2013 in Review

2013. Who knew that one year could be full of so much deliciousness? In 2013, Grab Your Fork turned nine years old. It was also the year I finally met Reid, the Hawaiian food blogger who inspired my own foray into the blogosphere in April 2004. We met over lunch at Momofuku Seiobo where I sank my teeth into David Chang's famous pork bun, crunched through deep-fried parsons noses and savoured a pork fat caramel donut for dessert. Its a degustation I'm still marvelling over, and a kitchen show I'd never quite seen before, with its quiet and seamless transitioning of dishes.


Clockwise from top left: Mary's, Red Pepper, Willy Mae's and Momofuku Noodle Bar

There was fried chicken of course. Lots of it. We revelled in the pressure-cooked crunch that is Mary's southern-style chicken and went to Strathfield Sports Club for our kind of exercise: digesting Korean fried chicken at Red Pepper.

The search for the world's best fried chicken included a pilgrimage to David Chang's Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City for his two bird feast. However the 2013 fried chicken crown went to Willy Mae's southern fried chicken in New Orleans. That chicken skin was like crack. You couldn't help but shudder with every mouthful.


Clockwise from top left: Katz's Deli, Animal Restaurant, Craftbar and La Barbecue

Yes in late May, Suze, Lex and I set off on a three-week holiday around the United States. We called it the big donut, fried chicken and bbq tour. You say binge. I say research. Heh.

We started in LA where I fell in love with the nose-to-tail quirkiness of Animal Restaurant. We moved onto to Austin where we ate at five different Texan barbecue houses. La Barbecue's smoked bbq brisket was the fattiest hunk of bliss I've ever had the pleasure of feasting on. We hoovered up everything in our way in New Orleans, Chicago and Kansas City but spent the most time in New York City with visits to Katz's Deli (yes! yes! yes) and Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio's Craftbar.


Clockwise from top left: The Donut Man in LA, Cafe du Monde beignet in New Orleans, Dominique Ansel's original cronuts in NYC and Gourdough's bacon maple donuts in Austin

Heck yes there were donuts. Sooooooo many donuts. In LA we wept with joy when we realised that The Donut Man was open 24/7. Do you know how good a freshly made donut tastes at 3am?! We covered ourselves in icing sugar from the pillowy soft beignet at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, discovered the joy of crisp bacon and maple syrup donuts from Gourdough's in Austin, and yes we lined up for two hours to try the original cronut by Dominique Ansel in New York.


Helicopter ride from Sydney to the Hunter Valley for a King Island Dairy cheese tasting

I'd never been in a helicopter before so being flown from Sydney to the Hunter Valley for a King Island Dairy cheese tasting was an opportunity I couldn't miss. Sure I felt like I was on a group date with The Bachelor (haha!) but oh boy, Sydney really does look stunning from the air, and there ain't no grander entrance than landing at a vineyard by chopper, that's for sure.


Top: Sea lions and a picnic lunch at Kangaroo Island
Bottom: Scenes from Bulgaria and shopska salad made with sirene white cheese

Another famil enabled me to explore Kangaroo Island - I'm still loving the bottles of extra virgin olive oil I picked up - but the surprise trip of the year had to be the dairy tour of Bulgaria I was invited on by the European Union. I'm totally up on lactobacillus bulgaricus and I definitely plan on shaving white feta on my salads this summer, just like the Bulgarians do.


Clockwise from top left: Colombia Organik, Pasta Emilia, Nomad and In The Annex

In Sydney, there were no shortage of restaurant openings and closings but it's the ones with heart that I love best. I love that there's a tiny cafe selling Colombian talamale and emapanadas just down the road from Railway Square that too few people know about. I love the simplicity and passion behind Pasta Emilia in Surry Hills, who make all their own pastas from scratch.

I love that the folks at Nomad in Surry Hills make their own cheeses and charcuterie, and I love that the chefs at In The Annex in Forest Lodge can spend ten minutes plating winter vegetables in "soil" for a $14 lunch.


From top left: Indian Chopsticks, Kebab Abo Ali and Jambo Jambo

And I love that my monthly column with Time Out Sydney has me scurrying the depths of Sydney to find the restaurants that don't always get a mention in the mainstream papers.

