Japan Festival

Japan Festival in Melbourne
Sunday 18th May 2008 - Box Hill Town Hall & Tafe
http://www.jcv.org.au/japanfestival/

I'll take a little break from my Japan posts to report on...er...the Melbourne Japan Festival. Held last Sunday at the Box Hill Town Hall and TAFE, it is an annual celebration of all things Japanese. Amidst displays of bonsai, ikebana, taiko drumming, kimono contests, market stalls, Japanese language schools, tea ceremony schools (to be blogged shortly) and aikido (to name just a few), there was of course, the food.

This charcaol hibachi was whipping up a furious smoke - the smell of yakitori drawing all and sundry for tasty sticks of teriyaki chicken.

As you can see, they were delectably caramalised and awesomely good.

Takoyaki (octopus balls) were a popular snack at the festival - about four or five different vendors were selling them. Some chose to deep fry the little balls, but these guys were using a more traditional method utilising cast iron skillets (like what we witnessed in Osaka here).

They were actually pretty darn good, though I did miss the usual garnish of katsuobushi shavings. Surprisingly both the batter and the chunks of octopus were really tender.

Little bowls of ramen were a hot ticket item - a small bowl of miso or shoyu based stock and noodles for $5. The shoyu ramen was heavy with shitake flavour, which was an unusual little addition to a traditionally salty soy stock.

The yakisoba were absolutely fantastic. Fried on a BBQ hotplate, they are seasoned with (of all things) worstershire sauce! Large chunks of onion and cabbage had been stirfried into the mix, and it was garnished with aonori (seaweed flakes), beni shoga (picked red ginger) and Japanese mayonnaise.

I thought this was an interesting selection of treats. On the one hand you have the battered hot dog (American Dog) and a curry croquet, and on the other, takoyaki and lobster miso. An interesting blend of the traditional and the not so traditional.

Takayama and the Autumn Hachiman Matsuri

When we were in Japan last year, we were lucky enough to coincide our visits with a number of matsuri (festivals). Our first such experience was in the township of Takayama, a quaint little village in the mountainous Hida region of the Gifu prefecture - five hours from Tokyo by train.

The Autumn Hachiman Matusri is the annual celebration of the Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine. In essence it is a procession of a dozen heavily decorated yatai (festival floats) that are paraded/pulled through the streets (usually by sake soddled citizens) over the course of a couple of days.

The yatai (floats) are absolutely huge, and take real effort to move and manoeuvre. This poor gent obviously provided aesthetic as opposed to any real pulling power.

Several of the floats are installed with karakuri ningyo, mechanical marionettes that move and dance by pulling on ropes and levers within the float. This is a very popular performance, and unfortunately I couldn't get close enough to snap a good shot. But they were lovely to watch, even from our distance away.

On the evening of the first day the yatai (floats) are pulled through the streets of the old town. The yomatsuri (evening festival) is also a highlight - the cacophany of beating drums, clapping hands, chanting and singing enlivens everyone into a festivitous mood. It was awesome.

Now you are probably saying to yourself - but Mellie, why aren't you talking about food? Well the next few posts will be dedicated to looking at the food we found in this gorgeous little township, from the markets to the festival street food.

Osaka International Beer Festival, Umeda Sky Building

Umeda Sky Building

1-1 Chome, Oyodanaka, Kitaku, Osaka, Japan

http://www.skybldg.co.jp/ (Japanese only)

During our Japan trip in October 2007, we wanted to see both the old and the new, the traditional and the modern in Japanese architecture and culture. So, rather than check out just temples and traditional festivals, we also visited interesting skyscrapers and experienced contemporary festivals. The Umeda Sky Building, in Osaka, offered both. The ultra-modern and futuristic design of the building, resembling a big computer chip, has divided both locals and visitors. We loved it though! In real life, it was a very striking design, and a ride up the glass escalators to the Floating Garden Observatory at the top of the building offered great views of Osaka.

We were fortunate that, on the day when we visited the Sky Building, the Osaka International Beer Festival was also happening in the building's forecourt. Tents and stalls were set up, offering tastings of beers and food from all over the world. You can even purchase tasting glasses, which allow you to sample a number of beers. A few stalls offered games of chance - Mellie even managed to score herself a free beer!

This stall was selling yakitori - skewered pieces of chicken and other meats grilled over charcoal. The waft of the grill from this stall was mouthwatering, although I am unsure what "sausages and Popeye" could be - see one of the signs. Spinach maybe??

As you can see from the flag, this stall had Italian fare, mostly pasta. The beers were also of an Italian flavour, featuring the very tasty Nastro Azzurro.

We sampled a few brews, including this Osakan label called Minoh Beer. I recalled that the pale ale was my favourite because it had floral tasting hops very reminscent of one of my fave beers, Little Creatures. Mellie preferred the weizen (wheat) beer.

We decided to try non-Japanese food at the festival and went with the above Pad Thai from one of the more popular stalls. It was nicely smokey, though I found it to be a bit too sweet. We also made the mistake of putting too much chilli in the Pad Thai, which literally singed our tastebuds and had us clamouring for a beer to put out the fire!

