Settlers Arms Inn, St Albans (and a folk festival?!)

I really love a leisurely weekend drive, where you drive just far and long enough that you feel like you've left the hustle and bustle of Sydney. It's often a bit traumatic getting out of Sydney. You need to drive through all the traffic jams..... past the endless 'burbs'...past the McMansions of the outer 'burbs'... until you hit what this inner-city slicker would term - 'the Country'.

St Albans has been a place that I've wanting to visit for a while because, firstly,  it's far away. Well, it required a car ferry at Wisemans Ferry to get across the Hawkesbury River. And, secondly, I was attracted to the town's pub - the Settlers Arms Inn.

Established in 1836 and built from sandstone, the Settlers Arms looked so quaint and pretty on the website. So, one fine weekend (actually over the the Anzac day weekend!), Mr FBC and I took the plunge and drove to St Albans - a little village located in the heart of Macdonald Valley. The village is about  105km north west of Sydney and it takes about 90 minutes using the super fast M2 motorway. 

Mr FBC and I were expecting a sleepy little village with a quaint little pub. Instead, we found a very busy little village, with a bustling little pub and a reasonably sized FOLK FESTIVAL. It was, in fact, the annual St Albans Folk Festival.

Mr FBC and I don't profess to have a knowledge of 'folk music' but we were happy to soak up the folky atmosphere.

Perhaps the first thing that caught our attention was the sound of jingling bells and oddly dressed people dancing in front the pub waving sticks and ribbons.  Ladies were dressed in black sack like dresses and the guys wore what could only be described as lederhosen and straw hats adorned with flowers. Hmmmm.. After doing a bit of internet searching after getting home, Mr FBC and I worked out that we'd been watching 'Morris Dancing' and I think (?) these dancers were from the Australian Morris Ring 

Morris Dancing

We had a quick look the actual festival area, but realised that it was a $30 entry to get into the 'folk festival'. We quickly decided we were happy to just walk around the village and soak up the 'free' folky vibe.

I think you would need to really like folk music to pay the $30 entry fee

After wondering around the periphery of the folk festival and watching the unique Morris Dancing, it was now time to find out what the Settlers Arms had to offer.

Stepping into the Settlers Arms is like stepping back in time. I'm guessing the pub hasn't changed that much over time, but that is probably the appeal. It reminded me of the old pubs that you find dotted across the English countryside in the UK.

Inside the Settlers Arms

Quaint fireplace and some lethal saws

Lunch Menu

Lunch at the Settlers Arms is served between 12pm - 3pm and there is a reasonable variety. I love how the menu is written on the chalkboard at the front of the pub.

There are lots of wooden benches outside the pub where you can sit and enjoy your lunch or you can eat inside. However, it was nice and sunny on this day so we chose to eat on a bench outside.

I've got a bit of a soft spot for ordering a Ploughmans Lunch when I'm in a Country Pub. It just feels so right. So - that's what I do. The Ploughmans Lunch is plentiful and there is a large smattering of things provided including lots of cold meats, huge chunks of brie and cheddar cheese, pickles, olives, lovely tomato chutneys and a pickled relish. This is accompanied by a nice warm bread roll. It hit the spot.

 

Ploughmans Lunch ($19)

Mr FBC on the other hand can't go past a nice big meat pie... especially if it's a homemade  'Guinness Meat Pie'. Actually, Mr FBC has a bit of a soft spot for any type of meal which is made with Guinness. I'm guessing it's because he's half Irish? The Settlers Arm meat pie comes with a generous serving of potato mash, juicy green peas and has splashings of rich gravy. It's such a simple combination but it really works. When I was younger I use to love peeling the crust of the meat pie and then squeeze lots of tomato sauce into the meat gravy. Unfortunately, Mr FBC guarded his pie too well and wouldn't let me or the tomato sauce near it :( 

Homemade Guiness Meat Pie ($14)

I really enjoyed the Settlers Inn and love how it probably hasn't changed that much over time. It's definitely somewhere that Mr FBC and I would go back to again - especially if we were looking to escape the city and get a dose of fresh air and great homestyle country cooking.

