All Our Ducks Lined Up

Baguette Bistro + Bar is an old favourite.  It's saying something in these days of two for one deals and entertainment vouchers that we would travel across the river of our own free will and pay full price to visit this Brisbane icon.  Baguette has been wowing the punters for over 30 years with French Bistrot style cooking with a modern touch for Australian palettes.  It's where my husband took our daughter for her special 'grown up' meal with Dad for her 21st birthday.  For a number of years, Bruno Loubet was the head chef and we spent many an evening working out way through his special January set menus.  Bruno's now heading up his own place again in London (Bistrot Bruno Loubet at The Zetter - we've been, it's fab) but Baguette continues from strength to strength.

On this particular night, we joined 90 of our nearest and dearest to enjoy a $95 Duck Degustation of 5 dishes and paired wines.  When we arrived, we were greeted by the patron himself, Francis Domenech, hugging, kissing and pumping the hands of guests as they arrived.  As we made our way into the bar, it was crammed with happy revellers enjoying the delights on sparkling wine poured with a very free hand.  The meal started at 7pm and though I expected we may be seated with a larger group, each party was seated at their own table.  Once the majority were seated, there were some welcoming comments from Francis whilst the first course was delivered.

Rillettes of duck w sour dough, fig jam, cornichons & pickled walnuts was a wonderful start with the classic pairing of duck and fig.  The shredded dark meat rilletes were mild in flavour, generously piled onto the sour dough crouton with the contrasting figs, walnuts and cornichons.  This course and the next were paired with a young Austrian Sepp Moser Gruner Veltliner.  With none of the mineral characteristics of aged Gruner Veltliner this drop was light and fruit driven, easy drinking with the meaty rilletes and the lighter consomme of the next course.

Rillettes

The woodland mushrooms & duck consomme w pumpkin ravioli was served warm but not scalding hot.  There were Asian undertones, confirmed by one of the chefs when he spoke about the dish at the end of the meal.  The small, sweet pumpkin ravioli gave the consomme substance but left us wanting more.  The garnish was a significant number of chopped shallot (spring onion) tops scattered over the soup and I felt they were too overpowering in their uncooked state for the delicate broth and ravioli.  Milder chives would have been a better option.

Duck Consomme

Some more words from our patron and an introduction to the next two wines saw the arrival of an enormous serve of Saute duck livers w Pedro Ximenez, confit garlic, shallots & brioche.  This was paired with a Castillo Labastida Madurado from Rioja in Spain.  For some, this may have been a confronting dish.  Though MasterChef has done much to re-introduce offal to the Australian tables, there are many who would have found this large serving a challenge.  Whilst I do not down sit to a plate of duck livers every day, I knew all the ingredients in this dish would complement so I set aside any qualms and tucked in.  The livers were perfectly cooked and tender without a hint of 'old boots' about them.  The PX sauce was buttery and again, the sweetness of the confit garlic was a delicious contrast.  I very much enjoyed the home made brioche but would have preferred it on the side so I could spoon my own duck and sauce on, a piece at a time, to ensure the brioche remained crisp and light.  A minor quibble.

Duck Livers (I'd started eating...)

The 42 Degrees South Pinot Noir from Tasmania was the matched wine with our main, Duck breast, soft polenta, Agen prunes, grilled onions & duck skin croutons.  This meal was divine.  I do love polenta and this particular one was nice and coarse with a discernible sweet corn flavour.  Perfect for mopping up the sauce and little bits of onion.  The duck was perfectly cooked and whilst pink, was not too bloody as some are want to cook it.  I couldn't find any duck skin croutons but Anthony had two so he generously gave one to me. A fragrant, crunchy melt in your mouth morsel, I thought I should march into the kitchen and demand my portion but that would have been just too greedy given the amount of duck we had already eaten.

