Yamazaki 18

Yamazaki 18. This is the whisky that truly got me into Japanese whiskies. When I was starting my whisky journey, I had read a lot about Japanese whiskies, but the ones I had tried never blew me away i.e. Yamazaki 12, Hibiki 17, Hakushu 18. I've since revisited my opinion of the Hakushu 18 (though I remain blasé about the other two).

But I still remember when I first had Yamazaki 18. One Friday night after work at Grain Bar under the Four Seasons with some friends. The moment I tasted it, I thought "This is amazing, I need to have a bottle!". A few weeks later, I ordered a bottle and it was delivered to my work. This whisky kickstarted my love of Japanese whisky.

Yamazaki 18

The Yamazaki 18 is one of Yamazaki's standard single malt expressions. The whisky that makes up this expression has been aged 18 years in bourbon, sherry and Japanese mizunara casks, before being blended together. Its won a whole host of prizes (http://www.suntory.com/factory/whisky/prize/index.html) and basically every loves it.

However, none of that will give you an idea about how it tastes. So without further ado, I've set out my tasting notes below:

Smell

• Very rich
• Sherry and currants
• Spices
• Toasted cereals

Mouth feel

• Very thick and syrupy
• Slowly spreads around your tongue

Taste

• Poached apples
• Sherry
• Exotic dark chocolate and carame
• Toasted wheat and hazelnuts - possibly biscuits
• Thick honey
• Oak and very subtle smoke, supporting the other flavours

Finish

• Warm and very long
• Very complex tastes that lingers
• Vanilla and coffee

If you haven't guessed from my opening paragraphs, I love this whisky. Once you taste this whisky, drinking other whiskies are but gazing into a mirror dimly. I would rate it as one of the top 2 whiskies I've ever had (the other being Caol Ila 25 years). The rich nose that just invites you to taste it, the incredibly punchy, complex and balanced flavours, and the long, comforting finish combine to make one of the best whiskies on the market. 

The main Scottish whisky that I think is analogous to the Yamazaki 18 is the Highland Park 18. However, although it shares the balance and flavour profile of the Yamazaki, the Highland Park doesn't have the same intensity of flavour. In the Yamazaki, every flavour is perfectly balanced against each other, yet each is so intense that it stands out despite the balance.

I have no idea how Yamazaki can pack this much flavour in a whisky. This is the definitely the big brother of the Yamazaki Distillers Reserve. Also, if you tried the Yamazaki 12 and weren't impressed, try the 18. It is on a completely different world of flavour. 

My friend liked this whisky so much that he ordered a bottle straight after trying it at my place. If you try this whisky, be warned...

Yamazaki Distillers Reserve

For the past year and a half, C has been getting himself into all sorts of trouble with K due to expanding (then contracting) his whisky supply. Today, C redeems himself by putting those whisky experiences to good use with our first whisky post!

We'v decided to kick-off our whisky posts of the Yamazaki Distillers Reserve because this is one of C's recent purchases which has been most surprising. 

Yamazaki Distillery  

First, a little bit of background to Yamazaki. Yamazaki is a Japanese distillery owned by Suntory, located outside Kyoto (in between Kyoto and Osaka). It was founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii and is the oldest and most well-known whisky distillery in Japan.

Yamazaki's standard releases are the 12 year, 18 year and 25 year single malt whiskies. They also release a several annual limited editions (i.e. whisky aged exclusively in Sherry casks or Bourbon barrels). 

Although not as well-known as its Scottish cousin, Japanese whisky has become more and more popular worldwide. I love whisky from all nationalities, but I particularly love Japanese whisky because of the complex and balanced flavour profile they present. Japanese distillers, particularly Yamazaki, seem to take great care in balancing flavours together with a purpose. 

I haven't tried many lackluster Japanese whiskies. There is something about Japanese culture that compels mastery of an art, whether its sushi, kendo or flower arranging. Careful attention is paid to minute details and simple things are afforded a lot of respect. It really shows in their whiskies.

Yamazaki Distillers Reserve

Recently, Yamazaki has released a new entry level whisky, the Yamazaki Distillers Reserve, which is a no-age-statement single malt, aged in a mixture of Sherry, Mizunara (a type of Japanese oak) and wine casks. Unlike their 12, 18 and 25 year expressions, Yamazaki wanted this whisky to compete purely on taste (instead of age in casks), and I think its a complete success.

I have set out below my thoughts on how the whisky smells, feels in my mouth, tastes and the finish (taste and feel after you have finished your sip).

How it smells

• Apples
• Toffee
• Thick jam
• Freshness of a sea breeze
• The smell is not as intense as I would be hoped.

