spoon

Best Chicken and Pork Vietnamese Rolls!

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Posted on Sunday, 9 October 2011 | By: Four Little Foodlings

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Hong Ha Hot Bread is a local favourite in the Eastern Suburbs. It’s located in Mascot right near Sydney Airport. It is famous for their Chicken and Pork Vietnamese rolls, also known as Bὰhn mi.
 You may know the franchise Red Roll which also sells Vietnamese rolls which are good but the Hong Ha Bakery rolls are to die for!
Around lunch time you often see a 30metre line up snaking along the footpath in front of Mascot shops of people waiting to order their rolls. People come from great distances to get their hands on one of these rolls, one of my friends lives in Bondi Beach a nearly 40 minute drive to Mascot and without fail she makes her weekly trip to Mascot to feed her craving for a Hong Ha chicken roll!
My usual order is a chicken and cheese roll. This comes with a crispy fresh long white bread roll, mayonnaise, seasoned chicken, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, cheese, coriander, chilli and Maggi sauce. You are probably thinking it sounds like your standard chicken roll, but you need to try one and you will understand how much better they really are! They are made fresh so you can alter your order if necessary.

chicken, cheese and chilli roll

My Mum and Dad’s favourite is the Pork Roll which includes. 3 types Vietnamese pork roll meat, pork pate, pickled carrots and white radish, cucumbers, coriander, spring onions, Maggi Seasoning and chopped chilli all placed on the freshest and crispest bread roll.

Pork Roll


Half eaten Pork Roll

I also can’t forget to mention the cheap cheap cheap prices of these rolls. They range from about $3.50-$6.00 (the same size as a subway foot long sub and half the price! And they taste better too!)


I often wonder while I’m lining up ‘that they can do so much more with their shop front looks tired and jaded around the edges but I suppose they are too busy to notice and it obviously doesn’t stop people from going.
This was the shop at 4:30pm! People even get rolls for afternoon tea


Next time you are out at the airport or in the eastern suburbs, quickly stop at the Hong Ha bakery at Mascot you will not regret it!


Enjoy your Rolls!!
Foodling 4 :)

Hong Ha Hot Bread
1151 Botany Rd
Mascot 2020
Sydney Australia
Ph: (02) 9667 2069   
Parking: There is parking in front on the shop on Botany Road, as well as a car-park at the back .

Review: Olivo's Italian Restaurant!!

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| By: Four Little Foodlings

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So on a cold, wet and rainy Saturday night; I was in the mood for an Italian feast so with our kitchen still in renovations I decided to drag my family out to a local favourite restaurant- Olivos an Italian woodfired pizza and pasta place located in Castle Hill. The service was great with the friendly waiter seating us immediately in a corner booth. The seating is spread our quite well and so everyone had their own space even though the restaurant was quite packed.

For entrees we ordered the Moroccan chicken and our customary tomato bruschetta. I had never had the chicken before and it was definitely a pleasant surprise, a very tender and juicy dish, with a lovely complementary salad on the side and a small portion of spiced yogurt sauce. The bruschetta was however a little bit too much on the crusty side and the tomato was slightly dry and lacked flavor; however it was still a decent starter and is usually of a higher standard.  


After walking in and seeing the wood fired pizza made fresh right behind the counter we were very keen for a pizza. So for the mains we ordered the Chef special pizza of the day which was an interesting mix of smoked salmon, prawns, bacon, sour cream and wait for it… avocado? Now I thought this was quite a strange combination, but I’m always up to trying something different and I was not let down, with the different flavors definitely stimulating my taste buds, it turned out to be a bit of a party in my mouth :p. Also for the mains we shared a chili prawn and snow pea linguine, and a chicken and pumpkin risotto. The linguine was quite nice, cooked to al dente, however the chili flavor was slightly too mild for my liking and the dish was kind of drenched in olive oil. The chicken and pumpkin risotto was a pleasant dish, however it was too bland to be anything more than pleasant, something you would eat on the couch while watching greys anatomy. Other traditional pasta such as Spaghetti Bolognese and Fettuccine Carbonara were also available. Prices for mains were also quite reasonable ranging from about $20-$30 for a good portion size of pizza or pasta. 



