90 years strong ....

After a brief stopover in Seoul, we find ourselves back in Brisbane on the morning of my Oma's 90th Birthday. A quick freshen up, and we are on the Gold Coast before lunch time. Way back on May 14th, 2011 (was that really nearly 3 months ago??!) my one and only grandparent, Klara Cornelia, or Oma, turned 90. To be there with her to celebrate this milestone, truly a blessing. She has been there for me throughout the years on countless occasions, and spending time with her while we were home and seeing that she still has her sense of humor & cheekiness was extremely refreshing! Lunch is had, and little things that day will stick with me forever. As we all sit down, a casual "What would you like to drink, Oma?" and we are quickly put in our place with a "Well... I haven't even seen the drinks menu yet .." *smile* We all help her navigate her way around the menu a little, as of course the font is quite small. The words Iced .. Coffee .. Ice-cream pass through my lips and her eyes light up. 1 iced-coffee, with ice-cream, for the Birthday girl. She was truly glowing throughout the day, I think a very rare occasion having the family together like this, as well as iced coffee with ice-cream, was probably why.



To be honest, I can't even really remember what we ate, as it certainly was not the thing on my mind this particular day. But, looking over the photos I see the one that we have from lunch was a steak sandwich - toasted white bread, steak, caramelized onions, tomato sauce & even some bacon speared with a toothpick and with a mountain of hot chips. Oh yeah, we are back in Australia !!



Oma, Happy 90th Birthday !! You are an inspiration & aspiration to us all.

Hot, caramel, salt, milk, jerez = heaven

There are several things that instantly win me over when it comes to dessert .... Warm custards, hot puddings, caramel, milk ice-cream, anything with a lick of salt that borders on the savory line of sweet ... When all of these aspects come together in the one dessert - I'm in heaven! We found a fine example of this at Atari in San Sebastian. Warm brioche with caramel apples & a salted milk ice-cream. There was a sprig of thyme resting on the ice-cream, which perfumed each mouthful with a earthy & herbaceous aroma and the reduction of jerez elevating the sweet & sticky characters of our glass of PX.



We did stop by on several other occasions for some pintxos & bar snacks, but kept gravitating back towards this delightful dessert with a glass of PX to finish the evening, sometimes mixing it up with a Blue de Basque that came with a quince paste & vanilla puree.



Lucky we were staying close by ....

Atari
Calle Mayor 18
Donostia, San Sebastián,
Spain, 20001

Sunshine & Ice-Cream in San Sebastian

We were very lucky with the weather on our trip to San Sebastian in Spring ... there was a few afternoons where it sprinkled rain, which actually helped to cool it down a little to a very moderate temperature. After 5 solid months of Hokkaido winter & 15m of powder snow, the sunshine and warmth was much needed .... Our afternoons generally involved a stroll along the beach and an ice-cream. This paticular sun filled day I chose the dulce de leche and Kim the ceral milk ice-cream.



Both were delicious, the cereal milk like a bowl of corn flakes & full cream milk in an ice cream and the dulce de leche, need I say more - Spanish caramelised sweet milk, yum yum !!

4 breakfasts and still room for gelato ... Vestri, Firenze

It did take a fair bit of walking around Firenze - wandering through the leather markets and over the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) before we could even think about gelato ... but we had read about Vestri, a famous little gelato and chocolate shop tucked away in the centre of town.

We find the quaint little Cioccolato d'Autore. We squeeze on in - it appears as if they are doing some sort of chocolate appreciation course in the rear half of the room. We spot the counter with the gelatos kept in stainless steel wells, which is said to keep the gelato temperature better controlled. Today we are picking our flavors from a board on the wall, not as many touristy-places would have you pick from a giant showcase, each tub of gelato piled high and overworked with frou-frou and flowers.

I select the Pistachio de Bronte and the chocolate bianco e fagoline di bosco. The pistachio is a very promising natural green color, and not that horrible fake hulk green.. The flavor is intense, and the gelato takes on the texture of pure ground nuts, leaving a smooth coating throughout the mouth. The white chocolate and wild strawberry, divine, and the two flavors work wonderfully together.



