Eat Like Ushi

I've heard from several (Malaysian) people over the past 1-2 years that Coconut House has the best laksa in Melbourne. I must admit I do like the Laksa King version which is quite coconutty also.

I ordered the Hawker Curry Laksa complete with a full chicken drumstick and a fried egg (which is a little odd I suppose). The ingredients are ok without being special. The soup is rich and coconutty, chicken stock base and really quite spicy. Overall it was good - but I did have to listen to my parents complain the whole time that the serving size had reduced by 30-40% over the past 5 months. Who knows.

The hot fresh soy milk probably has a touch too much sugar added but tastes real.

Next time I would order the Hawker Curry Laksa again or House Laksa Special or try the har mee (Prawn Noodles).

I used to think designer chocolatiers were simply overpriced snooty versions of supermarket block chocolate. This opinion changed over the years after a few good experiences in Belgium and Spain. Now I can officially admit I can't resist walking into a chocolatier and smelling the goodness in the air and seeing the great creations.

Similarly in Leura I couldn't help but wander into Josophan's. I immediately looked around for dark chocolate (the only chocolate) and found some nice blocks with nuts, one with turkish delight, some finger squares (including an award winning lime and basil) and a revelation that attracted me the most.

Dark chocolate rocky road filled a few baskets. The winterfruit version interested me for the ingredients - date, apricot, coconut, marshmallow and mixed nuts. However after discussion with the host, I ended up with the orange version - with dark and orange chocolate, coconut, marshmallows, macadamia and hazelnuts from Orange. The host said the orange version was her favourite and the orange pieces and peel added an extra texture and moisture.

It's sitting on my bench at home. I look forward to it.

There were two bakeries in the Blue Mountains that I came across in my research - Hominy in Katoomba for sourdough and Bakehouse On Wentworth because it was meant to be good and happened to be conveniently located close to the accommodation in Blackheath.

The Bakehouse was the first food stop of the trip after arriving and it didn't disappoint. The pies have a nice thick crust with rolled up sides that were a pleasure to chew through last. The kangaroo filling was slightly gamey and quite nice. Next time I'd probably try something more standard like the beef and guinness. The mini sausage roll was a nice filler to complement the pie.

Other than the pies, they advertise an excellent sourdough that I wasn't able to try.

A zomato rating of 4.9?? Wow this must be some serious sourdough. How could I not go and see what it was all about? My all time favourite sourdough still remains from the seafood chowder at Boudin in San Francisco. Canberra's Autolyse does an excellent version too, but I still prefer something stronger and tangy-er.

I only purchased a pumpkin sourdough from Hominy. In retrospect I probably should've bought an extra loaf and even a croissant to make use of my being all the way in the mountains. This became more apparent after I tried the sourdough. The pumpkin sourdough is soft in native form, and is completely enhanced with a firm crust and springy texture with light toasting. It could use a little more tang but is still excellent. I'm a bit unclear where the pumpkin part comes in - I assume it has juice added to the dough mix to add more flavour and colour?

Who knows. It's damn good.

After an afternoon of horse-riding in the rain, I needed a snack to bide me over until the planned lamb dinner at Vesta. One of the staff at the riding place mentioned a pie place on the main road that she couldn't remember the name of. Something about a black sign with white or yellow writing. Gatsby's fit the description and I manage to sneak in about 5mins before closing time. I had hoped that this coincidence meant the leftovers would be discounted (as many places do) but unfortunately not.

A vibrant orange pie with thin mince topped with sweet potato mash was a bit different to the usual and quite impressive. The sausage roll was quite standard, as was the croissant.

Overall I personally prefer the very nearby Bakehouse on Wentworth, but this place is fine too.

I had read a few articles about the best pies in the Blue Mountains. Practically all of them rate Mountain High Pies along the highway as the best. Considering I had eaten pies at Bakehouse on Wentworth and Gatsby's (both in Blackheath), I wanted to know what the best reputed were like for comparison.

It made for an easy pit stop (without having to deviate from the highway) toward Sydney/Canberra.