To get a feel for St Albans, try and imagine this photo without all the cars?

Settlers Arms Inn

1 Wharf Street

St Albans NSW

Australia

Phone: 02 4568 2111

http://www.settlersarms.com.au/

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The Big Rig Diner, Darlinghurst

One of my 'great' aims in life was to eat a hot dog in the USA. Yes, it really was. And, I'm glad to say that I managed to fulfil my simple little dream when I was backpacking around the US with my good friend Fi back in my uni days.

All my life I've always been drooling at the thought of American junk food. It all started with watching all the American TV sitcoms jam packed with lots of references to junk food such as Roseanne, Happy Days and Seinfeld to name a few. They seem to always be in a diner munching on things like burgers, fries, soda pop, donuts and pecan pie.

One night Mr FBC and I were looking for a late night snack along Oxford Street, which is mostly limited to kebabs and pizza.  However, I remembered reading on a couple of trusty foodblogs about a very authentic Americana style eatery called 'The Big Rig Diner'. So, with a quick search on my trusty iphone, off we went in search for greasy American Diner food.

Cool Booths and Juke Box

The Big Rig Diner feels very authentic. You feel like you're stepping into a dark and divey 'all American' late night diner and expect to see the placed filled with American truckies. It's great! There are wooden booths and lots of American paraphenalia hanging on the wall. There's even a jukebox in the corner playing lots of great  music. When Marvin Gaye's "I heard it through the grapevine'' starts playing, you just feel like you should get up and start boogying around the booths. Mr FBC and I dance on the 'inside', but it's fun watching the cook and the waitress have a little boogey.

The menu is full of typical 'American diner' food. There are burgers, macaroni and cheese, fajitas, and hot dogs.  Mr FBC and I have hankerings for Hot Dogs and Fries - so that's what we order.

Baja Hot Dog ($13.50)

The hot dogs are huge - so huge that there's difficulty eating them with your hands. Mr FBC ordered the Baja Hot Dog, which was overflowing and oozing with tex-mex inspired fillings (including a spicy sausage, homemade chilli, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese and chopped haberneros). I was a bit more conservative and ordered the less well endowed, but super tasty, Big Rig Hot Dog which came with a pork and fennel sausage, caramelised onion and topped with melted brie and tomato chili jam. I found the tomato chilli jam a bit too spicy... but I think that's just me and my wussy tastebuds.

Big Rig Hot Dog ($9.50)

People who know me well will be aware of my deep addiction to french fries and hot chips. Fries would be more appropriate at this place, but alas, they only have hot thick and chunky chips. This is not a problem for this addict who prefers thick cut chips over fries anyway. The chips are well cooked, with a great crunchy outside and fluffy potato on the inside. Make sure to smother them with ketchup.

Hot Chips ($4)

As we were only after a late night snack, my Mr FBC and I are pretty full and need to pass on dessert. However, I do note for future reference that there's a great variety of desserts available including the all American Pecan Pie, complete with chantilly cream. Will definitely have that next time.

The Big Rig Diner

231 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW
Phone (02) 9332 3197

Opening Hours: Tue to Thu 6pm - 3am; Fri to Sat 6pm - 6am

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Peking Duck at Da Dong Restaurant, Beijing (China)

This is a blog from our trip to China in February...

After finishing a family holiday on tropical Hainan Island in China, Mr FBC and I (along with my brother, sister and brother-in-law) quickly acclimatised to the freezing Beijing temperatures. It was minus 10 degrees (ahhh!).

One thing that we all wanted to do was try Peking Duck! Just in case you weren't aware, Peking was the old term used by colonialists for Beijing, supposedly it was what the old farts thought Beijing sounded like (not!). Anyway, I suppose Peking duck has sort of stuck and Beijing duck just doesn't have the same ring.

As we only had 3 nights in Beijing, I thought I would do some online research on recommended Peking duck restauarants. There was one criteria: I wanted GOOD Peking Duck. 

