snapper cum laude

Not too much to pick from at the fish market this morning. A medium sized snapper, under one kilo, was my "catch of the day". We were hoping to get a blue eye trevalla, but the only one I found was kind of big for the two of us, just around ten kilos.

A premeditated plan was orchestrated by San to have it steamed, probably the best way to keep most of its own flavour. Chinese cabbage, ginger, parsley and spring onions were to join it in a celestial communion that not even the holy trinity could have imagined.

A little less than ten minutes cooking and dinner was almost ready. Soya sauce, Shaoxing wine (fermented from rice) and sesame oil irrigated this delicious dish. Another successful incursion into the far, although sometimes closer than we may suspect, Asian vast gastronomic territories.

Somehow matching the unusual, for our kitchen, theme of the evening, we concluded the day with a new, since last week, item on the Kakawa catalogue: Earl Grey tea ganache with Manjari chocolate (apparently made with a blend of criollo and trinitario beans from Madagascar).

holy downie trinity

I have to confess I never was able to understand where the biblical mystery about the holy trinity came from. Father, son and holy spirit: three persons in one god. The closest analogy I could think of were The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas: Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan, of course. This week, after receiving a package from William Downie, I believe the miracle has now been revealed to me.

According to the doctrine, whatever attributes and power god the father has, god the son and god the holy spirit have as well. In Downie's case, at least for his 2010 vintage, the attributes may not be the same, even if they are all pinot noir, but the power is basically there: Gippsland 14%, Yarra Valley 13'5% and Mornington Peninsula 13'5%.

All the labels are by Reg Mombassa, the pseudonym of Chris O'Doherty, an extremely talented New Zelander based here in Syd City. His Mambo farting dog is brilliant, and it's how I first found out about him (thanks to San!). His current band is called Dog Trumpet, but the one that made him popular was Mental As Anything.

Yesterday we tried the three of them, and it certainly was a revelation: omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal, somehow. I haven't figured out which is my infinitely holiest yet, but I suspect I will see the light in the coming days.

low key pinot weekender (II)

After a really sunny weekend the clouds are back in town. They have even been delivering a few drops this afternoon. It seems like those delicious breaks on the balcony are far gone. Both the cheese and the pinot noir will have to wait a little until we all meet together in front of the "Horizon", watching the harbour and those crazy cockatoos flying around the pool on top of The Westbury.

I forgot to mention the new pinot noir we tried on Sunday for our late "aperitivo". A 2008 Savaterre from Beechworth (Victoria). Very nice for the cheese. Its soft woodiness and its ending spicy touch were delightful. 

This week I am looking forward to receiving a package from William Downie with his three new different pinots. I can't wait for such a celestial moment. We will try them all together, just to make sure we know which is our absolute favourite. I suspect it will be a very difficult decision, but definitely an inspiring process.

low key pinot weekender

This past warm and sunny weekend woke up our summer spirit, even if down under it is winter. Outdoor slow motion drove our schedule. We were looking for a simple Sunday dinner, and pasta together with portobello mushrooms came to the picture. 

Fresh spinach, slightly toasted pine nuts, a tone of finely chopped garlic and a topping coat of parmigiano reggiano cheese completed the mix for a generous plate of farfalle "al dente". A side plate of fresh tomatoes with baby onion and olive oil were also waiting for us.

Stephen and Ron were joining us, and they were kind enough to bring a bottle from Central Otago's Felton Road 2010 pinot noir (Bannockburn), one of our favourite kiwi pinots. We actually got started with another bottle of cava from Raventos i Blanc, before seating down, plus a little sample of a golden albarino Stephen also found for us.

Strawberries, vanilla ice cream and a duo of dark and milk chocolate turned out to be our "easy" dessert of the day.

carne con malbec

I guess this could be called our bloody day of the week. A juicy grain-fed rib-eye steak with green beans and horseradish sauce, under a few lime drops, made our great last meal of the day. 

The cherry tone of the day came from a beautiful bottle from South Australia's Clare Vale: a Wendouree 2005 malbec. It did not create the reaction  I originally had in mind for the evening, but its complexity finally created a quite interesting ensemble.

Once again the last bite was coming from our local heros at Kakawa. Our choices included a classic, by now, which didn't disappoint anyone: their spiky bonbon.

our winter afternoon "picoteos"

A sunny afternoon on the balcony looked like the right place to entertain our spirits for a littel while. A few cheeses (pecorino al tartufo, holy goat, gorgonzola piccante), serrano ham "de bellota", tarama (fish roe cream), boquerones (marinated white anchovies) and a crunchy baguette from Bourke St.

We started with a fresh 2010 Garagiste chardonnay, before we felt it was the right time to move into a surprising Coillard's 2009 mataro. We first heard about it during lunch at Bentley Bar & Restaurant, on Crown and Campbell, a few days earlier.

my first lamington ever

I had no idea what a lamington was until yesterday. In fact I don't think I had heard about it anytime before. The kid who took our order at Single Origin, on Reservoir, described it as an "Australian sweet delicacy". So, after securing two flat whites, I tried to believe him and I ordered one. The chocolate and coconut elements were certainly an asset. Whatever was inside became kind of mysterious, but sometimes I feel the right amount of mystery can be positive...

Its rustic shape seduced me to balance my plate with a colourful little passion fruit & cream cheese macaron. Both of them made a good pair, perhaps recreating in a very basic way some image from "The Beauty And The Beast", which in this case ended up coronating "the beast". It was the right amount of sweetness to start my day, and all the coconut curls made it pretty exotic. The interior was simple and clean, as the picture below may indicate.

I don't know if I'll get another lamington anytime soon, but I guess it was good enough to bring a moderate sense of adventure into my predictable morning routine. The flat white was, as usual in this cafe, a formidable one. Our dear friend Collin would have loved it.