Category Archives: Cairns
Salsa Bar and Grill, Port Douglas
Cairns – beautiful one day, torrential rain the next. That’s pretty much what it has been like for the last couple of weeks anyway. Last week it was such a lovely day that I thought it would be nice to book lunch at Salsa Bar and Grill for MS and I the following day. Fast forward to the next day and here is MS and I driving up to Port in torrential rains where we can barely see through the windscreen. In hindsight we probably should have turned around but no I was determined that we went for lunch at Salsa – rain, hail or shine.
Although I had made a booking the day before – this place regularly gets booked out – I called ahead and tell them we would be a bit late due to the weather conditions but that was no problem for the friendly waitress on the end of the phone. In the end we made it up there safely, soundly and hungry for what by all accounts was going to be a delicious lunch. Salsa Bar and Grill is renowned by the locals as ‘the’ place to dine in Port Douglas, plus I have heard rave reviews from plenty of others. I even overheard a woman on the plane from Darwin to Alice Springs telling another passenger that it was one of her favourite restaurants in all of Australia. Big call. Salsa certainly had my expectations set high and that was before we had even made it through the front door of the breezy low-set Queenslander just off Macrossan St. My mission was to see if Salsa lived up to the hype…
Upon entering MS and I were greeted by a smiling waitress and directed (in a friendly way) towards a table on the far left, right in front of the fountain. It was a nice little intimate spot – perfect for sharing our last lunch together before I headed off to sea, again. The waitress poured us a glass of water each and left us with the drinks menu for a few minutes. When she returned I ordered a glass of Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc and after a little bit of persuasion from me (he’s always so responsible but one drink wasn’t going to hurt) MS ordered a Black Russian. In the meantime whilst waiting for the drinks to be poured we had a look over the menu’s and the waitress recited a well rehearsed run down of the specials for the day including Smoked Salmon and Goats Cheese Souffle, a tapas plate and a pan fried fillet of Mahi Mahi on an Indonesian rice cake with prawn curry broth and green mango sambal. My word.
A few minutes of conversing and MS and I had decided on two entrees and two mains to share for our lunch together. For our entrees we ordered the Tapa’s Plate with tuna tartar, red-hot chicken wings, prawn dumpling, chicken tortellini and shiitake arancini for AU$21.50 and the Squid and Chorizo Panzanella with buffalo mozzarella, slow roasted cherry tomatoes and salsa verde for AU$20.50. For our mains MS chose the Tandoori Leg Tenderloin with Split Lentil Dahl, Roti Bread and Mint Yogurt (AU$25.50), something I was most surprised about since he hates lentils, or at least refuses to eat my mum’s homemade Dahl so I assume that he does. I on the other hand was nearly swayed by Salsa’s famous Linguine Pepperincino (red claw pasta) but wasn’t all that keen on being in a carb coma for the rest of the day (plus I had big plans for visiting the new frozen yogurt shop YoMyGoodness on the esplanade later that day). Get on with it…. Ok so for my main I ordered the Japanese Seven Pepper Rubbed Beef Tataki with sushi rice tian, goma shabu emulsion and sweet pickled vegetables (AU$24).
Whilst waiting for our entrees to arrive MS and I took some selfies (no we did not post them on FB or Instagram, they were just for us) and pined over the fact that we were about to be apart for a total of four weeks. Distance in a relationship is something that we are very much used to, certainly not something we enjoy however… You have to do what you have to do and I have never had a normal 9-5 job, I’ve always been on shift one way or another. In the meantime and before I get too sentimental our entrees had arrived. The presentation was outstanding – crisp, clean and it all looked so good that neither of us wanted to touch it. Photo’s ensued and typically we both headed straight for the chicken wings. I’ve got to tell you these were the best damn chicken wings I’ve ever had. Slightly saucy and just the right amount of bite. I only wish that there was more than a couple and looking over the online menu it doesn’t look like these can be ordered on their own for next time. Sad panda.
We split the tortellini which I think was chicken tortellini – I can’t really be sure, nor can I remember. The tortellini was just ok. It looked really bloody good but the outside was a little dry and chewy. The filling inside however, was soft and creamy.
MS edged the tuna tartar towards me since he never eats raw seafood (the big sook) but I placed a small spoonful on the little piece of crostini that was laid over the top of the shot glass and put it on his plate. He really had no choice but to eat it. I didn’t get a word out of him after he ate it which means, in man terms, that he enjoyed it. He just didn’t want to give me the satisfaction of telling me that. The tuna tartar was fresh and flavoursome with slivers of Spanish onion mixed in for a bit of extra texture and crunch.
Like the tortellini before it, the shitake arancini was carefully split into two halves so we could both enjoy it. MS who has absolutely no foodie culture, except what he derives from me as I drag him along for the ride, wouldn’t know an arancini ball if it jumped up and bit him on the ass so he was pleasantly surprised when he realised it was essentially a crumbed rice ball. Another soft and chewy morsel on our tapas plate filled with a delightful earthy shiitake flavour.
And last but not least on our tapas plate was the prawn dumpling in a small dish covered in an aromatic broth. Hey it was no Xiao Long Bao, (it’s a bit rough to compare the two… I fear my dumpling expectations have been forever ruined after going to Shanghai) but it was tasty none-the-less.
Still on the entrees it was time to divert our hungry gaze to the Squid and Chorizo Panzanella. We each served ourselves a share from the entrée plate and dug in. The flavours of the chorizo, squid, bread and mozzarella with the salsa verde were a match made in heaven. I’m pretty sure that chorizo has come straight from hell for it is wickedly tasty in all it’s fatty goodness. Why must it be so damn good?! MS and I both agreed that the liberal amounts of cucumber were a little bit overpowering in the end. Don’t get me wrong I love cucumber but a little less and this salad would be absolutely spot on!
As the waitress came and cleared our plates we told her that the chicken wings were in fact our favourite part of the whole entrée spread, to which she didn’t seem very surprised. Perhaps she has a penchant for the chicken wings herself? About 5 minutes later our mains had arrived…
Again we were impressed with the presentation as our meals were laid out in front of us. MS’ lamb tenderloin was topped with a small pile of very fine strips cucumber which he gently pushed to the side as he dug into the rest. The tenderloin was as it should be – tender and juicy – atop the soft, buttery roti underneath. Obviously the roti was his favourite part of his main but that’s a roti for you. I remember buying freshly made roti’s from a road side vendor in Sri Lanka for 10 cents each for breakfast a couple of years ago. One of the best breakfasts I have ever had I reckon! MS even ate all of his dahl god love him.
Next up was my lunch – the Beef Tataki, which pretty much had me sold at sushi rice tian. The beef was lean and tender, the sushi tian was sweet and the mayonnaise was kewpi (#winning) but my favourite part, although I enjoyed the entire dish, was the pickled vegetables on the top. They reminded me of Rahmah’s – my childhood fave for all you true blue Cairns locals.
So we MS and I finished up our romantic ‘last lunch’ at Salsa’s Bar and Grill, contemplating a coffee before the drive home but were informed by the waitress that they only had whole milk and soy milk. What kind of restaurant doesn’t have skim milk for people’s coffee? Full cream was out of the question since I was the one that had to sit in the car with MS on the drive home and flatulence is an understatement when it comes to MS and dairy. We politely declined and trudged back to the car for the long drive home.
I do feel that our lunch at Salsa was over a little too quickly. After driving an hour to get up there you kind of don’t want lunch to be over in less than an hour, only to drive back to Cairns for another hour. It would have been nice to have a little more of a break between meals and lingered just a little longer – I probably would have needed another glass of wine though. One is a enough nowadays for this little Cadbury kid.