I came across a place called Da Dong which had great reviews. Bookings are recommended. Fortunately, my brother was able to get a mandarin chinese speaking friend to make a reservation for us.

My sister booked our accommodation and I picked the restuarant. I'm not sure if it was coincidence or just fate, however, when we got to Beijing and looked up the address of Da Dong, we found out it was located ACROSS the road from where we were staying!

When we arrive, we are quickly shown to our table. Da Dong is very swanky and uber chic. Da Dong is named after Chef Dong. His face is even on the business card!

The waitress does not speak English and unfortunately none of us speak Mandarin (except for the Mandarin Phrase book I have in my hand).  Mum: why didn't you make us go to Chinese Saturday school when we were little - I know we all begged to not go, but why did you listen to us - what would we know?! Thank god the menu is also written in English and has pictures. It's going to be a 'pick, point and eat' night.

First dish of the night is venison with pineapple. I suppose we chose it as a bit of a homage to 'sweet and sour pork'. The venison was very tender.

Sauteed Venison with Pineapple

Next dish was the diced chicken and peanut with spicy sauce. Again... I suppose we were paying our respects to 'chicken and cashew' nut. This dish was laced with lots of chilli and was very spicy.. but delicious.

Chicken, peanut and spicy sauce

The next dish, stirfriend scallops with xo sauce, really made an impression with its presentation. It was amazing to see the hoops of  deep fried noodles delicately balanced on the plate and juicy plump scallops covered in the salty xo sauce happily frolicking around the plate.

Stirfriend Scallops with XO sauce

My younger brother really enjoys tofu so we decided to try the braised beancurd broccoli. This is definitely the best looking beancurd that I've enjoyed, with each spoon containing a mouthful of tofu topped with a salty fish paste.

Braised Bean Curd with Broccoli

Finally, it's time for Peking Duck. Or should I say, a man with a large duck comes along and starts cutting up the poultry with lots of super quick and swift moves. We each get a side dish filled with condiments including soy sauce, slivers of shallots, ginger, cucumber, radish, sugar and black beans. We also get platters of pancakes and little sesame bread rolls.

A plate of condiments

Duck action! Chop chop!

Beautiful duck with crispy skin

We've all eaten duck pancakes but we're not sure what to do with all the condiments and bread. Fortunately, the waitress senses our distress and, due to our lack of mandarin skills, utilisies the 'watch and learn' approach to explain how we should eat our duck.For the crispy duck skin, she shows us dip the skin in the dish of sugar. We mimic - yum! The sugar crystals really offset the fat crispy skin. The skin is thin and brown and super crisp. It's not chewy at all.

Next the waitress shows us how we should wrap our pancake. Spread the pancake, then take a bit of cucumber, then a bit of plum sauce, then a bit of shallot. Wrap the pancake in half and then in quarters, so that it forms a bit of a cone. Voila! Peking Duck pancake. Sorry - don't have photos of the pancake :(  However, I do have a photo of what I'd call the 'duck bread roll'. There really isn't too much too it. Just wack some duck into the cute sesame encrused roll with some sauce and shallots. It was beautiful and so difference

Duck Bread Roll

We're pretty stuffed by now, but to make ourselves feel better, we order some Chinese Spinach.

Sauteed Chinese Spinach

Finally, to end our meal we receive a platter of fruit which comes on some dry ice so it looks a bit 'space age'.

Complimentary Fruit Platter

We really enjoyed our meal here and it was great to have Chinese food which is so well presented. If you're ever in the neighbourhood, you should definitely try Da Dong Duck.

Da Dong Jinbao Jie branch 11-10 pm. 5/F Jinbao Place, 88 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng district. 8522-1234

Over the top?... moi?

Ages ago...... like in March... I received an 'Over The Top' food award from the the lovely Foodwink. Have a look at her food blog. It's definitely FOOD ...PORN at its best.  I'm sure the award should be taken away from me as it's been awhile since I was awarded and I've been extremely tardy on the blog front lately.

