I got this recipe from a fellow gourmet at work (Thanks B.Kazazes!) – hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of ground ginger
• 60ml (1/4 cup) soy sauce
• 60ml (1/4 cup) ketchup
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• Black pepper
• 500g pork ribs

Method

Marinate the spare ribs for at least 30 minutes, then drain and grill briskly on one side. Baste with a little marinade and grill the other side. Baste once more and grill the ribs until they are stickily glazed on both sides. The ribs may also be baked in a preheated oven of around 180 degrees, and require basting occasionally.

They ended up tasting a little like char siu (Chinese bbq pork), but most definitely a winner in my eyes!

With the End of Financial Year, several things happen. There are heaps of sales, you can put in your tax returns and some people get promotions at work. Luckily I have such friends that are better at their jobs than I am (Congratulations to them!). So the celebration dinner was held at La Paella. I know nothing about Moroccan or Spanish food. The only thing I’d learnt from MasterChef was that a good paella should have a crusty base.

What did we eat?

KeXin, Wancy, Jono and WiFi (I was the special guest this time!): The Andulucian Banquet. This consisted of…

• Mixed dips served with home made bread.



• A mixed platter with fried cheese, chicken shasliks, Spanish omelette, garlic mushrooms and salad.



• A chicken and seafood paella – there was hardly a crusty base but it was still tasty. I found the crust kinda salty.



• Coffee/tea with almond biscuits – we didn’t get to this stage…see What I didn’t like.

What I liked:

• The Moroccan mint tea, especially while it’s hot. Once the tea cools down, the tea is too sweet.
• The garlic mushrooms. They only served the heads/caps of the mushrooms but they put the garlic sauce inside the heads/caps

What I didn’t like:

• The teapot holding the tea was a bit silly. It was completely metal…so the handle was hot while the tea was hot.
• My friends didn’t help me with the paella (I ended up eating about 2/3 of it). They were quite full after the mixed platter. But this isn’t really the restaurants fault.

Top tip:

The banquet is quite filling so pace yourselves! Also, opening the lid of the teapot doesn’t work like it does at Yumcha.

Rating: 7/10. But I’m definitely not ready for another paella yet…unless someone eats the bigger portion.

…I had a Snickers w/ THE LOT and it was bloody amazing.

Even though there is 15.2g of fat in the 50g bar, I prefer to think of it as being 70% fat free.

It completely cured my 3.30-itis and is a must try if you’re a chocolate lover! See Jim’s Chocolate Mission for a more in-depth and scientific review with graphs and shit.

…makes me want to stab myself in the eye with a fork. Actually I think that applies to all their drinks as well.

I actually shuddered when I took a bite out of this ‘lemon zesty slice’…

I even blurred the photo to try and make it a distant memory, but I guess there’s no point in polishing turds right?

My brother and I made Jamie Oliver’s risotto, in the mushroom variety and here are the results, garnished with shaved pecorino parmesan, chilli flakes (Italians would say this is blasphemy), and a squeeze of lemon juice – as recommended by Mr O. Does it look as good as it tastes? I think it may have tasted better than it looked, we couldn’t stop eating it.

A few months back, I did a post on Hu Tong Dumpling Bar and titled it ‘KTang’s restaurant of the month.’ That was in February which means I’m missing restaurants for March – July. But don’t worry, I’ll eventually catch up once I get out of my current eater’s block, but here are the belated restaurants of the month for March & April that are Sydney inspired…

Makoto Sushi Bar
119 Liverpool Street (Cnr, Pitt & Liverpool St.)
Sydney
Phone: +61 2 9283 6767
Web: http://www.masuya.com.au/en/makoto/

Ding Tai Fung: Xiao long bao. Yep this is another xiao long bao place, but it’s bloody good, so go get yourself 20 steamers.

Makoto: Various sushi from the sushi train.

What I liked:

Ding Tai Fung: The pastry is the so delicate yet it doesn’t break and you don’t have to be too gentle. Kinda like what a good boyfriend should be. Too bad boyfriends don’t have succulent pork fat soup on the inside.

Makoto: All the sushi is made on the spot like it should be! This means that the rice is still warm and the fish is cold. The staff are really friendly and the grilled salmon sushi…let’s just say if I saw an starving old crippled lady with a plate, I would steal it from her without hesitation.

What I didn’t like:

Ding Tai Fung: You will have to wait quite a while to get a seat because they’re that popular and they don’t take bookings.

They also have whacked operating hours:
Mon-Sun: 11.30 till 2.30 and then 5.30-10pm
Public holidays and weekends, they are open for an extra 30 mins later.

Makoto: …I can’t think of anything…

The waiting area outside Ding Tai Fung in HK. I feel bad for the restaurant next door.

Top tip:

Ding Tai Fung: Wear comfortable shoes because you’ll be standing in line for quite a while. Also, don’t bother with Ding Tai Fung in HK or ShenZhen (China), Sydney is of a much higher standard.

Makoto: Get there early before they open. They have a sheet at the front of the door where you can write down the number of people you have, where you want to sit and you then take a number that they call out when they open.

Rating:

Ding Tai Fung: 9/10. I would be happy to come back as a pig in my next life to be in one of those xiao long baos.

Makoto: 10/10. Oiiishiiiiiii.