Sydney Observations

Various watering holes to try next time in Sydney, as noted in the FT.

• The Commons (Darlinghurst): live jazz
• Duke (Surry Hills): waitresses in aprons
• Eau de Vie (Darlinghurst): lots of black leather
• Love Tilly Devine (Darlinghurst): nice wine list
• Low 302 (Surry Hills): bartender's bar
• Sticky Bar (Surry Hills): negronis on hand
• 13B (Darlinghurst): drinks made with care

Tagliatelle al Ragu

There are as many ragu recipes as there are nonas. But this one from Rowley Leigh is interesting in that he suggests sauteing the vegetables separately. He is also adamant about not compacting the meat after it has been put through the mincer. As a result, "the meat does not cake into lumps that have to be broken down during the cooking process". Frying the pancetta until a bit crisp is also unusual, as is the omission of wine I believe. The milk is fairly standard, making the sauce especially smooth. To date, I've not seen many ragus with garlic and especially thyme, so I wonder if this is Mr. Leigh's idea?

250 gr unsmoked pancetta

750 gr lean beef

750 gr belly pork

2 onions

2 large carrots

4 celery stalks

2 cloves garlic

300 gr tomato passata

70 gr tomato puree

400 gr tinned and peeled plum tomatoes

3 bay leaves

a few sprigs of thyme

nutmeg

1 liter milk

1. cut the meat into long strips, mince the pancetta first on the medium blade of the mincer and put to one side; mix the remaining meat and pass that through the machine (if you have one, otherwise chop away)
2. heat a heavy saucepan with a tblsp of EVOO and add the pancetta; let it sweat for 10 minutes until the fat renders out and the meat is fried to a nice friable texture; add the rest of the minced meat and stir well with a wooden spoon; continue to cook on high heat for 20 minutes, stirring regularly; continue cooking on lower heat for another 20 minutes stirring occasionally
3. while the meat cooks, peel and cut the vegetables into a fine dice; in another pan stew them together in two tblsp EVOO until very soft; add all three types of tomato with a dessertspoon of sugar and then add the herbs, a good grating of nutmeg, a tsp of salt and plenty of ground pepper; simmer for a few minutes and then add to the meat after it has been cooking for 40 minutes
4. bring the mix to a gentle simmer and then pour in the milk; stir well and simmer for another two hours on a very gentle heat, stirring now and then; make sure the sauce does not catch on the bottom of the pan
5. drop the tagliatelle in a large pot of salted water; when cooked, lift out with thongs into a saucepan; add ragu to taste (not too much!); add a bit of pasta cooking water and gently fold the sauce through the pasta
6. serve on some heated plates, with freshly grated parmesan all around

Wine & Peach Quencher

This summer's thirst quencher. A crisp and cold bottle of Italian white wine poured over some quartered sweet peaches. Looks lovely in a glass pitcher.

sweet peaches, pitted and quartered

cold white wine, preferably minerally

1. put peaches in fridge for a couple hours
2. put wine in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes
3. put peaches in a pitcher, and fill to top with wine

Grilled Pineapple & Chile

Although one not need tamper with a delicious and sweet pineapple, this idea is a nice departure from the usual. Here you have the traditional combo of pineapple and coconut, interlaced with a bit of sweet and spicy chilli syrup. From Rowley Leigh.

2 red chillies

50 gr light brown caster sugar

1 vanilla pod

1/2 cinnamon stick

4 star anis

10 cloves

1 pineapple

coconut ice cream

400 ml tinned coconut milk

400 ml milk

8 egg yolks

150 gr brown caster sugar

200 ml double cream

1. make coconut ice cream by combining milks and bringing to a simmer; whisk eggs and sugar, then pour the almost boiling milk into the the mixture whisking constantly; pour mixture back into saucepan and return to a gentle heat, stirring with a wooden spatula until custard thickens; pour into clean bowl, allow to cool completely; whisk cream until it forms soft peaks, fold into the coconut custard, then into the ice cream maker according to the manufacture's instructions.
2. de-seed and slice the chile thinly; combine with the sugar and 300 ml of water in a small saucepan and add the vanilla, taking care to split the pod in half and scrape the seeds into the water; bring to a simmer and cook on very gentle heat for 15 minutes; leave to cool
3. cut pineapple across the base and below the stalk; standing on its base, cut down through the center of the pineapple, cleaving it in two; cut again lengthways producing four equal long segments; first slice skin away then the stalks; then cut each segment into four long slices
4. heat a cast iron ridge griddle and grill the pineapple slices; turning them so that they get a criss-cross pattern; shouldn't take more than 5-6 minutes
5. arrange in overlapping slices in a dish and then macerate with the chile syrup
6. to serve gently warm the pineapple in a moderate oven; arrange a few slices with a small a scoop of coconut ice cream

Hemingway Daiquiri

As served at the Connaught, I've lifted this from an FT article on prohibition cocktails. This serves one. Apparently daiquiris were first made using Barcardi rum

45 ml Bacardi rum

5 ml maraschino liquer

35 ml grapefruit juice

10 ml lime juice

1/4 tsp caster sugar

1. fill a shaker with ice, add the ingredients and fine-strain into a martini or champagne coupe glass
2. garnish with a wedge of lime

French Cobb Salad

This came together effortlessly using the idea of an American Cobb Salad (normally consisting of diced ham, chicken, avocado, cheddar cheese etc) but using some leftover French ingredients in the fridge. This actually comes out looking more like a caviar because the chicken and cheese are diced up rather finely.

left-over roasted chicken breast

gruyere

chives

parsley

grain mustard

apple cider vinaigrette

walnut oil

EVOO

ground black pepper

maldon sea salt

1. cut chicken and gruyere into tiny dice
2. chop up herbs, mix in rest of ingredients taste

Tokyo Observations

My favorite city in the world to eat these days.

