Chocci's - Cooking & Dining

We have moved!

Hi, this blog is no longer being updated - we have moved to:

http://chocci.blogspot.com

Please click on the above link for updated posts on eating, cooking and everything else ...

Thanks

Chocci

Soul food in Seoul - 1st Stop

In the series of posts to come, Chocci will take you on our "I'm not hungry" tour in Seoul (run from 12-14 January) by Host Chai.

12 January 2008

6.30 am - J, E and I arrive at Hotel Chai, bleary eyed from the red-eye flight from Hong Kong.  Attempts to open the door of Hotel Chai fail and we are greeted by our cheery host, YW.  We chill out in the gorgeous living room of Hotel Chai chatting, trying not to wake the sleepy guests, J and P in the master bedroom. 

I nibble on my CX lounge vanilla cake as J/YW and me debate whether to head out for breakfast at the "ox-tail" soup place.  Sleep wins.

11.30 am - Everyone is awake.  It's breaky time! 

12.30 am - 6 pairs of gloves, 4 beanies and 6 puffy jackets later, we arrive at our 1st stop.  "This place serves the best ox-tail soup and seafood tofu stew", Yewwei tells us as we follow him into a narrow alley.  Although I usually can't eat much after a sleepless night, I am suddenly famished.  After taking off our boots, we step into a little restaurant and nestle down at low traditional Korean tables with our feet tucked underneath us.  "[We'll have 3 of those ox-tail soups, 2 seafood tofus, 1 bibimbap, oh and maybe some raspberry wine]", YW quickly rattles off in Korean. 

In no time at all, sizzling hot black pots arrive at our tables together with the kimchi and other local side dishes.  Ignoring the sounds of what appears to be two cats attempting to kill each other in the floor above (the owner shrugged as we looked at her enquiringly), we quickly stuck our metal spoons and chopsticks into the pots of goodies.  The slightly spicy oxtail soup was stewed to perfection, the beef just melting off the bone ... though the best part was probably eating the oxtail off the bone with our fingers.  You need to use the fingers to get to the good bits!  The seafood tofu soup was spicy and all the ingredients infused with the flavour.   The bibimbap was good but left me wondering - where are the crunchy bits on the bottom? 

Verdict: 4 out of 5.  My only regret is that we had to leave some room for the rest of the meals to come.

(Depicted left is our mate J, slurping up the goodness of the oxtail bones - picture has been masked to protect his identity.)

Hot Pot, Hong Kong

Tis the season to warm up our tooties with some steamy hot pots of seafood, marbled beef, squid balls scooped outta the bamboo shell and all other manners of goodies.  Here's my quick take on two of my recent two fav places in Hong Kong.

Ying Kee Seafood Hotpot, Hong Kong

My galpal Q and I share a few things in life: tennis, crabs, seafood, crabs, travelling, massages, crabs ... did I mention crabs?   One week Q mentioned that she and OB had been to a fantastic hotpot place in Sheung Wan recently which served the freshest baby abalone (at $10 each) and crabs to go in the hot pot.  When Q suggested that we try the place out on a Friday night, I was looking forward to the meal the whole week ... and I wasn't disappointed!

Turns out I'd been to Ying Kee before with another bunch of friends a few years ago.  This place is on the 1st floor of Lucky Commercial Building in Sheung Wan.  Unassuming decor with tanks of seafood at the entrance, this place is low key but fabulous.  This place has got the three essential ingredients to a great hot pot right: (1) freshest seafood, (2) great soup base and most importantly (3) a consistent powerful flame.    So go for the baby abalone, the crabs, US sliced beef and the squid paste which you scoop out of a bamboo container bit by bit.   Don't forget to cool down with the sugarcane juice.

I'm going back again this Saturday night. 

1/F Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan.  Tel No: 2548-8897

Spring Autumn Hot Pot (春秋火锅)

Kind of a mid to high end hot pot place with table cloth and ingredients beautifully arranged and served on a little plates.  The soup base is great, so is the beef balls and squid balls, but my fav has to be the delicious marbled beef.   Requires booking in advance as it's not a big place so it's always full. 

26 Leighton Road, Causeway bay. Tel No: 2878-1128

Cal Pep, Barcelona, Spain

Ok, I guess I'm wayyy behind on my food reviews.  It's the start of autumn in Hong Kong and I'm just starting to write about my favourite restaurant from the summer holidays.   I have no excuse except that it's been a fantastic busy summer and I'm finally settling down to do some real work.

