Yesterday’s boozey rooftop lunch…

Mrs M’s Fabulous “Karaage” – Japanese Fried Chicken

A “Healthy Boby and Liver” – according to the invitation, that was all we needed to bring…

But try as I did, I couldn’t find a bloody boby anywhere – let alone a healthy one.

So off we went anyway H and I, to his former Japanese manager - Mr.M‘s rooftop abode for a looooong boozey sunny Sunday lunch.

And weren’t we glad we did!

HOOOOOOOOO HA!

Yum in the sun!

Parma ham, prosciutto and smoked salmon garnished with limes from Okinawa

Deep fried tofu squares topped with daikon and ginger

Crumbed prawns with a herbed mayonnaise

A melt-in-your-mouth scallop carpaccio

Cutie pie Mrs. M pulled out all the stops and Mr. M a super duper wine aficionado taught me something new about my aversion to red wine. Apparently, everything I’d tasted before was – C for Cat, R for Rabbit, A for Apple and P for Poopies. What I needed was a hit of the good stuff and The Good Stuff he had.

Over 400 bottles in fact. Lovingly stored in their own temperature controlled “bedroom” while his two sons shared the one room next door. Ha! You gotta admire the man’s priorities.

Mrs. M’s Ceasar Salad

Green olives, dried figs and dried pineapple were part of a delicious cheese platter

Cheese from a special dairy in Hokkaidō where many of the workers are handicapped

Assorted chocolate truffles handmade by Too Yum! – coconut, roasted peanut and almond praline

Between Mr. M‘s superb selections, Mrs. M‘s excellent chicken frying skills and a jaw-dropping view of the fireworks from a nearby festival it was a fine example of how ALL good Sundays should be spent.

Thank you Mr. & Mrs. M… Domo Arigato Gozaimashita!

x

Yum cha at Mahjong Restaurant in St Kilda…

Will you indulge me for a moment and allow me to be completely rude, spectacularly offensive …and vaguely racist?

Thanks. Appreciate it.

So, I hate China.

China – home of Giant Pandas,  Peking Duck and those screeching Chinese operas my Granddad made me watch.

A place I once called a “cesspool of  human degenerates.”

…Sorry – I’ve always been a bit of a drama queen.

But you get the picture, H and I spent 8 days in the People’s Republic a couple of years ago, and clearly it left quite the impression.

It’s unfortunate really – because DAMN I love Chinese food!

Praise the celestial stars then, that we’re absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to excellent Cantonese restaurants in Melbourne.

One such example is St Kilda’s Mahjong, a contemporary space where the food is good and the service is even better.

The Mahjong staff were swift, attentive and extremely accommodating.

Table set for 9?  – “No problem.“

High chair for a toddler? – “CAN do!”

Bring out a surprise birthday cake complete with exploding sparklers and Dora The Explorer candle?

“Sure! We love Dora!”

As for the Mahjong menu – highlights included a crowd pleasing plate of salt and pepper calamari, some spectacular ginger and prawn dumplings and a surprisingly moreish custard bun.

The ginger and prawn dumplings were by far the best example of the many steamed dumplings we ate that day – great big hunks of juicy prawn with slivers of sweet ginger encased in a light egg wrapper.

Ginger and Prawn dumplings – $7.50

Salt and Pepper Calamari – $9.50

Yin Yan Custard Buns – $8.50

And WOW – the custard buns were a revelation! At yum cha outings I often dismiss custard buns in favour of the wobbily sex appeal of mango puddings. But on this occasion I can happily admit that that bun trumped that pudding.

And mate, not only did it TRUMP it -  it trumped it, did a cocky winner’s dance and then finished off by running a victory lap around my taste buds with its shirt over its head!

Points to the mango pudding for being beautifully presented in the shape of a fleshy mango cheek, but there was just something about that ever-so-salty custard filling, that gave that custard bun a complexity of flavour that no other dessert was able to match.

Mango Pudding – $6.50

Duo of Egg Custard Tarts – $6.50

And like the bold design space we were in, the rest of the menu was quite contemporary too,  featuring various non-yum cha style dishes executed with varying success.

The crispy-skinned chicken and the king prawns on the bed of sweet chilli rice noodles worked.

The beef steak with the Asian greens – Not so much.

Crispy Skinned Chicken – $10.50

King Prawns with Chilli Sauce and rice noodles – $12.50

After two glorious hours of good food, excellent service and the very best company it was time to split the bill, but not before one final belt-busting surprise.

To the strains of “Happy Birthday to you…” a neatly pony-tailed waiter brought out a delectable tiramisu cake for birthday girls – C and I.

C – the ever ethereal Tinkerbell, and me – Dora-The-Inappropriately-Midriffed- Explorer.

I really couldn’t have asked for a better birthday lunch!

A HUGE THANKS to all that came.

x

(Special thanks to S who made the booking and M who organised the gorgeous cake – Italiano S declared it the best Tiramisu ever! )

Mahjong

165 Fitzroy Street,  St Kilda VIC 3182 – (03) 9534 8833

Weekdays 11am-11pm

Weekends 11am-11:30pm

Bookings are strongly recommended.

