Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna with soy butter potatoes

Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna with soy butter potatoes

Hey hey! Quick recipe post today because I am in a super hurry but totally want to share this recipe with you! (And yes, I've got a November "Unblogged Files" coming up but it's taking ages and I'm only halfway through writing it - it was a very busy month!)

So tuna. I saw a nice piece of tuna at the local fishmonger, and thought I'd do something with it that I'd seen on Jamie's 15 Minute Meals - coating the tuna in green tea, black and white sesame seeds and searing the outside to a nice crust. Jamie used the inside of a green tea bag; I used that Kenko matcha powder that I was given as a sample.

Crusting the tuna

As an accompaniment, I tried a recipe from Bill Granger's Everyday Asian - boiled potato pieces cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, butter and sugar, and served with chopped spring onions. It's a contemporary, unique idea, and as soon as you sprinkle the spring onions over it smells so Japanese. Love it!

Cooking the potatoes

And here's dinner.

Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna with soy butter potatoes

Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna with soy butter potatoes

Rare tuna

The crusty ends

The matcha and sesame seeds give a gentle bitter toastiness to the tuna, without overpowering the delicately flavoured fish. It's a great combination.

Soy butter potatoes

I love tuna, I love potatoes, I love Japanese flavours. Winner winner tuna dinner!

Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna 
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's 15-Minute Meals

Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon each black and white sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon matcha powder
125 gram piece fresh tuna fillet
1/2 teaspoon olive oil, for frying

Method
Place the sesame seeds and matcha powder on a chopping board and mix to combine evenly. Roll the tuna fillet in the mixture until all sides of the tuna are coated.
Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan over high heat, then cook the tuna for forty seconds a side, until seared on the outside and still raw in the middle. Set aside on a clean chopping board to rest for a few minutes. Slice into one-centimetre slices and arrange on a serving plate. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.
Serves 1 as a meal or 2 as a starter

Soy butter potatoes
Adapted from Bill Granger's Everyday Asian

Ingredients
2 medium-sized kipfler potatoes (approx. 200 grams in total)
15 grams butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
Sprinkling of finely sliced spring onion greens

Method
Peel the potatoes and cut into irregular chunks. Boil the potato in salted boiling water for approximately 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place the potatoes back in the hot and dry saucepan, followed by the butter, soy sauce and caster sugar. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquid has mostly been absorbed by the potatoes. Sprinkle with spring onion greens to serve.
Serves 1 generously or 2 less so

Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna with soy butter potatoes

Hey hey! Quick recipe post today because I am in a super hurry but totally want to share this recipe with you! (And yes, I've got a November "Unblogged Files" coming up but it's taking ages and I'm only halfway through writing it - it was a very busy month!)

So tuna. I saw a nice piece of tuna at the local fishmonger, and thought I'd do something with it that I'd seen on Jamie's 15 Minute Meals - coating the tuna in green tea, black and white sesame seeds and searing the outside to a nice crust. Jamie used the inside of a green tea bag; I used that Kenko matcha powder that I was given as a sample.

Crusting the tuna

As an accompaniment, I tried a recipe from Bill Granger's Everyday Asian - boiled potato pieces cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, butter and sugar, and served with chopped spring onions. It's a contemporary, unique idea, and as soon as you sprinkle the spring onions over it smells so Japanese. Love it!

Cooking the potatoes

And here's dinner.

Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna with soy butter potatoes

Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna with soy butter potatoes

Rare tuna

The crusty ends

The matcha and sesame seeds give a gentle bitter toastiness to the tuna, without overpowering the delicately flavoured fish. It's a great combination.

Soy butter potatoes

I love tuna, I love potatoes, I love Japanese flavours. Winner winner tuna dinner!

Matcha and sesame-crusted tuna 
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's 15-Minute Meals

Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon each black and white sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon matcha powder
125 gram piece fresh tuna fillet
1/2 teaspoon olive oil, for frying

Method
Place the sesame seeds and matcha powder on a chopping board and mix to combine evenly. Roll the tuna fillet in the mixture until all sides of the tuna are coated.
Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan over high heat, then cook the tuna for forty seconds a side, until seared on the outside and still raw in the middle. Set aside on a clean chopping board to rest for a few minutes. Slice into one-centimetre slices and arrange on a serving plate. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.
Serves 1 as a meal or 2 as a starter

Soy butter potatoes
Adapted from Bill Granger's Everyday Asian

Ingredients
2 medium-sized kipfler potatoes (approx. 200 grams in total)
15 grams butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
Sprinkling of finely sliced spring onion greens

Method
Peel the potatoes and cut into irregular chunks. Boil the potato in salted boiling water for approximately 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place the potatoes back in the hot and dry saucepan, followed by the butter, soy sauce and caster sugar. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquid has mostly been absorbed by the potatoes. Sprinkle with spring onion greens to serve.
Serves 1 generously or 2 less so

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Financiers

Financiers, Matcha Financier, Cup o' Matcha

I adore financiers! They're not particularly common here, but seem to be a standard pâtisserie item in France, and are very popular in the French bakeries of Japan. Essentially, they're little almond cakes, baked in an oblong shape, rather like a gold bar - hence the name "financier". (And now that I think of it, they'd probably be a good thing to bake around Chinese New Year!) They're similar to friands, but don't even think of them as in the same league as those dense, dry, mass-produced oval cakes that we get at chain cafes in Melbourne. These are moist, tender little cakelets, fragrant with almond meal and with the slightest crunch on the corners. Gorgeous.

Financier tins are pretty hard to get in Melbourne - I've only seen them very rarely here, and bought mine online on our last trip to Germany. However, I think your best bet would be to go to a proper professional cookware store, something like Cuisine World or London & American Supply. Or you could always substitute a mini muffin tray! I was extremely pleased with the quality of my silicon financier tin, made by Silikomart, so if you do happen to come across this brand, I highly recommend it! (They're an Italian company who call these pans, enchantingly: "finanzieri".)