Kim has selected the Pesca bianaca and cioccolato gianduia. The chocolate is a rich milk and super creamy. The white peach so fresh and vibrant.



This is indeed a fine example of the frozen treat, everything down to the temperature, texture and even the way in which it was served demonstrated that the crew at Vestri's are serious about 2 things, chocolate and gelato.

Amazingly we resist the temptation of stocking up on chocolate spread before we leave ...



Piazza Santa Croce
Borgo Albizi, 11r
Florence
+39 (055) 234-0374

The simple things

Meat on a stick? Definitely one of the most simple and pleasing things in the gastro-world. Luckily we are able to get a few varieties at the local Niseko Viewplaza (which is like a little farmers market).



Another simple beauty, the sausage sandwich. We're able to indulge in a variety of sausages made the traditional German way just a few km's down the road, sandwiched in some soft bread with a good squirt of ketchup.



Then there's a little cup of sweet corn soup.



And potato butter .... once you have eaten Hokkaido potatoes, there really is no going back. And topped with locally made butter. Heaven!



Just to top of the decadence, a soft cream cone made at the local Milk Kobo dairy in Higashiyama where you still pre-buy a token from a vending machine before claiming your ice-cream.



Ahhh, the simple pleasures in life !!

Looking for the day markets, Koh Phangan

We were looking for the day market in Haad Rin to find some lunch. We thought we received pretty good directions, but walked right past it .... Nevermind, we found a little Issan place down the end of the road serving up the staples from Eastern Thailand.

We feast on a plate of larb gai. The minced chicken dressed in a tangy lime dressing, with chunks of chilli, sliced shallot and lots of fresh herbs. To the side, a plate of fresh cucumber, snake beans and Thai basil.



Next we share a bowl of the aromatic beef soup, packed full of herbs and vegetables with thin slices of beef and a sprinkling of roasted rice. Yum!



Oh, and of course we found the markets on the walk home ;p and also stopped for a delicious ice-cream.

H2O, Restaurant & Bar ... and falling from the sky, Kamala Beach

H2O is typically the sort of place we wouldn't go to while staying in Kamala. The whole road that runs along side the beach is full of restaurants and bars that mostly offer some atrocious dumbed down version of Thai food at exorbitant prices and hideous interpretations of Western food. This is why you'll usually find us at the night market, or eating grilled pork from some little street side stall back in the town, the food is 100 times better and it's so much cheaper! But on our first night in Kamala, doing a walk of the strip just checking things out, a very friendly lady just said hello and offered us some 2 for 1 drink vouchers for H2O Bar & Restaurant.

Again, not usually one to go to a place just because we have some sort of voucher or incentive, I'd still want to know the food was going to be okay, I kind of had an inkling about this one. A few days later I suggest we go and check it out, (funny enough, we didn't bring the vouchers anyway) just order a little something and see how it goes. We were greeted again by the same friendly face who directs us up the stairs. There's a young boy and a very young girl who follow up the stairs behind us.

There is no part of the restaurant actually on street level, just a little flashing H2O sign and the stairs, which is why Lek spends her time down here just talking to the customers, asking them about their day, how long they're here for, and then showing them the menu and eventually (hopefully) leading them up the stairs.



It has a very welcoming feel, there's big white tables a little bar over in the corner, plants growing everywhere and a nice view back down onto the street.



We're pleasantly surprised that the menu is mostly Thai, with just a few burgers / sandwiches at the back. We visited on 2 occasions and both times were rather impressed with the Thai food and the warm service. Lek and her family, including brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews run the show. There's a very family feel about the place, the kids just playing amongst the tables and occasionally helping clear tables and run drinks.



We start with a plate of E-abb! The menu description tells us it's crispy cracker wrapped minced chicken, prawn, ginger and corriander with home-made sweet chilli sauce. I remember these from Kim's Sailor's Thai days, occasionly bringing home the leftovers and us enjoying little Thai Pizza's, and hadn't seen them anywhere else on our travels. 4 little triangles of spring roll pastry that had the chicken, prawn, ginger and corriander mince sandwiched between two layers and fried to a golden crisp. The home-made sweet chilli sauce the perfect dip.



