For all those observant and caring people out there you will have noticed that Restless Legs got a face lift. Like it? That is thanks to my amazing house mate and her hardcore designing skills. Talking of fresh and new,  I got to go to four new places this week; Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Vietnam. Then I revisited Italy (always) and New Zealand… oh, and the weekly trip to my mates at Rosella’s (they are a category unto their own). Well, to avoid being one of those people who writes an essay before getting to the point… let’s get going!

 

Lebanon

I am learning that Middle Eastern Cuisine is ridiculously delicious. Every thing I taste I love. We ordered from the lovely guys at Rabbath who have an incredible eye for detail and put some some serious love in to their food. This meal was enjoyed with the family so we were able to order a feast and try much of what was on offer. The lamb cutlets were a family favourite and I loved the trio of dips with their mountain bread. I think I could travel the world with bread. It’s so versatile and every culture has their own style to match their cuisine. Beautifully presented and a treat to eat, I’d be keen to go back.

Cuisine: Lebanese

Dish/es: Trio of dips, Khoubiz Mountain Bread, Loubyeh Salad (not Khoudra Vegetables), M’jadara Lentil Risotto, Kibbeh Bake, Costalleto Lamb Cutlets, Kashkawan Sheep’s Cheese

Company: Family

 

New Zealand

Got to love visiting neighbours! What better then a casual  ‘fush and chups’ to celebrate our kiwi mates. Yes, I acknowledge that many countries stake their claim to fish and chips, but no one gives it character like the kiwis. It can be hard for us baby countries to own anything, so I gave it to them. We made use of Custard Canteen (aka the cafe with the Tiger King… if you know, you know) and their new dinner service for our fix. It was everything you want for a Friday night; greasy, crunchy and plentiful. Great crunch on the chips, Furphy beer batter on a Hoki fillet and homemade tartare. How could it get any better? By watching ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’, that’s how, and so my New Zealand experience was complete.

Cuisine: Kiwi

Dish/es: Fish and Chips

Company: Household and Ricky Baker

 

Vietnam

I’ve been looking forward to making Bánh mì for a while now. After pork roast last week, it was the perfect opportunity to use some leftovers. I love Vietnamese food and am known to eat my share of Pho, but I wanted to step out and try something different. Talking of stepping out, the biggest step I took this week was confronting my extreme dislike (hate) of  coriander, the herb which I’ve affectionately nicknamed ‘the devil herb’. I had a real moral dilemma. To make an authentic Bánh mì you need coriander. So do I compromise on authenticity and leave it out or substitute… or to I face the ‘demon’? After consulting my house mate, who is a big team coriander advocate, we decided that it was time to grow up and give it a go. Also new for me is pate. Yep, don’t usually eat a lot of chicken liver. The verdict… great! All of it! Am I a fully fledged coriander convert? Look, we’ll see, but it’s looking promising.

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Dish/es: Bánh mì

Company: Household

 

 

Indonesia

I am lucky enough to live with an exchange student from Indonesia! Ok, that’s actually just an ironic lie we tell. Lola is as Aussie as they come, she surfs, skates and is an oh so talented graphic designer (as you have seen). She happens to have an Indonesian heritage which is awesome, but if you ask her where she is from, she’ll say ‘Straya mate’. However, the one of awesome parts of her Indonesian heritage is the food! She cooked us up a Beef Rendang for housemate night and it was bloody delicious! So thanks Lola for your diverse cultural background, thanks to your parents for making Australia home and a big thanks for letting her source all of the ingredients for our delicious meal from your garden!

Cuisine: Indonesian

Dish/es: Beef Rendang

Company: Housemate

 

Italy

Scuza, public service announcement: Once you eat cannoli from La Cannoleria you will NEVER be the same again! This could be my pick for around the world eating from home. At the very least it takes out the best of the dessert department. I was very excited to taste cannoli in Sicily and therefore overjoyed that I could enjoy this delicious treat delivered to my own home. The sweet, sweet people at La Cannoleria offer a box of six fresh cannoli shells that you are able to fill yourself with the most delicious Sicilian ricotta and then customise with an assortment of toppings. Why do it your self? Easy. So the shell stays crispy and you can claim that you took part in creating this masterpiece. You are also able to fill to your hearts content and then decide if you want pistachio or chocolate chips or malt balls… or maybe you just want it all! I don’t blame you, it is all so very, very, good. The final added bonus is, it’s a lot of fun to grab some friends (keep it legal) and have a cannoli party together (because although they are so delicious, you probably shouldn’t eat all six).

Cuisine: Italian

Dish/es: Cannoli

Company: Legal amount of gal pals

 

Sri Lanka

There is so much flavour in Sri Lankan cooking! I was inspired to cook these dishes by Master Chef by watching Goggle Box. Yep, so I didn’t actually watch the Master Chef episode, but the Sri Lankan family who were watching it on Goggle Box were pretty excited. I know what you might be thinking; ‘that’s a bit contrived’, but you definitely can’t knock Google Box until you’ve tried it. Technically what they were so excited about was a crab curry. However the seafood stall at the farmer’s markets didn’t have any crab, but they did have prawns or ‘shrimp’ so that is what I went for. There was also mention of a pineapple curry or a pineapple salad. I made both. But the pineapple salad is what I served with the prawn curry. I also did a bit of research of my own and found that I could make a coconut sambal as another accompaniment. I had to make a few tweaks as I couldn’t find all of the ingredients and my curry probably didn’t live up to it’s full potential because of the absence of prawn heads, but all considering, it was yum!

Cuisine: Sri Lankan

Dish/es: Prawn curry with pineapple and cucumber salad and coconut sambal

Company: Parents

Rosella’s

I was back again this week to receive my ‘Monday Manna’ from Rosella’s. They did not disappoint! I got the mushroom ragu on truffle mash and it was spot on. It doesn’t look like much but the flavours were all there and working together to please the taste buds. This week I also sampled some of their orange wine, cause who has ever heard of that? You will see it featured with many of my meals through out the week and it complemented them well. A+ Rosella’s, you are top of the class.

Cuisine: Free food

Dish/es: Mushroom Ragu and Truffle Mash

Company: Housemate

 

Ciao! See you next week.