Burch and Purchese

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Burch and Purchese had been high on my to do list (or to taste list) for quite sometime. Darren Purchese had previously been featured in Masterchef Australia and B&P’s dessert combinations are one of most enticing and creative desserts in Australia.

Finally I found time to travel to South Yarra to take a look-see, and was surprised at how close it was (near the Como Building) and was so closeby to my old high school.

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Being someone who just has to try a bit of everything, and especially if there is nuts involved. We had to pick up this Peanut, Raspberry, Caramel and Chocolate dessert.  Layered with peanut chocolate brownie, chocolate wafer, roasted peanut cream, raspberry compote, salted caramel, peanut
butter mousse and raspberry jelly. Raspberry and peanuts isn’t a combination I’ve tried before, and let me tell you it’s amazing. I love the nuttiness, with the tart raspberries and that rich and delectable salted caramel. Yum! This dessert also comes in a cake which will be my next purchese purchase.

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B&P’s Explosive Raspberry Milk Chocolate cake is one of their more popular desserts, and who wouldn’t love popping candies in a dessert. It’s like being a kid all over again.

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Layered with raspberry cream, raspberry marshmallows, raspberry compote, choc chip cookie crumb base, raspberry & milk chocolate mousse and chocolate popping candy. It has become one of my favourites. That choc chip cookie crumb base is incredibly delicious and again the light chocolate mousse with the tart raspberry flavour works well together and then you get this little popping on your tongue. Memorable for sure.

Impressions

Now I see why B&P is held in such high regard. You can also definitely see the amount of work that goes into making one of these desserts with so many layers and I would assume a plentiful of processes before it’s complete. B&P was well worth the trip down, and my only regret was not trying it sooner!

Burch and Purchese

Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio on Urbanspoon

Choc Rum Truffles (Jamie Oliver Recipe)

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Chocolate truffles are super easy to make, and are also great fun for kids (aside from the mess it might create) and for something the adults may enjoy too if you wanted to add a bit of rum to warm your tummy. I adapted a recipe from Jamie Oliver to include a bit of rum and exclude the chilli powder. I’m not a big fan of chilli + chocolate. For the outside of the truffles you can basically roll it in whatever you like, I chose three coatings, hazelnuts, coconut and cocoa powder. You could also drizzle some white chocolate on top or roll it in some sprinkles of your choosing.

Choc Rum Truffles (Jamie Oliver)
Makes: 40
Cooking Time: 25min (plus chilling time)

Ingredients
250 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
125 ml double cream
25 g butter
1 pinch of sea salt
1 tbs rum
1 large handful of hazelnuts, bashed up
50 g good-quality cocoa powder
50g desiccated coconut

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Method

1. Break the chocolate into little chunks and place in a heatproof bowl.

2. Fill a small pot with enough water but don’t allow the heatproof bowl to touch the water. Heat until it starts simmering, reduce heat if required.

3. Place the heatproof bowl onto the pot and let the chocolate melt, whilst stirring.

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4. Once the chocolate is almost fully melted, add the cream and butter.
5. When it’s all combined, take off heat, add the salt and rum and stir until mixed well. (I made one half rum using 1/2tbs and the other plain)

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6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until set.

7. In the meantime, toast hazelnuts and bash them into fit bits and place in a shallow bowl. Alternatively, you can chop the hazelnuts coarsely.

8. Place the cocoa and desiccated coconut in another two separate bowls.

9. Once chocolate mix has hardened a bit, scoop out little balls (a melon baller works well) and place into one of your bowls and coat the truffle well. You can shape it a bit more if required.

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10. Pop the finished truffles in the fridge to harden a bit more.

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Pearl HarbourFront – Toronto Series

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If you are seeking some Dim Sum (Yum Cha for us Aussies) in Toronto with scenic views, or as scenic as Toronto can get. Then Pearl HarbourFront caters to you. My sister took us here one morning and while it didn’t amaze it or anything, it was a pretty good meal all in all.

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The carts come around frequently and there’s your usual dim sum, such as dumplings.

