rapid Creek Markets. Nightciff Markets has a lot of stalls selling homemade gifts and plants. A great choice when looking for an interesting one-of-a-kind gift. Parap markets has a good mix of fresh produce, cooked food and gifts. Plus it has the advantage of being the closest to the Darwin CBD.

This week’s market haul included some rambutans and mangoes, a sweet basil plant, freshly made paw paw salad (medium spicy!), a huge local pineapple, kangkung (river spinach), a range of glutinous rice Asian sweets, bananas and my unidentified vegetable of the week, a luffa! A luffa or loofah is a vegetable from the same family as the cucumber. When young, it can eaten as a vegetable and when the fruit is old, it becomes dried out and fibrous and can be used as a scrubbing sponge.

Here are some pictures from Parap and Nightcliff markets!

Parap Markets – Fruit smoothie stall

Parap markets – Stubby holder to keep your wine cool!

Parap markets – range of Asian sweets.

Parap markets – Coffee stall

Parap Markets – Chicken Laksa

Parap Markets – Cambodian rice balls, Asian sweets

Nightcliff Markets – Plants for sale

Nightcliff markets – Fresh produce for sale

Nightcliff Markets – Stall selling souvenirs and salt!

Nightcliff Markets – Fruit for sale

Nightcliff markets – Fruit for smoothies

Nightcliff market – Dresses for sale.

Rapid Creek Markets in Darwin

Posted on February 14, 2016 by admin

I’m always on the look out for the fresh and cheap places to buy fruits and vegetables wherever I am. This morning I headed off to the Sunday morning Rapid Creek Markets in Darwin.

I was thrilled to find a busy market full of shoppers and stalls. This is a proper food market for the locals. Not a tourist market you so often see around the world, selling the same commercialised, overpriced items. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables at very reasonable prices. The focus is predominantly on Asian produce. There were lots of herbs, greens and vegetables that I could not identify. Coming home and Googling has not been fruitful so I’ll just have to go back to ask their names and buy some to try these weird and wonderful things for myself!

Vegetables for Sale at Rapid Creek Market

Lemons and Limes for Sale

Vegies for Sale at Rapid Creek Market

Fruits for Sale at Rapid Creek Market

In addition to the fresh fruit and vege, there were lot stalls selling Asian goodies both savoury and sweet. There were stalls that would make fresh fruit juices and smoothies. Other stalls selling savoury Asian dishes, either pre-made or cooked in front of you. I bought some interesting looking steamed glutinous rice packages. There were numerous other Asian sweets on offer as well. Some of the other weird and wonderful vegetables on sale include Kaffir limes, tiny chillies, pea eggplants, kangkung, four angled beans, bitter gourd, bitter melon and much, much more. There was even a store selling Tau Foo Fah (soybean custard) and Nian Gao, the sweet, sticky rice cake traditionally made at Chinese New Year time.

Fresh Fruit Smoothie Stall

A Collection of Asian Sweets for Sale

Black Sticky Rice for Sale

Sticky Rice Packages with Banana and Black Beans

Thai Food Stall at Rapid Creek Market

Indonesian and Malaysian Cuisine Food Stall

Paw Paw Salad Freshly Made in a Mortar and Pestle

This lady made my paw paw salad fresh as I waited using her mortar and pestle. She asked me if I wanted it spicy and I said “yes!” She got a crazy gleam in her eye as she smiled in acknowledgement and I knew instantly I’d probably regret it! The salad was very fresh and very tasty but VERY spicy, TOO spicy! Next time, I’ll have to swallow my pride and ask for it, less spicy!

The humidity of Darwin’s wet season means I’m sweaty and hot but I’m happy. Nothing like bags of cheap and fresh produce to put me in a good mood and carrying my loot home, I’m feeling great and looking forwards to my Darwin adventure!

Cooking in Sanur, Bali

Posted on January 15, 2016 by admin

One of my most favourite things to do when I travel is to do a cooking class. I find that they are always lots of fun and I tend to meet interesting and lovely people doing a cooking class. It’s something about the people who love to cook and love to eat! These are my kind of people! Of course, I love to learn about food and culture and life as well which you can do on a cooking class.

When I visited Sanur in Bali, I did a cooking class with Chef Mudana at his home in Sanur. This cooking school is a relatively new business venture by this experienced Chef and I think it will do very well because of his bright and attentive personality and the sheer number of dishes he manages to get through in a session. In class, we were taught 9 different recipes. Whilst this seems like a daunting number of dishes for only 2 hours of cooking time, it really helps a Balinese food amateur understand how the Balinese spice mix called Bumbu Bali is the basis of a number of dishes and how many of the other dishes have the same starting point. Once you have the basics sorted out, you have the foundation for other recipes.

Chef Mudana of Chef Mudana Cooking School in Sanur, Bali

Anyway, let’s start at the beginning of the morning before discussing the various dishes. First we had a market tour at Jimbaran fish market. It’s right on the beach where we could see fishermen checking their nets for small sardine fish.

Fishermen at Jimbaran, Bali

The fish market itself is a wet market so I would avoid this part if you are squeamish about being in a wet market. The fish and other seafood looked fresh and the seafood market was not smelly at all.

Tuna Fish at Jimbaran Fish Market

Fresh Fish for Sale at Jimbaran Fish Market

For the first time ever, I saw a mahi-mahi fish. It’s a strange looking fish, very thin but long with a strange protruding forehead and vibrant colours.