Three of the most intriguing venues I've uncovered this year include Indian Chinese cuisine at Indian Chopsticks in Harris Park; eating Iraqi-style sheep's head from Kebab Abo Ali in Fairfield, and tucking into Ethiopian raw beef with spiced butter and injera bread at Jambo Jambo in Crows Nest.

It's been an amazing year. I hope yours has been as well.

Thank you for reading Grab Your Fork throughout the year and a big thanks especially for those who take the time to comment. They really do make my day :)

Bring on 2014. With more hadoukens too!

Stomachs Eleven Christmas Dinner 2013

Let's face it. Christmas is all about presents when you're a kid. It's not until you're older that Christmas becomes more about family - in whatever form they come. It's the crazy clan of relatives that no outsider could ever fully fathom; it's the network of friends and confidantes who get you, put up with you, and sometimes make you laugh so much you feel like you've just run a marathon.

Christmas inevitably involves frantic last-minute present shopping but it also gives us the perfect excuse to congregate over good food. I love that most Aussie Christmas dinners include fresh seafood, a baked ham and the quintessential pav.

To say we look forward to the annual Stomachs Eleven Christmas dinner is an understatement. Mr and Mrs Pig Flyin' aren't just phenomenal cooks, they're incredibly generous in spirit - and spirits!


Origami Christmas trees

We arrived to find a table festooned with origami Christmas trees folded by Silvrlily. She also made a very clever centerpiece using a tangle of lights curled within an upturned glass bowl.


2002 Pol Roger vintage champagne

Mrs Pig Flyin raided her cellar for an incredible bottle of vintage Pol Roger. The party definitely started when the champagne cork hit the ceiling with a bang!


Smoky Bloody Mary oyster shots
Sydney Rock oysters with homemade smoked tomato and horseradish sorbet

We kicked off with oysters three ways. The smoky Bloody Mary oyster shot was incredible, inspired by Movida's signature dish, but given a twist by Pig Flyin with horseradish added to his home-smoked tomato sorbet. I neglected to get a photo but there were also raw Sydney rocks with a gin and tonic dressing. Perfect for summer!

Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller rounded out the trio - plump Pacific oysters covered with a parsley butter sauce and flashed under the grill.


Home-cured and cold smoked salmon using alder wood chips

Pig Fyin likes to smoke... with his barbecue, that is! A side of salmon had been cured and then cold smoked using alder wood chips.


Homemade cold smoked salmon with pressure-cooked mustard seeds

Thick slices of cold smoked salmon were smoky and firm with a lovely springiness in the mouth. Pig Flyin pressure-cooked a heap of mustard seeds to take the heat out of them, and then added them to the salmon for textural contrast.


Prawn cocktails with cos lettuce hearts, avocado and homemade cocktail sauce

We kicked back with old skool prawn cocktails - enormous king prawns perched on a bed of creamy avocado with homemade cocktail sauce and crisp cos lettuce hearts. Such a classic combo.


Deep fried turkey wing tips

Turkey is popping up more and more at Christmas dinners but I love that Pig Flyin decided to highlight that often overlooked treasure - the turkey wing tip! These deep fried babies were deliciously crunchy - and enormous too!


Crispy turkey mid-wings: deboned, brined, sous vide and pan-fried served with turkey gravy and cranberries

The turkey mid-wings had been deboned, brined and then cooked sous vide until tender. Pan-fried to a crisp, these were served with a turkey gravy made from the turkey legs. It's worth remembering too that the turkey mid-wings are about three times the size of a chicken's!


Giant onion rings made with Italian salad onions

More deep-fried happiness came in the form of onion rings. Pig Flyin used Italian salad onions that are mild in flavour, dipping them in a slow-rise yeast batter with added Trisol for sustained crunch. Trisol is one of Ferran Adrian's Texturas powders, and gives a long-lasting crunch to products even after they've cooled. These were still crunchy two hours after frying! Trisol is a soluble fibre made from wheat.

Stuffing log with highlights of chestnuts and bone marrow

There was a giant log of stuffing, hidden with surprises of peeled chestnuts and pockets of bone marrow. The entire thing was covered in toasted hazelnuts.


