Okay, this was a really good find on the way back from… I honestly cannot remember where we were coming back from but it was great for the fact that we dropped in and had some lunch.
Turka Cafe Meze & Bar
Masterclass with Brent Savage at Carriageworks
Masterclass with Brent Savage at Carriageworks was one good cooking class (or mini cooking class, I should say). The event was sponsored by SMEG appliances and hosted by Pat Nourse. He is a food critic and food writer at Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine as their chef restaurant critic and deputy editor. Toby (the head chef of Yellow) was there, too.
I have so much respect for Brent Savage and his teams at Bentley Restaurant and Bar and Yellow (his fully vegetarian restaurant). I love his fresh and different approach to cooking vegetables. He’s like our own Yotam Ottolenghi, when you think about it. I just wish that Brent Savage was as prolific in the cookbook writing space as Ottolenghi. He only has one cookbook which he signed for me on the day and it’s not a vegetarian one.
Anyway, at the end of the day, this event was something I wouldn’t want to miss. It’s a shame, John got sick just before the event and didn’t get a chance to see it. He would’ve loved it as much as I did. But, I took a friend with me instead and even though she is not a vegetarian, she thoroughly enjoyed it. Like I always say; it’s much better to show people what’s possible than preach vegetarianism or veganism.
The venue, Carriageworks, is another story, Peoples. It’s been renovated with its natural shape and character still attached. It’s a great place to host events like this one and you have the farmers’ market outside as well.
OK, let’s talk about what Brent Savage cooked on the day. Because we were given a recipe booklet and a pencil to scribble down our own notes, I have them all.
Recipes that Brent Savage cooked on the day were:
Roast Celeriac + Nettle + Hazelnut
Charred Heirloom Zucchini + Mustard + Seaweed
Watermelon Radish + Goats Curd + Plum
Fermented Strawberries + Licorice Honeycomb + Vanilla Cream (this is what we had a chance to try during the show)
My Notes from Masterclass with Brent Savage
Do not boil your vegetables. Vegetables do not belong in boiling water. Boiling vegetables is the number one reason why the flavour gets dull.
Intensify the flavours. If you have apples in your salad, for example, intensify the apple flavour by adding apple juice to your salad dressing.
Use every part of the vegetable like leaves, flowers, shoots, roots.
About Brent Savage
Brent Savage is chef and co-owner of four highly regarded Sydney establishments – Bentley Restaurant + Bar, Monopole, Cirrus and Yellow, which in 2013 transitioned into a fully vegetarian menu, Brent is considered one of Australia’s most respected chefs and restaurateurs, with a reputation for creating inventive food with contrasting flavours and textures. He has been voted Sydney
Morning Herald’s Chef of the Year and his restaurants have collectively been awarded seven stars in the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide, and seven hats in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide.
Note: What’s not included in his background here is, his wife is a vegetarian.
meyhanee with sydney türk kızları
our second get-together with sydney türk kızları. it is nice to see some new faces.
Nilgiri’s with Hürol and Peren
It has been a crazy week for me. I had a lot to do; taking donations to Salvation Army shop (when I say that, what I really mean is carrying the actual donations to the shop. Twice), things to mail, people to catch up with, give support to a dear friend at the time of her mother’s operation. I must admit, all in all, this is who I am. A loyal friend who is there for all the people I LOVE.
Among all that, one of our dear friends, Hürol, had his niece (Peren) who was visiting from Turkey. A bright, young girl who did her apprenticeship here in Sydney. And she was leaving on Friday. So, we had to catch up quick. And the good thing was, Nilgiri’s was our safe heaven. I quickly booked a table for us. It was a great place to have a fantastic meal and say goodbye to Peren, too.
So, here’s what we had at Nilgiri’s:
PALAK SAMOSA (spiced spinach, ‘paneer’ & potatoes, green herb pastry, mango & tamarind chutney)
SHAKARKHAND CHAAT (smoked sweet potato patties, hung yoghurt & mint chatni)
LAHSOONI DAL MAKHANI (slow-cooked trio of lentils fresh garlic, green chillies, ginger & tomatoes)
ADRAKI PALAK PANEER (house-made fresh paneer, spinach with cumin, fenugreek & ginger crisps) 
Zarda Pulau
jet bar cafe, sydney cbd
Our very first Chinese hot pot experience
A dear friend of mine, Qi, invited us around to their place for a vegetarian Chinese hot pot. Her sister brought her an electric hot pot—all the way from China—as a present. So, Qi wanted to share this authentic experience with us by cooking everything vegetarian. How cool is that?
It was also the cold at the time. She told me that Chinese hot pot is the ultimate winter food; the ultimate comfort food for the winter. I totally agree with her.
Before I explain what Chinese hot pot is, I’d like to share a photo of our starters for the night: Garlic chives and egg dumplings. The pastry is made with boiled water which sets it apart from other dumplings. And, they are made by Qi’s sister.