Ok so my sister and I are major dessert fans and especially saved that last bit of space in our stomachs for a sweet treat at the end. I swear my sister must have tasted the chocolate cake in every restaurant we have ever been to so it was the Mississippi mud cake for her and I always love my gelato so I just had a scope of hazelnut gelato. The deserts aren’t particularly special at Olivos but they are defiantly satisfying treat , the mud cake was surprisingly light and fluffy and I think my sister was hoping for something more rich, however she did completely devour it. As for the gelato, the hazelnut flavor was to my liking and it was rich and smooth so I was very satisfied.

 

All in all I felt we made the best of a rainy night, and I would definitely recommend Olivos for anyone with a love for Italian food, especially woodfired pizza.
For more information on location and opening hours check out their website http://www.olivorestaurant.com.au

Buon Appetito!!
Foodling 2

MY GRANDMOTHER'S GREEK SPINACH AND CHEESE PIE (SPANAKOPITA)

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Posted on Tuesday, 4 October 2011 | By: Four Little Foodlings

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Most of my family live overseas, scattered across different islands and areas of Greece. My grandmother is a very inspirational and wonderful woman. I don’t get to see her much except through the occasional Skype dates that we try to set up. Last year, however I was able to go to Greece to visit her and spend some time with my distant relatives.


This was an experience in itself, not only because of the beautiful scenery and ancient landmarks that are there, but the moments that I shared with my family. For example my grandparents would sit around late in the afternoon telling me stories of their youth as we sat looking into the afternoon sun over the beaches of Greece; but one of the most memorable parts of my trip was having my grandmother teach me the traditional ways of making spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie). 

She showed and taught me all the basics from what to put into the variety of types of pitas that exist e.g. meat, cheese and macaroni etc and how to make and roll out the filo pastry. Trying to roll the filo pastry out together was one of the moments that I will never forget, as it is something I will always remember as “something that my grandmother taught me to do”. I remember her teaching me, so patiently saying (in Greek of course), “start in the middle, and roll and push it out ways…harder…harder…be a little firmer with it…its ok…it wont stick together…”
(the video below is my grandmother demonstrating how to role filo pastry)

Although rolling the filo, making the filling and layering it all up, is quite a long process, the end product is well worth the wait. Every time I make it and eat, it always reminds me of my grandmother and the experiences I had in Greece.

Although I would love to give you all her spanakopita recipe, I honestly cant. As we made it together, I would ask her what to put in it, “how much of this and how much of that” her answers literally were “just put some salt, pepper, feta….” As you can tell not very informative…no exact measurements or quantities…typical Greek style!!! J

So, instead, I have provided you with an alternate and easier recipe, (that doesn’t involve you making filo pastry J) that tastes almost as good as my grandmothers (except the flavours of her love behind her cooking)...


INGREDIENTS
3 bunches of fresh spinach

1 onion (chopped finely)

6-8 spring onions (chopped)

150g feta cheese

35g freshly grated parmesan
 
1 tablespoon fresh dill (chopped)

1 generous pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup fresh parsley (chopped)

12 sheets of filo pastry (thawed)

3-4 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted) + some olive oil



METHOD

1. Trim the stems of spinach and clean them well in cold water. Drain. Roughly chop them and place in a steamer.

2. Steam for 5-8 min or until the leaves are wilted

3. Drain. Squeeze out the excess water from the spinach.

4. Take a skillet and heat 1 tsp of olive oil and sauté the onion until tender.

5. Add the spring onion and cook for another 2-3 min.

6. Remove from heat and then add spinach, herbs, cheeses and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper if required.

7. Preheat oven to 180C. Place the 3 sheets of filo at a time. Mix the butter and 2 tbsp olive oil in a small bowl. Brush each sheet with the butter mixture and lay on top of another.

8. Cut into equal thirds lengthwise.

9. Spoon a little filling on an angle at the end of each strip.

10. Fold the pastry over to enclose the filling to form a triangle.

11. Brush the top lightly with the butter mixture.

12. Place triangles on a baking tray to bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown

The recipe makes approximately 20 smaller individual spanakopitas you can either bake straight away or freeze for a later day. These are perfect for a light lunch with a fresh Greek salad, as a small afternoon snack, or as an entrée to go with your dinner.

I hope you enjoy making and eating these and taste the Greek culture behind our food.

Kali Orexi,
Foodling 1.