Our lunch at Salsa Bar and Grill was excellent and I guess it did live up to my expectations although I will need to return for dinner and indulge in a main dish of that infamous red claw linguine just to be certain! Dinner would be a whole different experience since the place seems to be regularly booked out during the evenings whereas we were only one of about 6 tables occupied this lunch time, although that may have been due to the severe weather. The menu at Salsa was well thought out but not pretentious, the food was both flavoursome and satisfying, the presentation was outstanding and perfectly prepared, the service was attentive without being pushy and the airy atmosphere was a splendid showcase for the laid-back FNQ lifestyle.
Salsa Bar and Grill
26 Wharf St, Port Douglas QLD 4871
Ph: (07) 40994922
Website: http://www.salsaportdouglas.com.au
Opening Hours: 7 days 12pm – 3pm, 5.30pm – 9.30pm
The Clever Duck is closing down…
Hey guys! If you haven’t already heard The Clever Duck is closing down (it’s a sad day) and their last day of trading is tomorrow (26th). Get down there for the Australia Day party to end all party’s from 11am till 10pm.
The Clever Canteen will be cooking up a tasty feed along with live music and the Triple J countdown. BYO drinks and picnic blanket and help send The Clever Duck off with a bang!
Eating ourselves stupid in Melbourne – The Newmarket Hotel
Yes, you heard me. That’s what I’ve titled this post and I am sticking with it because it’s the most accurate description of what MS and I did when we went to Melbourne for 5 days during December. As the story goes… Our birthdays are only two days apart and for the last two birthdays (2011 and 2012) that we have been together we have done the “let’s get retarded and drink shots with our friends and random strangers” thing so this year we decided to do something different. I was at out at sea and MS emailed me asking if I wanted to go to Melbourne and eat instead of organise the pool party that we had originally planned, which involved lots of drinking no doubt. I was like ‘does a bear sh*t in the woods’? Hell yeah I would rather do that! He knows me so well and before I knew it our flights were booked for our little eating vacation to Melbourne.
Now as some of you may know and as I have hinted in previous posts, I haven’t exactly been able to eat a whole lot of the food that I wanted this year. Most of my diet has been somewhat restricted and whilst I am still watching what I eat now, let’s just say I wasn’t going to be watching anything other than my pants get tighter down in Melbourne. We had originally planned a trip to Melbourne in November but then had to cancel it because I got called to go to sea. In the lead up to that I had researched my little butt off of all the places I wanted to go – and yes the majority were cafe’s, restaurants and ice cream shops – for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert.
So we took off on our adventure flying down with Tiger Airways (first time I had ever flown with them) even after all the bad stuff we had heard. I must say our experience with them was nothing like many others – the airfares were cheap and it was on time. No complaints from me, except for the cabin crew’s hideous uniforms. Who designed those monstrosities?! We rented a car and drove to a studio apartment that we rented just off Flinders Street on a website called Airbnb. That website is absolute gold. In fact I doubt I will ever use wotif again. Our lovely host Linton met us, gave us the rundown and left us to our own devices. Here is a link for the place that we stayed – such a great little spot. If you are heading down to Melbourne and need somewhere to stay I can’t recommend this place enough! It’s in the perfect location to explore Melbourne! Just as long as it’s free when we go to stay there next ok?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough about my life story hey. Just get to the food you say! Since we got in a little late in the afternoon we pretty much hung around in our room for a bit *wink wink* and then went straight out for dinner. For our first dinner out in Melbourne I had chosen the Newmarket Hotel on the outskirts of St Kilda. We both planned to have a couple of drinks so we left the car behind and caught a tram there. Turns out neither of us are good at figuring out public transport (I never had this much trouble in China!) and after much f*cking around we finally got on a tram which took us about 20 minutes to go only 6 km and then we had to walk 800m with MS complaining about his shoes. I was the one in heels FFS.
As we walked towards the Newmarket Hotel I thought ‘jeez what kind of a sh*thole is this?’ From the outside it was a very unassuming brick building that didn’t look very speccy. On the inside it was super modern restaurant/bar that was packed to the rafters with people having drinks and/or dinner. Lucky for the both of us I had called up and made a booking a couple of days prior so we had a couple of drinks whilst waiting for our table. The lovely female waitress that led us to our table for two was a gem and looked after us from the get go. At our table we ordered a pitcher of ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’ – Blanco Tequila, Ginger Liqueur, Raspberry Puree, Lemon, Sugar and Ginger Beer for AU$38 and for our food we ordered the ‘So Cal Spread’ for AU$55 per person because the Californian/Mexican menu was so bloody good that we just couldn’t choose. And a bit of everything we did.
Our pitcher of tequila arrived and it was just what the doctor ordered but the best part about it was that they had rimmed the glass (is that what you call it?) with sugar, kind of like jelly crystals. It was a nice surprise from the usual salty rim and had MS and I declaring that we were definitely going to do it next time we had tequila cocktails at home (yeah that’s never). The Newmarket Hotel was da (the) bomb!
First up was the Soft Shell Crab Tacos, Guacamole, Shaved Fennel, Spicy Corn and Tomatillo Salsa. What an awesome start to the meal! These were super flavoursome – so much so that my non seafood loving boyfriend forgot that he was eating soft shell crab. Something he would normally never eat. He gobbled it up and so did I.
Our second course on the ‘So Cal Spread’ was the BBQ corn on the cob with chilli and queso freso. Again, MS doesn’t particularly like corn. In fact I have never seen him eat it. I am starting to see a trend here because like me he loved the corn. It was probably the best damn corn I have ever tasted. The queso freso was like a creamy cheesy sauce over the top and holy crap it was good! MS ate the lot once again.
We didn’t wait long for our next two dishes arrived – Wood BBQ chorizo with pears, violet artichokes and seasonal pickles and . My word, each dish was better than the last so far! This was outstanding and probably my second best dish of the night, after dessert of course, but MS declared it his favourite. Who would have thought to pair pears with chorizo? What a magnificent ‘pearing’! I would love to get the recipe to recreate this one at a BBQ of my own.
The second dish was a selection of more soft tacos – one of them with prawns and the other I could have sworn the waitress said scallop but I can’t see anything resembling a scallop on their online menu. Let’s just say there were excellent, albeit a little spicy for MS. The prawn ones were definitely my favourite with fragrant herbs and jicama slaw.
That was our entree’s done – sheesh how was I gonna fit the mains and dessert in? I was gonna give it my best shot that’s for sure. I ordered a glass of wine since our pitcher had run out and our two mains arrived. In the middle the waitress placed the Newmarket Wood Roasted Chicken – Organic Milawa chook with smoked bacon, sweet corn, spring vegetables and buttermilk and the XL St Louis style pork ribs, Newmarket Hotel’s BBQ sauce and apple slaw.
Okay, okay, I lied when I said that the dessert was my favourite and then the chorizo second. Let’s just put the dessert in a whole category by itself because this stuff is savoury and that is sweet. The Wood Roasted Chicken was my favourite dish. It was so creamy and so so so tender and… oh wow. I had some of the pork ribs, which were delicious btw, but this chicken in buttermilk was the business. I ate every last piece of corn in that dish and even considered gnawing the chicken off the bone but looked around at the Newmarket crowd which included lots of men wearing cardigans around their neck and figured that I probably shouldn’t. Dammit.
By that point we were pretty much stuffed but I was really looking forward to that dessert. It was Valrhona single origin chocolate cazuela with pears, salted caramel and vanilla ice cream. What’s the hell is that you ask? Well think of it as like a big fudgey, chocolatey, caramely brownie baked in a clay pot with pears. It. Was. Heaven. And again, here I go, one of the best desserts I have ever tasted. Okay so it may have been the cocktail, the pitcher of tequila and the wine talking by that stage but considering the amount of food we had I think that overtook the alcohol I had consumed. It was super chocolately and fudgy and went oh so well with the sweet pears.