Anyhoo...in winning the award, I  have to answer 35 questions with one word (sorry... I'm always too wordy so some answers are two words!) I always find these lists quite interesting and I think you can tell a lot about a person, even if each answer is very short. I wonder what you think of me (aka Mrs FBC). To make life interesting... I've made Mr FBC answer the questions too. I wonder what you think of Mr FBC too??

Mrs FBC's answers
1.Where is your cell phone? Charging


2.Your hair? Straight


3.Your mother? Chatty

4.Your father? Quiet


5.Your favourite food? Lobster


6.Your dream last night? None!


7.Your favourite drink? Passiona


8.Your dream/goal? Happiness


9.What room are you in? Dining Room


10.Your hobby? Food


11.Your fear? Failure


12.Where do you want to be in six years? Contentment


13.Where were you last night? Bundanoon


14.Something that you aren’t? Skinny
15.Muffins? Yum!
16.Wish list item? Audi TT Roadster


17.Where did you grow up? Sydney


18.Last thing you did? Dinner
19.What are you wearing? Trackies


20.Your TV? Masterchef!!!!


21.Your pets? Handbags!


22.Friends? Buying couches!


23.Your life? Searching


24.Your mood? Edgy


25.Missing someone? No


26.Vehicle? VW Polo


27.Something you’re not wearing? scarf


28.Your favourite store? Pentimento
 
29.Your favourite colour? Red


30.When was the last time you laughed? Today


31.Last time you cried? TV


32.Your best friend? Mr FBC


33.One place that I go to over and over? Work!


34.One person who emails me regularly? TwoThousand


35.Favourite place to eat? Yum Cha


Mr FBC's Answers 
1.Where is your cell phone? Pocket

2.Your hair? Short

3.Your mother? Mary

4.Your father? Graham

5.Your favourite food? Pasta

6.Your dream last night? Work

7.Your favourite drink? Coke

8.Your dream/goal? Writer

9.What room are you in? Living Room

10.Your hobby? Foodporn

11.Your fear? Disappointment

12.Where do you want to be in six years? Overseas

13.Where were you last night? Bundanoon

14.Something that you aren’t? Organised

15.Muffins? Banana 

16.Wish list item? IPAD

17.Where did you grow up? Sydney

18.Last thing you did? Ate

19.What are you wearing? Trackies 

20.Your TV? Masterchef

21.Your pets? None

22.Friends? Old!

23.Your life?  Philosophical

24.Your mood? Upbeat

25.Missing someone? No

26.Vehicle? VW

27.Something you’re not wearing? socks

28.Your favourite store? Pentimento (Newtown)

29.Your favourite colour? Red

30.When was the last time you laughed? Yesterday

31.Last time you cried? 1992

32.Your best friend? Mrs FBC

33.One place that I go to over and over? Campos 

34.One person who emails me regularly? Mrs FBC

35.Favourite place to eat?Home

Promise to share some more Food Porn soon!

see you,
Mrs FBC
xo

Say no to Ham and Pineapple Pizza! - Rosso Pomodoro Pizzeria, Balmain

Hello again. It’s been a while between posts. Oops :( Don't worry... Mr FBC and I aren't on diets (as much as we should be) and we've been busily eating and taking lots of photos. This post is dedicated to our dear friend Mr Don who reminded us last weekend that we hadn't blogged in awhile. Thanks for the inspiration Mr Don :) 

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The Rules

I'm not a fan of Ham and Pineapple pizza - it just tastes wrong to me. I just don't like it when pineapple turns up in my savoury foods... like pineapple in sweet n sour pork (wrong!!!) or pineapple chunks in fried rice (wrong!!!). When I was a kid, my family use to order pizza from Pizza Hut (this was in the 80's when pizza meant 'Pizza Hut' or alternatively frozen 'McCain' pizzas). I always remember being horrified when my mum returned with a Ham and Pineapple pizza.  