 Mouth Feel

• Smooth and velvety
• Syrupy
• Not overly oily

 How it tastes

• Fresh green apples and subtle plums
• Vanilla with hints of honey 
• Bitter dark chocolate
• Hint of red wine coming though
• Spices and oak alternating with candy floss

 Finish

• Medium length
• Sweetness lasting on the tongue
• Wine influence comes through more as other flavours die down
• No burn at all

Overall

Overall... Wow. The complex layering of sweet, spicy, bitter and citrus flavours. The smooth texture and lack of burn. The oaky and sugary finish. Don't let the no-age-statement and low price deceive you about its quality. This is an excellent whisky by any measure and can easily be compared to much pricier whiskies.

My fellow whisky drinking friends approve of this whisky and several of my non-whisky drinking friends have really enjoyed it too. Its smoothness, balance and flavour profile mean that its a great whisky to introduce to non-whisky lovers (or non-Japanese whisky lovers).

Cold winter night. Soft leather sofa. Glass of Yamazaki in hand. C is a happy man. 

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting up a few more of C's favourites so keep an eye out for it! 

Recipe: Malaysian-style wonton mee

We weren't planning on posting recipes for a little while but we recently came across this gem of a recipe for making wontons and we had to share it!  

As we mentioned in our post on Perth's Noodle Forum, we had bought some egg noodles and wonton skins to bring back to Sydney with us, to savour the memories of Noodle Forum and to share with our family.  K then embarked on a mission to find a good wonton recipe so that the wonton skins did not go to waste...

We stumbled across a recipe on the website Christine's Recipes as well as Christine's helpful You Tube video on how to fold wontons.  The result?  Beautiful, fresh and healthy wontons that will now become a staple meal in our household. We've made them twice now and even in our first attempt, the wontons were amazing - it is a foolproof recipe, you can't go wrong! 

Don't they look happy all sitting there ready to be eaten?!!

K made a few adaptations to Christine's Recipe but even if you don't make these changes, it will still taste great. We also put together a "black sauce" (as the Malaysians/Singaporeans call it) and a garlic and chilli oil to make Malaysian-style egg noodles.  If you would prefer the Cantonese style, you can simply follow the recipe for the wontons and then serve the egg noodles in a chicken stock (cook the stock with prawn heads for extra flavour and cholesterol).  

Malaysian-style wonton mee
Note: this is adapted from a recipe at Christine's Recipes - please visit Christine's website as there are so many great recipes there!

Ingredients for wontons:

• 40-50 wonton wrappers (depending on how big your filling gets!) - we used Noodle Forum's spinach wonton skins in this post (hence the green colour)
• 150g lean minced pork 
• 200g fresh prawns - NB: Although it is more effort, I find it much better to peel and devine my own prawns than to buy peeled prawns.  To get about 200g of peeled prawns, you need to buy about double the amount (i.e. 400g of shelled prawns)
• 1/4-1/2 bunch of yellow chives - NB: yellow chives are a lot more fragrant than green chives.  We found them at our local Chinese supermarket but if you cannot find it, just use green chives

Seasoning for pork mince:

• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp of oyster sauce 
• pinch of white pepper

Seasoning for prawns:

• 1/2 tsp of chicken powder
• 1 tbsp of egg white
• salt and pepper to taste 

Ingredients for egg noodles, sauce and vegetables

• Packet of fresh egg noodles
• 1/2 bunch of gai larn or another type of Chinese vegetables

For the garlic and chilli oil

• 4-5 tbsp of oil 
• 1/4 to 1/2 bulb of garlic - NB: C is OBSESSED with garlic so we always have more garlic in our food than what is specific in the recipe.  Feel free to use less if you are not a huge fan of garlic breath!
• 1 long red chilli 

For the black sauce (per serving)

• 1/2 tbsp of garlic and chilli oil (recipe above)
• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp dark caramel sauce - NB: make sure you use the "Cheong Chan Elephant Brand" dark caramel sauce.  You can buy this at any good Asian supermarket.