Watermelon, feta and tomato salad with homegrown mint

Salads were light and refreshing, including a juicy watermelon, feta and tomato salad with homegrown mint and a cucumber and Italian onion salad.


Cucumber and Italian onion salad with pressure-cooked mustard seeds


Timballo - Mrs Pig Flyin's now signature Christmas dish

Apparently the timballo has become Mrs Pig Flyin's signature Christmas dish. The amount of work required is worth reserving only for special occasions!


Pasta tubes stuffed with mini meatballs, boiled eggs and peas in a homemade tomato sauce 

Cooked pasta tubes are placed vertically in a baking dish then stuffed with mini meatballs, boiled eggs and peas. The entire lot was then covered with a homemade tomato sauce made from locally grown Italian tomatoes. The timballo is baked in the oven until the outer tubes become wondrously crusty. It was one of my favourite dishes of the evening - rustic and made with so much love.


Kurobuta Berkshire ham from Victor Churchill with Christmas spiced orange glaze

There was an audible gasp when the Kurobuta Berkshire ham hit the table, mostly because there was a mad scramble to make room for the beast.


Carving the ham

Still warm from the oven, the ham was incredibly soft and juicy, crowned with caramelised chunks of fat that had been glazed with a Christmas-spiced orange syrup.


Best Christmas crackers ever! Lego mini figures, a farm animal and a scratchie 

And let's not forget the Christmas crackers! Silvrlily and Super Mario assembled these using a DIY Christmas cracker kit. The kit includes the paper hat, joke and gunpowder strip but you get to add your own trinkets. Our crackers included a Lego minifigure, farm animal and a scratchie - I scored the diner waitress and the pig. Both highly appropriate! No money won on the scratchie but diner waitress! On rollerskates!


Pavlova with homemade passionfruit curd, mango, raspberries and redcurrants

Dessert was the good ol' fashioned pavlova, oozing with homemade passionfruit curd, fresh mangoes, raspberries and frosted redcurrants. It was amazing. I had a second slice just to make sure.


My mini Baileys Christmas puddings and iced gingerbread men

I brought along petit fours on a Christmas tiered platter I scored from a local market for $20. I'm determined to use it as much as I can during the festive season! I made iced gingerbread men biscuits and mini Baileys Christmas puddings. Everyone was way too full to eat many but that's what take-home bags are for!

Thanks again Mr and Mrs Pig Flyin for another memorable evening, and our Stomachs Eleven family for a night of fun.

Have a brilliant Christmas wherever you may spend it, and here's to plenty of good cheer and laughter :) 


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

The Daniel O'Connell Pub and Dining, North Adelaide

Pig head torchon. Roast bone marrow salad. Lamb sweetbreads. Pickled ox tongue. If you're sick of cookie cutter menus, the menu at The Daniel O'Connell in North Adelaide reads like a fun park for your tastebuds.

Head chef Aaron Gillespie and sous chef Phil Whitmarsh aren't just fans of nose-to-tail eating; they're relentless full-time advocates.They bring in whole animals into the kitchen at the Daniel O'Connell - sourced from local butcher Richard Gunner of Feast! Fine Foods - and break them down, utilising every part however they can. They're not unabashed about where these parts might pop up on the menu either. Last time I checked they were attempting chocolate and pigs blood nougat. Really.


Lobo pear cider made in the Adelaide Hills

After our recent trip to Kangaroo Island, Billy and I stayed on in Adelaide for a couple of extra nights. It gave us the perfect chance to meet up with some Adelaide food bloggers although even with seven people, we only managed to cover about half the menu.

We'd heard that the Daniel O'Connell used to be a bit of a dive, famous more for its cheap chicken schnitzels than any kind of refined dining. Its recent refurbishment and menu change to more of a gastro pub focus has been a protracted process but it's slowly getting there, report Aaron and Phil when they briefly stop by our table later on in the evening.

Oyster and Guinness $3

Oysters and Guinness turn out to be "oyster and Guinness" - but we're glad we checked with staff first anyway. It's a fun concept, a freshly shucked oyster ready to be flooded with Guinness, transferred from a shot glass using a plastic ampule.


