Vegan and Gluten Free Eating in Macau

We went to Macau for a few days with Toby's parents. Macau is such an interesting place. It's an hour away from Hong Kong by ferry. It used to be a Portuguese colony so there is a combination of Chinese and Portuguese signs everywhere which is such as unique mix. There is also lots of pebbled walkways and people driving on vespas. Its well known for its casinos, a little like the las vegas of Asia. It's a little confusing to get around though so be prepared to take some snacks. We couldn't find a couple of restuarants on Happy Cow so ended up eating rice cakes with tartex for breakfast.

We started at Venetian hotel and casino which is super fancy and has a gondola ride in the middle of it. We saw an amazing cirque du soleil show called Zaia at the Venetian. I was in a constant state of awe during the performances.

This is on the 1st floor of the highrise building, so there was a painted ceiling above.

Our first meal was at the food court, look how it is decorated! Another fake sky painted on the ceiling. I can't believe there was also a boost juice place there too.

I got some dhal with rice. It was slightly creamy but dairyfree and gf.

Food Court
Venetican Casino (take free bus from ferry)
Estrada da Baia de, North Senhora da Esperanca

 Look at this hotel/casino opposite:

For dinner we couldn't resist going to one of wynn hotel/casino restaurants. The owner Steve Wynn went vegan and as a result all of the restaurants/cafes in both the Macau and Las Vegan wynn hotel/casinos have vegan menus. We chose Cafe Encore. We had emailed them in advance to warn them I was coming. They explained that almost all of the vegan options could made gluten free.

I ordered a strawberry juice which come with my choice of sweetener: sugar syrup, agave or some sort of artificial sugar. I chose sugar syrup. It was refreshing and I loved that I could control how sweet it was.

I was most impressed that I had my own bread basket which had gf white bread and these awesome blueberry bread rolls. They were served warm too and pretty good for gf bread. I've dined in a few fancy restaurants in Melb but none of them have offered me gf bread.



We shared the braised bean curd roll with mushrooms and asparagus. They left out the sauce to make it gf, but you really didn't notice as these tiny mushrooms which are called willow/tea tree mushrooms left such a strong flavour which I loved. I'm not the biggest fan of mushrooms but this was so tasty and I loved how delicate the bean curd basket was.

We also shared a bean salad which come with three different dressings. I can't remember two of the dressings though because my standout favourite was the lemon-garlic.

The service was amazing too. If we had more time and more money would have tried a few more of their restaurants.

Cafe Encore
Wynn Macau
Rua Cidade De Sintra

The following day we explored the 'old' macau and visited the ruins of St Pauls.

Not far from there is a small vegetarian restaurant

I had some steamed greens with ginger and some fried rice with pine nuts and seaweed. Sadly I forgot to take a photo of it but it was my fave fried rice of the trip (I had fried rice three times).

Feng Cheng Xuan

   Rua do Monte, 2

We also picked up some addictive peanut candy which I forgot to take a pic of. I used to enjoy almond cookies from Macau which were vegan but unfortunately I could only find vegan ones or gluten free ones not both.

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Interview with Angie Schiavone, editor of Everyday Eats(Sydney)

Last year, I had the pleasure of being a reviewer for Everyday Eats, Sydney's bible for foodies on a budget. It was great fun but also a great responsibility--as someone who loves food and the whole dining experience, I couldn't just concentrate on my own pleasure(though that was important) but also on observing and noticing what other people were eating, the atmosphere of the place, etc. As observation and noticing are the stock in trade of a novelist though, that wasn't too difficult. What was difficult, though, I found, was rating different places against each other(each reviewer covers six allocated restaurants or cafes)--because usually that involved totally different styles of food. Writing the reviews to produce something succint, informative and lively--and not too personal either, as there's a 'house style', if you like--was also a challenge but one I very much enjoyed.
Anyway, the book's coming out out next week and to celebrate its imminent release, I did an interview with Everyday Eats' fantastic editor, Angie Schiavone. Enjoy!
(The book will be out in Sydney at bookstores, newsagents and more generally at the Sydney Morning Herald online store on Tuesday Feburary 28 for $24.99. A digital edition will be available for download from smhshop.com.au/everyday or from iTunes $9.95, and an app is in the works, release date TBC, price $8.49.)