I'm glad to say I'm not the only one with this opinion on this evil topping combination. After following a tip for a good authentic Italian pizza joint from a friend, Mr FBC and I find ourselves at Rosso Pomodoro in 'White Bay' precinct of Balmain. Hidden amongst the very bland cream coloured medium density housing backdrop of White Bay, the restuarant is located at the ground floor of a block of flats. The first thing I spot when I walk into the restaurant is a sign on the wall which indicates "The Rules" of the place. Rule number 2 is "No Ham and Pineapple". Here, here!

Rosso Pomodoro  is buzzing with people and the place is filled with happy familys (many Italian families too - always a good sign of authenticity) enjoying their pizzas.

Mr FBC and I start with an Antipasti Plate which is very generous pile of tidbits and a bit of a Jenga puzzle to unravel. There are cured meats layered on the bottom, blobs of mozzarella cheese, artichokes, olives. The dish is topped with long,warm and fresh for the oven breadsticks which criss cross the plate. 

Antipasto Della Casa $23.50

The Antipasto was a huge serving and Mr FBC and I pretty full by the time we finished. However, we're here for the legendary pizza and so, like troopers, we give our stomachs a bit of a rest before continuing on our pizza devouring journey. 

There are two types of pizzas available: Pizze Rose (tomato base) or Pizze Bianche (no tomato base). Back in my 'Pizza Hut' days I'm sure I thought a pizza was not a pizza without tomoto paste. However, these days I think tomato bases often make a pizza quite heavy.
Today, we decide to order one of the special pizze biache of the day: Pizza Ai Fiori di Zucca (buffallo mozzarella, ham, zucchini flower stuffed with ricotta and parmesan)
Our pizza arrives and is placed on a steel stand, elevating all its delicious glory to eye level (as well as making more room on the table).  The zucchini flowers were wonderfully soft and overflowed with the melted ricotta. The mix of subtle buffalo mozzarella and parmesan worked well with the thin shavings of ham. The pizza base is thin with a scorched base and is a good companion to the perfect balance of toppings.

Pizza Ai Fiori di Zucca ($23)

Mr FBC and I order salad in hope that it will be our 'healthy' component to the meal.  The Insalate Verde (Rocket and Parmasen salad) is simple but good.  The rocket is plentiful and has a light drizzling of balsalmic and extra virgin olive oil, topped with shavings of parmesan.

Insalate Verda ($9.50)

Rosso Pomodoro is very much the 'local' pizza joint to many of the diners and it's pretty obvious that many people that come here are regulars. It's great to see the staff welcome diners like old friends. It makes Mr FBC and I  a bit envious. The only downside is that the place is loud and it's very hard to hear your conversation but I suppose you're here for the food. Mr FBC and I certainly didn't really have time to chat... we were too busy stuffing our faces with pizza. And good pizza too!

Rosso Pomodoro

Tuesday to Sunday (6pm -10pm)

Shop 90-91, 24 Buchanan St, Balmain (White Bay)

(02) 9555 5924

http://www.rossopomodoro.com.au/

Ouzemezedakia at Perama Greek Restaurant, Petersham

I have a dream. A dream to go out for dinner and just order lots of entrées so I could just taste more things. At Perama Greek Restauarant… I was able to do just that! Do you ever find the main dishes at restaurants a tad boring compared to entrees? I’ve been told that the Entrees at a restauarant are often where the chef is able to really shine. The Mains are just stomach fillers! The menu at Perama Greek Restaurant contains a selection of entrees, a selection of mains, desserts and….. what caught the eyes of both Mr FBC and I…. a selection of ouzemezedakia. These were little dishes, sort of like Greek Tapas. I’m always one for variety and selection when it comes to food – especially as I’m a chronic sufferer of the dreaded condition ‘Food-envy-it is’!

To start, we are given a basket of fresh bread which we drizzle olive oil all over and devour.  Mr FBC orders a bottle of Greek 'A' beer.

