Japanese Tapas @ Izakaya Den, Russell Street

A sudden urge to try something new came over me and I decided that....I WANT JAPANESE. My first choice was to go to Maedaya at Richmond but they're closed on Sundays. Good thing, another option is available on Sundays, which is Izakaya Den at Russell Street. This place was received twice at Epicure by The Age and also read fantastic things about it from bloggers.

Another good thing was, I wasn't alone. I have my good friend PG join me for a night out of sake and Japanese knick-knacks. Interior-wise, the place was tunnel-like and the end has a ceiling to floor mirror that made the place looked "deeper". PG also noticed that their specials were projected through a data show, which was quite creative. Good news first for both wine and sake lovers, this place has a good selection of Japanese sake, shochu, reds and whites.

First item on the list is Chargrilled Kurobata pork belly. Ladies and gents, don't be perplexed by the sickly things that you see, these beauties are amazingly flavorful and tender. I loved every bite of it. The taste was still and clear but well-seasoned.

Next is the Stir-fried Japanese mushrooms. When PG tasted this, he was waving his chopsticks towards it, urging me to try it. It was that good. I think nothing is really added into it, just salt some sesame oil and perhaps something else but it is a wickedly good, and not to mention, healthy dish.This is PG's first choice from the menu and I'm glad he chose it. You will never have sushi this fresh before...and I do mean fresh. The taste was cold and almost water-y fresh. Not sure if it is supposed to be this way but it's not bad at all. Inside is pickled konbu, which is a Japanese cabbage-crunch, crunch.

This trip to Izakaya Den wasn't bad at all. I would think this is more of an upscale izakaya. But, westernized-izakaya's aside, this place is worth coming back to.

Tuscan Eggs @ Picnic, Toorak Road

Having spent months delaying to go to Picnic, I finally made it there in one piece and with a hungry tummy. The place wasn't as packed as I thought it would be on a Sunday morning, since this is the day when people brunch out, prams and jogging pants in full swing. Fortunately, I had a seat and it's nice too.

Firstly, I have to say that I loved Picnic as soon as I walked in--red striped sofas, bottles and bottles of wine and champagne displayed on top of the counter, mirrors with the specials written on it, huge colorful abstract oil paintings hanging behind me. It's girly, a bit trashy, but still delicate and thoughtful.

Next up is brunch. I had my usual first round of soy latte. When I was ready to order, my server told me that the food is a 25 minute wait. 25 minutes?? Why?! They are swamped in the kitche. Ah, so I'm told. Anyway, 25 minutes should not be bad at all, should it?

So I waited patiently, thinking that I might end up being full because of the soy latte rather than the food. Needless to say, coffee here is good. Merely 10minutes passed when my food arrived. It was a pleasant surprise, one I will not complain about. I had the Tuscan poached egg with avocado and tomato salsa. Two thick slices of sourdough bread smeared with cream cheese, topped with chopped tomatoes and red onions and maybe less than a tablespoon of avocado with two beautiful poached eggs on top. This is a good serving and well portioned too. I loved the way the poached eggs jiggled and oozed out as I sliced through it. The bread was lightly toasted and thick enough that you can enjoy the soft chewy inside. Tomatoes are chopped almost in exact cubes, makes me feel thankful for the effort placed into just chopping them.

I left Picnic just slightly full and knowing that I will definitely come back for another round of posh brunch.

SAZL Sweats: Date and Butterscotch Pudding

I have to say that since I've tried sticky date pudding here, I've always loved the taste. Sticky date pudding is not a posh dessert, though there is something warm and comforting about it. The pudding isn't a real pudding but more of a soft sponge cake studded with dates and the sticky bit will be the caramel, buttery, hot sauce that you pour onto it. A dollop of cream or cold cold vanilla ice cream creates the best contrast to texture and flavor. But this post isn't exactly an ode to sticky date pudding.

Having recently bought a book on baking (the book is aptly called "Bake" by the Australian Women's Weekly), I started ramaging through the recipes to see which ones I wanted to try. I have stopped baking since I came to Melbourne, simply because I don't have an oven in my first apartment and my second apartment I shared with others. Now, having the pleasure of living and cooking alone, I can make and bake anything, anytime I feel like it (you have no idea how good it was just writing that!). Back to the book. It is divided into distinct sections such as biscuits, muffins, sponge cakes, chocolate cakes, desserts and loads more. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a recipe for a Date and Butterscotch Self-Saucing Pudding. The ingredients are fairly basic and I have almost everything in the cupboard except the pitted dates.

I'll skip to the tasting portion of this post. The pudding is perfect on a rainy day, with a warm blanket wrapped around you. At this time I didn't have vanilla ice cream on hand, but the taste was buttery and not too sweet. I think non-chocolate lovers will like this dessert. The pudding was soft and cake-y, not exactly the spongy or pillow-y texture that you would expect but, of course, this is not sticky date pudding. I would like to call it the instant sticky date pudding, because it's so easy to make.