Sophie: Who is Everyday Eats aimed at? Has its focus changed over time?

Angie: This is actually only the second edition of Everyday Eats, but our sister publication - The Age's Cheap Eats (in Melbourne) has been around for decades. I know way back when Cheap Eats first started in Melbourne, they included McDonalds among the listings. These days we leave the cheap fast-food chains to their own devices and focus more on world food, family run restaurants and cafes - anywhere you can get a good quality feed without spending lots. The budget is $30 per person or less, and often it's hard to spend that much. The book is great for anyone on a tight budget, but it's really just for anyone who loves food, and exploring different cuisines and different parts of Sydney.

Sophie:. Are there any trends that you've seen emerging over different years: for example, are certain kinds of restaurants becoming more popular?

Angie: One wonderful trend - if you'd call it that - is that we're getting more authentic renditions of specific regional cuisines from various countries - rather than a "greatest hits" of a particular cuisine, or a "dummed down" version that won't scare timid diners. Thai is one example: Sydney's got restaurants serving North-Eastern Thai food , and even one new one that specialises in Southern Thai food. This year there were also lots of new Mexican and South American restaurants to include, Korean is continuing to become more popular, too.

Sophie: What do you look for in a review? Are there things you watch out for?

There's an art, I think, to writing a restaurant review. It's important to give people a clear picture of what's on offer at a certain place, so they can then figure out for themselves whether it'd be up their alley. There's a fair degree of subjectivity involved, so if we get carried away praising a place we particularly love, it could mislead readers who don't necessarily have the same taste. I always try to keep in mind that we're telling people what a place is like, rather than whether we like it. Adjectives are the key: use lots, and make sure they're evocative rather than subjective.

Sophie: Putting the book together out of so many different contributions must be a huge job. How do you go about ensuring there's coherence to the book?

Angie: Lots of reading, re-reading, research, picking people's brains, digging deeper and asking questions when a review is submitted that perhaps doesn't give a vivid enough picture, editing, double and triple checking facts... it all helps! It's trickier with things like star-ratings, as there can be so much of a range within one rating, and some reviewers are less generous than others: so there's lots of discussion, and lots of extra meals had by me until I'm sure we've got it right.

Sophie: Anything other you might like to add!

Angie: Sydney is such a great place for affordable dining! Proof of that is that this year's edition of Everyday Eats has more than 550 listings, with 130-odd places that weren't in last year, and about 70 different cuisines represented. I'm hoping people will start using our facebook page (www.facebook.com/smheverydayeats) to share tips with us and other fans - whether it's about places we've reviewed or new hidden gems. I really hope people embrace Everyday Eats and that we end up a decades old publication, like The Age's Cheap Eats!

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Hong Kong Day 4 and 6

On Day 4 we went to visit Toby's deceased relatives at a crematorium and honour them with incense. It's a beautiful place on top of a hill in Sheung Wan. We couldn't take photos inside of course, but here a couple from downstairs.

Then it was off to yum chan at a omni place with Toby's family on his father side. It was nice to meet his cousins and uncles/aunts but there was limited food options for me. I focused on trying all the different types of green tea. I had some choy sum and plain rice and added my own soy sauce. I also had some red bean soup.

Then we met Toby's uncle at a dessert place and I had some doufuhua  which is a traditional chinese dessert with silken tofu on the bottom, sweet syrup on top. You can choose different flavours, I got a mango one with mango puree and mango chunks. It was so sweet and filling after my small yum cha lunch. Many chinese desserts are thankfully naturally vegan and gluten free!

Toby got durian with black sticky rice which he loved and I hated because I hate durian.