• Kanda Yabusoba: discovered many things at this institution, a restaurant that has existed on the site for a few hundred years; for starters it was tsukidashi, a miso served with sake or beer; then it was asari sakamusi, the classic little neck clams steamed in sake; then it was the seiro soba, for which the restaurant is renown, with tsuyu (the cold sauce for dipping made with soya, konbu, bonito); finally and most interestingly the soba-yu or the a pot of hot water in which the soba was boiled offered as a remedial last course.
• Maru: a second or third visit with highlight being smoked mackerel, umeboshi sauce and tiny shiso leaves all on top of a bed of finely shredded savoy cabbage dressed in a mirin-based vinaigrette. Two observations: get the contraption that makes wasabi paste from fresh wasabi and when cutting avocados, slice avocado halves thinly with skin on (this holds avocado slices in place before peeling skin off)

Hong Kong Observations

More good stuff on the island.

• Amber: a Pellegrino Top 50, with the main highlight being sea urchin with lobster "jello" and cauliflower; also learned from our friendly Chinese waiter that an 18-month Mimolette is the perfect age as anything older is a bit too sharp. Also recalling the elegant Christofle dish that opened like a fan for the petit fours.
• Zuma: nice for lunch outside; highlights were scallops & umeboshi plum, king prawn with yuzu & pepper; grilled courgettes with condiments including green tea maldon sea salt, tampo and tarragon white miso.
• L'Atelier: a very good outpost of the Robuchon chain; cod in daikon yuzu soup a winner.
• Tim's Kitchen: one of five two-star Cantonese restaurants in HK; ambiance is so-so, more about the food.
• Grissini: perfectly fine Italian food with a Ligurian chef in the Grand Hyatt; spot-on spaghetti bottarga and quality prosciutto; very original focaccia-like grissinis cooked on the spot and served warm.
• The China Club: Cantonese lunch place with fun 30s style brasserie ambiance; feels like a club because it is a club; a good concierge will get you in.
• Isola: great views and lovely bottarga & sea urchin pasta from the Basilicata chef.
• 208: well-designed (Turkish firm Autoban) hang with good Italian food in Sheung Wan; the pork cheek carpaccio could have used a lighter touch with some herbs etc. Chef from Liguria.

Jambon Pesto & Haricots Verts

Perfect for a quick and tasty Monday night dinner. Make sure you get the best French jambon de Paris or prosciutto cotto. The home-made pesto makes the dish (see previous entry).

ham

home-made pesto

EVOO

ground pepper

maldon sea salt

best quality haricot verts

lemon

1. boil green beans to desired tenderness, dress with EVOO, small squeeze of lemon and salt
2. spread pesto over two slices of ham, roll up ham into cylinder
3. place ham on the plate with green beans on the side, ground the pepper over ham only

Iceberg Cleanser

I found a nice head of organic iceberg at La Fromagerie. Crispy and crunchy lettuce is a lot more fun than those mixed leaves. With a few herbs and light dressing, it's the perfect end to a heavy meal.

• iceberg lettuce (preferably the leafier type)
• chopped parsley, coriander, mint
• rice wine vinegar
• sherry vinegar
• EVOO
• maldon sea salt
• ground pepper

1. chop up herbs, best not too excessive
2. dress lettuce with other ingredients & serve

Yuzu & Pepper Jumbo Prawn

Lovely Zuma recipe. London Zuma chef recently moved to HK.

best quality jumbo prawn

yuzu juice

EVOO

chopped garlic

chopped ginger

freshly ground white pepper

lemon wedge

coriander leaves

1. butter fly prawn and broil under hot grill
2. mix ingredients & spoon over prawn, serve immediately with lemon wedge on side
3. sprinkle coriander leaves over the whole lot

Mozzarella, Endive & Cilantro

A simple and unusual combo that works. Try using red endive as it looks prettier.

buffalo mozzarella

cilantro

red endive

EVOO

maldon sea salt

1. cut off root of endive so that leaves are free
2. break up mozzarella by hand and scatter over a serving platter
3. toss endive leaves and cilantro leaves over mozzarella
4. drizzle EVOO & sprinkle salt

Italian Cottage Cheese

Not really a recipe but such a quick and easy way to take cottage cheese to another level.

cottage cheese

EVOO

ground pepper

maldon sea salt

chopped parsley

minced red chile (optional)

tiny squeeze lemon (optional)

1. mix ingredients in a bowl
2. let sit a few minutes for flavors to develop