OK, back to the description now:
Chinese hot pot is a cooking method or a dinner style, so to speak. Basically, a soup base is simmering at the table and ingredients are dropped into the pot. Once they are cooked to your satisfaction, you serve yourself along with the condiments. So, the whole cooking process is done at the table. It’s quite social because your involvement is required.
A typical hot pot would include meat, fish and seafood. However, my friend went out and bought some vegetarian meatballs to substitute. The great thing about that was, aside from her thoughtfulness, even the non-vegetarians loved those vegetarian meatballs!
The vegetarian hot pot my friend prepared for us had two different stock: one savoury, one hot. She told me that some people cannot handle a hot soup base so the host should provide an alternative. This style of hot pot is called yuanyang. I’m guessing it’s yin-yang?
Our vegetarian hot pot ingredients included:
• Tofu
• Wontons
• Various vegetables, especially white (Chinese) radish, sliced lotus root
• Various mushrooms such as shitake and fresh black fungi
• Bean curd skin
• Noodles (ours was sweet potato noodles which were quite interesting)
Condiments:
• Chopped spring onions
• Coriander
• Soy sauce
• Peanut sauce
• Chopped peanuts
• Hoisin sauce
• Fresh coriander
• Crushed garlic
Here you can see our food gently simmering…
Thank you Qi, Shawn and Harry for sharing this incredibly authentic experience with us. Next stop: our place 🙂
breakfast in balmoral
at the boat house, that is.
Maisy’s, Neutral Bay
Maisy’s has been in business for ages. And it’s still going on. I thought it would be a great spot for breakfast with my girlfriend Qi. Here’s what we had:
Meyhanee, Balmain – Sydney
Yes! Finally, we have a meze place in Sydney. And a good one, too. I am so happy to have discovered this place called Meyhanee.
One of our dear friends, Hürol, was talking about a meze place in Balmain for some time. When it was time to catch up with Hürol and Chris again, we decided to go to Meyhanee. I must admit, it turned out to be an incredible night. The food was fantastic. So was the company. Each one of us shared a story with the others. It’s what you do at a meyhane, Peoples 🙂
Meyhane is a traditional pub. Not just in Turkey but also in Azerbaijan, Iran (not surprising as the word ‘meze’ is coming from Iran) and the Balkans. Some general information about meyhane can be found on the cover of Meyhanee’s menu. So, check it out before you order your food.
I chatted with the owner of Meyhanee, AÅŸkın, only to find out that we lived within the same part of Turkey. He is new in Australia compared to me but his business is doing well. So, that’s good to hear.
Meze fridge with all the fresh mezes on display. That one is purslane salad with yoghurt.
This one (above) looks like haydari.
Salad of mustard green (above). We didn’t try this but it was on display so I took a photo of it. On the other hand, here’s what we had:
This fava was to die for. It was so delicious, we ordered another one. It’s a broad bean pate with lots of olive oil, onions and fresh dill. My husband is not a huge fan of beans but he loved this one. That should be telling you something.
ÅžakÅŸuka (above). The name may suggest Tunisian but this variety is Turkish. As you move down to the Mediterranean region, you notice that it’s done with yoghurt. At Meyhanee, it’s more Aegean style.
Salad of smoked eggplant with walnuts, tomatoes and a touch of chilli. It was amazing.
Zeytinyağlı Yeşil Fasulye (fresh green beans cooked in a tomato base with olive oil).
Zucchini flowers stuffed with rice and herbs (above). They were light and quite tasty. Normally there are only 3 dolmas in one portion but they gave us 4 because it was 4 of us sharing.
Stuffed artichokes with peas and potatoes (above). OK guys, these are difficult to make and the main ingredient in this dish is hard to find in Australia. I don’t know how they managed to get it but it was a triumph!
Purslane salad with yoghurt (above) and as for dessert we had Fırında Sütlaç (below) which is a Turkish rice pudding.
We also had complimentary Turkish tea and coffee and an extra portion of rice pudding. It was very nice of them. We were very well looked after.
After Hürol finished his coffee, I read the cup for him. It was all positive, Peoples! 🙂 
I must have missed my Turkish tea because I had 2!
We are definitely going back to Mehanee in Balmain and taking more friends with us.
Meyhanee can be found at this address:
374 Darling Street
Balmain, NSW 2041
Tellicherry
It was a last minute decision to go to Tellicherry this time. We thought it’d been a long time since our last visit, so, there we were. It was lucky that we got in by making a booking on the day. Friday, that was.
So, here’s what we had…
ONION BHAJI (green & red onion fritters in an ajwain-flavoured chickpea flour batter, spicy tomato chutney)
KEERAI MACHIAL (split pea lentils & spinach)
POOKOSU URULAKAZHANGU (potatoes & caulifl ower, tossed with onions, tomatoes, ground chillies & coconut flakes)
KATHRIKKAI KOZHAMBU (eggplant in a tamarind, ground coriander & garlic sauce)
Naan bread