聰嫂私房甜品 (no english name)

Shop 28, G/F, Metro City Plaza Phase One, 1 Wan Hang Road
Tseung Kwan

For dinner we went to Liza Veggies. Toby used to frequent the owners old restuarant when he lived in Hong Kong. They have english menus and this was perhaps my fave meal out. I had some plain rice which contained red rice and millet.

Then some gai lan. I love Chinese greens and they can often be made g/f if asked with no soy sauce.

And finally some salt and pepper tofu. This was super exciting since I had been missing out on many tofu dishes in hong kong because the sauces tend to contain wheat. It was just simple and tasty fried tofu with salt and plenty of white pepper.

 

However, g/f folks be careful! We returned on our last meal and I had some fried rice. Toby checked all of the ingredients with the wait staff and had 2 small bowls before I realised that there was barley in the rice. Yes unfortunately got glutened for last meal. In their defence he didn't ask for no barley, only no soy sauce and no one seems to be aware or understand gluten free or coeliac disease in Hong Kong.

LizaVeggies

Room A-D, 2/F, Harvard House, 105-111 Thomson Road,  
Wan Chai

After returning from Macau (will get to that next) we caugh up with some friends for dinner at Branto, an indian vegetarian place.  We shared some dhal.

Some aloo palak or spinach potato curry for those of you not familar with Indian menus. Also a curried potato dish but I can't remember the name. The nameless potato curry was one my faves but it did come with bread.

Then we had some papadums with salad on top. I've never had a dish like this in an indian restaurant before it was such a simple idea but kept my mouth feeling slightly cooler.

We also ordered channa masala or (chickea curry) and two types of biryani rice, the only difference we could taste or notice was that one had cashews in it.

Basically we ordered every single dairy free curry (with the exception of spinach-pea curry). The food was delicious but so so so spicy. Spicer than I've ever had in Melbourne. Toby was sweating like crazy and my nose was running throughout the meal. If you want a mild dish, I would recommend the plain potato one.  Otherwise you have been warned!

Branto Pure Veg Indian Food
1/F., 9 -11 Lock Road
 Tsim Sha Tsui

Afterwards we met up with friends for dessert which also helped cool our burning mouths. I had mango doufuhua again. This was my fave of the two, it has a better mango to tofu ratio and was slightly tangy as well as sweet.

Mega Eight

G/ F Humphrey's Builiding

10A Humphrey's Avenue

Tsim Sha Tsui

 

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Hong Kong Days 2-3

Ok so maybe I lied about posting every couple of days but I really underestimated how busy we would be, seeing Toby's family, friends, shopping, among other things. My friend Ari actually summarised HK perfectly with his recent facebook status: "When you're bored with Hong Kong, you're bored with life". Ok so maybe its originally a famous quote referring to London, but think it applies perfectly well.

Day 2 we went to Soland, a vegan restaurant down this alley and up the stairs. There is a focus on healthy vegan food with a sign inside saying no mock meat, no msg etc.

They have a set menu which changes daily and they said there was no issue doing gluten free we had beetroot soup which was delicious with a slightly earthy flavour.

Then veggies, pumpkin, sweet potato, greens, rice with a slightly creamy cauliflower sauce. They bought out a plate with barley on it too first but then we asked gave me a new plate without that side. It was so healthy but a little bland.

My favourite part however was this mango banana soft serve parfait with dragonfruit. I could have easily eaten a massive big bowl.

 Soland
3/F, 6 Gilman's Bazaar, Central District, Hong Kong

For dinner, I got another masala dosa from a Curry in a Hurry this time the time square branch in causeway bay because I was starving.

Day 2 we met up with Toby's friend Kitty for lunch at Life again. They have a slightly different lunch menu. Toby and I shared the tofu skewers with cashew sauce. The tofu was super spongy and the sauce was addictive.

The burger consists of smoked tofu, mostly rice based patty with sweet potatoes and salad on the side. It was awesome.

We also got a sweet potato stew which was served with tofu, broccoli and quinoa. The stew was made with g/f beer which had quite a strong beer flavour.

