A reception tailored to taste

Last month on the 26^th of May I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Evan Watkins & Charlie Anh Nguyen. Set at my boyfriends parents house in Heathcote which once belonged to his great grandfather and before that was a bank, we were thankful that the rain held out until after the ceremony which was in the garden and very beautiful indeed.

After the service, nibbles and celebratory drinks we each made our way back to Melbourne for the reception. Held at the unique South East Asian-style restaurant, Red Spice Road, this was a wedding after party that delighted the taste buds and left us rolling out the door at least 3kgs heavier come 11:30pm. Eight courses of shared dishes which each packed a punch and had an enormous burst of flavour left us all feeling like Matt Preston as we devoured every morsel and fought for the last piece. Seated in a private function room at a long table, us 28 guests lapped in the community spirit and chatted, drank and ate ourselves silly. It was perfect.

Now I am guessing that after all that you are dying to know the menu so here it is -

To begin we had…

Betel Leaf Topped with Smoked Chicken, Prawn, Chilli, Coriander & Lemongrass.
This little baby really started us off with bang. Pouring with flavour our taste buds were awoken and from here on in, prepared for a fantastic feast.

Twice Cook Coconut, Cumin Lamb Ribs with Chilli Jam
Literally falling off the bone these ribs were one of the best I have had in my life. Shattered there was to be only one each I watched in envy as Riley’s older brother managed to score himself I second. I shant ever forgive him for this….jokes! But really, it was amazing!!

Ocean Trout Tartare with Lime, Chilli, Herbs and Roasted Rice served with Prawn Crackers
Fresh & flavoursome, I enjoyed these.

After these three we had a little bit of a break to digest, discuss and drink up. I was enjoying my fine wine - Seville Estate “Barber” Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley VIC, which was going down a delight. The next few dishes were larger in size and once again to die for.

Prawn, Snowpea, Baby Shiso and Red Radish Salad with Lemongrass, Tamarind dressing
Salad lovers of the world would go crazy for this dish. Filled with flavour, love and a crisp taste.

Pork Belly with Chilli Caramel, Apple Slaw and Black Vinegar
Just when I thought nothing could beat the ribs, BAM, the pork belly arrives and blows my mind. Circles of joy, these delicious miracles were sooo succulent, juicy and cooked to perfection. And, don’t even get me started on the crackle!! A-MAZ-ING! Quite easily the BEST pork belly I have had in my life. No competition!

Beef Cheek Massaman Curry with Kipfler Potato and Baby Onions
This was tender, melt in your mouth beef that felt apart with just the touch of your fork. Always a favourite this curry did not disappoint! 

Crispy Fried Chilli, Turmeric Chicken with Beansprouts and Cucumber, Ginger Relish
I think by now I was ready to burst and after all of the outstanding dishes unfortunately for me the idea of fried chicken didn’t seem as exotic or tempting. Despite this, I still appreciated the flavours and had I not have been so full or if it had of been served earlier I think I would have enjoyed it more.

After seven dishes I was in food bliss and floating on cloud nine. I didn’t know how on earth I was going to fit in dessert but oh my, I thank goodness I did!....

Pandam Cream with Coconut Jelly, Peanut Praline, Puffed Wild Rice, Tapioca Pearls and Coconut Ice Cream
This was hands down the most intricate and complex dessert I have had in my life. Every bite was like a mouthful of pure heaven and it was the most perfect way to finish what had been a beautiful night filled with wonderful people and the most indulgent, flavoursome and desirable food.

I can say with confidence that Red Spice Road is, as the website describes, an “exotic culinary adventure.” It blew my mind and I can guarantee that I shall be treating my taste buds to another tantalising and scrumptious dinner date there soon. 10/10! 

I urge you all to visit this remarkable restaurant. I promise you won't be disappointed! http://www.redspiceroad.com/

Express chicken & corn soup

Hot off the cooker -
freshly made chicken & corn soup

With winter approaching you might have noticed already that I'm a lover for soup.

Chicken & sweet corn is one of my all time favourites and this recipe I got from Mum is so quick & easy that anyone can do it!

Ingredients
2 chicken breast fillets
2 onions
4 cups of boiling water
2 packet of chicken noodle soup (this depends on how strong you want the flavour, I actually used two today!)
1 tin of creamed corn
1 tin of corn kernels (or 1 cup of frozen)
Garlic & pepper to flavour

Method
Chop the chicken and onion finely and fry these
Add 4 cups of boiling water
Add the chicken noodle soup
Add 1 tin of creamed corn
Add one tin of corn kernels
Taste test
Add pepper & garlic (fresh or minced it doesn't matter) If unsure - I did a teaspoon of minced garlic 
Give it all a stir and......

DONE!

It is really that simple & it tastes delicious. Served with warm crusty bread it can be great for lunches or a light dinner. Pop this baby into a seal-lock container and heat it up for chilly days at work. Too easy!

A selection of delicious desserts

Many of my friends are amazing bakers and bellow are some of the

            delights my sweet tooth has been able to enjoy over the past few months.

Who else is hungry just looking at this post? 

Lemon meringue cupcakes

Goopy lemon curd in the middle - my favourite!

Served with coffee ice cream

Getting into the spirit of St. Patty's day with these green velvet cupcakes

These were actually mine! Blueberry muffins that went pop!

