Charcoal Bamboo Roll

Charcoal Bamboo Roll from Breadtop. Absolutely delicious and no charcoal taste. It is flavoured with butter and garlic. A must try with your eyes closed!

Hung Cheung Chinese Seafood Restaurant

338 Marrickville Road,
Marrickville, NSW, 2204
Ph. (02) 9560 4681
Hours: Open 7 days, 9am - 11pm

Hung Cheung certainly does do one of the best Yum Cha's in Sydney and it's no secret. Pop in on a weekend and expect lots of hustle and bustle. Grab a ticket inside and join the queue, the short wait is certainly worth it!

Hung Cheung is a seafood restaurant so the Yum Cha is more seafood orientated, however there is a great variety of other meals on offer.

Some of our favourites include:

Chicken's Feet

Chilli Tripe

Pork Ribs

Snow Pea & Prawn Dumplings

Ginger Tripe

Egg Custard Tart



Some of the other dishes on offer include:

- Dumplings: Spinach / Garlic Chive /  Seafood Combination / Prawn

- Salt & Pepper White Bait

- Salt & Pepper Calamari

- Salt & Pepper Lobster

- Singapore Noodles

- Prawn Noodles

- Blood Jelly

- Sticky Rice

- Pork Buns

- Mango Pancakes

What sets this Yum Cha restaurant from the rest is its use of fresh ingredients. The dumplings are made fresh on site and there certainly is a large turnover of food.

Don't expect the decor of a hatted restaurant. The restaurant has recently undergone some modest renovations but could certainly do with some more loving attention.

Each of the dishes are priced based on their size. Small $4.20, Medium $4.80 and Large $5.80. Other dishes, such as their 'Specials' are around $7 - $9. Expect to pay around $15 - $20/head.

The service here is quite friendly. Should you not see the Yum Cha dish you are after or should you wish to order from the menu, don't be shy, grab a waiter and they will happily see to your request. They also have alcoholic beverages on the menu and the option to B.Y.O.

This place is great for weekend family lunches, noisy kids and those recovering from the night before. Expect nothing less than fast, tasty and great food. The dinner option of a la carte is also definitely worth a try.

Honey Harvesting

Our honey harvest this year was quite successful with our pleasant non-aggressive honey bees producing 80 kilograms of honey, that's a whopping 40 litres. We made an early start on an ideal hot dry day to gather, extract, filter and jar the honey. The process took us around 5 hours in total.

We began by preparing our replacement frames and foundation. Preparation and having everything in order is key to a successful honey harvest. Next, we prepared the extraction area, fired up the smoker and kitted ourselves up in our protective clothing.

The Smoker using dry Heshen

When approaching the hive, we checked for activity at the front door of the hive. Since it was the morning, most of the worker bees had left or were leaving the hive.

Worker Bees at the entrance of the hive

Inside the hive

From the side, we then removed the weather proofed lid and carefully removed the internal cover to expose the hive. Gently, smoke was blown across the tops of the honey filled frames whilst we made sure not to directly blow smoke into the hive.

Blowing smoke across the honey filled frames

Carefully, we removed frame by frame using the hook end of the hive tool. Next, we gently brushed the bees off with a feather and placed the frames into a covered storage box.

Honey filled frames and the hive tool

Brushing the bees off

Storing the loot

Once all of the frames had been removed from the hive and replaced with new frames, it was time to extract the honey. In a pot of very hot water we immersed the de-capping knife. This is the tool which removes the caps of the cells that have been filled with honey. Running the blade horizontally we de-capped the cells to release the honey.

Capped honey cells

De-capping

Two de-capped frames were then placed into the extractor and spun gently at one handle revolution per second. Honey began to splatter on to the walls of the extractor and gather at the base of the drum. Next, the frames were rotated and spun on the other side to release as much honey as possible from the frames.

Extracting the honey

After all of the honey was extracted, we sieved the wax from the honey and ladled the honey into sterilised jars.

Passing the honey through the sieve

Jarring

The final result, golden honey on hot freshly baked bread. Heavenly and definitely worth all of the effort.