I baked these one weekend morning, when I had a bowl of frangipane in the fridge, leftover from an apple tart I'd made the night before. (I'd been a bit enthusiastic with the quantities!) So the next morning, I just baked the frangipane in the financier tin and - bang - financiers for breakfast.

Financier batter

I decided to make some plain financiers, and some matcha flavoured ones too. I was recently sent a sample of high-grade Kenko brand matcha powder, and have been looking for an excuse to bake with it. As you can see in the top photo, it makes an intensely green, green tea. However, despite its colour, it isn't bitter or acrid - it just has a pure matcha flavour. (I also think this is partly due to the fact that I've recently learned to use water heated to 70C when brewing green tea, to prevent it going bitter - so even if you're not using fancy expensive matcha powder that's ground to order in small batches, it's worth using a kettle with a temperature control, or just adding a little cold water to your cup before adding your green tea!) I have a couple of other baking plans for the matcha powder, so watch this space.

David Lebovitz has a recipe for green tea financiers in Ready for Dessert, which is where I got the idea to make these, but his recipe is altogether more fancy, instructing you to grind your own almonds. I just added some matcha powder to my frangipane mix, and used his idea of sprinkling the financiers with a mix of black sesame seeds and salt.

Matcha financier batter with fleur de sel and black sesame sprinkles

And ta-dah! Cute little golden (and green) bars!

Financiers

Matcha financiers

As I mentioned above, I was so impressed with the Silikomart financier tray - it didn't require any greasing, and the little financiers popped out very easily, with perfectly clear and defined corners and edges.

Financiers, Matcha Financiers

Tea time treat

I thought these were a great light weekend breakfast, but I think they're even better as an afternoon tea treat, with a cup of tea or coffee.

Financiers
Batter recipe is Nigella's frangipane recipe from the "Bakewell Tart with Fresh Raspberries" in How to Eat, baking times and temperatures from Financiers, idea for the matcha financiers from David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert

Ingredients
3 eggs
125 grams caster sugar
125 grams almond meal
125 grams unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Gently whisk in the almond meal, followed by the melted butter and vanilla extract.
Spoon or pipe the batter into the indentations of a financier tray. (Alternatively a mini muffin tin can be used). A silicon tray will not need greasing, but if you are using a metal tray, I would suggest greasing the tin with a little melted butter.
Bake for 5 minutes at 220C, then turn the oven down to 200C and bake for a further 8-12 minutes, or until cooked through. Allow to cool slightly before unmoulding onto a cake rack to cool completely.
Makes approx. 24, depending on the size of your tin.

Variation
For matcha financiers, omit the vanilla extract, and add 1 teaspoon matcha powder to the batter. Before baking, sprinkle the financiers with a mixture of black sesame seeds and fleur de sel.

Financiers, Matcha Financier, Cup o' Matcha

I adore financiers! They're not particularly common here, but seem to be a standard pâtisserie item in France, and are very popular in the French bakeries of Japan. Essentially, they're little almond cakes, baked in an oblong shape, rather like a gold bar - hence the name "financier". (And now that I think of it, they'd probably be a good thing to bake around Chinese New Year!) They're similar to friands, but don't even think of them as in the same league as those dense, dry, mass-produced oval cakes that we get at chain cafes in Melbourne. These are moist, tender little cakelets, fragrant with almond meal and with the slightest crunch on the corners. Gorgeous.

Financier tins are pretty hard to get in Melbourne - I've only seen them very rarely here, and bought mine online on our last trip to Germany. However, I think your best bet would be to go to a proper professional cookware store, something like Cuisine World or London & American Supply. Or you could always substitute a mini muffin tray! I was extremely pleased with the quality of my silicon financier tin, made by Silikomart, so if you do happen to come across this brand, I highly recommend it! (They're an Italian company who call these pans, enchantingly: "finanzieri".)

I baked these one weekend morning, when I had a bowl of frangipane in the fridge, leftover from an apple tart I'd made the night before. (I'd been a bit enthusiastic with the quantities!) So the next morning, I just baked the frangipane in the financier tin and - bang - financiers for breakfast.

Financier batter

I decided to make some plain financiers, and some matcha flavoured ones too. I was recently sent a sample of high-grade Kenko brand matcha powder, and have been looking for an excuse to bake with it. As you can see in the top photo, it makes an intensely green, green tea. However, despite its colour, it isn't bitter or acrid - it just has a pure matcha flavour. (I also think this is partly due to the fact that I've recently learned to use water heated to 70C when brewing green tea, to prevent it going bitter - so even if you're not using fancy expensive matcha powder that's ground to order in small batches, it's worth using a kettle with a temperature control, or just adding a little cold water to your cup before adding your green tea!) I have a couple of other baking plans for the matcha powder, so watch this space.

David Lebovitz has a recipe for green tea financiers in Ready for Dessert, which is where I got the idea to make these, but his recipe is altogether more fancy, instructing you to grind your own almonds. I just added some matcha powder to my frangipane mix, and used his idea of sprinkling the financiers with a mix of black sesame seeds and salt.

Matcha financier batter with fleur de sel and black sesame sprinkles

And ta-dah! Cute little golden (and green) bars!

Financiers

Matcha financiers

As I mentioned above, I was so impressed with the Silikomart financier tray - it didn't require any greasing, and the little financiers popped out very easily, with perfectly clear and defined corners and edges.

Financiers, Matcha Financiers

Tea time treat

I thought these were a great light weekend breakfast, but I think they're even better as an afternoon tea treat, with a cup of tea or coffee.

