Elsja Down Under

A Few of My Favorite Things December 20, 2009

My best friends and I have a series of emails that we like to send around from time to time called “Things I Can’t Live Without.” When one of us finds something really awesome, we send around emails detailing our fabulous finds. Sometimes they include make-up products, sometimes we send our favorite food items, etc. In the spirit of Christmas, I figured I could share a few of my latest favorite things with the whole world.

1. Benefit Pocket Pal – Awhile back I was looking for a reddish lipstick that would just sort of tint my lips red without looking like a $2 hooker. I really struggled to find exactly what I was looking for. I knew I basically just wanted a rosy, natural tint. I even mentioned to the girl that I could use something like Benetint but I didn’t want to carry around that little jar in my purse all the time. So I was super stoked to discover this awesome tint/gloss combo the last time I was in the US. I also just found that there is a Benetint mini as well! Who knew? I think I’ll buy the mini next time because the I don’t really use the gloss part of the pocket pal.

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2. Swiffer Dusters – If you read this blog you will have caught a little glimpse of my hatred for dust. I hate that I have to dust every few days to keep the house looking clean. I hate the fact that when I dust with washcloths, I can actually see little fibers flying around in the air and then settling back onto the surface I just wiped down. When I was in California, my mom gave me one of these little wonders to bring back with me. I love them! They do a really good job of picking up the dust and lint and I love that I can just run around and do a quick touch up job in between my full dusting jobs. I’ve now added a new item to my “stock up while in California” list… Swiffer duster refills. Good thing they can squish easily into my bag.

3. Ferrero Raffaello – I think these are known as Ferrero Garden in the US. These things are seriously little bites of heaven. I could easily become super tubbo if too many of these things are sitting around the house. I’m not one of those girls that likes to receive chocolates as valentines or anniversary gifts, but I don’t think I’d mind getting a few of these delightful morsels from time to time.

Ok so it’s just a few things… but they are all great and worth sharing with the world. If you have any items you can’t live without, please share! I’m still looking for Christmas tradition ideas from my last post as well!

Al Mustafa August 22, 2009

Yet another delish restaurant to review! YAY

The other night Andrew and I were meeting a couple of his friends for dinner in Glebe. They said they didn’t want Mexican (Baja Cantina) and asked if we had any other ideas. I quickly suggested Al Mustafa. I had been there once before, but never did a review back then. Even though the first time I went, they took about 20 minutes to bring my chicken kabobs… and by 20 minutes, I mean 20 minutes after everyone else already got their food- it was still so yummy that I’ve always wanted to go back.

This time was even better. We went on a Wednesday so it was a little quieter which was nice. I mean, the atmosphere on a weekend is great because they have music and belly dancers and the who shabang… but on a Wednesday, you don’t really need all that. They didn’t offer alcohol so we had to BYO- and they didn’t even charge us corkage! Woohoo

We ordered the Cushion Lounge banquet and it was sooo damn good. There were only a few little things on the huge banquet menu that I didn’t like, and when I asked to exchange them for chicken, they happily met my request. A HUGE plus for any restaurant in Sydney!!

The food was great. Service was pretty prompt. Overall it was a really good night. My only complaint is that I stuffed myself so much that the next morning I was STILL full and could STILL taste garlic  in my mouth. It was gross and I really felt the need to vomit- but I survived!

So here you go… here’s my super official review…

Decor: 6 – Nothing stands out as being really cute or anything… in fact I can’t even remember the decor much at all but I do  remember these hideous flowery glasses that they put on our table and some of the tablecloths were pretty ugly. So yeah, not the nicest thing I’ve ever seen, but they do have some cool hookahs lying around which add to the atmosphere.

Value:  7- Well, while we did spend $45 each- which is  a lot… we got TONS of food. We could have paid less if we wanted to order less! When we ran out of bread for our dips, they brought us more at no charge. They didn’t charge corkage and they give you free baklava and coffee with the banquet meal. I have to say- for a Sydney restaurant- the value to me was quite good.