The next choice, falling under the category of 'Villagers Favorites' was a Gai Zabb - crispy fried chicken breast with mint, shallot and Thai herbs. Again, something we hadn't really seen around much. The chicken was coated in some coarse coating (maybe some roast rice?) and fried to a golden crisp. There was a slightly spicy limey dressing that was coating fresh mint leaves, sliced lemongrass, corriander and shallot. Very nice combination, the dressing soaking through into the chicken just nicely and the fresh herbs and lemongrass giving it a nice zing.



The larb nuer was another zingy salad. Chopped beef tossed with loads of fresh herbs and sliced shallot in a spicy dressing. There's fresh beans, a lime wedge and cucumber to the side, which offer a nice cooling spell after a mouthful of this delicious spicy salad.



Another of my favorites from the Sailor's day's, a rich red curry of duck with cherry tomatoes. This was a very fine example, the curry rich and decadent with a little kick of spice. The chunks of roast duck were present throughout, the plump little cherry tomatoes exploding in the mouth and the addition of sweet pineapple a nice texture and flavour burst.



From our first visit, we didn't hang around for dessert. We told Lek we would be back, which we were, and she wanted to shout us dessert. The banana fritters arrived, 2 whole banana's in a crisp coconut batter were sitting with 2 giant mounds of ice-cream, chocolate and cookies and cream and finished with a drizzle of honey. Not really Tai but delicious all the same.



We were just about through when the heaven's opened up, dropping an incredible amount of water from the sky. Everyone scrambled for the few little seats by the bar, which were mostly protected. It usually passes over pretty fast but this seemed to be hanging around. We perched up at the bar and just started talking with Lek.



She made us 2 iced coffee's, sure to keep us awake for at least one movie tonight, as we just hung out until the H2O subsided ........


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Christmas pudding

We all love Christmas pudding and fruit mince pies at Christmas ....

We wanted to serve it this year at Sekka with a twist.  This is what we came up with.

It was a fruit mince semi-freddo with pistachio's and dried cranberries on top.  It was sitting in a pool of a brandy orange caramel.  It was a lot of Christmas with a touch of class.  Went down a treat!

Kamimura's, Niseko Hirafu

You can wait up three months before being able to set foot as a diner into Tetsyua's in Sydney, luckily for us with not to much trouble we were able to acquire a seat at Kamimura's. Kamimura is a Japanese chef who worked his way up through the ranks of Tetsyua's before returning home to open his own much acclaimed restaurant. The front of house is led by by former "Glory days" Bel Mondo manager Michael Phipps.

Nine course degustation is the only option for eating, the menu changing seasonally as well as records of your dining being kept so should you return within the same season you won't be offered the same menu twice. To go with the dinner we opt for the matching wine deg, it's hard to pick a bottle to match and entire meal, and there's a interesting sounding Nagano Merlot on the deg. that we're keen to try.

First dish up is abalone with eringi mushroom and yuzu, I've always liked the combination of abalone and mushrooms, the fine yuzu peel shavings lifting the dish lightly.



Next served in a martini glass, a flounder sashimi with caviar. The fish is lightly dressed in lime, the caviar is both sturgeon and salmon providing a great saltiness and over the top micro shiso giving a herbal hint.



We were then offered a small house made bread roll as an accompaniment to a perfectly executed duck and veal consomme. Crystal clear with a rich duck flavor.



The forth a foie gras terrine with twice cooked eggplant and port reduction. The terrine covered with a layer of diced chives and a few grains of sea salt, the eggplants creaminess adding to the foie gras's richness. This dish we were told was one of the first dishes Kamimura made for Tetsyua and has been with him ever since.



The next dish was the one with the interesting wine pairing we were waiting for. The Nagano Merlot was soft and rich with hints of cherries and blackcurrant. We thought it was really drinkable, and were happy to see some local support for the very young Japanese wine industry.



The dish it was paired with Hokkaido scallops with truffled cream and herb salad was nice, the scallop cooked perfectly.



After this it all got a little kinki, kinki fish that is. Kinki fish is one of the most valued and if hand line caught, most expensive fish in Asian cuisine. Super soft and super silky, sitting in a flying fish broth with braised gobo. It's topped with fried leeks and a little shredded nori.



