Doi Bong

Great Perth Food

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 03:20:00 +0000

Here are some great Perth restaurants; either ones we've tried or plan to:

Jackson's Restaurant (Neal Jackson)

Star Anise (David Coomer)

The Loose Box (Alain Fabregues)

Restaurant Amusé (Hadleigh Troy)

Divido (Jason Jujnovich)

Bistro Felix (Damien Young)

The Gala Restaurant (Hans Lang)

Chez Pierre (Steven Black)

Harvest (Clint Nolan)

Cream (John Mead)

Da Bruno's (Bruno Securo)

Just Bar

And here are some that are not as great as people may tell you:

Must Wine Bar

Lamont's

We're Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:21:00 +0000

Cooking School Kha Soi
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens

As reported earlier on The Sprog Blog, D. and I have been in Chiang Mai, Thailand, celebrating our third wedding anniversary, and we've got lots of pictures of food to prove it! Click on the Khao Soi to go to our Flickr page, with plenty more where that came from!

Lamb Ragu

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 04:49:00 +0000

Lamb Ragu
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

We had a delicious roast lamb for dinner. You know the type. Nice and simple, some garlic and rosemary, a few roast vegetables, and a bottle of Pinot to wash it all down. Afterwards I noticed that there was a fair bit of meat left on the bone. The solution? A lamb ragu. Simply finely chop some aromatics, sweat them, then in with bits of meat picked off the bone. Chuck in some stock, a bit of tomato paste, some porcini mushrooms, and simmer for a while. Cook up some al dente parpadelle, plate it up, stir through heaps of chopped parsley in the ragu, then top the pasta with it, and drizzle some EVOO all over. Not bad for leftovers, eh mum?

Duck Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 10:15:00 +0000

Duck Pasta
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

We've never cooked duck before, but the first attempt turned out pretty nice, if I do say so myself. We got two duck fillets with the fat and skin left on, and I pan fried them skin-side down until golden and crispy. A lot of fat came out during this process, and I saved it for another day. The duck was thinly sliced, then combined with a sauce of tarragon, rose, cream and sherry vinegar. The results were served over a bed of al dente pasta. Wonderful! The duck fat was saved for the weekend, when we had a barbeque with some friends. I made "home fries" by frying large cubes of potato in the duck fat for about ten minutes until crispy golden brown, then tossing in finely chopped parsely, sea salt and pepper. Yum!

Porridge

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 00:26:00 +0000

Porridge
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Now, this is comfort food. I made a big batch of chicken stock for our favourite chicken macaroni soup. It was extra flavourful, as my mum (who was visiting at the time) had done a chicken roast, and added half a cup of distilled chicken goodness, sans fat, to the stock. A week later Dzung used the leftover stock, which we had frozen, to make a batch of porridge, complete with chicken, mushrooms and that bready stuff from Chinatown :)

Sage Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 22:01:00 +0000

Sage Butter
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Met up with Mum and Dad, who are visiting from Perth, and D. and E. for lunch, at "Pasta Vera" in Harris Street. If there are any foodbloggers out there reading this, and you haven't been or heard of "Pasta Vera", well, I can't recommend it highly enough. Try it.

Dad and E. both had the Putrenesca, while Mum had squid ravioli in a rich tomato sauce, which she described as "the best sauce I've ever tasted", which is a pretty big wrap. I had creamy cauliflower soup with white truffle oil, followed by four cheese ravioli in a burnt sage butter sauce. The burnt sage butter sauce is the signature of "Pasta Vera", and if you're going there for the first time, make sure to order a dish that contains it. Sensational!

Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 07:09:00 +0000

Fish
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Simple dinner on Saturday night. Got us some nice Ocean Perch fillets, brushed in good olive oil, seasoned, then under the grill (on high) for three minutes per side. Served with al dente sliced asparagus that had been pan fried in a little bit of olive oil, and had a huge dob of butter melted into it prior to serving. With a squeeze of lemon and a dash of Japanese mayonaisse, the melted butter from the asparagus blended with the creamy fish and the result was sensational. Finished the meal with Stilton, crispy apple and port.