Service: 8- There were a few times I would have liked more water, but for the most part, everything came out very quickly and we didn’t need to ask for much. Plus, they let me substitute chicken for lamb- substitutions are pretty unheard of when you order the banquet menus, so I was really appreciative of that!

Taste: 9- This food is pretty damn good. The hummus and tzatziki dips are a little too good which usually leads to filling up on those before the “real” food comes out. They had these coriander/cilantro potatoes that I tried for the first time back in CA- and they are wonderful. The chicken kabobs were great, these interesting green beans were pretty good and I even liked the falafel, which I usually am not a huge fan of. The fact that I woke up the next morning and I was STILL full really says something about how appetizing this place is.

I think we are planning to go back in September for a celebratory engagement dinner with Andrew’s family. I can’t wait!

Yumdiddly # 4- Homemade Pizza July 28, 2009

So who knew… but my Yumdiddly series is going to continue!

Last week I made some yumlicious homemade pizza and I thought I’d share my tips and tricks with you.

First I made the dough using this recipe:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce/7g) package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

If you are in the US, you could just go to Trader Joes and buy some pre-made dough, but I don’t have that luxury here- I only have the option of buying a crapier version of a Boboli or I can make my own. Of course I choose to make my own.

So I mixed  all this up together to form the dough (if you have an electric mixer with a dough hook, that really helps- but it can definitely be done by hand). 

Then I let it sit in a bowl covered with a warm, wet towel for about an hour. You actually don’t have to do this, but I find that it makes the dough much easier to roll out.

While rolling the dough, I had my pizza stone heating up in the oven. Now, everyone raves about amazing pizza stones and how they make your pizza so much tastier. I’m not sold on this. I still have to modify my pizza after it’s cooked (ill discuss that later). If you don’t have a stone, just use a cookie sheet of some sort to make a rectangle pizza.

I rolled the dough out so it was pretty big and thin and it covered the entire stone. I trimmed off the excess around the edge of the stone and saved it to make another mini pizza the next day.

Then I covered it in the following (in this order):

• My favorite pasta sauce that I use for pretty much every recipe
• Chopped garlic
• Chopped fresh basil
• Chopped sun dried tomatoes
• Chopped red and green bell peppers/capsicum
• Chopped onions
• Low-fat mozzarella cheese

I didn’t go light on the toppings… this thing was COVERED. I learned prior to making this that you should add toppings UNDER the cheese so that 1) the toppings don’t burn before the cheese cooks and 2) the cheese will get nice and golden. This trick REALLY made the pizza better! I love golden crispy cheese!!

I baked it on 410f/210c  for about 20 minutes until the cheese was nice and brown on top

**Now here’s my special trick **

When I sliced some pizza, I threw it on our sandwich grill thing (or you could just use a pan on your stove top). I let it sit there for about 2-4 minutes until the bottom of the crust started to brown and get crunchy. I do this because even with the pizza stone, I still find that the dough is a bit too soft and flimsy in the middle of the pizza (this is precisely why I’m not quite sold on the benefits of the stone). I like it the crust a bit crispier so placing the pizza on a grill for a few extra minutes before eating makes it even better!! If you like soft, chewy pizza- then just skip this step

Andrew said it was the best homemade pizza he’s ever had and I actually have to agree with him on that one!!!

I promise to start taking more pictures of my yummy creations now that I have full intentions of blogging about them more frequently! I think next I’ll attempt a Hawaiian BBQ chicken pizza. Mmm can’t wait!

Yumdiddly – #3 Strawberry Pocket Pies July 23, 2009

 

This is the ONLY kind of broken heart I ever want in life…

For edition 3 of my Yumdiddly series I am going to tell you about my sweet little pies.

I made these strawberry pocket pies with great success on the weekend! I didn’t think they were going to be a great success at first because the dough kept sticking to the wonderful Williams-Sonoma Pocket Pie mold. Then I had an “A-ha” moment when I realized I should flour the outside of the dough to prevent it from sticking to the mold but keep the insides clean so they stick to each other… duh.