After that would you believe that MS wanted another dessert. The waitress said that was no problem and after some umming and ahhing whilst viewing the menu to choose which one we wanted – I wanted the Peruvian quinoa pudding with cinnamon, pineapple and coconut (everything tastes better with cinnamon in it) but MS claimed that he didn’t like quinoa (FFS!) and in the end he let the waitress steer him towards the Tres leche cake with drunken fruits and rhubard. He won’t eat quinoa but he will eat rhubarb?!!! So I forgot to get a photo of this one and neither of us particularly liked it. I thought it tasted like 3 pieces of white bread sandwiched together drenched in some sort of sweet milk. We’ve been jipped! On doing a little bit of research while writing this post it just so happens that ‘tres leche cake’ means ‘three milks bread’. Who would have thought?! It was ok but it had nothing on the amazing dessert that we had just eaten before it.
So there you go… that was our first dinner out on our food tour of Melbourne and it was a hit for both of us. I gave myself a secret pat on the back for finding it as MS still thinks that was one of the best meals that we had whilst in Melbourne. I think the best part is definitely in ordering the ‘So Cal Spread’ and not knowing what is coming out next. Food excitement is the best kind of excitement! Stay tuned for my next ‘Eating ourselves stupid in Melbourne post’….
Fasta Pasta, Cairns
I’ve been sitting on this post for a couple of weeks now… I started it a little while ago and just wasn’t in the mood to finish it plus MS was home from work so I had (ok wanted to more like it) spend some quality time with him, plus it was Christmas. I get very little blogging done when MS is home because I have way too many distractions. I have the attention span of a goldfish (about 3-4 seconds) so when I do my posts I can’t have any distractions – that means silence and no Facebook. So yeah…
What was supposed to be a takeaway night for me on a Saturday including watching the final episodes of Dexter (yeah I still haven’t gotten around to it) on my living room couch turned into a family dinner at Fasta Pasta. Fasta Pasta was the place that I had originally planned to get my takeaway from since I had a craving for pasta and it was just down the road for me. I hadn’t actually been to Fasta Pasta in years but my ex (not the alcoholic/loser one) and I used to go there quite a bit and take advantage of their AU$9.90 lunch special (I think it’s gone up in price a little since then). At the time we found it to be quite good but like I said that was years ago. I have heard good things about Fasta Pasta over the last couple of years plus it’s always packed (but then again so is Sizzler). I’m pretty sure the Cairns branch of Fasta Pasta received a locally voted award for the ‘best service’ by The Cairns Post at some point. As you may have already guessed my family loves food, cooking and eating out just as much as I do (where do you think I got it from?) and they all jumped at the chance to go out no matter where it was – so we headed on down for a 7.30pm booking.
We arrived on time and took some seats at our table of 6 (5 of us plus my brothers girlfriend). The waitress bought us over some menus and a couple of baskets of bread with butter. As is the norm with me I had already had a good look over the menu on the net so I knew what I wanted. The rest of the group needed a little bit of time and by the time we went up to order at the counter there was a line of about 10 people waiting although the restaurant was only about 1/3 full. I guess it was a bit of a peak time for them – for ordering I mean. Anyway we all ordered our meals (some of us separately) but on the same table number. I ordered my meal last. The man taking the order whom I am assuming is the owner since he has been there ever since I can remember was super friendly and made some funny comment about my mum looking more like my sister than my mum. Mum’s love that kind of thing.
We sat down at the table and awaited our food happily lathering butter on our pieces of bread and eating them in the meantime. I had ordered a main sized Fettuccine Puttanesca which was fettuccine (der) with a tasty Mediterranean sauce of garlic, basil, capers, olives, anchovies, oregano, chilli and Napoli sauce for AU$13.40. Not exactly bank breaking prices here at Fasta Pasta that’s for sure. Much to my surprise my dish arrived first, before anyone else at the table, despite me ordering my meal dead last out of the 6 of us. I did the right thing and waited for everyone else’s dishes to arrive, because I have good manners (I like to think so anyway). The next meal didn’t arrive for another five minutes and it was a Margherita pizza that mum and dad had ordered to share between themselves. Another five minutes later my sisters Ravioli Milanese arrived and then over the next 10 – 15 minutes the rest of the meals arrived in a scattered mess. So much for bringing everything out in some sort of order or at least in a group so one person’s (namely mine) didn’t go cold whilst waiting for the others to arrive.
So anyway, eventually all of our meals arrived and we were able to eat our dinner, together (after I took photos of everyone’s meals of course). The main thing that attracted me to the Fettuccine Puttanesca was the fact that it was Fettuccine and the anchovies of course. I know you either love them or you hate them but I frigin love those little furry fish. Only just last week I found a huge bottle of anchovies in my mum and dad’s pantry (yes I have posted about eating anchovy’s out of the jar at their place before) and I got a little carried away trying to be sneaky and spilt half the contents of the jar including the oil through their cupboard. It took me a long time to clean up and was totally not worth the 2 or 3 furry fish that I got to eat. Serves me right for being sneaky I guess. Although I ordered a main serving I managed to gobble down the lot and still be hungry. It was a reasonable sized serve but I thought it should have been a little bigger for a main size. Having said that I really enjoyed my dish – however a little Tabasco sauce on it for a bit more flavour didn’t go astray. The pasta still had a bit of bite to it and tasted like freshly made pasta.
Fettuccine Puttanesca with a tasty Mediterranean sauce of garlic, basil, capers, olives, anchovies, oregano, chilli and Napoli sauce for AU$13.40
Across from me my sister had ordered an entrée sized Ravioli Florentina which was meat filled pillows of pasta, tossed with bacon, baby spinach and white wine in a Napoli and cream based sauce for AU$12.40. She reckons that is the same dish that she gets every time she goes to Fasta Pasta (which isn’t very often) and always enjoys it. In contrast to my main sized dish, her entrée was quite large. So much so that even she couldn’t finish it. Never mind – there were plenty of people at the table that were willing to give her a hand, like my dad or as I like to call him ‘Garbage Guts’. He’s a human Labrador that’s for sure.
Ravioli Florentina – meat filled pillows of pasta, tossed with bacon, baby spinach and white wine in a Napoli and cream based sauce for AU$12.40
My brother on the other hand wasn’t quite as happy as my sister and I with his pasta meal. He had ordered the Spirali Calabrese in a main size which was described as spirals of pasta sautéed with pepperoni, olives, chilli, garlic, basil, oregano, mozzarella and Napoli sauce for AU$14.40. I tasted it and it was pretty flavourless with not a whole lot going on. He doused it in parmesan cheese and then only ate half of it. For my brother to not eat all of his dinner then that says a lot to me because as a growing boy (he’s not even 20 yet) he has a massive appetite. He pushed it aside and finished off the remains of his girlfriend’s Canneloni.
Spirali Calabrese – Spirals of pasta sautéed with pepperoni, olives, chilli, garlic, basil, oregano, mozzarella and Napoli sauce for AU$14.40
I’m not a big fan of Cannelloni. Not because of anything to do with Fasta Pasta but more so because of the cannelloni that my ex’s mother (JC) used to make when we came over for dinner on occasion. Yes, I am talking about my ex again (the same one that I used to go to Fasta Pasta with). I am still very good friends with his parents, particularly his mum JC. You might remember that I wanted to take MS there for dinner but he thought it was a little weird to go to his girlfriend’s ex boyfriends parent’s place for dinner but he has since gotten over that as he has gotten to know them better. It’s only weird if you make it weird hey? So anyway JC used to make this cannelloni with heaps of onion and capsicum which just so happen to be two of my most hated foods at the time, only now to be overtaken by celery. Being the polite and well mannered individual that I am I always thanked her for dinner and told her how delicious it was. It was a vicious cycle because I was trying to do the right thing and show my gratitude for her cooking dinner while nearly gagging on this cannelloni and here JC is thinking ‘wow she must really love this cannelloni, I must cook it again next time’. It took about three years until I finally came clean that I really didn’t like JC’s cannelloni and it turns out that JC thought that the Pumpkin Risotto that I had cooked for her and her husband one night was equally disgusting. This was about seven years ago and I like to think that my risotto making skills have significantly improved. There you go – an insight into the impact that cannelloni has had in my life and something that JC and I still joke about. She reckons she will give me the recipe one day so I can cook it myself. Yay.
