My dad is of the opinion that there are two types of Chinese people in the world. Those who like noodles and dumplings, and those who prefer rice. My dad loves noodles – he grew up on noodles that his mom, my grandmother, hand-made on a regular basis. As he comes from a very big family, I can imagine the task of making enough noodles to feed everyone, would have been enormous indeed. Hence it was also a big treat for us kids to have these noodles, whenever my grandmother sent us some as a gift.

I must confess, I am a rice eater. I can eat almost anything with rice, even spaghetti sauce, no matter how incongruous the two may seem. So it wasn’t really the news about a world famous dumpling chain finally opening in Sydney that caught my eye. Rather, it was Lorraine’s enthusiastic post about her visit to Din Tai Fung, that made me want to check the place out as well. Din Tai Fung has the honour of being rated one of the top 10 restaurants in the world by the New York Times. However, as a friend cautioned, this accolade was bestowed in 1993, and a lot can happen in the intervening time. Standards can slip, etc etc.

Luckily, this doesn’t turn out to be the case. While the spicy dumplings that we first order are a bit too oily for me, it is the soup dumplings (which Din Tai Fung are famous for), that truly seal the deal. With the soy sauce and slivers of ginger (the recommended accompaniments, which you really need to bring out the flavours of the dumpling), and the little laminated card in English, showing you the correct way to eat soup dumplings, every mouthful was a stomach-pleasing revelation. The dumpling dough was just the right thickness – thin enough, to not be pasty and gluey, and just thick enough to not break and spill it’s liquid contents before it hits your mouth. I’d happily fill up on soup dumplings alone, even if it’s just pork dumplings, or variations on the theme of pork dumplings. B and Calamari finish their meal with bowls of dumplings and noodles in soup which with the help of most of the condiments on the table (chilli oil, black vinegar and soy) renders the dish worthy of a big thumbs up.

A few quibbles I have with the place. While the service was friendly, I found it a touch too obsequious. Even though it’s early days for this branch of the famous chain (it’s only a few weeks young, afterall), I was also disappointed to see a lot of “Not Available” stickers next to quite a few menu items (mostly vegetarian dishes, as well as a few “special” items like a crab and pork dumpling).

That said, I’m looking forward to returning. With all those lovely soup dumplings waiting to be slurped up, it’s like having Yum Cha in the evening. What’s not to like about that?

Din Tai Fung
Shop 11. 04 Level 1
World Square Shopping Centre
644 George St
Sydney 2000.

Would you believe, a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope?

A Spring Tea Party is about to be held at The Skinny Gourmet, and while the weather here is working it’s way into Winter, there’s no reason not to get the tea cups out and be a little Spring-inspired, with a kaleidoscope of Butterfly Cupcakes.

When my age was still in single digits, I used to sit out in the garden, having pretend tea parties with dolls for company and leaves and flowers for cakes. I still recall a picture in one of my mom’s cookbooks, of some butterfly cakes that in my eyes, had a touch of the exotic to them. Well it’s taken a good few years for me to finally make some.

I prepared similar cakes a couple of months ago for a post-show party for a ballet. They were canape-sized butterfly cakes, which until then, I never would have thought would make good finger food. As they’re pretty easy to prepare, they would be very suitable for a kids’ tea party too. This big kid certainly thinks so! 🙂

Butterfly Cupcakes :
(serves 12; adapted from a Delia Smith recipe in her Book of Cakes)

175 g self-raising flour
110 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
110 g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated rind of 1 lemon
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 190’C.

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth, add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Mix in the vanilla and lemon rind, then the sifted flour and salt. Beat this mixture until just combined.

Divide the mixture between 12 cupcake cases and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cakes are golden brown. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.

[To decorate, angle a small sharp knife and cut to within about 1 cm of the edge of the cake to remove a cone-shaped round, leaving a cavity in the centre. Cut the round in half and set aside. These are the wings. Fill the centre of each cake with jam and whipped vanilla cream (or a filling of your choice. Delia Smith uses orange curd] and return the two pieces of cake to sit on top like butterfly wings. You can also decorate further with coloured sprinkles, grated chocolate, etc. Dust with icing sugar to serve.]

Don’t they look great? Just wait til you hear what they’re called.

Are you ready?

Chocolate Brownie Cookies.

I know! Chocolate. Brownie. Cookies!

Three of my favourite words, in the form of a bite-sized snack. Genius, isn’t it? You should smell them while they’re baking. The chocolate aroma is so intense, it’s like someone managed to capture the pure essence of chocolate, in a scent. That person, is Claudia Fleming, and these cookies were one of her signature items during her time as Pastry Chef at the Gramercy Tavern.

Of course, these cookies are great eaten as they are. They have a crisp shell on top, and a moist, chewy brownie-like middle bit. If you want to gild the lily a little, I suggest sandwiching them with ice-cream. I usually like my home-baking to be simple and uncomplicated by extra bits and bobs, but trust me, ice-cream sandwiches made with these cookies are intensely good!

These cookies are dedicated to Elyse and her dad, Lou, in Connecticut. Hello! 🙂

Chocolate Brownie Cookies :
(from The Last Course, by Claudia Fleming)

45g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
150g sugar
1/2 tablespoon brewed espresso
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
30g unsalted butter
141g extra-bittersweet chocolate, chopped (66%-80%)
56g unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips [I used 30g cocoa nibs instead]

Preheat oven to 190’C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, briefly whip the eggs to break them up. Add the sugar, espresso, and vanilla and beat on high speed for 15 minutes, until thick.

While the eggs are whipping, place the butter in the top of the double boiler, or in a metal bowl suspended over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water, and scatter the extra-bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate on top. Heat until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove the boiler top from over the water and stir the chocolate and butter until smooth.

Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined (there should still be some streaks). Add the flour mixture to the batter and carefully fold it in. Fold in the chocolate chips. If the batter is very runny, let it rest until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonsfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed and cracked, 8 to 9 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before removing from the baking trays.

[Note: Yield for this recipe is supposed to be 5 dozen, but I got 42 cookies. Maybe my teaspoons are greedier 🙂 ]