I even went all out and made my own strawberry filling instead of getting some boring pre-made pie filling in a can (shh… don’t tell… but the only reason I made my own filling is because I couldn’t FIND pie filling in a can)!

I bought layers of shortcrust pastry (pie dough) from the shop and just cut the hearts out with the mold. Then I had all these leftover dough scraps that were too small for hearts. Bummer. But then I had another brilliant idea and I got some cookie cutters and made my very own little flower shaped pocket pies as well. They turned out just lovely. See… 

 

So if you would like to make these delectable little pies for yourself- here is what you do…

1. Go to Williams Sonoma and buy the mold. Or, if you have cookie cutters that are big enough you could just use those.
2. Buy some dough or make it yourself… I bought mine so I can’t help you if you need to make your own
3. Use the mold or cutter to cut shapes
4. Make your strawberry filling

For the filling, follow this recipe:

• 2 cups finely chopped strawberries
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp corn starch

1. Mix it all up and it will get kinda goopey.
2. Then put about 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of the dough depending on the size of your shape.
3. If you have the mold, read the instructions on the box. If you cut your own dough, put a 2nd shape on top of the first and gently press down the edges of the dough so it seals around the filling. If you put too much filling in, this will be difficult.
4. Once it’s sealed, poke a few little holes in the top.
5. Brush some egg yolk over the top of the pies or if you don’t have egg, you could use some milk.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes until the dough is golden brown and the filling is probably starting to ooze out.

I had enough to make about 3 decent heart shaped pies, 1 hideous wonky heart shaped pie (first attempt), 2 flower pies and then I took the leftover dough, smashed it into a small baking dish, filled it with the rest of the strawberries and made a cute little mini pie open faced pie out of that.

Scrumptious!

Yumdiddly- #2 Chicken Pasta Bake July 20, 2009

And now for my 2nd installment in the Yumdiddly series…

Chicken Pasta Bake

Now, this is nothing phenomenal, but it’s quick and easy (and most of all tasty) so I thought I’d share my recipe with you.

• 3 cups of spiral pasta (or any fat, short pasta)
• 1 large chicken breast, cut into small pieces (2 inches or so)
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (roughly 24 oz)
• Ricotta cheese (about 6 oz or 3/4 cup)
• 1 carrot
• 1 small zucchini
• olive oil
• Lots of shredded cheese (we mostly used Parmesan and some cheddar)

Optional:

• Chili paste/flakes
• garlic
• oregano
• 1 bottle of red wine

 

1. Peel and slice zucchini and carrot

2. Cook pasta and drain (oh and throw the carrot slices in with the pasta so they softens up a bit)

3. While pasta is cooking, sautee the chicken pieces in the olive oil, garlic and chili. Sprinkled on some oregano to make it look fancy (I guess it doesn’t taste bad either). I don’t measure stuff… just throw in what you like.

4. Cook chicken until it’s nearly done (it can still be a little pink). Andrew hates overcooked chicken… since you’ll be baking this- you don’t want to cook it too much at the beginning.

5. Mix the pasta sauce and the ricotta cheese in your favorite mixing bowl. Mine happens to be my green melamine bowl from Williams Sonoma. Kinda sad these bowls now come in a 4 pack and I only have 3!!!

6. Add chicken, veggies and pasta to the sauce and cheese. Mix it all up. Feel free to sing some Italian opera if you are so inclined.

7. Dump it into a baking dish that has been sprayed with some sort of cooking spray.

8. Cover the whole dish with mounds  of shredded cheese

9. Bake uncovered at some random temperature until the cheese is a crispy, golden, melty dream come true. (I think I had this on about 200 C or 400F  for about 10-12 minutes).

Oh… and the wine doesn’t actually go into this dish, I just like to drink it while I cook and eat!!

Andrew thought there was too much ricotta but overall he really liked it… I thought it was perfect- there can never be too much cheese, right?

Up Next:

Strawberry pocket pies

Yumdiddly #1- Grapelberry Fizz

This weekend was full of yummy drinks and dinners and treats so I thought I’d tell you about them in a series of Yumdiddly blog posts.

