Misky Cravings, Fairfield

EDIT: Misky Cravings has closed

So we all know that Paddington Bear came from darkest Peru, but what did he eat before arriving in London? Peruvian cuisine incorporates a fascinating mix of influences, with immigrants from Spain, China, Italy, West Africa and Japan all leaving their mark on what have now become national dishes.

There are a couple of Peruvian restaurants around Sydney, but Misky Cravings is one of the newest additions, providing the focus for my December Eat This! column in Time Out Sydney.


And as 2011 draws to a close, I want to thank you all for your comments, emails, suggestions and feedback throughout the year. They mean a lot to me! Here's to an even more delicious year in 2012. Happy New Year everyone!


Eat this...
Causa


Causa de atun $8

WHAT IS IT?
It looks like a savoury birthday cake, but causa (pronounced ‘cow-sa’) is much more than that – it's a classic Peruvian dish that is emblematic of early European influences on local ingredients. The three core components are yellow potatoes, avocado and aji amarillo yellow chilli peppers, all ancient ingredients native to Peru. Add Spanish black olive slices, boiled egg and lashings of mayonnaise and you’ve got a cool and refreshing mashed potato terrine, layered around a filling of pollo chicken or atun tuna (both $8).

WHERE CAN I GET IT?
Get along to Misky Cravings in Fairfield – it opened in July but has already gathered a loyal fan base, mostly South American ex-pats. Misky means delicious in Quechua, the language spoken by the Incas in ancient Peru. The restaurant can be difficult to find – hidden within the depths of a non-descript arcade – but keep an eye out for the red and white laminated menus stuck to the glass doors on the street. The décor is plain but smart and much more jovial on the last Sunday of every month, with live music at lunchtime.


Arroz Chaufa de carne $15

WHAT'S IT LIKE?
The all-Spanish language menu can be a little daunting at first [EDIT: Misky Cravings now have a dual English and Spanish menu with detailed descriptions here], but staff will happily take their time to translate and explain each dish to you. Chinese dishes like arroz chaufa fried rice with five spice and soy sauce ($15) reflect the long history of Cantonese migrants to Peru. “In Peru we have Asian flavours but done in a Creole style,” our waitress explains.


Ceviche de pescado $15

WHAT SHOULD I ORDER?
Start with the refreshing ceviche de pescado ($15), raw chunks of John Dory fillet marinated in lemon juice, coriander and chilli and garnished with slivers of red onion. It’s a generous portion, especially with the steamed white corn, toasted corn kernels and a large nugget of cooked sweet potato on the plate.


Pescado frito whole fresh trevally with cassava $15

The pescado frito ($15) is a popular choice among diners, a whole fish grilled until crisp and accompanied by wedges of starchy deep-fried cassava. Lomo saltado $15) is another Peruvian dish with Asian (chifa) influences, a stir-fry of beef strips in soy sauce served with rice and potato wedges.


Lomo saltado flambe beef strips with chips and rice $15


Chupe (full serve $15)
Stewed large prawns with traditional Pervuian spices, toasted yellow chilli and a
combination of fish, vegetables, prawn broth, potatoes, cheese, milk,
corn pieces, rice and poached egg


Inca Kola and Chicha Morada purple corn juice

ANYTHING ELSE?
Skip the usual soft drinks and try the Inca Cola that tastes more like creaming soda. Chicha morada is a purple corn drink that is sweet and spicy with hints of cinnamon and cloves.




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Misky Cravings CLOSED
2/164 The Boulevarde, Fairfield, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9726 4771
Opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday 12noon-9pm
Saturday and Sunday 9am-9pm

This article appears in the December 2011 issue of Time Out Sydney in my monthly Food & Drink column Eat This! [read online]


