Care-ra-ma-lize

Sis came back from a trip to Sydney earlier this week. As usual, the first thing we talk about is food. She said that the one meal that stood out was at Billy Kwong in Surry Hills. She said Kylie’s food was surprisingly uncomplicated, fresh and delicious. So I made her vow never to make fun of Kylie and her love for “caramelise” anymore. I've always believed in her food. Ok, apart from her Hokkien mee. That was just too “radical” for me. I mean, “pickled carrots”? I’m sure I probably would’ve liked it but it did make me dubious for a minute. Anyway, Sis was so impressed she bought Kylie’s cookbook and whipped up some dishes with the meats she brought back from Oz. I still had a piece of wagyu scotch fillet in the freezer from my trip so we added that into the pile.

Sis made Kylie's marinated lamb rack with blood plum and balsamic onion relish. The meat tasted so fresh and juicy, it really didn't need the relish. The relish on its own was fabulous, sweet and tangy but it was actually too overpowering for the subtle lamb. We ended up eating the relish with the beef instead. The beef was marinated with "kecap manis" and various other ingredients before roasting in the oven. The end result was a tender, flavourful roast that reminded me of char siu. Always a good thing. We had a sweet and sour radish salad to eat with the beef. The spicy salad was a nice contrast to the fatty beef. Yati also whipped up some mashed potato with roasted garlic. It was a serenely beautiful creamy moutain that I would've willingly climbed with no fear. Sis also made mushy peas spiced up with orange zest. My brothers did not take too well to the peas. It was certainly different but perhaps too much like dessert for them.

I had ordered a cake from FatBoy, unfortunately I mixed up the dates so we could not enjoy the cake for dessert. Good news is that I have more cake to myself! Muahahaha. It’s a chocolate truffle cake laced with brandy. What a glorious beauty! Good quality chocolate with a dense velvety texture and just a thin layer of ganache. This is sophisticated adult stuff. No more poking your finger in the heavily frosted kiddie cakes. I feel so grown up! It reminds of a superb chocolate cake my brother and I used to buy religiously from the health shop near our place in London. It wasn’t as heavy but it had the same deep chocolate richness with a lighter consistency. I still have half a cake because I can only enjoy a sliver at a time. Any more I would start hallucinating clouds of chocolate meringue and dancing blocks of Cadbury.