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Juuri Sapas Helsinki, Finland

Juuri Sapas is a not quite Michelin starred newbie on the Helsinki scene. Popular and recommended by some of my husband’s gourmand cousins, we were eager to try it. Sapas is like tapas, albeit slightly smaller, small plates of food.

We’re meeting my husband’s cousins whom he hasn’t seen in about 20 years. They’re Helsinki natives and love fine dining and a good drop of wine so we are eager to take advantage of their knowledge of the city. The menu is contemporary Finnish cuisine with a lot of local ingredients and native foods which makes it rather exciting. All 4 mains are savoury and sweet and have meat combined with a fruit in some way. There are some little issues, a couple of people at the table have to ask for new plates as they were given dirty ones, my husband having to ask for a new plate twice.

The Sapas are €3.50 each and we choose the Lingonberry marinated salmon on maltbread, tarragon garlic oil; raspberry marinated arctic char with radish sauce; smoked small perche from Pielinen with egg sauce; crayfish cottage cheese filled cabbage leaves with melted dill butter; fresh sausages a la Juuri with vodka mustard; terrine of reindeer liver with jelly made of berries; smoked lamb with gooseberry jam.

Array of 3 breads

Carrot butter

We’re given a large basket of 3 different breads with a carrot butter. The carrot butter is interesting, distinctly carroty in taste but with the creaminess of butter.

Lingonberry marinated salmon on maltbread, tarragon garlic oil €3.50

The salmon is gorgeous, lightly sweetened with the lingonberries and perched on top of the maltbread which soaks up the tarragon and garlic oil nicely. It’s much better than regular marinated salmon.

Raspberry marinated arctic char with radish sauce €3.50

The slender slice of arctic char resembles salmon in texture but is a whitefish. I’m not usually a fan of radishes but the sauce is creamy enough but still retains the radish flavour.

Smoked small perche from Pielinen with egg sauce €3.50

The small smoked fish are intensely flavoured whilst the egg sauce is an interesting accompaniment. The fish aren’t too dry and the sauce is delicious.

Crayfish cottage cheese filled cabbage leaves with melted dill butter €3.50

The stuffed cabbage leaves resembles a small spring roll but the taste is distinctly different. The sauce is gloriously delicious, with a honeyed tone to it. It’s one of my favourite dishes as well as my husband’s although anything with crayfish is a winner with me.

Fresh sausages a la Juuri with vodka mustard €3.50

The tiny sausages aren’t particularly distintive and the mustard isn’t particularly vodka-ey. It’s a bit of a disappointment given there are so many other delicious dishes.

Terrine of reindeer liver with jelly made of berries €3.50

The pate like reindeer liver terrine is delicious and unusual. Distinctly different from other liver terrines or pates it is enhanced by the berry jelly. If only we had some little toast points to eat it with.

Smoked lamb with gooseberry jam €3.50

The smoked lamb is very smokey in aroma and I’m not sure about the gooseberry jam with it. Although the lamb is delicious when I dip it in the other sauces.

Grilled salsify with rosehip jam €3.50

Pike quenelle in wild herb bouillion €3.50

Beetroot and nut stew with small mushrooms €3.50

Eggcheese spiced with oregano baked on top of straws €3.50

Willowherb asparagus €3.50

Roasted swede with cauliflower puree €3.50

Mains menu

The mains we choose are the Wild Boar Ribs with apple butter and vegetables cooked in beef stock, Organic Lamb Tenderloin with dark orange bolete sauce and fried organic barley porridge and Artic Char (a fish native to Finland) braised in whitecurrant wine, jeruselum artichoke puree, beetroot sauce and parsnip chips.

Wild Boar Ribs with apple butter and vegetables cooked in beef stock €22.50

My Wild boar ribs with apple puree, dutch carrots and other vegetables are absolutely divine, sticky sweet and soft they completely conquer regular pork ribs or any other ribs I’ve had. I almost sob that I know that I can’t get them in Australia and I begrudgingly give some to my sister and husband, knowing that they will love them too.

Organic Lamb Tenderloin with dark orange bolete sauce and fried organic barley porridge €25.50

The Lamb is soft and tenderly pink inside and the accompaniment of fried porridge is delicious. It’s similar to fried polenta but softer and stickier. Like Chinese radish cake or something similar in texture although not in taste. The dark orange bolete sauce is a midly sweet accompanying sauce.

Artic Char braised in whitecurrant wine, jeruselum artichoke puree, beetroot sauce and parsnip chips €22.50

The fantastic looking Arctic Char with a streak of fuchsia beetroot puree as mentioned before tastes like salmon whilst being a whitefish.The artichoke puree and beetroot sauce not only providing visual contrast to the fish but also flavour that never overpowers the fish.

Fried perch fillets with Finnish original onion and tomato salad, rhubarb sauce and new potatoes €22.50

Dessert menu

Chocolate cake de capo with seabuckthorne mousse €7

Although we are full we can’t pass up on the desserts-there’s one that has caught my eye-the chocolate cake de capo with seabuckthorn mousse. My husband’s cousins tell us the seabuckthorne is actually used in a medicinal sense-whenever someone is feeling ill or coming down with something, they take some seabuckthorne juice. So not only is it tasty but good for you. The chocolate cake resembles a brownie and the mousse a sweet slightly tangy tamarillo mousse. It’s finished with a streak of thick butterscotch sauce.

