EoMEoTE #5: Eggymite--Scrambled eggs with Vegemite

Hot buttered toast with Vegemite?
Or hot buttered toast with scrambled eggs?

Why not do both?!?

When inspiration for this month's End of Month Eggs on Toast Extravaganza struck me, I had visions of soft fluffy egg pillows decorated with beautiful dark brown swirls of salty goodness.



I whisked the eggs with milk and then added half-a-teaspoon of Vegemite. Trying to swirl the solid lump of brewers yeast artistically was more difficult than I had naively envisioned.

Instead of swirls I got a rather brown looking omelette, but taste-wise, this definitely provided sodium satisfaction and a nice contrast of flavours.

To my horror I actually did consider Marmite as a more feasible substitute for swirling with its thin toffee-like consistency, but no, this shall remain a Vegemite-only household thankyouverymuch! =P

For a look at this month's eggs-on-toast interpretations in the global kitchen, check out Jo's wrap-up at The Passionate Cook, the first-ever "eggs-ternal" host of EoMEoTE.

Una's on Broadway, Ultimo (CLOSED)

EDIT: Una's Broadway has closed. Una's is still open at Darlinghurst

A gaggle of foodies descended upon Una's on Broadway last night, Easter Monday, to see if this latest outpost of Una's could stand up to the original.

In all there must've been about fifteen of us: some new faces in the crowd as well as some familiar ones, including Casey, Aaron, R and VerucaSalt.

The restaurant was surprisingly empty, although true, this area doesn't have the luxury of constant pedestrian traffic and an eating-strip mentality that affords the one in Darlinghurst.

The decor is much the same and the layout has actually changed since my initial photo of the setup. Instead there are now tables for two and four, as well as some booth bench seating (which according to VerucaSalt, is a little too high for the tables provided).

But enough. We were here for the schnitzel, and if my memory serves me correctly, I think we all said Ja to Jaeger.


Jaeger schnitzel and mushroom sauce with rosti $17.40 for veal; $15.90 for chicken


Cabbage salad (accompanies the schnitzel)


Women's bathroom (by intrepid photographer R)


Desserts cabinet [from top, L-R]: apple strudel $5.90; sticky date cake $5.90; banana cake $5.90; cherry mascarpone strudel $5.90; rum balls $3.90; lamingtons $4.90.


Sticky date pudding $5.90


Cherry and mascarpone strudel $5.90

In its second week of trade, the restaurant is no doubt still in its teething phase. Personally my original schnitzel experience at Darlinghurst wasn't eclipsed but at least here on Broadway there's plenty of carparking and no horrendous queues.

For the moment anyway.

Una's on Broadway CLOSED
133-135 Broadway, Ultimo
Tel: 9211 3805

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Una's Darlinghurst, Mar 05
Una's Darlinghurst, Feb 05

La Peniche, Stanmore

EDIT: La Peniche has closed

You've probably driven past La Peniche a million times on your travels up and down Parramatta Road but never realised it. Disguised amongst the bland windowed shop fronts, it is here at La Peniche where you can dine on a three-course meal plus glass of wine for a mere $30.

$30! Tell me more!

La Peniche is actually the "application" for students from the Paris International Cooking School, something which becomes immediately obvious as soon as you enter the "restaurant".



Eerily reminiscent of a high school home ec. classroom, tables are simply but neatly laid, whiteboard and kitchen utensils scatter the room and 70s-style vinyl chairs beckon pleadingly.

The dining area is tiny but owner/teacher/chef Laurent Villoing has more than enough warm and hospitality to fill the room.

Laurent works alone, acting as both maitre'd and chef: explaining each dish patiently and taking your orders before disappearing into the back kitchen to don the apron. The back kitchen brings back memories of home economics, with a number of stoves lining both walls and a large island bench in the middle. The menu involves pre-cooked elements by students (hence the low prices) but much of it is cooked by Laurent to-order. And of course everything is heated and plated accordingly.

But first we were immediately presented with complimentary starters.

Complimentary starters: Russian herb and cheese tartlets.

Our choice of wines this evening were:

Domaine de Castagnolle semillon savignon blanc from Gascony near Bordeaux, France.

2002 Grenache Mourvedre from northern Victoria, Australia.

I had the white (how could I resist French wine?)

Entree: Cheese and fresh herb omelet

Divine. Omelettes are those deceptively difficult things... relatively easy to create, but propelled to another stratosphere when under the guidance of a master. We watched Laurent whip up these three-egg omelettes in a jiffy with such little effort. Lightly browned on the exterior, soft and fluffy on the interior. Oh, so good.

The other entree option was a soup of "Autumn Cream of Country Vegetables".