Minced Pork & Potato Pie

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Posted on Saturday, 1 October 2011 | By: Four Little Foodlings

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The way my family and I eat is pretty interesting, we eat according to craves. Yes thats right, cravings. It's just like when all of a sudden you have a sudden craving for pie, you can't seem to stop thinking about them, so why not just make it!

Just last week, I was having a sudden urge to have pie so I went to the all famous MasterChef website and pulled out what seemed to be the easiest and most doable pie recipe there which is their Beef and Potato Pie and I really really enjoyed it!

So I was savouring it with mum the other day and she said she had a similar recipe but she prefers her's way more (obviously!) and true enough, I really like her Pork Mince & Potato Pie more! Maybe because it has mum's magical touch! And it's really quick and easy!
Let's get to it then!

The ingredients listed here make a delicious pie good for 4 people

Minced Pork & Potato Pie
Ingredients:
4 Medium Sized Golden Delight Potatos (or whichever potatoes you prefer or are available)
1 Carrot - Diced
1 French Shallot Onion
250-300g Pork Mince
2 Cloves of Garlic 
2 Tablespoons of Oil
3-5 Mushrooms
1 Tablespoon Cornflour
3-4 Tablespoons of Butter 
1/4-1/2 Cup of Milk
3 Hard-boiled Eggs
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
3/4 Cup Grated Cheese

Procedure:
1. Skin the potatos and dice one of the potatoes into small cubes, boil in water until soft. Drain and set aside.


2. Cut the other 3 potatoes up and boil seperately until soft. Drain and set aside.

3. Marinate the minced pork with soy sauce along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar with a dash of pepper
Cooking Tip: When marinating meat, the sugar quantity should always be double the quantity of salt! 

4. Chop the garlic and shallots into fine pieces and heat the oil in a saucepan
Health Tip: You can substitute your daily oil with olive oil for a healthier pie!
 
5. Once the oil is heated, stir fry the shallots until golden brown and add the minced garlic.

6. When slightly browned, put in the minced pork and stir fry the pork till evenly cooked. Add carrots, chopped mushrooms and diced potatos. Add a little bit of water if minced pork filling is dry. 


7. Add salt, sugar and pepper according to your taste.

8. In a small bowl, add the cornflour to 3 tablespoons of room-temperature water. Mix well.


9. Add the cornflour mixture to the filling at small intervals until the sauce starts to thicken. Set filling aside.

10. Preheat oven to 180 Degrees fan forced mode


11. In a seperate saucepan, mash the remaining 3 potatos evenly and add in the butter. Mix well and add milk at slow intervals till you feel that the mash potato is creamy enough.  Add salt, sugar and pepper according to your taste.

12. In a casserole, spread a thin layer mash potato on the bottom and scoop the minced pork filling onto the mash potato base.


13. Slice the 3 eggs and put them on top of the filling and cover it up with the remaining mash potato.


14. Spread the grated cheese on top of the pie and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes, turning the oven to grill mode for 5 minutes after that.


15. Take out from the oven, serve and enjoy!


 
I know there may be quite a number of steps but it's really fast and easy to prepare! Mum and I were making this pie this morning and I couldn't wait to blog about it! It takes less than an hour to make, so I really hope you guys could try it out one day!

Feel free to comment if you have any queries!


Have a great weekend everyone!

Foodling 3

Mum's Butter Chicken

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Posted on Tuesday, 20 September 2011 | By: Four Little Foodlings

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You may think that butter chicken is a typical Indian meal, however in India, not many people cook it on a daily basis, instead sticking to the basics of vegetables and dahl(lentils), however in my Australian Indian family we love our chicken and nothing beats mum's butter chicken.

It's not just my family that loves it though, just this weekend was my younger sister's 13th birthday party, with 15 screaming 13 year old girls at our house camping out in the yard, they really needed a heartly meal to keep them warm. What better than butter chicken, but who knew that every single girl would be quietly sitting down completely clearing their plate of every last piece of chicken, some even tempted by seconds.

As long as i can remeber my mum has been making this meal at dinner parties and it's always been a favourite, with people requesting butter chicken whenever they come to our house.

