Flashback: Shakahari, Melbourne and The Ginger Room, Canberra

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Hannah

Was it the evening of youtubing old Savage Garden video clips and discovering a Songza channel dedicated to the music of Dawson’s Creek that led to my nostalgia-tinged rummaging through old photos from Australia, or did the yearning for friends and family back in Australia lead to the searching out of nostalgia-tinged music in the first place?

We may never know.

Shakahari Vegetarian Restaurant, Melbourne

Remember this Raw Falafel Salad from Vegie Bar in Melbourne? It was one of the dishes Lisa and I shared on the day we met for the first time; the day that changed my life.

(Think I’m being hyperbolic? I’m not. I wouldn’t be in Canada if I hadn’t met Lisa that day and realised, in a burst of sunlight, that this person had always been in my heart, always, even before I knew she existed.)

The thing is, I forgot to tell you about our second day in Melbourne. Lisa posted about it here, so all I really need to say is this: we went to Shakahari for vegan deliciousness, it was indeed delicious, and our waiter fell in love with Lisa from the moment we entered the restaurant and he noticed her ballet-dancer turn out.

I almost feared he’d try to slip a love potion into Lisa’s lunch of beans, brown rice, veggies, and peanut sauce, but thankfully such liquids only exist in Harry Potter-esque fiction.

I didn’t have to fear my papaya salad being tampered with, though, because the waiter was so enamoured with Lisa and her stories of dancing that he often seemed to forget I was there. But who could blame him? Lisa is magnificent. As was the papaya salad.

(Hey Lisa, guess what? When you wrote in your post, in January 2012, that you had “no doubt we’ve forged a long-lasting friendship that will flourish even across the world”? High five, my friend. High five.)

Gospel Choir Intermission

Please resume your seats.

The Ginger Room, Canberra

On my final night in Canberra last year, eight hours before I needed to wake up and head to the airport for my flight to North America, my parents took me to The Ginger Room for a farewell dinner (I’ve previously blogged about The Ginger Room here).

My parents and I each had three courses that night but, as I was focused more on spending time with my parents than taking food photos, I’ll only post a few dishes. Such as, for example, my dad’s “five spice aubergine rolls, pumpkin, feta, beetroot yoghurt, red coconut sauce”, which tasted vibrant and lovely.

I have no words for this plating.

(Except for “lamb backstrap, shiitake mushroom, king brown mushroom, cavolo nero, garlic sage mash”.)

This was my “kingfish, ginger prawn, thyme, orange bonito broth”, which I chose because I only eat food that is royal.

My almost-favourite dish of the night was this “pickled vegetables, Asian noodle salad”, because PICKLES. VEGETABLES. THE WINE I WAS DRINKING AT THE SAME TIME.

All very, very good.

However, my favourite, favourite, favourite course of all was (no prizes for guessing this) dessert. For two reasons.

The first reason was that the “vanilla marshmallow, lavender crumble, pistachio, rosewater, black cumin ice cream” included a squillion flavours that I adore. Pistachio and rosewater and heady cumin and lavender and yes yes. This came together marvelously.

The second reason was, of course, that my dessert came with a message of hope and encouragement for my trip that the waiter himself organised after overhearing my parents and I talking about my imminent departure.

Sometimes it’s the little touches that make a dinner memorable.

And sometimes it’s just the simple fact that you shared it with people you love.

The end.

Hyatt Farewell Lunching, with Bonus Hide and Seek

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Hannah

As my final days in Australia slip away beneath my feet (for the time being, of course), I’ve started focusing less on bureaucratic preparatory matters and more on squeezing in as many farewells as I can. This past Saturday, my grandparents took me out for a bon voyage lunch at the Hyatt (previously blogged here).

The lunch buffet was far more impressive this time around, with the cold seafood and salads taking up the entire centre table in the restaurant, rather than simply one half of it. The desserts, too, had their own table.

Look, I don’t condone segregation. Never have, never will. However, if the situation is that a surfeit of vegetables and fancy salads have caused an overflow of deliciousness, then I will slowly nod my head.

In addition to the seafood I showed you last time, the Hyatt provided us with Moreton Bay Bugs, fresh oysters, a cold grilled sardine salad, and several other seafood dishes I didn’t get around to trying.

This was my first time trying Moreton Bay Bugs, and I found them even nicer than the crab. Also, the sardines were impressive, particularly because they improved the shininess of my hair. That’s what happens with fish oil, right?

Even better than my seafood plate, though, was the extravagant and enormous salad I concocted out of fresh vegetables, pickled vegetables, grilled vegetables, chickpea salad, roasted pumpkin salad, caper berries, croutons, and a chilli dressing.

It was enormous.

And glorious.

But enormous.

By the time I finished my abundance of colour, my parents and grandparents were already onto dessert, so I jumped to my feet to follow suit.

