When I was in Primary School we were asked to design a name and logo for an airline. I chose mine to be: “TBAITW” which stood for “The Best Airline in the World”. You see I was going for the luxury market. However the girl next to me chose a clever tactic and chose “Aardvark airlines” because she would be the first listing in the phone book and therefore easy to find. And I think when they were thinking of names for this particular restaurant, they rejected all the usual names for Chinese restaurants including “Golden”, “Lotus”, “Jade”, “Kingdom”, “Palace” or “Dragon”. I think they just though sod it, let’s just use Kingsford Chinese restaurant. People who are looking for a Kingsford Chinese eat will find us easily.

Complimentary soup

I’d heard about Kingsford Chinese restaurant by many. Mostly for the brusque service but delicious food. And despite the fact that we had almost dined here several times we were always lured  somewhere else. And if you’ve been to Anzac Pardae in Kingsford, there is no shortage of somewhere elses with so many restaurants within the 2-3 block area it makes deciding hard. Tonight we’re dining with Rose and Ronald and lucky that we’ve chosen to eat early as it means that there is no problem getting a table. We choose 4 dishes that we’ve heard that they do well. Prices are fabulously cheap and you can get a rice or noodle and meat dish for $6.60. The complimentary soup is delicious.

Sang tung Chicken $11

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My mum’s favourite dish would have to be noodles. After all she is from Singapore where noodles in every way, shape or form inevitably make their way onto lunch and dinner plates and bowls. One of her favourite noodle dishes is a “wet” noodle dish using rice noodles called “Hor Fun” which features rice noodles soused in a delectable sauce. As we are staying with them while our place is being renovated, I am taking the opportunity to have her show me the recipes that I like best and this noodle dish is one of those. She is only too happy to share her recipes with me now and whilst she won’t let me put a current picture of her on my wesbite she did let me put up these old black and whites up of her.

My Mother on left-I love a cup of tea too!

My Mother on right and her sister on the left

Usually made with beef, this is also a dish which unravelled a little history to it. My grandmother made the Rice Wine 20 years ago and it’s now stored in an old Ribena bottle. My grandmother was a woman who had 6 children and my mother was the youngest of the lot and therefore the “baby”. My grandmother was a strict woman, after all being widowed after the war with 6 kids meant that she needed to show some discipline in order to keep her brood in check and she made sure that they all went to university and made a good living for themselves. She was strict but of course caring in her own gruff way, making sure that you got the best pieces of a dish before anyone else. And notoriously hot tempered which has invited some comparisons between me and her! Who moi?

My grandmother’s Home-made Rice Wine

I know it seems like an inordinate amount of ingredients for a simple dish but if you look closely, they’ll probably be things that you already have in your pantry. The key is to have everything ready and then once it’s ready, it’s a relatively quick dish to cook which accounts for why you see it at so many outdoor stalls and at food festivals. The dish smells absolutely wonderful whilst cooking it and I defy anyone to resist it. The taste is just as wonderful as the scent suggests, the slippery noodles drenched in an aromatic sauce with a generous surplus of meat and noodles. And there’s no shortage of “best pieces” here.

Funnily enough, I found this photo of my mum and her friends. Looks like an early sighting of the Foodus Bloggerus!

Foodus Bloggerus sighting 1960

So tell me a bit about your mother or grandmother Dear Reader!

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I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m not a particularly religious person but if I were to aspire to Sainthood for any reason it would probably be to a food related saint. Saint of Foolproof Recipes anyone? The pastry I made today was named after Saint Honoré, the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs.

I had somewhat of a success with the Religieuse, something that I frankly thought I’d never make. Ask me one year ago when I was busy chowing down on one amid much orgasmic murmuring and moans and I would have looked at you like you had suggested I use instant mash potatoes. I would have been horrified at the thought of trying to make these. But time makes some people wiser or in my case, more foolish and riskier and so I entered my teenage years of pastry where I wanted to try anything and everything to do with making pastry from scratch.

The bottom choux weren’t quite as puffy and didn’t hold their puff as much as the smaller ones. And if you’re scared at all, know that the star piped whipped cream, like a black dress, hides a multitude of sins. I know that tradtionally this would be made with a Chiboust cream but I have to confess that I’m addicted to creme patisserie and prefer this slightly over Chiboust cream. I apologise for the lack of in progress photos while making these. I was by myself and found it difficult to switch between creating and taking photos.

Was it worth the trouble? Absolutely. There is something so decadent and lusciously delectable about a St Honoré that like childbirth (so I hear), the result is so glorious that you forget any sort of pain you may have experienced.

So tell me Dear Reader, what to you is painful but worth it?

And because it’s Wallpaper Wednesday again, allow me to give you, the Ricotta, Chive & Tomato tart Wallpaper! Happy Hump Day

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