More Time Out Sydney reviews:
Akash Pacific Cuisine, Liverpool (Fiji Indian cuisine)
ATL Marantha, Kensington (Indonesian fried chicken with edible bones)
Balkan Oven, Rockdale (Macedonian burek)
Cyprus Community Club Aphrodite Restaurant (roast baby goat)
Durban Dish, Baulkham Hills (South African cuisine)
Everest Kitchen, Marrickville (Nepali cuisine)
Good Kitchen, Hurstville (Hong Kong cafe)
Hijazi's Falafel, Arncliffe (Lebanese breakfast)
Island Dreams Cafe, Lakemba (Christmas Islands cuisine)
Kambozza, Parramatta (Burmese cuisine)
La Paula, Fairfield (Chilean empanadas, lomitos and sweets)
Mario Tokyo Pizza (Bulgogi Korean pizza)
Olka Polka Bakery & Deli, Campbelltown (Polish cheesecake and rye bread)
Sea Sweet, Parramatta (Lebanese sweet kashta cheese burger)
Sizzling Fillo, Lidcombe (Filipino pork hock crackling)
Tehran, Granville (Persian cuisine)
Tuong Lai, Cabramatta (Vietnamese sugar cane prawns)

Stomachs Eleven: Christmas Dinner

Forget the presents, the suspiciously cheerful man in the red suit and the inescapable warbling of Mariah Carey. Christmas is all about family and friends. And food.

What better way to celebrate all that is good in life than sharing the best produce with those nearest and dearest to your heart? It's a philosophy that underpins much of what Stomachs Eleven is all about - our roving dinner party club that takes turns to host a meal at their home.


Huevas de maruca salted ling roe

Our annual Christmas dinner inevitably ends up in the home of Mr and Mrs Pig Flyin' and there is no doubt that it is always their meals that we look forward to with gastronomic glee. Pig Flyin's cooking prowess knows no bounds, but it's not the calm and organised manner in which he approaches complex dishes that impresses me most - it's the generosity in spirit by both Mr and Mrs Pig Flyin' which leaves me indebted in gratitude.


Foie gras macarons (orange shells) and porcini macarons (cream shells)

"We're so disorganised this year! We haven't even decided on the menu" says Mrs Pig Flyin' only two days beforehand. And yet we approach the dining table with a collective gasp as we spy the plate of macarons sparkling with gold dust.

We're not told what flavour they are. "See if you can guess!" Mrs Pig Flyin' challenges us. There's a moment of thoughtful silence, interspersed with the occasional sigh and appreciative murmur.

The orange macarons, we realise, are sandwiched with foie gras, whipped with a splash of Pig Flyin's favourite whisky and a little bit of butter. The cream-coloured macarons have been filled with mascarpone combined with porcini powder - and a little butter of course.

The shells are still sweet, but the savoury fillings provide an interesting twist on the usual 'dessert' macaron. We also nibble on slices of huevas de maruca, salted ling roe that is a common snack in cevecerias, or beer and tapas bars in Spain. Pig Flyin' brought back a large piece of this on his recent trip to Madrid after first trying them in a small ceveceria in Seville. They'd sat alongside churchgoers who'd attended the morning service, eating the salty morsels with boiled shrimps and beer.


Foie gras mousse and spiced beetroot jelly

Our amuse bouche comes in squat glasses (they're actually tea light holders! Mrs Pig Flyin' admits with a laugh) that holds a base layer of beetroot jelly spiced with cloves and cinnamon. A cube of foie gras is covered in a snow drift of puffed amaranth and baby cress. I love how the beetroot provides sweetness and a touch of acidity against the richness of the foie gras, and the delicate crunch of amaranth contrasts with the foie gras' buttery softness.


Miniature vegetable gardens

In the centre of the table is a collection of miniature vegetable gardens, each different in composition and all plated with immeasurable patience by the artistic Silvrlily. These are an unashamed copy-cat version of the bespoke vegetable garden dish at Becasse, using both cooked and raw vegetables that include:

• white radish
• red radish
• beetroot
• yellow beetroot
• candy striped (target) beetroot
• orange carrots
• yellow carrots
• purple carrots
• enoki mushrooms
• peas
• cauliflower
• celery shoots
• cress shoots
• baby cucumbers (homegrown in the garden)
• cucumber flowers (homegrown in the garden)
• fennel flowers (homegrown in the garden).

Miniature vegetable garden

The 'soil' is a Noma recipe made from hazelnut meal and Guinness. Beneath the soil is a layer of herbed yoghurt.

We all take ages deciding which garden to eat, and there's a lovely sense of childlike exploration as we poke and prod our way around the plate.


Tuna tartare with crushed pea salad

The G-Man had gifted Pig Flyin' with the Cumulus Inc cookbook and requested he include one recipe in his Christmas dinner. We're presented with the tuna tartare and crushed pea salad, cubes of soy and balsamic marinated tuna that have been plated in picture-perfect similarity to the book.