Pine Nuts

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 13:47:00 +0000

Pine Nuts
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

My attempt to make D.'s clone of one of our favourite dishes at Spaghi's. I pan fry pine nuts in a little butter til golden brown, then fry some Italian-style BBQ sausages that have had their skin removed, chopping them with the wooden spoon while frying to make them into meatballs. All the while a few garlic bulbs are roasting in the oven. Once the sausages are done, the now soft and buttery garlic cloves are squeezed out and pan fried, and then the whole lot is blended together with some Napolatana sauce and fresh rocket. Al dente fusilli is stirred through (the doughy, hand-made variety), and the whole lot is topped with a decent handful or light, crumbled ricotta. Click through for the plated-up version, just prior to devourement!

Pork Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 13:42:00 +0000

Pork Noodles
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

D. made a simple but delicious noodle dish for Monday night dinner, accompanied with a bowl of soup made from the leftover pork. What could be easier than noodles boiled in the wok, topped with coriander, spring onion, garlic oil and pork, then mixed with sauce, a squeeze of lime juice and white pepper? Nice one. Click through for a piccie of the soup...

Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:12:00 +0000

Chicken
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Another of D.'s classic dishes. Chicken thighs and sliced onions are marinated in a secret sauce and baked in the oven. Once done, the cooked chicken and onions are served on a bed of lettuce, garnished with coriander, and devoured with rice, sliced cucumber and tomato, and a well-balanced dipping sauce. Lurvely.

Leftover Lamb Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:10:00 +0000

Leftover Lamb Pasta
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

A quick slap-up meal of leftover roast lamb, olives, pasta and a stir-through sauce. Rich and heart, and perfect with a glass of leftover pinot. Courtesy of D.

Scrambled Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 22:46:00 +0000

Sunday Brekky
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

What to make with the leftover cream from the potato gratin? Scrambled eggs for Sunday brekky, of course. Four eggs are cracked into a bowl and beaten, then poured into a saucepan that's been greased with butter, and is on the lowestgas setting on the smallest burner on the stovetop. Patience is then required , as it needs constant stirring with a wooden spoon as it slowly starts to come together. Just when it is at the verge of being completely cooked, a liberal amount f cream is poured in, and cooking continues until done. Very nice on hot butteren English muffins.

Minestrone

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 22:43:00 +0000

Leftovers
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

D. made a sensational minestrone, which we strung out to three meals. Rich and hearty, it included bacon and anchovies, and a big thick rind of an old hunk of parmesan, which melted away. Nice one!

Lamb and Potato

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 22:41:00 +0000

After
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

D. requested that I make potato gratin, which I haven't done before, but she recalled finding it delicious when she and her sister had it in a restaurant in Perth. So I googled the recipe, and made it to accompany some nice roast lamb on Satdee night. Thinly sliced potatoes are stewed in milk, then layed out in a baking dish that has been greased with butter and had crushed garlic cloves rubbed over its surface, covered in cream and grated Gruyere cheese, then another layer of the same. Came out very nicely, if I do say so meself.

Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 22:39:00 +0000

Weekday Lunch
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Nice to come home for lunch to this on Friday. Nice and simple - a plate of noodles garnished with stir fried thinly sliced beef, green beans and broccolini. The secret is in the sauce: oyster sauce with a *lot* of black pepper. Very nice with a squeeze of lemon.

Foie Gras

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:06:00 +0000

Foie Gras
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Well, it's been a while since I blogged about food, what with the baby arriving and everything. Our diet has changed considerably, with a lot more takeaway, home delivery and quickly prepared meals, and a lot less in the way of lengthy, epicurean feasts. So, tonight, when I arrived home to a hungry wife and cranky daughter, and a bare cupboard, there wasn't too much to be scraped together. Luckily, a bit of searching revealed a small tin of Foie Gras and Black Truffle hidden away behind the Vegemite; a present from Dancing Linh back when she visited Gay Parry (or somesuch place). Out of the blue, we did have an Epicure's Delight on hand. The Foie Gras tin was opened, the contents sliced in twain and pan fried (Iron Chef style, according to D). This was then served with toasted bread and a glass of Tasmanian Pinot Noir. Very satisfying! To follow this meal with the annual serving of Bangers and Mash would have been heresy, had they not been so good. Thanks, Dancing Linh!