The Hyatt’s hot food section never piques my interest, but dear heavens that place makes good jelly. Last time, I was blown away by how true the fruit flavour of their raspberry and pineapple jelly was, but I do believe that this weekend’s raspberry and blackberry jelly trumped even that.

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for this wonderful lunch, the gift that ensures I will be able to buy dinner on my first night in New York with the right currency, and your shining support that makes me feel safe and loved.

And thank you, Mum and Dad, for taking me to buy luggage afterwards for my belated birthday gift. After all, if we hadn’t gone to Bags To Go, I wouldn’t have realised that it’s been far too long since I last played hide-and-seek in a public place*.

Where’s, where’s, where’s, where’s ~~Wally~~ Hannah?

Later that afternoon, I caught up with my favourite second cousin, and then Mum, Dad, and I stayed up until a ridiculous hour of the morning watching the Olympics.

It was a day for the memory books.

* You know what I’m talking about, Spay Lady.

Food and Fun at a Yoga Retreat, and a Parcel of Goodness

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Hannah

When my mother had her birthday two weeks ago, my brother and I gave her more than just the pleasure of our company at The Ginger Room’s swanky dinner of deliciousness. For her 60^th birthday gift, we bought my mum two places (so that she could take a friend) at one of Simplicity Retreats’ half-day yoga retreats here in Canberra.

I was utterly honoured that my mother chose me to attend the retreat with her. (We would have loved for my brother to come too, but alas! He be residin’ in Melbourne.)

I must give a big shout-out to PJ of Simplicity Retreats for being so wonderful with helping me secretly arrange this gift for mum, even sending through a gorgeous blank card for us to write in and offering to drop the vouchers to me in person to ensure they arrived in time. Moreover, PJ made sure that the vegetarian lunch at the end of the retreat was not only gluten-free and dairy-free, but that certain options were free of tomatoes and capsicum for my mum. Thank you Simplicity Retreats!

After four body-and-soul-enriching hours of hatha yoga on Saturday morning, mum and I nibbled on a vegetarian nicoise salad, a pumpkin and rocket salad, a gluten free sandwich, fruit, and gluten-free and dairy-free friands.

We couldn’t help applauding and laughing at the magpie that hopped right over to my plate, snatched the last piece of friand, then ran away as fast as its little dinosaur-esque legs could take it. Well played, bird. I too would be enticed by a piece of cake bigger than my head.

Back at my parents’ place after the retreat, it amused me greatly that, when I started to say “Would it be antithetical to the ethos of yoga to make coffee right now?”, I only got as far as “antithetical” before mum was saying “Definitely not!”.

We love our afternoon coffee and chocolate on the weekends. Not going to lie.

The day got even better when I opened my parcel from the lovely Vien. I won a Go Natural giveaway on Vien’s blog last year, and I can’t wait to delve into these resulting treats. I’m particularly excited about the “fruitnut” bars, because they look akin to the raw vegan treats and truffles I constantly make.

With all due respect to Go Natural, though, the best part of Vien’s package was her homemade pumpkin butter. This stuff is incredible. It’s like the sweet potato casserole my brother made at Christmas, but thicker, more subtly spiced, and addictive enough to eat by the spoonful.

I may or may not have eaten a third of the jar in one night, predominately on a spoon but also spooned onto a toasted English Muffin along with my other current favourite discovery, black sesame spread.

This spread is like crack, y’all. It has a subtle sweetness that makes it reminiscent of black sesame ice cream, and has 1010mg of calcium per 100g to boot. That’s even more calcium than cheese or broccoli.

I rest my case. (No, I don’t really know what the case was either.)

Question Time: Are you a fan of yoga? And have you come across any unusual nut or seed butters lately that you’d like to share with the class?

The Ginger Room, aka My Mum’s 60th Birthday Dinner

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Hannah

Porke Rilette, The Ginger Room, Canberra It was my mum’s 60^th birthday this past Saturday. Happy birthday mama-dear! You fill up my life with sparkles of support and love and laughter and wisdom, and it’s only 8% frustrating and 92% wonderful that you’re pretty much always right about everything.

I don’t know where I’d be without you.

My mother’s birthday dinner took place at The Ginger Room, and a mighty fine time was had by all. The complimentary bread basket came with dense warm herb rolls (I’m thinking oregano and basil?) and cheesy puff pastry sticks that were tasty, but suffered slightly from being served cold. The amuse bouche was a pork rillette cooked in duck fat, topped with pickles. I love pickles.

My dad started with the “fried ginger, minted broad bean peanut salad, smoked tomato and basil dumplings” (third photo) and continued with the “salt and pepper prawns, heirloom tomato, coriander, red nam jim”. I wanted to try both of these, but by the time I remembered to ask, THEY GONE.