Method:

1. Marinate the minced pork with the seasoning listed above. 
2. Chop the yellow chives finely.
3. Peel and devein the prawns.  Christine recommends that you then run the prawns under cold tap water for 5-10 minutes to make the prawn meat crunchy.  I did this for about 5 minutes because I didn't want to waste too much water! Drain and pat the prawns dry with paper towels. Dice the prawns into 1.5cm cubes and mix with the seasoning listed above.  Cover and chill for 15 minutes.
4. Whilst the prawns are chilling, de-seed your chilli.  Roughly chop the garlic and chilli and place them in a small pot with the oil and bring it to a gentle simmer.  Don't boil it too strongly otherwise you will burn the oil.  Once the garlic turns a golden brown, take it off the stove and set aside (be careful, it is VERY hot). 
5. Mix the chilled prawn meat and chives in with the seasoned minced pork. Prepare a small bowl of water for wrapping the wontons. 
6. Place about one teaspoon of the filling in the centre of the wonton as shown below and fold the wontons using the method shown in Christine's You Tube video - click [here] for the link.  I find a visual guide much more useful than words when it comes to describing this procedure.  This method is super easy and results in consistently plump wontons!
7. Bring a pot of water to the boil in a saucepan and blanch the gai lan.  Set aside.  
8. (To save washing up another pot), place the wontons into the same boiling water after the gai lan is cooked.  Stir the water as you put the wontons in (sort of like what you would do to make a poached egg) so that the wontons don't stick to the bottom or to each other.  When the wontons float to the surface, they are cooked.  Remove from the water and set aside.
9. In a separate wok or saucepan, cook the egg noodles in boiling water.  If you are using fresh egg noodles, this will only take a very brief 30 seconds.  Cooking it for longer will make the noodles gluggy and unpleasant so avoid the temptation!  Immediately after cooking, rinse the egg noodles under cold water to stop the cooking process.  
10. Combine the ingredient for the black sauce and pour roughly 1 tbsp into the cooked egg noodles.  Stir to combine.  You can use less garlic oil or less black sauce if you prefer a milder taste.  
11. Place the cooked wontons on top of the noodles along with the vegetables.  Sprinkle some of the garlic from the garlic oil for an extra crunch!

The end result:

These wontons are perfect for freezing for a quick mid-week dinner.  All you have to do is place them into a container separating layers of them with some baking paper.  Don't put too many layers of the wontons on top of each other as you do not want them to deform whilst freezing - maybe 2 or 3 layers max! 

Once frozen, there is no need to defrost before cooking - just place them straight into boiling water and once floating, they are cooked.  

Enjoy!  If you have any questions or comments, please post them below :)

Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant, Sydney CBD (with November 2014 update)

Few restaurants transport our taste buds back to Japan the way Yayoi has.  For those who know us, you'd know that we are big lovers of Japanese food.  It's our go-to cuisine whenever we eat out and C is always on a mission to convince K to take another trip to Japan.

Yayoi is a new Japanese "teishoku" restaurant located close to Circular Quay (where Wagamama use to be).  "Teishoku" just means "set meal" in Japanese which usually consists of one main dish element and a series of side dishes. But when you visit Yayoi, don't expect your run-of-the-mill "bento box".  Everything from start to finish is intricately thought out and it was evident that no element of your meal is too small for their chef's attention.

There are beautiful Japanese ceramics throughout the restaurant

First point of difference: the rice.  At Yayoi during dinner service, your rice is cooked at the table in a cute little cooking pot.  It takes a little longer (so factor in some additional time for the meal) but the result is amazing.  The rice is fluffy, slightly sweet, moist but not gluggy and you can feel each individual grain of rice as you eat it. We're told by the front of house, Roume that Yayoi uses a special type of short grain rice imported from Japan but other than this, it is simply cooked with water.  Goes to show how good quality produce can make such a huge difference!  We can't quite pinpoint what exactly it is, but both C and K agree that there is really something special about this rice that really distinguishes Yayoi from any other Japanese restaurant we've tried in Sydney.

The rice bubbling away at our table in the cooking pots

Onto our mains! C ordered the miso pork fillet katsu teishoku ($28).  Despite how saucy the dish looks, the miso is actually not too overpowering, the batter remained crispy and the pork is perfectly moist and not overcooked.  But the special element of the dish must be the addition of the slow-cooked egg...that oozy egg yoke....yum! 

K ordered the saba shio-yaki teishoku (salt-grilled mackerel) ($26).  The mackerel was actually a little bit too salty for K's liking, but when eaten with a squeeze of lemon juice or grated fresh radish provided, it is more balanced.  The fish is well cooked, with a nice crispy skin, but beware of small bones when eating! 

Salt-grilled mackerel

We must make a special mention of the side dishes of these meals.  They are AMAZING.  The attention and care put into making these side dishes really show.  It's not just there to fill your stomach...but an experience and display of skill in and of itself.  The star side dishes that really differentiate Yayoi must be the chawanmushi (a steamed savoury egg custard) and the miso soup.  

