Restaurant manager James Spreadbury explains the Noma signature dish

René Redzepi was quoted about his experience working at the previous number one restaurant in the world, elBulli:

“I didn’t come back to Denmark thinking: I’m going to put a gel of a gel of a gel on my monkfish liver while I whip my guests with burning rosemary,” he said. “I just came back with a sense of freedom.”

The restaurant is situated by the water near the town of Christianhavn, in a converted warehouse space by the water. The whitewashed, exposed wooden beams and contrasted by the smooth dark wood floors. The decor is organic yet modern with very distinct Scandinavian designs – smooth wooden chairs with no perfectly straight lines and fluffy sheepskin throws on every other one, smoked oaked tables with no linen and the changing natural light from the floor to ceiling windows, first bright, then dusk, and then swallowed by the warm glow of the votives lightly reflecting off natural surfaces.

We were seated at our table, beautifully located on a window corner, decorated with a vase adorned with green, leafy herbs and branches, and usually large stalks of what looked like a cross between lemongrass and heart of palm across our charger plates. After navigating through a long list of boutique organic and biodynamic Champagne houses did our server explain that the first two ’snacks’ of our evening were in fact the ‘decorations’ on the table. The serving of the ’snacks’ move quite quickly, a different shared plate is presented in front of each diner, making it quite an interactive experience of exchanging your plate with another until everyone on the table has had their share.

While there was a shorter, seven course menu available, we opted for the twelve course ‘Noma Nassaaq’ menu for the full affair.

Bulrush
dipped in goats curd and hazelnut praline

Malt flatbread and juniper
Dipped in fresh cream

Moss and Cep

Cookie with lardo and currant
Presented in an old fashioned cookie tin

Mussel
Where the bottom shell is edible (made with malt flour and moulded in between 2 mussel shells)

Rye bread, chicken skin, lumpfish roe and smoked cheese
Served on felt, crisp rye bread on top, dry crisp chicken skin on bottom.

Seabuckthorn leather and pickled hip rose petals
Seabuckthorn is a type of berry which tastes in between passionfruit and apricot. The ‘leather’ is made similar to a fruit roll-up: pureed and air dried into thin sheets. This was very delightful!

Pickled and smoked quail eggs
Smoked on apple wood, the smoke puffs out like a magic show as you open the egg shaped box. Instructed to be eaten within 10 seconds of opening.

Radish, soil and herbs
A classic Noma dish – A terracotta pot plant with green leaves popping out from soil. We are told that everything is edible, by hand. Once we pull a cluster of leaves out, a rosy pink radish is revealed, alongside a brilliant green cream beneath the “soil”. The soil is made from beer, hazelnut and malt flour, the green cream made from sheep’s yoghurt flavoured with tarragon, chives and chervil.

Toast, herbs, smoked cod roe and vinegar
The crispy toast was sprinkled with salt and vinegar powder, which was a nice contrast to the fresh herbs

Æbleskiver
A common Danish Christmas dish, but in a savoury variation – warm beignets with baby herring and cucumber filling

Söl and rye bread
Warm bread served with lard and pork shavings

Shrimp and sea urchin powder
frozen, finely grated sea urchin, raw sweet baby prawns atop frozen seawater and river pebbles, dressed with dill oil and fresh biodynamic cream. Garnished with wild flowers and regional herbs. One of my favorite dishes of the night.

Scallops and beech nut, Watercress and grains
The dried scallop slices reminded me of the Chinese dried scallops, but sliced very thinly as a cross section. A very peppery and fresh cut grass sensation of raw watercress puree with lentils

Tartar and sorrel, Juniper and Tarragon
Another famous Noma dish that used to be made with musk ox instead of Danish beef. It is eaten with the hands as you use the sorrel leaves to pinch some of the tartare, smearing it in the tarragon sauce and then swabbed onto the juniper powder.