Duck Breast w Polenta

To finish, Clafoutis of duck egg w cherries & brown bread ice cream.  Clafoutis is a traditional French batter pudding that is popular all over France but in my opinion, has two things against it.  The first is that in the authentic version, the cherries still contain the stones.  Happily, this version was stone free.  The second is that the batter tends to be very heavy.  Chef Graham Waddell solves this problem by making a sabayon to lighten things up and what a fabulous dessert he's come up with. The brown bread ice cream is also a treat with caramelised, toasted crunchy pieces of brown bread throughout, rather than just a uniform pale beige coloured ice cream.  The dish was paired with an All Saints Moscato from Rutherglen in Victoria.  Francis spoke about the fact that Moscato was misunderstood in Australia.  This is something that Huon Hooke taught us at a wine tasting years ago and it makes sense in our climate.  Rather than a heavy sticky dessert wine, a soft frizzante wine that is low in alcohol is a great match with desserts.

Duck Egg Clafoutis

As is always the case at Baguette, service was seamless with plates being delivered and removed with no fuss, wine and water topped up and care taken with everyone to ensure the meal was a relaxed and pleasurable affair.  Our favourite sommelier Scott Durietz, was in attendance, making sure the wine service went well an having a quick chat with me about some of the more exotic items behind the bar.  Baguette once again lived up to expectations as the evening wound to a close and people drifted off in taxis and wandered down the street wrapped in a ducky quilt of contentment.

Baguette Bistrot + Bar
150 Racecourse Rd
Ascot   Qld   4007
http://www.baguette.com.au/

Visited: Thursday 23rd August 2012 - Dinner Service

Dispatches from Sydney - Gardel's Bar

What I really wanted to call this post was 'There's A Guy Work Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis' but it wouldn't fit, so I've stuck to the usual format.  'There's A Guy' is a wonderful song title from 80's British songstress Kirsty MacColl who also covered ditties by Billy Bragg and sang with the Pogues.   Why am I referencing that song?  Well, to draw a long bow, one of the owners of Gardel's Bar is Elvis Abrahanowicz who is partner in the Porteño* takeover of Sydney.  When else am I going to get to mention to song title and expose you to the lesser known side of 80's Brit Pop? 

I'm off to South America this week so I wanted to get 'in the mood'.  Whilst Porteño is still on the list, perhaps half a grilled cow is a little too much even for me on a Monday night so I worked up an appetite walking from the Sydney CBD to the fartherest edge of Surry Hills to visit Porteño's upstairs, Gardel's** Bar.   I was very impressed to have the door opened with a flourish by the official welcomer who ushered me up a narrow flight of stairs to the Bar.  It may have been a Monday night but the joint was jumping.  My waitress offered me a seat at the bar but retracted when she saw the crush and took me straight to the small dining area where I had a choice of tables in a dimly lit salon, filled with the beautful people.

It was a warm night and so the first order was a refreshing Gancia*** y Pomelo cocktail.  Armomatised Wine & House Pink Grapefruit Soda, I expected it to be red wine but it was in fact white, making the cocktail a pleasing pink colour with a slight spritz on the tongue.  This is said to be a national drink and though I had never heard of it, it went down very well.  So well in fact that I decided to eschew the Argentinian reds for the evening and partake in a second Gancia.

I was interested in trying the Mixed Pickles ($6) with my cocktail but they were unavailable which was slightly disappointing (how do run out of this menu staple?) but quickly forgotten with the arrival of my Pumpkin & Fetta Empanada w Garlic Yoghurt Sauce ($6.50).  The empanada was a decent size and full of sweet pumpkin.  I couldn't discern the fetta but that was neither here not there as the crisp homemade, buttery pastry made it a delight to eat.  The garlic sauce was very garlicky indeed but I couldn't stop dipping pieces on the empanada in, so it was just a well I was heading back to my empty hotel room and not the arms of a Latin lover.

By the time my second drink arrived, the place was full but it didn't stop my Fennel Meatballs w Pecorino ($10) arriving in quick smart time.  Three largish meatballs in a homemade tomato sauce, I enjoyed them but they were not my favourite dish of the night.  There was nothing wrong with the meatballs but I found the Pork texture too smooth and compressed for my tastes.  I like something a little more open and rustic in texture but I wouldn't dissuade your from sampling them yourself.  A slice of bread would have been a nice accompaniment to mop up the sauce.