K LOVES chawanmushi and will order it whenever she sees it on a menu.  This chawanmushi is silky smooth, with bits of seafood scattered throughout the custard and subtle flavours of the dashi broth.  You can really taste that the dashi broth isn't just loaded with MSG as it can often be.  You must try this side dish when you visit.

Chawanmushi 

Miso soup is never really the star of a meal in standard Japanese restaurants and often taste like instant powdered miso soups you can buy at asian supermarkets (with little sad cubes of tofu floating in them).  This one is completely different!  It is loaded with vegetables, the miso is very flavoursome and authentic without being overly salty.

Spinach dressed in sesame sauce

Chikuzen stew - this is a stew of root vegetables.  The broth in this has a really strong mushroom flavour - really delicious and well thought-out!

Onto the desserts!  We ordered two: the zenzai ($13) and the matcha with warabri mochi ($8).  For those who don't know, "mochi" is a Japanese rice cake made with a short grain gelatinous rice.  

The zenzi is a sweet red bean soup with mochi cakes and accompanied by green tea and a small dish of pickled mustard leaf.  We thought it was odd that there was a salty side dish accompanying this dessert and were informed that this is designed to clean your palate after each mouthful of the sweet soup. How thoughtful! The mochi in this dessert is a little chewier compared to the second dessert and overall, the red bean soup is a little sweeter than what C and K would normally have.  That said, the mild green tea offsets this very well. 

Zenzai

The second dessert was definitely the favourite of the two!  The warabri mochi is eaten with a sugar syrup poured on top along with a cup of matcha green tea.   Unlike the first, the mochi is much softer and jelly like and generously coated with matcha powder.  The green tea served with this dessert is also different to the green tea served with the first dessert.  Drinking the matcha green tea after tasting the mochi, it was so soothing and calming - transported C straight back to Japan!  The tea was the perfect temperature for drinking and adds a nice bitter accompaniment to the sweetness of them mochi.  This dessert is a must try.  We have not had such nice mochi since Japan.  

Matcha with warabri mochi 

All the ordering happens over an electronic tablet. You may think that the use of a tablet to order means that the service is less personal but we found all of the waiters and waitresses very attentive and polite.  Definitely brings back memories of the type of customer service you would experience in Japan! 

Yayoi is a little bit more expensive than your ordinary Japanese restaurant but for the quality of food, you will not be disappointed.  Everything about the restaurant lives up to the standards and attention to detail you would expect in Japan.  We were told that in fact, Yayoi is part of a large chain of restaurants in Japan and internationally.  However, this branch is the first they have brought to a western country, so we should be feeling pretty special!  

I've also been told that they will shortly be introducing a take away menu so all you corporate workers out there, keep an eye out!  Finally an alternative to Azuma and Masuya takeaway!  

The guy on the left is Roume, the front of house.  Funny guy with really friendly customer service!

NOVEMBER 2014 UPDATE:
We've been back to Yayoi twice since our original post in July and unfortunately, we feel like the quality of food has declined.  It's a real shame because we thought the food was really delicious and the restaurant had a lot of potential when we first visited.  Hopefully they will get back on track! 

Catalina, Rose Bay

Foie gras with candied walnuts

C recently had his birthday and to celebrate, we both took a day off work to enjoy the sunshine with a lunch at Catalina.  Being a birthday club member, Catalina sends us a special discount voucher every birthday, so what better excuse to enjoy the sunshine, impeccable food and a glass of wine!  If you ever find yourself at Catalina, do ask them about being a birthday club member - it's a great feature and at no cost!  The only down side is that the meal is only available on weekdays for lunch or dinner but like us - it can be a good excuse to have a day off and enjoy each other's company.  

Entrees: K had the foie gras for entree (pictured above) and C had the pork belly (pictured below).  After a terrible experience of foie gras in Hong Kong, K was nervous about ordering this.  It was not disappointing at all.  The sweet crunchy candied walnut really offset the richness of the foie gras.  We cannot remember now what formed the base of the foie gras (note to self: take a photo of the menu next time!) but it added a nice contrast along with the balsamic vinegar reduction. Yum! Unfortunately this is a daily special so it does not regularly appear on their menu. If you see it, order it!



Crispy skin pork belly, honey glazed parsnips, lentils, parsley oil and red wine jus

C actually had the pork belly the first time we came to Catalina as well (surprise surprise).  This time, it was much more impressive than the first.  It had a right proportion of fat to meat and very generously portioned for an entree. 




Fettuccine nero with lobster, tomatoes and chilli infused lobster oil

Main: This was the hero dish and the reason why we came back to Catalina again after our first experience.  The plate is generous with large lobster chunks and there is a decent amount of chilliness to the dish.  We found the dish a bit more watery than the first time we had it (as you can tell from the photo) but nonetheless very very tasty!  It's definitely a bit pricier than other mains on their menu but well worth the money. 