Financiers
Batter recipe is Nigella's frangipane recipe from the "Bakewell Tart with Fresh Raspberries" in How to Eat, baking times and temperatures from Financiers, idea for the matcha financiers from David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert

Ingredients
3 eggs
125 grams caster sugar
125 grams almond meal
125 grams unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Gently whisk in the almond meal, followed by the melted butter and vanilla extract.
Spoon or pipe the batter into the indentations of a financier tray. (Alternatively a mini muffin tin can be used). A silicon tray will not need greasing, but if you are using a metal tray, I would suggest greasing the tin with a little melted butter.
Bake for 5 minutes at 220C, then turn the oven down to 200C and bake for a further 8-12 minutes, or until cooked through. Allow to cool slightly before unmoulding onto a cake rack to cool completely.
Makes approx. 24, depending on the size of your tin.

Variation
For matcha financiers, omit the vanilla extract, and add 1 teaspoon matcha powder to the batter. Before baking, sprinkle the financiers with a mixture of black sesame seeds and fleur de sel.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pallet Espresso

Pallet Espresso - "Cafe Latte", "Cappuccino," "Espresso"

Pallet Espresso
620 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: 0403 235 410

Quick post today! Yesterday for lunch I caught up with some friends, who suggested we try Pallet Espresso. I loved it, so I'm blogging it straight away! Pallet Espresso is a small cafe located behind Purple Peanuts at the Spencer Street end of Collins Street, and indeed, is owned by the same people. I love Purple Peanuts, so was pretty sure I'd enjoy Pallet Espresso too. (Incidentally, I have been meaning to blog Purple Peanuts' tuna o-nigiri as a Featured Dish for ages - hopefully I'll get around to it soon!)

Pallet Espresso is very much a cafe, serving Sensory Lab coffee, Western cakes and sandwiches, some cute salads, and some Japanesey fusion meals. (Think lamb shank burger, miso eggplant bento, Teriyaki beef sliders...) I also loved how the cool room was used as a decorative element. (I want that jar of Nutella!)

Coolroom

Chiller cabinet

Cute salads!

Sweets

Vegie Soup with slow cooked egg and garlic bread - $7.90

The veggie soup was a hearty tomato-based bowl of warming deliciousness, and I thought the addition of the slow-cooked egg was a nice touch. The accompanying garlic bread didn't look garlicky, but the garlic oil drizzled on top sure packed a garlicky punch!

Two of us got bentos; essentially a collection of different salads, bread, and the main item arranged on a plate.

Karaage Bento - Japanese style fried chicken with green salad and tartare - $8.90

I didn't taste the fried chicken (don't come between a woman and her fried chicken!), but my friend Mellie said she enjoyed it.

Arancini bento - crunchy risotto rice ball with parmesan edamame on bolognese sauce and mixed salad - $8.90

In addition to the main item, the bentos included a slice of bread, a green salad (with a delicious dressing), a lotus root salad with sesame dressing, and a little piece of zucchini baked with ricotta. Oh, and a sriracha swirl!

I liked the bolognese sauce more than the arancini - whilst the sauce was beautifully flavoured and very comforting, I found the arancini a little bland in comparison, and the crust was thick and slightly chewy, rather than pleasantly crisp. Having said that, the salads were fantastic, and $8.90 is a bargain for such a varied and creative dish! I definitely want to come back and try some of the other items on their menu.

And to go, I got a cherry and almond biscuit to take away with a coffee. The biscuit was a little pricey at $3, but it was a nice afternoon treat.

Cappuccino, Cherry & almond biscuit

With its cosy atmosphere, very reasonably priced meals and friendly staff, Pallet Espresso was a great find. I really liked their food, and think that their style of Japanese-Western fusion food feels very at home in Melbourne.

Pallet Espresso - "Cafe Latte", "Cappuccino," "Espresso"

Pallet Espresso
620 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: 0403 235 410

Quick post today! Yesterday for lunch I caught up with some friends, who suggested we try Pallet Espresso. I loved it, so I'm blogging it straight away! Pallet Espresso is a small cafe located behind Purple Peanuts at the Spencer Street end of Collins Street, and indeed, is owned by the same people. I love Purple Peanuts, so was pretty sure I'd enjoy Pallet Espresso too. (Incidentally, I have been meaning to blog Purple Peanuts' tuna o-nigiri as a Featured Dish for ages - hopefully I'll get around to it soon!)

Pallet Espresso is very much a cafe, serving Sensory Lab coffee, Western cakes and sandwiches, some cute salads, and some Japanesey fusion meals. (Think lamb shank burger, miso eggplant bento, Teriyaki beef sliders...) I also loved how the cool room was used as a decorative element. (I want that jar of Nutella!)

Coolroom

Chiller cabinet

Cute salads!

Sweets

Vegie Soup with slow cooked egg and garlic bread - $7.90

The veggie soup was a hearty tomato-based bowl of warming deliciousness, and I thought the addition of the slow-cooked egg was a nice touch. The accompanying garlic bread didn't look garlicky, but the garlic oil drizzled on top sure packed a garlicky punch!

Two of us got bentos; essentially a collection of different salads, bread, and the main item arranged on a plate.

Karaage Bento - Japanese style fried chicken with green salad and tartare - $8.90

I didn't taste the fried chicken (don't come between a woman and her fried chicken!), but my friend Mellie said she enjoyed it.

Arancini bento - crunchy risotto rice ball with parmesan edamame on bolognese sauce and mixed salad - $8.90

In addition to the main item, the bentos included a slice of bread, a green salad (with a delicious dressing), a lotus root salad with sesame dressing, and a little piece of zucchini baked with ricotta. Oh, and a sriracha swirl!

I liked the bolognese sauce more than the arancini - whilst the sauce was beautifully flavoured and very comforting, I found the arancini a little bland in comparison, and the crust was thick and slightly chewy, rather than pleasantly crisp. Having said that, the salads were fantastic, and $8.90 is a bargain for such a varied and creative dish! I definitely want to come back and try some of the other items on their menu.

And to go, I got a cherry and almond biscuit to take away with a coffee. The biscuit was a little pricey at $3, but it was a nice afternoon treat.

