Etch Restaurant - New Year's Eve Dinner, and the year that was

(Intercontinental Hotel - Mint Bar and Lounge)

      Etch Restaurant is located at The Intercontinental Hotel. The hotel holds a very special place in Ryan's heart and memory. It's the place where they celebrated all of his grandmothers milestones, and it was where she had one of her last birthday dinners before her health declined rapidly and had to move into a nursing home. This is the first time we've set foot into the hotel since then.

Happy New Year!

       

      2011 has been an absolutely fantastic year. We've had our highs as well as our lows, and it seems to have been the most busiest year ever. So busy that this little blog has sometimes had to take a back seat as I've just been too exhausted to write up any posts. Have barely had time and energy to do what I enjoy too, reading food blogs. I definitely have been busier than ever in the kitchen cooking, baking, experimenting and occasionally eating out at a few new places, and taking photos of all the food as I always do.

        Here's a recap of some highlights and lowlights to the year,

• January saw some of my family lose their homes and all personal possessions in the Queensland floods. After the clean up, my brother, cousin and I drove up with a car load of donations from friends and family and spent the weekend up there. I even cooked my family some fish and chips with the fish we caught on a fishing trip with them.
• February was when Ryan's grandmother passed away. Her funeral was a few days before Valentine's so we will now always remember her at that time of the year. Ryan's mum asked me to do the funeral flowers.
• March is Ryan's birthday and we had a fantastic lunch at Quay to celebrate.
• April saw two of our friends get married, and there was an awesome lunch catch up we had at Ryan's cousin's place. Then there was Easter.
• May had Mother's Day and I cooked up a little Thai dinner for the family. There was also the 'Masterchef Challenge'.
• June is my birthday and Ryan suprised me with lunch at Glass Brasserie at the Hilton and then cooked a wonderful dinner for some friends and I to celebrate. I also had a couple of cake orders come in.
• This July Ryan and I celebrated 11 years together, look forward to celebrating number 12 with my best friend in 2012. One of my good friend's baby was Christened and I made a delicious 2 tiered cake and made my first ever fondant figurine tiger to go on top as a present to him. We were also busy finalising everything for our big trip in August where we spent 4 weeks half way across the world ticking off some major dreams - visiting Egypt, Israel, Madrid and Paris.
• September was a bit of a write off with us suffering withdrawals from our travels and just adjusting back to life at home (and me spending the first few days recovering from food poisoning I caught on the plane ride from Paris to Dubai). The little boy who was Christened in July was also celebrating his first birthday this month and I was asked to make his cake and it was a raving success.
  Ryan also played part in a saxophone trio at the 50th Birthday of a close family friend of his which was also their 25th Wedding Anniversary. My aunty passed away this month and her funeral fell on the same day as the 50th birthday party. It was a very long and tiring few days for the both of us and I also did the flower arrangements for my aunty.
• I took on my first ever major major baking project in October. I made my very first 3 tiered wedding cake with a cascade of macarons. The bride's cousin is married to my cousin who came to me with the request earlier this year. I may have been a little crazy when I said yes but I managed to pull it off. Needing a little escape, Ryan and I went away for a few days to Ettalong Beach thanks to a voucher I had actually bought at the end of 2010. We did not escape all the busyness upon returning back to Sydney, as we drove straight to the western suburbs for saxophone practice.
• November was D day for Ryan and his saxophone quartet. They had actually been practising throughout the year for this (I went with Ryan every weekend) and the day had finally arrived. They played Pacabel's Canon as one of their old band associate members and close friend walked down the aisle.
  There was also my work end of year party where I managed to score a lucky dip prize of 1000 recognition points which is equivalent to $1000 on our rewards system. I cashed out my points for $1000 of Myer vouchers.
• And come December, well it's been crazy. Ryan took me to a Society Ball, loved dancing to our first live Jazz band. There was also a wedding of two good friends and I did the flowers for the Bride and her Bridesmaids (and the Groom and his Groomsmen). Then there was the annual Christmas dinner at Ryan's Parish Church. And so much cooking and baking to do for various parties throughout the month (and year).
  Before you knew it Christmas came and went and there was another death within the family. My cousin's great grandmother passed away on Boxing Day so there was a rush to organise the funeral and I was asked to do the flower arrangements for it. Before I could catch my breath the end of the year was upon us and I feel like time was slipping away again. But I am looking forward to the new year ahead and whatever it may bring.