Selection of Finnish cheeses and crowberry jelly €7.50

My sister orders the cheese plate and when it arrives, with 4 small cubes of cheese with crowberry jelly €7.50. I don’t have the heart to ask her to share any of her tiny 4 cubes with me and she reports back that 1 was “ok” but the rest were unmemorable. She actually wanted to spit out one of the hard cheeses. Not to mention the tiny portions. The crowberry jelly is more like a syrup than a jelly and honeyed in taste although the consistency doesn’t lend itself to all of the cheeses.

Seasonal sorbet Rhubarb €5

We sample some of the Rhubarb sorbet, intriguingly it’s a forest green shade. it tastes like a fruit and vegetable juice, almost like parsley or another herb has been added to the rhubarb.

Rosehip and white chocolate ice cream with marinated strawberries €7

Later, we head off to Mecca bar, an ultra chic and a bit posey bar populated by Helsinki’s beautiful people. We’re persuaded to try the Sweet Salty licorice drink. It’s a glisteningly black tar shot glass and even the smell at a short distance is heady with aniseed. I take a sip, after all I’m not a big licorice fan and indeed it is just like the salty sweet licorice lollies. My husband adores this and wants to buy a bottle.

We leave whilst the night is still young, after all in the Midnnight Sun season, night never falls.

Juuri Sapas

Korkeavuorenkatu 27
00130 Helsinki
Tel. +358 9 635732
www.juuri.fi
Reservation: ravintola@juuri.fi
Seats: 34+6
Open: Mon-Fri 11–24, Sat 12–24, Sun 14–20

Add comment | July 20, 2008 - 8:00 am | Not Quite Nigella

Zetor Tractor restaurant, Helsinki Finland

Posted in Eating, Outside of Sydney

My husband says that I can shop for almost anything, and it’s true. Even supermarket shopping holds joy and excitement for me. I could stroll the aisles of a supermarket, especially in overseas countries, picking up item after item and not get bored. So when I came upon a tractor selling restaurant I was immediately intrigued. My husband was relieved in that he knew that I wouldn’t be interested in a tractor because a) it’s a tractor and b) a tractor would exceed our baggage allowance. In the city centre, Zetor is said to be a slice of what the Finnish countryside was like a few decades ago. Indeed my husband’s Finnish born and bred uncle confirms this fact.

No hidden bottles please!

There’s a sign at the front, asking us to leave our bags, coats and any hidden bottles of alcohol behind. Hmm I get the sense that this isn’t your usual sort of place. My husband’s cousin said that it was more a “quantity over quality” place which pleased my husband to no end. Yes folks, no matter how hard I’ve tried to persuade him, he still prefers a larger meal to a quality meal.

We’re shown to a booth, past enormous tractors with flames painted on them and a gigantic cow. My husband’s uncle also explains that the name Zetor actually refers to a Russian tractor that was notoriously unreliable and thought to have been a poor quality one so the name is a joke.

Zetor’s menu-printed as a newpaper with pages in several languages

And their menu, designed in the style of a newspaper with a menu page in Finnish, English, Swedish, German and Russian certainly has a sense of humour to it with dishes such as “2. Plastic Blinnery: Now, it is finally possible to acquire a DD cup by a safe, natural method. The orally ingested filling includes a blini fried in clarified butter, served with herring caviar, salmon roe mousse and boiled egg. No danger of rejection.” as well as desserts such as “34. This Is Your Captain Speaking: Welcome to this chartered flight to Torremolinos! In order for you to be able to achieve the requisite holiday spirit, we will be serving chocolate cake and strawberries in brandy. And don’t forget to give a hearty applause when we land.”

Booths

The waitress comes to take our order and we order the Cliche Soup, ZETOR C2007I and the fawn reindeer roast (”Slip into something more comfortable”) and for dessert the “Hidden Agenda”-oven baked cheese with caramel sauce and brandy marinated arctic cloudberries.

Cliche soup (large) €12.90

All three dishes arrive at once and they smell fantastic, particularly the Cliche soup which I have chosen. Described as: “It’s a deja vú all over again, said the man, and didn’t skin his bear, because on the same token, he went back to business: Smoked reindeer and cheese soup, vegetable butter and crispbread. The portion took the feet right out of his mouth. Available also without reindeer” A spoonful into it and it’s creamy and velvety and the flavour much like a cheese and bacon roll in a liquid form. The tiny smoked reindeer pieces taste just like bacon and it’s gorgeously voluptuous although you get the feeling that you are eating for Everest and that the calories in this bowl could sustain you for a trek to the summit and back. The crispbread is much like a Pringle shaped Finncrisp with some carrot puree butter on it.

Zetor C2007I €11.70 little tinned fish

I next try the “ZETOR C2007I An updated version of our best-selling product. The components are smoked Pielinen vendace in tin can and bread. Optional extras include a schnapps (4 cl), and you can also get take-away vendace components from the hat check girl. Suitable for two. This product will not be outsourced to Asia” which arrives in a tin with one of those little openers that you try and master in order to reach your food. The smoked fish are interesting and the bread very dry and crispy. We find this best when you spoon the fish on and let the oil from the fish permeate the bread somewhat-and even then it’s a n earth shattering crunch when you bite into it. The fish are much like an oily smoked fish-not bad at all.