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 Or the more interesting sorts.

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Your dim sum in bamboo steamers. A prawn dumpling steamed or fried usually is a winner for me, especially if it’s in that translucent pastry.

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I never know what any of these dim sum are called, I just point and they provide but this beef one is one of my personal favourites. With a bit of chilli sauce it’s fantastic.

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Chicken wings, because why not.

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Chee Cheong Fun, wasn’t all that great to be honest and I’m not even a big fan of it and I could tell.

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The steamed sticky rice in banana leaf was also a slight disappointment, lacking in flavour.

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Saving the best for last is my all-time favourite dim sum dish that is ordered without fail, Lo Pak Ko (Surprise! I know another Dim Sum). A great Lo Pak Ko in my tastebuds is slightly crispy outside from the pan frying, and soft inside with a good mixture of Chinese sausage and turnips, with just enough salt to give it that something extra. Here it almost lives to my high expectations but I’m always happy to have it.

Impressions

Pearl Harbourfront doesn’t steer too far away from the norm, and its food also it’s something I would say was amazing. However, its array of Dim Sum I would say is above average on taste, but I do recall it being a bit pricier than I’m used to.

Pearl Harbourfront on Urbanspoon

Pearl Harbourfront 
207 Queens Quay W
Toronto ON Canada M5J2M6

Blue Glutinous Rice Cake (Pulut Tai Tai) with Kaya

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On my last trip to Malaysia, I purchased a couple of recipe books (as I usually do), one of these was Nyonya Kueh by Chef Ricky Ng. I love how cheap the books are over there and such delicious looking recipes too. Nyonya Kueh are one of my favourite Malaysian snacks, there is incredible variety with sweet and savoury delights, but I have a preference for the sweet varieties. On occasion we buy the blue glutinous rice cakes with pandan kaya from Madam Kwong’s in Box Hill but I love giving it a try and making everything from scratch. So here is my adapted recipe from Ricky Ng.

Blue Glutinous Rice Cake (Pulut Tai Tai)

Rice Cake
Ingredients
A
820g glutinous rice (soaked overnight)
12 bunga telang/clitoria flower (or a few drops of blue food colouring mixed with water)
a few pieces banana leaf

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B
2 ¼ cups thick coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1 piece pandan leaf (knotted together) – Original recipe uses 3 pieces

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C
3 tsp sugar (coconut sugar used)
a few drops pandan essence (optional)

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Kaya

85g sugar (coconut sugar used)
35g brown sugar
3 duck eggs/eggs (chicken eggs can be used too)
1 tbsp custard powder
90ml thick coconut milk
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Method
1. Pound bunga telang (blue flowers), mix with 4 tbsp of water well, and strain to get the blue colouring

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2. Mix soaked glutinous rice with Ingredients B and let it rest for 5 minutes.

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2. Steam the rice over high heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir well with chopsticks.

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3. Add in Ingredients C and mix well. Steam mixture for another 10 minutes

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4. Add in blue colouring to ½ portion of cooked rice, mix well and steam it for 5 minutes

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5. Line a 19cm square tin with banana leaves. Spoon cooked blue rice and white rice alternatively into the tin. Cover the rice with banana leaf and place a heavy object on top to compress the rice.

If you don’t have a square tin and banana leaves, you can scoop all the mixture out and place it back into the tray so it’s all mixed up a bit but you’ll also need to compress the rice in the tray too. Set it aside to cool completely before cutting into pieces. Serve with Kaya (Recipe below)

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Kaya
1. Mix all the ingredients well in a pot, and if need be strain the mix to rid of any lumps.

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2. Place water in a pot to boil. Once the water is simmering, place a heat proof bowl on top of the pot (make sure the water does not touch the heat proof bowl) and cook until kaya mixture turns golden brown and thick. Be careful not to curdle the eggs. Stir constantly to prevent burning at the base of the pot.

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Impressions

I bought some coconut sugar from Costco and thought it would be a good idea to use it in the glutinous rice as well as the kaya. Coconut sugar as a distinct taste (of coconut, duh!) but it also has this toasted coconut taste to it which might be a bit overpowering for some.