My fellow foodie travelling buddy S had raved about Cal Pep last time she visited Barcelona so when we found ourselves back in Barcelona for a week long visit, I couldn't wait to make my way there ... even with the warning that we were in for a wait of at least an hour.   Cal Pep is located at no. 8, Placa de la Olle (http://www.calpep.com/), which is close to the sea side end of Gran Via.   In the evening, the restaurant opens at 8 pm sharp, and from about 7.30 pm onwards you'll notice a queue.  (The first time S went, it was full of locals ... this time we were in a queue with about 15 other American tourists - apparently it's been written up in TimeOut and a few other US guides.  I guess the secret's out.)

The restaurant is divided into two sections, a long bar overlooking the open kitchen and a dining room area.  The bar is the place to sit, facing the energetic chefs hollering at each other as they serve up plates of crunchy deep fried seafood, pan fried steak and fish, while filling everyone's glasses to the brim with cava and vino.  It's the heart and soul of Cal Pep.    When the restaurant doors open, the guests will quickly fill up the 16 or so seats at the bar.  When these seats are filled, it's at least another 45 min wait before the first round clears.  The rest of the guests form an orderly queue directly behind the long bar of patrons.   If like us, you were unlucky enough just miss out because some tourists in the queue ahead of you were bagging seats for their friends waiting at the bar in the middle of the Placa, all is not lost.  Just order a bottle of Cava (local sparkling white) which the bar staff will happily serve you and keep cool for you behind the bar.  There's nothing like being a little bit tipsy and watching the plates of good food whish past to get your appetite going. 

As for the food ...

Well the English of the staff is limited, as was our Spanish, so we decided to let the waiters decide for us ... though we did let them know of the (few) preferences we had developed from gaping at those seated at the bar table during our wait ... "No chickpeas" ... "definitely want tuna" ... "clams!".   Firstly, you will be served with the toasted bread rubbed with tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil.  Unless you are very very hungry, we suggest that you leave it for now.  Wait for the platter of deep fried mixed seafood plate ... so lightly battered, crunchy and tasty, there's a mix of white bait, a flatish fish (eel?), squid and shrimp.  This dish is to die for.  Then they might follow it up with the baby clams cooked with parsley and olive oil, with bits of pancetta.  My favourite is probably the tuna tartare, which is tangy from being lightly marinated, to be scooped up onto the accompanying small crispy toasts. 

At first we were going to give the tortilla a miss because it looked so heavy.  When it came towards the latter part of our meal we had to take a deep breath before digging in.  But one bite and we were in heaven.  The outer layer is light and cripsy and the inside still gooey, the best part was that they had cooked it in chorizo oil with chorizo bits so that the whole torilla ooozed with a smokey, salty flavour.  Lathered with the aoili (garlic mayo), we polished off the whole dish even though we were absolutely stuffed.

But the most memorable dish is probably the pimientos (small green peppers).  The first time I had them with S, we had a plate full of salty deep fried peppers which were slightly spicy.  The second time I visited with J, I was hit with two bombshells of spicy pimientos ... J looked at my bemused as she crunched her way through the plate while I fanned the flames in my mouth and wiped the tears with my napkin, saying, "Hey S, there are not spicy at all!".  It was only later at the airport checking out recipe books that I realised that eating pimientos in Spain is like playing Russian roulette ... 1 in 10 is extremely spicy!

Even if you have tourists breathing down your neck behind you, you must stay on for the dessert.  The flavoured cream is an interesting concoction, but it's the daily pastries that they get from a local bakery that will knock your socks off.   The puff pastry with chocolate truffles that J and I dug into at the end of our meal left us in no doubt that we'd have to go back.   Soon.

Partido

S and I had attended a cooking class in Barcelona, so last night I tried to put my newly acquired skills to use.  On the menu was gazpacho, chorizo tortilla, seafood paella and a light salad with avocado and juicy vine tomatoes. 

Tetsuyas, Sydney

.... !

Rating: 5 stars (yep, it's this good)

Definitely worth the flight up to Sydney from Melbourne.

I'll write more once I've recovered from the experience.

Longrain, Melbourne

Sister of the Sydney favourite.  Well executed Thai influenced dishes in a cosy bar atmosphere.   The caramelised pork hock with chilli vinegar is delicious, though my favourite is probably the battered squid dipped in the soy and fish dipping sauce.  Sit at the large communal tables or one of the many large round tables.  There’s no booking except for groups of 6 and up, but that’s really ok because you should really go with a group of friends or family as the dishes are made for sharing. Excellent cocktails - if you like lychees and raspberries try the "Jimmy Chew".

Rating: 4 out of 5

Durian durian

Durian flavoured gelato. 

East meets West fusion cuisine doesn't get much better than this.