Slip Into Something More Comfortable €27.80

The last savoury dish is the “Slip Into Something More Comfortable: The reindeer fawn roast slipped into a potato hash and poured cranberry red wine sauce all over itself. Then it burned the midnight oil so that the country cheese got warm. This caused the sauerkraut to stew in its sour cream, and the mood was set for the evening. ” This dish, a little more expensive than the rest of the menu, which is mostly less than €20, but it is rewardingly good, the reindeer fawn is gloriously soft and the perfect companion to the sweet and mild sauerkraut and potatoes. The cranberry red wine sauce and country cheese also complements the reindeer and we are in unison impressed with this dish. My sister particularly loves the cheese, called Leipäjuusto, literally translated into Bread Cheese which is like a less salty version of Halloumi. Said to be made from rich milk from a cow that has recently calved it is used in both sweet and savoury dishes.

Hidden Agenda €9.20 Caramelised cheese

Hidden Agenda €9.20 Cloudberries marinated in brandy

Which brings us to our dessert featuring Leipäjuusto with caramel sauce and brandy soaked arctic cloudberries. It comes in a baking dish and looks like a gratin but a spoonful in and we are all nodding our heads in agreement. There is the caramel squeaky cheese on top but underneath is a milky caramel flavoured sauce. The brandy cloudberries are gorgeous alongside this creamy cheesy spoonsful and although it’s unusual, it most certainly works.

Pail of cutlery

We leave and of course it is bright and sunny. We see some people toting beers - they don’t come in 6 packs here, they come in 12 packs for the serious drinker. And the colloquial term for these is “Dachshund” for the shape as they resemble the sausage dog. And no, I didn’t buy a tractor!

Restaurant Zetor

Mannerheimintie 3-5, Kaivopiha, 00100 Helsinki - tel. 010 76 64450
Table reservations: S-groups sales service 020 1234 800 (mon-fri 8-18) -
Open: mon 11-24, tue 11-03, wed-sat 11-04 sun 13-23
http://www.ravintolazetor.fi/etusivu_en.html

7 comments | July 18, 2008 - 8:00 am | Not Quite Nigella

Nigella Lawson - Instant Chocolate Mousse from Nigella Express

Posted in Cooking and Recipes, Sweet things

When I first made chocolate mousse, when I was about 10 years old, my sister, a devoted chocolate lover steadfastly refused to eat it as it contained raw egg. She has a “thing” about eggs (the worst thing for her is finding stray pieces of egg shell in her food). Come to think of it my mother also loathed eggs while pregnant with her so you’d suppose this has been passed on to her. This recipe is ideal for her and anyone who dislikes the idea of eating raw egg. It’s also ideal for those short on time, who don’t have hours to wait for a mousse to set.

It is ludicrously easy and sets straight away. The only thing that you might find is that it takes a while to melt the marshmallows (and don’t forget the water like I almost did, it will burn if the marshmallows are sitting at the bottom of the pot) and I wanted to set aside some time for the chocolate mixture to cool so that my thick whipped cream didn’t collapse. I set the pot of melted chocolate in a cold water bath and within 5-10 minutes while I was whipping the cream it had started to set and cooled well enough to fold in the cream. I used milk chocolate as I had used up all my dark chocolate on other things and didn’t have the time to buy some. The most fun part about this apart from eating it is dolloping it in the glass, it has the perfect dolloping texture and holds its dolloped shape. And whatever you do, don’t refrigerate it like I did, it becomes a bit too hard and loses it light mousiness. Keep it at room temperature and it will be lovely, soft and light.

18 comments | July 4, 2008 - 8:00 am | Not Quite Nigella

Gordon Ramsay at the Good Food and Wine Show Sydney

Posted in NQN's most memorable moments and meals, Special Events

Having the pleasure of seeing Mr Ramsay cook doesn’t always come cheap. I was lucky enough to get some Front row centre tickets as I made sure I was online the second they went on sale but looking at ebay just a couple of weeks before the show, I saw that a pair of tickets had sold for $350 (plus the book but lets face it, they weren’t after the book). So I hung onto my precious tickets and guarded them with my life. It’s a good year for me, I’ve already met my favourite female cook Nigella and now I am meeting my favourite male chef.

Crowd waiting for Gordon to arrive for his 1.30pm book signing

We met friend Gina, Teena and Philippe at noon and slowly made our way around the show. The crowds were thick and in a lot of cases unmoving. Gina vowed to visit next year on a Friday such were the crowds around some stands.

The line is large for Gordon and everyone is excited. They’ve expanded the size of the theatre due to demand for Gordon’s shows (they put up the price of the second wave of tickets to cover the cost of expanding the theatre).

We have brilliant seats, front row centre left, right in front of him cooking. There’s a bit of a warm up and prize giveaway prior to Gordon entering with his right hand man from Claridges Mark Sargeant whom I remember seeing on the F Word. There is a lot of clapping signalling that the crowd is restless and doesn’t want to hear any of the preamble, they just want Gordon. And after several “Here comes Goooordon Ramsay!!”, the man finally appears. He looks exactly like he does on the show and women everywhere swoon.

Two fans run onto the stage holding Gordon masks

It’s like a culinary version of Beatlemania with two girls running up to the stage with Gordon masks on sticks and declaring him their idol and asking for hugs. Several girls stop him during the show when he walks into the audience area and demand hugs to which he happily obliges.