GH (my brothers girlfriend) thought her cannelloni was delicious, although she may have been being polite also. From closer inspection by me it looked like there was no onion or capsicum lurking in her dinner. The Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni was fresh pasta tubes filled with ricotta and spinach, oven baked in a Napoli sauce and served with basil, garlic and cream sauce for AU$15.40 for a main. It was a large serve and she couldn’t finish it all, hence why I said my brother finished it off when he didn’t want to eat his.
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni – Fresh pasta tubes filled with ricotta and spinach, oven baked in a Napoli sauce and served with basil, garlic and cream sauce for AU$15.40
Next up was my mum and dad’s pizza was a Margherita Pizza – large size with fresh tomato slices on a tomato and mozzarella base topped with shaved parmesan and baked in the oven for AU$13.90. Hmmm, well, it was probably the worst pizza I have ever had whilst dining out. Except for a Hawaiian Pizza that I had in Phuket. You don’t order Western food in Asia IMO. Always stick to the local cuisine whatever that may be. This pizza that mum and dad had ordered tasted like a McCain’s pizza and a crappy one at that. The base was thick and hard like cardboard, the cheese tasted like plastic and the other toppings were so flavourless that only half of the pizza actually got eaten and that was more out of curiosity by the people at the rest of the table than anything else. It was truly horrible and how you could stuff a pizza up this bad was beyond me – even the human Labrador didn’t want it. I suspect it had been pulled straight from a box in the freezer.
Margherita Pizza – large size with fresh tomato slices on a tomato and mozzarella base topped with shaved parmesan and baked in the oven for AU$13.90
Mum and dad also ordered a Puttanesca – the same as me – but mum changed the Fettuccine to normal pasta. She thought that the pasta was undercooked and didn’t enjoy it as much as I did. I wouldn’t exactly give them any points for presentation either. It just looked like all the meals had been slopped into their respective dish with no care really taken, not even a sprinkling of parsley around the edge (that’s a joke).
Fettuccine Puttanesca
So there you go – our family dinner at Fasta Pasta wasn’t exactly a memorable one, not that we really expected it to be. I was hoping for a quick, tasty meal to cap off my week so I could go home and sit on the couch in my undies. I know that Fasta Pasta is a family restaurant and it is busy because of the fact that you can feed your whole family for between AU$50 and AU$100 – not to mention the friendly service from guy taking your orders at the counter. Another thing is that it’s also nice and loud in there so the kids can scream and do what they do and I doubt anyone would batt and eyelid. But… that doesn’t excuse the way our meals were staggered to arrive at our table over about a 20 minute period. I must admit it put a sour taste in our mouth pretty much from the get go. And that pizza! WTF?! The food at Fasta Pasta definitely represents good value for money however it’s not difficult to bring all the meals out at once so everyone can eat together! It might be good value but it certainly ain’t fast.
Fasta Pasta
68-72 Shields Street, Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4041 0388
Opening Hours: 7 days 11.30am – 3pm, Sun – Thurs 5pm – 10pm, Sat & Sun 5pm – 11pm
Website: www.fastapasta.com.au
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from foodvixen
Before I head off to bed on Christmas Eve I want to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the new year! 2013 has been a huge year for me personally. I kicked plenty of goals both on and offline – I know I definitely dropped the ball with my blog a little in the second half of the year but I had a few other things that I was pursuing off the computer that just weren’t very conducive to eating out 3 times a week unfortunately. I am looking forward to bigger and better things for foodvixen in the new year and I hope you, as my reader, are too!
I hope you all have a great day of eating, drinking and being merry tomorrow. I have finally managed to convince my family to take a day off from the kitchen this year so we’re off a Christmas Dinner buffet to stuff ourselves silly and follow it up with our family favourite National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Wherever you are and whatever you may be doing stay safe and enjoy tomorrow 🙂 I also want to wish an extra special Christmas to my crew who are working over the Christmas and New Year period! Hope the weather is nice for you boys! Now everyone go to bed because the sooner you go to sleep the sooner Santa will come. I’ll see you at the MYER sales on Boxing Day at 0830 sharp!
foodvixen x
No more Kin Wah in 2014?
I wanted to draw your attention to a message I received last night on foodvixen about Kin Wah Chinese Takeaway on Florence Street in the city. The message was from the son of Ng Kin Wah (the chef at Kin Wah):
“Ng Kin Wah is threatening that he may not see the end of 2014. Thanks Foodvixen for your comments about one of Cairns’ older Chinese takeaways. After reaching his 70th birthday this month, dad is finally getting used to the idea that it might be his last year (est. in the early 1970’s). Thought I better tell you in case you wanted one last Lemon Chicken – he has a habit of closing doors for prolonged periods over Summer and keeping the locals guessing as to whether he will open them again. Thanks for your blog, I’ll pass your remarks onto the chef.”
One of the very first posts I did when I started foodvixen was about my favourite Chinese takeaway in Cairns – Kin Wah. It’s somewhere that my family has been ordering Chinese food from ever since I can remember. Kin Wah is a Cairns institution and whenever Mr Ng Kin Wah and his wife Francis do finally decide to shut up shop for the last time it will no doubt be the end of an era. I still maintain to this day that Kin Wah serves hands down the best Lemon Chicken I have ever tasted. Even better than the Lemon Chicken I had in China!
Although they haven’t closed their doors yet I just want to say a big thank you to Kin Wah for providing my family (and plenty of other Cairns locals) with decades of awesome Friday night takeaways filled with giant bags of Prawn Crackers, Fried Rice, Steamed Dimmies, Lemon Chicken and that sweet, Sweet and Sour Pork.
PS: Happy 70th Birthday to Mr Kin Wah himself!!!
Kin-Wah Chinese Take-away
Shop 9/24 Florence St, Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4051 2102
Linga Longa, Edge Hill
I’m out at sea (well I was when I wrote this) and bored out of my frigin brain so I figured I might as well attempt to kill a couple of hours by starting my next post. Recently a friend of MS’, and subsequently mine, invited us out for dinner to celebrate his birthday with his new wife and a few mutual friends. They tossed around a few ideas in a group message on FB as to where to go and in the end went with Linga Longa. I was happy with that decision (not that it was up to me at all) because I had heard good things about Linga Longa but I hadn’t yet been there (story of my life).
Saturday night came and MS and I arrived at Linga Longa to find we were the last ones to get there. We were seated down the back of the restaurant at our table of 8 (4 couples). After a bit of chit chat, me filling people in on how awesome Shanghai was and oohing and ahhing about a friends new Dashund puppy we ordered some drinks and had a look over the menu. The restaurant was full for a Saturday with a couple of waitstaff working overtime to keep all the tables happy.
I ordered my usual glass of Sauvignon Blanc while MS, after finding out that the only Cider that Linga Longa had on the menu was Strongbow (why haven’t restaurants caught onto the whole cider thing yet and who the hell even drinks Strongbow?!), decided he would have a Black Russian. Yeah I had no idea what it was either or maybe I’m just not with the times, who knows. So… apparently a Black Russian is Coke with Vodka and Kahlua. I didn’t think it was something that would appeal to me at all – especially considering that I haven’t touched vodka with a 10 foot pole after an entire day spent with my head in a bucket after only 5 vodka’s during a State of Origin night at the Courthouse a few years ago (okay okay they were the more than lethal Smirnoff Black’s but still!). Turns out that Black Russian’s are actually alright, well the sip that I had of it anyway. The birthday boy, SG, liked the idea of a Black Russian so much that he ordered one for himself after consuming what I can only say is a girlie drink – a mojito (yes SG if you are reading this mojito’s are for girls).
