April 2012

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Live Below The Line: Introduction

Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2012

From the 7-11th of May I will be participating in Live Below The Line.
"Live Below the Line seeks to combat extreme poverty in two distinct ways: raising funds for educational opportunities in the developing world, and creating widespread awareness of this important issue.
While extreme poverty can seem overwhelming, Live Below the Line is a straightforward way to make a clear impact. It will change your life, and by sharing your experience with others you can help raise awareness of the injustice faced by 1.4 billion people in the world." Live Below the Line Website

So essentially, what I'm going to do, is live off $2 each day for 5 days straight. This is going to be so difficult.

If you could (if anyone's out there) take some time to donate to me at 


https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/ellashtein

Here are some photos from my experience!







Ella xx

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Homecooked Heroes: Sweet Potato Loaf

Homecooked heroes is a series about everything home cooked. Not just myself but my family, friends and the food we all share together.

 In the Shtein household, spending ANZAC day (lest we forget) means BAKE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AND EAT IT. And that's what we did.

 This week, I was lucky enough to have... sweet potato & thyme soda bread


 

 My dear mother made this the other day and it was amazing! We dipped it in leek, potato and mushroom soup... I would take a photo of the soup but everyone knows you can never make soup look good, unfortunately.




Love you mum!

 Ella xx

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The Bondi Cafes: Katipo Cafe & The Sparrow Cafe

Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2012

22 April


When people think Bondi, they think two things. Backpackers & Hipsters in Cafes. And really, they're not far from wrong. I think the cafes around Bondi are some of the best and this series is just about the different places I go to for breakfast and what they have to offer.

If I want to splurge on breakfast, I go to Katipo on Bondi Road. Katipo is all about the 50's. It's got a vintage coffee machine, the tables and chairs are all recycled, the vibe is good and the foods amazing.
I get the baked eggs with Chorizo and roast capsicum, spanish onion and charred bread for 14.9 with a delicious, freshly squeezed orange juice 4.5









If I'm down in Bondi Beach for the Markets, I'll head up to Sparrow Cafe & Bar on Gould St. This place is great for coffee, tea, snacks etc. As well as this, they usually have live music which sets a great atmosphere.


  
I'm a very big tea person and look at this lil jug o milk! 

I'm always at new places but if you have anywhere you think I should go, drop me a line!

Ella xx

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Melbourne Sweet Teeth

22 April

 Melbourne is by far my favourite city in Australia. The food, the bars, the people, the shopping is all quality.  I went to Melbourne on Boxing Day last year and my mum and I shopped from 11am until 1am in the morning. And it was worth the pain in my feet and arms.

 On our second night, we went to the Crown Casino and decided to try out Bistro Guillaume; the cousin of Guillaume at Bennelong at the Opera House in Sydney.

 Though I was not so impressed by the main (steak with special sauce and chips), the dessert was to die for.


We decided to have the profiteroles and cheese. As you can see, the presentation was poor however the taste was great - especially those profiteroles.



Cheese & Profiteroles

We took a day trip to St. Kilda and I don't regret it at all. Dessert shops lined the street, it was so hard to chose where to go.









Lemon Meringue Tart




Look at those babies!

 There are so many more places I went in Melbourne however when I'm on holiday with the family, I try not to use my phone as much because I think it takes away from the experience. I don't like feeling so attached to my phone when I'm trying to relax and spend time with the family... and also, I was too busy shopping.

 Ella xx

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Elysium

"Elysium Restaurant offers a modern Australian menu with French and Italian influences. This is a casual dining restaurant, located right next door to the Randwick Ritz Cinema on St Pauls St at the ‘Spot’ and is a great place to enjoy fresh, quality produce at very reasonable prices." 
- Elysium Website

 I recently visited Elysium with my family and wow. The quality of the food, the presentation, the taste was incredible - there could have been some improvements but overall it was great. What they excelled at, personally for me, was dessert. I think it would be well  worthwhile to take a visit.



roasted double lamb cutlet with shank meat croquettes, smoked eggplant puree, black pepper and potato gratin, balsamic braised onion and a madeira sauce  30

The Verdict: The shank meat croquettes were dry and there was some weird nut thing in the middle but the lamb was perfectly cooked. The mini gratin was a bit stiff and felt undercooked but the onions really popped. I love balsamic vinegar so onions and balsamic was great. The madeira sauce was lacking in taste but went well, not overpowering the delicious lamb. 


milk chocolate and honeycomb bombe alaska with caramel sauce and toffee ice cream 15

The Verdict: Faultless. A must. I had never actually had a bombe alaska before and my dad and I got into an argument to whether it was French or from Alaska. I won; it's French. Inside was milk chocolate and honeycomb ice-cream as promised and then on the side was another scoops of toffee ice-cream which was delicious. Needless to say, we fought over that bombe.


vanilla panacotta with plum jelly, plum and champagne granita, crushed amaretti biscuit and spiced grilled plums 15

The Verdict: I liked the bombe better but that's because I love anything chocolate honeycomb & chocolate & meringue. But this was still excellent - especially the granita. It just melted into your mouth. Panacotta is my brother's favorite dessert so I tried not to have too much - I was too busy defending my own dessert.

 I would really recommend going to Elysium, I know I'll definitely be back, this time with a bombe alaska for myself and no sharing!

