Outside the Asylum

Category: food & drink

  • Japan

    I was in Japan recently for a holiday. This time it was longer than usual, 3 weeks. Chika went ahead of me and stayed an extra week too.  We traveled around together; 2 weeks in Osaka and 1 week in Tokyo. This was my first proper trip to Tokyo.  I love it!! I’d very happily live there.  Hopefully my career will take me there in the future.

    I dusted the camera gear off and took it with me. I mainly focused photographing all the food we ate. For me Japan is food paradise.

    I bought a new lens in Tokyo, the Canon EF-S 17 – 55 mm F2.8 IS.  This is a sensational lens for pics indoors without flash. Perfect for food pics 🙂

    This time i was introduced to properly good Izakaya(s). Also, we visited Tsukiji markets in Tokyo.  Check out the pics in the gallery (also linked at the top of this page).

    Here’s a sample

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  • Dining at Quay

    We are starting to form a bit of a tradition by going to Quay every year for a particular special occasion. Tonight was particularly good. Last time the wine we picked wasn’t ideal, but this time it was sensational.  Highlights for me were the wine and the lamb main. “Oh-my-god!” awesome.

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    We had;

    White – BURGUNDY – CÔTE DE BEAUNE
    Puligny-Montrachet
    1er Cru Champs Canet
    Carillon
    2006

    ——————
    Chika:
    Poached Western Australian marron,
    seaweed jelly, cucumber, fennel, lime crème fraiche

    Daniel:
    Mud crab congee, hand shelled mud crab, Chinese inspired split rice porridge

    —
    Both of us:
    Gently poached partridge breast,
    bitter chocolate black pudding and walnut crumbs,
    truffle custard, fresh palm hearts, white borage buds

    —
    Chika:
    Bass Groper, parsley crust,
    slow braise of baby abalone, periwinkles,  sea scallop, winter melon, hasuimo,
    green tea and seaweed consomme

    Daniel:
    24 hour slow cooked milk fed Suffolk lamb,
    sheep’s milk fromage, heirloom baby carrots, Arbequina olives, capers,
    nasturtiums and rosemary flowers

    —

    Both of us:
    Eight texture chocolate cake
    featuring Amedei ‘Chuao’ Chocolate

    Chika:
    Dessert Wine
    2007 Jurançon Uroulat Charles Hours, South West France
    Daniel:
    Cognac
    Tesseron lot 53 XO Perfection Grande Champagne

  • Online sake & shochu shopping in Australia

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    Good news folks, you can now buy quality sake and shochu in Australia, online.  The owner of Toriciya has opened an online shop where you can buy the sake available at Toriciya and more.

    The shop is www.sakenet.com.au.

    I’m currently drinking Taketsuru Hiden.  Suiryu is another favorite, particularly the Junmai Kimoto.  Many people get all worked up about whether you should have good sake hot or cold.  I recommend you try it hot and cold, and see which you like better.  Some are definitely better hot and others better cold. Its more about the style than the quality.  

  • Cheese

    Life is good.  Cheese, wine, crackers and fruit. nom nom nom nom….

    Recent cheese discoveries at Jones The Grocer. Left to right;

    and wine to go with it.

    • Moorebank 2003 Merlot
    • Petersons 2001 Mudgee Cab Sav

    and another delicious discovery, english apple pickle.

  • Hunter Valley wineries

    Pictures from a recent trip to the hunter vallery visiting cellar doors.

    We visited our old favorites Moorebank and Petersons and 8 others. Standout new winery for me was Calais Estate. Most of the rest were passé. Still, you don’t discover good things if you’re not adventurous.

  • Gyoza

    Chika’s gyoza is awesome. All fresh ingredients, pork and cabbage minced up in the food processor. Her folding skill comes from making them since she was a kid.

  • Buon Ricordo

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    We went to Buon Ricordo last night. I’ve been meaning to go for ages, but never got round to it.

    I went with high expectations and wasn’t disappointed. The atmosphere is casual and a little noisy. The decor is all red tiles and wooden ceilings and floral print cloth.  It could so easily be tacky and cheesy but manages not to be.  Service is top notch. As good as any three hat’ed restaurant. The food was the best of all, as I expected.  A nice touch was the way they brought out two half serves for all the dishes we said we would be sharing. I’ve never seen that before. As a result we were able to try four different dishes and still have room for dessert.

    The famous “Fettuccine al tartufovo” lived up to the hype.  Simply divine.  Do a search for it. People have been blogging and photographing it for years.

    If you haven’t been, and you love food, go! go now!

  • Shiso

    It’s next to impossible to find Shiso leaves to buy in Sydney. Sashimi just isnt the same without it. A little while ago we found an online shop that had Shiso seeds. After a lot of trial and error we’ve managed to get some to sprout. Hurry up and grow!

  • Fishing again

    We went fishing again today, with four friends. It wasn’t a great day for it, the fish weren’t biting as well as in the past. However with some concerted effort changing rigs, bait and location, we managed a decent haul that will feed us tonight.

    23 Yellowtail (yakka), 4 Mackerel (slimy/blue) and 7 Snapper.

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  • Chu-toro

    Friends came around today for a yakiniku party. One is a sushi chef and he brought some Chu-toro (medium fatty tuna). Woohoo!

    In my opinion, Chu-toro is the best cut of Tuna. Otoro is the most prized and most expensive, but I find it too oily. The normal red tuna is called Maguro or Akami. Chu-toro combines the lighter but deep, slightly bitter flavor of an akami with the sweet tenderness of an otoro. Sometimes you will find a cut of chu-toro with a gradation of red from the deep red to pink (lean to fatty). Lucky!