Also did I mention that my low sugar thing was put on hold while on holiday? I had the gf vegan chocolate mousse cake which is made from tofu, it was rich and could have used a but more berry sauce to break up the flavour. But I still managed to finish it all with a little help from Toby.

After lunch we went to  Dr Sun Yat-Sen Museum. It was interesting learning about how his efforts in setting up republic of china during the Qing era. Besides it only cost $10 HK dollars (roughly $1.2 Au dollars).

For dinner we went to Kung Tak Lam. Toby ordered some greens without soy sauce and fried rice without soy sauce, mock meat etc. I was thankful Toby could explain my requirements in Cantonese because even in Cantonese there was a bit of confusion with the waitress saying that soy sauce doesn't contain wheat but she eventually got it.

The fried rice was delicious thanks to pine nuts and seaweed. I did add a bit of my own soy sauce but that's because I'm addicted to salt. Toby had a gluteny mock eel dish, which frankly sounded gross to me so I didn't mind missing out but he liked it.

Kung Tak Lam

10 F, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Road, Hong Kong

This pack of mini soy sauce packets was a life saver throughout the trip. I got it from an allergy store in Causeway Bay called Little Giant. They had actually just expired but I didn't mind.

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Guest post: Deborah Gray on pizza and wine pairings

In Italy, pizza is a national dish, but variations are enjoyed all over the world, including Australia and France! In this case, I will weave a few French and Australian ingredients and wine suggestions through the pairing.
Yes, Chianti from Tuscany is a natural wine pairing for pizza. But instead of the delicious, but predictable, pairing of Chianti with red sauce and mozzarella, let’s think outside the box and consider alternative wines and toppings. As with other main dish meals, such as chicken, fish and beef, it is the accompanying ingredients and cooking method that best determines the wine. Earthy, rustic Chianti is wonderful with all that rich and acidic tomato sauce. But what about avocado, zucchini and fontina cheese? Not so much. In that case, a Sauvignon Blanc would be fabulous.
Homemade pizza dough is relatively easy to make and well worth the effort. There are plenty of dough recipes in books and on the internet, but the one I have provided takes you through step by step and hopefully removes the intimidation factor. If you don’t happen to have several hours to wait for yeast to grow and dough to rise, there are very acceptable frozen or fresh commercial dough, and good quality flatbreads will work too.
Here’s one pizza that uses a number of individually appetizing ingredients that collectively combine to make a wine pairing a little tricky.

BRIE, PROSCIUTTO, PEAR PIZZA

I round of pizza dough, stretched thin (see recipe below)
Cornmeal (polenta) – not corn flour, which is finer*
4 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pear, peeled, cored and sliced ¼ inch thick
3 to 4 ounces young arugula (rocket) leaves
3 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
8 ounces brie, very thinly sliced
Course black pepper or pepper in a mill

Preheat the oven to 450° F for 30 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When butter gets foamy, add several slices of pear. Sauté for about 3 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Transfer the pears to a plate and continue until all of the pears have been sautéed, using additional butter as necessary. When all of the pears have been sautéed, put the greens in the pan. Cook, covered, until just wilted, about 1 minute, and remove from the heat. In a small saucepan, melt the remaining butter.
Sprinkle a baker’s paddle or the bottom of a sheet pan with cornmeal and set the pizza dough on top. Brush the dough with the melted butter, place the strips of prosciutto on top, and spread the greens on top of the prosciutto. Arrange the cheese over the greens. Scatter the pears on top, and grind black pepper over all. Transfer the pizza to a baking stone sprinkled with cornmeal and bake until the crust is lightly golden and the cheese fully melted, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes and then cut into 8 wedges. Serve immediately.
For a vegetarian version, as illustrated in photo, simply omit the prosciutto.

*the idea of coarser grain is to provide a little cushion for the pizza to prevent sticking.

‘QUICK’ PIZZA DOUGH

Some recipes for pizza dough require six to eight hours’ time for rising, a slow process that require more advance planning than this one, which gives excellent results in less than half the time. This recipe, which makes a 12” round, can easily be doubled, though you should not increase the quantity of yeast.

