Actually, I hope this ordinance has been decommisioned. We’re at Phonsavanh, near the Plain of Jars. If you are familiar with the Vietnam War you will know that more bombs were dropped in this area than just about anywhere else on earth in a secret war wage by the CIA. Unexploded ordinance is still a [...]
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There’s nothing quite like a beer at sunset next to the Meekong whereever you are along its length. Tonight we are in Luang Prabang enjoying the Carlsberg-owned Beer Laos. If you ever wanted to visit Asia and been a bit to scared then this is the place to be. Or perhaps you are an inner-city [...]
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Take one thich segment of bamboo. Add rice, beans and coconut milk. Stuff the top with rice hay and place in embers until cooked. When cool, peel away the bamboo on one side. Remove the plug of hay and pick out the rice and beans with your fingers. These are available all along the roadside. [...]
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I’m back on street food and the BBQ snake looks particularly good. These look like little bears but are actually frogs. Not today as I ate a ponds worth yesterday. The snake comes with a salt and pepper mix, fresh herbs and limes. I chew on the skin and it does taste good. Why shouldn’t [...]
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Now I really do know the meaning of green papaya salad at the Srassrang View Restaurant near Angkor Wat. You’ve been working in the fields all day – or as I have cycling 40km along hot dusty roads. Your mouth is dry, your mind weak and the body is tired. Green papaya has everything you [...]
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Three years ago I went on a boozy winery tour with a busload of artist mates. Somehow along the way I managed not only to buy two small olive trees, but also two magnificent French oak wine barrels to plant…
There’s a rumour that Melbourne hospitals lay on extra staff in the Emergency Department at this time of year. Yes, it's tomato season and given our vast migrant population, there will invariably be a few home-bottling and canning disasters. Every Italian…
Making yoghurt at home is really simple and doesn't take much science. Here we make two different styles of yoghurt using both cows' and goats' milk.
It took four hours of a Saturday afternoon to construct this gigantic pie.
The recipes available are all pretty similar, three different types of pork with herbs and spices surrounded by jelly and encased in a hot water pastry. This one…
There's a lot of meat and fat in a pork pie including the hot crust pastry which is made with lard and butter.
I bought a whole tub of dripping, which is basically like lard (pig fat) but from beef, as…
Five days later and the bacon is cured. Salty and sweet, with a hint of juniper and sage, it was worth it.
Nothing is ever easy for me. Frustrated by the poor quality of filling and pastry in local pork…
Recent journalismWe don't see much innovation in cookbooks nowadays but The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adria is as you'd expect from one of the world's most innovative chefs.
What most…
Consult a financial adviser before drinking from a Riedel.
Dishwasher tablets erode your glasses and crockery. Use liquid instead.
Decant heavier reds at least 8 hours before drinking.
If you want to drink…
Three years ago I went on a boozy winery tour with a busload of artist mates. Somehow along the way I managed not only to buy two small olive trees,…
There’s a rumour that Melbourne hospitals lay on extra staff in the Emergency Department at this time of year. Yes, it's tomato season and given our vast migrant population, there…
Making yoghurt at home is really simple and doesn't take much science. Here we make two different styles of yoghurt using both cows' and goats' milk.
One of the most exciting chefs to be in town for the Sydney International Food Festival was the witty and erudite David Thompson. If you aren't familiar with Thompson, the…
I recently had a non-brush with death while eating what turned out not to be my last meal.
It made me think of all the meals I'd wasted. A bad…
Neil Perry (left), Thomas Keller and Heston Blumenthal (bald). Courtesy of the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival.
On the SBS Food site you can see my story on meeting Thomas Keller…
Typical. Just as the world peaked Paul Levi, the man who had no small part in bringing us the slightly dubious word “Foodie”, launches the Gastrosexual, a man with more…
With thanks to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
It's 3.50 on a Friday afternoon. I've just finished a great meal cooked by Scott Pickett at The Point in Albert Park…
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