green food

A great green pint in the morning is the perfect hangover cure. Just throw an orange, fresh ginger, and some kale into a high powered blender and you'll feel good as new. Tip: freeze your washed kale in airtight plastic bags so that you can have it handy in the morning.

We visited Social Place recently and loved their modern take on traditional Chinese cuisine. The knife work on this Chinese Kale (gai lan) is beautiful.

Amazing how they made these mushroom stuffed buns actually look like mushrooms.

And at Isoya, their specialty is Japanese vegetarian cuisine. Very creative how they made sushi out of bell peppers, asparagus, mushrooms and sweet potato. 

Making your own salsas and guacamole doesn't get any greener and fresher than this.

Pico de gallo

makes about 3 cups

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups diced cherry or grape tomatoes

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

2-3 jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped (mild = no seeds, med = 1/2 seeds, spicy = all seeds)

3/4 cups cilantro, finely chopped

juice of 2 limes (Thai or Mexican)

salt and pepper

METHOD:

1. Combine all the vegetables together in a non-reactive bowl (set aside 1/4 cup for guacamole if making).

2. Mix in lime juice and season as desired. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-4 hours before serving

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Salsa Verde

makes about 1 cup

INGREDIENTS:

5-6 tomatillos (fresh or canned)

1/2 white onion

1-2 jalapeno peppers

1 cup cilantro

juice of 1 lime (Thai or Mexican)

salt and pepper

METHOD: 

1. Pulse everything together in a hand blender or food processor.

2. Pour into a non-reactive bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Season as desired. Refrigerate for 1-4 hours before serving.

Guacamole
makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:
2-3 ripe avocados (Hass variety preferred)
1/4 cup pico de gallo (vegetables only)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
juice of 2-3 limes (Thai or Mexican)
salt and pepper

METHOD:
1. Scoop out avocados and combine all the ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. 

2. Use a fork and knife in a crisscross cutting motion to coarsely mix together until combined. 

3. Season as desired. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure there are no air pockets. This will ensure your guac doesn't go brown. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

Serve your salsas and guac with tortilla chips or as condiments to your favourite Mexican dishes.

new york to munich

New York City and dinner at Alder before they closed in August. What looks like breakfast is actually Wylie's take on okonomiyaki, it was savoury rather than sweet. Looks can be deceiving.

The "soup Nazi" is still around after all these years.

Munich and a fresh market full of vegetables, mushrooms and meats.

Wreaths made of hops ready for Oktoberfest.

on a Quest

Chef Que Vinh Dang invited us to the soft launch of his new restaurant Quest. We were excited as we missed his private kitchen TBLS.

Our culinary treat kicked off with Hamachi sashimi, cherry tomato jelly and sea grapes.

Fresh Alaskan King crab with avocado, enveloped in a rice paper roll.

Beef tartar had flavours reminiscent of Vietnamese beef pho.

A perfectly seared Hokkaido scallop served with sweet corn.

A lovely piece of seared Alaskan Black Cod, served on a bed of sugar snap peas.

Charred pork belly with taro and brussel sprouts rounded out our mains.

And to complete our delicious and indulgent meal, a moist almond cake topped with grilled pineapple and homemade salted caramel ice cream.

mexican with a twist

We were invited to CHINO during their soft opening earlier this month.

This cool new Kennedy Town hangout with former NOBU chef Erik Idos at the helm serves modern Mexican infused with and inspired by Asian ingredients.

Tortilla chips fresh out of the fryer. Served with pico de gallo, tomatillo salsa, guac and our personal favourite, a very unique and delicious shiso leaf salsa.

Grilled local corn with chipotle, kewpie mayo and queso oaxaca.

Pumpkin and sweet potato kakiage with lobster and uni.

For the vegetarians out there, black bean and mushroom soft tacos.

For the meat eaters, a chili glazed wagyu steak served with king trumpet mushrooms.

Other items on the menu we tried were house made vegetable and jalapeno pickles, a fresh local white fish ceviche, mushroom mizuna salad, a very crisp shrimp tostada, a filling and moist chicken tostada that was topped with a nice gooey fried egg, and a spicy and warming tortilla soup made with a chipotle and dashi broth. We loved how the do it yourself fish tacos were presented; each morsel of lightly battered and fried sea bass nestled in between the filleted fish.

For dessert we had CHINO's take on tres leches which was made with the addition of Thai tea. It had a Japanese cereal topping that gave the moist and dense cake a nice crunch. Alas we finished it too quickly to get a photo.