Many thanks to everyone who's ever read, linked to or commented on this diary at any stage of its life. I have now combined my food and sketch diaries together at the doodle bin; if you wish to comment on it, you may do so at its LiveJournal feed. Happy eating!

Posted by Pirotess @ 02:24 PM AEST

Sunday, September 28, 2003

Nadia's Café [link]
Shop number 2-K401, Level 4
Westfield Parramatta

Parramatta obviously has no shortage of cafés, but there aren't as many as you'd think inside its biggest shopping centre. As far as breakfast goes, at least.

This place, however, has a really delightfully different selection compared to most cafés I visit regularly. Having had various meals there at various times of the day and week, they always manage to surprise me in a good way. They don't skimp on the coffee strength either, which is a much appreciated thing on a sleepy Sunday morning.

Today I had the french toast with maple syrup and strawberries. I normally have french toast on its own or with savouries, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the end result is fantastic. I daresay it's even more satisfying than pancakes or crepes served in a similar manner. Three hours later I'm still feeling full.

Posted by Pirotess @ 02:14 PM AEST
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Wednesday, May 14, 2003

NyanNyanNyanko [e link - j link]
brought to you by San-X

I adore Nyanko. Let's start by quoting the charmingly Japlish-English website, shall we?

What's NyanNyanNyanko?

On first sight, it is just a standard kitty. But Nyanko is good with "mimic" something (especially food)
Remember it's not edible.

A lot of curiosity and cute but
Get tired of things quickly.

Yes, it's a cat that loves to pretend to be food. This tickles every stupid love of Japanese culture that I could possibly harbour. If you haven't seen the dizzy heights that plush food can hit, there are a crapload of goods to drool at just over there.

Unfortunately the general quality of San-X goods means that everything to do with Nyanko is hella expensive, but I can wait. (You have no idea how close I was to buying the Nyanko tempura with my last J-list order...) I dearly want the party set, the dumpling set and the desserts. Aiiieeee.

Nyanko is also a major inspiration for SBM's Tabeshounen, which you may hear more about soon enough!

Posted by Pirotess @ 09:48 PM AEST
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Monday, May 5, 2003

Nissin Donbei Kitsune Udon

First of all, I can't begin to describe how much fun it is to find a new Asian grocery with cool stuff in it. (More on that later.) This instant udon pack is a very handy little work lunch, if a little on the pricey side. It makes up for the pricey by beating the absolute crap out of anything I could possibly be having for lunch instead. :D

The package contains dry udon noodles and vegetables, a soup base sachet, a fishcake and a freeze-dried piece of inari (sweet deep-fried tofu). You empty the sachet into the bowl, peel back the lid, pour in hot water up to the line, then pop the lid back on and wait for five minutes. When you open it up again - ta-dah! A magical wonderful kitsune udon bowl!

Of course, being dried instant, the noodles will never have quite the beautiful chewy quality that I normally get when I make udon using instant fresh noodles. If you're fairly used to restaurant udon, you probably cop this type of noodle all the time anyway. The soup is quite nice, as is the fishcake; however, the nicest bit has got to be the inari. I don't know exactly what they've done to it, but that five minutes of steaming just has it reverting back to sweet, tofu-ey perfection. It was a freezing day outside today, but this noodle bowl kept me plenty nice and warm! I just wish I could afford it for lunch more often...

Posted by Pirotess @ 11:51 PM AEST
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Saturday, April 26, 2003

Iron Wok Jan! [link]
Story and art by Shinji Saijyo

EvilHayama went manga shopping last week, and brought back this little gem. Manga about food has always fascinated me, but seeing it being translated into English is even more of a delight! :D~

Iron Wok Jan! revolves mostly around the lives of the trainee chefs of Gobancho, a top Chinese cuisine restaurant in the Ginza shopping district. The art is very shounen-styled but the first volume is interestingly free of romance or perversion. The whole thing is like a fast-paced sports manga, but with kitchen utensils; special techniques abound and characters are intense and melodramatic.

I really found myself hating the far-too-skilled and arrogant Jan, but occasionally we're relieved to see that he makes mistakes like any other person. The least skilled of the trainees (whose name escapes me at this moment) is so positive and cute you could cry. Between the three main characters, there's a nice balance of virtues and faults that works as a whole.

I've only read volume 1 so far, but I'm interested in how Saijyo can keep this up for 27 volumes... we shall see in time!

Posted by Pirotess @ 02:57 PM AEST
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Tuesday, March 25, 2003

Fast Food Miniature Mascots @ Strapya.com [link]

Ooooh, they're so cute. Right now I'm on a phone strap kick, and I'm still on a lingering parody goods kick which can only go for longer. I've been looking around for the brand-new Hello Kitty parody goods (Pocky, S&B nanami togarashi, S&B wasabi) but stumbled across these instead... I'm sorely tempted to beg for a special order through J-List.