      Etch is one of many in Justin North's great empire of restaurants. It's also one that I have been keen to visit and when an email came out about a New Year's Eve special menu they were offering, Ryan and I were sold. It was a 5 course degustation for $100, which I thought was relatively reasonable for our pockets for New Year's Eve and with the matching wines it was only $150.

      I thought it would be a nice end to a great year and location wise it was conveniently located close to Circular Quay, so if we chose to we could stay after dinner to catch the fireworks.

     

     The restaurant itself was a little tricky to find as it's not directly in the hotel. It has it's own separate entrance on the side of the hotel's Bridge Street entrance. It's quite an intimate space and Ryan and I absolutely love the décor the moment we walk in.

      We're actually one of the first tables to arrive at 6pm as I was a little confused over the correct starting time for their first sitting for the night but it all worked out well. It was nice to have the place to ourselves for the first 15 minutes or so.

      As soon as we let our waiter know we are ready to start, a plate of bread and whipped butter comes out. I love good quality bread and butter and it's always the perfect start to keep my stomach from growling before our first course arrives. Ryan says that it reminds him of Paris, though in Paris the bread is actually not served with butter and it is topped up endlessly throughout the meal, and the bread is just so good in Paris.

Salad of prawns, mango, wasabi

NV La Zona Prosecco, King Valley

      Our first course arrives and it is quite a pretty plate. The 'salad' is actually prawns done two ways. The first is a ceviche of prawn and the second is poached prawn with mango and a sesame crisp. The dab of wasabi added a little kick to the sweetness of the mango.

     This is the first time either of us have had 'raw' prawn and we both actually enjoyed it. I know that a ceviche is technicially not raw though as the acids in the dressing would have slightly cooked it but I think it's the rawest we've eaten a prawn.  It was a great light start to the meal and all the flavours and textures in this one dish had me excited and looking forward to the rest of the dishes. I did wish there was a bit more on the plate though.

      The matching wine complemented the dish perfectly.  It was very light and crisp on the palette, thus it did not overpower the delicate balance between the prawns and the mango; rather it uplifted the flavours of the dish, in particular the mango. Also, as it was also a sparkling wine, it acted as a cleanser to prepare us for the next course. To sum it up, a very delicate and complex combination to start off dinner.

Scallop and crab lasagne, vanilla, Champagne foam

2009 Bella Modella Pinot grigio and Garganega, Veneto

     When we saw 'vanilla' on the menu, it had us intrigued. We've only ever tasted vanilla in dessert dishes.    But when the dish was placed in front of us, we got that first big whiff of vanilla.  On the first mouthful I sensed the aroma of vanilla filling my mouth, followed by the savoury notes of the other components of the dish. I must say that this flavour combination was slightly odd. I can't say I was a huge fan of the vanilla but overall the dish was nicely done, soft silky sheets of fresh pasta and chunks of scallop and crab underneath. Ryan was left wishing he had some bread left to wipe the plate clean.

    As for the wine (an Italian white), it was light on the palette and had lots of citrus undertones. It complemented the seafood nicely, and as the sauce had butter in it, the wine lightens the butter taste in the sauce so you could actually taste the seafood.   

    Our third wine for the night and I was already light headed. It's actually our first proper fine dining degustation and also the first time we'd had matching wines. I'm not a huge drinker and don't really much about different wines so this was quite an educational experience.