Tuna tartare with crushed pea salad recipe from the Cumulus Inc cookbook


Seven bird consomme with earl grey tea

"There are seven birds in the consomme," Mrs Pig Flyin' says with a laugh. "We counted!"

We lean in closer with shock as she lists them all. "We have chicken, duck, goose, quail, pheasant, guinea fowl and squab. That's seven!"


Apple wood smoked squab breast and confit squab leg with seven bird consomme

The heady aroma of the consomme is worth savouring for a moment or two, an alluring sweet saltiness that whets our appetite. Squab, or young pigeon, is often looked down upon as undesirable, but the flavour and texture is worth exploring, like a slightly gamier and leaner version of duck.

Pig Flyin' has smoked the squab breast with apple wood chips, the legs cooked confit in duck fat. They rest against a disc of polenta, as tiny snippets of enoki mushroom float lazily in the golden-hued broth.


Beef two ways with caramelised saffron carrot puree and pomme puree

Beef two ways is a celebration of sub-prime cuts of meat that don't often make it to the dining table. On the left is a roasted tri-tip, a small triangular muscle found at the base of the sirloin. It's served with a vanilla jus which provides an interesting sweetness even though no sugar was added to the sauce. The meat is plump and juicy, and melts in the mouth like wagyu.

On the right is a red wine-braised short rib, extraordinarily tender and deliciously sticky. Purees of carrot and potato are luxuriously smooth.


Duck fat potatoes


Whole roasted head of cauliflower

Sides are duck fat potatoes and - my personal highlight - a whole roasted head of cauliflower that is nutty and crisp at the edges. The cauliflower is baked at 200C for about an hour, with dollops of butter added towards the end of cooking to encourage browning. It's such an easy but tasty dish and one I'm definitely going to recreate in future.


Spooning on mini balls of strawberry

If there's one dish I can claim some contribution to, it's the pre-dessert. Pig Flyin' hands me the world's tiniest melon baller and a punnet of giant strawberries. I give up halfway, covered in strawberry juice carnage, and Silvrlily takes over and scoops out the most perfect orbs.


Peach jelly and strawberry pearls

The shot glasses look like miniature pints of beer with froth foam on top. They actually hold white peach jelly - made from fresh peaches - covered in a layer of mascarpone and rosewater cream. The tiny pearls of strawberry add freshness with baby sorrel leaves providing a little tartness.


Chilli pate de fruits

The petit fours include chilli pate de fruits. "Chilli is a fruit!" Pig Flyin' reminds us. These homemade jellies are a treat - providing a gentle crescendo of heat beneath the coating of sugar crystals.


Gorgonzola and honey macarons

We're not told about what flavour is inside our dessert macarons, but one bite and it's a revelation of blue cheese. The filling has been made from gorgonzola dolce whipped with pepper, salt, a drizzle of honey and a small amount of butter for texture. The shells have been tinted green so beside the chilli pate de fruits they present a festival duo of red and green.


Blowtorching the meringue on the peanut butter parfait

I've left the main dessert for last because, this, my friends, is what happiness is all about.


Peanut butter parfait with banana caramel

Who can resist a little blow-torched meringue? I can barely contain my excitement as my spoon dips past the meringue and meets layers of salted peanut butter parfait sandwiched around a centre of banana caramel.

The banana caramel, Pig Flyin' explains, is made by dropping mashed banana into hot caramel and adding a little butter and cream. It's the kind of dessert that you could imagine Elvis eating with gusto, although this only leads me to crave strawberry jam and a little caramelised bacon too.



I hope your Christmas is as sweet as this peanut butter parfait! Here's to joy and good tidings to you and your loved ones, near and far. Happy feasting!


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Stomachs Eleven Christmas - 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008

Assam laksa, stingray and clay pot chicken: Kuala Lumpur in one weekend

There's only one thing I look forward to when I travel. The food. You can understand so much about a culture, a country and its history by simply digging into the local cuisine.

I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia over the weekend, a whirlwind trip as a finalist in the Best Food Blog category for the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards. After an overnight flight via Melbourne, we landed early on Friday morning and hit the ground running.


