I have been friends with my dear friend Queen Viv for almost 20 years. And in that time we’ve had some wonderful adventures most of them to do with the fact that she truly attracts some unusual circumstances. So when she asked me if I’d like to come on a road trip to Wollongong I answered an enthusiastic “Yes” and then thought “Oh dear: we’ve both got no road sense and no GPS. Would we end up in Perth?” Then the image of Thelma and Louise flashed through my worried mind.
Wollongong is one of those areas which is great for a day trip as it’s only an hour and twenty minutes away from Sydney by car but the beach side atmosphere and laid back lifestyle means that you actually feel like you’ve gotten away from the “big smoke”. We drive through the Royal National park to take the scenic drive down to Wollongong. It’s full of flowers this spring and Queen Viv, a keen gardener points out the native flannel flowers and huge Gymea Lilies. The drive is scenic and she also points out a nice place to stop and have an ice cream on the way.
Driving south we emerge out of the National Park to see one of the most breathtaking views. It pure Californian beauty with sweeping cliffs and blue water and little cottages on the cliff’s edge below. There are cars that have also stopped just to look at the view. There are also gliders a plenty here suspended in mid air only metres away.
We stop at Ruby’s Kitchen in Stanwell Park on the way. Queen Viv points out that this is near where Jane Campion wrote Sweetie in a blue fibro house. Ruby’s Kitchen Cafe used to be called Ruby’s on the Dust which was a popular surfers hangout where they’d buy lentil burgers after a surf. Indeed there’s a group of surfers with surfboards standing outside as we pull up.
We order a Mezze plate to share as it’s lunchtime but when it comes out we’re a little floored at the size. It’s rather enormous (I guess surfer size) and there are two large wedges of vegetable frittata, three types of dip (beetroot, hummous and olive tapenade), some toasted Turkish bread and a rocket, pumpkin and feta salad.
Mezze Plate $25
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February 19th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
This is the one dish that really exemplifies Chinese New Year yet it is one that we rarely ate. I asked my mother recently why we never really had it and she answered that it was because when my mum was growing up after the war, her mother was left a widow. The family’s previous wealth was drastically cut so that they no longer lived a life of luxury and meals such as this were no longer featured on their table. As a result, she never really prepared it for us as she rarely had it herself while she was growing up. Couple that with my father’s reluctance to eat anything raw and it wasn’t until recently that we started to eat and make this salad. Yee Sang salad symbolises abundance, prosperity and good health and is eaten on Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year which is on the 20th of February this year although people eat it throughout the New Year period.
Small dishes of Yee Sang are expensive in restaurants starting at about $80 and going all the way up to $150 and above. The size we made below would be enormous and would have qualified for the $150 and above price but it cost us a fraction of that. This year we made it with the sweltering weather in mind-it is the perfect dish for a Summer’s day when turning on the oven is best avoided. It’s an incredibly versatile salad and one that is easily made vegetarian too. The main work is in the shredding. You can buy special Japanese graters that grate the vegetables in a long, thin, cylindrical shape rather than the thicker carrot gratings but you don’t need to buy the special equipment to do so and can use a regular grater although you want to use a long grating motion along the whole length of the vegetable so that longer strips appear rather than the short stubby pieces of vegetable.
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February 18th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
“I lufe-a sfeen’s svedeesh peezza. bork. bork. bork.” – The Swedish Chef.
So begins the website menu for Sven’s Viking Pizza. Yes you read right, Vikings apparently eat pizza.
Mr NQN’s colleague just given him with a slice of this Viking pizza and he was a fan of it from the first bite. So on Mr NQN’s tastebud’s recommendation, Queen Viv, Mr NQN and I head there one rainy Summer’s night – Valentines Day to be exact but let’s not stand on ceremony.
We walk in and it’s dimly lit with candles and it’s busy. On the right are individual tables and on the left there is a large wooden communal table made of a thick, nubbly wood. Mr NQN’s Scandinavian heritage comes out and nods his head in quiet approval. On the wall there’s the plushest reindeer skin – it had to be felt to be believed as it’s plusher than any other hide we’ve stroked.
Reindeer skin – has to be touched to be believed!
There is a Swedish armour next to it and a shield which I rather foolishly mistake for a lighting fixture before medieval studies student Queen Viv points out that it is a shield. The menu has a selection of “Swedish Classic” pizzas including toppings such as rib eye with bearnaise, a doner kebab pizza topping and then there’s a section with meat, fish, chicken and vegetarian pizzas all with names representing pieces of Norse mythology. Pizzas come in two sizes: 11inch and 13 inch and half and half pizzas incur a surcharge of $2.50.
“Crumpled” water glasses
We sit down and watch as other tables are brought their meals. The pizzas are huge and thin crusted and the salads are platter sized. We elect to order three half and half pizzas so we get to sample six toppings. When we ask the waitress about the most popular topping she answers with certainty-the #1 aka the “Frö“.
Left: #1 Frö – Worshipped as a male fertility god and Right: #3 Embla- The First Woman on Earth $28
The Frö
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February 17th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
An Adults Only post 
At some time in your life, you’ll be faced with someone you hate or dislike intensely. Sometimes you even have to cook for them which only makes matters worse as the reason why you probably hate them may be because they whinge about the food that you make or complain that it’s not to their taste or feel the need to go all Project Runway on your home decor. Having this person in your house is about as much fun as a colonoscopy.
Of course with other company present, it’s sometimes necessary to fake a smile and grit your teeth. Sometimes you call your own time out on this person and retreat to the kitchen tempted to add a few dollops of Habanero chilli sauce to their meal. But may I present you with the ultimate way to get through the meal than with a bread that says it all: the Give Them The Finger Bread!
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February 16th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
“Dear Lorraine,
Im sorry for the late notice on this but wondering if you’d like to come as my guest to a new food safari we are running this Sunday – its a Japanese lunch with Mr Azuma in the city. They have a mission to bring Japanese food to people and will be doing some interesting things.
Hope you can make it.
All the best from Maeve”
“Oooh!” I squeal happily before realising that I have a huge eating event scheduled for that very day. After a bit of juggling and some understanding dining companions, Teena and I are headed towards Azuma Kushiyaki in Regent Place for our very first Gourmet Safari with Maeve with Mr Azuma Kimitaka!
Bonito Shaving Box
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February 15th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
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