In Melbourne, a city full of food and obsessed by coffee, I cook, I eat, I share the good news and the bad.essjay eats

Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

Old Town Kopitiam Mamak

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Sunday arvo in the city and we had paused in our shopping for a cold iced coffee (Journal and not bad, not too sweet, good espresso flavour). I checked my twitter stream and read that Old Town Kopitiam’s new outpost in QV was open for business. It’s a bit dull bite-wise in the [...]

Review: Donnini’s Lygon Street

Friday, January 1st, 2010

Every time we go to Donnini’s I ask myself why we don’t get here more often. I guess we take them for granted, but are thankful for their commitment to good food on a street that has a mistaken reputation for good food.

Review: Embrasse

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

For a bit of a special treat, we decided to visit Embrasse, which has been “on the list” for a while now, but you know, Mugaritz and Paris got in the way! (darn them!).
I’ve never been a real fan of the site Embrasse occupies in Drummond street, not now, and not when it was Mrs [...]

Markets: North Melbourne Farmers’ Market

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

North Melbourne Primary School now hosts a “Farmers Market” on the first Sunday of the month. I missed out on the last Abbotsford Convent market, so was kinda hankering for a market morning – and the boy lives walking distance to this one, so I was quite looking forward to it.
I do hope this [...]

Travel: The macarons of Europe

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

I tell myself (and others) that the purpose of the overseas trip was to see some new things, experience some new things, eat a few Michelin stars and chill out.
Reviewing my photos from the trip, I can’t ignore the shear number of macaron photos I took. I have decided to put them all together in [...]

Go Slow with Holy Goat

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Have you even eating Holy Goat cheese? Perhaps you have run into Anne Marie and Carla selling it at one of the Farmer’s Markets around Melbourne?
They are opening their farm in Sutton Grange as a slow food event.
“Ever wondered how a certified organic dairy goat farm, with cheese production, really works? This slow food event [...]

Review: La Luna Bistro – Carlton

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

I’ve eaten at Adrian Richardson’s Carlton Institution many times, but I’ve only had the steak once before. I generally get tempted by the kid or the suckling pig well before I get to the steak list.
But, tonight I was on a mission, to eat steak. That doesn’t quite explain while all three of my companions [...]

Eating: Chicken, Coriander and Leek Dumplings

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

I’m cleaning out the freezer and so the plan today was to cook chicken. I defrosted some Lilydale breasts and some wonton wrappers (the crap that accumulates!).
The Gasworks Farmers’ Market brought us baby leeks and coriander to round out the filling, and the Prahran Market Tour from a few weeks ago turned up some chicken [...]

Oops? Maggie’s Pheasant Farm

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

I was sent this photo along with the comment “Oops – forgot to take a ‘before’ shot”.
Hmmm….yes – I get unsolicited food photos. Yes – they sometimes aren’t technically of food!

Recipe: Lamb and Salted Lemon Coucous

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

We drank this with a 1998 D’Arenberg The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvingnon which was bought when I first started collecting wine with a view to drinking it later.  It was pretty scrummy.
Serves 2
4 Lamb Fillets or Backstraps1 large (or two small) lemonsCoucousTablespoon Pine NutsDried Mint, fresh mint CinnamonSweet or Smoket Parika.Plain Yogurt, Fromage Fraise etc [...]