There was also an Indian stall there, selling naan, curries and meats from the Tandoor oven. The smells coming from the stall were irresistable, as were the Indian guys spruiking in accented Japanese but also switching from Hindi to English, depending on the customer - quite a scene to behold! The above dish of tandoori chicken was very tasty, with white fluffy naan that totally satisfied our cravings after a few breadless days.

A band playing easy listening music added to the laid back vibe of the festival, as people relaxed and eased into the afternoon - merry laughter indicating the enjoyment of many beers and good street food. It was a fantastic, cruisey afternoon, and a respite from an otherwise modern and fast-paced city.

Melbourne Italian Festival

The food at the Melbourne Italian Festival at Federation Square last weekend was a lil' unimpressive. There were only a handful stalls - one selling gnocchi napoli for $10 a plate (expensive?!). Another stall sold rolls with salami and cheese or porchetta, and one was roasting fresh chestnuts.

I was perplexed. Where were all the food stalls? Were the places who attended previous festivals in Lygon Street boycotting for the change in venue?

The one other food stall that made an appearance was ChoriOz. Being more Argentinian than Italian, ChoriOz are a regular at farmers markets and festivals. The meat comes from their own stud called Monte Allegro in Nar Nar Goon.

I was impressed with their attempt to do an Italian style beef sausage, shaped in a spiral (or "snail" as they called it) and served with BBQ'd leeks and parsley chimichurri on a sour dough roll. It was damn tasty.

But where were all the big fat juicy pork continental salsiccia? And the cannoli?

Buddha's Day 2007

Buddha's Day and Multicultural Festival was once again held at Federation Square (you can read about last years visit here). This time I paid less attention to the cultural activities and more to the the food activies. Well it was noon and we were hungry ;-)

The first stall down by the yarra was a line of ladies deep frying tofu. I was quite impressed with the production line. They cooked just the right amount to allow one to receive a piping hot plate of deep fried goodness, as opposed to a plate of cold rubbery badness.

And this is the goodness - three rubix cube sized blocks of silken tofu, crunchy on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside. Sprinkled with chopped coriander, it was also given a good squirt of hot and sweet chilli sauce. It was a delight to watch the steam rise from the cubes as you cut into them with your fork.

I don't know what the heck this is called, or really what it is even, but I gather it is intestine?!? Uh huh...gross. But of course, this is intestine that is not intestine, because it is actually rolled and spiced tofu skin. They were crispy on the outside and disturbingly soft on the inside. Salty and five-spiced, I could only eat one as I felt a little icked out (in theory ;-)) Or perhaps it was meant to be sausage?!? I dunno. Anyone?

More production line action, this time $3 cobbed corn or $1 radish cake.

EG ordered the radish cake, which I must say, was really delicious. Grated radish (and perhaps some other vegetables?) were brought together and barbequed. It maintained a soft mashy interior and a crunchy exterior - yum. It was served with an impossibly small dollop of satay sauce and a perfect amount of super hot chilli.

This was an interesting choice - a sticky glutinous rice roll wrapped around a deep fried chunk of youtiao and what appeared to be a vege version of pork floss. It was interesting as far as flavour and texture was concerned. I don't know if I'd go it again voluntarily. But interesting to try.

Now to some really faux products - this is a vegetarian "peking duck" roll. A thin crepe was wrapped around seasoned vego "duck", cucumber strips and a large leaf of butter lettuce. It had the flavour of five spice, but actually missed out on the hoisin sauce (which really, is one of my favourite bits).

Mmm...more deep fried goodness in the form of vegetarian curry puffs. Three for $2, they provided perfect curry snackage between courses ;-)

A steaming bowl of Vietnamese pho, complete with braised potato/yam and vegetarian mystery meat in the way of sliced "beef" balls. How wonderful to have such perky basil, chilli and lemon to add freshness and flavour.

Now to a less perky soup - laksa. After sampling Laksa Me recently, this one really doesn't compete. But it was okay coming from a food stall - spicy coconut broth soaked tofu, carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts and egg noodles. It was a little overdone as opposed to bursting with freshness.

And finally to dessert (well as close as I was going to come to it considering all the red bean pancakes had sold out!). I can't remember the name of this one, but basically it's a red bean / soy bean / grass jelly / ice cube / gula melaka / coconut concoction. You have to stir it all up with your spoon, and then dig in and chew/sip/chew. I really enjoyed the liquid portion, though I found the beany bit a little heavy going towards the end. But it was refreshing!

Golden Plains Music Festival - Hare Krishna Fare

I just love a good music bash, and the inagural labour day weekend, outdoor, camping Golden Plains Festival at Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre didn't disappoint. Now whilst I won't divulge tales of drunkeness and debauchery (this is after all a food blog), I will ponder the sustenance consumed care of our fine friends, the Hare Krishnas.

I chose the banquet platter to ensure I got a taste of everything on offer (for blog research purposes of course ;-)). Included was a thick tasty potato and chickpea tomato-based curry, boiled basmati rice, huge cauliflower pakoras with a sourish tamarind sauce, kofta balls with tomato sauce and halava (semolina pudding). Not only did it taste wonderful, but it gave me the sustenance to dance well into the wee hours of the morn.

