Happy 2013! (1/365)

I'm not a fan of New Year's Eve. Something always seems to go wrong, sometimes catastrophically. I've had one New Year's Eve that I truly enjoyed from start to finish, in 2008, and included some of my favourite people in the world, having a murder mystery dinner at home. But it was the exception that proved the rule.

Having had a pretty challenging year (some of my friends say I can be the queen of understatement), I'm keen for the fresh start a flip of a new calendar seems to bring.  I mean, we've even moved across the world, to start a new life, just the two of us. This hasn't been without its own challenges, not least being the seemingly un-Australian level of bureaucracy I've encountered (but that's another story all together).

To kick start our New Year, I decided to cook a fry-up for breakfast. Fresh eggs from the Grandparentals neighbour, with decent Aussie bacon, polished off with a hunk of delicious watermelon. What I hadn't considered was our lack of cooking utensils. Most of our stuff is still en-route from the UK.

Have you ever tried to get a fried egg out of not a non-stick pan without a spatula?

I managed to get Pickle's out - his breakfast was perfect. My egg cracked as I was getting it out of the pan, but managed to make it to the plate still runny. So while it wasn't perfect, it was pretty darn close. If this is a metaphor for our year ahead, I'll be happy with it.

So on that note... Happy New Year!

I've realised that if I'd had the right tools, my breakfast would have been perfect too... so what do you consider to be the right tools for a happy life?

Cheers, KangaRue

PS. My Project 365 went kaput last year for obvious reasons, so I'm going to keep it pretty basic this year and see how I go - wish me luck?

80/366 - Lilliana's on the Bay

I took my parents out for brunch today.  We'd heard that Liliana's on the Bay served the best coffee in the area, so took a departure from our usual Enzo's on the Beach (even if the coffee at Enzo's has certainly improved since my last visit).

The latest trend in Aussie cafes has them roasting their own beans, which means fresh, tasty and unique cups of coffee.  I'm pleased to say that Liliana's has taken up this fashion.  We arrived at the welcoming and airy cafe to the delicious smell of roasting beans.  And our beautifully presented coffees arrived shortly after our order, from friendly and helpful staff.  Not only were they a larger size than expected, it is honestly the best cup of coffee I have had in a long time.  In fact, initially I forgot to add sugar, it was that smooth and creamy.

80/366 - 20 March 2012

The breakfasts were also beautifully presented and enormous.  Eggs "Benedict" came with ham or smoked salmon (Royale) and were both served with spinach and a perfect hollandaise.  Unfortunately the poached eggs were slightly over cooked, so were no longer runny and my ham turned out to be bacon - while delicious bacon, it wasn't what I was expecting.  I'll forgive this seeing as it was served on perfect sourdough toast.  The big brekkie came with eggs poached, scrambled or fried, plus all the usual trimmings: bacon, sausage, beans, tomato, mushrooms and hash-browns!

So while you can't top Enzo's for the spectacular view, for taste and value for money, I'll definitely be returning (I even got a second cup to go).

Cheers, KangaRue :)

29/366 - Brunch with Friends

My lovely friend Cathy (who I originally met through Twitter) came over from Sweden this weekend, on one of her regular trips to her beloved London.  I was lucky enough to catch up with her over brunch with some other girlie friends at The Swan at Shakespeare's Globe - a surprisingly elegant venue with a tasty brunch.  Pickle tagged along of course.  But this photo isn't of Cathy and Pickle (he fell asleep before I thought to get a photo of the two of them together), instead it is of Pickle and Lulah enjoying their food.  It's not the first time they've brunched together, but the first they've been seated together in high chairs, and it was a delight to watch.

29/366

Brunch was delicious - a perfectly executed Eggs Benedict for me, though I prefer creamed spinach as an addition.  A great Virgin Mary though - loved that it was called a Bloody Shame!  Pickle enjoyed some bread, spinach and ham.  I would definitely go back here for brunch again, and the Sunday roast looked superb.

Cheers, KangaRue :)

21/366 - Stacked Up

My photo of the day has got to be the sweetcorn fritters I had at An Aussie Brunch.  Not only because I like the composition and colours of the food, and also the out of focus plate in the distance... but most of all, because I was there with some of my favourite people in the world: BoyWonder and Pickle*, my friend and fellow yummy-mummy Caroline, her husband Dave, and their lovely daughter Lulah*.

21/366

*not their real names... these are their online pseudonyms - I'm asked if I really named my son Pickle at least once a week.  Well, I suppose Gwenyth Paltrow did name her son Apple, but I'm not an international star!

