Ceci

We love Ceci! There was a time not too long ago when we used to come here about once a week. We visited Ceci again recently after quite a long hiatus and were greeted with the usual abrupt service and waitresses that don't speak much english - ahh good times! We were seated after a relatively short wait and ordered quickly as we practically knew the menu off by heart.

We knew the food was arriving soon when the waitress brought us the side dishes - small dishes of pickled stuff traditionally served as an accompaniment to the main meal. There was the usual sweet potato, acorn jelly with a slightly spicy soya sauce with green onions and sesame seeds, kimchi and radish kimchi. We were surprised to see they had replaced the pasta salad with a bean sprout side dish - not a bad change.

Side dishes: Sweet potato, acorn jelly, kimchi and soya sauce

More sides: radish kimchi and bean sprouts

I had chosen the cold spicy noodles which has a base of thin, elastic-y, slippery noodles topped with shredded veggies, egg, sesame seeds and a few ice cubes to keep the dish extra chilled. The noodles are tossed with a spicy chili sauce, similar to what you get with a bibimbub, before eating.

Cold spicy noodles

Patrick was craving the beef with rice cakes which is quite similar to jap chae but with the addition of rice cake sticks and quail eggs (and maybe a few other things).

Beef with rice cakes

Lynn's (and everyone's) favourite is the spicy chicken consisting of deep fried pieces of chicken fillet coated with a sticky, sweet and spicy sauce.

Spicy chicken and side dishes

For a little more than $10 each plus some doggy-baggy-ing Ceci is great value for consistently good Korean food.

My New Kitchen Gadget: Cookie Press and Icing Set

Having an appreciation for food means that I'm an obvious candidate for receiving food-related gifts for Christmas. Last year I got an Avanti cookie press and icing set from my Secret Santa and it has been sitting in my kitchen cupboard until last weekend when I decided to give it a test run.

The set includes a piping gun and a plethora of attachments for piping icing and making different cookie shapes - very swish!



Following the recipe included in the set, I made half a batch of buttery cookie dough which was used to fill the piping gun. Using several different cookie moulds, bits of shapely cookie dough were ejected onto baking paper for baking. This was incredibly fun to do.


The result: perfectly shaped cookies (that are even better dipped in chocolate).

Doy Tao Thai

Doy Tao Thai is one of the many Thai restaurants spotted along King St in Newtown. This little gem is located towards the quieter end near St Peters, although the restaurant itself is lively and full of activity as waitresses zip around the crowded restuarant. The food is delicious and great value and the service is friendly and surprisingly good considering how busy they are.

We visited Doy Tao for a small farewell dinner for one of our lab members. Having a vegetarian amongst our company, we ordered the vegetarian banquet for 4 and banquet A for 4. After waiting not too long, the entree's started arriving. First up were the crispy pastried curry puffs and satay chicken. Then came the vegetarian spring rolls and satay tofu which was smothered in a chunky, tangy satay sauce. Thinking that was it for the entrees, out came another plate of curry puffs and a plate of sweet, sticky honey soy chicken wings. The satay (chicken and tofu) was the highlight and some of the best I've tasted.

Curry puffs

Spring rolls

Satay tofu

Chicken wings

Included in each banquet was a soup, a salad, fried rice/pad thai and a few stir fries/curry. The seafood soup was a tangy and spicy clear broth, somewhat like a tom yum with a less intense flavour. It was packed with scallops, prawns, calamari, fish and mushrooms and was practically a meal in itself. The vegetarian version was similar in flavour but lacked the sweetness imparted by the seafood.

Seafood soup

Thai salads are always a favourite of mine, combining the flavours sweet, sour, salty and spicy on a crisp vegetable base.

Beef salad

Vegetable salad

The pad thai and fried rice were generously portioned as were each of the stir fries: chashew nut-chicken and vegetarian, chili and basil with tofu, mixed vegetable.

Pad thai

Vegetarian fried rice

Vegetable and chashew nut stir fry

Chili basil stir fry

The red curry was thick, rich and coconutty with and abundance of duck and veggies. However, I was disappointed to find a lack of lychees.

Red duck curry

Just when we all though that we could not eat another thing, the waitress offered us dessert. Sweet sticky rice cooked in coconut milk topped with steamed egg custard. Only four of us attempted dessert, sharing two portions between us. However, we were totally defeated after only getting through half.

Sticky rice and egg custard dessert

While clearing our table, the waitress suggested we try the sticky rice with mango next time - looks like we'll just have to come back again!