I'm back like original Vegemite on toast

It has been a while, hasn't it friends? In fact, this hiatus was almost as long as one my toilet breaks at work. The last 3 months have been crazy but I've survived the semester, we've well and truly settled into our new place, I've triumphed over our precarious conventional oven and I have time to blog again! Life is good.

Most of you will know that Dan and I have moved out. I could not be happier with the location and 3 months later we're still discovering cool little places to grab a bite. Here are some of our favourite places to have a casual meal (for those busy nights when you want to be in and out like you mean business).

Ryo's Noodles, Crows Nest

A friend of mine hailed the noodles at this place "the best ramen in Sydney". I still think the best ramen in Sydney is from Ichiban Boshi opposite Kinokuniya in the city, but Ryo's comes really close. The servings are generous, service is fast and the gyoza is killer. Be wary of the Friday night queue that starts around 6pm and opt for no makeup as it gets pretty stuffy with no air con and hot soup.

The Counter, Crows Nest

You know those children's books that have alternate endings and you choose your own adventure? This American franchise lets you choose your own burger adventure. You get to customise every part of your burger on a neat clipboard and a short wait later you get to eat your delicious creation. The burgers are huge so wear your eating pants if you're shy about unbuckling. You have to try the apple pie shake (with real chunks of apple pie) and cheesy fries.

Guzman y Gomez, Crows Nest

I flipped out when I found I lived 2 blocks away from a GYG. Whoever thought up the concept of Mexican fast food and tequila daquiris in the one place must have been a demigod. The only disappointing thing is you can't takeaway alcoholic drinks. I'm still dreaming of the perfect world when we can walk down the street with a drink in one hand and a burrito, taco, quesadilla or nachos in the other.

Thai Emerald, Crows Nest

We get so many Thai takeaway menus in the mail and being the junk mail fiend he is, Dan brings them up to the apartment and hoards them in case we need to order Thai from 30 different places. I'm so glad I let him though because during exams, we did need those menus, and yes, I had prawn pad thai every night for 2 weeks. Thai Emerald did the best prawn pad thai in terms of taste and price. For $11.90, it's by far the cheapest pad thai in Crows Nest, the taste is almost perfect and the prawns are impressively succulent.

I also wanted to share with you guys some pictures of our new place just because it's so darn cute. I like to think of it as 1950s Californian housewife.


Hopefully I'll have a chance to pop down to Harris Farm next week and work on some recipes I've been brainstorming. Very excited!

Oprego Burger Deconstructed and Deep-Fried Cheese

It was my boyfriend Dan's birthday yesterday and I'd say his two big loves (after me!) are fast food and gaming. And so on the eve of his birthday I made him a fun little dinner combining the two. I present to you the Oporto Oprego burger deconstructed... and invading space!

This little baby has chicken drumsticks, bread wrapped with lettuce, chili and coriander sauce and Oporto's "legendary Prego sauce". It doesn't have tomato and mayo like the genuine Oprego burger but it's finger-lickin' goood! The idea is, you grab a bread and lettuce cube, dip it in the Prego sauce and eat it with a bite of chicken. And unlike a regular burger where the juices soak into the paper wrapper, you can lick every drop of flavour from the plate!

Bread, cut into cubes
Lettuce leaves
6 chicken drumsticks
1 bottle Oporto's Prego sauce
1 large red chili
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons coriander leaves
Lemon juice
Olive oil

Wash and dry drumsticks. Season with salt and cook in butter (in the oven at 180°C for roughly 45 minutes or in a pan on medium-low heat with the lid on until cooked through).

Wrap strips of lettuce around the bread cubes and secure with a toothpick.

Finely chop up chili, garlic and coriander until almost a paste. Place in a bowl and add enough olive oil to cover. Add equal amount of lemon juice. Drizzle over chicken.

Serve with Prego sauce.

I know you're wondering, "Where's the cheese, yo?" Don't worry, I would never ever skimp on cheese. That's why I also made these bad boys!

Deep-fried camembert with fresh tzatziki

I tried these at Mizuya during a food blogger meetup in Sydney and I remember thinking that my boyfriend would love them. This recipe pretty much replicates the ones I had that night and the batter is perfect.

1 wheel of camembert
1 egg
¼ cup plain flour
Bread crumbs (fresh is better)
Vegetable oil for frying
200g Greek yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon chives

Using a wet knife, cut camembert into 8 triangular slices. Carefully cut the white casing off. Insert a toothpick into the wide end.

Whisk egg and flour together in a shallow bowl.

Holding the toothpick, dip the cheese into the egg batter. Be careful to coat it all, including part of the toothpick, so the cheese doesn't ooze out in the pan. Allow the excess to drip off.

Coat in breadcrumbs and place on a plate. edit: Coating this batter in breadcrumbs is essential as it inhibits the batter from rising and forming the texture of really bad bread.

Freeze for 2 hours.

Deep-fry until brown.

Combine yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice and chives in a bowl for a dipping sauce.

Serve immediately!

Dan would probably like it if I mentioned that he doesn't actually play Space Invaders. He plays cool games like Modern Warfare 2, that also happen to ruin girlfriends' lives.

I'm kidding. I love you baby! :) Happy 22nd!

Vietnamese Chicken Roll

Chicken and dim sim roll from King's Hot Bread Hurstville, $5.30. The very best Vietnamese chicken roll in Sydney! I like mine with lots o' chilli and coriander. Best eaten in the plastic bag to catch all the beautiful soy juices that leak out. This is the proper way to succumb to fast food.