Langosines and seawater
Oyster mayonnaise, parsley and seawater emulsion, and rye crumbs. The Noma signature dish, where the barely cooked, seared to perfection langoustine is served on a warm basalt stone and is eaten by hand. The flesh is like nothing I have tasted in a shellfish before, perfectly sweet and plump, bursting with juices upon biting into the white flesh.

(added photo from Rene’s twitter account)

Oyster and the ocean
Steamed oyster sprinkled with horseradish, capers of elderberries, wild onion seeds, beach cabbage served in a pot filled with sea shells and pebbles. When the lid is lifted we are filled with the aroma of the sea through the hot steam.

White and green asparagus, Cream and Pine
Green asparagus sauce, pine tips (made with pine vinegar, pine oil and smoked with pine wood)

Pike perch and cabbage, Stems and ramson

The hen and the egg
This was a very interactive and fun dish where each person fries their own sunny side up duck egg. A side plate of herb butter, spinach, ramsons, and herbs was placed at our table. A hot skillet placed on hay was served alonside s a duck egg, a half eggshell containing salt, and some potato crisps. Our server squeezed a drop of hay oil onto the hot skillet and we were told to break the egg on top. A timer was set to 2 minutes on the table, and once the time was up, we added the herb butter and the spinach to the skillet. A sorrel sauce was poured over afterwards, and we crushed the potato crisp and sprinkled over the top. I seasoned mine with the salt provided.

Veal sweetbread and peas, Forest shoots and grilled garlic

Milk slice, sorrel
A perfect palate cleanser, where the sorrel carried us over gently to begin the desserts with frozen milk slices.

Carrots and sea buckthorn
Sea buckthorn flavored frozen spongey ice cream, shaved dried carrots, soft herbs

Brown cheese with beetroot ice, freeze dried black currents

herbal infusion tea, flødebolle
soft meringue covered in chocolate

Chocolate covered potato chips with fennel seeds

Bone marrow caramel
A package was given to us wrapped in brown paper, and revealed 2 hollow bones inside. With your fingers, you have to pop out the caramel on the bottom of the bone, sized like a smaller scallop, is a chewy caramel made with bone marrow. Different, and delightful.

One of the most striking differences I found at Noma was the relationship between the kitchen and the waitstaff. It does not follow the strict French institutional rules of a restaurant, nor does it have the heated, time constrained kitchen under pressure to please. To my delight, the floor and the kitchen work together harmoniously as one. Each chef knows just as much about the diners on each table as the servers (also largely due to the fact that each table, bar two, can be seen directly from the glass kitchen, which is a luxury that most restaurants do not have), and the chefs who are preparing the food are actually serving it directly in front of their patrons, explaining in detail how things are prepared with first hand knowledge. You can hear the genuine passion in their descriptions and not once do you get a snooty French accent giving you long fancy words while making you feel stupid if you asked for a definition. Once would think that this disruption between the front of house and the back of house would create some sort of chaos, but the semblance of it all was so effortlessly harmonious at Noma.

We didn’t get to meet Rene this time around, he’d just become a father to his second child only two days ago and thus he’s taking some time off. He also spends another bulk of his time researching and creating new menu items on his boat, which is berthed outside the restaurant. During our kitchen tour, Sam Neil has explained that Rene has trained each and every one of his chefs to taste every ingredient prior to cooking, so that Noma’s patrons are sure to be presented with each single ingredient at its very best.. All staff members take turns partaking in foraging trips three times a week, to travel to different parts of the country and collect edible plants of all sorts. Sometimes they would pick herbs on their way to work, or alternatively, a company van is available for any staff member to use on foraging trips. Sam explained the importance of tasting something at the prime of its season, and used the example of the broth he makes with onions that are in season – the taste simply cannot be replicated all the time. When he uses onions that are picked later in the season, the flavor profile changes, and he has to adjust the amount of onions used in the same dish up to triple the amount used previously, just to extract the same depth of flavor. At this moment, they have begun pickling fresh ingredients for the winter months.