Another fan wanting a hug

Gordon on stage is exactly what he is like on tv, except with a little less swearing and if you watch Hell’s Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares, a lot less anger. He does manage to insult (in his charmingly blunt way) a slew of celebrities: Dannii Minogue for being plastic and melting in front of the oven and for having body parts less than 6 months old, Lisa Wilkinson (host of the Today show) whom he says has a penis, Anthony Worrall Thompson for winning the ugliest chef award 35 years running, Jamie Oliver for being a “fat tongued fat git” who makes fattening food and Matt Moran for having a poor turnout to the show (”They moved the curtain 4 rows from the front so Matt thought that it was full of people”) and of course the Diners Club sponsor when he whipped out his Black American Express card.

“Is this the size of your bush?”

He even makes fun of the audience and recalls falling in love with a French woman when he lived in France and asks if there are any French women in the audience. There is only one and he picks up a bunch of herbs and asks her “Is this the size of your bush?” to which she declares that hers is actually bigger.

Matt Moran with the fire extinguisher pounces on an unsuspecting Gordon and Mark

During the show Matt Moran bursts on stage with a fire extinguisher with sprays both Gordon and Mark, probably as revenge for his earlier comment.

Gordon’s little exchange with me

Good Food Show Sydney Gordon Ramsay

“I feel bad now”

I even had an exchange with Gordon himself while he was on stage. He pretended that he’d left copies of his cookbook under our seats but hadn’t so everyone got excited for a second then realised he was taking the piss. My friend was quite vocal in her “Awwww no!!” so he said to her “Did you think I’d put 2000 copies under everyone’s seat?” and she shrugged so I yelled out “Oprah would have!” and he laughed and touched his heart and says “Oh shit, really yeah I feel bad now”. Then he said “Where’s your husband?” and I pointed at my husband sitting next to me behind the camera and he said “Well he’s a lucky man”. Aww I feel touched by god!

Hand on his heart feeling bad that he hasn’t given us the books, Oprah style

While he is cooking, he gets a little more serious and explains tricks and rules to perfecting the dishes. He makes three dishes, a chorizo and bean soup, a lamb dish with a balsamic sauce which looks delectably luscious and a Pain Perdu (french toast) all intended to be dishes that you could make everyday from leftover ingredients.

Entree: Chorizo and bean soup

Main-Lamb

Dessert-Pain Perdu

After all of the cooking is done, he gives away items from the set to lucky audience members.

After this, he is off to his last book signing of the day where I tried to get my DVDs signed but they had cut the line off after a certain amount of people. As Gordon took time to chat and shake the hand or kiss and take a photo with every person in the line, the amount of people was relatively short but well rewarded. Whilst I would’ve loved a kiss and my DVDs signed I was happy with my small brush with Gordon!

Gordon signing one of many autographs

The crowd taking pictures of Gordon signing

And of the stands on offer, there were plenty of delicious morsels to be had, loads of samples and lots of great bargains.

Organic Times chocolates

One of my favourite stands, and the site of a big purchase was the Organic Times Chocolate stand where they were extremely generous with samples. We tried at least 8 of their varieties (and we could have tried more) before settling on dark chocolate coated licorice (mild), chocolate coated ginger (gorgeous large chunks of candied stem ginger enrobed in dark chocolate), dark chocolate coated macadamias and dark chocolate coated coffee beans. 3 boxes were $20 or 4 for $25.

Yumi’s dips

Another favourite stand of mine every year is Yumi’s dips which I adore. I especially like their olive dip, tuna mousse, smoked trout mousse, egg salad, pumpkin and Mediterranean eggplant dip and we buy up big here. As it is the last day, they offer us 7 dips for $12 which is a huge saving. I would have bought more except I know that I will be away for a month so I won’t be able to eat the fish dips.

Hillier’s chocolates offering is a huge bowl of wrapped chocolates. Despite his sad expression, the caramel ones were especially good

Pama Liquors

Pomegranate seemed to be the juice flavour of this year’s show with a couple of Pomegranate juice manufacturers as well as this Pomegranate liquor. I didn’t have time to try but I did love the bottles!

There were also whole hibiscus flowers soaked in Vodka. They had an interesting texture, much like beetroot with a sweetness from the flower itself and kick from the Vodka.

For those interested in eating lunch in a non bite sized sample portion, there were celebrity chef eateries churning out dishes.

I would probably have this expression if I had to wear the hat. Perhaps my husband was mocking him when he took the picture, hence the rather fierce expression.

We got to the Lindt stand a bit too late and missed out on the Lindor ball bags. Ah well, we still had lots of Organic chocolate.

All in all, it was another great show this year, made 100000% times better by the presence of Mr Ramsay. I don’t know how they will top that next year. After all, there is just one Mr Gordon Ramsay.

And Dear Reader, whilst you are reading this, I will probably be on a plane on my way to Tokyo, probably eating a dodgy airline meal (and of course photographing it). I shall have limited access to the internet for the first 10 days that I am away but will post stories every day so please feel free to make comments, I’ll approve and reply to them when I get more internet access, probably somewhere in Finland, our second destination. After Finland we will go to London to stay with my sister (where I will have unlimited internet access) and then a few days in Paris. Rest assured this will be an eating tour of these wonderful cities so once I am back in London, the tales of the bizarre, kitsch and delicious will flow.