Whitebait with tartare $8

The whitebait turn out to be generously plentiful for $8, a pile of lightly floured fish deep-fried to a golden crisp, served with a lemon half and a deep saucer of tangy tartare.


Gin-cured salmon with cucumber and lavosh $14

The gin-cured salmon almost looks too pretty to eat, silky soft and buttery fillets that have an alcoholic kick of gin. The lavosh crackers provide a contrasting crunch to the salmon. Ribbons of cucumber - curled up tightly into scrolls - and edible flowers enhance the feeling of delicacy with this dish.


Snapper, bourride, shellfish and sea greens $32

The snapper is the most expensive seafood item on the menu. The skin-seared fish perches jauntily above a lake of bourride, traditionally a garlicky fish stew but a little under-seasoned this evening.


Goats cheese, quince, cucumber and beetroot $12

The goats cheese is another dish worth admiring for a moment or two before plundering, quivering mounds of goats cheese brightened with slices of poached quince, beetroot and (more) cucumber scrolls.


Ham hock croquettes with apple $7.50

Ham hock croquettes are quickly pronounced as one of the surprise hits of the evening. George says it reminds him of his grandma's ham hock soup, but intensified into one deep-fried umami mouthful.


 Pig head torchon with gribiche, apple and kohlrabi $16

The pig head torchon is a picture of refinement, the richness of the meat and fat from a pig's head countered by a layer of gribiche (pickled cucumbers, capers and egg whites mixed in a sauce made from boiled egg yolks, mustard and oil) and gossamer thin slices of cool kohlrabi and sweet apple curls.


Black pudding, apple, radish and saltbush $14

The black pudding isn't immediately visible when this dish arrives, hidden beneath a blanket of apple and radish slices.


Black pudding beneath the apple

We forage beneath and find a doorstep of black pudding, remarkably soft but springy in texture with a deft hand in seasoning that masterfully hovers between earthy and elegant.


200g Coorong Angus skirt steak with onion rings $26

How cute are these onion rings? These puffed up hoops cascade across the plate of Coorong Angus skirt steak slices, all cooked to a deep blushing pink.


'Dead Romance' ox heart with oyster, caper and cornichons $14

Dead Romance was what I had my heart set on - pun intended. It's an impressive sight, with ox heart tartare filled into a hollowed out shin bone. The finely chopped ox heart is unbelievably tender, and the mix of caper and cornichons give a welcome tang, punctuated every now and then with the briny burst of raw oysters. Amazing.


Roast bone marrow salad with parsley, shallots and capers $14

And then there was the roast bone marrow salad. It looks just like a forest: pale marrow-filled trunks rising up among the undergrowth of parsley, shallots and capers. The bone marrow has been cooked a little too long, so much of it has liquefied, but I zealously pour it onto our thick slices of charred toast anyway, and revel in its decadence.


Eton Mess $13

Dessert brings more surprises. The Eton Mess is far from its usual haphazard construction, here it's an elaborate composition with varying textures of meringue, fruit leathers, aerated sponge cake and strawberries.


Chocolate, beetroot, buttermilk, salt and nuts $13.50

Chocolate and beetroot is deeply satisfying too, intense chocolatey flavours partnered ingeniously with beetroot, nut smithereens and salt. It's sweet and salty and crazily it works.

They make their own chocolates here too, and although my photo was way too blurry to publish here I can assure you that the lamb fat caramel chocolates were worth bleating about. Heh.

Truly a memorable meal with innovative dishes I wish I could revisit over and over again. Adelaide - I've just found another reason to return again soon.




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The Daniel O'Connell
165 Tynte Street, North Adelaide, South Australia
Tel: +61 (08) 8267 4032

Open 7 days 11am til late
Kitchen usually closes about 9pm

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Adelaide - Adelaide Central Market
Adelaide - Adelaide Showground Farmers Market and inside a bee hive
Adelaide - Aviary Dessert Kitchen
Adelaide - Devour Dessert Bar
Adelaide - Eggless Dessert Cafe
Adelaide - Pearl's Diner
Adelaide - Press Food & Wine
Adelaide - Taldy-Kurgan Russian piroshki
Eyre Peninsula - Coffin Bay oyster farm and swimming with tuna
Nuriootpa - Lunch with Maggie Beer

El Amigo, Forest Lodge

Everyone loves meat on sticks but let's take it next level -  how about heart on a skewer? The Peruvians have been doing it for centuries, a dish called anticuchos that uses secondary cuts threaded onto skewers and grilled.