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water
2 ½ cups (approximately 10 oz.) all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine the yeast and water in a large mixing bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. Use a whisk to stir in ½ cup flour, the salt and olive oil. Add more flour, ½ cup at a time, until you have ½ cup remaining. As the dough thickens, switch from whisk to wooden spoon. Stir in half of the remaining flour, reserving ¼ cup.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead about 7 minutes, or until it is smooth and velvety, working in as much of the remaining flour as the dough will take. Brush a large, clean bowl lightly with olive oil, set the dough in the bowl and cover it with a damp towel. Let rise for 3 hours, until it has more than doubled in size. Gently turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Use the heel of your hand to press the dough into a flat circle, and then use both hands to pick it up. Hold the dough perpendicular to your work surface and move your hands around its outer edges, shaking gently as you do. If it doesn’t stretch easily, put one hand on either side of the disc and pull gently until the dough is about ¼” thick, or slightly thinner. The edges will be thicker. Using your hand or a floured rolling pin, flatten it into a 12-inch circle and about 3/8” thick. From this point you top the dough with recipe ingredients and bake as directed.

Okay, so shall we choose wine to go with brie and pear? But what about the arugula? A Chardonnay will go with both, but only a crisper, less ‘buttery’ or ‘creamy’ Chardonnay, one that has not gone through malolactic fermentation, will go with both. To make it a little easier, choose one from a cooler climate such as Margaret River or Yarra Valley, or if you want to learn a little more about wine, ask a wine store consultant for a Chardonnay without malolactic fermentation. It is more often a better choice for Chardonnay anyway, allowing the grapes’s true nature to come through.
A dry rosé from Provence is a safe and appealing bet, or try a Rhône white such as Marsanne or Roussanne.

Tips:
Omitting the prosciutto, if you want a vegetarian version, will neither adversely affect the overall dish nor change the wine pairing.
If you don’t have a pizza stone (which often cracks after a few uses anyway) an inexpensive alternative is unglazed Mexican paver tiles. Put these on a rack in the oven and for a minor investment you have a pizza stone. Always put them in a cold oven, so that they absorb the heat evenly with the rise in oven temperature. A stone or tile is essential because it absorbs moisture from the dough and ensures a crisp crust.
Do not touch while hot, even with oven gloves.
Because unglazed tile also absorbs flavours, don’t wash with soap and water.
Use warm water only.

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Hong Kong Day 1

We have arrived in Hong Kong. It's so exciting to be back. I have to admit I am a bit biased about this city. I mean Toby is from here, it is where we met and where we first started dating and it was once my home for about 12 months.

It's a crazy city, with excess lights, shops, high rises. It's a little like visiting New York in that energises me. I also find it kind of refreshing to be a city where I can't understand most of the voices speaking Cantonese around me. Although I can understand a few of the more common phrases every now and then as I try to improve my cantonese. The underground train system is the best, so clean, so efficent, and if you miss one train, you only have to wait a few minutes to the next. There is also lots of smart ideas like this umbrella vending machines at train stations, which I sadly got kind of excited about:



The food can be amazing for vegans,  so many Chinese vegetarian restaurants, so many yum cha opportunities and so much gluteny mock meat. However, this is my first time eating gluten free here and I have to admit that I suspect it is going to be a big challenge. Chinese Food is difficult since there is wheat in soy sauce and most sauces and almost no awareness about coeliac disease is. I'm prepared for some boring meals of plain rice and eating rice cakes at home. I will try to blog every couple of days to show you what I can eat.

I woke up and had some sweet soup made by Toby's mum which I will post about seperately.I'm afraid we set out shopping on our first day and didn't bring any camera, so all of these pics are from my phone.

Our first meal out was actually kind of a happy accident, I was prepared to eat g/f cup of noodles at his parents place while he went some where more exciting. However, we were wandering around the shopping centre near Toby's parents house in Taikoo Shing when Toby remembered that the food court at a Japanese department store called Apita had a curry in the hurry with dosa.