A boy made this! Home made sticky date pudding & vanilla ice cream, delish

You can't go wrong with a good ol fashioned chocolate slice!
Served with strawberries & a dollop of cream, this baby is a crowd pleaser!

That's right, my boyfriend bakes! AMAZING!
Raspberry chocolate brownie & sooo much of it too! Loved it!

Love is in the air with these cute cupcakes! I loveeeed my housemate for these babies!

Lemon meringue pie - need I say more?!

Trying to take credit, I can't but it was sooo yummy! Lemon fever!

ANZAC day biscuits are so easy to make & perfect with a cuppa

These bad boys were all me!...Em helped in "shaping" them into circles

Did I mention we had a Victorian High Tea? Yeahhhh it was the best! Sugar coma x 8

This little fella changed the way I view panna cotta.
White chocolate in flavour, served with raspberry sauce, fresh raspberries
& sprinkled with milk chocolate...So indulgent, so mouth-watering good!!!

Hmmm I wonder why I've put on weight since moving back down to Melbourne....surely it couldn't be from all of these scrumptious treats...could it??? Nahhhhhh, who cares anyway! Totally worth their weight in gold! I bet your feeling peckish now...me too! Lucky for me my housemate is already in the kitch baking macadamia and white chocolate cookies. How did I get so lucky? :)

Soup, Glorious Soup!

Rainy, cold and gloomy – that’s winter for you! As we all begin to eat extra to grow our personal winter coat, we crave warm, hearty food. Whilst I love chunky, carby meals just as much as the next person, sometimes a healthy soup can do the trick of warming, filling and leaving you guilt free.

This easy soup is very tasty and surprisingly filling.

Ingredients
1 x tbs light olive oil
500ml vegetable stock (or chicken)
2 tsp tomato paste
Frozen peas, carrot & corn
Celery – finely chopped
1 x 400g tin of lentils
1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans
1x 400g tin of diced tomatos
1 x tbs paprika
2 x tbs ground coriander
2 x tbs minced garlic
1 x tsb minced ginger

Lifesaving lentil soup
& only 237 calories - not that we're counting!

Method
1) Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat
Add the frozen peas, carrot, corn and celery
Add the tomato paste
Stir with a wooden spoon until softened

2) Drain and rinse the lentils and add them to the saucepan. Add the stock and bring to boil.

3) Add the tomato, beans, coriander, paprika, pepper, garlic and ginger. Allow to simmer with the lid off until soup thickens

Serve & enjoy!

Note – this soup is made in half an hour due to the small amount of vegetable stock and canned lentils which are already cooked. For more watery soup add more stock.

Link to original recipe - http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/27177/lifesaving+lentil+soup 

My lovely housemate enjoying the benefits
of freshly home cooked soup

A classy start

As many of you already know from my travel blog last year that focussed hugely on food, my constant food related Facebook uploads, tweets and Instagram photos, I am food obsessed. Did someone say food?

In order to provide an outlet for my fixation, I am writing this blog to help save my friends from constant uploads, lengthy discussions and related statuses – unless of course they opt to tune into my blog and be inspired with me by the wonders of food and quality cooking. Lets be honest, I’ll probably do both….sozza!

So, now I will commence my first post which centres around Echuca’s top restaurant Oscar W’s Wharfside. Classy!

In celebration of our three year milestone, Rils & I treated ourselves to a Sunday night dinner at this sophisticated restaurant that features in The Age Good Food Guide 2012 and is the recipient of the prestigious chef’s hat.

Once seated, we began reminiscing on the ‘good ol days’ of complementary bread. We soon realised that this wasn’t as common in the past as we imagined and instead we were dreaming about life overseas in Europe where almost every café or restaurant insisted on offering bread and sometimes olives on the house. Ahhh..I miss traveling! To our surprise this delicious dinner addition appeared after our orders had been taken. Oscar, are you a mind reader? We are all encouraged to break bread and this is the perfect start to any meal and even something so small, really sets the standard for the evening ahead. Crusty bread, a dash of olive oil, cracked pepper, a pinch of salt and voila’, amazing – my taste buds are ready to go!

For main I had the kangaroo which is served rare with ‘pacdon park’ bacon, beetroot, mizuna, feta, tomato chutney and garlic toast. This is a hearty and homey meal – perfect for a chilly autumn night. Teamed with a glass of red wine this meal will warm you up and hug you from the inside out. Being such a lean meat you can feel good knowing that all this hugging won’t sit on your backside for too long.

Rils had the succulent duck which is twice cooked and complemented by cooked spinach, sweet quince, kipfler potatoes and grappa jus. This dish is my personal favourite of Oscars and never disappoints. Juicy, flavoursome and filling, it is a constant winner that maintains quality throughout the year with subtle but effective changes for the various seasons.

To harmonize our meal we also had a side of hand cut chips with Murray River salt. Served with garlic aioli, these little babies will leave your mouth watering and wanting more!

Crusty bread, delicious main and salty chips filled us up and left us so satisfied that we decided to pass on dessert – for once! Oscar W’s you never disappoint. Creative food, a cosy setting and picturesque surrounds on the Murray River, you are assured to have a brilliant night with high quality food and friendly, professional waiters.

Duck twice cooked

Beautiful wooden decor, open fire & mood lighting

Oscar W's Wharfside              Restaurant