hawkesbury calamari & meringue

Back in the fish market is always fun, but last week was more than I was expecting. It wasn't too busy and there was tempting material to pick from.

A portion of the generous hapuka I recently bought was still around to prepare a  new tapa, which got a beautiful colour because of the always versatile beetroot.

Our chardonnay of the day was a quite extraordinary and mineral 2010 Bindi Quartz, which I got from Michael the day I visited his winery, perfectly escorted by majestic and relaxed kangaroos.

This way of cooking loligo squid was another strange experiment I was looking for. A compilation of contrasts ended up providing a satisfactory dinner.

The Kakawa duo made a very smooth chocolate chip and amaretto meringue,  centre of a moderately sweet dessert plate with spring strawberries.

lau's: a revolutionary experience

My best Chinese meal in Australia took place in this small and divine restaurant  in St. Kilda (Melbourne). Gilbert, his children Michael and Jason, and his crew do rock.

Incredible service, impeccable food and a glorious digestion started with mixed dim sim.

Clean, simple and superb ingredients made this mushroom rice noodle shine like a diamond in my mouth.

A bottle of Bass Phillip's 2010 "Crown Prince" pinot noir just made us feel like if we were in heaven.

"Budda's delight" was an incredible deal breaker. Such fine textures and flavours could have easily come from outer space.

Unbelievable gastronomic architecture that puts this 21st century Chinese cuisine on top of any quality list.

Our fifth dish didn't look magnificent, but it was as a matter of fact. For some reason this "aubergine" (eggplant) provided a unique dimension of its own.

Squid was a last minute order, but it equally made underlined the mastered techniques implemented in this amazing family kitchen.

"No complications" could be a possible title to describe the menu we got to enjoy. Even the simple banana fritter dessert was worth every single bite.

hapuka, popcorn and mulberries

Last Monday I finally found hapuka in the fish market, and it looked really fresh. After first enjoying it at Fish Face several times, this was my first chance to cook it my way, and I couldn't wait for it.

A little over two kilograms of hapuka, was plenty of food to be creative, at least from my limited and rustic capacities. The chosen vegetables for this special ocassion were beetroot, onion, garlic, green asparagus, purple potatoes and continental parsley.

After visiting Leongatha (South Gippsland) just a few days before, it was almost an instant reflex to pick a beautiful 2010 bottle of Bass Phillip  "The Esatate" pinot noir, which Phillip was generous enough to give me.

This our first home hapuka was a revealing success. That firm tasty texture reminded me a little bit of "mero" or even "merluza".

Being a quite innovating meal for our repertoire, we decided to have a cinematic component, so for dessert we chose popcorn, Kakawa popcorn: caramelized and  covered in dark gorgeous chocolate; truly addictive. 

On a fresher but still dark tone, we finished with my first ever plate of mulberries. Really beautiful to look at and a very convenient ending, but I believe I prefer the less sexy blackberries.

up in the air

Unfortunately for those of us who fly more than 100.000 miles a year, plane food is not too exciting. In most cases it actually feels like it is not even eatable. Anyhow, my first Thai First experience was memorable, in comparison to all the previous ones. Once the official Thai gear was provided (flip flops, right size of pyjamas -medium for me-, headphones), I was fully equipped for the whole trip Madrid-Bangkok-Sydney.

The food started flowing in a very styled fashion: Oscietra caviar and 2002 vintage Dom Perignon champagne.

Cured duck ham, sword fish paupiette with carrots, king prawns with basil pesto and cherry tomatoes.

A fresh and crispy mixed green salad with pine nuts came next.

Grilled sea bass fillet with Galicia sauce (!!!), sauteed broccoli, and fried croquette potatoes made a quiet decent main.

The usual cheese plate came with grapes, kiwi, melon and orange. It was time to get ready for dessert.

From a long list of offerings I chose to have a Japanese green tea with a trio of little sweet goods, which somehow kept this "kind of magic" alive.

The final step in this really surprising aerial digestion was adequately driven by two papaya portions, topped by melon, strawberry and grape. The Thai folks did a pretty good job. Great fun to be flying, again.

Now I can't wait to try my first Etihad First experience, which I suspect will be mind-blowing. Bon voyage!

for the sake of hake

The last lunch of my extended summer was supposed to capture the essence of traditional local simplicity, just the way I always knew it. Hake (merluza) and a sort of new albariño were it.

Compañía de Vinos Tricó was a quite interesting discovery this past summer. The name Tricó is the word used in the village where the winemaker was born to designate the youngest "unexpected" son, who usually would stay single living and taking care of his parents...

