Kim Thanh Restaurant is 24!

I was so lucky to attend the 24th birthday celebrations of Kim Thanh Restaurant in West End on Monday. A twitter pal of mine is Bao, who is training in the kitchen of his mum's restaurant, and doing a pretty good job indeed if Monday night is anything to go by!

Bao's Tasting Menu


Nem Nuong Cuon Cham Tuong Hue (grilled pork ricepaper rolls with Hue dipping sauce)

Goi Ngo Tom Thit (pickled lotus stem salad with prawns and pork belly)



Mi Vit Tiem (master stock cooked duck with egg noodles in Chinese herbal broth)

Bo Luc Lac (wok tossed black angus with Dalat salad and tomato rice)

Dua Nuong Trai Vai Ca Rem (toasted coconut and lychee icecream)

It was all so good! I have trouble picking a favourite, but the duck soup was out of this world, sweet yet savoury at the same time, I've never had anything like it before (generally being scared to order anything 'herbal') so it was great to try it and I'd definitely love to have it again, and again! The icecream was also out of this world, served with crumbled up coconut snap cookies (which taste very similar to fortune cookies, HELLO!!) it was creamy and delicious and I finished it all despite having trouble fitting it in.

All in all an awesome night, spent with great people, and it was really nice to be part of such a special celebration! Thanks again Bao for the invite!!

Kim Thanh Restaurant
93 Hardgrave Road
West End
www.kimthanhrestaurant.com.au

gotta bake a cake for my partner's father's 60th.... desire to bake is strangely non-existent.  Need inspiration... help?
  

Sourdough is not a pizza cake

I am so rubbish at witty and/or pun-tastic blog titles.  But I am good at showing up on time for awesome bread and pizza making classes @ awesome bakeries such as Brewbakers at Albion!

On Tuesday night I had the pleasure of attending a very informative and delicious class and learnt all about sourdough, stretching pizza dough, and the skills involved in rolling a bagel.



Richard from Brewbakers filled us up with wine and explained the science behind baking (or maths? So many percentages, brain could not compute) sourdough and the other delicious breads and things he churns out regularly.

We got to play with our own soft smooshy lump of pizza dough, and smother it with delicious ingredients which he then baked for us, and I have to say was one of the most delicious pizzas I've ever eaten.


I discovered that I posses the seriously cool ability to eyeball a giant lump of dough and precisely cut off 400g in one go (?!? missed my calling??) which became a delicious crunchy ciabatta that didn't even last the night in our house. Before:


After:


The ugly duckling has become a delicious swan!!

Best part of the night (besides the maths) was eating the spoils. You don't even need to be a culinary genius like me to sample similar delicious treats, just visit Brewbakers (337 Sandgate Road, Albion) and stock up. I've heard the sourdough donuts are to die for. They're definitely on my list to try once I recover from this carb induced coma.