What I found was that if you soak the glutinous rice too long and/or leave the rice to steam for too long, the grains aren’t as defined. The rice appears to absorb too much of the coconut mixture or too much moisture from the steam. Flavour wise it’s great, but leaving it longer than just overnight might be overdoing it.

I also realised the colouring from the blue flowers didn’t seem to cover all the rice, so it might be good to make a bigger batch of the natural colouring mixture just in case or if you prefer a darker blue kueh.

Also as a warning, making the kaya even over steaming water that doesn’t touch the bowl can still be a dangerous affair. The eggs can cook extremely quickly if you’re not careful or if you leave the flame too high. If it does look like the eggs have cooked, one little trick is to use a hand blender and give it a good mix to break it up, that allows the kaya to form a smoother paste (taste-wise it’d be the same)

Using coconut sugar in the kaya also gives the kaya a very strong toasty taste, I’d probably just opt for caster sugar next time for that more authentic taste but that’s the good thing about cooking and experimenting, food is never the same.

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Guu Sakabar – Toronto Series

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 Guu Sakabar definitely has an interesting atmosphere and if you haven’t dined at one of Guu’s locations in Vancouver or in Toronto, you may be surprised as you walk in. For all guests that arrive, you are warmly greeted with cheers from the employees as well as when you exit. So it can get quite noisy on a busy night but that’s all part of the charm.

Guu offers a Japanese-tapas style menu some options having a bit of Korean influences. What I like about tapas menus is that it’s great for sharing and trying a bit of everything from the menu.

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The Okonomiyaki here is deep fried with squid tonkatsu sauce and karashi mayonnaise. I haven’t tried a deep fried Japanese pancake before as I only have found the pan fried variation in Melbourne (Australia) before, however the pancake certainly left an impression on me.

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Probably my favourite dish was Guu’s Kinoko Bibimbap in a stone pot.With mushrooms, cheese and a seaweed sauce, the combination of flavours worked a treat together. Packed full of flavour, can’t go wrong with it and even for me who would prefer not to have mushrooms in anything!

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You can’t leave Guu without trying their drinks, however being a non-local and wanting to do a tapas drinks, we ordered the Sake Sampler that came with 6 different types of sake. As a non-expert in Sake, I can’t really offer my opinions on them but the cloudy ones were more memorable than the rest for sure.

Guu also offer Japanese Vodka, Beers, Wines and Cocktails and your non-alcoholic beverages as well.

Impressions

Guu is definitely for those seeking a good night out with friends and/or family and the atmosphere at Guu allows for that. Food-wise, most of what we tried was great, but on the smaller side of things.  Though, I certainly hope a restaurant like this pops up in Melbourne to enjoy.

Guu Sakabar on Urbanspoon

Guu – Sakabar

559 Bloor St W
Toronto ON M5S1Y6

PappaRich Knox

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The Knox venue is the latest PappaRich outlet to open in recent years. PappaRich remains one of the most popular Malaysian restaurants in Melbourne and you can see by the queues even after the stores have been opened for months or even years! PappaRich has opened in the foodies part of Knox, in the Westfield Knox O-Zone. Recently, I was graciously invited to dine there for the Knox launch with a few other local food bloggers.

The menu remains the same for all PappaRich establishments, but if unfamiliar the menu is extensive. Roti, Fried Noodles, Noodle soups, Rice dishes and a variety of desserts, drinks and small eats as well.