The final choice from the 15 or so items on the bar menu was the Chilli Dog ($4.50). I was tempted by the Grilled Octopus w Chorizo, Potatoes & Sofrito ($14) but was concerned it may be too much.  The Chilli Dog was the ultimate Dude Food/Comfort Food cross over.  A homemade bread roll (half the size again of dinner roll), it contained a small grilled chorizo topped with the tastiest beef chilli I have had since my mum was whipping up batches in the 1980's.  A generous crown of crispy fried onions that melted in the mouth, topped the Dog.  Simple and satisfying.  It's lucky I don't live in the suburb as I could see myself dropping into the bar to have one of these every day to stave off the hunger pangs on the walk home from the bus stop.  I was right to go with the smaller Chilli Dog option which was more than enough for this solo diner.

I'd had more than enough so it really pained me to say no to the Licorice Gelato w Pineapple Sorbet ($8) but hopefully I can try this again another time.  In Melbourne, Andrew McConnell's establishments are my 'go to' for service, quality and quirky menu ideas.  I can see that Elvis & Ben Milgate are becoming my 'go to' in Sydney.  A clever and enticing bar menu with very reasonable pricing aimed at a casual dining that's a step above a lot of the shared plate menus around at present.

Vintage Table Football

(Very) Dark & Intimate

I just squeaked it in when I visited as I noted whilst writing up this post that from September (so, next week), Gardel's and Porteño won't be open on Monday evenings anymore.  Whilst both places were at capacity on the Monday night I visited, it must not always be so.  There is a trend being led by Sydney but creeping out to all the capitals where many of the quality bars and restaurants are no longer open on Sunday, Monday & Tuesday evenings.  Some don't even do Wednesdays.  It's a chilli dog eat dog world out there and restaurants are finding it tough to compete and keep their heads above water.  By compressing the demand, the seats stay filled and the restaurant is more likely to thrive.  It makes it tough for this solo diner, who often finds herself in capital cities on a Monday night, with a long list of restaurants to visit that remain unfulfilled.  It just means I have to look that much harder - I'm not giving up!

*Porteño - the people from the port city of Buenos Aires.  They're a bit sniffy & consider themselves above other Argentinians.  The beautiful people.
**Gardel - Gardel's namesake was Carlos Gardel, a singer songwriter who is inextricably linked to the rise of Tango.  He died at the peak of his career in a plane crash in 1935 and is still revered throughout Latin America.  His face graces the coasters and matchbooks (!) dotted throughout the bar.
***Gancia - an Italian wine making company that makes the wildly popular spirit based Gancia Aperitivo Originale with flavours of citrus and spice.  It's made in bootleg batches to favourite family recipes all through Latin America.

Gardel's Bar
358 Cleveland St
Surry Hills  NSW  2010
http://www.gardelsbar.com/?home=1

@GardelsBarSyd

Visited: Monday 20th August 2012 - Dinner Service

Blueberry Friands for Paper Giants - SABH

I was getting a little worried about this month's Sweet Adventures Blog Hop.  I've got a lot on my plate for the rest of the month but still wanted to join in.  Luckily, the public holiday fairy was watching over me, providing a little more breathing space by throwing in an Ekka holiday mid week.

The theme this month is 'Berry Nice to Meet You' hosted by Christina from The Hungry Australian.  I've just had my first taste of the new season strawberries from further up the Queensland coast and they were delicious.  I had resisted as long as possible but when I finally succumbed, I was expecting they may be hard and flavourless.  Pretty on the outside, tasteless on the inside.  But no!, they were sweet and juicy.  It's still so early in the season so I expect that it will be a bumper crop, based on the early indicators.  Christina  has encouraged us to make 'all things berry'.  To that I have added, 'all things quick and easy' so once again I trawled the cook books until I spied these little darlings, adapted from a Donna Hay recipe.  Perfect for the time poor cook, these are so quick to make, you could throw them together on the spot if people drop by.  I love the way the colour bleeds from the berries into the surrounding cake.  Though it might be a bit cheaty, if you use frozen berries, you may even have all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now.  Go on - make some today!