It's a well kept secret except to the flock of Asian university students which converge upon Il Dolce Freddo at the end of Lygon Street near Queensberry Street. 

I preferred mine in a cup, where each spoonful is creamy and cold durian with the full heady flavour and none of the stringy bits.  It's almost better than eating the real thing!

+613 9639 3344

116 Lygon St, Carlton, Melbourne

MoDiva, Melbourne

A cozy tapas joint tucked away in little alleyway with delicious plates of goodies to share over a bottle or two of vinos.  Bookings recommended.

When D, R and I travelled to Spain a couple of years ago, I fell in love with tapas.  In Maybe having grown up with Sunday dim sum, tapas appealed to me in the same wy: it’s the Spanish equivalent where you get to try a seemingly never-ending little plates of goodies - and when you find something that you (and everyone else at the table love), you can simply order more. 

Spain, tapas came about from the tradition of serving small snacks with drinks.  Little bite sizes of ham were served on slices of bread placed over the wine glass … slowly this has evolved into a wide variety of dishes: chorizo, croquettes, garlic chicken, pan friend mushrooms, calamari …

MoVida is a great little tapas joint tucked in a little alley Hoiser Lane near Federation Square.  Looking carefully, you’ll notice that you are sitting in a small part of a converted warehouse with the brick walls are whitewashed. But the restaurant is all very cozy: behind the bar are light wood shelves covering every inch of the wall with bottles of vino packed tightly.  Bar stools and tables cover on section, and another section with normal tables. 

On the Thursday, the table sections were fully booked so we contented ourselves with sitting at the bar counter, which was actually great because the barman made sure we were never in short supply of house bread, which was served with very virgin olive oil.

The menu is listed as “racion” and “tapas”, the former is a small plate with enough to share between friends, whereas the tapas are really just individual portions.  Everything was delicious. 

The portbello mushrooms marinated and sautéed in red wine vinegar and variety of herbs was rich yet tangy (though a little salty).  L’s favourite were the potatoes braised with pimientas (roasted peppers) which had a slightly sweet caramelised flavour.  Eying the couple of the bar counter next to us, D couldn’t resist adding a plate of marinated olives which were plump and glistening.  The plate was filled with small green Arbequina olives, the black Kamalata olives and a few large green Cerignola olives.  The most interesting dish was probably the tender rabbit meat balls served in a slight gravy with calamari.   

Definitely a great place to chill out for a bite with a glass of wine or two …

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Cost: Reasonable, ~ AUD 25 per person for dinner

MoVida
1 Hosier Lane
Melbourne 3000
         +613 9663 3038      

Chocci’s chicken casserole

True to its four seasons in one day reputation, Melbourne has been spring t-shirt warm in the day time, dipping to thick coat and mittens required temperatures in the evening.

I thought a nice hot chicken casserole would help warm our tooties.  I was in a lazy mood today, so this recipe is perfect for anyone with who’s got a couple of hours to spare to before dinner needs to be served but doesn’t want to spend more than 20 mins in the kitchen.  You can prep everything, chuck it in the oven and simply put your feet up with a mag or book for an hour and half.   

You’ll need:

• A whole chicken for roasting, divided into 8 portions.  Usually you can pick up these roasting portions at the supermarket, if not, it works equally well to use 4 large drumsticks and 4 chicken thigh pieces, on the bone
• 100-150 gms of kalamata olives, with stones to keep the flavour in
• 4 medium sticks of carrots, cut into small pieces (2-3 cm pieces)
• 4 small potatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 small onion (or ½ large one), sliced thinly
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
• 10-12 basil leaves
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil

Preparation:  Pan fry the chicken pieces in a pan (with a little olive oil) until golden brown on both sides.  Transfer to a large casserole dish which has been oiled with olive oil, making sure you also pour over any juices.  Pour over the can of diced tomatoes, mixed with about 2 cups of water (or stock if you want it to be extra tasty - I’ve done without in my cooking and it tastes fine without).  Arrange the pieces of onions, potatoes and carrots around the pieces of chicken.  Make sure all the ingredients are covered by the tomato sauce so that it cooks properly - if not, add a little extra water.  Scatter the olives and cherry tomatoes on top.  Finally, top the dish with basil leaves, and salt & pepper. 

Cooking:

1. Seal the caCookingsserole firmly with foil and bake in oven at around 180 degrees for 1 hour or so until the chicken, carrots and potatoes are tender. 
2. Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 mins to give some bits of the casserole (e.g. the sliced onions and chicken pieces) a nice browning.  Note: Take care that the sauce doesn’t dry out too much when the foil’s off.