The final product

Roasted Marrow Bones with Parsley Salad

Ingredients
1.2Kg (approx 6-8, 8-12cm long) Pieces of Calf/Yearling Marrow Bones
        (tip: get your butcher to cut the bone into the required lengths)
1 Bunch of Flat Leaf (Continental) Parsley, chopped roughly
2 French Shallots, very finely diced
1 Tbspns Capers, roughly chopped
2 Tbspns Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbspns Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
A Good Quality Salt, such as Murray River Salt Flakes or Fler de Sel Salt
8 Thick Slices of Toasted Artesian Bread, check out our awesome finds: http://the2littlepiggies.blogspot.com/search/label/Bakery



Method
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Place bones, cut side up on a baking tray/Corning Ware/ovenproof frypan.

Carefully place the bones into the oven and bake for around 15-20 minutes. Please note, if the bones are very cold (i.e. straight from refrigerator), the baking time might be increased to around 25 minutes.

Check the bones at the 15 minute mark to see if the marrow is soft and has begun to separate from the bone. Note: remove bones from the oven just as the marrow begins to ooze out.

Meanwhile, combine chopped parsley, finely diced shallots and chopped capers in a small mixing bowl.

Just before serving combine olive oil and lemon juice and whisk. Drizzle dressing over  the parsley mixture and toss (best using one’s hands) until just coated in the dressing.

Place roasted bones, parsley salad, salt and toast on a large plate. To serve, scoop out the marrow, spread on toast, sprinkle with a little salt and top with parsley salad.  Suggested cutlery: crab, lobster picks and digging tools work well in getting the marrow out & onto your toast.

Taruhachi Restaurant

Shop 5
83 Mount Street,
North Sydney, NSW, 2060
Ph. (02) 9954 6441
Hours: Mon - Fri 12pm - 2pm & from 6pm

You certainly can not get more traditional Japanese than Taruhachi in North Sydney. What a find! Traditional, it certainly is, with the tv playing our all time favourite Japanese shows, right down to the manga magazines on hand.

The walls are lined with the usual specials, mostly in Japanese. The lunch menu consists mainly of set bento boxes consisting of a main (choose from the menu on the wall, with a side of salad, fruit, rice and miso soup), while the dinner is A La Carte. The lunch trade is also extremely busy however, the evenings tend to be a lot more quiet suitable for an intimate dinner for two or a group gathering. The restaurant is not large so there is limited seating.

Tempura ($18)

Our recommendation, come here for the Tempura and Agedashi Tofu. Definitely the best we've ever had. The tempura is so crisp, light and not oily. There is a great variety of veggies and seafood in this dish. The Agedashi Tofu is also crispy on the outside and delicately soft on the inside. I'm told by the waitress that this is their signature dish.

Agedashi Tofu (Deep-Fried Bean Curd, $8.80)

Other dishes worthy of a note are certainly the Agedashi Nasu and Negi Maki.

Agedashi Nasu (Deep-Fried Eggplant, $8.80)

Negi Maki (Marinated Beef wrapped around Shallots, $9.80)

Some other dinner dishes on offer include:

- Torikara-age (Marinated Deep-Fried Chicken, $9.50)

- Yakitori  (Skewered Grilled Chicken, $10.80)

- Sushi ($22.00) & Sashimi ($28)

- Teriyaki Chicken or Fish ($15.80)

- Teriyaki Beef ($17.80)

- Tonkatsu (Deep-Fried Crumbed Pork, $15.80)

- Nabeyaki Udon, Tempura Udon or Soba ($15.80)

- Oyako-Don ($15)

- Katsu-Don ($18.80)

- Natto ($4.00)

- Oshinko ($5.00)

Sushi ($22)

The Japanese dinner menu is more extensive than the English one on offer so just ask the friendly waitress to translate, recommend or you suggest a dish.

Deep-Fried Garlic (From the Japanese Menu)

Maguro Sashimi (From the Japanese Menu)

This restaurant is very popular with the local Japanese and North Sydney workers alike. It is not cheap, however the quality is certainly worth the price. For two we generally pay from $50 - $70 for dinner but the good news is, this premises is BYO with a $1 corkage. Expect to pay around $18 - $20 for lunch and a possible wait due its popularity.

