a tongan supermarket and the tongan diet

welcome to the largest supermarket in tonga. this is one of all its about 10 aisles. i kid you not, but EVERY CAN YOU SEE IN THIS SHOT IS CORNED ‘MEAT’!

well shit, no surprise so many of them are so ‘large’.

with a perfect climate and perfect soil to grow things in and abundance of life in the sea, i wonder what compels these people to eat this salty, fatty crap in a can. it doesn’t even taste good.

it has been proven genetically that the metabolisms of the tongan people really can not cope with too much fat, refined sugar or salt in their diets, yet this is precisely what they eat. they have skyrocketing rates of ‘grotesquely obese’ people and diabetes is on the rise.

any fresh veg is imported because they can’t be arsed growing it themselves. a bunch of celery costs AUD$12, because it’d airfreighted in from NZ.

the majority of ‘fresh’ meat they eat (ie: not in a can) comes in frozen from NZ – it’s called ‘lamb flaps’. i thought it came from a particularly sensitive part of the sheep, so i needed to ask around for more info. it’s basically the lamb belly, it’s also where the most fat accumulates. this stuff is near unsaleable in nz (or anywhere else really), so it’s frozen and sent of to tonga where it’s rapidly devoured. to be fair, i need to say that we DID stumble across about a dozen pigs troughing through some rubbish, so someone does cut animals on the island, and we DID eat some pretty awesome suckling pig on a spit, so someone, somewhere is doing the right thing.

Edited: August 11th, 2010

king prawn, scallop, wonton egg noodle soup

love my king prawn, scallop, wonton egg noodle soup from the sussex centre, chinatown.

a dear and fond cousin of the good old legend, the malaysian curry laksa.

if you are in sydney and fancy an asian cheap eat that will cost you under 10 bucks, check this place out. i’d put it on the sydney tourist information site for sure. here’s the map:

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Edited: May 20th, 2010

how to cook a tasty chicken soup/stock. it’s hearty, filling and cheap. EAT WELL! it’s not as hard as you may think…

there are so many ways to make a chicken stock or soup, some methods require you to roast the bones or carcass before making stock (my preferred method).

but let’s get started with the basics….

anyway, i’m a bit sick at the moment and want a good chicken stock to make me feel better and to whack some leftovers in the freezer for later, but i want the meat to make chicken and mushroom pies, so here’s an easy method.

get a whole chook and remove the fat by hand.
i opt for free range chickens for ethical reasons and also because free range chooks tend to have a lot less fat on them and a lot more muscle, because they actually get to move around. it helps even out the extra costs, as when you pay for the animal by weight, you are also paying for the fat that a cage bird carries – work it out…

put de-fatted bird in a good sized stock pot, fill with water to cover chook with 1 to 2 inches of water (see the ring in the pot in py photo? that was my original water level before i put pot on the stove).

lob in some whole peppercorns, carrots, leeks or onions (don’t bother peeling them) and a few sticks of celery.

cover pot, bring to the boil, remove lid, bring heat down to a minimum.
let it do its thing for a few hours, remove chook and let it cool.

if you want a more intense stock flavour, reduce your stock for a bit longer.
when the chook cools, you can pick the flesh off the bones and keep aside for soup, pies, lunch sandwiches or whatever. try not to overcook the chook – especially if you want to re-cook it later.

take your stock off heat, while still hot, strain it (you get lots of veg leftovers, peppercorns and whatever else you threw in out of the way).

allow clear stock to cool to room temperature, transfer into smaller containers and refrigerate.

once cold, all the fat should rise to the top and solidify (if it’s free range/and or you have removed fat from bird before boiling, there won’t be much).

use a spoon to scoop this fat up and throw it out.

presto!
you have a fuck-off chicken stock to use for whatever. you can throw in the veg, meat and stock that got you to this step, along with some pasta for carbs to make an awesome meal.

if you’ve never done it before, it might sound hard, but really, it’s so easy, most of the cooking can be done while you are at your job or asleep.

ps: it also warms your house and is very healthy food – even if you have a tight budget. glogab financial crisis food! get back to basics.

Edited: May 10th, 2010

happy cuttlefish, just waiting to be bbq’d by a greek

though their country is in economic turmoil, and they really haven’t done much since inventing democracy, i’ve got to say that one thing that i know the Greeks can still do well, is cook exceptional seafood.

these little cuttlefish are just waiting for a good greek grill or bbq.

bring it on!