If you're not into hearts, there are plenty of other Peruvian delicacies to get into at El Amigo, a blink-you'll-miss-it family-run restaurant in Forest Lodge-slash-Glebe. There's the classic Peruvian ceviche ($18), chunks of fish cooked in lime juice; homemade beef empanadas ($4.50); and lomo saltado ($14), strips of beef stir-fried with tomato, onion and fried potatoes served with a side of rice.


El Amigo menu board

There's a little bit of something for everyone in this tiny cafe/restaurant. Burgers, steak sandwiches and chicken schnitzels cater for non-adventurous locals but the bulk of the menu is deliciously Peruvian.

The sign above the door reads "Mi Casa Est Tu Casa" or "my house is your house" and the casual relaxed vibe runs from the tables decked with traditional fabrics to the smiling women rolling empanada dough in the kitchen out the back. There's a constant flow of South Americans through the door too, all greeted like dear friends, so it really does feel like you've stumbled into someone's living room.


Pisco sour

The pisco sour isn't on the regular menu (it's usually only made during special events or dinners) but if you ask nicely they might just comply. It's undertaken with meticulous seriousness and involves several minutes of vigorous cocktail shaking.

And really, it's one of the best pisco sours we've had, light and foamy from the egg white with a refreshing yet gutsy undertone of Peruvian pisco, lime juice and sugar syrup.


Cancha salada toasted Peruvian corn $6

Drinks need snacks, and we're excited to find cancha salada on the menu. This popular Peruvian snack uses a special type of corn, maiz chulpe, that doesn't bloom into fluffy popcorn even when toasted. Instead the kernels become airy but retain their shape. They're like a lighter fluffier version of corn nuts, and incredibly addictive.


Inca kola $3

They're out of sweet purple corn juice on the day we visit, but Inca kola is just as intriguing. It's somewhat disturbingly yellow in colour and it tastes nothing like the cola we know. Inca Kola actually uses lemon verbena as its key ingredient but it's hard to detect much of this. We find it tastes more like creaming soda.


Chicken tamal $8

We went with the chicken tamal, served out of its banana leaf wrapping, and garnished with a salsa of red onion and mint. The cornmeal parcel is warm and comforting, filled with shredded chicken, egg and olives.


Anticuchos $15
Marinated ox heart served with potatoes, corn and huacatay chilli

I went straight for the ox heart of course, and the meat is surprisingly tender. The heart has been marinated in vinegar and spices, then cooked ever so briefly on the grill so the meat is still soft yet smoky. The saucer of huacatay chilli provides acidic balance against the strong flavour of the meat, but I'm a fan of this dish, and would definitely order it again.


Tres leches three milk cake 

Desserts vary according to what's in the display cabinet, but we're in luck with a serve of tres leches three milk cake, a classic dessert popular across Mexico, Central America and South America. The sponge cake is soaked in three types of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk and cream, and we relish the cake's saturated sponginess, oozing with dairy bliss.


Peruvian light roast $3.40 
and Deep Passion blend dark roast $3.20

They take their coffee seriously here too, using single origin beans from Peru and Mexico. We went with espresso shots of their Peruvian light roast and their Deep Passion Blend, a dark roast that is rich, nutty and aromatic.

El Amigo have just started opening for dinner too. Get down there on Wednesday and Thursday nights for a little Peruvian love - eating of hearts not required.




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El Amigo
35E Ross Street, Forest Lodge, Sydney
Tel: +61 (0)402 938 007

Opening hours:
Monday 9am - 3.30pm
Tuesday closed
Wednesday and Thursday 9am - 3.30pm then 6pm - 9pm
Friday 9am - 3.30pm
Sunday 12pm - 8pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Peruvian - La Parrillada, Petersham
Peruvian - Misky Cravings, Fairfield

Forest Lodge - In the Annex
Glebe - Badde Manors
Glebe - Flying Fajita Sisters
Glebe - La Banette Patisserie
Glebe - Tommy's Beer Cafe