This ultimate hake, even if not "a la gallega", was the best possible choice to conclude another phenomenal summer season. Nothing else than potatoes,  "nabizas" (some close vegetables to turnip greens), garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

For dessert we kept enjoying an additional reinterpretation of the the seasonal fruits growing around us: figs, raspberries, hazelnuts, rosemary with the unavoidable merengue and custard: magnífico cierre de temporada!

something like "fabada"

I think of beans (fabas) as a winter meal, and more if we are talking about "fabada", the celebrated dish from Asturias. It should always come with a nice  "morcilla" (blood sausage), a salty one; we keep the sweet ones for dessert, although that wasn't going to happen on this day.

Miguel had given me a bottle of his 2010 albariño in my last trip to Caldas de Reis, and this looked like a good opportunity to give it a try. So far all the Pedralongas we had were from 2009, therefore it was fantastic to check how the new vintage was as good as expected. 

As usual, the new bottles come with a new stone from his property, for the label, which happens to be picked up by his father. For 2010 it looks like he got  granite.

The salad made the meal feel a little more summerish. This year we got plenty of hazelnuts, which together with Cebreiro cheese, carrots, olives and tomatoes become more solid than a simple garden salad.

Chestnuts (castañas) had a very different destiny in 2011. The strange weather in Galicia drastically diminished the production, and made them arrive earlier. I found three on the ground which were kind of small, but since I was going to leave to the Southern hemisphere in a matter of days, I wasn't in a position to be very demanding. So, these chestnuts were the first ones I had since last year, fortunately full of their mesmerizingly unique flavour.

back in barizo

After the first visit in August, last month it felt like a good idea to go back to the only restaurant with an "M" star by Barizo Beach. Sometimes it's hard to tell how some eateries qualify for those "stars", but I guess, like with any other "competition", it's a simply subjective reation of whoever gets paid to do the  job...

This time the ocean was more agitated, what probably made it more exciting to stare at. Again we started with a starter of mussels "en escabeche". Not as big as the other ones, but still quite tasty.

I think lobster "salpicón" would easily become a meal I could have each day of my life, if I was asked to stick to a particular dish. I really enjoyed this one, which looked a little dull, but the flavour and right mix of ingredients was outstanding. Almost like the ones I used to have as a child.

This is the place where choosing meat is kind of a wasted opportunity in life. Their fish is always tremendously fresh, and the cook never interferes with that sacred quality.

I went for wild "lubina". Generally this is a winner for me, and even more when coming together with "grelos", garlic and potatoes.

Doña Antonia had an impeccable San Martiño "a la gallega", which looked as close to perfection as it can get. Both recipes I'd say were exponentially Galician ones.

We wrapped up this costal excursion with a few cañitas filled with "crema pastelera", and four tiny pieces of colourful strawberry which were very good, but certainly not enough. Clearly they would never be able to fill up an "hórreo" with them, although this archetypical Galician construction would still be something to look at while making this journey.

poio with ronphen

Our last summer visit to Poio was a quite sensational one. Joined by the Ronphen gang we got to enjoy some of Pepe Solla's best cooking, starting with some seaweed amuse-bouche concepts.

Following that marine intro we were served a liquid "croqueta", so any crispiness was fully aborted. And it wasn't a bad idea.

The seafood segment was about to get started, and nothing better than a plate of "camarones" to get our fingers salty.

Four gigantic "cigalas" (scampi) made their way to our table; really delicious.

After a short conversation with Pepe, we took one of his suggestions and we tried an albarino from the Salnes valley: Nana.

Mr. Voon rocketed a very nice "merluza" (hake), which I think he hadn't tried before.

Stephen took the pork root, which being in Galicia I think was a smart  counterpoint to our introductory sea promenade. 

On the menu I saw San Martino, which I'm a big fun of, and it's not an easy fish to find. So my choice was going to be a predictable one, given the circumstance.

The "ternera gallega" beef of the day was Lynne's pick; a really red and really tasty one.

A citric odyssey was served next, together with a chocolate/mint/caramel combo; ideal to transition towards the sweeter part of  this new visit to Poio.

A few minutes later a quite unusual hidden peach showed up to continue our "dessertation".

As a palate refresher we got a very smooth portion of pineapple covered with coconut.

The usual Solla lollipops came in as we were about to conclude this unforgettable episode of this initiating trip for the Ronphens around Galicia.