Cheers, KangaRue :)

An Aussie Brunch

Bill Granger's restaurants are a Sydney institution, so I was excited to learn he was opening a restaurant in London.  Particularly well-known for brunch, it wasn't hard to decide what time of day to visit Granger & Co.  We arrived around 9:30am on Saturday, to a crowded, yet airy room.  I think we timed it well, as a six-seated table had just become available - I was brunching with BoyWonder, my darling friend Caroline and her husband Dave, and our babies Pickle & Lulah; it was popular venue for other parents as well, as there were a large number of other prams and carriers in sight.

We started with juices - a freshly squeezed orange juice, an elderflower cordial and a homemade lemonade were well received.  While delicious, BoyWonder's sunrise smoothie was a little on the small side, and at £3.50, I would have expected it to be at least twice its size.

I struggled to decide between two dishes for my meal, but eventually, I couldn't go past Bill's famous sweetcorn fritters.  Served with fresh baby spinach, a lightly cooked tomato and a slice of bacon, it was well-seasoned and delicious.  This dish could be improved by a bit more generosity of bacon, as it only comes with one slice.

An unfortunate theme, as the boys discovered with their Full Aussie breakfasts. An enormous portion of creamy scrambled eggs is accompanied by delicious sourdough toast, mushrooms and tomato, but only three chipolata sausages and another single slice of bacon.  A third less egg with one extra slice of bacon and two more teeny sausages would have seen them far happier.  Unfortunately, BoyWonder discovered a bone-shard in one of his chipolatas.  The first waiter he brought this to the attention of was, quite frankly, useless - he said "oh, OK" and wandered off.  The service up to this point had been relaxed, if a little slow - but it was a weekend brunch, so we weren't in a rush.  But that was a little too relaxed.  So he requested to see the manager. She apologised, spoke to the chef and returned saying they'd bring it to their supplier's attention.  He was then offered a complimentary coffee in apology.  We suggested dessert would be more appropriate (but more on that in a bit, as it was our SilverLining).

The soft boiled eggs with sour dough toast was enjoyed, but as it does what it says on the box, there's not much more I can say here.

BoyWonder decided to get a coffee.  Now in past posts, I've detailed that he is, shall we say, particular about his coffee.  He wasn't disappointed with his long black - it was rich, intense and full of flavour.  None of the dreaded burn.  Aussies know how to make coffee.

For dessert, we agreed to indulge (sensibly by sharing) the ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter, banana and maple syrup.  And, oh my!  They were delicious - definitely the hit of the day.  The ricotta lends a creaminess that balances the sweetness brilliantly; the honeycomb butter is a delight.  I would definitely order this as my main dish next time, with a side of bacon (hopefully more than one slice!).  So yes, why there were some issues, I will be back, and would recommend popping over to Notting Hill for breakfast or brunch soon.

Cheers, KangaRue :)

7/366 - Sensory Box & 8/366 - Birthday Brunch

7/366

It's been a fun weekend.  I've started a sensory box for Pickle, which I believe is a Montessori idea.  It is all about engaging his kinesthetic sense - through my counselling studies, I came to learn that most people have one or two preferences for learning through their visual, audio or kinesthetic (touch) sense.  As someone who is a visual-kinesthetic, it is apparent to me that most teaching ignores learning though touch, so the idea of a sensory box greatly appealed.  Different textures are employed; his favourites so far are the wooden peg (he's having a good old chew in this photo, so it has a double effect of helping with teething!), the metal whisk, the cardboard tube, and one of BoyWonder's old silk ties.  Watching him explore each piece with utter fascination is absolutely delightful.

Would you be interested in discovering your own preferred sense?  I'd be happy to help with a future blog post if there is interest.

Sunday was kick-started with my birthday brunch.  We went to Chapters in Blackheath.  And while the service and food had lost a bit of it's shine from previous occasions, I expect this was due to our large group size.  My Eggs Benedict with the addition of creamed spinach was delicious (though one of the poached eggs was no longer soft), and while on any normal day it would have likely featured as my photo for the day, with such a fabulous group of friends to help me celebrate, I had to share a group pic.

8/366
Back row: Rowan, Pickle, BoyWonder, Liam, Glenn,
Gerry, Elisa, Julian, Shaherah, Caroline, Livvy
Front row: Veleta, Grant, Brett, Me, Dave

I consider myself lucky to have met this great bunch.  How I met BoyWonder deserves a blog of its own, and there is an imminent one due on meeting Pickle.  As for the others (in order of appearance in my life):

I met Rowan through one of my best friends, many years ago; while my friend Joe has since returned to Australia, I'm thankful for him introducing us, though I dread to wonder how many years it's been!  Through Rowan I met Liam, Brett and Glenn.