Sam Miller and the indoor herb storage

We are told the story of Roderick Slone, the Scotsman who lives in Norway. He was originally trained as a cook, but now, in the bitterly and harsh cold winters, Roderick hand dives for sea urchins exclusively for Noma in -10°C waters, moving to the rhythm of the waves and placing each urchin inside a linen sack. The below freezing temperatures of the water means he can only dive 30 minutes at a time, one session after another, up to ten hours a day. The sea urchin we get to enjoy arrive from Roderick’s bare hands in the bottom of Nordic sea and onto our plates in under 48 hours, exclusively for Noma.

After an extensive tour of the various kitchen equipments, tasting different ‘ice creams’ from the paco jets, ingredient storage and just generally trying to enquire about the recipes for each dish, we stumbled upon a group of young stages, preparing for the bi-weekly project presentation. Each young chef is encouraged to design a project that they can present to their peers to express their creativity, their use of ingredients and the flavor of the project they create. Tonight, a hopeful razor clam dish served on celery halves is being prepared for the project.

Many people have asked, “how does Noma compare to elBulli?”. I have no answer, just as I have no answer to whether a wild valley is more beautiful then a perfectly manicured garden. The meal at Noma was profoundly delivering the heart and soul of true Nordic cuisine; and unless you are there – it is quite impossible to replicate such an experience, with the local ingredients, the setting, and most of all, such a heart warming team of passionate individuals who collectively deliver the Nordic terroir onto our plates. We all return home with very fond memories of this gastronomic experience.

Chefs at Noma

Can a girl be any happier?

Noma
Strandgade 93
1401 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: +45 32 96 32 97

I do believe there is such a thing as over dining. Especially since moving to New York City, the bustling streets and hectic lifestyles also changed the way I dined. Outside from all the daily free meals from the Google office, dining out was anything but back to basics. The dining options in New York are endless, the choice and excitement of each restaurant, cafe, lounge bar or food truck are comparable to the line of ladies queuing up outside the latest meatpacking nightclub on a Tuesday night, discreetly staring at each other up and down as they walk past the velvet ropes after the desperate episodes of flirting with bouncers. The endless variety means you can easily never visit a place twice and still have plenty new discoveries lining up outside your door, hoping to impress you more than the last. Some arrogant, some beautifully presented, some authentic, some playing so hard to get, you just want to burn your wallet just to have a taste, only to discover that it was totally not worth the hype.

Slowly but surely, things all start to blur into the same experience. Sure, I have fun, I enjoy the food – did I really just blow $1200 on a mediocre seafood platter, pancakes and various bottles of champagne for a ridiculous disco brunch at Lavo? Did the tasting menu at Per Se, Le Bernadin, Jean George’s, Daniel and all other Michelin starred French establishments seemingly blur the lines of their different menus all into one expensive affair with a foie gras this, and caviar that, and let’s shave white truffle over a fat lobster tail mentality? Decadence can be delicious – but also as terribly boring as the poached eggs at Marea, with crab meat, sea urchin anglaise topped with sturgeon caviar on an over-soaked brioche bun, or the next designer Kobe beef burger with short ribs, shaved white truffles and foie gras butter. My newfound Manhattan lifestyle living in my tiny studio apartment, ordering my groceries online and having everything delivered to my doorstep has made me forget to truly slow down and appreciate what I’m eating, where it comes from, and how it was prepared.

Guilty as charged.

I’m perfectly aware that I haven’t contributed much content to my humble little website here. Food bored me. Restaurants bored me. And since I am no longer working in food service or hospitality, the regularity of dining at the restaurants and interacting with the chef afterwards to talk about ingredients has disappeared. I stopped caring and I stopped sharing my food experiences with you in writing and instead, focused more on the company of a meal rather than the food, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

My visit to Noma was as refreshing as being deprived of living near the Pacific Ocean during a five month snow filled winter – to diving head first into the icy blue ocean straight from Sydney airport during my last visit home. I had learnt to adapt, accept and enjoy what was around me, but as I was presented with each dish, I was excited again, I wanted to know more – more about everything I could possibly see, touch, smell, hear… taste. Curiosity of how each ingredient was picked and sourced returned to me, along with how it was prepared and cooked.

