Marcus Brau, Berlin

We stumbled across Marcus Brau while wandering through Berlin in search of a place for dinner. It's an unassuming little pub that serves your typical(?) German meat-and-potato-type dishes.

To start we had frisches bauernbrot, a dense German bread served with cheese, gherkin and dripping (yes, lard!). Once you get over the fat-factor, this is actually quite nice, similar to butter but with more flavour.

Frisches Bauernbrot

Andy, always up for a meat challenge, ordered the geschmorte schweinshaxe (roasted pork knuckle) which came with potatoes, sauerkraut and a huge dollop of mustard.

Geschmorte Schweinshaxe

I had the thuringer rostbratl, a more modest serve of panfried pork with onions and potatoes. The pork was a little boring on its own but not bad with the fried onions and potatoes - goes to show that everything tastes better fried! :D

Thuringer Rostbratl

Irene went for the Flammkuchen, a German style pizza, this one topped with sausage and cheese.

Flammkuchen Marcus Brau

All in all, Marcus Brau lived up to our expectations of meat-and-potatoes German food!

Munchings in Berlin

Apart from meals, we did a fair amount of snacking in Germany.

On our first day in Berlin, we came across a festival/fair at Alexanderplatz. Food stalls were set up around the square, mostly selling various kinds of sausage. The currywurst tasted like a typical frank doused in McDonald's curry sauce (that you get with the chicken nuggets). It's not exactly bad, but kinda goes into the same genre as a kebab.

Currywurst

The riesenboulette was like a patty version of a sausage with a bit more texture - not bad with tomato sauce and mustard.

Riesenboulette im brotchen

Rostbratwurst im brotchen

Something our friend Andy was told he had to try was the Berliner Weisse mit schuss, and he was specifically told that he had to have the "schuss". As it turned out, this was a German wheat beer flavoured with an incredibly sweet syrup (schuss). It came in both the red and green varieties. Although I'm not a fan of beer, this additive did not win me over.

Berliner Weisse mit Schuss (green)

Also spotted at this fair was a half metre long sausage although we were not game enough to try it!

Stand selling 1/2 metre long sausages

Along a similar vein was the frikendel (deep fried sausage) with chips and mayo from Frites van Holland (sausages and chips take away stand). Once again, dubious meat content but the mayo is soo beautifully creamy!

Frikendel

We stopped for coffee and le marc de champagne cake at Peter's Konditorei. The cake was light and spongey and filled with lots of cream and a splodge of fruit.

le Marc de Champagne

From Karstadt supermarket, Erdnuss-Flips, which I'd best describe as rice puffs covered in peanut butter. Quite morish!

Erdnuss-Flips (Peanut chips)

Lastly, an apple donut from one of the numerous bakery/coffee places in Berlin - sweet, sugary and delicious!

Apple donut

Next post: the meat fest!

Borough Markets, London

Borough markets is every foodies dream and my favouritest place in the world! It is mostly a growers market, selling fresh produce, cheeses, olives, breads, cakes and a plethora of other edibles. Best to visit on an empty stomach as all the samples are sure to fill you up! If not, its easy to be tempted by the fish and chips or venison burger or the raclettes (potato with melted cheese and pickles) or the brownies...

I think the pictures speak for themselves...

More types of olives than you can imagine!

Apples and juices

Cheese, cheese and more cheese!

Salami

Raclettes: The block of cheese is melted under a grill then scraped onto a pile of potatoes. Served with picked onions and gherkins - yum!

Cakes

Baklava

Artisan bread

Huge brownie stack - this was mostly gone after a round of the markets!

Beautiful tomatoes!

Tarts

Spices

Mushies

I found this sign amusing :)

The only drawback is that is has ruined me for all other markets!! I love Borough markets!

Fifteen, London

What a break! With my thesis submitted and refreshed from my UK/Europe holiday, I finally have some time to blog. Not to say that the eating had stopped over this time, if anything I have been eating more than ever (it's tough being overseas - sigh!).

The first thing on my list for London was a visit to the Fifteen Trattoria. All I can say is that I loved it! The food was delicious, the restaurant had a lovely rustic feel, the service was fantastic and I love what the restaurant is all about.


We started with various entrees. The pasta for my ravioli was fresh and al dente and the beef filling was meltingly tender.

Beef stew ravioli

Lamb ragu tagliatelle

Risotto 'ai frutti di mare'

Potato gnocchi with Italian sausage ragu

We got some sides for the table: roasted potatoes with rosemary and garlic, leafy salad with parmesan and balsamic and green beans with chili and garlic.

Roast potatoes

My lamb was an impressive chunk of meat, tender and moist, and served with fennel and chard.

Pan-roasted leg of lamb

Pan fried rainbow trout

Chicken with pesto and pearl couscous (?)

Although we were all stuffed after our mains, the waiter somehow talked us into ordering dessert. These finished the meal perfectly. The cranberry tart was a little tarty and a little bready and delicious with custard. The creme brulee was velvety smooth with an aromatic coffee flavour.

