Eating out | The Spice Pantry, Prahran

My family was kindly invited to a lovely restaurant in Prahran, called The Spice Pantry.

This cosy little restaurant is a family owned and run business.  A father and son duo run this business with such passion and with the love of what they do.

The Spice Pantry is an authentic Indian restaurant serving traditional food.  I met with Anand and his son, Anuj.  While Anand is the experienced chef in the kitchen, Anuj prefers to be out front chatting with his customers.  He shared his story of how he got into the hospitality business after leaving his full time job of being an accountant and how he just finished his morning shift at the MCG.

Hubby and I like for our children to experience all different cuisines so they can decide for themselves what they like and don’t like.  Whilst our son, Thomas loves curries, our daughter Deanna is not a big fan.  I’m proud to say though after this meal she said she thoroughly enjoyed some of the dishes and that she’d love it again.  That’s a win!

My family were treated to a feast of all the senses.  We started off with a couple of platters of entrees.

The vegetarian platter included crispy samosas filled with chunky potato pieces and the pakoras were chopped spinach and onion. Served with a tangy tamarind sauce.

The non-vegetarian entrees included chicken malai tikka, Tandoori chicken, chili chicken and Seekh kebab.  So colourful and so full of flavour.  Deanna couldn’t get enough of the chicken malai tikka.

We had a feast on our hands for the mains.  Saffron rice was accompanied with a vegetarian korma, butter chicken, Malabar prawns and lamb masala.  We had servings of butter naan and garlic naan.

The curries were not too hot as to over power the taste of all the different spices.  Each dish was complex in flavour and very distinctive from each other.

Both the butter and garlic naans were soft and delicious.  The naan dough is made the traditional way and baked in a tandoor oven. It has to be hands down the best naan I have had in Melbourne.

We couldn’t leave without having dessert.  The children voted for the mango kulfi over the pistachio one.  The kulfi was served with raspberry compote and rose syrup.  It was heavenly and vanished in a blink of an eye.  The gulab jamun (milk dumplings in golden syrup) was Thomas’ and hubby’s favourite.  Hubby could have eaten a billion of those dumplings.  It was so soft and light.  It had absorbed the syrup which made it moreish.

I recommend a visit to The Spice Pantry.  The restaurant is quite small so if you plan ongoing with a big group, best to order takeaway or order via Uber Eats.

Go for the food and the friendly staff.

The since Pantry

68 Commercial rd, Prahran

http://thespicepantry.com.au

 

This post is sponsored and my family dined as guests of The Spice Pantry.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

High Country Harvest

I was very lucky to have been invited along with other bloggers for a weekend away to the Victorian High country.  During the colder months there is a crispness in the air while the sun  tries to shine through to warm up the day. It’s perfect for walks along the grape vines and eating delicious meals with great friends. 

During the getaway we were treated to fantastic meals made with fresh local produce and tasted  wines at local family wineries.  

Lunch (and our first stop) was at Chrismont wines.  It is nestled in the King Valley and is an inspiring destination for all lovers of contemporary wines, authentic Italian food and breathtaking scenery.

We were treated like kings and queens by our hosts, Jo and Arnie Pizzini, the owners. After having a few glasses of wines to taste,  our table was ladened with beautifully plated food.

Chrismont wines

251 Upper King River Road, Cheshunt

03 5729 8220

http://www.chrismont.com.au

Our accomodation was at the Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway.  We stayed in a 3 bedroom town house with modern facilities.  After a long drive and lots of wines consumed, it was great to check into our comfortable accomodation to rest. Well, when I say rest, some of us took naps while others listened to loud music and sang our hearts out.

Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway

29-37 Ryley street, Wangaratta 

Tel: 03 5721 8399

http://www.Wangarattagateway.com.au

That evening we headed out to a local bonfire and drank more local wines. Nothing beats huddling around a toasty bonfire on a cold night. A bonfire is the heart and soul of many communities. Giving the chance to get together and reflect on past and future harvests.

Village Bonfire – High Country Harvest Event

Moyhu Hotel

18/16 Byrne St, Moyhu

03 5727 9333

That evening, we were also invited to The High Country Harvest Festival Grand opening dinner that was held in the stunning historic Barn at Brown Brothers Winery. The barn is the very building where the first Brown Brothers wines were first made.  Executive chef Douglous Elder created a menu using the high country’s magnificent produce.  We were also treated to matching wines to make the night unforgettable.

The dinner room was set up beautifully and elegantly decorated with produce from local farm gates and  orchards.

Brown Brothers of Milawa Vineyard

239 Milawa Bobinawarrah Road, Milawa

03 5720 5540

http://www.brownbrothers.com.au

After the gala dinner, we felt very special as were invited to the secret family cellar by owner Mr Ross Brown and his daughter Caroline. 


After a great nights sleep on our comfy beds at our accomodation, we headed out for breakfast in Wangaratta.  It’s a nice quaint cafe in the heart of his little town, with great views of the river quietly flowing by.

The menu was extensive and the coffee was great!  You can see, as usual, we ordered up a feast.