Love Infrequent Flyer,

NQN
xxx

33 comments | June 22, 2008 - 10:44 pm | Not Quite Nigella

Gordon Ramsay Plane Food

Posted in Eating, Outside of Sydney, Uncategorized

View out of Gordon Ramsay Plane Food

I have some rather awesome friends I must say. Ones that share in my love of food and understand when I whip out a camera during a meal without sighing loudly or complaining. One of these friends is the self named “Carbon Debit”, owing the amount of time she spends in the skies traveling and working towards her pilot’s license. So when she went to Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food restaurant at London’s Heathrow Airport T5 we were all interested to see what she had to say. It’s no secret that Australia is Gordon Ramsay obsessed, which will only be spurred on by his Sydney appearance at the Good Food and Wine Show (where an ebayer sold two tickets and a copy of his book for $350!).

So without further ado, here is what my friend had to say about Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food.

In one word - lovely!!!

I wasn’t really that hungry because I had a rather large plate of salad for lunch before I left for Heathrow, at around 1pm. I got to Plane Food at around 4:15pm. But I had to have something there, or it would have defeated the object of going to Plane Food.

Their menu was displayed well before the entrance (which is down a corridor) so it was easy to decide whether I could find something I wanted to try despite not being hungry, or not, without feeling bad about looking and walking off.

I spotted a crab and miso salad with purple shiso which sounded rather light and lovely. They also offered a starter size and a main size. Ideal to have a starter sized one under the circumstance. The area is quite spacious and airy, and it is sort of on a ‘balcony’. It’s hard to describe exactly what it’s like, but you can see the floor below you, if you sit nearest to the window, as well as the tarmac area and BA hangars. Tables are not too crammed in, although not so sparse either. The lines are ‘clean’ and there is no chintz in sight. It’s a very pleasant andrelaxing but at the same time not excessively casual atmosphere.

So I walked up to the entrance and was greeted by a bright, friendly but not overpowering girl who showed me to the table. She asked me if I wanted to sit near the window, which I said yes. She helped me put my carry on out of the way as well. She told me that the special was duck in orange sauce. Under a normal circumstance I would definitely have that (perhaps as well as the crab miso salad!), but I was just not hungry enough. Dammit. I shouldn’t have had the salad for lunch.

Although I already had a look at the menu, I did have a bit more look out ofcuriosity. It all looked pretty good. A waiter promptly came up to ask me what I wanted to drink, and I asked about juices. He knew what they had (often not the case in restaurants!), and I ordered a glass of cranberry juice which arrived very promptly.

Crab miso salad with soya beans, cucumber and purple shiso was duly ordered (everything was very efficient there) and I only needed to look out of the window onto the passing BA aeroplanes for a very short time before it arrived.

Crab and Miso salad £9.50

11 comments | June 22, 2008 - 8:00 am | Not Quite Nigella

Adriano Zumbo at Balmain, Summer collection

Posted in Eating, NQN's most memorable moments and meals, Sydney - West

Cloud 9

Strawberry Mousse

Yes I know, I know, I’m so late to be posting about Adriano Zumbo’s Summer collection but in my defence, your Honour, I don’t really live closeby and I do find it hard to get here. However this time, I am ordering cakes for my birthday and of course where else would I get them but Zumbo.

Marry Me Ed

Piste As She Goes

15 comments | May 9, 2008 - 8:00 am | Not Quite Nigella

St Honore Sourdough bakery at North Sydney

Posted in Eating, Sydney - North

I don’t get any late night cravings for Sourdough but should you be struck with insatiable Sourdough lust later in the night, take note of this bakery: St Honore on Miller Street in North Sydney is open until 8pm every night. I’m visiting at lunch time so that I can try some of their filled sourdough rolls as well as various pastries and of course, cakes.

It’s a small but well stocked bakery with many varieties of bread, filled baguettes (smoked salmon, chicken and vegetarian) pies, pastries and a displayful of cakes with plenty of the old favourites such as sour cherry tarts, apple tarts, french pudding and creme brulee as well as more stunning “couture looking” options such as a white and dark chocolate mousse. After much umming and aahhing, particularly over the cakes, I purchase my selection and bring them home.

Smoked Salmon baguette $5

The pastries aren’t warm so I need to heat them up before eating them so I start with the smoked salmon baguette ($5). It is spread with cream cheese, a thin slice of smoked salmon, alfalfa and dotted with capers. Although the smoked salmon at first does not look like enough, it’s quite perfectly proportioned. The crunchy sourdough goes well with the ingredients and I find myself craving this after it’s long gone.

Sourdough pizza $2.50

I try the slice of sourdough pizza ($2.50) next - unfortunately the pizza dough doesn’t seem to be particularly sourdough-ish at all, it looks and tastes just like regular pizza dough. The topping is alright but nothing particularly blissful. If I can be blunt the topping is similar to what you’d find at Coles in the bakery section. For $2.50 for a 10×10cms slice it’s not bad value though.

Quiche Lorraine $3.80

I’m hoping for better when I try my namesake Quiche - Quiche Lorraine ($3.80). It’s smallish and very eggy and the bacon/ham flavour is very strong throughout with some thinly sliced mushrooms. The ham is very finely diced throughout it and the crust is good.

Sourdough dinner roll $1.20 each

I have also bought 2 small sourdough dinner rolls ($1.20 each). They’re good and crunchy although not as “sour” as I like it. They would be great alongside a soup although I confess that I think they’re a touch on the pricey side given their size. The Luneburger 90c Champion roll is much better value and a lot bigger.