Birthday cake from: Ganache Chocolate Lounge, 250 Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC 3141 – (03) 9804 7485

Hot Pink Baking Love from Mr. Too Yum!

Oooh lah lah…check out ze HOT-pink-birthday-lootie I scored from H!

…There’s a heart-shaped mixing bowl, some very sleek kitchen scales from Franc Franc, an itty bitty chopping board, a silicone coated whisk (Yay…no more scratching the non-sticks!), a Joseph Joseph magnetic measuring spoon, a rubber spatula and even some decorative toothpicks!…heart-shaped of course.

Thank you H!

x

*Franc Franc

Fabtabulous Japanese homewares and furniture emporium.

More colours than you can poke a stick at!

*Joseph Joseph

Twin brothers from the UK kicking some serious design butt!

This time next week I’ll be stepping off a plane in Melbourne!

Yipee!

And naturally I’ve started thinking about the Melbourne essentials I’ll need to pack – A light trench for the unpredictable weather, a concise list of places to eat, several pairs of black leggings, a lightly veiled contempt for all things Sydney and coins for the tram.

Yep, think I’m covered.

Melbourne here I come!

x

I really didn’t think I could love Matty Preston any more than I already do…

*Sigh*…his dandy ways and teddy bear appeal…

But then he went and published a book called Cravat-A-Licious.

Well now…HA HA HA HA HA.

If ever there was an award for Most Brilliant Tongue In Cheek cover & title, then surely this would get the gong!

Matt Preston.

Whatta man.

Whatta mighty good man.

x

*Cravat-a-licious

Published through Random House Australia

Available – Thursday, October 1st 2009

RRP $34.95

Batter up! Crêpes, pancakes or pikelets?

Personally I heart them all – being the batter-loving-hussy I am…

And if you’re the same, then … boy oh boy, do I have some fantastic recipes for you!

These 3 recipes have been on high-rotation at the Too Yum household for some months now, and once you’ve tried them you’ll know exactly why.

Bet my bottom dollar you’ll love love love them.

Cross my heart you’ll never want to eat another shake ‘n’ pour pancake again.

That’s not to say you won’t, because I know you will – you lazy sods, but as you do your taste buds will be daydreaming about these yummy creations.

But don’t thank me, thank Amanda and Debbie from Exclusively Food.

It really is a crying  shame that these two Aussies don’t yet have a cookbook to their names.

They are positively gifted when it comes to creating delicious, easy and wholesome recipes that yield wonderful results every time.

***

POSSIBLY THE GREATEST EVER HOMEMADE PANCAKES:

These pancakes are light, fluffy and tender. We like to serve them with butter and golden syrup or berry compote and whipped cream. The recipe specifies full cream milk because we felt it gave a better result than reduced fat milk.

• 375ml (1 1/2 cups) full cream milk
• 2 teaspoons (10mls) lemon juice
• 35g (2 tablespoons) sugar
• 225g (1 1/2 cups) self raising flour
  
• 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda
• 1 large egg (we use a minimum weight of 59g)
• 30g (1 1/2 tablespoons) butter, melted
• Melted or softened butter, for greasing the pan

Place milk, lemon juice and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir to combine, and then set aside for five minutes. During this time the mixture may develop a slightly curdled appearance.

Stir or whisk self-raising flour and bicarbonate of soda together in a large bowl until combined.

Add egg and melted butter to the milk mixture. Whisk the mixture until the egg has combined with the milk (the butter will probably just float on the surface).

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until almost smooth: the batter should still have a few small lumps. Don’t over mix the batter as this may make the pancakes tough.

Leave batter to stand while the pan is preheating (at least two minutes).

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, lightly grease it with butter.

Briefly stir batter in case the ingredients have settled during the resting time. Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan and use the back of a spoon to spread the batter out to form an 11cm diameter circle.

Repeat to make another one or more pancakes, depending on the size of your frying pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan as this will make turning the pancakes difficult.

Cook pancakes on the first side until small bubbles appear and burst on the top surface, about 1-2 minutes. Turn pancakes over with a spatula. Cook until the second side is lightly browned and the pancakes are cooked through (about another 1-2 minutes).

Serve pancakes immediately, or stack and cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm while cooking remaining batter.

Lightly grease pan before cooking the next batch of pancakes. You may need to reduce the heat after cooking a few pancakes because the pan may get hotter over time.

***

NOTES FROM TOO YUM:

The genius of this recipe is that it can handle small variations and still come out perfectly every time. I’ve used olive oil instead of melted butter, lime juice instead of lemon and brown or white sugar – And I get absolutely-no-problem-never-fail-pancakes every single time.

I’ve also added yummy chocolate chips or mashed banana to various batches when I was after something a little different.

And despite Amanda and Debbie’s recommendation to use full cream milk, on many many occasions I’ve used reduced fat milk, and guess what?

Yup, perfect every time.

***

But if you’re more of a pikelet-pusher or if crêpes are your crack, then you really should try these wonderful recipes from Exclusively Food.

