Sunday Brunch @ Cafe Pinocchio (298 Rathdowne Street, Nth Carlton. Tel. 9349 2777

This morning I enjoyed a reunion with some long lost friends from high school days.

 We met at a cute cosy cafe in Carlton - Cafe Pinocchio.

I arrived early (10 minutes early in true Japanese style)

and was greeted by a most friendly and welcoming staff member 

together with the barista. The coffee was excellent, the waitress remembered

our coffee orders without writing them down, and the barista added my equal

sugar in for me on my second order of coffee - most impressive. The cafe was

empty when I arrived, and full when we left. True to its name, the cafe had little

reminders of Pinocchio throughout and miniature
Pinocchios in the cake display, very cute.

The interior was welcoming with groovy chairs covered in old hessian

coffee bean bag fabric, as well as a cosy little fireplace. Lovely little

touches throughout the cafe such as a little maple tree in the window

and this vase of greenery, all made for a lovely ambiance.

     

The menu was simple in a good way, with a nice selection of dishes

to choose from, without being overwhelming. I opted for the seasonal

special of pancakes with poached pear and ricotta cheese. The pancakes

complimented the coffee beautifully and were an indulgent way to start

the morning. The only negative note being that I did wonder at the freshness

of the poached pears, which were meant to have been the highlight of the dish.

Aside from that, presentation was lovely and the pancakes were cooked

to perfection.

Once the cafe started filling up, another waitress apparently started

 her shift, but failed to be as smiling and caring as our first waitress,

who saw that we were looked after to the end of our stay. All in all, this was a

lovely spot to drop into for coffee and brunch and there was plenty of parking around,

which was a definite bonus. Definitely worth a visit away from the crowds of Lygon Street.

Next Day Chicken Curry Grattan Recipe

Using the leftover curry and rice from the night before, I often dish up a curry grattan ready to be thrown into the oven the next day for lunch. If you have run out of rice, you can slice up some potatoes and par-boil them gently. Spray the base of your souffle or oven-ok dish with some cooking oil and make a couple of layers of potato slices. Then follow the instructions as below.

Cooking Instructions:

1) Spray some souffle or similar dishes with cooking oil (I tend to use olive oil cooking spray). Then fill the dishes with some rice (the amount depends on how much curry you have left). I opted for under a half a bowl for each dish.

2) Top the rice with the leftover curry to near full. (I left one of my dishes as a normal curry as my daughter does not yet like the crunchy texture of a grattan).

3) Top each dish with some Japanese Panko (Bread crumbs). Panko is available in the asian section of supermarkets or from Asian supermarkets. (Do not use regular breadcrumbs as the texture does not compare. If at a loss, make your own breadcrumbs by putting some bread in a food processor and cutting with a blade (keep the crumbs largish).

4) I usually add some grated cheese to the top of mine (hubbie does not like cheese so none on his).
This time I also added a few drops of hot sesame oil to the top of each dish to spice them up. Hot sesame oil is a spicy red-coloured sesame oil available for puchase in small bottles (usually from Asian supermarkets). In Japanese it is known as Ra-Yu. You can also buy Korean versions.

5) Put the grattan dishes into a moderate overn (180 degrees C) for approx 15 mins or until curry is warm through and breadcrumb topping looks crunchy (& cheese has melted). Delicious and easy.

I feel like Chicken tonight! - Japanese Chicken Curry.

For those of you who have never tried Japanese curry, this is a most simple and may I add, very addictive & flavoursome dish. Japanese curry cannot be likened to Indian or Thai curries. It is a curry all in itself with a mild flavour and a thick texture not so unsimiliar to a spicy casserole or hot pot. This is a commonly made dish at home by Japanese mums, but it is also popular enough to also find at restaurants in Japan. Japan even has specialized curry restaurants, offering a variety of 'extra toppings' such as a crumbed and fried chicken or pork fillet on top. Curry restaurants offer a unique pickle that can also be placed on top of the curry for extra texture - highly recommended.

Now, to create your own curry experience at home, you will need one of the following:

S & B Golden Curry Sauce Mix (200g)

or

S & B Torokeru Curry (Tasty curry sauce mix) (200g)

The key to Japanese curry is using a unique curry sauce mix, that although is probably not the most healthy, is certainly the maker of the dish. I opt for the largest packet available in asian supermarkets (200g) and make a big batch, one that will feed 3 people for dinner and again for lunch the next day (watch out for my curry gratan recipe to follow).

Ingredients (my version):

3-4 chicken thigh fillets diced

5-6 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2-3 carrots peeled and cubed

2 brown onions sliced

extra vegetables as desired (I used some leftover enoki mushrooms for added texture)

Cooking Instructions:

1) Peel and cube the potatoes and carrots. Cut the skin off the chicken thigh fillets and cut into cube sized pieces. Cut any other vegetables you would like to add (I cut the ends of some leftover enoki mushrooms).

2) Add a lug of olive oil to a large heated saucepan and brown chicken and onion.

3) Once the chicken and onion are nicely browned, I then add 6 cups of hot water to the pan and boil the chicken for about 15 minutes. This ensures the chicken is stewed for a short time creating a much more tender result.

4) Make sure you scoop out any chicken/vegetable scum that appears on the surface of the boiling water. The Japanese are very attentative to this process and believe it can make or break a dish. I must agree.

5) Add all of the diced veggies to the boiling water and boil for a further 30 mins. At the end of about 20 minutes you will need to add another 2-3 cups water (to maintain the original 6 cups). Be careful when adding water, as if you add too much the result will be a very runny flavoursome curry. Try and keep a consistent 6 cups in the pan. (During the 30 mins wait time, you could put on your rice to cook at the same time).

6) At the end of the 30 mins or so, turn the heat off, break up the curry sauce mix and add it all to the pot. Stir well to dissolve the sauce and then turn the heat back on (medium heat) and simmer slowly for 5 mins.

7) DEKIAGARI -DESU! (It's ready!)

All you need to do now is serve your curry with some rice. This is a really popular dish with my 3 year old and family and friends alike. Not overly gourmet, but hearty and warming, and unusally Japanese. I highly recommend it.

that's all for today!

my Rice Story - 6/145 Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe. Tel. 03 9499 6180

Tonight I dragged my daughter out into the cold to go to dinner. My husband is overseas on business, so I figured it would be a nice opportunity for a mother-daughter night out. Wearing our woollen hats we arrived for the second time at 'my Rice Story' in Ivanhoe. The name itself is alluring enough for me as it is, but this cute little dining spot is a gem waiting to be uncovered at the back of a little shopping center in Ivanhoe.

The menu is healthy and simple, although apparently the number of choices offered puts some people off, but I love the concept of choice. On my first visit I had the bibimba (a kind of rice salad with finely sliced beef, a mountain of beautiful veggies and spicy korean sauce). Tonight I opted for the dinner box with bulgogi (finely sliced beef), fluffy white rice, a yummy garden salad and chewy potato noodles. My 3 year old devoured her veggie dumplings so quickly we had to order another plate. With a somewhat soft chewy but crunchy texture, the man sitting in front of us kept yelling out his order for more of these little dumplings priced at just $4.50.

The owners are lovely and remembered us even though we had only visited once before. Before we knew it, my daughter was given a container of cruncy seaweed style chips to chew on, and at the end of the meal a take away cup with some Korean biscuits in it. 

The decor at this cute little eating spot is clean and bright, but there are only 2 tables for some reason, and a counter for eating at. my Rice Story is mainly a take away shop, but has a lovely amount of shiny new magazines available for reading while waiting.

Definately worth a try, if only to create your own rice story or find out the lovely owners' story.