Paddington Tea: Taste, Smell and Feel

Gastrology bloggers received the product courtesy of Paddington Tea.

Drinking tea is about more than just flavours and leaves. It’s about the ritual of relaxation
and comfort, and Sydney-based company Paddington Tea is fusing tea with aromatic
products to Australia’s tea drinkers. Launched late last year in Australia, the Paddington Tea range combines 14 flavours of tea with soy candles, bath salts and room sprays to enrich the tea drinking ritual.

We enjoyed the Organic Lemongrass and Ginger tea which combined beautifully to create a harmony of piquant and spiced zing. 100% organic, natural and caffeine free, it can be enjoyed any time of the day.

From the aptly named Quixotic Range, the Lemongrass and Green Tea hand-poured soy candle we received was beautifully aromatic.  We loved that the  products from the Quixotic Range are
100% natural and Australian-made with premium
ingredients.

For more information check out http://www.paddingtontea.com.

D'Elephant Thai Cuisine

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of D'Elephant.

Gastrology recently shared an evening of Thai delicacies in Chadstone’s latest contemporary Thai restaurant. 

D'elephant Thai Cuisine opened its door in late 2014 and has worked hard to improve their modern yet authentic Thai menu, which boasts fresh ingredients, cooked to order and aims to deliver affordable and quality Thai food to Melbournians.

The menu features all your favourite Thai staples along with other lesser known dishes. 

The Som Tum station delivered fresh Thai papaya salad.

Thai papaya salad

The salad of crispy pork fat, salted duck egg, prawns paired with sticky rice was delicious. All the dazzlingly fresh ingredients blended harmoniously, resulting in a clean and bright dish with a perfect salt-sour-heat balance.

Upper left: Panaeng curry with tender beef

Upper right: Deep fried chicken with cashew nut tossed in chilli jam 

Bottom left: Deep fried barramundi fillet with lemongrass, chilli and garlic

Bottom right: Roast duck red curry

We particularly enjoyed the beef Panaeng curry. The curry was luxurious, thick and exhibited a marvellous aromatic lift and the beef was beautifully tender.

Left: Sago cantaloupe in coconut milk

Right: Mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream

The Mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream concluded our evening on a sweet note. A Thai classic, the dessert was scrumptious with generous slices of fresh mango over gooey sticky rice and creamy coconut ice cream - yum! 

With a focus on classic Thai dishes served in a contemporary manner, D’Elephant is a delicious addition to Chadstone and Malvern East’s food scene.

Location: Chadstone Shopping Centre, 1341 Dandenong Road, Malvern East

Phone: 03 9568 6600

Link: http://www.delephant.com.au/

Cuisine: Thai

Event: Strictly Ballroom [January - May 2015]

Gastrology bloggers attended the event courtesy of Nuffnang.

Baz Luhrmann’s much-loved hit show STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL opened in Melbourne at Her Majesty’s Theatre in January 2015.

The production is staged by the original creative team behind the classic 1992 film, including director and co-writer Baz Luhrmann, set and costume designer Catherine Martin, choreographer John “Cha Cha” O’Connell and co-writer Craig Pearce.

Playing the pivotal roles of ‘Scott Hastings’ and ‘Fran’ is Thomas Lacey and Phoebe Panaretos who lead an outstanding Australian cast of 43 including Bob Baines as Les Kendall, Drew Forsythe as Doug Hastings, Natalie Gamsu as Abuela, Robert Grubb as Barry Fife, Fernando Mira as Rico, Heather Mitchell as Shirley Hastings and Mark Owen-Taylor as JJ Silvers.

STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL features break-into-song numbers created from original classics from the film, Love is in the Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps, and Time After Time as well as some wonderful new songs by artists such as Eddie Perfect and Sia. 

Get your hands on the Tickets for STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL here.

NL House

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of MATRADE's Malaysian Kitchen Program.

NL House brings Malaysian street-food culture, and hawker dishes to the heart of Melbourne.

Having benefited from a recent facelift last year, the restaurant is beaming with pride. Speaking to owners Marcel and Aline (who bought NL House in 2008), it is clear that they are passionate about the food that they serve. Everything you eat is made in-house. From the popular 'sambal' condiment that accompanies your nasi lemak to the pandan jelly in your iced cendol. 

The sambals: Traditional (spicy chilli sambal) Kelantan (sweet and sour sambal) Kerabu (shrimp and lime leaf sambal)

These babies take a gruelling 8 hours to make and are some of the tastiest and most authentic we have sampled in Melbourne. Our favourite sambal was the Kerabu, followed closely by the traditional sambal. The kerabu sambal was notable for its complex and fiery flavour which finishes on a citrus note courtesy of the kaffir lime leaves. Every morsel exploded with the briny flavour of the shrimp. Simply delicious! 