Optional mid-course: 1/2 dozen garlic snails surcharge $6.00

6 snails for $6.00? How could we refuse? Apparently these babies are imported from Perigord and we found these snails very strong in er, snail flavour, which is good or bad depending on whether you're eating this dish for the snails, or the garlicky oil goodness. Me? Licked. Plate. Clean.


Mains option 1: Chicken grand-mere style with gratin-style potatoes and tomato Provencal-style


Mains Option 2: Poached smoked haddock fillet and lemon sauce with duchesse style potatoes


Garden salad with French dressing (accompanies the haddock)

I taste-tested everything (of course) and absolutely adored the Provencal tomato. Cooked perfectly so, the flesh remained firm but yielding, and the topping of breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil and parsley was perfect.


Dessert Option 1: Charlotte Romaine-style


Dessert Option 2: Cherries and liquor souffle

I almost didn't order the souffle, but in the interests of gastronomic equality it felt only fair to do so. Oh, how glad I was I had. We peeked into the kitchen at Laurent whipping up egg whites into a frenzy and within 8 minutes a beautifully risen souffle was presented before us.

Did I mention the gasp-inducing level of height? Let's have another side-on look shall we?



Enough to take your breath away. The clincher is sinking your spoon into the soft fluffy pillow of meringue, raising it to your drooling mouth and then swallowing slowly, as your eyes momentarily close with bliss...

Oh. Sorry. Back to the story.

The meringue crust had the tacky caramelly sweetness of pavlova, the interior was like a cloud of cherry-hinted soft marshmallow, and the bottom hid a treasure trove of fresh cherries.




La Peniche (CLOSED)
216 Parramatta Road, Stanmore
Tel: 02 9518 1066

$30 dinners Friday and Saturday nights only (book in advance. Menu changes daily)
$42 food and wine matching (6 courses with matching wines) on selected dates
$49 cooking demonstration and native Australian lunch - Mon, Wed and Fri
$29 native Australian lunch only - Mon, Wed and Fri

Out of Africa, Manly

Sipping hot sweet mint tea brings you back to a carpet-selling souq in Fes, where your t-shirt and shorts instantly label you as a bumbling foreigner, your brain is addled by the stifling heat, and a small but determined Moroccan is trying to convince you that the carpet that lays between you, really is an unbelievable bargain.

We're not quite in Fes, but rather in wet and miserable Manly, having chugged our way across the harbour on the ferry. Specifically we're in Out of Africa, a restaurant which specialises in Moroccan food.

The restaurant is but a stone's throw from the ferry wharf and is located down a short series of stairs in a somewhat open basement. Upstairs is the reality-TV restaurant Pink Salt from My Restaurant Rules (aha--yes, this was the night I went on my photo espionage assignment!)



Inside it felt like a warm cavern with flickering tealights, wooden tables and chairs, and a funky zebra print lounge which ran down an entire length of the restaurant.


We were a ravenous party of eight and elected to share a number of dishes together. Maximum taste testing--and saves on plate swapping and fork passing in the process too!


Mixed Dips $14.50
Gourmet presentation served with a variety of ethnic bread

That night's dips were (left to right) sweet potato and leek, capsicum and broadbean. Beautifully presented, the winner was definitely the sweet potato dip which was licked clean (quite literally). The capsicum was ok although many thought the broadbean was a little mealy. Somewhat like hummus but without the garlic!


Soul Sardines $12.50
Fresh filleted sardines marinated in a blend of exotic herbs and spices, lightly panfried and immersed in a spicy tomato sauce

Yum! Very tasty.

Breathless Briouats $12.50
Filo cigar pastries filled with spiced marinated chicken and almonds

To my surprise, this was one of my favourites of the night. Tender pieces of chicken fillet with tasty spices in a light filo package and drizzled with an orangey sauce.


Da'la aux Dates $25.50
Tender oven baken pork cutlet, marinated in a sweet, tangy blend of honey and dates, sweet cinnamon and orange juice water blossom served with delicate Morrocan couscous

This was my other favourite dish of the night. I'm not a huge fan of sweet meats, but pork and sugar inexplicably marry well together (like char siu and lemongrass pork chops etc etc). This was served with baby figs and delicate almond slivers. I'm a sauce afficianado so I kept on spooning the remnants of the sweet marinade all over my couscous! :-P


Afro BBQ Chicken $23.50
Tender chicken marinated in vinegar, cumin, parsley, chilli and garlic, served with crushed avocado and spiced pontiac wedges

I expected a chicken on the carcass so I was surprised when chicken breast fillets arrived. I'm not a huge chicken breast fan--I find the meat is easily overcooked, dry and tacky on the teeth. This chicken was okay, and the potatoes were pretty tasty.