- Breakfast Pie – bacon, mushrooms & onion in a tomato sauce with mashed potato & a whole egg on top;
- Beef & Red Chilli Beans - tasty filling but surprisingly spicy and hot. Slightly painful to eat so I would probably get something else next time;
- Sausage Roll - some nice mince with still some homogenous coarse texture.

Overall the fillings are very good. I would prefer the pastry to be a little less flaky and a little thicker and buttery, but can't complain. Bakehouse on Wentworth was possibly better for me for that reason.

Riding down the 19 tram reminded me of the old days coming back from Melbourne Uni. Luckily for Melbourne (and this generation of uni students) the food options have vastly improved over the past 10-15 years. So has mobile phone technology, which allowed me to search for a ramen joint other than Hakata Gensuke (which I visited on my previous two trips).

Mugen is known for tsukemen - a method of eating ramen where the noodles are served separate to the broth and only dipped in before eating straight away. I first saw this type during a documentary by David Chang. To be honest, as much as he raved about it as the best ramen type available, I never saw the joy of it. But I may as well try it once.

I ordered the Wafu Tsukemen (dashi & soy sauce broth, housemade thick noodles served with slow-cooked chashu, bamboo shoots & seaweed) 360g $15. When ordering this, I wasn't exactly sure what 360g referred to. Now I know - it's the noodle serving (I think) which is twice the standard cooked noodle weight for one. The noodles are excellent - thick, chewy, excellent texture but are cold. The soup is heavily flavoured and served hot - it's quite nice, albeit strong to drink on its own.

The method of eating means dipping and swishing cold noodles into hot broth. Thus lies the dilemma - each time a dip occurs the soup becomes colder and colder. At the end of the noodles, a small teapot of dashi is given to add to the remaining broth to drink as a lukewarm finisher. There's one slice of chashu, a few bamboo shoots, and an added $2 marinated egg which is really excellent and great value.

So my two issues - the best part of almost any noodle dish (eg. ramen, pho, laksa, assam etc.) is the broth. I know many others think it's the noodles, but not for me. The time-consuming, impossible to replicate broth. It almost seems unfair to have such a small amount of broth compared to the large serve of (admittedly excellent) noodles. Secondly cold broth isn't the most appealing thing to eat (I've been told tsukemen is more of a summer dish, but still).

I still like tonkotsu better. I think I always will. However the ramen itself at Mugen is outstanding and so I'll try again for a bowl of the wafu ramen (although the noodles are thin, not thick - maybe I can make a request?)

03-2016

After a late work finish one evening I felt the need to splurge of some flavour as a reward. Driving through the city and finding a carpark was the first order, and after success selecting a late night dish in the area.

Mugen was close (conveniently being away from the masses area even on a Thursday) and the downstairs was relatively free. 7 Samurais was playing in the background.

After checking my previous review, I ordered the Wafu Ramen (soy sauce & dashi broth cooked over 48 hours, house made thin noodle served with chashu, bamboo shoots & seaweed) $15 - as suspected I did enjoy this hearty warm delicious bowl of broth more than the tsukemen style. I had the standard thin noodles (which really aren't that thin at all) and didn't miss the thicker version of above. Perhaps next time I'll request the thick ones just to mix it up a bit. The miso ramen also looks a good bet to try.

I also tried the Salmon Yaki-Foil (braised on the grill with Mugen special Miso, spring onions, shiitake and enoki mushrooms) $15 which had strong umami flavour and nice texture but seemed uninspiring compared to the identically priced ramen brother.

Oddly enough, when researching the Blue Mountains, the fine dining places didn't appeal that much to me. I think Ashcroft had a decent sounding menu (but in the end couldn't get a walk-in table on a Saturday), Darley has accolades (but is expensive) and Silk's wasn't all that interesting (other than the lamb brain and sweetbread entree). After rejection from Ashcroft and no availability at Pins on Lurline (with its udon and Italian menu), resignation hit and the car was directed toward Sanwiye.

I would never have really considered a Korean restaurant in the Blue Mountains, as this reminded me of the token Chinese restaurants you find in small rural towns all over the world, with the standard dishes and sauces and MSG (much like I expect the South Park City Wok restaurant represents). However Sanwiye had good ratings, there didn't seem to be many other options, and the other ones were probably already full.