Date and Butterscotch Self-Saucing Pudding (recipe from Bake compiled by The Australian Women's Weekly)

Ingredients for pudding:
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (110 g) firmly packed brown sugar
20g butter, melted
1/2 cup (125ml) milk
1/2 cup (70g) finely chopped dried seedless dates

Caramel sauce:
1/2 cup (110 g) firmly packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups (430ml) boiling water
50 g butter

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Grease 2-litre (8 cup) shallow ovenproof dish.
2. combine flour, sugar, milk, dates in medium bwol. Spread mixture into dish.
3. make caramel sauce. Stir ingredients in medium heatproof jug until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted.
4. Pour caramel sauce slowly over back of spoon onto mixture in dish.
5. Bake pudding about 45 minutes or until centre is firm. Stand 5 minutes before serving.

SAZL Sweats: Chic Roasted Chicken Sandwich

But this is no ordinary roasted chicken sandwich, mind you. There are a few special things that make this sandwich work extremely well. After my trip to Dench Bakers, I got inspired and bought chicken breasts and some veggies.

For the veggies, I bought baby carrots, eggplant and red bell pepper. I roasted each of the veggies separately, coating them in olive oil and dried oregano for 10 minutes in an 180C oven. Next, I placed the chicken breasts in the baking dish with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I first covered the baking dish with foil and baked the chicken for 15mins. Then, I took out the foil just to reduce the balsamic vinegar to a syrupy sauce for the chicken. Rest the chicken for 10mins in the baking tray after taking it out. Slice to desired bite size pieces, ideally, pieces that will fit nicely in a sandwich.
Assemble any way you like, can be veggies first then roasted chicken slices or the other way around. I chose the olive bread from Dench Bakers as the base of my sandwich. I toasted the sliced bread first before I started to assemble. When I took a bite of my sandwich, I knew I had a winner. I can probably eat this for a straight week. I fortunately bought a bottle of Strongbow to go with my roasted chicken sandwich. Aahh...can life get any better?

Bread Shopping @ Dench Bakers, Scotchmer Street

I have been delaying my trip to Dench Bakers for a while. Well, my sole purpose is not just to have breakfast but to shop for bread. And I do mean shop. I've had good things from Dench Bakers but I haven't had enough until I can bring some home for myself.

I made it around 9am and believe it or not, the place was packed for breakfast. Don't people wake up late on Sunday mornings? Good thing, there was no shortage of bread. My eyes scanned for the ones that I've heard great things about. My heart was set on buying some croissants and danishes but not quite sure of which "daily" bread to get. Several sites recommended the Schwartzbot (German dark rye bread) and olive bread. I think I can't have both, so I went for the olive bread instead. I also bought the light rye.

As I carried my bag of freshly baked treats, I can literally catch the smell of delicious warm bread. There is nothing better than a smell of freshly baked bread in the morning and I envy those who lived near Dench Bakers close enough to get their hands on one whenever they want to.

I bought the fig and nectarine danishes. The moment I set my bag down from Dench's, I immediately snatched one danish and savoured it piece by piece. I went for the fig danish first. Should I say that it's the best danish in all of Melbourne? You can see the layer upon layer of pastry, all light and flaky. The custard was not too sweet but enough to make you understand why it's there. The fig was fresh and sweet.

Dench Bakers is definitely worth waking up at 8am for...even on a lazy Sunday morning...will be back soon.

SAZL Scenes: Happy Year of the Tiger

I thought I didn't have the strength to go to Bourke Street today but something was egging me on, giving me the energy to go out today. I was actually expecting today to have a crappy weather, but much to my surprise, we have sun!Took the tram down to Russell Street where the festivity starts. There were firecrackers bursting on every corner store and the asian grocery was jampacked with people. I love Chinatown like this. It brings me back to Manila's Chinatown, where everyday was quite like this. Always bustling. Always something or someone to look at.I took some pictures of how busy the small street got this afternoon...Hope this year brings good luck and prosperity to all =)

Indian Team Lunch @ Red Pepper, Bourke Street

It's time for another team lunch and I insisted on having it at an Indian restaurant. There is a reason why I don't go to Indian restaurant by myself. I really don't know how to order and I won't be able to tell whether the place is authentic or not. One of the guys assured me that Red Pepper is authentic as he used to eat there often. Indians are picky with their food and the way the food is prepared and tasted. So I guess having them along for this meal at their native restaurant, I'll be in for a treat.

Food, clockwise are butter chicken, lamb roganjosh, Indian cottage cheese paneer and vegetarian dhaal. All these to be eaten with naan and mango lassi. Everything was good (and I'm not trying to be polite) and tasty. But I liked the Indian cottage cheese paneer the best that I was asking one of the guys how to actually make it at home. One of the struggles that I had was eating with just my right hand. The guys made it look so simple but, of course, being used to the fork/spoon/knife routine, I ended up using cutlery towards the end of the meal.

If ever I feel adventurous and wanted to eat at an Indian place, at least I know 4 dishes that I can order from the menu. Thanks, guys!