Complimentary Bread

Greek Beer

In order to try more things, we decided to order about 5 ouzomezedakias (ranging from $5 to $7 each), 2 entrees and a dessert. We were absolutely(!!!) stuffed by the end of the meal and truly lived up to being Mr and Mrs FAT BELLY club. The mains costs about $26-34 so I thought it was pretty good value to just pick 5 ouzomezedakias (let’s call them OMDs for short!).

The first OMD to arrive was the Imambaldi - a stuffed roasted eggplant topped with diced tomotoes, shallots and a dollop of a rich creamy chilli yoghurt.  Delicious flavours.

Imambaldi (stuffed roasted eggplant) $6

Next was the Sheftalies (Cypriot Sausages). These were cute, fat, football shaped meatballs sprinkled with oregano.

Sheftalies (Cypriot Sausage) $6.50

The menu states that it would take 20 minutes to prepare our next OMD, the Handrolled Macedonian Filo Spinach pie. However, we're so busy savouring all the other dishes that 20 minutes whizzes by and we are none the wiser that there was actually a wait for the pie. I have visions of a Greek Ya-Ya handrolling the pie out the back. The pie has layers upon layer of filo, a good portion of spinach and ricotta and is topped with more crispy filo.

Handrolled Macedonian Filo Spinach Pie $6.50

The next dish was the Pork Loukanika, which were juicy BBQ'd pork sausages. These were flavoursome and a squeeze of lemon really brought out the flavour.

Pork Loukankia $7.00

Ok.. Are chips particularly Greek? Who knows… but I do like the thought of my chips being ‘rustic’ and made by a Ya-Ya. It reminds me of the hot chips that my Grandma use to make for my sister and I after school. No kidding..she really did! Hand crinkle cut and all!

The 'Rustic Grandma's Chips' at Peramas do taste home made. They are beautifully fried and all different shapes and sizes, sprinkled with some salt and finely chopped parsley.

Rustic Grandma's Chips $5.00

That was the end of the OMDS. But it's not over yet. We moved onto the Entrees. The first dish we tried was the Smyrna scallops. According to the menu, 'Smyrna' was an ancient greek city on the Turkish coast which was known for its abundant seafood. This dish was made of BBQ scallops served with a crispy sliced spicy turkish sausage (souzouk) and beetroot puree. The puree was pink and sweet... but eventually mixed too much with the other ingredients, making it a bit too pink for my liking.

Smyrna Scallops $18.50

The second entree we tried was the Pork Belly Baklava ($17.80). This dish was made up of layers of flaky filo pastry, pork belly meat, date and pistachios, topped with crispy crackling and drizzled with a date and mastic sauce.

Pork Belly Baklava

I naively thought baklava was a dessert, which was meant to be at the end of the meal. Not at Peramas, where you can get the Pork Belly Baklava as an entree. I thought this would just be a savoury filo pastry. However, the date jam and sprinkling of pistachios provided a very sweet contrast to the pork belly. It’s different…it feels like you’re combining your mains and desserts… but it’s good. Try it.

We really were bursting after the all the OMDs and Entrees. Luckily, I was able to convince Mr FBC to share a dessert with me. Mr FBC thought the Olive Oil ice cream sounded nice (two scoops of Olympia extra virgin olive oil, pistachio and dried fig ice cream).  I thought that sounded like two types of fat for the price of one! Meanwhile, I thought I wanted to try the Caramel Baklava Ice Cream (sliced layers of vanilla bean ice cream, caramel sauce and baklava – there’s a picture on the Perama website). In the end, we went for a relatively healthy (that’s a very loose ‘relatively healthy’) dessert – Melon Thiples Stack ($13.50). This was made of a stack of fried pastry dipped in honey and crushed walnuts with a some lemon curd yoghurt and a chilled salad of rockmelon and honeydew. It was a very refreshing dessert and not to heavy.

Melon Thiples Stack ($13.50)

Mr FBC and I were really impressed with Perama. They appear to show you authentic Greek Cuisine (ie it’s more than just moussaka and soulvaki) and the service is fast and friendly.

Perama Greek Restuarant

88 Audley Street

Petersham 2049

ph: 95697534

perama@iprimus.com.au