Spaghi's

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 05:37:00 +0000

That's More Like It!
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

In Perth for Bruce and Mel's wedding, D., Lain and myself met up the happy couple for a sensational pasta dinner at Spaghi's, the best pasta restaurant in The Shire. As custom dictates, we ordered a dish of pasta each, and "one for the table". D. has managed to perfect the table dish, which features a tomato-based ricotta sauce, at home. We washed down the meal with lashings of Charlie Merton's "Rose of Virginia", perfect for an autumnal lunch. We've recently discovered Pasta Vera in Mordor, which matches Spaghi's for Quality and Value, BTW.

Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 08:48:00 +0000

Salad
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

D. loves her pasta salad, and she often makes it when we go on picnics (and also when we fly back from Mordor... so much nicer to have than Virgin Air Fare). But this piccie is of Chef Annie's creation, a delicious summertime meal out on the patio at Chang and Jeff's place. Pasta, bacon, mushrooms, rocket, olives, sundried tomato - quick, simple and yummy.

That's No Bagel

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 01:13:00 +0000

That's No Bagel
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Clint and I embarked on a Bagel quest after both catching an episode of "The Food Lover's Guide to Australia" which showcased the "Kosher Food Centre" in Perth. Apparently the guy who makes the bagels and doughnuts there is a former five-star French chef. So why, we ask, are the bagels nothing more than soft, bready things? Where are the dense, chewy delicious bagels I fell in love with while living in London? Can you get them anywhere in Australia? Well, can you? Am I mistaken, or are bagels supposed to be dense and chewy, and not light and fluffy? Help!

Handmade

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 10:07:00 +0000

Slice
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

We decided to cook the meal to end all meals to celebrate the end of the year. I made a Tetsuya's recipe: angelhair pasta with asparagus and truffle oil. And I went one step further, rolling my own. Check out our piccies on Flickr to get the whole story.

Shire

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 09:48:00 +0000

The Shire
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

We returned to the Shire from the land of Mordor to celebrate Crozzle and Hogmany with friends and family. Funny, you don't appreciate the Shire when you live there all the time... you long for adventure. But returning from twelve months in Mordor is a blessing. I don't think I realised just how good it is!

Pho

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 03:37:00 +0000

Pho
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Had a late morning, and then set off for a snack and a bit of Crozzle shopping in Market City. And what better snack than a steaming bowl of beef noodle soup, with lots of Vietnamese basil and lemon to enhance the flavours. Yum!

Rarebit

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 02:43:00 +0000

There's something about a well-cleaned apartment that somehow makes everything better. I was in the doldrums because I hadn't vacuumed for two weeks, which made the place feel messy and uncomfortable to be in. So when D. went to her yoga class this morning, I went ballistic, cleaning every nook and cranny, and giving the whole place a thorough twice over (once not being enough). Now everything is fresh and nice, and the world seems kinder somehow. Afterwards, settling down with a strong coffee and some cheese on toast (smothered with a delicious spicy tomato chutney) to catch up on my feeds, I couldn't help letting out a Sigh Of Satisfaction. Now, off to finish the Crozzle shopping!

Rosemary

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 11:06:00 +0000

Lamb and Wine
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

D. cooked one of our favourite lamb dishes for dinner tonight. Nice and simple. You dry roast a frenched rack of lamb cutlets, along with a few smashed garlic cloves, and then deglaze the pan with a glass of good red. Then it's in with tomato paste, rosemary and brown sugar. Balance the flavours and reduce the sauce, then slice up the cutlets and coat them with the sauce before serving atop a bed of al dente pasta. Yum!

Dim Sum

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Hutchens) — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 08:06:00 +0000

Dim Sum
Originally uploaded by Jason Hutchens.

Here's one of our first piccies on our new lil' digi. And, hey, it's an obDoiBong, what with us eating and all. Dim Sum for Saturday brunch can't be beat, especially when you're in a small group so you get a table right on the intersection of two aisles, guaranteeing lots of trolley action!