Blueberry Friands for Paper Giants

These take their name from a classic moment in the ABC TV program 'Paper Giants:The Birth of Cleo' when Kerry Packer tells his secretary to go out and get some 'nice finger buns'.  Instead, she brings back some Friands, much to Kerry's chagrin.  Who'd have thought you could even get Friands in 1970's  Sydney?!

Ingredients

• 125g butter
• 1 x cup almond meal
• 1 7 2/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 3/4 cup plain flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 5 eggs whites
• 1/3 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) or any berry of your choice

Method

• Melt butter in a small saucepan until  it is light golden and set aside
• Place almond meal, icing sugar, flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir to combine
• Add the egg whites and stir to combine
• Add the slightly cooled butter and mix well to combine
• Grease 10 x 1/2 cup muffin tin and spoon appoximatley two tablespoons of mixture into each cup
• Place a few berries on each friand, pressing down slightly into the mix
• Bake at 180c for 15 - 20 minutes until golden and springy to touch but still moist in the centre
• Serve warm or cold. Dust with icing sugar if you wish

Well, I'm off to South America soon, so I won't be able to join September or October's blog hop but I'll be back again in November.  Happy hopping!

Adopt an Olive Tree today!

I've been wanting to write this post for ages (nearly 9 months) but as I also wanted to give this as a gift to my Mum, I had to demur.  I knew there was a high likelihood that if I published the post, before I knew it, she would have gone off and adopted her own olive tree.  The birthday has now passed so now I can let you in on this concept that supports both local farmers and desperate present buyers.

I first met the folks from OlivFresh Organic Olives at the Good Food & Wine Show in Brisbane in November last year.  They had a small stand where you could taste their olives and pick up a leaflet about their produce.  They also had a nifty marketing idea.  'Adopt an Olive Tree'.   You could complete a form there on the spot or take the online option at a later date.  This is a great way for the farm to supplement it's income and to connect with the community and those who enjoy a good olive or two.

OlivFresh Organic Olives have their grove at Coominya, literally on the shores of Lake Wivenhoe.  They are a Queensland family owned business and all produce is certified organic.  The olives are plump and tasty and when I served some up to my Mum, pre gift giving, she was in raptures about how good they tasted.  Score +1 for the good daughter.  There's a range of olive based products including extra virgin olive oil and the delicious Olive & Fig Tapenade.

Well, the date finally arrived and I jumped onto the website to 'Adopt an Olive Tree' for my mum.  The process was simple and for $55 she received:

• a personalised Adoption Certificate
• a map of the OlivFresh Estate to show where the tree is located
• a gift pack containing three OlivFresh products
• 10% discount off all products from the OlivFresh online shop

and best of all

• an invitation to the annual harvest Olive Open Day to come and pick and keep olives from your olive tree

The present was a very popular idea and my Mum has commented on it many times.  We can't wait to go to the harvest day which will be some time in early autumn, depending on the weather and how well the crop is progressing.  Friends who bought certificates for their family for Christmas went to the harvest day this year, and had a blast.  There was live music in the grove, you were free to take a picnic lunch and there were more olives that you could poke a stick at.  They made a real day of it and as Lake Wivenhoe is only just an hour outside Brisbane so it wasn't too far to travel.

Not sure what to buy Dad for Father's Day?  Need to buy a birthday present for someone who has everything? Are people asking you what you want for Christmas?  Adopt an Olive Tree, support a local farmer and all of your present buying problems will be solved into the bargain (until next year at least).

OliveFresh Organic Olives
http://www.olivfresh.com.au/

Now That's a Facelift!