Tasting of Aylesbury Duck - Smoked breast, parfait & orange butter, consomme, crispy pancakes

2010 Petit Rimauresq Rose, Provence

     This was a truly decadent set of mini dishes. The first thing I smell as soon as our waiter arrives is the consomme. The duck breast was smoked to perfection and  the duck liver parfait was just the smoothest and silkiest thing I have ever eaten. Ryan was the first to taste it while I was still finishing my duck breast and was telling me how good it was, after my first fork full I was speechless. It was a little on the salty side, and combined with the richness of the parfait and the orange butter it was a bit of a struggle to finish.

      We both agreed that something a little tart was needed to break up the richness of the parfait and perhaps even a few pieces of bread would have been nice to eat it with. Ryan did discover that a sip of the consomme in between really made it enjoyable to eat and helped to take away the saltiness. I still can't get over how absolutely smooth it was. What we thought were crispy pancakes were not pancakes but pieces of duck skin deep fried to a crispy finish, duck crackling as Ryan described it.

     The accompanying wine was a Rose from Provence (I miss France!). It was actually quite robust for a Rose, as previous Rose wines that Ryan and I have drank previously have been quite light. What we noticed in the wine is that it had a "smokey" flavour that complemented the robust taste of the duck perfectly. It actually made the dish more appetising in fact.

Charred Wagyu scotch, carrots, Pedro Ximenez

2007 Clairault Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Margaret River

     Our final course before dessert. I love the fact that the aromas of the dishes hit me before the waiter reaches the table, when the food smells good it's got to taste good too right? Scotch fillet is naturally a very tender cut of meat, the fact that it was also Wagyu made it all that more decadent to eat. It was charred perfectly and the cubes of extra meat (not sure what cut of meat they would have come from) added quite a contrasting texture. I absolutely loved the carrots done two ways. I'm not usually a fan of carrots as they have a very strong taste but these pieces of carrot and puree were quite mellow and sweet and I enjoyed every last bite.

       The accompanying wine was a very powerful red indeed! I usually prefer a white and am only beginning to get used to red wines but this was very strong. It had a very savoury taste to it, thus I found it hard to drink, as I need a bit of citrus or sweetness in a wine to help me drink it more easily. The wine unfortunately obliterated any flavour of the beef and especially the carrot seeing that it was so delicate. Needless to say neither Ryan or myself could finish this wine.

Peach Melba

2008 McWilliams 'Morning Light', botrytis Semillon, Riverina

     I must admit, I was a little sceptical about dessert when I saw 'Peach Melba' on the menu. 'Peaches and raspberries, what's so special about that?' I thought to myself. As soon as the plate arrived I was quite taken aback as to how pretty it was. The peach component consisted of a poached peach served on a round of light sponge cake. Ryan thought it was a little too light and slightly denser cake would have been nice. The raspberry component was a quinnelle of raspberry sorbet which was nice and smooth with the right amount of tartness from the raspberries. The vanilla marshmallows were also a nice touch though Ryan thought they were a little too delicate for the dish. Overall I thought it was a nice way to end the meal, not too rich and heavy.

      The accompanying wine had very strong melon characteristics. Did I also mention that it was really sweet? My goodness the wine could've been a dessert in itself! At first Ryan commented that it was a very nice wine but when we had it with the dessert, the sweetness overpowered the peach. I must admit though it did complement the raspberry quite well. The tartness of the raspberry went very well with the wine. Too bad the peach was the main dessert component though.

      Ryan and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Etch and Ryan is still talking about that duck parfait we had. Not sure if it's even offered on their regular menu but it's definately a place I'd be keen to go back to again. We tried to catch the 9pm fireworks from The Rocks as Circular Quay was full but the buildings we were standing next to completely blocked our view and no fireworks were being launched from the bridge yet. Once they were over we gave up and headed back to Wynard for the train back to Strathfield and drove to Meadowbank to join Ryan's work mates bring in the new year with the view of the fireworks from afar. It was a great way to end a great year and I am looking forward to our adventures in 2012.