Dosa are generally g.f since they are made with rice flour. I ordered a masala dosa which comes with coconut chutney and samba. It was fantastic. The samba was spicy but the coconut chutney was so cooling and the potato filling was amazing. It also comes with a choice of drink and the iced tea help to cool my mouth afterwards. Toby had a regular curry from there too with roti, pappadum etc. And the best thing about it was super cheap. I was a little worried that my enquiries about it being gluten free and dairy free was lost in translation but given that I wasn't sick I think it was safe.

Curry in a Hurry
Apita Uny Food Court (City Plaza MTR exit)
Taikoo Shing
City Plaza

For dinner, we went with Toby's family to Life Cafe. The one place in Hong Kong that I am confident can feed me. It's a western style vegetarian resuarant with plenty of gluten free marked meals and a few raw dishes. Toby and I shared the gluten free pizza with vegan goats cheese. It was fantastic, the pesto, caramelised onion, tomato and base was defintely one of the best gluten free pizzas I have had. 

Toby got the sesame tofu which is served with quinoa and veggies. It is served with a cashew type sauce. I thought was tasty and healthy but a bit average.

Life Cafe
10 Shelly St
Soho

Afterwards we went to a little cafe on the side of the road which I am told is famous for desserts.

I couldn't resist some red bean soup. My whole less sugar thing is on hold while i'm holiday, obviously! The mandarin peel released such a nice but not obvious flavour and it was super filling. Toby got some sweet sesame soup and I also tried some tong yuen (rice balls) which I'm not a huge fan of as its way too chewy for me.

 

Leaf Dessert
2 Elgin Street, SOHO, Central

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Our own Puy-style lentils

For the last few years, we've grown 'French green lentils', as you're meant to call them if they don't actually come from Le Puy--it is the only vegetable to have its own AOC. And no wonder, for these are the finest, tastiest lentils in the world, beside which every other is a boring mess of pottage. Okay so that might sound chauvinistic, but I don't really care. With its pretty look, green with little spots, like a tiny flat bird's egg, (they do go a pale brown when they are fully cooked) subtle, fragrant flavour and nutty texture, the Puy lentil is the king, no, the emperor, of lentils!
This year and the last we had actual Puy lentils brought back from France to sow(other times, we've used the 'French green lentil' packets you can buy in the supermarket these days, coming from other parts of France, or else Victorian green lentils, from the health food shop--Victoria is the only place in Australia that grows this variety of lentils commercially.) But two years ago we went to Le Puy and toured around looking at the lentil fields, eating various lentil dishes in restaurants, and buying some to bring back. Last year unfortunately though the big rains here meant the poor lentils, after looking wonderful for the first couple of months of growth, drowned, and we only just had enough to keep back to sow. But this year they've done well, as David made sure to put in a whole lot of drainage near them(our soil having a strong clay content does not drain easily). The result is--home-grown lentils to eat again!
I love these lentils done pretty simply--I soak them for a few hours(after sifting carefully to remove any stray pebbles that were not spotted at harvest--this is the major problem with growing lentils! )And then fry up some onion in olive oil, add the drained lentils, stir them around, add salt, pepper, garlic, a splash of white wine, then only just cover them with stock or plain water if you prefer. Simmer them till tender(but still nutty) which doesn't take all that long, 15-20 mins or so(taste them to see). Then drain off any remaining liquid, add chopped herbs, a little more garlic, stir around quickly, and serve. I personally love them with meat--either pork(bacon or grilled pork belly)or lamb(shanks especially), but they're beautiful vegetarian style as a main course too. In the picture you can see them simmering on the wood stove with the sauce which will accompany them--a little bacon, onion, garlic, tomato and herbs. Hot, the lentils are gorgeous; cold, as a salad,also superb!

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A fun book!

Here's a book that sounds like fun, a collection of recipes inspired by the charming books of one of France's greatest children's authors, the Comtesse de Segur(nee Sofiya Rostopchina, daughter of the Governor of Moscow). I'm writing a novel for kids set around the Comtesse's childhood, so maybe this will be good for research too!

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