Ham & Cheese croissant $3.50

The last of the savouries that I try (and I shared these with my husband so I didn’t just eat 4 of them hehe) is the Ham and Cheese croissant $3.50). This croissant is buttery and flakey, just the way I like it and if it were freshly warmed and baked, it would be superb. With some judicious reheating it’s very good, juicy, crunchy, crispy and creamy (the creamy being the cheese spread inside).

White and dark chocolate mousse $4.80

We’re onto the cakes last. The first cake, I had tried before and enjoyed it a great deal. It’s the white and dark chocolate mousse ($4.80). It’s a chicly presented chocolate globe which is lightly dusted in cocoa then given the white chocolate stripe treatment. Inside, the mystery is unveiled. It’s a thin disc of chocolate sponge, a layer of sweet white chocolate mousse and on top of that, a layer of bittersweet dark chocolate. It’s then enrobed in a thin layer of dark chocolate with white chocolate zigzag lines. The sweet white and bitter dark chocolate work beautifully together and are as light as air or the fluffiest cloud.

Opera cake $4.20

The Opera ($4.20), one of the more difficult cakes to make due to the ultra thin layers seems like a fitting conclusion to the gastronomy-fest. Its lovely with the almond sponge alternating with ganache, coffee and cream (although the texture of the whipped cream is almond mock creamish) with a splash of alcohol.

In a weird way I feel comforted knowing that if I have any late night pastry or bread cravings, a delicious solution is close at hand.

St Honore Sourdough bakery

50 Miller Street North Sydney (opposite Greenwood Plaza)
Tel: +61 (02) 9929-4388
Open 7 days

7 comments | March 22, 2008 - 8:00 am | Not Quite Nigella

Passionfruit & white chocolate mousse

Posted in Cooking and Recipes, Sweet things

OK I admit it, I just needed any excuse to use this little crystal set again. I received these from my husband’s aunt Paivi for my kitchen tea and I just adore the little bell shaped lids and the heavy cut crystal bases. It seems only appropriate that a feathery light passionfruit mousse adorns this delicate dome shaped offering. Its a perfect fruity, light accent to an afternoon tea or dessert. Just be sure to serve it from the fridge, if left out for too long, it will become a little runny and lose some of its gorgeous moussiness!

Passionfruit & white chocolate mousse

Your special guest will be saying “unforgettable…” after tasting this lip-smacking tropical treat. And they’re talking about you, of course!
Preparation Time

30 minutes
Cooking Time 15 minutes
Ingredients (serves 2)

100g white chocolate, coarsely chopped
125ml (1/2 cup) fresh passionfruit pulp
2 eggs, separated
125ml (1/2 cup) thickened cream
1 tbs caster sugar
Whipped cream, to serve
Fresh passionfruit pulp, extra, to serve

Method

1. Place the chocolate and passionfruit in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Use a metal spoon to stir for 3-4 minutes or until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool. Add the egg yolks and whisk until combined.

2. Use an electric beater to beat the cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Use a metal spoon to fold in the chocolate mixture.

3. Use a clean electric beater to beat the egg whites and sugar in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture until combined. Divide the mousse among two 250ml (1-cup) capacity serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4 hours or until set.

4. Top mousse with cream and passionfruit.

Notes & tips

* Store the mousse in the fridge. You will need about 8 passionfruit for this recipe.
* Tip: To save time place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat, uncovered on Medium/500watts/50% for 1 minute. Stir, then repeat until smooth.

Source

Australian Good Taste - February 2007 , Page 73
Recipe by Louise Pickford

14 comments | March 2, 2008 - 4:00 pm | Not Quite Nigella

The Lounge, Lilianfels at Blue Mountains

Posted in Eating, NQN's most memorable moments and meals, Outside of Sydney

There are times that only a little civility will do. Bush walking is fine and dandy (and quite frankly something that I actively avoid). BBQ’s are a much loved family get together. But sometimes a girl needs a little morning tea in a 5 star hotel. We’d popped into the Hydro Majestic on the way back from a shopping trip only to be told that as it was the Christmas period, their lounge was only open from 12-1pm (hardly long enough for a relaxing tea) so we ventured a little closer to where we were staying to Lilianfels.

The grounds are lovely, looking out towards Echo Point and their lounge has an elegant chic femininity to it. Its only 11am but they’re flexible with their start times (afternoon tea is supposed to start at 12noon) but its not a problem. Nothing is a problem here and for the harassed or the ones in need of some TLC, its the perfect place.

There’s a selection of snacks, light meals and sweets but we order from the afternoon tea menu. For the 5 of us, we order the Lilianfels High tea for 2 with 2 pots of earl grey $66, a lamington tea for one with coffee $17 and a trio of Chocolate tea for one with coffee $21 and an extra Hot Chocolate $5.50. We ask if there are any newspapers or magazines to read and they’re ceremoniously brought to us. We can’t help but be impressed by the polite, deferential service.

While we wait for our tea, we venture outside to the manicured lawn area which also has tables and chairs. Its lovely and a touch of gentility and overlooks Jamison Valley but as I am not particularly tall, I can’t see over the shrubbery.

Our drinks arrive first, Tuuliki is impressed by the pot of decaf that she gets, she only expects a cup but is pleased that she has a whole pot of coffee and that soy milk is available. Rose enjoys her hot chocolate but concedes that the Paragon hot chocolate is better. Blythe enjoys her coffee and Anneli and I enjoy the silver service earl Grey tea.