      Happy New Year to all my friends and readers of the blog. Wishing you all a great year ahead and also a prosperous year full of lots of good food ;)

xoxox

[Angie Travels] - Egypt (Cairo to Mt Sinai)

        Continuing on from our adventures in Cairo. It's an early wake up call and we say good bye to the Nile River and the city of Cairo and head south east into the desert headed for Mount Sinai. We were warned that it was going to be a long trip - around 6 hours. It was a very very long bus ride, looking out at nothing but desert sands. Thank goodness for pit stops.

        It's time for a toilet break, and snacks, and one of the guides from the other bus gives a presentation on the Suez Canal, which we'll be going under in order to cross the Gulf of Suez to get to Mount Sinai. There seemed to be a queue at the bar for freshly brewed Egyptian coffee so Ryan decides to join it. It's a very thick coffee and gets quite sludgy towards the bottom but the aroma was quite magical and the taste was not like what we're used to at home, almost chocolatey to me.

        Before we continue our journey, we're each given a papyrus painting depicting the journey of Israel's exodus from ancient Egypt, which we are following on this pilgrimage. 

Our next stop is Ayun Musa, also known as Moses' Spring. Exodus 15:22-26.

        And wherever we go, there are bedouins selling trinkets and souvineers. While waiting around, our tour organisers pull out some portable speakers and pump up some music, roving entertainment in the middle of the desert!

        Our stomachs are telling us that it's lunchtime - all 100 or so of them. On the way to our lunch stop our guides  have to take our orders on the bus and phone ahead with them just so that the restaurant can get ready for our arrival. I think we filled the place to capacity.

        Plates start flying out onto the tables, we have sides of pickled vegetables, and a plate of beige sauce which tasted like tahini to me but never got a chance to confirm it.

        Soft fluffy pita bread comes out in little wooden baskets and we're also given a bowl of potatoes cooked in a tomato based sauce.

        We also get given some rice and the meat options we had were either grilled chicken (photo didn't come out right) or lamb koftas which is what I opted for. Apart from those amazing falafel sandwiches we had in Cairo, this was another fantastic meal to be had in Egypt.

        We eventually cross under the Suez Canal at the Gulf of Suez and are in the Sinai Peninsula. We stop by the Feiran oasis which is said to be the site of Rafadim - battlefield between the Hebrews and the Amellecti (Exodus 17). Atop a near by hill, there are also the ruins of an ancient church. 

        Some bedouin children approach us with bags of hand made jewellery and crafts. Lots of photo opportunities with the sweet kids.

        We're running a little behind schedule but we finally make it to our final pit stop, St Catherine's Monastary which is based at the foot of Mount Sinai. They say that this is also the site of the original burning bush (Exodus 3:1-13). We spend quite a bit of time here as this site also has a world renowned collection of ancient manuscripts and valuable icons. By the time we leave it's already dark. We get to our accommodation for the night, have a quick dinner and then get ready for bed, it's only a couple of hours before we have to get up again.

        We've barely slept a wink before we are awoken by our alarm clocks ringing and loud knocks on our doors at midnight. We get back on the bus for a short ride back to the base of Mount Sinai and then it's a short walk up hill in darkness to the camel station.

        We're told to line up single file as the bedouin camel owners allocate us our camels. We can't use our torches or take photos with the flash as the camel's eyes are very sensitive. This was my first time ever riding a camel and I admit that I was not all that keen on the idea. But the only other option was to walk up the mountain, which was 2285 metres high. We were a big group which meant that there were at least 80-90 camels going up the mountain that night.

        I can still remember struggling to get onto my camel's back. I was wearing jeans and also because I am short I found it difficult to get my leg over the hump and the wooden peg that was strapped onto it's back. There was no harness, no footrest, all I had were the pegs on the saddle at the back and to the front of me to hold on to.

        The moment that the camel stood up, I squealed.  It was an awkward few jerks, I had no warning that my camel was getting up so I had to quickly grab on to the wooden peg to stop myself from falling. As the camel has such long legs it took quite a few goes before it was standing on our four legs. I had to lean back and try to balance myself so that I wouldn't fall off.