If I’ve compared all the restaurants I’ve visited in the states as of late to fashionable, model like figures lining up outside a hip nightclub in the meatpacking district, then Noma would be an exquisitely beautiful Nordic lady whose idea of nightlife involved nothing of dressing to impress, overpriced drinks and being seen. Her style is exquisite even if she’s wearing nothing but a wrinkled cotton dress; makeup would only dull her flawless natural beauty. She stops to smell and appreciate the flowers and doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty in the garden.

After 1.5 hours of F5-ing my browser at 4am in the morning (that’s pressing reload over and over again for the non-nerds out there), the booking system on www.noma.dk finally presented me with an electronic booking form. My hands were shaking and my heart was beating fast – one mistake and I would have to wait another two months for a few hour’s chance to make another reservation. Noma opens their online reservation system on the 1st day of every TWO months, at exactly 10am Copenhagen time. Traffic to the website will inevitably be frustrating for you. It can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours, depending on your luck, your F5-ing skills and your patience. My tip is that if you want it bad enough and you’re persistent – it will most definitely happen for you (unless you’re on a dial-up modem, and in which case you probably won’t be reading this anyway). A table for 4 was secured, a Saturday night dinner, on a long weekend. I started asking around for people to join me on this epic meal – most thought I was crazy. “Copen-where?”, flying all the way to Copenhagen “just for a dinner?!”.

The only sensible thing for me to do really, is to assemble the good ol’ elBulli crew back for a bi-yearly reunion. All four of us, flying in from different cities of the world – New York, London, Barcelona, Stuttgart… without evening thinking twice, before booking plane tickets to Copenhagen to orgiastically share our love for a gastronomic experience.

I can clearly see your cringed face, judging the girl who’s visited elBulli twice and now bored with dining until the next number one. Spoilt? Indeed I am. Wealthy? Not even close – but I do know how to save for the things that I want to experience, and thankfully, now nearing the age of 30, I no longer need to pick up waitressing shifts outside of my 9 to 5 job just to scrape every tip I get – and blowing 9 months of hard work on ONE meal, but I digress.

The four of us all arrived the beautiful city of Copenhagen on the morning of May 28, “to stop by for dinner”.

It was a cloudy, drizzly day in Copenhagen and totally opposite to what weather.com had informed me the night prior to my flight, thus making my tiny shirtdress almost inappropriate. In shivering cold, the flaming torches outside the door and the candles behind the large glass windows almost made the restaurant so much more inviting with a “come hither – it’s warm and toasty inside”.

Greeted by a friendly Aussie by the door, I felt like I was home again. There are currently six Aussies working at Noma at the moment (represent!) and they are all immensely enjoying their time there. I later on learnt from Sam Miller they try their best to assign staff to their “tables from home” so that customers feel a familiarity during their dining experience.

Next: Noma – The Menu

The Doltone House Group has just launched a brand new food emporium named Signorelli Gastronomia. The family owned and operated company has a significant portfolio of waterfront entertainment and catering venues, including Jones Bay Wharf and Darling Island Wharf. Signorelli Gastronomia is located on the lobby floor of the new Accenture building in Pyrmont on a lovely waterfront location, not too far from the Good Living Grower’s Markets (held every Saturday). Good living described the location to be similar to Harrod’s Food Hall in London, but I would say it’s a lot less commercial, with a familiar Italian family touch.

Wine room (left), Cheese room (right)

They described it to be a place where “visitors can buy, taste and learn about high quality food and drink… enjoy foods grown within a 100mile radius of Pyrmont that respects local farmers, maintaining a menu that is seasonal and diverse“. The space consists of a shop which stocks gourmet products such as cured meats, fresh pasta, premium gelato and dried herbs; a dining area that seats no more than 30, with mostly bar or communal table seating; a wine room and a cheese room. I appreciated the open layout of the place as we sat close to the pizza station, watching the chef kneading pizza dough on a floured marble bench.

