Melbourne - Circa

I've totally loved my night Circa. It's newly owned, renovated (again) and its more easily enjoyed than ever before.

It's all down to the cleverness of the menu - want something 'hot, cold & spicy w. aromatic wines'? Sure, just pick the dish then flick open the wine list & go for an 'aromatic red' or white. Easy. Delicious. And seriously well priced.

For pudding we followed the advice of our waiter - Passionfruit, orange & chocolate souffle. Super light souffle studded with chocolate chips, served with Passionfruit sauce & orange blossom ice cream. Yep, it was as good as it sounds.

Circa, at The Prince
2 Acland st, St Kilda
Melbourne

Barcelona - W Hotel

Having stayed at the W hotel for my first ever visit to Barcelona has made me wonder how differently I would have experienced a city that I have only visited in my backpacking, hostel staying, shoestring budget travel days. Don’t get me wrong, there something amazing about the experience of a clean, centrally situated hostel, filled with adventurous young people wanting to make friends. Actually that still sounds a pretty good way of travelling, well other than the shared bathrooms. Its just my recent stay at the W Barcelona was so a part of my experience of Barcelona I can’t imagine doing it any other way.

Perched on the edge of the sea, the hotel resembles a glistening, billowing sail on a ship. It is about a 20 minute walk along the beach and port into the centre of town and if you want to catch a taxi instead of walking, there are always several waiting in the drive.

We stayed in the ‘Fabulous’ room which was a perfect size for two friends to share, we each had our own double beds and had plenty of space to relax in, the favourite spot of the room being the window seat with sweeping floor to ceiling views of the city and the sea.

We were only there for the weekend so didn’t get a chance to make the most of the W or Barcelona had to offer but thanks to the W insiders we were able to make the most of our time there trying some of the cities idiosyncratic eateries and bars.  

Although we found early December a great time for sightseeing, we decided that a trip back in the summer would be necessary  to make the most of the dinner on the terrace at Carles Abellan’s ‘Bravo 24’ restaurant, sister to the Michelin starred ‘Commerc 24’ as well as the infinity pool and deck.

W Barcelona

Placa de la Rosa dels Vents, 1,

Final Passeig de Joan de Borbo

Barcelona, Spain

www.w-barcelona.com

Recipe - Gingerbread Snowflakes

Last year I was desperate to make snowflake biscuits. By the time I decided this, London was sold out of snowflake shaped cookie cutters.

In January I was in America and visited the holy grail of the home cook - Williams Sonoma, where of course they had snowflake cookie cutters. I actually cannot believe I managed to wait until December to finally use them.

Snowflake Cookie Cutters
Williams-Sonoma
 

I made an easy gingerbread from Australian Women's Weekly and used a piping bag to decorate with the royal icing. To make my snowflakes sparkle I brushed some silver leaf onto the icing.

INGREDIENTS

Gingerbread

125g butter

110g (½ cup) sugar

1 egg yolk

300g (2 cups) plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

3 teaspoons ground ginger

2½ tablespoons golden syrup

Royal icing

1½ cups pure icing sugar

1 egg white

2 to 4 drops lemon juice

METHOD

Gingerbread

Warm golden syrup first. Measure into a small heatproof jug (remember spoon measurements are level), stand jug in a heatproof dish or saucepan of hot water until syrup warms and softens.

Cream butter and sugar until creamy, add egg yolk, beat well. Gradually add sifted dry ingredients and warm syrup, mix well.

Knead mixture lightly, roll out to 3mm thickness on lightly floured board.

Cut out biscuits, these could be any shape, lift carefully on to baking paper lined trays

Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes; cool on trays. When cold, decorate biscuits with the royal icing. 

Royal icing

Sift icing sugar. Beat egg white lightly in a small bowl, using a wooden spoon. Add icing sugar one tablespoonful at a time, beating well after each addition. When icing reaches desired consistency, beat in lemon juice. Amount of icing sugar required depends on size of egg white.