Foreground: Trio of Chocolate tea for one with coffee $21. Background: a lamington tea for one with coffee $17

Our lamington tea arrives first, its three mini lamingtons on a rectangular plate. They’re fresh and soft, probably the nicest lamingtons we’ve had. At the same time, our trio of chocolate arrives and we have a chocolate mousse, a chocolate layer cake and another lamington to choose from. The chocolate mousse is heavenly, a creamy sweet chocolaty concoction and the chocolate layer cake is accented on top by a thin gilt worded chocolate square and is devoid of any obvious “layers” but its extremely moist and rich inside with a hint of prune to moisten it further and a delicate dark chocolate ganache coating on the outside. I’m very glad that we ordered this plate.

Lilianfels High tea for 2 with 2 pots of tea $66

Our three tier afternoon tea arrives and everyone is impressed by how it looks. On top, there are two plain and two fruit scones, one the second layer are the pastries and cakes and on the bottom tier are the sandwiches and clotted cream (yes! finally a place with clotted cream!) and jam. Its a colourful and mouthwatering selection and somehow we manage to divide this into 4 as Tuuliki being a non egg eating vegetarian, partakes of the scones with cream and jam.

The sandwiches are eaten first, there is salmon on brown bread which Anneli and Blythe enjoy amongst much appreciative murmuring, Rose and I share the chicken, avocado and lettuce which is soft and pillowy good and the roast beef on fresh sourdough bun with mustard. I am not such a huge mustard fan but the mustard and beef are perfectly balanced, giving it just enough kick. I want more but restrain myself.

I try a little scone and its good, better than the Paragon but not as good as the QVB tea room scones.

I am however onto bigger and better things trying the cake tier. The mocha eclair is in a word or two fantabulous. The choux outer is not soggy at all like so many eclairs can be, the mocha creme patisserie is gorgeous and the chocolate coated coffee bean on top a lovely finishing touch. Its everyone’s favourite. The strawberry tart is rich and buttery and the finely diced strawberries and custard cream lovely but then again, I don’t think I’ve ever met a strawberry tart that I didn’t like and this is no exception. The passionfruit tart is slightly too tangy for me although those that like a bit of bite or tang to their tarts might enjoy this. We’ve tried the lamington and choclate layer cake before and the extra piece of chocolate cake is quickly divvied up. We’re pleased that the food is so good as they could’ve easily gotten away with average food given the setting.

Civility restored and persons calmed, we are ready for our trip home.

The Lounge, Lilianfels

Lilianfels Avenue
Echo Point, Katoomba, The Blue Mountains
Tel +61 (02) 4780-1200
Open: 10am-10pm
http://www.lilianfels.com.au

4 comments | January 3, 2008 - 4:00 pm | Not Quite Nigella

Bather’s Pavilion at Balmoral Beach

Posted in Eating, Sydney - North

The lovely thing about Christmas, aside from Christmas itself, is that work tends to wind down and people get more relaxed and there is time made for leisurely lunches. Consulting work, although you forgo the work Christmas party, means that you will inevitably get invited out to a corporate lunch sometime before everyone goes on holidays. Bathers Pavilion was perfect for me as a) its literally down the road from where I live b)I had wrapped up all of my work for the year so I had nothing to do but enjoy and c) its one of the most fabulous restaurants in Sydney on one of the most gorgeous (if not particularly good for surfing) beaches.

Its less than a week until Christmas and the restaurant is full of diners, some business lunchers, some ladies who lunch and groups that are celebrating a pre Christmas get together. The cafe next to the restaurant is also incredibly busy drawing a steady stream of clientèle although the restaurant’s pace seems a little calmer than the cafe. The restaurant is full of cream and white and a lot of blue in fitting with the sandy beach outside and the stunning ocean view.

Cranberry and watermelon cocktail (non alcoholic)

Its a humid summer’s day and a round of sparkling mineral water and cranberry and watermelon cocktails are ordered to quench the thirst. A quick browse of the menu and I see instantly what I want for my entree, the Spring Bay abalone, seared scallop and prawn, 5 onion riso. M, N and A all order the Tuna Sashimi with crispy soft shell crab and wasabi flying fish roe . I’m having more trouble figuring out what to order for my main but I settle on the Assiette of Macleay Valley Rabbit crown, rillettes, loin and liver with potèe of confit leg. M orders the Casserole of Blue eye cod fillet, scampi and mussels, coconut shellfish bisque. N orders the Dry Aged Angus sirloin with braised Wagyu beef shin, endive, pomme puree, bone marrow sauce. A orders the Humpty Doo Barramundi with Baby octopus and calamari, saffron potato, Romesco sauce.

Sourdough bread with salted and unsalted butter

Our bread arrives shortly with salted (triangle) and unsalted (round) butter shapes. Its slightly warm diamond shaped sourdough is good but not as moreishly compelling as the sourdough at Bècasse which could make any bread hater into a lover.

Amuse Bouche-artichoke mousse with salmon and crab

The amouse bouche arrives, a small shotglass for everyone filled with artichoke mousse, shellfish oil, salmon sashimi pieces and crab meat. This is so fabulously rich and voluptuous, it needs to be eaten one small spoonful at a time to protract the experience as much as possible and has me wondering if its possible to order a big bowl of the amuse bouche.

Oysters naturel (with red onion vinaigrette and home made pumpernickel bread not pictured)

Our plate of oysters to share arrives alongside with home made pumpernickel bread and red onion vinaigrette. They lovely and fresh although not quite as ice cold and briney as the ones at Bècasse.