Caroline and Dave picked me up in a bar!  I was at the opening of the Parlour Bar in Canary Wharf one night, flicking away at my phone, being Billy-no-mates while I awaited BoyWonder's (late) arrival.  Complimentary food and drinks were flowing.  I was passed a prawn shish kebab, when one of the prawns promptly fell off the skewer.  I thought I'd managed to style it out, when Dave lent over and said "saw that!".  He introduced me to his lovely new-bride, and they have now been joined by the gorgeous Livvy.

Around the same time, I met Shaherah at the Dove VisibleCare photo shoot - front row in this pic, I'm 2nd from the left, and Shaherah is the third in.  We got to chatting, discovered we were both living in Sarf-East London, literally just minutes from each other.  Though I thought her husband Julian was a figment of her imagination for quite some time, I finally got to meet him last year.

Elisa also came to me via a close friend in Oz, Sue, who visited a while back - Sue suggested we meet up when Elisa and Gerry moved over to London.

While the majority of this motley crew tweet, Veleta is the only one here who I met through Twitter.  We got to chatting and I met her, along with Grant, early last year.  I feel very fortunate to have discovered such a lovely person in a fairly unusual way.

So, to my lovely friends who helped me celebrate today, even singing me Happy Birthday, I would like to raise my glass and toast them with: "Let's not age - let's just marinate"*.

*quote from my birthday card from Veleta!

Cheers, KangaRue :)

Beyond Brunch

You've got to love the irony.  BoyWonder had a friend coming over from the US, on the 4th of July... so we just had to take him and his friend to Hawksmoor for a traditional English brunch.  We've been a couple of times before, yet I've never made it past the brunch items.  This time I was determined to hit the Sunday Roast.  But before I get to that, I had to try the remaining Bloody Mary on the menu (there are three, but I've also been lucky enough to try the award winning special produced for the Ketel One promotion).  The Bloody Mary No. 16 is made with beef broth instead of tomato juice, and is served warm - I would have preferred it a bit more spicy, as I like my Bloody Mary's with a real kick, but it was really lovely.

Now, I'm not sure how he snuck it past me, but BoyWonder ordered a Zombie.  Last time he had one of these, he went missing on the train home, and lost a couple of hours.  But he did only have the one drink this time, which made a difference.  These things are lethal; with three rums, Falernum aand Absinthe (as well as grapefruit & lime juices, Bitters, Grenadine and spiced syrup), it's not surprisingly that only one is allowed per person.  A work friend of  BoyWonder's had his first Zombie, and lost his post-lunch afternoon!

The brunch selections for the rest of the table, were a huge success yet again - the HkMuffin and the Hawksmoor Breakfast didn't disappoint (you can read my previous blog on these here).  Oh, and I reverted to my favourite Bottomless Bloody Mary (No. 7) which is based on a 1921 recipe made with gin rather than vodka with fresh horseradish and a dash of Meantime Stout to the classic tomato juice, Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco (extra for me please!).

"Traditionally, large joints of meat were roasted on a spit over an open fire.  To achieve a similar flavour we start ours on real charcoal and finish them in the oven"... then they add potatoes roasted in dripping, a Yorkshire Pudding, carrots, spinach, whole roasted shallots, and lashings of bone marrow and onion gravy.  Now my Mum makes the best roast.  Well, so I thought.  Sorry Mum!  This was absolutely kick-ass amazing.  The beef was so flavoursome - the quality is obvious - but it was also cooked perfectly, I couldn't have asked for any better.  The potatoes were fluffy on the inside, but nicely crisp and crunchy on the outside, and the Yorkshire Pudding was perfect with enough crunch at the top, but enough density and chewiness on the bottom... and the gravy is brilliant!

I desperately wanted to try the salt-caramel icecream... I really wanted to have it with the chocolate brownie, but I just didn't have the room for it.  But then there was the cornflake icecream too (this is to die for, and is something that must be experienced - I successfully convinced a couple of others at our table to try it and they weren't sorry they did).  In the end I decided on a scoop of each of the ice-creams.  BoyWonder had the cheese plate and from the slithers he allowed me, the quality of the rest of our meal was maintained.

So I'll just have to go back again to try the desserts.  I think I'll have to go and just try the desserts!  And perhaps the champagne cocktails that are the remaining "breakfast cocktails" I've yet to try.  Oh the tortures I endure to bring a thorough review!

