Darwin Delights

Last weekend I ventured up to Darwin. While I was there due to unfortunate circumstances, I still managed to take advantage of some of the local food delights.

The Darwin Festival was on during my visit so one night I made my way over to the park on the Esplanade where they had live music and food stalls. I had a lovely Malaysian chicken curry and a beef massaman from local asian food restaurant, Hanuman.

On Saturday, we treated ourselves to the Parap markets. For lunch I had chicken pad thai. The green paw paw salad is also worth tasting.

Believe it or not, Darwin is a foodie paradise. One of my favourite food memories is eating chicken satay and beef massaman on the beach at sunset at the Mindil Beach markets. Life doesn’t get much better than that really.

Food heroes

I was listening to Triple M’s The Cage a few weeks ago, and a listener shared a story about his son’s school project.

The boy’s project topic was “Who is your hero?” His answer? Well, it was:

“Steak!
I love steak because it is yum and it makes me happy. It is nice when well but a bit pink.”

In an era of badly behaved sporting heroes, and hypocritical and untrustworthy politicians, I reckon this kid is spot on the money. Non human heroes are a far safer bet!

My non human hero (besides bubble tea) would have to be carrot cake. It too is yum and makes me happy but I am also astounded by the fact that an ordinary vegetable could be so tasty in cake. Who came up with the idea? Genius.

I love the fact that every bite is like a little party in my mouth and everyone is invited. Come on over nuts, cinnamon, and cream cheese icing….

I only wish my beloved carrot cake was kinder to my thighs BUT I’m sure with all the carroty goodness, one serve of carrot cake would also be equivalent to one serve of vegetables. That’s probably the best justification of them all!

What is your non human hero?

What would you do?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would have heard the news about Jessica Watson’s arrival back in Oz after sailing around the world for 7 months. Because I tie everything back to food, I thought what would her first meal be after spending 7 months eating packaged and dehydrated food?! More importantly, what would I eat if I was in her position? I think I would have to order a big, juicy steak. It would have to be a flavoursome cut like rump or sirloin. I’d have beer battered chips on the side with a big garden salad to go with it. mmmmmm. Similarly, what would I eat for my last meal ever (i.e. someone told me that I was going to die tomorrow)? Now this is an important decision and not to be taken lightly (carking it is a big occasion!). I think I would have to have seafood. For entrée, I’d have seared scallops with a bacon and nice cauliflower puree (I had this once at Ecco in Brisbane). Mains would consist of a nice curry, perhaps a King Prawn Green Curry from My Thai (in Auchenflower, my favourite Thai restaurant). For dessert, I’d have to have something with berries and chocolate; perhaps a dark chocolate tart with fresh berries on top. I am starving now after all that day dreaming…