My Sauvignon Blanc
Three out of four couples at the table had some sort of voucher to use for dinner. When I say ‘some sort’ I mean 2 x Table 52 cards plus MS and I had our Entertainment Book Gold Card. I wasn’t sure if we would be able to use all three together. Apparently there was quite a bit of commotion caused when some of the guys at our table had tried to use a few Table 52 cards at Wink 2 a few months prior to this birthday dinner – to put it lightly the waiter/owner whatever he was (I wasn’t there) was quite rude and as a result none of them will ever go back there again, and that is on top of the ordinary food that they had already had. Anyway, it remained to be seen how we would go with our vouchers, but I figured we would just wait till it came time to pay the bill to find out.
We all ordered entrees and mains with MS and I ordering a Salt and Pepper Squid and sourdough with a trio of dips (Hommus, Babaganoush and Tzatziki) to share between the two of us. The Salt and Pepper Squid seemed to be the most popular entree at our table with four servings ordered in total, however it took a good 40 minutes from when we arrived to when we received our entrees – hell we didn’t order until thirty minutes after we arrived! Just that little bit too long if you ask me. I had high expectations for Linga Longa since I had heard a lot of good things about it and people are always harping on about the fantastic service they receive there, but all was not lost.
Salt and Pepper Squid lightly fried with our Chef’s special Garlic Mayo and Mixed Greens (AU$16.50)
In between waiting for our entrees and chatting we watched the torrential downpours outside from the warmth and dryness of our cosy table for eight. Our entrees arrived in a procession bought out by two of the waitstaff. The sourdough and dips were placed in front of me whilst the Salt and Pepper Squid which, let’s face it were actually meant for MS, were placed in front of him. There was a small pile of lightly seasoned squid next to a small garden salad with a lemon wedge and some tartare sauce. The squid was delicious, tender and an okay sized serving however for the AU$18 we paid I would have expected a little more. My trio of dips came with 6 slices of grilled bread, some a little burnt around the edges which didn’t get eaten.
Trio of Dips (Tzatziki, Hommus and Babaganoush) for AU$9.50 (came with sourdough)
The presentation of both the squid and the bread and dips was very homestyle and not nearly as fancy as I was expecting but then again the more I think about it I am pretty sure that homestyle cooking is part of the concept and the appeal at Linga Longa. The bread and dips weren’t anything to write home about – just bread and dip really. A couple of others at the table had chosen the Deep Fried Camembert with Tropical Fruit and Berry Coulis for AU$19.50 (didn’t get a photo) as their entrée. I was lucky enough to snavel a piece from someone else’s plate and it was very decadent – but good. Very good.
The sourdough that came with the dips
We waited another 15 or so minutes, ordering another round of drinks in the meantime (Black Russian #2) and then our mains arrived. MS had ordered the Chicken Breast Stuffed with Camembert, wrapped in Streaky Bacon, and finished with a Creamy Parmesan Sauce and Mashed Potato for AU$31.50. Although the Chicken Breast was stuffed with oozy Camembert Cheese MS found it to be very dry and chewy. The vegetables on the side of his plate were cold as though they had just been taken out of the fridge. He was pretty disappointed with his meal and didn’t finish it all, leaving about 1/3 behind. For what he got I think that $31.50 was a little steep – it’s just a chicken breast, really. In my opinion it’s really just one of those boring, ‘standard’ dishes that every restaurant has on the menu for the tame and unadventurous individuals like MS.
Chicken Breast Stuffed with Camembert, wrapped in Streaky Bacon, and finished with a Creamy Parmesan Sauce and Mashed Potato for AU$31.50
After tossing up a few different dishes on the menu I ended up going with the Roasted Pork Special (especially after finding out that it was pork belly because I have a major weakness for anything with crackling attached to it). It was Roasted Pork Belly with Sliced Apple and Sauerkraut on the side for around the AU$39 mark. I have to say that my dish was delicious. The Pork Belly was succulent and juicy with just the right amount of fat to meat ratio and shock horror the crackling was actually crispy (a mean feat for restaurants, and even myself sometimes). The sweet apple and sauerkraut were beautiful additions to my dish – I really, really enjoyed it!
Roasted Pork Belly with Apple and Sauerkraut (AU$39?)
Across the table from us the newlyweds were enjoying their own meals. After wondering if the Bugs were a little too messy for a dinner with friends, AM decided to order them anyway following a few words of encouragement from myself and SG. The Chargrilled Bugs with Lemon Butter, Peri Peri Sauce and served with Steamed Rice and Veggies for AU$38 was a more than generous dish with two and a half bugs in total nestled next to the rice and veggies. Turns out that AG didn’t make too much of a mess after all but she sure as hell enjoyed her meal and was more than happy with her choice of main.
Chargrilled Bugs with Lemon Butter, Peri Peri Sauce and served with Steamed Rice and Veggies for AU$38
Next to her SG had the Duck Al’Orange – Half Semi De-Boned Duck twice cooked with Buttered Pomme Landaise and Orange and Cointreau Sauce for AU$34.50, a dish that I had also tossed up getting because let’s face it “duck is the shit!” No, not “shit”, “the shit”. I love duck… but not as much as I love pork belly. Anyway, so again we were all surprised with the portion size. One reason that I didn’t order it was because I assumed it would be just a small duck leg and I would be left hungry but no, not this Duck Al’Orange. I think there was a little jealousy around the table when SG’s main arrived. It has to be said that SG thought it to be pretty tasty too. Sizeable and tasty = winning!
Duck Al’Orange – Half Semi De-Boned Duck twice cooked with Buttered Pomme Landaise and Orange and Cointreau Sauce for AU$34.50
To be honest I don’t remember a whole lot about the dessert part of the night. Most likely because neither MS or I decided to have any (there was no Sticky Date Pudding *sad face*). I do recall something about the rest of the table ordering Chocolate Fondant’s in proliferation around us though and by all reports they were full of gooey, chocolate-y goodness.
So to wrap things up for our Saturday night dinner at Linga Longa… It appears that good old fashioned service and home style food is the biggest draw card for diners at Linga Longa. The owner personally welcomes people as they arrive at his restaurant and from what I observed it seems that a lot of them are regulars at his restaurant. The owner and his staff have obviously taken the time to get to know many of these people whom most likely live in the immediate Edge Hill area, or close by.
The majority of the food (except for MS’ chicken and my sourdough) was exceptional albeit a little on the pricey side but I think that’s what most diners are happy to pay for good French style, home-cooked food, often generous portions (well for fine dining anyway) and service in a relaxed and cosy but still classy atmosphere. Also worth mentioning was the fact that we were able to use our Entertainment Book Gold Card and the others also used their Table 52 cards without a single word of protest uttered by the waiter who organised the bill. Another win! Linga Longa certainly lived up to it’s name because we were there for over two and a half hours but unlike the horrible Smirnoff Black’s that will never see the light of day with me again this restaurant is well worth a revisit.
Linga Longa
120 Collins Ave, Edge Hill QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4032 2136
Opening Hours: Tues – Thurs 5.30pm – 10pm, Fri 11.30am – 2.30pm & 5.30pm – 10pm, Sat 5.30pm – 10pm, Sun 11.30am – 2.30pm & 5.30pm – 10pm
Shanghai Adventures, Part 2
Here is the second part of my adventures in Shanghai. I know that some of my posts tend to be ridiculously long which is why I have split this one into two. Plus that way it counts as two posts and not one 😉
Anyway after a couple of days filled with highs, lows, celebrations and a few too many cakes and glasses of wine at the circuit hospitality my family and I headed back into the city for our last couple of nights in Shanghai. We went for lunch at another highly recommended and famous Taiwanese dumpling restaurant called Din Tai Fung.
We had the usual fare of dumplings, steamed pork buns and glutinous rice rolls which cost us a little more than expected. Din Tai Fung was good and all but it was nothing spectacular and certainly no better than the street food that we had been paying no more than 5 YUAN for. I’m all for eating out (you know me) but I just love the experience that comes with street food. Yeah sure some people think it’s questionable and you are potentially dicing with a bad case of the runs but as my saying goes, if it’s busy…. Give me street side dumplings any day!
