Shalom

Shalom is an Indonesian restaurant on Brisbane's south side, and possibly one of the few Indonesian restaurant in Brisbane. Having only opened a few months ago, and located in a shop lot that had failed for many others, this place was a bit of an enigma to us.

We started with Deep Fried Tofu in Peanut Sauce ($5). The tofu was not as crispy as we expected and was a bit chewy, but the peanut sauce was very nice and saved the dish.

For mains we ordered Beef Rendang ($12) and a Spicy Chicken Noodle ($10).

The beef rendang was delicious and reminded me of times past enjoying this dish in Malaysia. The tender beef and rich sauce left us wanting more (may also relate to small serving size).

The noodle dish was enjoyable but a bit strange. It was like eating a 60c packet of mee goreng instant noodles, mixed with chilli sauce and a *very* small amount of chicken.

Overall, we left satisfied and enjoyed what we ate but may not make a return trip given the wealth of options and value for money found elsewhere in the Asian eateries in Brisbane's southern suburbs.




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Chiangmai Thai

On a return trip from Byron Bay we decided to drop into Changmai Thai at the Gold Coast.  We had heard good things and wanted to see if it lived up to the hype.

Purple is the colour of choice at Changmai Thai, a theme that starts with the street sign and even carries itself through to the bathroom (purple neons in a toilet?)

We were feeling particularly indecisive and, after reading in the Menu that it's a minimum of $25 / head we decided to go for the Banquet ($32.90 each).

The first dish was a Tom Yum Prawns Soup. Whilst the basic flavour was there, it was a lot milder than we would normally make it and lacked the aroma you look for from an authentic tom yum.

Next came the Steamed Vegetables and Rice - we started wondering what had happened to our poor Satay Sticks!  The veges were still crisp and lightly seasoned - thoroughly enjoyable.

Beef Massaman came next.   The beef was gloriously tender and the potatoes soft without being mushy. The thick, creamy gravy was a joy to eat.

The next main arrived, Chicken with Cashewnuts. Whilst a little oily, the mild flavour was enjoyable and the scavenger hunt for cashews - always a treat.

Yet no sign of the satay entree. We decided to ask the waitress about it and off she ran to the kitchen on a secret satay mission.

Time passed, we finished our food and yet the sweet serenade of satay sauce was sadly absent. Finally someone came to clear our plates and we asked again about the fate of our satay sticks. Sadly, it seemed the satay had passed as the waitress said "I will check what the cashier can do".

The coffee arrived, followed by our lychees with ice cream. The coffee was very strong which helped in keeping us awake for the long drive home.

When the bill came, we saw they had given us a 15% discount to compensate for the missing satay sticks. We left with full stomachs and could not complain too much about missing the satay sticks.



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Cupcake Decorating Class at Whimsical Cakehouse

For the past few years, I have always wanted to attend a cake decorating class but couldn’t find one that suits my budget and time. This year I managed to sign-up for two courses: a 2 hour cupcake decorating class and a 6 weeks cake decorating class.

Last Saturday, I went for my first ever Cupcake Decorating class at Whimsical Cakehouse.

When I walked in the classroom, the cupcakes, ganache and all other equipment were already set on the table. This class focused solely on decorating - not baking or preparing the fondant. The cupcakes were bought from a local Brisbane baker and fondant used was from a commercially available tub.

We were taken through a series of steps on how to decorate our masterpiece. First, we had to trim off the edge of the cupcakes with a small knife.

Then, fill the top of the cake with white chocolate ganache to even it out. The teacher showed us a trick to even out the ganache by dipping the icing knife in hot water and spreading it around the icing.

Next, brush the ganache with sugar syrup. This is useful for sticking the fondant to the top of the cake, as well as for adding moisture to the cake. A plastic strip is then used to smoothen the fondant on the cake.

We then moved on to the fun part of decorating the cake. We were shown a series of techniques such as bows, craft and piping before attempting it on our own.

Here are my creations:

It was a very enjoyable class. Even though it was a very basic class, I still felt that I learnt a lot from the teacher. I am now looking forward to my next class where we will decorate a whole cake!


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