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Most often I gravitate towards their Ipoh Koay Teow Soup with Steamed Chicken or with Prawn and Chicken slices, funnily enough my friend frequently orders the same dish too. One of the things I love about this noodle soup dish is it’s very fresh with its ingredients of the light (yet flavourful) soup, bean sprouts and the noodles. Complemented with the steamed chicken, it isn’t as rich or heavy as some other dishes because other than the fried shallots, nothing has been deep fried. According to my friend, it was a tad salty but given it’s only just recently opened it just needs a bit of refinement.
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The Crispy Egg Noodles was something I haven’t actually ordered before from PappaRich. It’s interesting as it uses a different type of noodles that I’d normally associate with a Crispy Noodles Seafood Combination but of course these are slightly different dishes (as the Seafood combination tends to use an egg gravy which is more white in colour). The noodles aren’t as crispy but still retain a bit of bite to them. Other than the crispy noodles itself, the flavouring of the sauce is crucial to combine all the ingredients together. The gravy here is more subtle in taste than I’m used to but goes well with the tender chicken and prawns. It’s a substantial dish I must say, like most of the PappaRich dishes.

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The Deep Fried Chicken Skins seems to be a popular choice among my friends, the pieces were quite large to just pop one piece in your mouth and crunch but it can be addictive!

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Pictured above is their Soya Milk with Jelly and the Teh C special. Teh C is one of the more interesting Malaysian drinks, with its distinct layers of tea, evaporated milk and gula melaka syrup (sugar syrup). It’s similar in some sense to a Teh Tarik but the gula melaka does add a unique flavour to it that I quite enjoy.

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Of course we had to try their desserts too! The Sago Pudding and Egg Sago Pudding pictured above is served with coconut milk. The Sago Pudding is topped with Red Beans, it’s a tasty dessert but I love sago (In cold desserts, hot or even as Kueh). The Egg Sago Pudding, however, was probably my favourite dish of the day. The Egg Pudding was silky smooth and just enough sweetness. Combined with the creamy coconut milk and sago it just makes for a delicious treat.

Impressions

While PappaRich Knox hasn’t reached the highs of their Chadstone store for me, yet, in terms of their noodle dishes. It certainly is early days yet, however what you can’t go wrong with is their desserts and drinks. So for the upcoming summer, it’s great to just sit out with a cooling drink after watching a movie or after a hard days work shopping and just relax.

Papparich Knox City on Urbanspoon

PappaRich Knox
425 Burwood Highway
Wantirna South VIC 3152

Chocolate, Hazelnut and Salted Caramel Tart

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I made some salted caramel for some chocolate, salted caramel cookies that didn’t turn out too well (but tasted great) so I had plenty of salted caramel left in which I had no idea what to do with it. So onwards with my Googling (how did I live without it) and I found this interesting tart from BBC Good Food. It has all the ingredients for a great tart, crunchy hazelnuts, salted caramel, chocolate and a shortcrust tart. What else would you want?

Putting it shortly, the tart turned out great, with not too much work involved but it does take some time for cooling the salted caramel or the chocolate filling and the pastry itself. So this isn’t a recipe for those a bit short on time.

Have a look at the recipe and see my impressions below!

Chocolate, Hazelnut and Salted Caramel Tart (BBC Good Food)
Prep:40 mins
Cook:45 mins – 50 mins plus cooling and chilling
Serves 12

Ingredients
Hazelnut pastry
50g blanched hazelnuts
200g plain flour
1 tbsp icing sugar
140g cold butter, diced
1 egg yolk
flour, for dusting

Salted caramel
75g caster sugar
25g butter
100ml double cream
1 tbsp golden syrup
large pinch sea salt flakes

Chocolate fudge filling
100g dark chocolate (70%)
75g butter
2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk
25g caster sugar
1 tbsp cocoa

50g blanched hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

CaramelTartJoin

Method

1. To make the pastry, whizz the hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground.

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2. Add the flour, icing sugar and butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

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3. Add the egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp cold water, and pulse until the dough comes together. Tip the dough out and flatten into a disc, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.

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4. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan forced/gas 4. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to line a 23cm loose-bottomed, deep tart tin. Trim the edges and prick the base with a fork, then line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans.
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5. Bake for 20 mins, then carefully remove the baking beans and parchment and bake for a further 5-10 mins until light golden. Allow to cool.

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6. Meanwhile, make the salted caramel. Tip the sugar into a small pan, add 1-2 tbsp water and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat and cook until the sugar turns to an ambercoloured caramel.
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7. Reduce the heat and add the butter, cream and golden syrup, and stir until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and add the salt.