The Atrium still dominates

A few weeks ago I asked when was the last time you had been to Sirromet Winery.  Now I'm asking you when was the last time you visited the Brisbane Hilton?  The answer for me was, a lonnnnggg time ago.  I distinctly recall the tradition of the massive buffet breakfast with lashings of chocolate on Easter Sunday as an annual get together for the 'bright young things'.  Coupled with a visit to the newly opened Myer Centre in April 1988 including a ride on the Pirate Ship and roller coaster (yep, there were rides inside the shopping centre kiddies), it was the heady height of decadence.  I'd also visited fine dining establishment 'Victoria's' on one occasion.  But then life took over and I hadn't been back

The Brisbane Hilton* is celebrating it's 25th anniversary and has just undertaken a massive $14 million refurbishment.  I swung past on a Thursday lunch time and my!, things are little different at the Hilton nowadays.  There's no vines cascading down from planter boxes in the atrium, no over starched fine dining restaurant, no wildly tropical themed artwork nor a chocolate buffet in sight.  In their place is a minimalist atrium and subdued bar in neutrals with red leather seating and, an open plan restaurant called Vintaged Bar + Grill.   In these competitive times, the Hilton has given the concept of dull 'hotel restaurant' the flick and gone with a restaurant that even the locals will visit.

The Wine Room - make sure you visit!

Vintaged is large and there's a lot going on.  They've reclaimed some of the dead space in the walkway to put in more tables, Victoria's is now a private dining room and a Chef's Table has been added where you and eight of your closest friends can be right up front where the action is and watch the chef prepare your meal.  There's a great looking wine room that dominates the restaurant, where you are welcome to go in and choose your wine in the company of one of the wait staff, who have all been sommelier trained.  Impressive as the wine room is, the cheese trolley that resides in the wine room is even more thrilling, to me at least.

We sat at the Wine Table with a large trough running down the centre, full of ice, wine, beer and bottled water.  We were there to try the lunch special of a main and wine or craft beer for $20.  I selected the john dee short rib w potato puree & gremolata and the +1 had kurobuta twice cooked pork belly w colcannon potato & mustard jus.  The white wine on offer was a Sirromet Sauvignon Blanc but as we had a bottle of that open in the fridge at home, we both chose a Shiraz.   The room was filling quickly but the meals arrived in good time and were enormous.

The beef rib was Flinstone-esque in size.  The meat just melted off the bone, the texture not dissimilar to tender corned beef.  Very enjoyable with the creamy mash but it needed something a little crunchy for contrast.  A few beans perhaps.  The pork belly was also well cooked and the crackling was the thinnest and crispiest I've had in a while, easily snapped like a sheet of toffee.  Again, no other veges on the plate observed the +1.  At lunch there could be a little less protein on the plate at and a few vegetables to balance the meal.  It's hard to complain about the value though for the clear quality of the ingredients and care taken during cooking.

Beef Rib

Pork Belly

Fish & Chips

As the name implies, the menu focuses on the grill and quality meats and seafood.  You can wander over to the grill and take a look inside the dry aged meat cabinet that I at first mistook for a work of art as it is back lit through bricks of Himalayan pink rock salt.  There's a good looking set dinner menu with three courses for $65 as well as a broad ala carte range.  Considering a takeaway from a food court is over $10 and a very average pub meal costs more than $20, this is exceptionally good value.

I also visited the next day on my own dime, with colleagues and got to sample the blue eye trevally w chips & pea mash.  This meal was marginally smaller than the one I'd enjoyed the day before but more than adequate in size and thoroughly enjoyable.  I recommended the short rib to my friend as a 'man sized' meal and he could not have been happier with the portion of tender beef.  They were mightily impressed with the fact that the three of us could rock up, order a good quality meal and drink and be in and out in a hour.   For anyone who's looking to meet up with friends or thinking of straying into an Irish pub or faddish pasta joint, I commend instead, this very stylish, grown up $20 lunch to you.

*TIFFIN attended Vintaged Bar + Grill as a media guest of the Brisbane Hilton.

Vintaged Bar + Grill
Hilton Hotel
Level 6 190 Elizabeth St
(entry also via lift from Queen St Mall)
Brisbane   Qld   400
http://www.vintagedbarandgrill.com/

Visited: Thursday 9th & Friday 10th August 2012 - Lunch Service

How Exotic! - Random Recipes #19

I'm getting in early with my Random Recipe as it's a busy month ahead, before I head off to South America.

The first thing I'd like to say is 'Welcome!' to all my new readers who have been visiting the blog as a result of Random Recipes.  I love to read your comments so keep it up!  Perhaps you'd like to subscribe via email or join the TIFFIN Fan Club (on the right side bar)?  I blog twice a week so you're inbox shouldn't be too full.