Cappuccino, Cherry & almond biscuit

With its cosy atmosphere, very reasonably priced meals and friendly staff, Pallet Espresso was a great find. I really liked their food, and think that their style of Japanese-Western fusion food feels very at home in Melbourne.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Tuna Sashimi with Silken Tofu and Soba Noodles

Really quick post today guys! I made this tuna and tofu dish for a quick and healthy pre-show supper the other night, and it was so delicious that I just had to share it with you! (By the way, it was Jesus Christ Superstar with Tim Minchin and Spice Girl Melanie C, and it was awesome!!)

I love, love, love raw tuna, but don't buy it very often because it's really expensive - usually around $75 a kilo! The other day, however, I was at Suzuran in Camberwell, getting sushi for lunch, and saw a beautiful piece of raw tuna in the fridge, all wrapped up and ready to go, and totally wanted it! It was $15 for a 200 gram piece, which was enough to make me hesitate, but I had been planning to get takeaway for dinner, and reasoned that I'd easily spend more than $15 on a takeaway meal that wouldn't be nearly as healthy, tasty, or luxurious! Bang! The tuna went in the shopping basket!

So so pretty...

Sashimi grade tuna - with the new super-sharp Wüsthof santoku knife that we bought in Germany

I sliced the tuna thinly (with my new super-sharp Wüsthof santoku knife from Germany!) and paired it with roughly equal-sized slices of silken tofu. I arranged them as prettily as I could manage on a serving plate (a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Food Trail, actually!), and dressed the slices with a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil and wasabi, before garnishing with chopped spring onions. My carbohydrate of choice was soba, which I dressed with that delicious bottled Japanese sesame salad dressing that you can buy at Japanese supermarkets (also Suzuran, in this case). Bang! Dinner done. It was so quick, so easy, and felt so virtuously healthy, despite being a total treat. I loved it!

I couldn't finish it all in one sitting, and was contemplating taking the leftovers to work for lunch the next day. However, even though the use-by date on the fish said it would be fine for another two days, I didn't want to risk transporting it, unrefrigerated, again. So, I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning with a nice mug of green tea. Raw fish at six-thirty in the morning? Hell yes!

Breakfast: Sashimi tuna, silken tofu, soba and green tea

I have specified weights and measurements in the recipe below to give you a starting point, but you don't need to be very precise about it - it's not that kind of dish. Simply adjust amounts to suit your appetite and taste. Enjoy!

Tuna Sashimi with Silken Tofu and Soba

An original recipe by Sarah Cooks

Ingredients

100 grams soba noodles

2-3 tablespoons Japanese sesame salad dressing, or to taste

200 grams sashimi grade tuna

125 grams silken tofu

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste

1 spring onion or a few sprigs coriander, chopped

Method

Cook the soba noodles as per packet instructions. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Toss the noodles through the Japanese sesame salad dressing, and divide between two serving bowls. Set aside.

With a very sharp knife, slice the tuna as thinly as you can, then arrange on a serving platter. Repeat with the silken tofu.

Whistk together the soy sauce, sesame oil and wasabi paste. Pour this dressing over the tuna and tofu slices, and garnish with the spring onion. Some toasted sesame seeds would be nice here too.

Serves 2, easily scaled up or down

Really quick post today guys! I made this tuna and tofu dish for a quick and healthy pre-show supper the other night, and it was so delicious that I just had to share it with you! (By the way, it was Jesus Christ Superstar with Tim Minchin and Spice Girl Melanie C, and it was awesome!!)

I love, love, love raw tuna, but don't buy it very often because it's really expensive - usually around $75 a kilo! The other day, however, I was at Suzuran in Camberwell, getting sushi for lunch, and saw a beautiful piece of raw tuna in the fridge, all wrapped up and ready to go, and totally wanted it! It was $15 for a 200 gram piece, which was enough to make me hesitate, but I had been planning to get takeaway for dinner, and reasoned that I'd easily spend more than $15 on a takeaway meal that wouldn't be nearly as healthy, tasty, or luxurious! Bang! The tuna went in the shopping basket!

So so pretty...

Sashimi grade tuna - with the new super-sharp Wüsthof santoku knife that we bought in Germany

I sliced the tuna thinly (with my new super-sharp Wüsthof santoku knife from Germany!) and paired it with roughly equal-sized slices of silken tofu. I arranged them as prettily as I could manage on a serving plate (a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Food Trail, actually!), and dressed the slices with a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil and wasabi, before garnishing with chopped spring onions. My carbohydrate of choice was soba, which I dressed with that delicious bottled Japanese sesame salad dressing that you can buy at Japanese supermarkets (also Suzuran, in this case). Bang! Dinner done. It was so quick, so easy, and felt so virtuously healthy, despite being a total treat. I loved it!

I couldn't finish it all in one sitting, and was contemplating taking the leftovers to work for lunch the next day. However, even though the use-by date on the fish said it would be fine for another two days, I didn't want to risk transporting it, unrefrigerated, again. So, I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning with a nice mug of green tea. Raw fish at six-thirty in the morning? Hell yes!

Breakfast: Sashimi tuna, silken tofu, soba and green tea

I have specified weights and measurements in the recipe below to give you a starting point, but you don't need to be very precise about it - it's not that kind of dish. Simply adjust amounts to suit your appetite and taste. Enjoy!

Tuna Sashimi with Silken Tofu and Soba

An original recipe by Sarah Cooks

Ingredients

100 grams soba noodles

2-3 tablespoons Japanese sesame salad dressing, or to taste

200 grams sashimi grade tuna

125 grams silken tofu

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste

1 spring onion or a few sprigs coriander, chopped

Method

Cook the soba noodles as per packet instructions. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Toss the noodles through the Japanese sesame salad dressing, and divide between two serving bowls. Set aside.

With a very sharp knife, slice the tuna as thinly as you can, then arrange on a serving platter. Repeat with the silken tofu.

Whistk together the soy sauce, sesame oil and wasabi paste. Pour this dressing over the tuna and tofu slices, and garnish with the spring onion. Some toasted sesame seeds would be nice here too.