By now we were on such a roll that when the next dish came we ate half of it before remembering to take a photo (please don't tell the food bloggers union). Braised endive with mimolette. Salty, sweet and still with a little bite.

The last of our savoury courses was Wagyu with three different Niseko potatoes, red, purple and yellow, confit in three different oils, walnut, hazelnut and olive. The wagyu was deliciously rich, I only wish that there was twice as much.



Cheese and crackers were next arriving on handmade wooden plates from Kamimura's home town Asahikawa.



Our pre-dessert of green tea sorbet was lifted out of ordinary with the addition of candied adzuki beans, a red bean often used in Japanese sweets.



We finished up with spiced sauteed apple topped with biscuit crumbs and a calvados ice cream. Again a dish full of contrasts; salty, sweet, warm and cold and delicious and tasty. Well the last two aren't contrasts but it was both.



Finally for us was petit fors and tea.



You can see hints of Tetsyua here and there, but Kamimura has definitely stamped out his own style.

We'll be back with the change of season to see whats next.

Kamimura Restaurant

1st Floor Yamashizen West

185-8 Aza-Yamada
Kutchan-cho, Hokkaido
044-0081, Japan

Telephone: +81 (0)136-21-2288
Fax: +81 (0)136-21-2288

Wild Bills, Niseko Hirafu

Wild Bills is the best bar in Niseko.  It's where you'll find the most generously poured drinks in the whole village, there's always some familiar local faces and of course there's the ever gracious Brett and Takayo.  Oh, and we can't forget the mean tex-mex they dish up earlier in the evening, before the music is cranked and the drinks start flowing.

Upon looking through the menu we both notice 'Wild Bills Pils'.  We need 2 of them.  They arrive in an Otaru bottle but have a Wild Bills label.  Tres cool.  This is bottled especially for them by the local Otaru brewery.  It's a very nice pilsner, and it just gets our taste buds anticipating the food to come.

The first to arrive, onion rings.  Yes, these truly are the best onion rings in the world.  Hokkaido onions are just so sweet and juicy, these ones hand cut into giant rings.  They are then beer battered and fried to a delectable crisp.  There's some ketchup and sweet chilli to the side, my dip of choice, definitely sweet chilli.



Chips & con Queso dip arrive.  A bowl a golden corn chips with a little pool of cheesy dip for dipping.  Mm.



Buffalo wings.  Now, I don't know whether it's the wings or the blue cheese sauce I like more ...  Although if you gave me a big bowl of blue cheese sauce and those crisp celery sticks to dip into it, I think I'd be just as happy.



The taco salad arrives like a little up-side down hat filled with jewels.  The crispy 'hat' holding jewels of baby lettuce, onion, chicken, spring onion and roasted peppers all adorned with a generous sour cream dressing.



Indeed the mega-nacho's are mega!  We have chosen the pork variety this evening.  They are sizzling away on a cast iron plate.  The chunks of pork have been cooked with onions, peppers and plenty of spice and are resting on top of the corn chips.  There's loads of grilled cheese that's then topped with plenty of shredded ice-berg lettuce, salsa and sour cream.  



Brett tells us the prawn quesadillas are his must-do hangover brunch.  We're not yet hungover, but they still hit the spot!  The gooey filling has big chunks of shrimp and a nice little spice.  They're grilled to perfection, the tortilla even holding it's own against the weight of all that cheese when picked up.  There's some seasoned rice, salsa, sour cream and a few jalapeno's of to the side which are savoured with each mouthful.  



We even manage to fit in dessert tonight.  The Sopapilla.  It's like a fried apple burrito, a sweet crunchy pastry casing holding some delicious apple-pie-like filling. There's even some grilled banana, and it's all generously drizzled with honey and 2 balls of vanilla ice-cream.  (and Takayo has plated it just so, it does look a little rude ;))



Wild Bills is definitely the best place to finish ones night in Niseko, but it's also a damn fine place to begin one as well.

Wild Bills
189-8 Aza Yamada,
Abuta-gun,
Kutchan-cho,
Hokkaido, Japan
T: +81 (0)136-22-5652
Winter season open daily from 5:30pm until 1am
Food last order, 9:30pm