Cafe the PreVue 

66-68 Faithfull street, Wangaratta 

03 5721 2092

http://www.cafevue.com.au

With full tummies, we went off to Walkabout Apiaries. The owner Roger Whitehead began his love for bees and honey at the age of 22.  This small farm gate offers up amazing local honey, beeswax candles, honey, pear and ginger cordial and Whitehead’s mead.

Walkabout Apiaries 

1531 Snow Road, Milawa

Tel: 03 5727 3468

Walkaboutapiaries.com.au

As if we didn’t get enough food for our ever growing tummies, we headed out to Oxley to a family winery called Sam Miranda Winery.  Sam is part of the 3rd generation of a familythat’s  been making wines in Australia since the 1930’s.  Sam has been making wines on the current site since 1997.  Where possible, they source local produce within 50km of the cellar door to show case the flavours of North East Victoria on their menu.

Sam Miranda Winery

1019 Snow Road, Oxley

03 5727 3888

http://www.Sammiranda.com.au

What a bunch of good looking people 🙂 Here we are with the head chef of Sam Miranda Winery, Chef Michael White.

I would to thank rural city of Wangaratta for hosting me for the weekend. Also like to make a special mention to the lovely hosts of the cellar doors, farmgates, cafes and wineries where we were treated fantastically by the owners.  It was an unforgettable experience.  It was an honour to have been introduced to the local wineries and produce.  I think the highlight for me was when Ross Brown personally invited us to his secret family cellar at Brown Brothers.  An experience I will never forget.

Cherrie

Deanna’s Ice Cream Birthday Party with Harry

Do you know it’s International Ice cream month? No? well, you do now…

It just so happens July is also Deanna’s birthday month. What better way to celebrate than having an ice cream party. It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of winter here in Melbourne, ice cream is always welcome with my family.

Deanna was lucky enough to create her very own flavour to celebrate. Harry’s ice cream asked us to create a flavour that they would make for us in their factory in Brunswick. After many discussions between Deanna and myself, we came up with…

Cotton Candy ice cream with marshmallow pieces and strawberry swirl. It definitely is a fun flavour with a touch of a princess 🙂

Along with the Cotton candy ice cream, we were also sent Pavlova and sticky date flavoured ice creams. O.M.G. that sticky date! I had various toppings that our guests were able to add.

We had our family over to help celebrate and had lots of fun doing it.

Thanks to Harry’s Ice cream, we were able to have our creation made up in a couple of weeks. It usually takes 6 months of research to develop their perfect flavours before it hits the freezer shelves of Woolworths supermarkets. You can see Harry’s full range here or you can also see my recipe of Leche Flan Ice cream using Harry’s base ice cream recipe here.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Banana Fudge Layer Cake for Great Food Blogger Bake Off

 

I think you all must know by now how much I love to bake.  I try to bake at least once a week for my family.  It can be anything from bread to cakes and cupcakes and of course everything in between.

Last month, I invited a group of other food bloggers for a bake off pot luck.  Everyone had to bring a savoury bake and a sweet show topper.  We were all a little nervous and the flurry of tweets and instagrams ( #GFBBO) prior to the gathering showed just that. But just like every other food blogger pot luck, everyone delivered the goods (literally).

For my savoury bake, I baked Paul Hollywood’s bacon and cheddar loaves.  I’ve baked them before and you can find the recipe here.

I decided to bake a Banana fudge layer cake. I got the recipe from the Great Australian Bake Off cook book but it is also featured in the Great British one.  I just made a tiny change. I added whipped cream in between the layers. I thought it just lightens the whole cake.  This cake is perfect for occasions as it looks spectacular but most importantly, it’s not difficult to make.

 

Recipe:

For the sponge:

• 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 25g brown sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature, beaten
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste/extract
• 3 tsp milk, at room temperature

For the filling and topping:

• 175g brown sugar
• 150g unsalted butter
• 75ml plus 200ml double (or thickened) cream
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 ripe bananas, thinly sliced
• Preheat oven to 180degC.

1. In a large bowl or electric mixer beat the butter until creamy.  Gradually beat in the 2 sugars until the mixture turns paler in colour and becomes light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add eggs, beating well after each addition.  Sift the flour into the bowl and fold into the mixture with a large metal spoon.  Combine the vanilla and milk and fold in.
3. Evenly divide the mixture into 3 x 20cm prepared tins.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until light golden brown.
4. Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
5. Meanwhile, make the fudge mixture by putting the sugar, butter and 75ml of cream in a saucepan over a low heat.  Stir frequently until the butter has melted.  Turn up the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from catching on the base of the pan.  Take the pan off the heat and vigorously stir for 30 seconds.  Add the sea salt flakes.  Leave to cool.
6. Whip the cream until soft peaks
7. To assemble, spread one third of the cream on top each cake, then layer the banana slices on top of the cream.  Choose one cake to be the top layer and place the banana slices decoratively on top. Now slowly pour or swirl the caramel fudge over the bananas letting some of the caramel drip over the edges.  Now carefully, place each cake on top of each other, making sure it is straight.

Tip: For even cake layers, weigh the cake batter and divide evenly into thirds.

Our savoury table:

 

Our sweet table:

 

For pics of what fantastic bakes we had that day look up #GFBBO on twitter and instagram

Bon appetite,

Cherrie