Serves 2, easily scaled up or down

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Shimbashi

Soba at Shimbashi

Soba noodles! They're all handmade, hence the appealing irregularity in shape and size. Love it!

Shimbashi

17 Liverpool St

Melbourne, VIC 3000

Ph: (03) 9654-6727

Shimbashi has been open for a few months now, and having briefly seen some positive mentions of "this handmade soba place in the city" on Instagram and Twitter, it was kinda on my radar as a potential place to try.

However, it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that it moved up to the "let's go here NOW" part of my brain! We'd caught up with a friend for seriously amazing gelati at Spring Street Grocery (blogpost to come, because I love that place!), and walking back to the tram afterwards, she pointed out this tiny little restaurant down a lane - "Hey, that's the really good handmade soba place". The vague mentions I'd read on social media crystallised in my mind - so that's where it is! - and I promptly arranged a Friday night get-together there with some friends. Yay!

Shimbashi really felt like a blast from the past, for me - I don't go to that part of the city often these days, and when we walked down Liverpool lane, I was reminded me of my 80's childhood, with Little Malaysia close by.

Shimbashi interior

The low-key Japanesey interior of Shimbashi reminded me of my high school and uni days, when I was truly obsessed with Japanese culture and used to visit places like this all the time. And yes, back in those days I dutifully learned hundreds of kanji (anyone who did the notoriously difficult IB Japanese instead of VCE will know what I'm talking about!), voraciously read Japanese magazines, and listened to my favourite J-Pop bands, The Brilliant Green and Glay, on constant repeat. I'm not quite as enamoured of Japanese culture now as I was in my teens, but I still love The Brilliant Green. And I eat soba like there's no tomorrow!

Shimbashi interior including buckwheat mill

Apparently if you come during the day you might be able to see the soba being made, which I think would be really interesting. But on the night we were there, I was content to admire the big buckwheat mill and enjoy slurping up the soba!

The offer a good range of different sakes and shochu, as well as Japanese soft drinks... including Ramune! I love this stuff - especially the funky bottle!

Ramune

We wanted to try some sake, but weren't in the mood for a big night, so ordered a bottle of sweet sparkling hoshi no nagare sake to share. (I have no idea where this rates in terms of quality, but it tasted good to me! And I was rather taken with the name: "stream of stars").

Hoshi no nagare sake

Kaaaaaaanpa~i!

Kanpai!

We started with a complimentary appetizer of horenso no ohitashi - boiled spinach, served cold with soy sauce and bonito flakes. Perfect for this warm weather!

Horenso no ohitashi

Apart from the soba, they have a range of typical Japanese starters. And when I say "typical Japanese", I mean what we in Australia would typically think of when we think of Japanese restaurant food: things like sushi, sashimi, edamame, tofu agedashi, tamago-yaki, gyoza and so on.

I think we must have gotten a little over excited, ordering three starters as well as our (generously-portioned) mains. Although the soba is clearly the star of the show, the starters we ordered were all very good too.

Sushi rolls

The sushi rolls were very fresh and had nice soft rice.

Nasu no dengaku

Normally I think of nasu no dengaku as an oily eggplant half, slathered in thick, pungent miso paste, and was surprised by how subtle the flavours were here. In fact, when they brought it out, I thought to myself: "Did they forget the miso topping?" Of course they hadn't - the miso was there, just in a very thin layer. I loved how the delicate topping of miso complimented the eggplant, rather than overpowering it. Really excellent!

Kara-age

Fried chicken, how could we not? Kara-age is one of my favourites, and these were impressively juicy and tasty.

Umai yo

So, soba. Two of our group ordered chicken soba: chicken pieces and dumplings with soba, served in a hot broth.

Chicken soba

The standout here were the flavoursome and moist dumplings - I'm not sure if they're the same dumplings as the gyoza also offered on the menu, but if they are I'll be ordering a dozen of those next time! The bonito-based broth was a little too seafoody for our seafood-avoider Sandra, so after eating the dumplings, chicken and most of the noodles, she passed it to me and I got to finish it. Muahaha!

Tempura soba

I didn't try any of the tempura soba, but I was told it was very good. And even though the fried prawns and vegetables were great, the noodles themselves were the highlight of the dish. (And when plain cold noodles outshine deep-fried prawns, you know you're onto a winner!)

Gomadare soba

I couldn't go past the gomadare soba - cold soba served with sesame sauce. I absolutely love all things sesame (especially tahini!) and this seemed right up my alley. I loved the creamy sesame sauce against the cold, toothsome noodles.

I'd never tried gomadare before, but some quick googling tells me that the sauce is available in bottles at Japanese groceries - so you could easily make a low-rent version of this delicious dish at home! Side note: this dish was similar to something I often cook for myself : soba dressed with a mixture of sesame paste, minced garlic, Chinese chilli oil with sediments, black vinegar and soy sauce. (Fuchsia Dunlop-inspired, obviously).

Table

I didn't take note of individual prices, sorry, but to give an indication - the starters were all around the $9 mark, and the mains were around $17, with my gomadare soba being slightly cheaper at around $13. Our bill that night came up to about $106 for our group of four. I thought it was expensive at first, but then I realised that this included: hand-made soba noodles, a bottle of sake, and three starters. Definitely worth it!

Soba at Shimbashi

Soba noodles! They're all handmade, hence the appealing irregularity in shape and size. Love it!

Shimbashi

17 Liverpool St

Melbourne, VIC 3000

Ph: (03) 9654-6727

Shimbashi has been open for a few months now, and having briefly seen some positive mentions of "this handmade soba place in the city" on Instagram and Twitter, it was kinda on my radar as a potential place to try.

However, it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that it moved up to the "let's go here NOW" part of my brain! We'd caught up with a friend for seriously amazing gelati at Spring Street Grocery (blogpost to come, because I love that place!), and walking back to the tram afterwards, she pointed out this tiny little restaurant down a lane - "Hey, that's the really good handmade soba place". The vague mentions I'd read on social media crystallised in my mind - so that's where it is! - and I promptly arranged a Friday night get-together there with some friends. Yay!