        The journey up the mountain is definitely something I will never forget. Travelling in pitch darkness, with nothing but the million stars in the sky guiding our way. It was just a magical moment, whether you are religious or not, there was definably a spiritual presence in this place. It was just amazing.
       The camels were quite well behaved most of the time, following a path that they have most probably walked all their lives though there were some moments when I was sure my camel would just fall off the edge of the path into the valley below. I'm glad that I couldn't see my surroundings because if I did, I don't think I would have made it to the top.

        There was one incident where I thought my life was about to end with me falling off my camel. Our small group of camels came to a bit of a road block caused by another group of camels which had stopped in the middle of the track. It was a chaotic moment where I was holding onto my wooden peg for dear life as my camel went off track and up and over a large boulder on the side of the path in confusion.
        I was glad when my guide pulled the camel back onto the path but I could feel my heart beating a million times over for quite some time after that.

        We finally reach the last camel station at the top of the mountain. The actual peak is another 750 steps further up. A small handful of us decided to stay behind due to various reasons. After squatting down all those steps to the bottom of the pyramid my thighs were absolutely too sore to be climbing any stairs. I still had to walk all the way down the mountain later on. Ryan went on ahead and conquered the 750 steps.

        We sat for a moment in complete darkness, just watching the sky slowly change colour, listening to the sound of silence all around us. Cardinal George Pell lead some prayers and then we sung a couple of songs. 

         There was a group of African pilgrims who had also made the trek to Mount Sinai. Some of them went to the top and some of them joined our group at the camel station with prayers and song. It was amazing how religion can bring people together no matter where in the world they come from.

        Top photo is of a small chapel at the top of Mount Sinai which Ryan took. Bottom photo is one that I shot while we were waiting for the sunrise. 

        The moment we were all waiting for, a glimpse of the first light of day. It was quite tranquil, the silence all around us as we watched the sun grow.

An unforgettable moment with an unforgettable sunrise.

        Not the best photo of me but the only one I have of me on Mount Sinai. It was too dark to take one when I was on the camel.

        As the sun gets higher we prepare for the long walk down to the bottom. It's amazing to keep looking up at this huge mountain and to think that we had just climbed up to the top of it.

        When everyone finally reaches the bottom we make our way back to our accomodation for some well earned breakfast. Along the way we stop by the  Plain of El Raha (Plain of Rest) where the Chapel of the Golden Calf was built to commemorate the false idol made by Aaron while Moses was on Mount Sinai.

        After breakfast we collect our bags, leave our little Mount Sinai hotel and hop back on the coach for a long ride up to the Egyptian/Israeli border city of  Taba where we stay the night at a luxurious resort by the Red Sea. The next day we will be entering into the Holy Land of Israel.

Belgian Waffles - It's a Waffle Party!

        Do you LOVE waffles? Crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. Heck I think that's how I like a lot of my food, it's about the contrasting textures!

        I was actually never a huge fan of waffles to start with and only ever liked the Vietnamese pandan waffles but I will make an exceptian for the Belgian ones.

        At work, we have a rewards program where we are rewarded with points for our good work and also for service recognition/anniversary with the company. You can trade in your points at any time in exchange for something from the catalogue which ranges from things like movie vouchers, homewares, electronics, even overseas trips. 

        I had accumulated enough points to claim a compact digital camera with super zoom however it wasn't quite what I was after so I donated my camera to Grandpa who had lost his during the Queensland floods. I had enough points left over to claim a Sunbeam Belgian waffle maker, which I had been eyeing off for a while now.

        One cold rainy Friday evening Ryan was called into work, so earlier that day I sent out a message to some friends for an impromptu waffle party at my place, what better way to christen my waffle machine? With some eager reponses I went about researching online for a recipe for Belgian waffles and found this recipe. I remember I had to make a few changes to it but never wrote down exactly what those changes were. 

        The batter that I ended up with resulted in some pretty tasty waffles. It's a yeast based waffle batter which meant that I had to sit my mixing bowl next to a heater to help it rise on this particular cold night. It was well worth it though.