That night a acquaintance of my mum and dad invited my family along to dinner compliments of the 6th richest man in China. Hoping we weren’t going to have to fork out any money for what we knew was going to be a decadent affair we found ourselves in a private room in an exy restaurant called Xi’s Garden in the French Concession.
After introductions were made the 11 of us sat down and the Chinese man whose name was Leon (I think?) took the liberty of ordering for us, as the Chinese tend to do. The waitstaff bought in Great Wall red wine (nothing to do with the shitty car brand) and Chinese beer and the procession of dishes to our large table began. And I mean this was a procession, they just kept coming. The dishes that I can reSmember included duck, deep fried crispy fish, abalone, xiao long bao, soup, water spinach, lotus root, bean curd, egg rolls, fried rice, some chicken and peanut thing, braised pork, steamed whole fish, beef tendons (look absolutely nothing like beef tendons – or I wouldn’t have eaten it), sweet and sour pork (or maybe it was chicken), eel and an array of other dishes.
Yin and Yang Soup
It was an absolute feast and definitely one of the more lavish dinners I have had the opportunity to attend. One of the dishes on the table we were informed was bullfrog. I had seen them in the markets, hopping around in a large bucket waiting to be selected and I was disgusted that people would actually eat them. Much to my dismay our host, Leon, insisted that my brother and I try the bullfrog. I have to say, although I didn’t want to eat it, I did, I can say I did, it was ok but I won’t be eating it again. It was the idea of eating bullfrog that got me. It actually tasted alright – the texture of fish but the taste of chicken. Ew.
The aftermath
Our decadent and unbelievable expensive dinner (thank god we didn’t get the bill) was concluded with a small dessert, for that I was grateful since I was as my dad would say ‘up to pussy’s bow’, with a glutinous rice ball filled with cream and mango. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The outside was super soft and the inside was creamy and sweet. It was, as my brother said, like ‘eating a cloud’. I was sad that we only got one each but in the grand scheme of things that was all I needed.
Mango and Cream filled Glutinous Rice Cake
After dinner, with bellies full of food my family and I were more than ready to head back to the hotel and sleep off the mountain of food we had just eaten but our host was ready to kick on at an exclusive bar in the French Concession called People. In order to gain access you had to stick your hand into one of 9 holes to find a level that opened a secret door.
Good way to keep drunk people out of your club
Ah yeah, it was just a little bit more up market than the usual dingy Cairns club where your shoes stick to the floor. We stayed the obligatory hour with me having a Gin and Cucumber cocktail (surprisingly good and refreshing, although I was the only one that thought so) and we headed back to our hotel for our final day in Shanghai.
My Gin and Cucumber Cocktail
The next day we were on a mission to do some last minute ‘knock off’ shopping on Nanjiang Rd and in the French Concession. Unfortunately China is heading into winter so the clothing wasn’t exactly desirable but the fashion over there is certainly trendy to say the least. The real reason that I wanted to finish up in the French Concession was because there was a famous restaurant in that area that according to my trusty Lonely Planet guide was a massive hit with the locals and like stepping back in time tinto a 1950’s Hong Kong diner. I had to go there. Again it wasn’t hard to find because of the large line that had formed outside and after my dad stepping in dog shit and making a huge fuss trying to wipe it off his shoe on the sidewalk (typical dad) I managed to secure us a number in the queue in order to secure us a table inside Cha’s Restaurant.
We only waited about 20 minutes for our table for four which was pretty good considering the line – but like I said earlier you never wait long for food in Shanghai. I had a milk tea since it seemed like everyone was having them so I figured they had to be good.
We ordered some more Braised Pork, Bean Curd, Water Spinach, Lemon Chicken and an eggplant dish. It was the first time I had found Lemon Chicken on our 7 day stay in Shanghai and I was stoked because it’s one of my favourite dishes. Turns out, apart from the Lemon Chicken at Kin Wah on Florence Street (best Chinese in Cairns), this Lemon Chicken from Cha’s Restaurant was right up there! My milk tea was pretty good too.
Lemon Chicken
Water Spinach with Garlic and Tofu
Unfortunately we finished our dishes and headed to the hotel to pick up our luggage but not before I made a mad dash across to Fungan Rd (the food street) to get my last fix of Roasted Chestnuts. We took the Maglev (the world’s fastest magnetic train) from Pudong to the International Airport and althought it was about AU$10 more than the normal train we got to the airport in about 8 minutes and travelled at a top speed of 430km. It was pretty awesome and even though my dad whinged and complained about the price he thought it was pretty awesome too.
The Maglev
Well that’s about it for my trip to Shanghai. I had an absolutely amazing time and after travelling to quite a few places around the world I can’t recommend China enough. It’s certainly different and without a doubt the Chinese can be very rude but the way I try to look at it is – that’s just how they are. The spitting and smoking can get a bit much but again, that’s just how they are. When you do find the kind ones then it makes it that little bit more special. Shanghai is like an Asian New York – there is plenty going on and plenty to see. I am really hoping that China Eastern Airlines recommences their direct flights from Cairns to Shanghai because I am already planning a trip back but this time with the more cautious and less adventurous MS in tow. He has never been overeas though so it remains to be seen just how he reacts to the street food aspect. Shanghai is the ultimate foodie destination and you can go cheap or you can go high end, it’s all there. With nearly everyone second shop being a restaurant, cafe or a Starbucks the Shanghainese love food nearly as much as I do, and I can assure you that’s a hell of a lot.
Shanghai Adventures, Part 1
A destination that I have been wanting to travel to for quite some time is Shanghai. In 2005 I travelled to China with my family however we only spent a few days in Beijing. The trip to Beijing wasn’t a planned one. My parents were flying over to Hong Kong for business at the time and my brother and I were lucky enough to be able to tag along. A few days before we left my dad suggest that we go to China for four days since it was only a short plane ride away. I begged and pleaded with him that we stay in Hong Kong because I didn’t want to go to China and wanted to stay and go shopping but in the end we went anyway. Turns out I had a fantastic time during those four days, visiting places like the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall of China and Tianamen Square. I couldn’t wait to go back.
Anyway just recently the opportunity came up again to go to China with my family, but this time Shanghai. It wasn’t for business this time but lets say my brother had some important things to do over there. Seeing as I wasn’t going to be away at sea I decided to go along with them for the seven days. I bought myself a Lonely Planet Pocket Guide and did some research on what to do and where to go but most of all I was excited about the food.
We arrived in Shanghai late on a Tuesday night having flown all day on Cathay via Hong Kong. Some of the plane food was particularly questionable especially a prawn noodle salad that was little on the smelly side. We all erred on the side of caution and didn’t eat that delicious looking prawn noodle salad, instead opting for the Haagen Daas ice cream that was brought around. Arriving so late there wasn’t too much that was open around our hotel near the Bund so we went to bed looking forward to a Chinese breakfast in the morning. Some travellers may opt for the hotel breakfast – usually Western fare of bacon, eggs and hashbrowns but not family. Frankly I think if you are eating in the hotel in a city like Shanghai then you have rocks in your head.
The next day we headed off early for our first Shanghai adventure. We headed down the street past a Shanghai institution called Shanghai Grandmother (our dinner destination for that evening) and found a busy looking dumpling place filled with Chinese. Mum, my brother and I decided that’s where we were going and after ignoring my dad’s protests to find somewhere further along the street we went inside. Anyone that has tried to order food or anything for that matter overseas where there is no english spoken knows how difficult it can be but after pointing to a few diners slurping away on their wonton noodles and a couple of other things followed by holding up some fingers to indicate how many we wanted we managed to get our point across. Finally we handed over all of 25 YUAN(about AU$4) we waited for our food.