In the near future, NL House will be bringing their very popular 'sambal' condiment into local grocery stores. In the meantime, you can buy them from the restaurant at $5 a jar.

Beef Rendang nasi lemak with crispy anchovies, loved it with the kerabu sambal

The beef rendang was decadent. The full-bodied, pungent rendang gravy paired beautifully with melt-in-your-mouth morsels of beef. We enjoyed the richness of the curry and the generous use of spices which showcased the customary punchy flavours exhibited by Malaysian curries generally.  Together with fluffy coconut rice, crispy anchovies and out-of-this-world kerabu sambal, it was an addictive and comforting dish. 

Their most popular nasi lemak is the one served with their fried chicken and it is easy to understand why. The chicken was delectably crispy and had been nicely caramelised and flavoured well by an array of spices.

Seafood laksa

The seafood laksa was delightful. Derived from a traditional Malacca laksa recipe, the spicy coconut gravy base was complex and aromatic and was served with generous amounts of noodles, bean curd puffs, fish cakes, seafood, bean shoots, and garnished with carrot and spring onions. 

Left: soya bean and grass jelly drink

Right: Iced Cendol

The house made drinks are lovely and include a refreshing soya bean and grass jelly drink as well as an absolutely delicious iced cendol drink. For the uninitiated, the cendol dessert is a coconut milk dessert with pandan flavoured jelly noodles made with beautiful palm sugar. NL House’s rendition of this classic dessert was decadently rich, amply sweet and beautifully made. 

Serving up some of the most authentic nasi lemak in town, NL House presents a refreshing take on Malaysian cuisine whilst remaining true to its origins. With food this good, great service and prices this reasonable, NL House punches above its weight. 

Location: 115 Grattan St  Carlton

Phone: 03 9348 1572

Link: http://www.nlhouse.com.au/

Cuisine: Malaysian, Asian, Chinese

Upcoming event: Fromage A Trois [Sunday, 15 March 2015]

Fromage A Trois returns to the beautiful grounds of Werribee Park Mansion on 15 March 2015 with a bigger and better line up than ever seen before.

The day will be filled with many picturesque scenes and foods, and allow a perfect setting for indulging with family and friends. 

Some of Melbourne’s most iconic food haunts and trucks including Trailer Made, White Guy Cooks Thai and Brûlée Cart, as well as local breweries including Two Birds Brewing who will be serving up their delicious ales including bespoke-ales Bantam Ipa and Taco Beer. 

Renowned Cheesemonger Naomi Cristante will be taking to the main stage alongside other professional chefs, to take visitors on a culinary journey, demonstrating how to be versatile with cheese and incorporating it into your every day cooking.

What: Fromage A Trois, Melbourne’s renowned cheese and cider festival

When: Sunday, 15 March 2015 (11am to 5pm)

Where: Werribee Park, K Road, Werribee South

Tickets: Pre-purchased tickets $35 ($40 at the door) includes official tasting glass & event guide. Children 12 and under enter for free. 

Purchase tickets here.

Recipe: Yam Duck

This post was sponsored by MATRADE's Malaysian Kitchen Program.

One of our favourite Malaysian dishes to enjoy at home is a stew made from yam and duck which is called (creatively!) yam duck.

This dish is an old school favourite in Malaysia and can be cooked easily at home with readily available Malaysian ingredients.



Here's what you will need:

2 kg duck, cleaned and cut into 8 pieces

1 ½ kg yam, cut into large wedges

100g young ginger, sliced

1 tbsp chopped garlic

¼ cup canola oil

1 packet bean curd

400ml water

2 tbsp Ayam brand Oyster sauce

1 tbsp Yeo's sesame oil (available from Oriental Merchant)

1 tsp Ayam brand palm sugar 

½ tsp pepper

1 pc cinnamon stick, about 5 cm long

2 Dragon Phoenix star anise

2 cloves

And here's how to make it:

Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry off the ginger and garlic until soft. Add in cinnamon, star anise and cloves as well as the duck and stir fry until the duck is sealed and well coated with spices. Add the 400ml of water and allow to cook on low heat till meat tender. Then add the yam and all remaining ingredients and simmer until the yam is soft. Garnish with spring onions and sliced chilli to taste and enjoy!

Killiney Kopitiam

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of MATRADE's Malaysian Kitchen Program.

A popular chain restaurant in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China, Killiney Kopitiam is all about the "Kopitiam" (meaning coffee shop) culture in Malaysia and Singapore.

Sliced Fish Fillet Noodle Soup

The menu features a good range of Malaysian and Singaporean hawker food.

Crispy Noodle

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Their famous Hainanese Chicken rice met expectations. The chicken was tender and the fluffy chicken rice was full of flavour. We especially loved the authentic taste of the chilli condiment.