Ipoh hor fan RM9.50 (about AU$3), milo ice,
La Manila cafe and assam laksa RM9.50 (about AU$3)

A cab ride from the hotel delivers us to Mid Valley Mall, one of the biggest shopping complexes in Kuala Lumpur, with 430 shops spread across five floors. But first, lunch. We had been lusting over assam laksa and, after a local tip off, head to La Manila on the third floor.

It's a small pristine white cafe with candy pink tissues boxes on every table. We'd had it on good authority that the assam laksa here is a commendable version, and we breathe a sigh of relief as soon as it arrives. Its muddiness is reassuring, pungent with mackerel, generous with chilli and sweetened with pineapple and mint.

A good assam laksa is fiery, punchy and full of substance. Slippery fat noodles soak up the dark fishy soup. It's not a dish for the fainthearted, a mix of sweet, sour and salty that leaves your tongue tingling with chilli.

Milo ice is another Malaysian favourite, a little more watery in composition than most Australians would make it, but somewhat maltier in flavour. The ipoh hor fun is also good, a clear soup filled with a huddle of silky rice noodles topped with shredded chicken, prawns and garlic chives.


Custard tarts and cakes and pastries

Kuala Lumpur is all about shopping, but when you've had enough of clothes and shoes and handbags and more, there's always distraction in the basement food halls. Here you'll find bakeries selling all types of donuts, pastries, soft buns and tarts.


Self-serve croquettes, deep-fried battered squid, fried chicken and sushi at Jusco

In the Jusco department store, the supermarket includes a self-serve food area. I picked up a cheese croquette and a small bag of deep-fried battered squid for about AU$1. It took enormous willpower to resist the bucket of fried chicken (5 pieces for RM9 or AU$2.90) only because it wouldn't have boded well for my one hour Thai massage (RM92 or AU$$29).


Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011


Eat Show & Tell and Lizosaurus, finalists for Most Original Blog Design

The awards were held that evening in our hotel, the Marriott in Putrajaya. Printed panels showcased the finalists for every category.


Citrus and Candy, finalist for Best Photography Blog


Best Food Blog finalists - I can't believe I was the only female!

The awards ceremony had as much fanfare and hoopla as the Oscars, with roaming spotlights and a massive red carpet leading up the stage. We'd been relieved that the boards outside only displayed small profile images but it wasn't until the awards began that our worst fears had been realised - eight foot hanging banners with our profile shots in giant size!


Hello eight-foot tall Citrus and Candy!


Chrissy from Childhood 101 was our first Australian winner, taking out Best Parenting Blog. Woohoo!


Best Food Blog announcement

The winner of Best Food Blog went to Brad from Singaporean site Lady Iron Chef. I didn't win but seeing a larger than life-size photo of myself displayed in front of 500 bloggers is one nightmare I can now cross off my list! Congratulations Brad - you're a worthy winner!


Most Original Blog Design announcement

We had both Australian finalists for this category seated at our table so there was plenty of shrieking when it was announced that fellow food bloggers Eat Show & Tell took out the big prize!


Minh and Squishies on stage


Go Aussies!

Minh's speech was succinct, heartfelt and deeply moving!


Pole dancers

There were more than a few eyebrows raised when the entertainment included an extended pole dancing show, quite a progressive display given that Malaysia is a Muslim country. But the undoubted hit of the night was Lizosaurus's awesome dress which included a custom-made dinosaur tail. Everyone wanted a photo with her!


Lizosaurus' dinosaur tail


Jalan Alor



There's always room for supper. After briefly flitting through the after party at Zouk nightclub we jumped in a cab for a bite to eat at Jalan Alor.


Rambutan, dragonfruit, durian and mangosteen at Jalan Alor


Wan tan mee RM5.50 (AU$1.75); 
sour plum juice and watermelon juice RM3.5 (AU$1.10);
banana leaf grilled stingray RM5 (AU$1.60) per 100g 
and oyster omelette RM10 (AU$3.20)

We plonked ourselves onto plastic stools at Cu Cha Restaurant, hoeing into old favourites like wan tan mee, a nest of noodles splashed with sweet soy and served with fatty slices of char siu roast pork and a bowl soup with won tons. Grilled stingray is as common as chicken for Malaysians, the sweet flesh grilled with a paste of spicy chilli sauce on top.

Oyster omelette is more like a crispy pancake at the edges, with fresh oysters buried within the folds of egg in the middle. But it's the rojak I'm most delighted to be reunited with, a crunchy salad of cucumber, pineapple and jicama chunks doused in a sweet and spicy shrimp sauce and sprinkled with crushed peanuts.