Fish Turban Tajine $24.50
Tasty fish tajine adorned with our famous spicy tomato charmoula, preserved lemon and moroccan spices


Ahhh... the arrival of the tagine is always a spectacular event. The fish (which we think was possibly blue-eyed cod) was tender and the vegetables and stock full of flavour. Just be careful you don't start chomping on the yellow stuff... it's not celery, but preserved lemon peel!


Couscous Royale $42.50 for minimum of 2
Grand combination of lamb and chicken pieces, merguez sausages served in a sizzling hot plate and a separate serving of vegetables as a very tasty broth
(this picture missing the couscous and vegetables)

With mountains of food on our table it took us a while to twig that something seemed to be missing. Surely the $42 couscous royale couldn't be just this?

Eventually we received clarification from the waiter that yes, we were missing the couscous and the vegetables, and the bill would be adjusted (I had also had to remind them earlier in the evening--when our mains plates had arrived--that an entree was missing and yet to be served)

Without the couscous and vegetables this dish was a bit of a carnivore's delight. I found myself forgoing much of this dish for more of the pork though.


Date and Kahlua crepes $11.90

Irish coffee

Moroccan chocolate cake with dates and almonds $12.90

This dense rich fruity chocolate cake reminded me somewhat of a melted chocolate panforte. I'm not sure how Moroccan this is (I don't recall seeing much chocolate at all in Morocco) but I sure was glad I had elected to share this decadent dessert!

Moroccan mint tea

Unfortunately there were no traditional tiny glass cups etched with filigree gold and the tea was a little sickeningly sweet, but the mint tea was still a refreshing way to end a tasty banquet. And I wasn't even asked if I wanted to buy a carpet...

Daily specials board


Out of Africa
43-45 East Esplanade, Manly
Tel: 02 9977 0055

Bairro Portugues - Petersham Food and Wine Fair

After checking out the St Patrick's Day parade in the city a few Sundays ago, we then high-tailed it to Sydney's Little Portugal for the annual Petersham Food and Wine Festival.


It was a dazzlingly warm and sunny day and Audley Street was closed off to traffic and jam packed with stalls and wandering foodies.


Hey we recognise this stall...


Street mural by Portuguese-born Australian artist Luis Geraldes.


Smile!
Portuguese chicken gets a basting with plenty of piri-piri sauce. And yes, the air was thick with charcoal smoke!


Chorizo, kebabs and ribs sizzle enticingly.


Hungry punters

The sights and smells of yummy food were making us hungry! As usual, most stalls were family run and a little chaotic and many couldn't keep up with demand. After spending 15 minutes in a queue, we eventually had success with some delicious booty...

Lunch!
[Clockwise from back left]: Feijoada (red bean casserole) $9.00;
Rossoes de camarao (prawn rissoles) and bolinhos de bacalhau (cod fish cake) $2.50 each;
and sardinhas assadas com pimentos (grilled sardines with capsicum) $10.00.

To start, an entree of Portuguese dim sum :-P


Bolinhos de bacalhau (cod fish cake) $2.50 and
Rossoes de camarao (prawn rissoles) $2.50

Inside the crescent-shaped prawn rissole was a thick prawn paste with (I suspect) mashed potato. Nice, but it didn't really knock my socks off. I've had these a few times in the past and I always seem to forget what a letdown they are for me.


Inside the prawn rissole

The bolinhos de bacalhau was much more exciting though. Bacalhau served whole is mega-thirst inducing with its heavy saltedness. Shredded and moulded into a little fish cake though, the cod is delightfully tasty with a pork-floss like stringy but tender texture.


Inside the cod fish cake

I've never had feijoada before and was delighted to find it a kind of peasant-like hotpot of red kidney beans, carrots, vegetables and pigs trotters. I haven't had pigs trotters too often in the past, but these were wonderful. Lots of bones, lots of skin and plenty of fatty goodness. Yes I am a chicken feet fan!


Feijoada (red bean casserole) $9.00

The sardines, of course, were tasty too. Barbecued to a smokey tastiness even if we did have a little trouble forking away the flesh from the fine bones. I wasn't sure what the bread was (some kind of soda bread?) but we didn't much care for it in any case. A little too heavy, dry and sour but maybe that was just because it had been sitting out in the sun.


Orange soft drinks (non-carbonated) imported from Portugal washed down our meals.

There were plenty of sweets available...


Bolo de mel rico (madeira honey cake).


Chocolate-iced shortbread men.


Bolo de feijao or almond and hazelnut pies

And lots of entertainment too...





The Bairro Portugues or Portuguese Food and Wine Fair runs every year in about February/March.

The 2005 Festival was held on Sunday 13 March.
Check the Marrickville Council events website for confirmation of dates.

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Petersham Portuguese Food Festival 2006