Cheers, KangaRue

The Wonders of Brunch

I've always loved brunch.  In Australia I used to love getting together with friends at cafes or at each others homes or in a park for a weekend brunch - the meal that combines breakfast and lunch.  And yes, one that generally includes Bloody Marys and/or Champagne.  Yet in the decade I've been in London it has been a rare occurrence - mainly because so few places do it (or say they do yet don't open to lunch-time!).

So it was with great delight when I discovered via Twitter that Hawksmoor, reknowned for its steaks, was going to open for Brunch, and from 11am!  Having managed to wangle a table for their soft opening, it is with many apologies to Will & co that it has taken me so long to blog it - for the reason why, see my 3-star disappointment that occurred a few days before my visit - but it did give me the opportunity to return again, so this blog post will take in both those experiences, my very first BOGOF-post if you like.

Part 1:

My first surprise came within seconds of sitting down, when our lovely bubbly red-haired waitress asked if she could get me a drink, and when I asked for the requisite Bloody Mary she responded with "which one"... there are three to choose from!  I went for the Bottomless Bloody Mary (Mix No. 7) which was delicious (pictured above).  And not only that, there is a huge range of breakfast cocktails, of which my friends and I managed to consume most of, only saving two of the Bloody Marys and the four Champagne Cocktails for a later date.  There are Eye Openers, Anti-Fogmatics, Invigorators*, enormous Punches to share and Gloom Lifters! 

We couldn't go past the Hawksmoor Breakfast and while £30 for two people to share, it is great value for the quality.  There's a smoked bacon chop, sausages, black pudding, bubble & squeak, grilled bone marrow, trotter baked beans, fried eggs, grilled mushrooms, roast tomatoes, and unlimited dripping toast.  The meat is all from The Ginger Pig and you really can taste the difference in the quality.  Our friendly, but not overbearing, waitress explained to us the traditional way to eat black pudding was to scoop out the middle of the sausage and mix it with English mustard and vinegar - and OMG, it was delicious.  And for someone who rarely finishes a thin slice, I ate a lot of it.  I'm also one to generally believe that Beanz Meanz... but wow, did the trotter beans blow that theory out of the water.  Bone Marrow is a highly under utilised ingredient, and it shone in its usage here.  There are desserts too - the cornflake ice-cream is delicious and it's also made into milkshakes! 

And while our plates were scraped clean, confirming how much we all enjoyed the meal, we experienced food envy spying other plates around the restaurant.  The HkMuffin (more on that later) and the Sunday Roasts in particular.  We were already trying to schedule our return before we'd left.

* Oh, and the warning under The Zombie cocktail of a maximum of one per person should be strictly adhered to - while the four of us were sharing all the cocktails, BoyWonder had the lions share of our second Zombie... and fell asleep on the journey home and went MIA for a few hours!

Part 2:

Shaky Pete, our bar tender extraordinaire from our first visit wasn't around on our second trip, but his understudies didn't let him down with the two Bloody Marys we tried this time around.  One was a special one developed for the Ketel One promotion, and was made with a peaty whisky, but the highlight for me was the pork scratching it was served with!  I also had the No. 10 which is served with a wedge of cucumber instead of the traditional celery, and while punchy with horseradish root, the No. 7 remains my favourite so far... I will have to go back for the No. 16 when I'm in need of a serious hangover cure in the winter - it's made with beef broth instead of tomato juice and is served warm and spicy.

But the real reason for being here was the food.  I was tempted to go for the Hawksmoor Breakfast again, but couldn't persuade BoyWonder to join me... he was determined to have the HkMuffin.  The Sausage & Egg delight which trounces over it's more well known, and very distant, cousin.  It consists of a pork, beef & mutton ‘flat sausage’ topped with Ogleshield or Colston Basset Stilton and two fried eggs. All piled up inside a toasted muffin.  BoyWonder went for the Colston Basset Stilton and added some Ginger Pig Bacon as well... 

I think he's still having dreams about it!

I really wanted to try the Ginger Pig Bacon, so I went for bacon & eggs with unlimited dripping toast.  I couldn't resist getting some more of the trotter beans and the bone marrow which I split with BoyWonder - yes he spared some time during the HkMuffin eating frenzy!

The only problem is leaving enough room for dessert.  I have to go back, and soon as I really want to try the Chocolate Brownie with Salted Caramel Ice-Cream.  Oh, and perhaps I'll get past the breakfast to try the roast beef with all the trimmings - the Yorkshire Puddings look amazing!

Cheers, KangaRue