I've had the cinnamon drink sujeonggwa at Bistro K before and so eagerly ordered it again. It was extremely potent in cinnamon. Perhaps a little too much.

- Mandu (crispy lightly fried half-moon dumplings) $10 - nicely fried dumplings with thin fillings and a soy to add extra flavour;
- Duk-bokki (rice cake & vegetables in sweet & spicy sauce) $16 - an excellent textured gooey set of rice cakes in a mild chilli sauce;
- Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup (prawn, calamari, fish cake, carrot, capsicum, onion, sliced cabbage, mushroom) $13 - beautiful broth with (what may have been instant noodle) ramen cooked to retain spring, some average pieces of seafood (very small prawns, but I suppose you don't expect much for the price up in the mountains) but an excellent warming soup that tastes exactly how a Korean/Chinese noodle broth should. They asked if I wanted spicy and I said yes, but it wasn't too much.

Other than what was tried, the platesized pancakes looked like a good bet also.

Overall the prices are reasonable, the food is good quality and it appeared to be a family run place (Australian male and a Korean female heading the show). Well worth supporting. If you are dining for 2, I'd try to call and book the little table at the front which affords more privacy and a view of beautiful lighting and flowers.

After checking out from Season of Mists in Blackheath, I was looking for a breakfast to energise for the horrendous rain, fog and truck weather conditions that would greet me on the drive back to Canberra. I actually wanted to try Anonymous cafe in Blackheath but it was unfortunately closed on Tuesdays for some reason. Hence the drive to Leura where I had noticed a couple of cafes the afternoon before.

They actually served a very good chai tea (which was served with milk) with strong hints of ginger and spices. I was surprised and how nice it was.

- Grilled Haloumi Salad (with green beans, avocado, braised chickpeas, rocket, fried egg) $18 - quite simply one of the best salads I've had. The grilled salty squeaky cheese, mild crunchy beans, more crunchy chickpeas, soft avocado, bitter rocket and cherry tomatoes and a paprika fried egg (which probably didn't add much but was good on it's own) on top;
- Salt Cod & Potato Fritters (with poached egg, hazelnuts, iceburg lettuce, aioili) $18 - mainly potato with occasional chunks of cod topped with a nice salad and texture of nuts.

Next time I'm at the Blue Mountains, The Red Door will certainly be on my list for breakfast. The house-cured ocean trout or duck maryland also sound like great options.

Staying in Blackheath of course led to the online search for restaurant recommendations. The final list of 2 fell between a highly awarded and finer dining Ashcroft's (which was obviously too full for an attempted walk-in on a Saturday night) and Vesta. In the end Vesta won out simply due to what I had read about the roasted lamb shoulder and it being a Sunday and so most appropriate for a roast.

- Complimentary exceptional housemade sourdough with macadamia nuts, very grassy local EVOO and a tangy labneh. What a wonderful combination;
- Truffle Souffle with (Jannel goats cheese, parmesan and thyme) $28 - a smooth lightly truffle-flavoured souffle with a mild cheesey sauce and a strong parmesan crisp that was melting over the hot pan on arrival to the table;
- Lamb Shoulder for 2 (braised for 12 hours in the scotch oven with local organic vegetables, baked potato & red wine jus) $80 - the masterdish was a mildly flavoured lamb with some soft delicate parts and a few slightly more stringy areas. The skin had a bit of firmness but there was a reasonable amount of fat to separate. The vegetables were crunchy and fantastic and the lamb/wine jus was nice enough to drink by the spoon or drizzle over things;
- Bombe (dark chocolate parfait, bitter lemon sherbet, white chocolate & cardamom ice cream, hazelnut & orange praline) $15 - a multi-layered slice of effectively ice-cream cake with different textured layers. The praline added textures and additional flavour.

Overall the meal was excellent and satisfying. I'd happily go back (even though there probably isn't much else on the menu that particularly interested me).

The meal has inspired me to make a classic Sunday roast with lamb and all the trimmings, reminiscent of my greatest one of all at The Harwood Arms (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/the-harwood-arms-london-10-2013).