Our favourite Chinese breakfast restaurant in Shanghai
Up the front of the restaurant right in front of the window a man was cooking an enormous batch of the dumplings that Shanghai is famous for – Xiao Long Bao (dumplings filled with soup). These were at the absolute top of my list of things to try whilst in Shanghai. As each batch was ready diners rushed to the counter to collect their freshly cooked Xiao Long Bao and after being yelled at by the Xiao Long Bao man and looking at him like I had no frigin idea what he was saying one of the locals who spoke a little English chimed in and ask if I wanted to ‘have here or take away’. Thank god for the English speakers.
Making Xiao Long Bao
My family and I sat down with our wonton soup and Xiao Long Bao and ate our Chinese breakfast. It was delicious and honestly one of the best breakfasts I have had, not only because of the food but as cliché as it sounds, the experience.
The Xiao Long Bao which I saved till last (I always save the best till last) were the most amazing things I have ever put in my mouth – food wise anyway haha. These ones were fried, not steamed, and the bottom was slightly burnt and crispy which made them an absolute delight.
Xiao Long Bao
I am salivating at the thought of these things and our breakfast was that good that we returned for the next three days to eat breakfast at this bustling little place. Each day the male owner became a little bit more friendly, learning our order and helping out us semi clueless Westerners.
Our first breakfast on that Wednesday was followed by pretty much an entire week of eating for us. While in Shanghai we had our fair share of street food from freshly made honeycomb made by a friendly man on the side of the road, super spicy pizza type bread for no more than 20 cents from a roadside bakery, roasted chestnuts from a guy that I’m almost certainly doubled his prices for us Westerners and steamed pork buns from a man with only two teeth that laughed at my brother for wearing pink shorts,
The Roasted Chestnut Guy that doubled his prices
Later that night we ended up at Shanghai Grandmother, the Shanghai institution that I mentioned earlier, for dinner. We had Braised Pork, Bean Curd, Water Spinach with Garlic and a yummy dish that I remember eating on tour in Beijing, Fried Egg with Tomato. Doesn’t sound like much I know but it’s so damn good.
Fried Egg with Tomato
Shanghai Grandmother was flat out and the two floors were packed to the brim with diners. The best thing about dining in China – or Shanghai is that despite how busy or how big the restaurant is, you never have to wait long for your food. 15 minutes is the absolute maximum. Don’t worry about what’s going on in the kitchen – you just don’t think about that part. If the place is busy, it’s a goer.
Braised Beef
Next up my brother and my dad had a few things to do on the outskirts of Shanghai so mum and I were left to our own devices. We headed to our favourite breakfast spot, this time mum had the bean curd, which she said was superb. I stuck to my wonton soup and Xiao Long Bao. We both decided that we wanted to go to the Super Brand Mall on the other side of the river. Mum who had travelled to Shanghai previously but not done much sightseeing said that there was a tunnel under the river that you could walk through. We followed the signs to the Shanghai Bund Sightseeing Tunnel and after thinking we were walking the 2km or so to get to the other side found ourself in a weird tram type thing that took us to the other size in what the Lonely Planet described as one of the most bizarre tunnel experiences in the world. I have to agree with the LP. It was a capsule that took you through a tunnel filled with lights and sounds and other weird things.
About to start our journey along the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel
Definitely worth it, well maybe not for the 15 or so dollars we spent but at least that included a return ‘trip’. I can’t really explain it, you will just have to try it for yourself.
More of the bizarre Bund Sightseeing Tunnel
Anyway after all that the Super Brand Mall turned out to be the Super Shit Mall so we got some Starbucks (Green Tea Latte yeah!!!) and headed back to the other side.
Tai chi looking out towards the bund
After a larger than expected lunch in China Town that was rudely interrupted by a Chinese man with a cigarette that wanted our table we did a bit more sightseeing and then returned to China Town to scope out this apparently famous dumpling restaurant and takeaway joint for some more dumplings. With the amount of dumplings I was eating my dad reckoned I was going to turn into a dumpling. Meh, you can never have enough dumplings in your life in my opinion. The Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant wasn’t hard to spot, simply because of the ridiculous line of people queuing for dumplings. Apparently there is a surcharge for dining in the restaurant so most people just get takeaway.
The line-up for takeaway at the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
There is a large window where you can watch the workers inside making the thousands, if not millions of dumplings this place must go through a day.
Busy workers inside the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
We took our spot in the line and after about 20 minutes got a serve of our own dumplings for only 5 YUAN (less than AU$1). Some of the people in the line were getting these super big dumplings (Steamed Bun with Crap Roe and Soup) that had a straw sticking out of the middle, assumedly to drink the soup in the middle. Mum and I thought that was a little strange so we ordered the smaller dumplings. They were also filled with soup – again it’s what Shanghai is famous for.
What’s on the menu at the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
There is definitely a technique to eating Xiao Long Bao because the soup inside is steaming hot. I burned myself multiple times on the multiple occasions that I ate these delightful things or I just spilt the soup all over myself. They were good but in my eyes nothing beat the fried ones from the awesome breakfast place that we had been frequenting.
Take away steamed Xiao Long Bao from the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
The next evening after a day of shopping my whole family was famished and we headed off on another adventure to get some dinner (it’s always an adventure with my family). This time we were staying in a hotel about an hour out of Shanghai. Lets just say that my brother needed to be close to a circuit that was nearby for the next couple of days (sorry I’m not trying to be elusive, okay yeah maybe I am). So we headed off down the road and found ourselves in a little town. It wasn’t hard to find where the food was – it’s where all the people are. We walked past and looked at a place that my mum absolutely refused to go to because of all the large bones on peoples plate. What’s wrong with eating large bones of questionable origin? We looked in the window of a butcher at all of the weird, wonderful and downright bizarre things that were inside to take home and cook. Then we found ourselves outside what looked like a busy noodle shop.
Again dad tried to move us on to ‘see what was a little further down’ but the rest of us took a stand and walked in. I wouldn’t say it was a restaurant. More a hole in the wall with a big wok out the front and a couple of tables inside with a little old man clearing out finished bowls and making space for new diners. A refrigerated cabinet inside had a large selection of different types of noodles and meats and vegetables on skewers.
The deal was that you took a colander, selected however many noodles, meat, vegetables, tofu and other random skewered items you wanted, paid your money and then the woman on the wok next to a big pot of broth cooked it up for you. Some of the things I had to take a guess what they were – what I thought was tofu turned out to be a fish ball after biting into it but that’s all part of the adventure. I am a little less adventurous than my brother who selected a couple of ‘mystery meats’ that he literally had no idea what they were. It’s all in good fun and like I said, as long as the place is busy then it’s a goer.
My colander of questionable food items
In the end our four noodles bowls cost us 49 YUAN which is only AU$8.40, an absolute bargain if you ask me because it was one of the best meals I have had. My brother erred on the side of caution and decided that he would leave his mystery meat to the side since after the cooking process it still didn’t resemble anything we recognised. He needed to be on top of his game for a very important event the next day so I urged him to be a little bit smarter with his decisions.
My delicious bowl of noodles
Stayed tuned for the second part of my adventures in Shanghai…
The Clever Canteen @ The Clever Duck, Forest Gardens *CLOSED DOWN*
There have been a few places I have been wanting to go and eat in the last few months but being so restricted food wise all I could do was dream about them and lay in waiting for the time when I could eat real food again. That time has finally come, well about a month ago anyway. Two of those such places were The Clever Duck and Mama Coco who coincidently are run by the same people. I have previously written posts on both of The Clever Duck and Mama Coco however Davey, Bill and co are doing exciting new things at both establishments and I thought that called for a brand new post. Besides if I was going to eat there then I was definitely going to post about it! I’ll have to save the Mama Coco one for another day because this post is reserved for The Clever Duck.
Having only been open since April this year The Clever Duck has already developed a huge following of locals and fellow foodies because of it’s delicious food and breezy, serene location in Forest Gardens. Only recently they have come up with The Clever Canteen on Saturday’s and Sunday’s from midday to 4pm. This particular time we went was for the Labour Day Long Weekend on the 6th of October (yes I realise that was nearly a month ago but I have been overseas, no not working but on holiday). More on that very soon.