Shimbashi really felt like a blast from the past, for me - I don't go to that part of the city often these days, and when we walked down Liverpool lane, I was reminded me of my 80's childhood, with Little Malaysia close by.

Shimbashi interior

The low-key Japanesey interior of Shimbashi reminded me of my high school and uni days, when I was truly obsessed with Japanese culture and used to visit places like this all the time. And yes, back in those days I dutifully learned hundreds of kanji (anyone who did the notoriously difficult IB Japanese instead of VCE will know what I'm talking about!), voraciously read Japanese magazines, and listened to my favourite J-Pop bands, The Brilliant Green and Glay, on constant repeat. I'm not quite as enamoured of Japanese culture now as I was in my teens, but I still love The Brilliant Green. And I eat soba like there's no tomorrow!

Shimbashi interior including buckwheat mill

Apparently if you come during the day you might be able to see the soba being made, which I think would be really interesting. But on the night we were there, I was content to admire the big buckwheat mill and enjoy slurping up the soba!

The offer a good range of different sakes and shochu, as well as Japanese soft drinks... including Ramune! I love this stuff - especially the funky bottle!

Ramune

We wanted to try some sake, but weren't in the mood for a big night, so ordered a bottle of sweet sparkling hoshi no nagare sake to share. (I have no idea where this rates in terms of quality, but it tasted good to me! And I was rather taken with the name: "stream of stars").

Hoshi no nagare sake

Kaaaaaaanpa~i!

Kanpai!

We started with a complimentary appetizer of horenso no ohitashi - boiled spinach, served cold with soy sauce and bonito flakes. Perfect for this warm weather!

Horenso no ohitashi

Apart from the soba, they have a range of typical Japanese starters. And when I say "typical Japanese", I mean what we in Australia would typically think of when we think of Japanese restaurant food: things like sushi, sashimi, edamame, tofu agedashi, tamago-yaki, gyoza and so on.

I think we must have gotten a little over excited, ordering three starters as well as our (generously-portioned) mains. Although the soba is clearly the star of the show, the starters we ordered were all very good too.

Sushi rolls

The sushi rolls were very fresh and had nice soft rice.

Nasu no dengaku

Normally I think of nasu no dengaku as an oily eggplant half, slathered in thick, pungent miso paste, and was surprised by how subtle the flavours were here. In fact, when they brought it out, I thought to myself: "Did they forget the miso topping?" Of course they hadn't - the miso was there, just in a very thin layer. I loved how the delicate topping of miso complimented the eggplant, rather than overpowering it. Really excellent!

Kara-age

Fried chicken, how could we not? Kara-age is one of my favourites, and these were impressively juicy and tasty.

Umai yo

So, soba. Two of our group ordered chicken soba: chicken pieces and dumplings with soba, served in a hot broth.

Chicken soba

The standout here were the flavoursome and moist dumplings - I'm not sure if they're the same dumplings as the gyoza also offered on the menu, but if they are I'll be ordering a dozen of those next time! The bonito-based broth was a little too seafoody for our seafood-avoider Sandra, so after eating the dumplings, chicken and most of the noodles, she passed it to me and I got to finish it. Muahaha!

Tempura soba

I didn't try any of the tempura soba, but I was told it was very good. And even though the fried prawns and vegetables were great, the noodles themselves were the highlight of the dish. (And when plain cold noodles outshine deep-fried prawns, you know you're onto a winner!)

Gomadare soba

I couldn't go past the gomadare soba - cold soba served with sesame sauce. I absolutely love all things sesame (especially tahini!) and this seemed right up my alley. I loved the creamy sesame sauce against the cold, toothsome noodles.

I'd never tried gomadare before, but some quick googling tells me that the sauce is available in bottles at Japanese groceries - so you could easily make a low-rent version of this delicious dish at home! Side note: this dish was similar to something I often cook for myself : soba dressed with a mixture of sesame paste, minced garlic, Chinese chilli oil with sediments, black vinegar and soy sauce. (Fuchsia Dunlop-inspired, obviously).

Table

I didn't take note of individual prices, sorry, but to give an indication - the starters were all around the $9 mark, and the mains were around $17, with my gomadare soba being slightly cheaper at around $13. Our bill that night came up to about $106 for our group of four. I thought it was expensive at first, but then I realised that this included: hand-made soba noodles, a bottle of sake, and three starters. Definitely worth it!

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The Unblogged Files: December

Happy New Year! Here is my December's Unblogged Files: the non-Christmas edition!

I attended a blogger dinner at Captain Melville (full blogpost to come once I've visited again on my own coin and tried out more of the menu!). Highlights of the dinner were the punchy Macedon Gang Punch cocktail, with Cruzan rum, lemon juice, agave, egg white, port and Booker's fire bitters...

Macedon Gang Punch - Cruzan rum, lemon juice, agave, egg white, port and Booker's fire bitters

...and the crazy decadent salted caramel banana split with honeycomb.

Captain Melville's salted caramel banana split

One night when I really wanted a roast dinner but was too tired to cook, (yes, it happens to me sometimes) we tried the Roast Kitchen in Kew, who do a range of trad roast dinners in a retro diner-type setting. It was pretty pricey for a dinner, at $19.50 a plate, but the food was great, and they really pile up your plate! We were particularly impressed by their red wine gravy - great stuff!

Roast chicken from Roast Kitchen - $19.50

More Ottolenghi cooking!

Clockwise from top left:
Roast butternut squash (Ottolenghi) and my own yogurt/tahini sauce
Roasted Aubergine with saffron yogurt (Ottolenghi)
Meatballs with peas and lemon (Jerusalem)
Chermoula eggplant with couscous and yogurt (Jerusalem)

I've been loving the recipes in Jerusalem - I've found, despite the "coffee table book" appearance of the book, that the recipes are beautifully workable, even when adapting them to suit what I've got lying in the pantry. Examples: I adapted their lamb meatballs with broadbeans and lemon to use up some minced pork and peas that I had, and it worked wonderfully. Ditto the chermoula eggplant with bulghur and yogurt, for which I substituted couscous. Total love! I'm going to Europe next year and I cannot wait to visit their restaurants and cafes!