The second thing I'd like to say is damn you Dom!  Luring me in with your siren song of processes and rules, knowing that I can't help but follow them.  Look what recipe I ended up with!

Down to business.  This month's Random Recipe challenge set by Belleau Kitchen is literally random (see full rules at the bottom) and is called 'Let's Start at the Very Beginning'.  Dom suggested putting all of my cookbooks in a pile and selecting at random but there was no way my books were leaving their home on the bookshelf.  So, I had a lucky draw.  I was hoping not to select the Fondue Cookbook and secretly hoped for Don Dunstan's Cookbook.  Neither of these were drawn out.  Once I'd selected my book, I used a random number generator to nominate the page number.  As there were two recipes on the page, I flipped a coin to select the one I would cook.  And so, I present to you......

The Australian Women's Weekly

Chinese Cooking Class Cookbook

The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbooks were a mainstay of 1970's and 80' cooking.  They introduced us to innovative ideas (the ever popular Birthday Cake Cookbook), bold new concepts (Microwave Cookbook) and new cuisines.  I got the extra special hard cover 'Deluxe' editions of the Chinese and Italian Cooking Class Cookbooks for my 21st birthday.  You can see the gold sticker on the right hand corner of the cover - as pristine as the day I received it.  Riding the stir-fry wave, The Chinese Cookbook moved beyond Beef & Black Bean and Sweet & Sour Pork (though they are both included) and offered dishes that were unusual or technically challenging.  Beggar's Chicken in a salt dough, fried pork dumplings known as Flower Blossoms, spicy Szechaun Soup and Soy & Honey Walnuts.  Sadly, none of those were randomly selected.  The dish selected was:

Ginger-Garlic Chicken

I say sadly because I'd hoped for something a bit more thrilling but, as I haven't actually made anything from this book, it's a first.  There's none of the ingredients we'd think of as typical or a must in a Chinese dish.  No star anise, no salty Chinese cooking wine or Asian greens or, any vegetables for that matter.  There is however, the very western ingredient of tomato sauce.  I had everything except the chicken, in my cupboard.  Still, it was simple to cook and tasty to eat.  I do hope however that I'm a bit luckier next time I do a Random Recipe.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg chicken or chicken pieces w skin
• 185g dried egg noodles
• cornflour
• oil for frying
• 3 x tspn soy sauce
• 1 x large onion
• 2 x tbsp extra oil
• 2 x cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 x tspn fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 x chicken stock cube
• 3 x tspn extra soy sauce
• 1 x tspn white vinegar
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• salt & pepper to season
• 1 x tspn extra cornflour

Method

• Add noodles to boiling, salted water and cook for 3 - 5 minutes, until soft.
• Drain noodles and refresh in cold water. Drain again and set aside.
• Chop chicken into bite size pieces (including bone). If you don't have a cleaver, use a heavy knife and press firmly on the back of knife near the handle with the heel of your hand.
• Place chicken in a plastic bag with a few tablespoons of cornflour and toss to coat. You may need a little more cornflour.  Make sure all pieces are well coated and shake off excess cornflour.
• In a jug, mix extra cornflour, crumbled stock cube, water, extra soy sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Don't over do the salt as there is soy sauce and a stock cube in the dish.
• Heat approximately 1/4 cup oil in a heavy wok. Place a few pieces of chicken at a time into the wok and fry until cooked through and golden brown on the outside.  Do not overcrowd the wok or the chicken will not cook.

• Remove chicken and drain.  Continue to cook batches of chicken until it is all  fried and golden brown.  You will need to change the oil after every second batch as it will be quite dark and have specks of chicken fat and cornflour in it.  If you do not replace the oil, your chicken will taste burnt.