I got a group of friends together and we headed out to Forest Gardens for an afternoon of eating and drinking. When we arrived the TCD was only about a third full but our group of 9 filled the place up a little bit more. Bill, the host, politely showed us to our table and explained the menu to us. The menu at The Clever Canteen is designed for grazing with a choice of four different types of meats for $9 per portion and salads, grains and veggies $5 per portion. There is also the option of three tasty sauces for $1, grazing plates with sour dough and antipasto for $25 plus things for the ducklings (kiddies) at around the $5 mark.
Since The Clever Canteen is currently BYO with no corkage MS and I took full advantage and planned to get absolutely wasted so we pulled out our bottle of tequila and some shot glasses. Haha, just kidding. A couple of Rekorderlig Ciders on a Sunday afternoon at TCD was just what the doctor ordered (I think Rekorderlig is amazing or as my good friend TW would say are ‘like angels peeing on my tongue’).
After having a look over the menu which true-to-form I had already looked over many times on TCD‘s Facebook page we ordered a few plates each and went from there. First up I went for the Dry Rubbed Smoked Pork Shoulder with Southern Style Whiskey and Sweet Onion Sauce and a side of Saffron Basmati Rice, Dried Cranberries, Pistachios and Mixed Herbs all for $15. Shit yeah! Pretty good if you ask me. MS ordered the same except instead of the Basmati Rice he chose the Pink Eye Potato Salad, Radish, Dill, Sour Cream and Horseradish as his side. Across from me my favourite sweet toothed blogger Baking Myself Happy ordered the Prosciutto Wrapped Rosemary and Chicken Thigh with Thyme Roasted Pumpkin, Mushroom, Tomato and Shallot. With the delicious aromas of the BBQ sizzling away outside with Davy at the helm our first round of food didn’t take long to arrive. Initially I thought the portion size was a little small but then I looked at the size of the cut of Pork Shoulder that was in front of me and remembered that it had cost a mere $15 and soon realised what awesome value The Clever Canteen was.
Dry Rubbed Smoked Pork Shoulder with Southern Style Whiskey and Sweet Onion Sauce and a side of Saffron Basmati Rice, Dried Cranberries, Pistachios and Mixed Herbs (AU$15)
The Dry Rubbed Smoked Pork Shoulder was probably some of the best, if not the best pork I have ever had. All too many times I have had dry, chewy pork but this… this was something else. It was juicy and succulent and the Southern Style Whiskey and Sweet Onion Sauce was that good that I pretty much licked the ramekin clean to finish it off after my pork was gone. The Saffron Basmati Rice was also a hit at our table with just the right amount of sweetness from the cranberries, crunch from the pistachios and herbs to flavour the dish. MS and I also ordered some Wood Fired Sour Dough with Wattle Seed Dukkah and EVOO for AU$5 because lets face it, who can resist dukkah and sour dough! Everyone declared how excellent their respective meals were and after we finished our first plate half the table was already looking at the menu for what they were going to have for their next plate – not because we were still hungry (well I was but I am an eating machine to put it lightly) but because we wanted to try more of the amazing dishes that were on offer.
Wood Fired Sour Dough with Wattle Seed Dukkah and EVOO (AU$5)
Next up I chose the Herb Crusted Roast Tableland Sirloin this time with Smokey Chimichurri for the sauce and the Pink Eye Potato Salad and MS got Sirloin also except he chose the Roasted Pumpkin and Mushroom Salad. As we finished off our first cider and moved onto our 2nd (I had 2, MS was driving so he only had one) our second plates of food arrived at the table. My big cut of sirloin, like the pork, was cooked to perfection and had that lovely grilled/BBQ taste. The chimichurri sauce was the perfect accompaniment and the potato salad was definitely my favourite side dish of the day. I have a massive weak spot for potato salad. And macaroni cheese. I loved the sirloin but I just couldn’t go past the pork. That was an absolute standout for me whilst MS thought the sirloin was better. Different strokes, different folks but they were both awesome.
Herb Crusted Roast Tableland Sirloin with Thyme Roasted Pumpkin, Mushroom, Tomato and Shallot
Across from me KK who was still relishing in her first meal of Dry Rubbed Pork had ordered a Grazing Plate of Soft, Hard and Blue Cheese with Chutney Fruit and Sourdough for $25. The Grazing Plate served on a large wooden bread board was presented beautifully and neatly and I secretly wished that I had ordered one. Lucky for the rest of us at the table KK ate as much as she could (hardly any) and then moved the board into the middle of the table for the rest of us to devour. I went straight for the blue cheese because lets face it, a cheese platter isn’t a cheese platter without that mouldy goodness. The soaked dried fruits were delicious and I am now kicking myself for not finding out what they were soaked in.
Grazing Plate of Soft, Hard and Blue Cheese with Chutney, Fruit and Sourdough for AU$25
Although I wanted to keep eating savoury dishes and get through all four of the main BBQ portions – fish and chicken still to go – I knew that it was time to check out the dessert dishes inside the cabinet near the counter. MS and I went over and had a look and after at least 10 minutes of umming and ahhing what each of us should get and then what the other could get so one could taste it and then consulting the waitress as to which one was better than the other. We finally chose a small slice of the Chocolate and Sultana Brownie with Ice Cream, the Almond, Pear and Frangipane Tart and a slice of Banana Bread, warmed up with butter. It was a hard choice and if I could have had my way I would have eaten one of everything in the cabinet but alas I have to exert a little bit of self control. Yes MS and I are fatties (on the inside) but we workout *insert chorus for the song I’m sexy and I know it*. A lot. All three of the desserts were fantastic with the exception of the Almond and Frangipane Tart which was exceptional. There is something about the texture of the tart that just did it for me. MS was content eating his boring slice of Banana Bread (good but boring) and left me to my own devices with the entire tart and the brownie.
Slice of Chocolate Sultana Brownie with Ice Cream for AU$1.50
Almond, Pear and Frangipane Tart
Warm Banana Bread with Butter
About halfway through our lunch more people started to arrive until the place was chock a block. Not too many people but enough to fill the place up both outside on the deck and inside where we were sitting. The amazingly talented and beautiful singer Amy Chase and her guitarist set up outside on the deck and played some lazy tunes whilst families set up picnic blankets in the afternoon sun out on the lawn in front of the deck. It was the perfect afternoon to end finish off a perfect Sunday with fantastic food, great service and great friends in a relaxed atmosphere by the pond. I really like the concept of The Clever Canteen – being able to mix and match your food. There are exciting times ahead as the team at The Clever Duck and Mama Coco are doing some great things for the local food scene with pop up restaurants and weekend BBQ’s like The Clever Canteen. I only hope that other cafe’s and restaurants take a leaf out of their book to help create a more diverse Melbournesque food culture for our vibrant city. Bring it on!
PS: If you haven’t got your tickets for the Melbourne Cup Soiree at TCD then you better get in soon. With canapés, a bountiful banquet and a dessert pony (whatever that is) it’s the winning trifecta for a kick ass day.
PPS: After all the ranting and raving I have done about these guys I just want to say that I have no ties or links to Mama Coco or TCD. I do however believe that if a café or restaurant in Cairns is up to scratch then I will shout it from the rooftops, or at least from the safety of my couch and my Toshiba Ultrabook. As many of my readers should know it’s hard to find good food, good service and good atmosphere in Cairns so when you find all three you know you’re onto a winner.
The Clever Duck
Lakeside, Forest Gardens Blvd, Forest Gardens QLD 4868
Ph: (07) 4036 3936
Opening Hours: The Clever Canteen – Sat and Sun 12pm – 4pm, normal hours Wed – Fri 7.30am – 2.30pm, Sat and Sun 7.30am – 4pm
Website: www.thecleverduck.com.au
foodvixen 