Speaking of fabulous cafes, we brought yet another friend to Beatrix Bakes in North Melbourne: we're slowly converting all our friends to the way of Beatrix!

Beatrix Bakes

Mega love for their Fry-Day ciabatta, with crumbed flathead and fennel quickle, and The vegetarian Rocky, with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and chopped basil pesto. Gorgeous!

Less impressive was my one and only visit to the Workers' Food Room, on Little Lonsdale Street in the city, for a weekday lunch.

Workers' Food Room

Whilst the food I ordered was pretty good, I was sneakily upsold a side salad with my Lebanese chicken pastry (the waitress made it sound like they'd forgotten my salad and asked me if I wanted them to bring it out... only to have them charge me $8.50 for that tiny bowl of broccoli salad). Gah! It doubled the cost of my lunch! So irritating! Later on Twitter they apologised - apparently I was overcharged for the side salad too, they're only meant to be $6.50. Double gah! But yeah, there are hundreds of great lunch options in the CBD, not going back there! I definitely do not recommend this place!


On a happier note, I was invited along to the opening day of the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, which was a big day of sugar-filled fun! Full blogpost to come, but for now I want to show you my favourite item at their cafe, which funnily enough, doesn't contain any chocolate at all! I really loved their soft fluffy waffles, with fresh berries and creamy house-made ice-cream.

Waffles at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie

Excess sugar can only be combated by excess salt (or you know, healthy eating and exercise, but y'all know I wasn't in the mood for that!!). So dinner after my visit to the chocolaterie was a Zinger Double Down at KFC. Yeah, I totally hated myself for 5 minutes, but I regret nothing!!

Zinger Double Down

And whilst we're on the KFC theme... one very hot day when I went to see a film (it was Pitch Perfect, and it wasn't very good - Bring It On for the win!), I decided to try one of those creamy Krusher drinks from KFC. Previously I'd never really seen the point, but I tried the mint choc one, and it was actually really really good! Creamy, minty, and with loads of delicious chocolate biscuit crumbs. When I Instagrammed it, loads of people told me that they love the Gaytime flavour, so I'll try that next time!

KFC Mint-Choc Krusher

I've been working throughout the Christmas period this year, but one of the long days in my office was enlivened by a personal cookie delivery from my friend Alaina! She'd made these fab Italian Meatball Cookies with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting - they're kinda like chocolate gingerbread, heady with cloves, and studded with walnuts and chocolate chunks. So good! (If you're not all spiced out from Christmas, Google these and give them a go!)

Italian Meatball Cookies

And just to prove that I do occasionally choose healthy food, let me say that I do recommend the Tofu-Don at Tokio, and the Sushi at Sushi Monger (both next to each other in The Causeway, between Little Collins and Bourke street). Both are great, cheap options for a CBD lunch!

Large Sushi at Sushi Monger

Tofu-don at Tokio - $9.50

On that really hot Sunday last week, we stopped into Coffeehead in Camberwell for brunch, cold drip coffees and sweet, sweet airconditioning. The fruit toast was great, as were the corn fruitters, topped with smoked salmon and a perfect runny poached egg.

Clockwise from top left: yolkporn; fruit toast; corn fritters with avocado, harissa mayo, smoked salmon and a poached egg; cold drip coffee

Just the other day I whipped up a huge batch of Nigella's Chocolate Peanut Granola, from Feast. One of my faves, and I've made this, the original almond version, and the Christmassy cranberry version many many times*! (Primarily over the 2005-2006 period, it seems!)

Granola ingredients

 I love eating this stuff, especially with yogurt and berries! (See below in the new Kikki K bowls that my dad got me for Christmas!)

Granola, yogurt, berries, coffee

The last thing I wanted to share with you in this post is the froyo I had at Cacao Green this afternoon for a treat. (I think I'm getting obsessed with them, haha!) The Mango Fantasy contained mango frozen yogurt, fresh mango cubes, raspberry compote, lychees, coconut jelly and a little waffle bite. It was really good, like bubble tea in froyo-form!

Mango Illusion - $8.50

We were really surprised by how good the waffle bites were - they were served warm (we could smell them being toasted while we waited!), and were fluffily doughy within, and crispy on the outside. I hadn't thought that their waffles would be anything to write home about... but they were really good! Next time I'm just getting a whole waffle!

Fluffy crunchy waffle bite

And thanks to the yummy waffles from Cacao Green, I've decided to make waffles tomorrow morning for my first breakfast in the new year!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you're all enjoying the evening and spending it with those who mean the most to you!!

*Posts featuring Nigella's granola

• Andy's Fairfield Granola
• Nigella's Breakfasts
• Woohoo! I have proper breakfast food again!
• Happy Mothers Day!
• More Living Kitchen Products have arrived!
• It's Breakfast Time
• Breakfast!
• Brunch for Breast Cancer
• Granola Muffins

Happy New Year! Here is my December's Unblogged Files: the non-Christmas edition!

I attended a blogger dinner at Captain Melville (full blogpost to come once I've visited again on my own coin and tried out more of the menu!). Highlights of the dinner were the punchy Macedon Gang Punch cocktail, with Cruzan rum, lemon juice, agave, egg white, port and Booker's fire bitters...

Macedon Gang Punch - Cruzan rum, lemon juice, agave, egg white, port and Booker's fire bitters

...and the crazy decadent salted caramel banana split with honeycomb.