• Drain oil and wipe wok out. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok.  Add noodles and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and toss until heated. Transfer to plate and keep warm.
• Peel onion and cut into thin wedges.  Heat extra oil in clean wok and add onion. Cook until translucent then add garlic and ginger. Stir.
• Add chicken back to wok and toss with onion mix.
• Add soy and tomato sauce combination to wok and toss chicken through.  The sauce will thicken rapidly.  You can add a little extra water if needed.
• Spoon finished chicken over noodles and serve.

the rules
1 - number your books/place them in a pile/throw them in the air
2 - randomly select a cook book
3 - open the cook book to a random page
4 - cook the exact recipe on that page... do NOT cheat... you are only cheating yourself
5 - you may adapt the recipe for health/dietary/product availability purposes only
6 - post the recipe on your blog linking back to me and my blog
7 - include the random recipes badge in the post
8 - challenge deadline is August 29th

So that's the book closed on Random Recipes #19.  Hopefully the book in question doesn't open up again any time soon.  I won't be able to join #20 or #21 as I'll be travelling but I'll be back in the kitchen for #22.  see you then!

Dude, Where's My Bun?

Food Trucks are just so 'now'.  They've been a phenomena in the US for a few years and have heralded the introduction of 'Dude Food' as a food trend.  Dude Food is relatively cheap, easy to hold meals that are typically eaten by 'dudes'.  Think ribs, buffalo wings, popcorn, tacos, hot dogs, sliders (which are really just mini hamburgers) and hoagies (which are long rolls or subs).  The emphasis is on holding the food in one hand as the other is probably holding a beer.  Food trucks and restaurants have tweaked menus to differentiate themselves from your typical takeaway.  Pulled pork is popular as a filling, spicy popcorn prawns are an upmarket version of popcorn chicken and pork belly tacos are beyond your usual Tex Mex fare.  There are various food trucks in Sydney and Melbourne but at present, Brisbane has only one, though plans are afoot for more (hurry up!)

Part of the fun of food trucks is finding them.  By virtue of the fact they are trucks, they are a moveable feast.  The trucks might have a few favourite haunts but can turn up anywhere at any time.  Some post schedules on their websites, others use social networking to let people know where they are serving.  And so it was on a Sunday evening at 6pm that I saw a tweet from the Bun Mobile, letting me know that they were on a footpath in Greenslopes.

Plans to cook dinner were shelved as we headed a couple of suburbs over to get ourselves some bun love.  The van was parked on the side of the road and was doing a fairly brisk trade.  The menu is simple - pulled pork, terriyaki chicken or wagyu beef on a steamed bread bun, all for under $10 each. There was crisp pork belly special as well as a banana caramel option.

Being bun novices, we ordered three between the two of us.  The chicken, wagyu and pork special.  As we waited, word had spread and more people started to arrive.  Before we knew, there was quite the little crowd waiting on the footpath.  With Christine on orders and Harry at the grill, they had a good routine going and it wasn't too long before our buns were ready.

Tempted as I was to stand on the footpath and try one there and then, they were a little too messy for that so it was into the car for the quick drive home.  I'd seen these tasty bread treats before in another form, at my most recent visit to Golden Fields, where the pillowy steamed bread was served with double cooked duck and black vinegar.  The Bun Mobile Buns are served with appropriate Asian style sauces, dressing such as hoisin or red dragon and salads such as mint, cucumber and shallots.  The meat on all three buns was a generous serve and cooked perfectly.  I was particularly impressed by the wagyu as I must confess I'm a bit of a doubting Thomas and don't think it's generally worth the palaver.

Three buns was more than enough between the two of us for dinner and I expect that one is more than sufficient if you grab a bun at lunch.  They're a little messy, with sauce and juices but, that's what serviettes are for.

Lunch and dinner services are short - usually only two and half hours and you need to get in quick.  Not long after we got home and were tucking into our buns, a tweet popped up telling us they had sold out.  I had a great time chasing The Bun Mobile and hunting down my dinner.  The food is fresh as can be, well priced and tasty.  A Dagwood Dog from a van at The Ekka is not the Dude Food experience they are replicating.  It's about fast, fresh and reasonably priced but also a chance to show case some unique flavours and ideas.  I commend you to go on your own Bite Sized Adventure to track down an unusual meal.

The Bun Mobile

Everywhere & Anywhere in Brisbane!

@TheBunMobile

http://www.thebunmobile.com.au/

Visited: Sunday 29th July - Dinner Service