Stick a finger in my eye – promise you’ll be in pan-fried heaven in no time!

x

Too Yum’s angry Kit Kat rant!

There’s a new Kit Kat in town and it’s got the natives in a tizzy…

Last week  a new Kit Kat was launched, hardly headline grabbing news in a country where over 81 varieties of Kit Kat have been launched and munched.

But this latest Kit Kat is a collaboration between tea and health drinks’ giant  - Ito En and the creatives at Nestle. And yes it’s true, by George they really did it!

They’ve concocted a Vegetable Juice Kit Kat.

A Vegetable Juice Kit Kat!

The backlash has been swift and typically harsh.

And I’m sorry but frankly it’s all a little NOT-FAIR-JAN.

Because according to The Kit Kat Police it’s perfectly acceptable to create …say …a Red Wine flavoured Kit Kat.

But if those same creative types then decide to get really hare brained (possibly while drunk out of their minds on Red Wine flavoured Kit Kat) and create the NEW Vegetable Juice Kit Kat, well then WOOPS! – Apparently they’ve crossed some invisible line!

I really feel for the nutters at Nestle.

They’re only trying to do their jobs feeding Japan’s insatiable hunger for newer! weirder! wackier!

And of course it’s not the actual Japanese that are complaining. No no, it’s the Gaijins. It’s always the Gaijins.

And naturally none of them had actually tasted the offending Kit Kat, no no, they just jumped on that press release and had themselves a close-minded field day.

And I suppose that is the crux of the matter for me – People’s small mindedness in a country where their negativity can completely ruin the experience for others. (Like showing too much side-boob at a family wedding – you can but you really shouldn’t.)

Yes, Japan is different. You already knew that.

Yes they do eat and do some strange things.

Get over it.

For ¥130 (that’s $1.65) you get a lovely twin pack Kit Kat, that’s 4 fingers of appley-carroty-white-chocolate-and-crisp-wafery-goodness.

And for the record, you can’t actually taste carrots or any other vegetables. In fact the flavours are quite subtle and very similar to the yummy Red Apple Kit Kat from a few years back.

Besides the carrots adorning the pack and the pale orange colour of the chocolate, this carrot-scare seems to be one giant ruse.

So I’m happy to declare that this Kit Kat is a delicious apple flavoured treat.

Go forth and enjoy.

***

Other limited edition Kit Kats currently available in Japan are:

- Mini Bitter Orange Kit Kat

- Plum Soda Kit Kat

- Lemon Vinegar Kit Kat

&

- Mango Pudding Kit Kat

x

Happy Yakiniku Day!

Bet some of you ratbags thought I was pulling your meat-loving legs…

Thanks to the impressive-slash-slightly-disturbing devotion of The Zenkoku Yakiniku Kyoukai (The All Japan Yakiniku Association) August 29 is officially Yakiniku Day!

Woot woot!

Don’t forget to wish all your beautiful friends and family a “Happy Yakiniku Day.”

Can’t wait to receive all your gorgeous Yakiniku Day cards in the mail!

You did remember to send me a card right?

x

So tell me…what do you eat when you’re alone?

Illustration by Patrick McFarlin.

This morning I was reading an article in The Guardian (yes, I do have too much time on my hands) and it struck such a chord that I felt compelled to share, which is kinda funny cos the title of the article was “Not for sharing.”

… I think they call this irony.

ANYWHO, it was a quirky little article discussing what we choose to eat when we’re alone:

“What we choose to eat when no one else is around can range from simple pleasures to the truly bizarre.”

The article begins:

“The foods that we share, the meals that bind us together, have a code that we all implicitly understand. We know that the starter precedes the main course, followed by the dessert. We know that a wedding demands a cake-shaped centerpiece. We know that a bowl of chicken soup, prepared for us when we are ill, is offered with a hope for better health.

But beyond these meals lies a secret realm of food, a universe of individual, often bizarre dishes, eaten by the light of the fridge, or tucked up in bed, or pacing back and forth across the kitchen. These are the meals that we eat when no one else is watching – meals that shrug off all convention and compromise.”

***

It must have struck a chord with others too, as people wrote in from all over with fascinating tales of buttered slices of cheese or tomato-sauce sandwiches for dinner. Stock cubes and uncooked puffed pastry eaten as snacks in front of the telly.

And the reasons as to why were just as peculiar. The full gamut of human emotions came out to play – shame, greed, comfort, embarrassment, scorn, indulgence and everyone’s personal fave – apathy. a.k.a. can’t-be-ar*sedness.

So in the spirit of redemption and solidarity, I’d REALLY REALLY like to know:

What do YOU EAT when you’re alone?

X

Nigiri No Tokube – “Sushi-Trains”

Plates from ¥100 to ¥500.

Salmon Nigiri topped with a creamy mayonnaise and finely sliced onions.

Complimentary Matcha powdered green tea, pickled ginger and fresh finely grated wasabi.

Nigiri No Tokube restaurants open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner throughout Japan.

Opening hours: 11am – 10pm. Last orders 9:45pm.