So without any further ado here is the recipe:

my mum usually makes the marinade, but for a quicker and just as tasty alternative you can use any tandoor marinade in the supermarket i.e. prataks

Marinade
100g ginger
200g garlic
10-12 whole red chillies
4-5 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
5 cardamom seeds
5-6 whole black peppercorns

Roast the dry ingredients of the marinade and grind them together. Add ginger and garlic until you get a thick paste

Other Ingredients

1kg boneless chicken fillets
800g tomato puree
200g butter
400ml fresh cream
200g plain yogurt
3-4 sticks of cinnamon
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (optional)
salt to taste

Recipe

Cut the chicken into cubes

Mix the yogurt with 4-5 tablespoons of the marinade and marinate the chicken in the mixture. Add salt to taste

Allow the chicken cubes to marinate for at leaste 6-12 hours.

Grill the marinated chicken on a very hot barbeque or under the grill or in a wok. Do not overcook as it should be juicy.

For the sauce add butter to heavy based pan. Add the cinnamon sticks and saute lightly. Do not allow the butter to burn.

Add the tomato puree and simmer gently for five minutes.

Add the chilli powder and salt to taste.

Finally add the cream and cooked chicken pieces and simmer for five minutes. Save some cream for garnishing the dish just before serving.

Serve hot with naan bread or basmati rice.

SERVES 6

I hope you enjoy this recipe just as much as our family and friends. If you have any questions or want to comment please feel free.

Extra tip: Once my mum made this for one of our friends with a cholesterol problem who really loved butter chicken but couldn't have too much saturated fat, so she substituted the cream for plain yogurt and halfed the amount of butter. It still tasted pretty good, so give that a try if your a bit health conscious

bon appetit

Foodling 2

FISH MONGERS - MANLY - RESTAURANT REVIEW

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Posted on Monday, 19 September 2011 | By: Four Little Foodlings

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As part of the Greek Orthodox religion we are not supposed to eat meat on Wednesday or Friday as part of our faith, with Wednesday symbolising the day in which Judas betrayed Jesus and Friday the day in which Jesus was crucified.  

With my sister at a party and the rest of my family away, my mum and I found ourselves craving some fish.

With the Fish and Chips shop we hoped to order from closed, we found ourselves stumbling upon a local café style Fish and Chips shop called “Fish Mongers” located in Manly.

At first glance the menu seemed ordinary, just your standard fish and chip shop menu with calamari, prawns, oysters etc, but it was far from it.

This restaurant was a break away from the traditional, boring and often fatty style of fish and chips. It was an exciting and refreshing way to eat fish, which I often find myself not a fan of.
Choosing to stay and eat in rather than having the food as takeaway, we both ordered herb crusted grilled salmon. I chose the side dish of hand cut chips and mum chose it with rice. The service was really quick…I even mentioned to my mum, “how come it never takes us this long to cook fish” …she wasn’t too impressed… :)

The food came presented in a clever plastic square bowl, which made the meal look absolutely mouth watering…I’m even drooling now just thinking about it (see picture).

From the first mouthfull, the balance of all the flavours was divine. It was light and refreshing, just the right balance of salt and mixture of all the other flavours. The fish nor chips were greasy like other fish and chip shops…it didn’t leave me regretting eating it, by the end of it. Their signature crunchy, thinly sliced, Kumara (sweet potato) chips added an extra bit of flavour that kept the balance of the meal just right. The extra condiment of the wasabi mayonnaise worked perfectly with the meal and was quite moorish, even though I do not like wasabi.

Researching into this restaurant a little, I found that there are several stores open throughout NSW including one in Bondi Beach and Byron Bay; and that it has had several good reviews about it from the “Good Food Guide” and “The Sydney Morning Herald”, stating such things as “…All sorts of great fish cooked in the way you prefer…served in a big box with, fat, hand cut, skin on chips…” and “…style setting fish and chip shop…”.
If any one finds themselves at Manly craving some fish and chips, believe me when I say this…YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TRY THIS FISH AND CHIP SHOP!!!!


LOCATION:      Rialto Square, Shop 4, 11-27 Wentworth St, Manly, NSW, 2095

HOURS:            Open Monday to Sunday, noon – 9pm
                (Open on public holidays)

PRICES:           Although can be a bit pricey – it depends on the meal you get.
CONTACT:       Email: http://mongers.com.au/manly.html
                           Phone: 9977 1777

Hope you enjoy this restaurant as much as i did... take a few of your friends, the atmosphere is great and you will not regret it.  Let me know how you find it.

Kali Orexi 
  Foodling 1. 

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