Bella Vedere @ Yarra Valley

Traveling around Victoria for the past 3 weeks.

Been to magnificent scenic view attractions, and of course, great restaurants around the region! 

Here's my first choice! Bella Vedere at Yarra Valley.

This is really a gem in the region filled with high-end restaurants. Definitely worth a visit!

They even have a cooking and baking class which you can take part before lunch.

The restaurant is located just beside the winery. Do not miss it!

Love the open concept of the kitchen. You can see everything being done in the kitchen.

Big old fashioned clock hanging on the wall! Hanging bronze pots and pans, not just for decoration!

Long table for parties? Anyway like the green walls which gives a cosy home feeling.

Dark wood counter matches the green walls

Looks so nice....

Free coffee while waiting for lunch

Menu, but they have special lunch set too! 1 main + 1 entree or dessert for just $35!

And there is a complimentary wine of glass! Plus free flow of bread and coffee or tea.

What a deal!!

Super nice bread. I bought one back home too.. : )

Meatballs in tomato sauce. The meat is so fresh! 

Complimentary glasses of Pinot Noir and white wine

Lamb shank with pumpkin tagine

Ocean trout with side dishes

Almond and chocolate tart for dessert!!

Other selections available too...

Shall go for baking or cooking class next time.......

親子丼 Oyako-don in just less than 15minutes!

Requests came in again for recipes, so here it is after such a long time....

my rendition of 親子丼 in a plate

Ingredients:

1 X chicken fillet cut into mouth-bite sizes (w/ or w/o skin, breast or thigh), premarinated with 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 X eggs (lightly beaten, to produce difference between the whites and yellow)
1 X bowl of cooked rice
1/2 X onion (thinly sliced)
(Optional) Sliced mushrooms

For the gravy:
2 tablespoons X light soy sauce
2 tablespoons X mirin (みりん, should be able to get from supermarkets)
1 tablespoon X sugar
2 tablespoons X water (or dashi water, if you have)

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients for gravy together.
2. In a small frying pan (preferably about the size of your plate or bowl), pan-fry the marinated chicken till brown and cooked.
3. Add the gravy and bring to a boil.
4. Add sliced onion, followed by mushrooms (optional). Let mixture simmer about a minute.
5. Pour eggs into pan. You will see that the eggs on the sides cook very fast, but do not worry. When you observe that the eggs in the middle are slightly cooked (but not full-cooked), remove from heat and serve over hot rice.
6. Garnish with greens. (Optional)

Hope this simple recipe works well for all. Enjoy cooking!!

Everything in a pan in less than 30mins!

Posted this photo on Facebook, and there were requests for the recipe!

It's really very simple. No fuss and the best is, you just use one frying pan to cook everything!

Grilled Garlic Chicken w/Fried Rice

For Garlic Chicken (2 servings)
Ingredients
1. 2 pieces of deboned chicken thigh (Up to you whether to remove skin)
2. 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
3. 1 tablespoon of sugar
4. 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
5. 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
6. Pinch of salt and pepper
Method
1. Marinate all ingredients together for at least 1 hour. If possible, you can leave it overnight. 
2. Place the marinated chicken on a pre-heated fry pan. NO oil is required. (Do not pour the marinate into the fry pan at this moment, as it will be used for the fried rice.)
3. Pan-fry both sides of the chicken about 3 minutes WITH a lid. (For thick portions of the chicken, please give it more time and make sure that it it fully cooked.)
4. Ready to serve. 


For Fried Rice (2 servings)
Ingredients
1. 2 cups of overnight frozen rice 
2. Assorted vegetables (peas, carrots, corn), but anything is fine. 
3. Cooking oil
4. Pinch of salt and pepper
Method 
1. Defroze the rice in a microwave (600W, 2mins). 
2. Using the fry pan that you have cooked the chicken, add a little oil and the assorted vegetables and fry for a few seconds. It does not matter if the pan is a bit burnt, because this will add flavour to the rice.
3. Add the marinate left from the chicken and any left bits of garlic.
4. Add the rice and separate the rice into grains. 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Serve.


Optional
1. After cooking the fried rice, you can cook a sunny side-up to add to your dish!
2. Add greens for a more nutritious meal.


Enjoy Cooking!! 

First recipe (Chicken Nanban チキン南蛮)

Thinking of what to post after my friends ask me to write my recipes into a blog. 
Well, maybe I should just start with something simple and nice to eat. 
So the first one to start with is.... Chicken Nanban (チキン南蛮), a local dish from Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu, South Japan. Fell in love with the dish when I was staying in Japan......

Chicken Nanban (チキン南蛮）
Time Required: less than 30 minutes


Ingredients (Serves 2):
(1) Deboned chicken thighs X 2
(2) Cornstarch X 2 tablespoons 
(3) Hardboiled egg X 1
(4) Mayonnaise
(5) Onion (cut into strips) X 1/2
(6) Soya Sauce X 2 tablespoons
(7) Lemon Juice X 1 tablespoon
(8) Sugar X 2 teaspoons
(9) Cooking oil


Method:
For onion sauce:
1. Place onion into a small pot over fire, and add items 6, 7 and 8 with 2 tablespoons of water. 
2. Bring to boil and and rest till onions become slightly transparent. 
For mayonnaise sauce:
1. Cut hardboiled egg finely and mix with desired amount of mayonnaise.
For chicken:
1. Place chicken and cornstarch into a clean plastic bag to coat chicken slightly with cornstarch. Make sure that the coating is even and light. 
2. Heat cooking oil in fry pan. Pan-fry chicken with slow fire till both sides are slightly brown and inside is cooked. 
3. Cut chicken into your preferred biting sizes. 


To serve:
1. Place onion sauce at plate bottom with chicken on top.
2. Place desired amount of mayonnaise sauce on side of plate.
3. Garnish with green leaves. (optional)
Tips:
1. Instead of preparing the sauce, you can purchase Ponzu (ポン酢) from Japanese supermarkets and add a little sugar.