Rustic cranberry tart

Espresso creme brulee

Not a bad way to start my foodie holiday!

Stra Pocha

This place is HOT!! And I mean literally. For once we decided to stray from Ceci and try out this infamous restaurant in Strathfield known for its spicy chicken. A Korean friend of ours was warned upon ordering this dish that it was extremely spicy and she might not be able to handle it.

Whole BBQ chicken with special hot sauce

So did it live up to the hype? You bet! This dish is easily one of the hottest foods I have ever tasted. The heat starts as a warm burn in your mouth and keeps on building until you just have to give in to the water. For those who don't have taste buds of steel, there are other less spicy dishes on the menu, rated by the number of chilis next to the name, but definitely give the chicken a try - it's soo good!

Pony

Pony is a funky little restaurant right at the centre of the Rocks. The food is described as a "fusion of traditional Mediterranean and modern Australian cuisine". They have a range of tapas style dishes which is what we decided on that night.

Grilled Italian flatbread with smoky eggplant and white bean dip; Artisanal hand made salami, grissini; Baked eggplant, basil and feta rolls, tomato sugo; Crisp fried prawns, sichuan spice, sweet soy; Wood fired chipolatas 'le saveur de romeo', tomato relish; Salad of wild baby rocket, pear, fennel and parmesan; Chicken skewers, rosemary, lemon and mustard marinade; Seared scallops, green pawpaw, cucumber, cashews, lime and palm sugar; Pumpkin and ricotta tortellini, burnt sage butter.

All the food was exquisite! Highlights included the eggplant dip, garlicky, tangy and chunky; the eggplant rolls with a creamy feta centre; the chipolatas, smoky and meaty; pumpkin tortellini with a sweet and creamy filling.

The staff were attentive and helpful and the restaurant had a bustling atmosphere. An overall wonderful dining experience.

Outback Steakhouse

Sometimes you just gotta have meat! The Outback Steakhouse at North Strathfield is part of an American chain of Australian themed restaurants and fitted the bill perfectly. It was a busy friday night and without a booking, we had a half our wait for our table.

All the mains here are ginormous and come with a side salad/soup and your choice of baked potato, mash potato, sweet potato, chips or steamed veggies.

Pumpkin soup, house salad and bread

Drover's Platter: Ribs and chicken breast with mash potato and cinnamon apples

I ordered the smaller portion (8 oz) of the Kakadu Prime Rib Roast with an extra half rack of ribs. The ribs were smothered in smokey BBQ sauce and were incredibly tender. The steak was was perfectly cooked to medium but was a little on the fatty side.

Kakadu Prime Rib Roast with half rack of ribs and potato mash

I didn't ask how my friends found their meals but seeing as they all finished with empty plates, I took that as a good sign.

The Nullarbor with baked sweet potato

Victoria's filet with chips

Barbie Chook 'N Bacon burger with chips

Torsten and Tanja's Wedding

Our friends Torsten and Tanja recently wedded on the cliffs of South Head. Although the sun was a little indisposed that day, the ceremony was beautiful - even the bits in German that we couldn't understand!

After the ceremony, we were water taxied to Clonny's for the reception. This is a quaint waterside restaurant overlooking The Spit in Clontarf. The tables were decorated with green satin table runners, sand, pebbles, shells and scented candles and in keeping with the green and cream theme of the bride and groom.

Served alternately, these were the entrees:

White cut chicken with wasabi noodle salad

Spiced chicken flatbread with chili jam and yoghurt relish

Mains:

Roast sirloin of beef with gratin potato, beans and mushroom glaze

Pan seared barramundi with gratin potato and veggies

And dessert:

Panna cotta with summer berry salad and savioradi

Tiramisu with raspberry coulis

Overall the food was delicious. I was only a little disappointed with my tiramisu which tasted like the panna cotta base with an added layer of sponge and cocoa. This was remedied by second dessert - wedding cake! This was three tiered with chocolate mud on top, strawberry in the middle and lemon curd cake on the bottom, representing the three colours of the German flag.

Wedding cake

Congratulations guys!

Carrot and Orange Cupcakes

And so the baking begins... More thesis writing means more baking! This time, carrot and orange cupcakes from a little cheapie I picked up in a Myer sale.


Ingredients:
115 g butter, softened
115 g light brown sugar
juice and rind of 1 small orange
2 large eggs, beaten
175 g carrots, grated
25 g walnuts, chopped (I doubled this)
125 g plain flour
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Beat the butter, sugar and orange rind until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Squeeze any excess liquid from the carrots and add to the mixture with the walnuts and orange juice. Mix well. Sift in the flour, mixed spice and baking powder then fold into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into 12 paper cases. Bake at 180 degreesC for 25 minutes.


For the icing:
280 g mascarpone cheese
4 tbsp icing sugar
grated rind of 1 large orange

Beat all the ingredients until well mixed. Spread icing on cold cupcakes.

These cupcakes are a little on the small side but deliciously moist and the creamy icing is divine!