Rojak RM6 (AU$1.90)


Petronas Towers


Giant Christmas tree inside KLCC shopping centre


KLCC Food Court


Smashed chicken from Ayam Penyet RM8.80 (AU$2.80);
Nasi lemak ayam goreng from Nasi Lemak Adik RM8 (AU$2.55)

Saturday was all about tourist sites and more shopping. For lunch we made a quick pit-stop at the Food Court at KLCC, located at the base of the Petronas Towers. I had the smashed chicken followed by one of my favourite desserts: red rubies. These are tinted waterchestnuts dusted in tapioca flour and boiled briefly, a contrast of crunchy and chewy in a bowl of finely shaved ice drizzled with coconut milk.


Penang fried kway teow RM8.90 (AU$2.80); and
Chicken rice from Chicken Rice RM5.80 (AU$1.85)


Red rubies from Just Dessert RM4.20 (AU$1.35)


Lot 10 Heritage Food Village



In a battle to maximise as many meals as possible, I squeezed in a visit to Lot 10 for a mid-afternoon snack. The Heritage Food Village in the basement consists of hand-picked tenants chosen for their specialty dishes and minimum 40-year trading history. The idea behind this is to help preserve the best hawker stalls in Malaysia for future generations.


Claypot chicken from Zhun Kee RM9.90 (AU$3.10) and
Cendol from Oriental Dessert RM3.90 (AU$1.25)


Claypot chicken from Zhun Kee RM9.90 (AU$3.10)

I'd had the claypot chicken from Zhun Kee on my last visit, but really a good version of this dish is so hard to find in Sydney that I can't resist ordering it again. It's the crunchy layer of rice at the bottom that is the most delicious thing about this dish, made by placing the claypot over a naked flame until it's golden and brittle.


Cendol from Oriental Dessert RM3.90 (AU$1.25)

Who wants a drink when you can combine it with dessert. Cendol is a cool mix of shaved ice, pandan noodles and lashings of sweet gula melaka palm sugar syrup.


Grandmama's, The Pavilion



Our final dinner with our Aussie contingent is at Grandmama's at the Pavilion shopping centre. My buttered prawns take about half an hour to arrive, but when it finally does, I make short work of the deep-fried prawns drowned in a buttery curry sauce. A cup of sweet teh tarik tea is the perfect pick-me-up.


Assam laksa RM14.50 (AU$4.60); teh tarik RM6.50 (AU$2);
Sang Har Meen freshwater prawns soaked in prawn roe and egg broth RM32 (AU$10.20);
Buttered prawns RM28 (AU$8.90)


Nicole from Planning with Kids and Alicia from Sea of Ghosts 


Breakfast buffet at the Marriott, Putrayaya


Teh tarik

Did you expect me to skip the most important meal of the day: breakfast? Of course not. I'm not a morning person at the best of times but the lure of a breakfast buffet is a very good argument for getting out of bed early.


Egg station; deep-fried mantou rolls;
Roti making; Breakfast Day 1: congee, roti, curry, fruit and teh tarik


Breakfast Day 2, round 1: noodles, curry, roti, congee and teh tarik;
Noodle soup station;
Breakfast Day 2, round 2: fresh waffle, pandan and mango pound cake, kaya toast
Pandan pound cakes at the bakery station


Gingerbread houses and giant gingerbread boot


Christmas decorations at the Marriott Putrajaya

And that's how you eat up Kuala Lumpur in two days!

Grab Your Fork travelled to Kuala Lumpur as a finalist for the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011 courtesy of Nuffnang. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!


La Manila
Mid Valley Mall Lingkanga
T-026 3rd floor (Cinema floor)
Syed Putra, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (03) 2283 2122

Lot 10 Hutong
Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Lower Ground Floor
50 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (03) 2782 3840
Opening hours: Daily 10am-10pm

Grandmama's
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
Level 6, Lot 6.01.01
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (03) 2143 9333
Opening hours: Daily 1pm-11pm

Marriott Putraya
IOI Resort City
Sepang Utara, 62502, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (03) 8949 8888


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Malaysia and Thailand food bloggers tour - 2010
Malaysia food tour with Adam Liaw - 2011