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8. Allow to cool for a few mins, then spread onto the tart base. Scatter with chopped hazelnuts and set aside.DSC01090-1DSC01094-1

9. For the chocolate filling, melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

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10. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk and caster sugar for about 6 mins until thick and pale.

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11. Fold in the melted chocolate and cocoa, then pour into the tart case.

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12. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook for 20-25 mins or until set and the top has formed a crust. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving in slices.

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Mocha Whipped Cream (Joy of Baking)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (35-50 grams) granulated white sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch processed)
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder or espresso powder
1 cup (240 ml) cold heavy whipping cream

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Method

1. Place your mixing bowl and wire whisk in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes. Place the vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons of sugar, cocoa powder, and instant coffee powder in the cold bowl.
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2. Stir in about 2 tablespoons of the cream to form a thick paste (this will dissolve the cocoa and coffee powder).
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3. Then add the rest of the cream and beat just until stiff peaks form. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate. Makes about 2 cups (480 ml) whipped cream.

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Impressions
This chocolate, hazelnut and salted caramel tart is stunning. The salted caramel just oozes out when the tart is still warm, and you have a moist chocolate layer on top and a generous amount of hazelnuts in the middle.

I had leftover full cream so I decided to create my own whipped cream, and I thought of making it coffee/mocha flavoured just for something a bit different and it turned out amazing with the tart. The bitterness of the whipped cream but with a coffee hit with the buttery rich tart works exceptionally well together.

It’s not a particularly thick tart, but I think it works better that way so it doesn’t seem overwhelmingly rich. Overall, I love this recipe, not too sweet as I reduced the sugar for the whipped cream and chocolate filling, and also slightly for the salted caramel too. The salted caramel provides all the necessary sweetness and it really does its work in making it a delicious tart.

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O’Town

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O’Town in Glen Waverley replaced Hakka Tea House this year. O’Town specialises in Penang cuisine, many of my favourite Malaysian dishes have origins in Penang such as Char Kueh Teow, Har Mee and Mee Rebus but of course you can find many of these dishes elsewhere in Malaysia but it’s telling that there are eateries in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor that prides itself on Penang dishes.

O’Town’s decor is very reminiscent of the streets of Penang, with its British influence and Penang’s famous street art replicated on the walls.

O’Town’s Hakka Kon Loh is served with fishball soup and taste wise it was oddly familiar, like a drier Pan Mee because of the mushrooms and crunchy anchovies. It’s subtle in flavour as I did require some sliced chilli to go with it but I was happy with the flavours nonetheless. The soup is pretty much your typical Asian stock soup so nothing really out of the ordinary.

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The Chicken Satay’s here aren’t grilled, instead its deep fried. So it has this crispiness to it, however it isn’t quite the same as the smokiness of a grilled satay stick. The peanut sauce is pleasant, with a wonderful nutty aroma I preferred it to the actual satay to be honest. That’s not to say it’s a bad satay dish, just different.

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O’Town’s Nasi Lemak comes with a very tasty Chicken Curry. I loved the creaminess of it, yet not overpowering with the spices. A good balance of ingredients. The sambal is nothing really to run home about but definitely above average.

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When ordering the Assam Laksa we were worried they would use sardines instead of other fish, luckily our worries were squashed as they use small fishes but definitely not sardines. Sardines give off a very strong fishy flavour which, more often than not, overpowers the Laksa flavours. Here the Assam Laksa has a lighter soup base taste but it’s one of the better Assam Laksa’s around.

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The Ice Teh Tarik is not bad a bit light as I actually prefer a stronger “Teh” flavour. When talking to one of the staff, it appears that initially the Teh Tarik here did indeed have a stronger tea taste to it but people complained (what!). In any case, the staff mentioned you can request for a stronger Teh Tarik if that’s to your liking.