Here comes post number 1- Friday Game Night

Kristin hosted a game night and 10 of us gathered in Northbridge to play some Cranium and Apples to Apples… games = good times. Not only was it fun, it was a tasty night as well. The takeout Thai was good and  so was the phenomenal brie and sweet chili dip- I really need to buy some of that stuff!! Kristin even made a nice little dessert of fresh strawberries and ice cream. On top of all the great food, I also finally got to try my dream drink. By “dream drink” I don’t mean that it’s the best drink I’ve ever had or anything. I literally mean I had a dream about this. A few months ago I invented it in my head as I slept and therefore decided to try it out to see how it tastes. Well I think my nifty new drink concoction was pretty good and a little too easy to drink.   I like to call it “Grapleberry Fizz.” It’s not the classiest of names, but it’s fun to say and describes all aspects of the drink- so here’s the recipe in case you want to try some Grapleberry Fizz for yourself!

 (Measurements aren’t precise since I made it  using about 5 different ratios throughout the night)

• 1 short/lowball glass
• grape vodka (I did about 2 shots)
• soda water (filled ’til glass was about 3/4 full)
• cranberry juice (topped up)
• fresh squeezed lime juice (to taste)

So the review?? It was good- sweet but not TOO sweet and reminded me of a grape sucker. Andrew thought it was disgusting and Kris thought it tasted like grape Hubba Bubba.

Coming up on the next Yumdiddly…

Chicken Pasta Bake

High Class and Low Class Bars July 12, 2009

Saturday night Andrew, Kris, Tess and I enjoyed a few hours in a cool wine bar near our house- Firefly. I had been wanting to go there for dinner for awhile and we finally made it! So here is a quick little review in case any of you are interested:

The wine was good (also pretty expensive… but I guess it IS a wine bar). We got 3 bottles- a special pinot noir (not on the menu so I can’t remember what it was called), a 2006 Whitebox shiraz/viognier and a Bethany 2006 cab/merlot blend. I have to say the cab/merlot was my favorite. The pinot was a little woody and rough for me.

We ordered the zucchini frites (highly recommended), a mediterranean dip plate that had this wonderful pumpkin and pine nut dip… yum!, chicken chorizo, margherita pizza and lamb skewers. I ate everything except the lamb and it was all really good! It doesn’t seem a like enough food between 4 people but since it’s tapas you can just keep ordering more as the night goes on- plus the 3 bottles of wine really fill you up

Decor: 9 – I really love this decor. The layout, furniture, wall of wine, barrels and lighting is just classy and comfortable and they had nice music playing all night too.

Value: 6 – It was about $270 for the 4 of us. When you think about the fact that we only got some dip, pizza and other little finger foods- that’s pretty excessive. It could be that the wine alone was probably $150 for the 3 bottles though. It’s definitely a “special occasion” place. Not somewhere I could afford to go on a weekly basis!

Service: 9 – I’d say nothing was lacking with the service. They were quick and friendly and gave good recommendations on food and wine. I’m not giving a 10 because I had to wait a LITTLE too long to get some chili flakes

Taste: 7 – it was really good, but not the most spectacular food I’ve ever eaten. Although those zucchini frites do tempt me to give a higher score

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After a nice dinner we went to a super ghetto, creepy bar in Neutral Bay. The median age of the crowd was about 55-60 years old. I particularly liked the 60-65 year old woman with long bleach blond hair and True Religion jeans.

The bartenders scoop ice out of a cooler/esky and there are no fountains for the soda… it comes out of 2 liter bottles. SO sketchy!! But they had karaoke which made it pretty fun. The song choices were limited (mostly geared towards the 50-60 year old crowds) but I decided to sing a song. I chose “Son of a Preacher Man” pretty much because it was the only song I could find that I’ve done karaoke to in the past. Usually it was always as backup for Shannon (who CAN actually sing). Well, they were taking forever so I decided to go tell the guy that we were leaving and he could cancel my song. I walked up there and first decided to just ask how much longer it would be (I knew it would be awhile because I put in the request about 15 minutes after Tess and she JUST had her turn).