 Ella xx

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Around The World: Japan

22 April





Tokyo


Japanese food. My favourite in the world. Until recently I actually worked in a Japanese restaurant. I have to say, Japan is one of my favourite places on earth. Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos while I was over there because I was too amazed.


We did however go to Hakone, a hot spring town. Essentially, the Japanese are the creators of the onsen. A giant spa, originally run on a "line" from a hot spring, naturally heating up the water. One thing about onsens is that you have to be completely naked. 


None of my family thought about this when we booked a family onsen under the stars after dinner. Awkward for all.


The hotel we stayed at however, had an amazing dinner prepared.



I can't remember everything on this plate but yes, that is a snail!


Golden Temple



Dinner with a cook your own!


Japanese Breakfast



A bit of Zen



Kid's Menu

Japan is truly an amazing country & I'll definitely be back there later. There are so many things I tried but ate before I could take a snap of them... Ah well!


Ella xx

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Around The World: Halong & It's Markets

22 April


Towards the coast, you can scramble to get on a million of these old, wooden boats and take a trip along Halong Bay where you can visit caves, fisheries and famous rocks. Not only that, on these boats, they will provide you with an excellent seafood lunch. 


Once you get past all the people buying cheap as cigarettes out of black bags, you'll be confronted by an incredible sight...



Boat


Boats outside the caves; it was a s***fight


My brother & I


Kissing Hens.

Our seafood lunch went something along the lines of this (and these photos aren't even half!)
- Spring Rolls
- Fishcakes
- A whole fish
- Crab
- Pippies
- Prawns
- Noodles
- Soup





It was truly a good day spent on the water.


Another place I went to were the markets (the name escapes me). I was less than impressed but the vibrance of clothing and eclectic mix of produce, products & services was something completely new to me.



Fresh Chillies 


Vibrance


Handcrafted Bowls







It's so interesting to see another culture you really haven't been exposed to before. I actually wonder how things can be so simply made.


Ella xx

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Around The World: Sapa, Vietnam

22 April


At the beginning of last year, I went on an "Asia" trip with my family. Together, we visited Thailand (for family), Laos, Vietnam and Japan. This post is the beginning of a series I'm going to call Around The World. 

Vietnam was, to say the least, absolutely crazy. People everywhere, motorbikes everywhere, food everything, pollution everywhere. I'll be honest, I didn't like it that much. Coming from picturesque Laos it was a total change. 

I loved Sapa, which is in the far North. It's just like a floating village. Their bread, cakes, hot chocolates and pizza's (yeah) were amazing. The Vietnamese definitely have a thing about bread; it's excellent! My family and I caught the train up, the four of us sharing this tiny compartment. We ate nutella and freshly baked bread through out, then fell asleep to the sound of the train speeding off into the darkness.

This is my experience in Sapa, in a nutshell.


Mushrooms on the side of the road


Who even really knows...


Our ascent up the mountain


The view from the top


After climbing a giant ass mountain, tea at the top of the mountain was a great relief


Picture perfect


Once again, no idea what's actually in this but looks good.


View from our hotel



Two roasted chickens. Tasted better than it looked.


Roaming the busy streets of Sapa, their native tribe being the Hmong people.


I think I had the world's best hot chocolate up here. Not sure if I'll be back but it was an experience to remember.


Ella xx

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Introductions


21 April

This blog is a blend of food that my mouth encounters or food that I see that I want to eat but can’t have. I’m currently in my final year of high school and I’m based in Bondi, Sydney; home of hipsters and indie bars.

The story behind my name is essentially that it’s a mixture of French and Thai. I’ve taken French for the past 5 years of my life and French cooking has always been a favourite of mine. I wanted to incorporate that side into my blog name but also because my friends and I often satirise the use of the word le when we speak le English. Comme ça. 


The second half of Le Kaow is an homage to my Thai roots. Kaow, written ข้าว in Thai, means rice. However, when we invite people to eat, we usually say, “gin kaow”. This literally translates to eat rice but it’s just another way of saying eating.

I’m not a big cook (though I do like cooking) but I’ve grown up around food for the whole of my life. My mum is Thai which has given me somewhat of a culinary boost. Most nights it’s something different - from somewhere around the world. But, I definitely enjoy a staple Thai meal home cooked; my favourite being Pad See Ew with Tofu and Chicken or Thai Style Crab. My dad was born in South Africa however has a European background. Mum says he cooked for her for the first few times that they dated however that died down quickly. But fair enough; the man does make a mean Paella. I think I share my love for eating with my dad. We’re always eating and wanting to try new things.  I also have a younger brother but let’s be honest; he’s not that interesting. All he does is kill people in games on the internet or pretend to kill people in real life as he is a Brazilian Jiujitsu master. 

In my family it’s always important to have a sitdown dinner and be as a family. There are no tv dinners (we don't have a tv) and there's no reading at the table (my brother thinks he's an exception to this rule). Once a week, we have to go out to dinner together which is the reason I started this - I needed to capture all of our culinary memories. With everyone’s busy schedules it’s important to have a good meal and a good catch up. In fact, I go to the best restaurants with my parents and I’ll probably still always want to go out to dinner with them; because they pay!

This is a picture of my family and I in Japan when we were on our 2 month trip around Asia.




Hope you come back and visit me here at Le Kaow.

Ella xx