If you haven't worked it out yet, ohmigod it's fake food that attaches to your mobile phone. Such a concept is so irresistible to meeee!! >o<

Posted by Pirotess @ 07:56 PM AEST
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Tuesday, March 4, 2003

Cool Mint Listerine PocketPaks [link]

OH MY GOD HOT HOT OW OW BURN OWIE OW.

Mmmm, minty. :D

The packet's extremely nifty and impressively small (2cm x 4cm), holding 24 wafer-thin little sheets of mintiness. I paid $3 just to see what they were like, but their sheer strength should ensure that they last quite a while. Something tasting a little more like mint and a little less like Listerine would be cool, but eh, you get what's written on the packet.

Posted by Pirotess @ 06:41 PM AEST
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Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Nigella's Forever Summer [link]
ABC TV, 8.30pm, Wednesday nights

I personally prefer Jamie, but EvilHayama is a pretty big fan of Nigella. XD I do enjoy watching her over dinner and all, but she just plain distracts me with the whole sexiness angle! She gets all enthusiastic about how wonderful cream, raspberries or vinegar are and I end up dwelling on that instead of remembering the recipe or seeing what she thinks goes together (which is what I really get out of cooking shows and magazines). It's actually quite miraculous that I took notes on a recipe tonight!

Says the honourable TV guide this week: Nigella shares her passion for Japanese cooking at home when preparing delicious soba noodles with sesame seeds and peppered seared tuna.

Now the following recipe is on the site I linked back there, but I think that summarising recipes quickly and in the manner I'd cook them is a bit of an art. I've used some amounts from their ingredients list, though.

Soba Noodles with Sesame Seeds

* 75g sesame seeds
* salt
* 250g soba noodles
* 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
* 5 teaspoons soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons honey
* 2 teaspoons sesame oil
* spring onions

Place the soba in a pot of salted water and bring to the boil.

Toast the sesame seeds in a frypan.

Put some rice vinegar in a large bowl, add some honey, the same amount of toasted sesame oil and a splash of soy sauce. Gently stir the mixture together.

Chop a small amount of spring onions and put them aside.

Shake the sesame seeds around - they should be lightly scorched/toasted all over by now. Put them aside as well.

Drain the soba and drench it in cold water. (Personally, I turn on the cold tap and hold the colander under it, using my hand to make sure the noodles are cooled down all the way through.)

Put the soba in the bowl of dressing, then scatter the shallots and sesame seeds over the noodles. Mix it all together by hand, then leave for half an hour if possible to let the flavours mingle.

Serves 2-4 and goes great with sashimi, tataki or vegetables!

Posted by Pirotess @ 06:58 PM AEST
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Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Cadbury Strawberry Ripe

Interestingly enough, I can't find a site for this chocolate bar. That probably sums up the experience of eating it, though - it disappeared before I really had time to think of how it tasted. The concept of a Cherry Ripe with strawberries in it is nice at least... :D~

Posted by Pirotess @ 02:16 PM AEST
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Monday, February 10, 2003

Mangorind

Beautiful stuff, this. My mother kindly left a bag of these yummy Filipino candies behind when she last visited. If you've never tasted tamarind or tamarind candy, it's pretty strong stuff! Dried tamarind is so potent that you can usually only keep it in your cheek while you eat it... putting it on your tongue is murder. Mixing dried mango with tamarind seems to work very well, and you end up with a nice sweet-and-sour mixture (like dried apricots).

Now I want more of them. Waaaaaaah. Hopefully I can find some at the local Filo grocery...

Posted by Pirotess @ 08:36 PM AEST
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Monday, February 3, 2003

Peach waterplus [link]

Oh my goodness, this stuff sucks arse. Normally I tank up on Vanilla Coke or V at lunchtime, but I figured that today I might see what all the fuss over flavoured sports water was about. So I chose the peach flavour (being a fan of peaches, peach nectar, Japanese peach water and peach iced tea).

You know that taste you get in your mouth when you take vitamins? And you know how the water you have just afterwards also tastes like it, in a way that makes you drink water until you can't taste it any more? Now imagine drinking 710ml of the water that tastes like crap. It made me feel kind of nauseous, but I was thirsty and didn't want to throw it out so I forced it all down. The peach flavour just barely masks the damned vitamins.

Joining a gym has been the most yuppie thing I've ever done, apart from acquiring a mobile phone ages ago. Yuppie water and yuppie sushi bars (I'll explain later) are things I will never succumb to, however. I am so not touching MiZone unless someone can really convince me otherwise.

Posted by Pirotess @ 09:02 PM AEST
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