Sooo annnyways… When I asked how much longer the guy just looked at me and said “Do you want to go next?” I was a little caught off guard, but said sure. I was NOT prepared to go right at that moment… I just figured I’d miss out that night since we were about to leave. About 2 seconds later the music started and I just gave it my all.

Evidently Andrew said to Kris “this girl is good” and Kris had to tell him it was me- Andrew had no clue!!  So I guess that means I wasn’t half bad. That was the first time in my life I’ve ever sang a solo karaoke song- I’ve ALWAYS done it with friends…. so I was pretty proud of myself that I got up there and went for it

Yogaaargh July 10, 2009

Yesterday was my first day back doing power yoga and I wanted to punch the teacher in the face. Now, that’s not a bad thing per se, that just means it was tough- which is what I needed.

My few sessions of  yoga in the states were great for bits of nice stretching and relaxing and I even was a little sore after- but seriously, yesterday I thought I was going to die. After doing power yoga regularly for a few months, I got to the point where I didn’t really need much water during the whole class. I’d sweat a lot but I wouldn’t feel like I was vomit. Well yesterday I was guzzling the water, sweating my ass off and I got to the point where I just could not do one more single chaturanga (kinda like a reverse push-up). I had to take “water breaks” just to try and get some blood to flow back to my brain so I wouldn’t fall over when doing balancing poses. At one point, when the teacher said “ok one more time on the right side” I actually yelled obscene profanities at her (in my head). Once on each side is enough… no need to repeat people!!

But even after all that  agony… even with the pain that has taken over my back, sides and arms… even after losing pretty much all of my body fluids… I still want to go back.

I’m so glad I’ve found one miserable form of exercise that I actually enjoy.

Oreo Balls… YUM June 28, 2009

And now for more ball baking adventures… except with these particular bites of heaven, I didn’t even have to turn on the oven. These were WAY easier and quicker to make than the cake balls (and I think they taste better as well).

Recipe:

• 1 package of Oreos (16oz)- I used reduced fat
• 1 tub of cream cheese (8oz)- I used non fat
• 1 bag of white chocolate chips

1. Crush the oreos into fine crumbs- you could use a food processor but since I don’t have one, I just used one of these…
2. Add in the  cream cheese and stir until it becomes a mushy paste
3. Roll the paste into little balls about the size of a walnut and place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper
4. Freeze balls for 20-30 minutes
5. Remove a few balls at a time (so the others can stay cold while you’re working) and dip the balls into the melted white chocolate
6. Tap off excess chocolate and place on some more wax paper
7. Add some oreo crumbs to the top for decoration

ENJOY

 

California Shopping & Dining June 3, 2009

What is it about going back to California that gives me this incredible urge to shop and eat? I don’t even typically like shopping all that much (unless it’s for home and kitchen goods) and even just a week ago I thought to myself “I won’t be buying much when I go home, I’ll save some money.”

Yeah, right.

That all changed. I leave for California tomorrow and of course I’m excited to see my friends and family but I’m also really excited to go shopping. So much for my plan to make this a cheap trip. I just can’t resist! I pretty much ONLY shop when I go home. I still think I’ve probably bought less than 10 items of clothing since I moved here. Shoes? 2 pairs since moving. I’ve been here almost 2 years people! That is an accomplishment for a girl!! However, the lack of my shopping down under means I go a bit crazy when I go back to the states. I probably could have squeezed all of my stuff into one big suitcase- or maybe one big and one little. But, I’m bringing 2 big ones to lug back all the stuff I buy while I’m away!

Here’s a little snapshot of a few of my favorite places that I intend to visit while I’m back:

California, here I come! I’ll be there Thursday, bright and early!!

A Grown up Kind of Fun June 1, 2009

So at what point in our lives do we officially become adults? More specifically, when is it that we start having adult parties? I remember high school parties… some one’s parents were out of town and word would spread about the party through phone calls and pager messages. We’d all show up, cram into the backyard and stand around on wet grass while trying to avoid falling in the pool. We’d grab the infamous red plastic cup and go straight for the keg where we would pour ourselves a big cupful of nasty cheap beer. There were no finger foods or munchies and if there was music it might be rap, reggae or punk.  Someone would be doing a keg stand in one corner, a beer bong in another corner, smoking pot in the 3rd corner and a fight might break out in the 4th corner. Looking back, these parties sound miserable… but we had the time of our lives!