Edited: May 8th, 2010

the land downunder, sunny sydney, woolloomooloo and pies from harry’s cafe de wheels

another cloudless, crisp sydney autumn day. people enjoying lunchtime pies from harry’s cafe de wheels down at woolloomooloo.

though they do great pies, i’d have to say they’re not the best i’ve sampled. but they are an institution and should be supported.

it just makes me think of the easy ’80′s, when things were uncomplicated and we lived a simple yet full life. Here is a clip that takes that in, complete with kurnell sand dunes, wanda beach, the ‘blessed’  sutherland shire and men at work singing about coming from the land down under (before they got slammed with a ridiculous IP suit for ‘kookaburra sits in the old gum tree’.

enjoy the clip while i’m allowed to show it, think back to the early 80′s and, pie in hand, throw some cheap snags on the bbq to celebrate:

Edited: May 7th, 2010

oh, this meal looks like it tasted of shit, but it really was awesome

ok it is a fact that some foods do not photograph well.

when it came out on our table, i took a shot of this dish before anyone got stuck into it. it looked better in real life than what my 5 year old snappy point and shoot digital camera could muster.

got to get my dslr back….

anyway, the meal was at a czech restaurant in kings cross, (the “golden mile” of late, since fuckwit lebanese gangsters started being glorified in the ‘Underbelly’ TV series over here).

mmmmm, roast pork knuckle, vienna schnitzel, roast duck with caraway seeds, potato dumplings, bread dumplings, smoked pork neck, sausages, sauerkraut (white AND red/purple), a few different mustards, all washed down with dreher hungarian beer.

great meal, plenty left over for the doggy bag.

Edited: April 29th, 2010

2 dogs infront of a butcher’s window

hey, shouldn’t these little fellas be looking a little bit more excited?

maybe it’s because they are not ‘real dogs’?

so many questions.. and another one…

what is it with some women and some (predominantly gay) men who insist on CARRYING their dogs around? for fucks sake! these animals have more legs than you do and can probably run faster than you as well, what’s with it?

i think perhaps these people should really consider the idea of having a baby, as there is obviously something mixed-up going on there.

i love animals and i love dogs, but A DOG IS A DOG. i have eaten dog before and think nothing of it. a dog is not a partner, lover or a child. put your feet back on earth people.

Edited: April 26th, 2010

fresh fruit at the convenience store

mmm, fresh is best. yeah, i’ll have the apple at the bottom right please…. what? 3 bucks!?

Edited: March 15th, 2010

dumplings at the burlo

sensational. these guys make their own dumplings and fat noodles fresh daily – and you can really taste the difference – so can the dozens of people out front waiting for a table. a word of advice though, when the woman out front tries to spruik you in like she’s working a strip joint in the cross, her definition of 5 minutes equals about 15-20 of our understanding of minutes.

you can find them at the burlington centre in chinatown.

Edited: March 11th, 2010

the golden fang in chippendale

golden fang. who comes up with these names? if anyone know the significance of this name, please let us know. the place seems to be fairly busy all the time – mostly with asian international uni students – which is generally a good sign of being good food at good prices. anyone been there who cares to review it?

Edited: September 6th, 2009

Combination Laksa

mmmm, malaysian curry laksa.

I was on facebook this morning and my friend in brisbane, Ron, shouted out that he was loving his laksa. a few people stuck over in the UK lamented on how they just can’t find a good laksa in london.

it got me in the mood for a laksa, so i sauntered on down to the sussex centre foodhall in chinatown this afternoon to get my fix. (combination means they throw in pork, beef, chicken, scallops, squid, fish and tofu).

if there are any laksa aficionados out there in london, can you help guide these poor souls in the right direction by posting a short review here in the comments?

many thanks, on their behalf.

Edited: August 29th, 2009

the naughty chef

this is a total non-shot, but i have seen this place down near central station often and have thought the same thing each time.

naughty chef….

what does that mean?

does he piss in my pho?

i have never eaten here before, so i can’t judge the quality of food – it could be mind-blowingly good, but is it just me who thinks that is not a great business name?

as an ex-chef myself, and having seen the antics of a few in the profession, i would much prefer a nice chef to a naughty one anytime, next question is… how many ‘nice’ chefs are out there?

Edited: August 6th, 2009

spaghetti carbonara in the new house

hey it might not look smashing, but it tasted great!

was moving house all day, so didn’t have a chance to scratch my ass, let alone get any pics. So this is the only shot i managed to get today.

Edited: August 1st, 2009

asian supermarket

I absolutely love coming here and stocking up my freezer and pantry.

It’s the place I head to when I’m running low on pickled yak testicles.

Edited: July 5th, 2009