Thai Culture and Food Festival

Melbourne is absolutely going off with a supurb range of events such as the Grand Prix, FINA World Swimming Championships, Avalon International Airshow and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (all in the same week!). You would think these would be enough to satiate our craving for things to do - but with a heap of tourists in town, the Thai Culture and Food Festival was just one more distraction to add to the list.

In it's fourth year, the day is dedicated to celebrating all things Thai (as well as celebrating the 80th birthday of the much revered His Majesty The King of Thailand). Now due this blogs' bent, here is my celebration of all things Thai food. And with over twenty food stalls, this wasn't too hard to accomplish.

Our first nibble for the day was a container load of lightly spiced fish cakes, squashed down and deep fried. They were doused in a sweet/sour/hot dressing and flecked with fresh coriander leaves, sliced red onion and cucumber. This was nothing too out of the box though - I think you can pick up these ready-made style of fish cakes in most Asian grocers.

Next up was an artery clogging serve of spiced pork stew (mmm...see all the gelatinous fat and skin?). The flavour was heady with five spice, and it was so unbelievably sweet as to almost taste like a dessert. To be honest, I couldn't go the fatty goodness, despite the fact it was amazingly tender. My arteries doth protested too much!

These guys were cooking various chicken bits at the Singha beer tent. I didn't sample their very nice smelling fare - there was too much other stuff to try.

Next up was a dish I don't exactly know what to call. The menu posted on the tent was entirely in Thai (with no translation). So we pointed to a sign (in the red box above) and just hoped for the best. And seriously, this was the BEST. It was like a thick hearty coconutty soup, packed to the hilt with spices and chilli. Egg noodles bathed in the thick broth around the bottom of the container, and crunchy fried noodles topped it. A dirty great big chicken drumstick was wedged in the depths, along with sliced celery, coriander, and an extra dollop of chilli paste. Can anyone translate what this dish is? It rocked.

We also sampled some rather divine little chive dumplings, which were seared on a large BBQ (these things were selling like hotcakes, pardon the pun). Obviously the dumplings had split, releasing their uber green insides into the light soy dressing. Mmm...very good.

Then it was time for dessert no.1, fruit chunk ice-cream.

Thankfully my ice cream didn't have chunks, but then I'd hate to find a lump of taro in my cup! On a side note, I am loving the taro flavour at the moment. I think it beats vanilla!

Then it was time for dessert no.2, Thai coconut juice. Your little container comes frozen, with straw and ice pick attached. You unwrap and unlid, and then attack the block of sweet coconut ice - slurping when you get some juice, hacking when you don't.

As you keep drilling down, you unearth (unice?) wonderful slivers of fresh coconut. Mmmm. Soooooo goooooood. This little cup kept me occupied for near on half an hour!

Then it was time for a bit of foodie celebrity spotting. Look...over there...Matt Preston, food writer for Epicure (The Age). He was heartily enjoying his container of food (I wasn't close enough to see what he is eating). But kudos to him, I usually see him at these foodie type events.

Valentines Day Picnic

A little lunchtime decadence in celebration of Valentines Day, especially as EG and I work so close together. And the rain held off just long enough for our tryst...phew!

So I packed a little picnic - an assortment of sour dough rolls, olives, pickles, rolled prosciutto piccante, hot sopressa, home grown tomatoes, lettuce, tzatziki / vegetable crudites, artisan cheddar, aqua minerale and a half bottle of Moet (drank from plastic tumblers no less). Dessert included some Haigh's dark chocolate hearts, sweet words and a quite a few kisses :-)

My life is so much richer for knowing you EG - you inspire and fill me with passion. But I'll continue this one with you later...

A Great Way To Start The Day

Ahh...don't you just love Sunday mornings?

I am so very much a morning person. I always have been and I always will be. Mind you, come 4am starts at work next week and that might very well change!

My usual routine on a Sunday is to get up early and find a place for breakfast. I must admit to being a bit of a breakfast hussy - I love to schlep around and experience the myriad of different places Melbourne has to offer. We just do breakfasts too well I think.

Anyway, this Sunday I jumped on a tram and headed over to the Queen Victoria Market for a wander.

Breakfast d'jour was a loaf of a deliciously fruity bread, filled with chunks of fig and apricot. I also purchased a wedge of fresh ricotta cheese, a cafe latte, and sat down outside with my newspaper. I don't think you can start a day better than that!

After a slow stroll through the market (can you believe figs are now $10 a kilo!), I met up with [M] and we headed down to Federation Square to partake in the Russian Pancake Festa.

Unfortunately one had to wait in line for over an hour for the pancakes, and I really couldn't summon the patience of Jove on such a sunny day. It wasn't long until we were lured in the general vicinity of the Russian beer tent. After sampling some of that brew (which I found tasted rather flat), we moved over to Transport and spent the rest of the afternoon lazily drinking chilled Asahi and munching on salty hot chips.