So when did I go from enjoying such parties to looking back on them with disdain? Really…when did I get so old?

The party we went to this weekend was pretty much the complete opposite of the crazy high school party. It was at a nice apartment overlooking Sydney Harbour. Guests were actually invited, not texted randomly by people who just heard about it through the grapevine. There were no plastic red cups, but there were about 45 -50 wine and champagne tasting glasses. The keg full of cheap beer was missing, instead we had a table full of nice wine including champagne, whites, reds and dessert wines. There was a table full of homemade finger foods including grilled onion tarts, fig and goats cheese wrapped with prosciutto, gruyere, onion and garlic pizza squares, pesto stuffed cherry tomatoes, a gourmet cheese board and a few different dips. Instead of doing keg stands, Alex (the host and birthday boy) lead a delightful night of wine tasting. Each person brought one nice bottle of wine. We each had to bring a different type and we all started off on champagne and worked our way through the wines one by one starting with the lightest and most mellow and moving up to the heavy reds and finishing off with the dessert wines. Speaking of dessert we also enjoyed a WONDERFUL lemon tart that went very well with the petritis semillon as well as my cake balls and some macaroons that were better with the heavier port. It was great to really compare the wines and enjoy tasting the differences in all the varieties. Drinking wine in this way is so much more fun than drinking one type all night.

 

I guess there comes a time in our lives when we do grow up and or idea of fun totally changes, but honestly I don’t think that’s a bad thing. We just evolve and learn to appreciate things that we never could when we were younger. Like wine, champagne and onions… all of which I detested at one stage but now thoroughly enjoy!

Cheers to adult wine parties which are so much better than teenage keg parties!

Lovely Balls Made from Cake May 28, 2009

I always love a good reason to bake something. Well since we have a birthday party/wine night tomorrow, I thought this might be the perfect time to bust out my Kitchenaid mixer. I’ve really been wanting to make an attempt at little cake balls. These nifty little treats can be found on the Bakerella blog (which I love ). Ok Bakerella is the QUEEN at these awesome cake balls and cake pops. Me… not so much! I guess we all start somewhere though, right?

You basically make a cake, crumble it up, mix in some frosting, roll into balls and then dip in chocolate.

Fancy.

I actually did attempt a version of these a few weeks back and they turned out just ok. I used my flower shaped cupcake pan and omitted the whole part where I crumble it up and mix with frosting. Instead I attempted to just dip the flowers. Yeah that didn’t turn out too pretty- but the strawberry cake went well with the white chocolate and so they were still yummy!!

 

 

So tonight I tried to make them the “proper” way. I COULD have made them from scratch, but I wasn’t feeling THAT adventurous so I just bought a box cake mix. I figured most people (not including me) like chocolate best, so I got chocolate cake and here’s what happened next:

 

1. I baked the cake, mushed it all up & then mixed in the frosting

 

 

2. Then I rolled the balls, chilled them and then dipped them in white chocolate

 

 

 

  

3. I added some white sprinkles and voila! Cute little chocolate snowballs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I realize they don’t look all that pretty (well, not up close in person at least) but it was my first real attempt, so I guess I’m just glad they are edible.

Speaking of eating them,  I couldn’t even eat an entire ball. It was way too chocolaty for me  but I will explain the taste for you chocolate lovers out there. It’s like eating SUPER moist chocolate cake coated with chocolate frosting and topped with some white chocolate for a little crunch. NOT my favorite dessert (I preferred the strawberry ones) but Andrew ate 2.

Tomorrow I’ll be baking some Gruyere, garlic and onion pizza things from scratch to bring to the party. I’m looking forward to eating those WAY more than these chocolate goodies. I’ll let you all know how those turn out in the next few days, but I have a feeling they will be wonderful! 