Sanma Chips (From the Japanese Menu)

Highly recommended if you are after authentic Japanese food and to reminisce about being in Japan. We are now regular diners of this restaurant and the only let down is that they aren't open on the weekend!

Brot & Wurst

1442 Pittwater Road,

North Narrabeen,

NSW, 2101

Ph. (02) 9970 6151

Hours: Tues - Fri 9am - 5pm; Sat 8am - 4pm, Sun 8am - 3pm

One word best describes this place, and that is 'amazing'! This would definitely have to be the best of our latest finds in Sydney. Brot and Wurst is a family run business on the Northern Beaches serving Sydney's best German small goods, breads and pastries.

Run by a German master butcher of 25 years, Dean Stockburger and his family, this place draws in crowds from all across Sydney and you can see why. His small goods are manufactured on site and are comparable to the best in Germany.

When approaching this store you will be lured in by the smell of smoked meats from their smokehouse, which by the way, uses imported German sawdust. Upon entry, your eyes will feast on an array small goods including suelze, liverwurst, hams, salami, speck and hocks, as well as a fine selection of European dry goods and freshly baked breads and pastries.

A selection of their products include:
- Suelze

- Liverwurst

- Leber Kaese

- Pizza Meatloaf

- Gebackener Bierschinken

- Black Forest Ham

- Kassler

- Tounge Wurst

- Gypsy Ham

- Hungarian Salami

- Danish Salami

- Smoked Beef

- Buender Fleisch

- Pate de Campagne

- Speck

- Smoked Pork Hock

- Chsabi

- Blut Wurst

- Fleisch Salad

- Wurst Salad

- Sauerkraut

- Grieben Schmalz

- Nurnberger

- Thuringer

- Weisswurst

- Pork Bratwurst

- Bockwurst

- Smoked Kransky

- Smoked Chorizo

- Cheese Frankfurter

- Cevapcici

- German Rye

- Pretzels

- Sourdough

- Polish Rye

- Croissants

- Cherry Strudel

- Hazelnut Twist

- Mustards

- Garlic Sauce & Salad Dressings

- Belgium Bernaise Sauce

- Hollandaise Sauce

- Rosti

- Honey Cake

- Riga Sprats
- Fried Herrings

- Senf Gherkins

- Curley Kale

- Sluisje Hazelnut Squares

- Dutch Peanut Lace Biscuits

Not sure of what to buy? The friendly staff are more than happy to cut you a sample to try before you buy. They are also very helpful when it comes to food allergies. Prices are reasonable and all products are of a high quality.

The store is quaint and the walls display a collection of awards for their small goods. All of the small goods are gluten, colour, soy and preservative free. I could seriously spend hours here! The family that run this store are so friendly and offer a level of service that these days is becoming difficult to come by.

My only regret? Not living closer to this store! I can see why people travel far and wide across Sydney to visit Brot & Wurst. A visit to this store is a must!

Our purchases on the day included suelze, leberkaese and proscuitto.

Pfefferjaeger. Absolutely superb!

Egg Free Chicken Schnitzel

Ingredients
1 Kg Chicken Breast
1 1/2 Cups of Milk
2 Tbspns Maggi Seasoning
1 Tbspn Paprika
6 Garlic Cloves, crushed
3 Cups of Bread Crumbs for coating
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil for frying

Method
In a large mixing bowl, add the milk, garlic, paprika and Maggi seasoning. Whisk together until the mixture is combined. Set aside.

Lay a chicken breast down on a plastic cutting board. Carefully slice the chicken breasts (parallel to the board) in half starting at the thickest end. Repeat for each breast fillet.

Place the chicken into the marinade mixture, ensuring that all of the chicken has been coated in the marinade and return the bowl to the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

On a large plate, lay out half of the bread crumbs. Remove the chicken from the fridge and crumb each fillet with bread crumbs.

In a large non-stick frypan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Carefully place the crumbed chicken onto the hot pan and cook for 7 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove schnitzels from the pan and place onto absorbent paper for 1 minute.

Serve with your favourite condiments such as lemon, mustards, sweet chilli, Piri Piri and BBQ sauces.