There will never be words enough for how awesome my grandma is. I love that she photo-bombed my photo of her “five spiced lentils, asparagus, goats cheese, candied pecans”. Grandma: never change.

I started with the “pambula rock oysters, mojito sorbet”. I’m a staunch advocate for eating oysters au natural, but the sorbet was incredible. So tangy and lime-y, with just enough bitterness threading through the sweetness. I ate the oysters, then the sorbet. It was like an entrée with its own dessert. Best.

My mum, grandma, and grandpa all enjoyed the “sesame crusted tuna, sake sticky rice, wasabi soy jelly, pickled ginger”. (By the by, I’m not showing every dish we ate, but rest assured every dish rated highly.)

My next course was the “san choy bow, chilli salted bean curd, tea quail egg”. I loved this; the mushroom and bean curd filling was intense and smoky, tempered by the crispness of the lettuce and the richness of the egg. My heart squeaked with joy when I went to eat one of the croutons on the side and discovered that it was, in fact, deep fried tofu.

Tangent: everyone who knows me In Real Life knows that I rarely drink. However, after the weeks I’ve been having recently… a glass of something zingy and delicious was definitely in order.

I love Rosé. (This was a beautiful Rosé, crisp and dry, not sweet, complex flavours.)

Sometimes I really love Rosé.

Dessert time! My brother ordered the “dark chocolate truffle cake, milk honey jelly, white chocolate snap”. While I always avoid chocolate desserts, I did think the truffle cake here was quite good. Perhaps because it tasted like straight dark chocolate, which is my drug of choice.

I was torn between two desserts, and so did what any good daughter would do and forced my dad to order one of them so that I could try both. Hence my dad’s “peanut butter mousse, nougat ice cream, chocolate praline wafer, caramel sauce”. I heart, adore, and worship at the altar of any restaurant that creates peanut butter desserts.

My dessert won the night, though. (Bonus points: it was dairy-free, gluten-free, and oh-so-close to vegan!) I would like to eat this “champagne and rose petal bubble, lychee, maltose tuile, blackberry sorbet” every night and every morning. The rosewater and champagne jelly was gorgeously fragrant, the lychees plump and fresh, and the maltose tuile was like scrumptious almost-burnt toffee. The blackberry sorbet was a tad too sweet and overpowering, but the sugared rose petals were pretty enough to make up for this tiny drawback.

Throw in some tiny little macarons and coffee to finish, and you can bet your boots I left The Ginger Room one happy, slightly-alcohol-giggly, family-adoring, mother-celebrating lady.

Question Time: What do you love about your mama?

Cakespeditioning: The Palette Café at Beaver Galleries

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Hannah

First day of autumn.

Pelting rain the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Canberra in over half a century. Flooding, a bursting dam, washed-away roads, greygreysilvergrey skies.

Stress and exhaustion causing me to crawl into bed at 6pm the night before. A futile attempt at resting foiled by my brain’s refusal to let me sleep before midnight even when I’m overwrought and/or sick.

Discovering that a section of both soles of my boots have worn away. Discovering this by walking through a shallow puddle in the carpark and feeling both of my socks soak through within seconds.

First day of autumn.

Draping wet socks over the mini heater in my office and then putting them back on, toasty-toasty-warm-for-my-toes, fifteen minutes later.

Making the conscious effort to breathe through work stress, and finding that the focus group I run on Saturday (with E.Moonbeams as scribe) is one of the highlights of my week. Feeling boundless respect and gratitude for the people who drove out in the pelting rain to participate, and who made such valuable contributions.

Pelting rain not being able to forestall my Dad’s and my first Cakespedition.

When Dad suggested that we try Beaver Galleries for afternoon tea, I feared I’d be refused entry on account of the hijinks Lorraine and I got up to last time. Seeing as no bodyguards turfed me out of The Palette Café, all I can surmise is that I am the best statue-impersonator in the history of ever and they never even knew I was there. KAPOW.

I ordered a lovely creamy-nutty-frothy soy latte (photo at top of post) and an enormous piece of cranberry and pistachio biscotti almost the length of both of my hands put together. Biscotti = good. Huge biscotti = even gooderer. Huge biscotti studded with emerald pistachios = goodererest.

Dad’s pick from the cake cabinet was the Date Macadamia Tart. It was a thing of beauty, but I’d definitely recommend it for people with a serious sweet tooth. Dad and I both felt that it was, ultimately, a little too dense and heavy in its sweetness, but the first few bites were pretty great. The dates were rich and caramelly, the macadamias fresh and buttery, and the crust nicely crumbly.

There’s an element of nostalgia to Beaver Galleries’ cakes, a hearkening back to CWA-style sweet uncomplicated baking and childhood sugar-driven happiness.

Thanks, Dad, for your ongoing contributions to my happiness. Cakespedition again soon?

Question Time: What sweet treats from your childhood do you miss?

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