        My fellow wafflers came and we fired up the waffle machine to start making some hot waffles. I had plenty of chocolate at home to make a sauce and also had some strawberries in the fridge. I requested my guests to bring some additional toppings of choice, and a tub of vanilla ice cream too.

        The chocolate sauce is simply some milk chocolate melts and milk, melted over a double boiler and stired until combined.

        So our toppings of choice are 'maple' syrup (shame it wasn't the real deal), strawberries and a mix of crushed walnuts and cashew nuts. Chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream not shown in this pic.

        Golden goodness. I actually doubled the batch and we were eating waffles a few days in a row, such indulgence.

        DIY waffle assembling. All on with the toppings for most of us. It's more fun that way, and everyone gets to pick and choose what they want to go with their waffles. Great for those picky eaters. I've got to say I was actually a little skeptical about the crushed walnuts and cashews but they went so well with the chocolate and strawberries and vanilla ice cream. We didn't have any bananas that evening but the next day I was able to have a waffle with some ripe sugar bananas from the garden - it was delicious.

        What could possibly be better than this? Definately beats heading out to Max Brenner to queue up on a cold and wet Friday night! And we had much more fun at home making our own waffles.

Best Banana Bread Ever!

 

       Who doesn't love banana bread?? Banana bread is the best way to use up old black bananas, the blacker the better. Well one of the ways, the other would probably be banana cake... or hummingbird cake!

         I've plopped a bit of butter on the slice above for photography purposes but this recipe really doesn't need the extra butter because it's nice, rich and moist. Unless you feel like you really need it, then I won't stop you ;) I had been searching around for banana bread recipes and have not moved on since I landed on this one. I actually originally came across it on the blog Ohh-Look by Belle which was taken from an old issue of delicious magazine, but have tweaked it over time and always use it as more of a guide than following it exactly.

        I've made it time and time again and every loaf that comes out of the oven doesn't take long to disappear, which is why I always bake two at a time. I know there are many recipes out there that take their claim as the best banana bread, but trust me with this one. It's the most easiest recipe ever, melt, mash and stir. Exactly what I like. And I've even had a request for it so here it is.

Recipe: Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups self raising flour

1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2/3 cup brown sugar

150 grams chopped walnuts

3-4 large over ripe bananas

2 large eggs lightly whisked

1 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

100 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius, grease and line a small loaf tin.

2. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl together with the sugar and chopped walnuts. Stir until combined.

3. In another bowl, mash the bananas and then stir in the melted butter, eggs and vanilla.

4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

5. Pour into the tin and bake for one hour or until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

        I've actually made my banana bread with sugar bananas and it gives a very different texture and taste compared to using regular bananas. I actually prefer the banana bread made with sugar bananas and even Ryan agrees it gives a much sweeter and better textured loaf. As they are generally smaller than your regular bananas I add a couple extra just to make sure there's enough banana in there.

        With the Queensland flood at the beginning of this year affecting the prices of bananas I guess I can count myself lucky that we have a sugar banana tree at home which has been giving us plenty of fruit all year round. Sometimes mum will also bring home the blackened bananas which have failed to sell at my uncle's grocery store, score for free bananas!

        Walnuts, I looooove walnuts and Mum says that they are what make the banana bread. I actually use a packet of whole walnuts and roughly bang them with a cleaver so that they are not all completely crushed or chopped. It helps to add another texture to the banana bread. And I usually add plenty of nice fragrant cinnamon.

        Um yes, mashed banana and melted butter looks really appealing. But I love the fact that I don't have to wait to soften the butter (or over do it in the microwave), and creaming the butter is just too tedious of a task.

        I find that if I grease the loaf tin well I don't need to line it and it just pops straight out. Tap it a couple of times on the counter to move any air bubbles around and up to the surface.

        I always love the moment when the timer tells me they are done. And then I pull out two of these beautiful loaves from the oven. The smell around the house is just blissful.

        It's always hard to resist temptation not to wait, hot straight from the oven is best. That way you get a nice thin crispy edge and a wonderfully soft fluffy interior with bits of crunch from the walnuts.