A Taste of India May 24, 2009

Andrew and I joined a few of his friends on Friday night at an Indian restaurant in Crows Nest called Cumin. I was very skeptical to try this place since most of my experiences with Indian food had been quite bad. I’d go as far as saying that before I came to this place, I just flat out did not like Indian food. Well, that has changed. This place made me realize that not all Indian HAS to taste the same and be super oily and heavy. In fact, it reminded me more of Radio Cairo, which I blogged about previously. Our table got an array of things from the Beef Vindaloo and Chicken Murg Madrass to the vegetarian Cholay Masala and Palek Paneer.  I only ate the vegetarian dishes, and they were definitely tasty. The Cholay Masala was a typical chickpea curry thing but it was better than some I’ve had because it wasn’t super oily and runny. The Palek Paneer looked gross (think mushy green baby food), but was super delish! If you like spinach, you must try this. If you don’t like spinach, steer clear because it is pretty much made of a pureed spinach sauce with these little “cottage cheese” type squares. Both of these went extremely well with the light, fluffy rice. Oh and the garlic naan bread… you really can never go wrong with that delectable treat! It’s all pretty new to me, but I’m just happy that this restaurant restored my faith in Indian food!

Now for my review on a scale of 1 to 10 stars

Decor: 7 – nothing fancy but it was definitely nice, clean and comfortable. To be honest, the place was PACKED full of people so I really can’t even remember what it looked like other than the billions of people in there. We couldn’t even get a booking until 8:15 because it was so crowded (and a bit loud). I was told that it’s less crowded (and quieter) during the week.

Value: 8 - As always, I base this off of other restaurants in Sydney. We got 6 dishes, 2 things of rice, several orders of naan and pappadums and we all had corkage fees and it probably cost us about $30 bucks each if I remember correctly. While it’s not a super cheap night out, I’d say for what we got, it was good value!

Service: 9 – I really don’t have anything to complain about here. Servers were attentive and quick  and we didn’t have to wait too long for our food. I suppose they could have filled out water more often

Taste: 8- Yum. While I’m still not going to say that Indian is my favorite cuisine, I will say that this food was very enjoyable… to the point where I’ve already started having dilemmas on which vegetarian option I’d order of the two I tried if Andrew and I were to go there on our own.

We’ll definitely be going back.

To continue with the Indian theme, Andrew and I decided to watch Slumdog Millionaire on Saturday. I had heard so much about this movie and how great it was but I had a limited knowledge of the movie (which is the way I like it) so I really only knew it was about a poor Indian guy who goes on “Who wants to be a millionaire” and wins. I didn’t really see how it could be that great based on that plot, but now I understand.

I thought it was a really good movie that I would definitely watch again. The actors were great (I love the little kid above), the script was funny at times and definitely kept my interest, the music was awesome and it was such a touching story which really makes you appreciate living in an advanced country with access to  food, money, good jobs and good governments (and toilets) .  I also thought it was a really interesting idea for a movie in the way that they show how people come to have knowledge based on life experiences, not just from books and education alone.

If you haven’t seen it… see it. If you are in the area and you haven’t been to Cumin…go!

More reviews and the short but funny tale of revenge are coming tomorrow!

Baja Cantina May 18, 2009

Mexican food is certainly hard to come by in Australia. Wait… I take that back. GOOD Mexican is hard to come by. We’ve tried many places and some have been decent. Luckily we’ve stayed away from all the really bad ones thanks to reviews by other American Expats warning us of the crap quality. So it was a very pleasant surprise when Andrew took me to a yummy Mexican restaurant on Valentines day. Yes, Valentines day… I know this blog is 3 months too late. But I’m in restaurant review mode so take what you can get, ok?Â

Baja Cantina is a little restaurant in Glebe and it’s really good if you like California/Baja style Mexican food. I’m not going to say this is REALLY authentic Mexican, because I really don’t think it is. But it tastes a lot like authentic California Mexican which makes me very happy. The first time we went we went we ordered way too much food. 2 things of chips and salsa, nachos and fajitas. The fajitas are really good! They come with all the necessary sides including cheese and guacamole which are usually only offered if you are willing to pay for it. The nachos were super bad for us but super yummy in our tummies! They even have black beans which are hard to find here. I asked for a side of limes and they brought me 6 slices… practically a whole lime. I was in heaven! Oh, and did I mention the delish Sangria and cheap coronas? Of course those made the experience even better!

