Food Blogs I Like #1

Charlotte Wood is an Australian fiction writer, a very good one so my friends tell me. She is published by Allen & Unwin and her book The Children is her one novel people have suggested I read. So basically I am saying I have heard of her but not read anything she has written … yet.

Anyhow Charlotte also has a terrific food blog – how to shuck an oyster - and I thought it would be a good one to profile as the first of my monthly ‘Food Blogs I Like’ post. Thanks to JB for telling me about it.

http://howtoshuckanoyster.com/

In her blog she has recipes of meals she has prepared and views about food preparation, discussion of the food she buys and grows, fads and trends, discussion of books and food writers, with a bit of food politics thrown in.

I liked the look of her sweet & spicy cumquat chutney as well as her citrus couscous.

Also I loved her idea that roast chicken is ‘the kitchen’s little black dress’.

Plenty of plays on words as well (leaves of class, little patty, small potatoes, you get the picture) which for an inveterate punner like me is a treat.

Looking through the pages, I am amazed at the depth of the content. Sadly I am way off this as I only get the chance to blog once or twice a week and if I spend too much writing about food it eats into my time for cooking and eating. It’s all about priorities.

On another point …

Last week my friend Hong-Im took for me lunch at Din Tai Fung, a new-ish dumpling and noodle place at World Square. It’s the first Australian outlet of what is a global chain with stores in Japan, China, Indonesia and the US.

Here is Helen Greenwood’s review:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/restaurant-reviews/din-tai-fung-sydney/2008/06/27/1214472754072.html

My husband and I go to Kam Fook’s in Bondi Junction pretty regularly for the same old stuff – steamed prawn dumplings and pork buns. All good but this place is operating on another level.

The delicacy of the dumplings was unbelievable. The number of pleats in each dumpling makes them look like fancy little handbags. It is amazing how thin the noodle sac is but how resistant it is to breaking. Almost like a membrane protecting an essential organ (they did have a bald testicle like quality …) The pork ones we ordered were steamed of course with about half a tablespoon of broth in them. The crescent-shaped veggie dumplings were also great. And the red bean dumplings weren’t too sweet.

You can actually see the workers make the dumplings through a window and watching them move so exactly but swiftly is a sight to see.

Needless to say the dumplings are worth the extra cost.

Hong-Im encouraged me to use fresh ginger and vinegar rather than just soya sauce on my dumplings. Interesting how you are always more adventurous when someone is encouraging you, teaching you about food they know about and you don’t.