Captain Melville's salted caramel banana split

One night when I really wanted a roast dinner but was too tired to cook, (yes, it happens to me sometimes) we tried the Roast Kitchen in Kew, who do a range of trad roast dinners in a retro diner-type setting. It was pretty pricey for a dinner, at $19.50 a plate, but the food was great, and they really pile up your plate! We were particularly impressed by their red wine gravy - great stuff!

Roast chicken from Roast Kitchen - $19.50

More Ottolenghi cooking!

Clockwise from top left:
Roast butternut squash (Ottolenghi) and my own yogurt/tahini sauce
Roasted Aubergine with saffron yogurt (Ottolenghi)
Meatballs with peas and lemon (Jerusalem)
Chermoula eggplant with couscous and yogurt (Jerusalem)

I've been loving the recipes in Jerusalem - I've found, despite the "coffee table book" appearance of the book, that the recipes are beautifully workable, even when adapting them to suit what I've got lying in the pantry. Examples: I adapted their lamb meatballs with broadbeans and lemon to use up some minced pork and peas that I had, and it worked wonderfully. Ditto the chermoula eggplant with bulghur and yogurt, for which I substituted couscous. Total love! I'm going to Europe next year and I cannot wait to visit their restaurants and cafes!

Speaking of fabulous cafes, we brought yet another friend to Beatrix Bakes in North Melbourne: we're slowly converting all our friends to the way of Beatrix!

Beatrix Bakes

Mega love for their Fry-Day ciabatta, with crumbed flathead and fennel quickle, and The vegetarian Rocky, with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and chopped basil pesto. Gorgeous!

Less impressive was my one and only visit to the Workers' Food Room, on Little Lonsdale Street in the city, for a weekday lunch.

Workers' Food Room

Whilst the food I ordered was pretty good, I was sneakily upsold a side salad with my Lebanese chicken pastry (the waitress made it sound like they'd forgotten my salad and asked me if I wanted them to bring it out... only to have them charge me $8.50 for that tiny bowl of broccoli salad). Gah! It doubled the cost of my lunch! So irritating! Later on Twitter they apologised - apparently I was overcharged for the side salad too, they're only meant to be $6.50. Double gah! But yeah, there are hundreds of great lunch options in the CBD, not going back there! I definitely do not recommend this place!


On a happier note, I was invited along to the opening day of the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, which was a big day of sugar-filled fun! Full blogpost to come, but for now I want to show you my favourite item at their cafe, which funnily enough, doesn't contain any chocolate at all! I really loved their soft fluffy waffles, with fresh berries and creamy house-made ice-cream.

Waffles at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie

Excess sugar can only be combated by excess salt (or you know, healthy eating and exercise, but y'all know I wasn't in the mood for that!!). So dinner after my visit to the chocolaterie was a Zinger Double Down at KFC. Yeah, I totally hated myself for 5 minutes, but I regret nothing!!

Zinger Double Down

And whilst we're on the KFC theme... one very hot day when I went to see a film (it was Pitch Perfect, and it wasn't very good - Bring It On for the win!), I decided to try one of those creamy Krusher drinks from KFC. Previously I'd never really seen the point, but I tried the mint choc one, and it was actually really really good! Creamy, minty, and with loads of delicious chocolate biscuit crumbs. When I Instagrammed it, loads of people told me that they love the Gaytime flavour, so I'll try that next time!

KFC Mint-Choc Krusher

I've been working throughout the Christmas period this year, but one of the long days in my office was enlivened by a personal cookie delivery from my friend Alaina! She'd made these fab Italian Meatball Cookies with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting - they're kinda like chocolate gingerbread, heady with cloves, and studded with walnuts and chocolate chunks. So good! (If you're not all spiced out from Christmas, Google these and give them a go!)

Italian Meatball Cookies

And just to prove that I do occasionally choose healthy food, let me say that I do recommend the Tofu-Don at Tokio, and the Sushi at Sushi Monger (both next to each other in The Causeway, between Little Collins and Bourke street). Both are great, cheap options for a CBD lunch!

Large Sushi at Sushi Monger

Tofu-don at Tokio - $9.50

On that really hot Sunday last week, we stopped into Coffeehead in Camberwell for brunch, cold drip coffees and sweet, sweet airconditioning. The fruit toast was great, as were the corn fruitters, topped with smoked salmon and a perfect runny poached egg.

Clockwise from top left: yolkporn; fruit toast; corn fritters with avocado, harissa mayo, smoked salmon and a poached egg; cold drip coffee

Just the other day I whipped up a huge batch of Nigella's Chocolate Peanut Granola, from Feast. One of my faves, and I've made this, the original almond version, and the Christmassy cranberry version many many times*! (Primarily over the 2005-2006 period, it seems!)

Granola ingredients

 I love eating this stuff, especially with yogurt and berries! (See below in the new Kikki K bowls that my dad got me for Christmas!)

Granola, yogurt, berries, coffee

The last thing I wanted to share with you in this post is the froyo I had at Cacao Green this afternoon for a treat. (I think I'm getting obsessed with them, haha!) The Mango Fantasy contained mango frozen yogurt, fresh mango cubes, raspberry compote, lychees, coconut jelly and a little waffle bite. It was really good, like bubble tea in froyo-form!

Mango Illusion - $8.50

We were really surprised by how good the waffle bites were - they were served warm (we could smell them being toasted while we waited!), and were fluffily doughy within, and crispy on the outside. I hadn't thought that their waffles would be anything to write home about... but they were really good! Next time I'm just getting a whole waffle!

Fluffy crunchy waffle bite

And thanks to the yummy waffles from Cacao Green, I've decided to make waffles tomorrow morning for my first breakfast in the new year!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you're all enjoying the evening and spending it with those who mean the most to you!!

*Posts featuring Nigella's granola

• Andy's Fairfield Granola
• Nigella's Breakfasts
• Woohoo! I have proper breakfast food again!
• Happy Mothers Day!
• More Living Kitchen Products have arrived!
• It's Breakfast Time
• Breakfast!
• Brunch for Breast Cancer
• Granola Muffins

reade more... Résuméabuiyad