Champagne jelly with fresh raspberries and pomegranate; raspberry ripple ice cream

Feeling a little stuffed, we decided to share a dessert between the two of us and opted for something lighter.  The champagne jelly was amazing!  You could definitely taste the champagne and the pressed pomegranate beneath the row of fresh raspberries was like adult roll-up!  I found the raspberry ice cream a little too creamy and would have preferred a fruiter ice cream but I think that is just a matter of personal preference and when eaten together with everything else on the plate, it was really tasty. 

NB: Catalina currently has a Winter Special Menu - 2 courses for $49 from Monday-Thursday lunch or dinner (or 3 courses for $60).  A good opportunity to check out this place if you haven't already!

Perth: Noodle Forum

Welcome to the first post on our blog - The more the munchier! 

It has been a goal of ours for a little while to kick start a food blog.  We LOVE eating, C loves taking photos (although K would say she has the better eye for composition) and no holiday is complete unless we've visited the best places to eat.  

Our recent trip to Perth and in particular, our visit to Noodle Forum was the real motivator to kick start this little project.  We were blown away by the food and Chef Wong's passion for all things noodles.  More people need to know about this place!  So what better way to start this blog than to make the first post all about this humble little noodle shop.

Visiting this restaurant on our last day in Perth and being welcomed by enthusiastic Malaysian waitresses and the scene of Chef Wong preparing his freshly made noodles, we knew we would be in for a treat.  But nothing prepared us for just how much of a treat this was going to be! 

The restaurant is not particularly big but is nicely decorated, displaying Chef Wong's heritage and love for noodles.  The menu itself is also not particularly extensive, with various types of noodle choices including laksa and soupy or dry noodles - but this did not bother us one bit - it's usually a good sign when a restaurant can do so well specialising in just one type of food.  

Now onto the food!

Noodle Forum pride themselves in using all local WA, free range produce, being MSG, colouring and preservatives free.  It definitely shows in the quality and taste of their dishes.  

C and K both ordered a bowl of char siew mee with wonton soup on the side.  We knew this was going to be good so did not even bother trying to share one bowl.  And we were right.  This bowl of noodles brought back so many fond memories of our honeymoon in KL.  The char siew had just the right amount of charred bits and the perfect balance of lean meat and fat.  The noodles....where do we start! They had the perfect amount of chewiness and "springyness" - it literally feels like it's bouncing in your mouth with every chew.  The sauce is delicious and not just your normal Malaysian black sauce.  The noodles came with a good amount of dried onion flakes as garnish along with 2 pieces of fried wonton skins.  

As for the wonton soup - the soup tasted authentic, slightly peppery with nicely garnished.  The wontons themselves had on the thinnest wonton skins we have ever had.  The prawns in the wonton were fresh and crunchy.  All in all, the perfect accompaniment to the char siew mee. 

Char siew won ton mee

As we were flying back to Sydney that night, we knew we would not have another opportunity soon to try their other dishes so we decided to order a third bowl of noodles to share!  We chose the crispy skin satay chicken noodles.  The satay sauce had the perfect amount of peanut flavour although we would personally have preferred something with a bit more of a kick. The chicken was beautifully cooked, so crispy on the outside but still retaining all the nice juices and tenderness.  It was a delicious dish, although we both agreed by the end that our preference was still the char siew mee.  

Crispy skin satay chicken mee

After our meal, we spent so long loitering outside the shop and taking photos of Chef Wong making his noodles that Chef Wong and Chef Ian came out to chat to us!  They must have thought we were a bit crazy... both Chef Wong and Ian are super friendly and very willing to tell us about their loves for noodles and for fresh food, real food.  

Chef Ian and Chef Wong with us.  The room behind is where Chef Wong makes his noodles and wonton skins fresh daily!

We also discovered that you can buy Noodle Forum's noodles, wonton skins and sauce to cook yourself at home!  We bought some as souvenirs to bring back to Sydney. 

Chef Wong making spinach wonton skins for us to bring back to Sydney

C with Chef Wong.  The bamboo Chef Wong is holding is what he has been using for decades to make noodles.

This was such a special find in Perth.  If you are ever in Perth, be sure to visit them (and buy some noodles home for another meal!).  

*****
Noodle Forum
Shop 16 and 17 Equus Retail Arcade 
580 Hay Street, Perth

M-TH: 11am-5:30pm
F: 11am-9pm
Sun: closed
*****