So we went again a few weeks ago with a couple of Andrew’s friends and the food and service was just as good. Wait, did I say the service was good? Why yes, yes I did. Amazing considering this is an Australian restaurant I’m writing about. Does it sound bad if I say the great service is probably due to the fact that 90% of the servers are American?? It probably does sound a bit bad to the Aussies, but even Andrew agrees with that one.

I still think it’s funny when we go to Mexican with Australians and they pronounce quesadillas the way they are actually spelled (quay so dilas) and tortilllla.  I don’t think I’d be able to work there. I’d constantly be correcting people and/or laughing when they butcher the Spanish language. You really can’t blame the Aussies though… they weren’t brought up with an abundance of everything Spanish like we were in California.

Another thing I find interesting when dining with Aussies at a Mexican restaurant is trying to explain the difference between fajitas, enchiladas, tacos, chimichangas and burritos. Go ahead, think about it. If you had to explain the difference, how would you do it? “Well this one is folded up in a tortilla with stuff inside but there is no sauce,  this one is  folded up in a tortilla with cheese and sauce on top, and this one you eat like tacos but the stuff comes on a sizzling plate.” Really, it is hard to try to explain the difference to someone. It’s one of those things you either just know and understand or you dont.

Now for my expert review on a scale of 1-10 stars

Decor: 7 – it was cute but nothing really stands out for me as being extra special

Value: 7 –  I’m basing this on the cost of most Mexican food in Australia. Compared to other places, Baja Cantina is fairly cheap (especially the coronas).

Service: 8.5 – this place probably has some of the best service I’ve seen in Australia

Taste: 8.5 – I really have minimal complaints. Everything from the tortillas to the beans to the sangria is great. But they do lose 1.5 stars for having mediocre guacamole and bland rice.

We’ll definitely be heading to Baja Cantina any time we need our fix of Mexican food!!

**While I’m on the topic, I also suggest Flying Fajita Sisters in Glebe for Taco Tuesday. They have great 2 dollar tacos and their Sangria (in my opinion) is even better than Baja Cantina… especially the white wine Sangria. Yum!**

Radio Cairo May 12, 2009

I have visited a few new restaurants in the last few weeks and have failed to provide reviews   Bad, bad Elsja. So I thought I’d go ahead and write about one that we went to about a month or so ago. Radio Cairo is a cool little African restaurant near our house in Cremorne. I have to admit, I was a bit afraid to try African food. Seriously… what IS African food anyways? But we headed there with a few friends and I was pleasantly surprised.

The appetizers were a bit small for the money, but they were delish! We got this carmalized onion/cheese bread and if it weren’t so expensive, I would rave about it. This other appetizer was like this tortilla roll with potatos and sauce. Everyone else shared some meaty and seafoody type dishes, and I got this vegetarian curry thing. We all shared rice and tasty cous cous. I realize I’m not being very specific here- but it was over a month ago and I don’t really remember all the ingredients or what these dishes were called. I will say that I DO remember them being full of flavor, not too oily with lots of spice (beware if you don’t like spicy food) and overall very appetizing.

So here’s my overall review on a scale of 1 to 10 stars (5 stars just isn’t enough anymore)

Decor: 6.5 – Cute place, but nothing too fun or fancy

Value: 6.5- I think the food wasn’t bad compared to most restaurants, but the entree/appetizers were way overpriced

Taste: 7.5 - Since I HAD to order vegetarian, I can’t give it a perfect score (I’d prefer chicken) but it was pretty darn good for vego food!

I’d definitely go back! I’m looking forward to trying the one other vegetarian item on the menu. Maybe next time I’ll remember what we ordered so I can provide more descriptive reviews of the food!