Impressions
O’Town makes a mark in Glen Waverley, adding to the Malaysian restaurant scene and yet all have slightly different styles of Malaysian dishes due to their local origins (e.g Penang, Malacca, KL, Sarawak). The food here is on average pretty good, but nothing came across as amazing from the dishes we tried.

O' Town on Urbanspoon

O’Town
19 Railway Parade N
Glen Waverley VIC 3150

Adriano Zumbo’s DIY Salted Caramel Macarons

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Because my attempts at making macarons had been less than fruitful, I decided to try doing it the easy way and just buy one of those Macaron-mixes. With Adriano Zumbo’s macarons being quite famously known, I was quite excited to try his Salted Caramel pack and going off the instructions it seemed pretty straight forward without the need for Italian meringue or Swiss meringue fuss.

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Adriano Zumbo – Salted Caramel Macarons (DIY)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 36 minutes
Serves: 15

Ingredients
Shells
¼ cup (62 ml) water
Baking paper
Baking trays

Filling
1 ½ tbsp. (30 g) soft salted butter
¼ tsp sea salt flakes (optional)

Zumbo Pack
Almond Meal
Egg White Mix
Caramel
Stencil and Piping Bags (x2)

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Method

Shells
1. Preheat oven to 160C (140C fan forced). Trim baking paper to fit baking trays.

2. Using the ring provided, trace inner circles on the back of the baking paper, leaving 2cm gap between each.

3. In a small bowl, whip meringue mix and water with an electric mixer on medium speed, until it begins to thicken, increase to maximum speed for 4 minutes or until very stiff.

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4. Sift almond base over meringue (pushing through any lumps). Combine thoroughly with a spatula.

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5. Using the electric mixer, pulse for a second then check beaters. Batter should slide very slowly off the beaters. Only pulse again if still too thick (Do not over-pulse)

6. Transfer mix to piping bag, cut off the tip and pipe onto baking paper. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. (Makes at least 40 shells)

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7. Bake trays one at a time for 14-18 minutes. Macarons are done when the ‘feet’ have just set. Slide baking paper onto a bench to cool completely. Carefully peel off shells and sort the best 30 shells into matching pairs.

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Filling
1. In a bowl, beat caramel filling and soft butter on low speed using an electric mixer until combined. Beat on high for 2 minutes. If using, stir through salt flakes. Transfer mix to remaining piping bag. Pipe onto one macaron shell and sandwich together.

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Impressions

The macarons come out beautifully with ‘feet’! What a joyous feeling that is and relatively easy to do. I think the key thing with the macarons is just knowing what the stiff mixture looks like (it isn’t as stiff as a normal meringue would be though)

The macaron shells have just enough air, and also slightly chewy. The filling although ridiculously rich with sugar and butter is delicious and smooth. If you want to make macarons the easy way, I think this will suit you just fine. However, if you like to be a bit creative and go beyond the standard flavours, trying to do it the traditional way would be the way to go.

Noodle Factory – Montreal Series

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Noodle Factory in Montreal’s Chinatown is one of the more favourable restaurants in Chinatown and it’s one of the reasons why we were curious to dine there.
Noodle Factory is a incredibly small restaurant, but nonetheless a popular eatery. As being in Chinatown it serves Asian cuisine, and in particular offers a variety of noodle dishes to choose from.

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Noodle Factory’s Singapore Fried Noodles reminded me of those Chinese Food take-away meals, with it’s generous use of curry powder. It isn’t something I would order again though.

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Their Beef Hor Fun was interesting in that the noodles itself were not the soft flat rice noodles I’m used to. The noodles here are a bit denser, with more bite so it’s actually quite different to the Beef Hor Fun’s I’ve tried before. Flavour wise, it didn’t standout or have the signature “hot wok” flavour you would tend to get with this dish. However, for just a meal to fill you up this would be sufficient.

Impressions
Maybe my tastes are just so disparate from the locals considering the positive reviews by most compared to mine. Or we just lucked out with the three dishes we tried.

Noodle Factory on Urbanspoon

Noodle Factory 
1018 St-Urbain
Montreal QC  H2Z1K6
Canada