Being day three of opening, there were the much expected service hiccups, but the staff were all incredibly friendly and the service was professional. With our sore heads from the previous night’s activities we were craving some hearty Italian food.

We ordered the ham hock and foie gras terrine served with watercress, baby carrots and toasted sourdough to start, which was delightfully flavoursome, and less rich than the usual chicken liver parfait served by other restaurants. The addition of the baby carrots inside the terrine was a nice touch (perhaps it made me feel healthier?).

A selection of fresh oysters (Pipe Clay, St Helens and Sydney Rock), some served with prosecco granita.

The aroma from the pizza station got the better of us. It was like our minds were read, and the waiter came around and offered us a sample of some freshly made garlic pizza that just came out of the wood fire oven while we were waiting for the next course.

For our mains, I opted for the tagliatelle that was on the specials (something that our waiter initially forgot to mention, but I had overheard the dish mentioned for the next table and changed my choice due to food envy). It was served with chorizo, dried chilli, ricotta and wilted sprouts. This is normally a little too oily for my liking, but it sure hit the spot.

My partner, equally fragile at the time, opted for the sage crumbed 250g veal cutlet with wild rocket, fresh lemon cheeks and capers, fried to perfection with a batter full of flavour.

And what better side dish than the duck fat fries with smoked sea salt? The smoked sea salt added a wonderful dimension, like it had been barbecued over wood chips. I’m sure the smoked sea salt can be purchased from their store. The chips however, I thought were too chunky to be enjoyed, unlike the version from Sean’s Kitchen.

The squid ink risotto, Hawkesbury cuttlefish and soft poached hen’s egg from the next table looked salivating, with the soft centered yolk oozing into the warm rice. One should always leave a reason for a second visit!

There was a great selection of desserts on the menu which I also thought should be saved for my second visit, so we ordered an Affogatto for a quick sugar and caffeine hit. Little did we know it was going to be so fun!

The affogatto was served in a mini copper pot

Instead of the usual liqueur poured in with the ice cream and espresso, the frangelico was encased in a jelly membrane which explodes in the mouth, made with a method of spherification a technique made famous by Ferran Adria.

My only complaint is that the ice cream melted much too quickly and it should have been pressed down and frozen with the copper pots.

James, the chef brought over a few additional “shots” of these jelly explosions that had a bit more kick to the ones inside the dessert. He informed us that they will be holding classes for this new and modern style of cooking later on, which could be quite fun.

Whist we were eating, we spotted a giant block of cheese with a diameter of a barrel that was being carefully divided for the cheese room, and it turned out to be Sovrano di bufala (aged buffalo milk cheese) – one of my favorites! I bought plenty to stock up and share with friends.

Signorelli Gastronomia proves to be a promising food emporium with authentic Italian cuisine and fantastic gourmet products, similar to the style of Fratelli Fresh and Bacco Wine bar.

Along with the grower’s markets, could Pyrmont be the next food hub?

Signorelli Gastronomia
48 Pirrama Road
Darling Island Wharf
Pyrmont NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 8571 0616
www.signorelli.com.au

After last year’s success, Taste of Melbourne is returning to Carlton for another tasty event perfect for food-lovers. After my visit to the recent Taste of Sydney, I can assure you that having the ability to forage through freshly prepared dishes (in tasting portions) from the city’s top restaurants all in one day is a dream come true.

Participating chefs include Frank Camorra from MoVida, Jacques Reymond from Jacques Reymond, George Calombaris from The Press Club, and Hellenic Republic, Shane Delia from Maha Bar, Matthew Wilkinson from Circa the Prince, Ping Yan Yeung from Silks, Tobie Puttock from Fifteen, Dallas Cuddy from Verge, Philippe Mouchel from the brasserie by Philippe Mouchel, Joseph Vargetto from Oyster Little Bourke, Jocelyn Riviere from The Court House, Stuart McVeigh from The Botanical, Tadashi Takahashi from Nobu and Gary Mehigan from The Boathouse.