Mahi-Mahi at Jimbaran Fish Market

I like visiting markets especially on a tour like this one because it gives me a chance to ask a local lots of questions. I can get help to identify all manner of new fruits, vegetables and animal products as well as get a feel for local prices and the way local people like to shop for their food.

Stink Bean (Petai)

Snake Fruit

Rambutan

After we purchased fish and prawns, we bought the vegetables and the chicken. From there, we went to Chef Mudana’s home where we were treated to a light breakfast of fruit and local sweets. The sweets are called Lak Lak and Lupis and they were served with grated coconut and a drizzle of palm sugar syrup. Lak Lak are made with rice flour and has a chewy texture a little like crumpets. Lupis are triangular dumplings made with glutinous rice within banana leaves and boiled. They are similar in concept Chinese rice dumplings wrapped in leaves and there are many, many scrumptious variations both savoury and sweet all across South East Asia (that’s one of the things I love about food and cooking – you can take one great concept and across the various cultures in the region, there can still be so much variation).

Balinese Sweets – Lak Lak and Lupis served with Grated Coconut and Palm Sugar Syrup

After munching down on the Balinese sweet treats and some tropical rambutan and mango, we got started on the cooking. Chef Maduna carefully explains the traditional Balinese ingredients and cooking methodology encouraging us to smell, touch and taste during the cooking process. The recipes or dishes we prepared during the class are as follows

Bumbu Bali – this is the traditional Balinese spice mix which will give a classic Balinese taste. Whilst this was ground using a mortar and pestle in class to demonstrate traditional methods, I would definitely be using a food processor for speed and efficiency! In fact, I think doing a big batch and then freezing small portions of this would make a speedy cheat on a busy night to give a dish an exotic flavour lift!

Raw Ingredients for Bumbu Bali (Balinese Spice Mix)

Ayam Betutu – tender, juicy, steamed chicken coated in the Bumbu Bali. It was also stuffed with more of the spice mix and greens. The result here was tender, flavourful chicken and yields quite a large amount of spiced chicken juices which I think would make a delicious stock for soup, risotto or rice.

Sate Lilit Ayam – this is a grilled spicy chicken mince shaped around a lemongrass skewer. This dish was also flavoured with the Bumbu Bali and contains a surprisingly large proportion of grated coconut compared to the chicken. During class, these were cooked over a charcoal grill with the lemongrass stalks. I think if I do this at home, I can use my sandwich press to cook them. The flattened shape won’t be authentic but they will still be tasty and perfect finger food for a party!

Soup Cramcam Ayam – This Balinese chicken soup has an interesting backstory. It too uses the Bumbu Bali to flavour the dish. Originally this soup was invented as a way to make the tough meat of fighting cockerels palatable once these birds had finished their cockfighting careers – unfortunately they didn’t often die of old age! Hence the use of mince and soup to counteract the tough, dryness of these kind of chickens! Smart cooking!

Sayur Urab – a vegetable dish of blanched vegetables, sautéed aromatics and freshly grated coconut. A healthy dish with a bit of spice and lot of texture. Yum!

Gado Gado – a famous Indonesian dish of blanched vegetables and hard-boiled egg served with a peanut sauce. Deep fried tofu and tempeh are added for texture and protein.

Ikan Sambal Matah – a slab of simple, grilled fish topped with a spicy raw mix of aromatics called Sambal Matah. Sambal Matah is basically chopped garlic, shallots, lemongrass, chilli, kaffir lime leaves, lime and coconut oil. How can such a combination whilst still raw be tasty? Well, it is! It’s my favourite thing about Balinese cuisine. I don’t need anything except Sambal Matah and steamed rice and I am in a tasty food heaven! Well, the mix is delicious on fish as well. I think it would be a fun thing to whip up for a BBQ as a spicy, tasty topping for any grilled meats.

Sambal Udang – this is a prawn dish stir fried with chilli, shallots, garlic and tomatoes. Simple but delicious!

Sambal Udang (right), Sate Lilit (Top), Gado Gado (left) and Sayur Urab (centre)

Ikan Sambal Matah (left) and Ayam Betetu (right)

Dadar gulung – a dessert of thin green crepes wrapped around a palm sugar, grated coconut mixture. There’s something about the fragrance of palm sugar which takes this dessert to another level

DadarGulung

In addition to all these dishes which were on the “syllabus” for the cooking class, the Chef had noticed during the market tour that a participant was partial to eggplant and I have a liking for bitter gourd. He picked up some of each and did a quick and delicious stir-fry dish with each for us. What a thoughtful gesture!

Eggplant Stir Fry

Bitter Gourd and Egg Stir Fry

On completion of the cooking class, we were all returned to our accommodation where we could digest our massive and delectable lunch with bit of an afternoon snooze!

Hope this has whetted your taste-buds for Balinese foods! What are the base ingredients which are the foundation of many dishes in your culture? Check out this infographic for some inspiration!

Make It What You Want

Life, Travel, Food

Category Archives: Food

Sunny, sparkling Sydney

How to eat out cheaply!

Musings about Food

Eyre Peninsula – seafood and wild coastlines

Dry Season in Darwin

Parap and Nightcliff Markets in Darwin

Rapid Creek Markets in Darwin

Cooking in Sanur, Bali