(clipped to polyvore.com)

London - Mishkin's

The latest from the Polpo posse is the New York Jewish deli styled Mishkin's. No, the food is not as good as your Grandmother's, well the chicken soup certainly isn't as good as mine's, but it is oh so pretty you must go and visit for the fun atmosphere and gorgeous fit out alone.

The menu reads like the greatest hits of New York deli's - pastrami, bagels with lox, chopped liver, blintzes and latkes, but then with some of the more American diner favourites thrown in - deliciously, melty meatballs, the Spuntino macaroni & cheese, warm chocolate chip cookies & ice cream and onion rings worth a return visit.

matzah ball chicken soup

pickled herring and horseradishy beetroot

rueben on rye

chocolate malt milkshake

bananas foster

Mishkin's

25 Catherine Street WC2B 5JS

Ph: 020 7240 2078 (You can book!)http://www.mishkins.co.uk/

Recipe - Kneidelach/Matzah Balls

In anticipation of the Jewish food trend that is now sweeping London, on my last visit home, which coincided with Pesach I documented my mother making kneidelach or in English, matzah balls. Made using a combination of whole sheets of matzah and matzah meal they keep their texture once cooked and due the addition of fried onions have a delicious savory taste. They are quite different to the ones found at The Deli West One , Mishkin's or any of the New York deli's. Obviously these are my favourite. 

All quantities are a bit of an estimate. This quantity made enough to feed the 10 of us at seder that night, with some left over. Uncooked, they keep sealed, in the fridge for a couple of days. 

Ingredients:

1 onion

Vegetable oil

6 egg whites

6 sheets of matzah

Fine matzah meal

Salt

Pepper

To serve:

Chicken soup

Fry the onions in oil until browned. Put aside to cool. 

Put the matzah in a colander and pour over boiling water to soften the matzah.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. 

Tear up the softened matzah and add with the onions, salt and pepper into the egg whites. Add a small sprinkle of matzah meal and mix, keep adding and mixing until you get a firm consistency. 

Shape the mixture into small balls, maybe soup spoon size. These will double once cooked. Refrigerate for a few hours. 

To cook your kneidelach, boil them in salted water for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them, they may need more time (still raw in the middle) or less time (they break up into a matzah mess) I prefer to cook the kneidls separately from the soup so that they don't absorb it all and the soup does not get cloudy. 

London - The Deli West One

I'm not sure which I'm more excited about - all the fabulous new places popping up around Marylebone making my lunchtimes and afterwork drinks infinitely more interesting, with Synergy Lab, Meat Liquor and Roti Chai being the newest additions or the Jewish moment London seems to be experiencing with the immeninent arrival of Mishkin's and the Kosher Roast pop up.

This would quite possibly make The Deli West One the most exciting new opening as it combines the two. Located on Blandford Street, in Marylebone, 6 minutes walk from my desk, this matchbox sized diner features an authentic New York deli menu of chicken soup with matza balls, pastrami on rye and smoked salmon bagels.

Given the size The Deli is easiest experienced take-away although there are a few tables and everyone eating there seemed to know each other.

Currently only open at lunch, The Deli West One will be open in the evenings from the end of November.

The Deli West One

51 Blandford Street

Marylebone, London, W1U 7HJ

http://www.thedelilondon.com/

London - Hawksmoor Guildhall

The original plan last night was a quick drink in the bar at the new Hawksmoor Guildhall. The city location being a good central point for three people that live and work in completely different directions. At some point the possibility of oysters was mentioned. The moment the bar menu was put on the table everything changed with the possibility of a Short-Rib French dip. 'Braised beef short-rib sandwich with Ogleshield and English mustard. With bone marrow gravy for dipping.' A long, soft brioche bun, slow braised short rib, melty Ogleshield cheese, a bit of heat from the English mustard, all dipped in the unctous bone marrow gravy. Seriously, a revelation.

To finish you must save room for the hot chocolate rum pudding with pouring cream. We shared one. Biggest error of the evening.

Hawksmoor Guildhall

10/12 Basinghall St.

London.

EC2V 5BQ

020 7397 8120

http://thehawksmoor.co.uk/