For all you Master Chef fans, George and Gary will be there serving up their signature dishes – perhaps you can give them a cheeky pointer or two!

Masterchef Judges

To get a good idea of what delectable dishes are on offer, check out the menu here

WHAT: Taste of Melbourne – The Ultimate Dining Experience

WHEN: August 27-30, 2009

WHERE: Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens

HOW MUCH: Entry tickets from $27.50 – special offers available

Tickets on sale now!

CIRA (The Council Of Italian Restaurants In Australia) was started by 12 Italian-Australian restaurateurs for cultural and educational purposes, to promote the values of Italian food in Australia. Fortunately for us, CIRA has a cooking school with the best Italian chefs offering courses to the general public and specialized courses for students and the industry.

Massimo (ex Buon Ricordo, and about to open Uccello at Ivy) gave a very personal cooking course at the kitchen of Casa Barilla, next to a long communal dining table. The format was perfect – we learn one course, we sit down and enjoy it with wine, and then we move onto the next. One of the founding members Armando Percuoco (Buon Ricordo) was also there to offer his advice on truly authentic Italian cooking.

Fettuccine with prosciutto, pomodorini and pecorino

There is a common misconception that pasta can be cooked as soon as the water starts to boil. The water has to be violently boiling – and you can heavily salt it, not just a pinch, but enough so you can actually taste the salt in the water. Drain the pasta about a minute or two less than the packet instructions (if you taste it, it’s still slightly raw in the middle) because when you pour it back into the pan with sauce, it will keep cooking. Save a cup of the pasta water (as it is “starchier” than normal water) for the sauce later if it becomes too dry. But in Rome, the sauce can never be watery, it has to stick to the pasta and be as dry as possible.

Scottadito d’abbacchio alla Romana (Scottadito means ‘by the finger’; d’abbacchio is young lamb – lamb chops you can eat with your fingers)

True Italian cooking only requires you to slightly crush garlic bulbs with your palms. Brown them in olive oil until they’re almost burnt (dark brown) and remove them from the oil. There is no need to chop it up as the flavour in the oil is enough. Garlic that is cooked through also makes the food taste less heavy, compared to say, French food. The same goes for the Rosemary – put the entire sprig in the pan, cook, and then remove. Keep the pan at high heat at all times so the lamb doesn’t end up broiled.

When the lamb chops are ready, the remaining fat can be made into a beautiful creamy sauce (without the help of cream or butter) by reducing with some anchovies, wine and vinegar.

La Ricotta

Ricotta cheese – made into a pattie, dusted with flour, covered in egg wash and deep fried in Strutto/sugna (pure pig’s fat) until golden brown. Dusted with cinnamon and sugar, cholesterol never tasted so good. Served warm.

This is truly sinful - but it tastes somewhat light.

If anyone is interested in the recipes I can scan them (with my notes included) for you to download.

I have a spare moment at work (mind you, it’s already 8pm Thursday evening before the Easter long weekend) to blog about some of the amazing Chinese food that I dearly miss so much in Sydney. It doesn’t even compare – not even close!

Wonton noodles at 何洪記 (Ho Hung Kee) 2 Sharp St, Causeway Bay
It’s all about the extremely thin, but super “springy” noodle texture. Established in 1946, the quality has not changed. In fact, my parents used to go here on dates when they were still in high school. How adorable!

Dim Sum at 富聲 (Fu Sing) 1/F, 353 Lockhart Rd, Wanchai
The siao long baos are very soupy with an extremely thin wrapping that’s not supposed to burst because of it’s elasticity; crumbed turnip pudding with prawn ’stuffing’ on top; flakey pastry cha-siew pork buns (soooo good), and roast pork – the way it’s supposed to be, with a very crispy skin, minimal grease and dipped in yellow mustard and caster sugar. Oh, and who can forget my favorite dessert 楊枝金露 – cold sago soup with pomelo pulp!