Spring Bay abalone, seared scallop and prawn, 5 onion riso

Our entrees arrive and I am doubly pleased at my choice once I see it, a large king prawn sits in the centre of a mound of herby, oniony risoni (rice shaped pasta), flanked by two gigantically fat seared scallops (scallops of my dreams!) and three thin slices of abalone. The seafood is perfection, fresh and firm yet toothsome and a lovely counterpoint to the risoni which is heady in savoury onioney sweetness with what tastes like a saffron cream emulsion. At first taste its a little bland but a sprinkle of salt turns it into a star dish.

Tuna Sashimi with crispy soft shell crab and wasabi flying fish roe

Everyone else has the tuna and it looks fabulous and I am assured that it is indeed as good as it looks.

There is a small break and our mains arrive. My assiette of Rabbit is artistically expressed and resembles a rambling painting with a dot of bean here, liver of rabbit there and a streak of carrot puree there. However I must confess now something that anguished me to no end. Once I had run around and taken photos of my patient dining partner’s meals, I had neglected to take a picture of my own! Once I had realised this, I looked around frantically to see whether anyone nearby was having their rabbit dish delivered to them so that I could accost them and get a photo of theirs but much to the relief of my dining companions, I was out of luck. So alas, there is no picture of it but you’ll have to put up with my description instead. The rabbit liver is seared on the outside and pink on the inside and quite mild in flavour, the proscuitto wrapped rillettes are firm and also fairly mild with the flavour coming mostly from the proscuitto. The main attraction on the plate is undoubtedly the rabbit confit leg. Crispy and unctuous the leg sits atop a circle of seasoned white meat strips which are incredibly tasty. The random scattered broad beans and streaks of carrot puree are an unusual pairing with the rabbit and not the most enjoyable accompaniment with the carrot reminding me of baby food. They do give me a mini La Creuset full of roasted vegetables and bacon which I would’ve enjoyed if I weren’t rapidly filling up with food.

Dry Aged Angus sirloin with braised Wagyu beef shin, endive, pomme puree, bone marrow sauce

I try some of the Wagyu beef shin which resembles a gruesome eyeball and its reminiscent of a tender slow cooked beef cut. Nothing gruesome about it at all. The pomme puree is smooth and buttery with a variety of sauteed mushrooms stirred through the copper pot.

Humpty Doo Barramundi with Baby octopus and calamari, saffron potato, Romesco sauce

The stunningly delicious looking Barramundi elicits signs from A of being incredibly good.

Casserole of Blue eye cod fillet, scampi and mussels, coconut shellfish bisque

M also enjoys her seafood stew with coconut shellfish bisque which is rich in a variety of seafood and topped with shaved fresh coconut.

Waiters walk past with some delicious looking desserts which sells us completely on the idea of having dessert. Sometimes I wish they were obliged to walk past tables with the dishes so I would know what to order. After much umming and aahing I order the Caramelised Pineapple and ginger tart with iced coconut terrine. M orders the Raspberries and berries with lemon curd ice cream, cassis sorbet and linzer biscuit and N & A order the Menage a trois des Chocolats, Vanilla Anglaise. We’re given a good 20 minutes to digest our mains before the desserts arrive.

Caramelised Pineapple and ginger tart with iced coconut terrine

My pineapple tart arrives with a gorgeous crème brûlèe type toffee crust which shatters satisfyingly. Its housed in a crisp buttery filo pastry shell and inside it sits a crème brûlèe with small sweet pineapple pieces. Its not particularly gingery but its sinfully good and rich but at the same time fresh with the sweet headily fragrant pineapple. The pyramid of coconut iced coconut terrine is refreshingly good with alternating layers of pineapple and coconut sitting atop a finely diced mound of sweetened fresh pineapple.

Menage a trois des Chocolats, Vanilla Anglaise

The menage a trois of chocolate is an exercise in chocolate indulgence with three types of chocolate: a rich earthy pudding, a delicate chocolate mousse in a semi circle with a rich centre and glossy and glazed on the outside and an elegant rectangle of chocolate which is similar to the semi circle. I try a little of these and they’re good in a verging onto almost too rich but can’t stop eating kind of way.

Raspberries and berries with lemon curd ice cream, cassis sorbet and linzer biscuit

The raspberry with lemon curd ice cream is the most arrestingly gorgeous architectural masterpiece with its square layer of toffee on top neat rows of fresh raspberries although I find the lemon curd and raspberries a bit too tangy a combination for me.

Our petit fours arrive and there are four to choose from, an eggy pandan raspberry pyramidal morsel; a dark round blackcurrant pastille, a dark chocolate truffle and a soft toasted coconut biscuit. As I am completely full I am not particularly taken with them and lose interest after sampling a corner of each as I continue dreaming about that luscious pineapple dessert and the incredible abalone entree.

Two courses for lunch $85
Three courses for lunch $100
Minimum 2 courses

Degustation menu also available $150, with wines $220

Market menu also available (5 courses) $125, with wines $185

The Bathers’ Pavilion Restaurant

4 The Esplanade
Balmoral 2088 NSW
Phone: (02) 9969 5050
www.batherspavilion.com.au
Open: Daily noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10pm
Seats: 78

9 comments | December 19, 2007 - 4:02 pm | Not Quite Nigella

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