Family Christmas Lunch: Henkell, Oysters, Prawns and Rekorderlig (25 Dec 2011)

Henkell Happy Hour

This years family Christmas lunch included a plus 1 of Baby Isabelle who slept all the way through the eating festivities. Hopefully in a few years she'll have the acquired taste of eating oysters and prawns so she can join me in the pre-Christmas seafood shopping at Sydney Fish Market. A bottle of Henkell Trocken was chilled for the lunch occasion and my brother bought most of the flavours I think of Rekorderlig to try. The Strawberry & Lime was nice at first but then became a bit too sweet for the palate and reminded of cough mixture too much (sorry). The Premium Apple Cider flavour was more to me liking and the Apple & Blackcurrant was quite nice as well even though it reminded me of Ribena.

The St Helens Pacific Oysters faired well in the fridge for 36 hours but freshly shucked on the day would have been even better. Half the prawns were tiger I think and the other half were smaller Crystal Bay Prawns which I found had a sweeter and more distinct flavour even though they looked more pale in color. Mum made her famous potato salad to go with dad's marinated chicken wings and pork ribs and brother tried his hand at lamb kofta balls with good success along with some barbecued baby octopus. For dessert the Pattison's Patisserie lime tart and pre-made pavlova base topped with freshly whipped cream and fresh fruit finished the lunch off nicely which soon sent me into a food coma.

Other Family Christmas lunches:

• 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008

Henkell Trocken

Rekorderlig ciders

St Helens pacific oysters from Nicholas Seafoods Traders at Sydney Fish Market

Tiger King Prawns and Crystal Bay Prawns

Lobster and King Crab from supermarket

Barbecued octopus

Marinated chicken wings

Barbecued pork ribs

Potato salad

Lamb kofta balls

Pattison's Patisserie lime tart

Dress your own pavlova

Resting after a good feed

MUMU Grill: All-You-Can-Eat Ribfest, Crows Nest (22 Sept 2010)

70 Alexander Street, Crows Nest NSW 2065
http://www.mumugrill.com.au

Ribfest Jenga

I arrive for my 8 pm booking with an entourage of 7 carnivores to MUMU Grill's fully booked Ribfest night. After a short wait we're seated outside with a menu list of 3 courses including lamb, pork and beef ribs with chips and salad all for $40. A nice tasting hand crafted 4 Pines Kolsch ($8) wets my appetite for the protein overload ahead. Course 1 is my favourite of the night with smokey tasting Lamb Ribs with Black Pepper full of flavour, and the sweeter Lamb Ribs cooked in honey and soy. For me there's the right balance of meat, grizzle, char factor and flavour I've been hoping to find. Course 2 is a higher stack of Pork Spare Ribs Cajun spiced with orange cola marinade which don't really have any bones and is more a large cut of pork with a considerable amount of fat attached while the long USA Pork Baby Back Ribs in MUMU BBQ Sauce could have been more smokey char for my liking but the flavour was quite nice.

The final Course 3 of Beef Short Ribs with coriander garlic and chilli was the most disappointing because it was more like a large chunk of meat with no bone and we couldn't really taste the coriander, garlic and chilli. The Beef Short Ribs with MUMU BBQ Sauce didn't have enough smokey char factor and unfortunately had a fair amount of fat and grizzle compared to meat on the large bone. The chips and salad were good but it was all about the ribs tonight. Wanting to end on a good note we order another plate of the course 1 lamb ribs which hit the spot once again. Our final height of bone jenga was close between the 2 teams of 4 people and thankfully no one left home hungry that's for sure.

Other visits to MUMU Grill:
• 29 Mar 2011 - Porkestra The Encore

• 22 Sept 2010 - Ribfest (Lamb, Pork and Beef ribs)

• 31 Aug 2010 - Lambageddon Dinner

• 3 Feb 2010 - Beer Tasting Dinner

• 15 Aug 2009 - Lunch Express Menu, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Eye Fillet, Zucchini Flowers

• 30 April 2009 - Take It Slow Wine Dinner, Mr Riggs Wines, Jamon, Saltbush lamb, Double roasted duck, Brown sugar pavlova

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: All you can eat so you won't leave hungry, Nice decor and seating, Hand crafted beers available

CONS: Event books out quickly, Can get very noisy inside

MUST TRY: Lamb Ribs with Black Pepper

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Ribfest menu of ribs, salad and chips ($40)

Course 1: Lamb Ribs with Black Pepper, Lamb Ribs cooked in honey and soy

Lamb Ribs with Black Pepper

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Lamb Ribs cooked in honey and soy

Course 2: Pork Spare Ribs Cajun spiced with orange cola marinade, USA Pork Baby Back Ribs in MUMU BBQ Sauce

USA Pork Baby Back Ribs in MUMU BBQ Sauce

Pork Spare Ribs Cajun spiced with orange cola marinade

Course 3: Beef Short Ribs with coriander garlic and chilli, Beef Short Ribs with MUMU BBQ Sauce

Beef Short Ribs with MUMU BBQ Sauce

Beef Short Ribs with coriander garlic and chilli

Chips

Salad

Rib carnage left over bones by 8 rib lovers

4 Pines Kolsch ($8)

Chef Craig Macindoe

Ribs cooking in the kitchen

Inside dining

Outside dining

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Hurricane's Grill & Bar: Pork Ribs, Bondi Beach (3 Jan 2010)

130 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach NSW 2026

http://www.hurricanesgrill.com.au

Rib-tastic!

Whenever I'm wanting ribs I usually think of Hurricane's. If you're hungry but can't really finish a full rack then it's better value to share a full rack with someone else — much cheaper than ordering just a half rack for yourself. I tend to prefer the Pork Ribs over the smaller and meatier tasting Lamb Ribs. I wish I could cook ribs at home that has meat so tender and falls off the bone. I also tried the rather expensive Prawns Villa Moura although it has four enormous Clarence River King Prawns — I don't think they can get much bigger than these babies. Comes with salad dressing and three sauces of which I prefer the peri-peri sauce. Salads are huge at Hurricane's and the Octopus Salad is no exception.

For dessert I had to try the Mars Bar Cheesecake just for the name. Seemed to have real slices of Mars Bar on top although I found the cheesecake a bit dense. I preferred the more classic Warm Sticky Date Pudding. In terms of drinks I noticed wines by the glass are pretty expensive, averaging between $11–$13 while beers are a bit more reasonable at about $7–8. Note there's a 10% surcharge on Sundays so visit on other days if your wanting to save a bit on your final bill. And don't forget you get complimentary brown bread and butter in case your thinking of ordering garlic or herb bread.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Ribs, Free brown bread

CONS: Very busy so book ahead, Expensive wine

MUST TRY: Pork Ribs, Prawns Villa Moura

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Full rack pork ribs $37.40
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Prawns Villa Moura: Clarence River King Prawns butterflied, then grilled Portuguese style in lemon butter. Served on a bed of rice with salad $45

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Prawns Villa Moura sauces: Garlic butter, lemon butter and peri-peri sauce

These prawns are massive!

Octopus Salad: Baby Octopus, grilled with lemon butter and spices, on a bed of fresh salad $26.40

Rump steak with pepper sauce $35.20

Complimentary brown bread

Where bones go to die

2006 Hare's Chase $44

Sticky Date Pudding $15.95

Vanilla Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Sauce $9.90

Mars Bar Cheese Cake $15.95

Dessert menu

Peppermint Tea $3.30

Foxeys Late Harvest dessert wine $9.90

Hurricane's take away shop if you can't wait for a table

The grill and kitchen

Front dining section

Back dining section

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