My favorite delicacies – 花膠 (fish stomach?) with goose webb, and stuffed sea cucumber

We took the boat out to this island – I totally forgot the name, but there is only one restaurant on that island:


The island is known for producing great sea vegetables and other dried seafood goods. Where else can you get dried shrimp that is gutted, and the size of your index finger? Too bad customs would never let me take those back to Sydney. Some of the dishes we ate included giant clams with garlic vermicelli, and scallops with chilli bean sauce. They do a mean lobster noodle (伊麪) too!

Who can forget the classic Hong Kong styled diners, I went to one in Happy Valley for breakfast:

Deep fried HK style french toast, with butter on top, and peanut butter in the centre. Crispy on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside. Pour that maple syrup all over it!

Will update during the long weekend on my favorite non-chinese dishes…. mmm
NOW you know why I had been dieting for 4 weeks prior to my trip, during the first 48 hours I had already gained 8lbs!

Tue, Mar 4

From:

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (SYD)

Departs:

10:20pm Tues Mar 4

Sun, Mar 16

From:		HONG KONG, HONG KONG S A R (HKG)	Departs:		11:55pm Sun, Mar 16
To:		SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (SYD)	Arrives:		12:10pm Mon, Mar 17

I just bought the Michelin Guide 2008 Tokyo: Restaurants & Hotels (Michelin Guide Tokyo)
but I would really love some personal recommendations. I want to try food in Tokyo that I cannot try anywhere else in the world…

Oh yes, if the opportunity arises, I am most definitely up for eating Whale. There, I admitted it.

There are very detailed instructions here, if you are game. It is going to be a while until I would want to do this again. Prep time is around 4 hours (minus the soaking from the night before), plus one hour cooking time, and an additonal 4 hours for it to set.

Ingredients:
6 ounces Chinese bacon (lop yok), store bought or homemade
1 large Chinese white turnip, about 2 pounds
8 Chinese dried mushrooms
1/2 cup Chinese dried shrimp, about 1 1/4 ounces
2 teaspoons Shao Hsing rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups rice flour

I will update you tomorrow on how the finished product turned out. This is to be sliced, and served panfried. I think I accidentally used too much rice flour…

Here is my finished product:

Individually gift-boxed (to give out to families), but served pan fried, with XO sauce on the side.

I got smart and added more rice flour than illustrated in the recipe because I originally thought the mixture was too watery. Bad move! Mine was a little firmer than usual – but the flavour was still very good. I’m thinking about re-making it again, but this time only making a very small individual portion, just to see if that works…

Perhaps I will do a variation on the raw food diet along with a low carb intake. Now the challenge is for this to taste good!

today’s lunch: Baby cos lettuce, tuna, raw mushrooms, cucumber, tomato, handful of corn kernels, olives with balsamic vinegrette

Other ideas I’m currently thinking of:

Seared peppered tuna on a bed of wakame salad, ponzu dressing
Sashimi, sashimi, sashimi ($$$$$)
Vegetable sticks with organic hummus, paprika
Soft poached egg, asparagus, truffle oil, black pepper
Salmon carparccio, lemon oil, baby capers
Crab meat, mango and julienned cucumber salad
Edamame with sea salt and shichimi (Japanese 7 spice)
Shaved Turkey breast with… ???
Baby rucola, nashi and walnut salad with EVO and balsamic
Lightly grilled Shrimp with fresh tomato and basil salsa
Cold Tofu with paperthin daikon radish, soy and miso dressing
Sydney Rock Oysters with champagne vinegar

Borrrrring… but totally doable! What else tastes great with hardly any calories? It’s time to really discover the world of spices.

currently questionable foods:
Haloumi