Crust's 'La Dolce Pizza’ range

Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar is putting a fresh new twist on classic flavours, unveiling four new Italian inspired pizzas.

The new menu additions were inspired by flavours from Italy, and were crafted to bring the classic Italian Pizzeria vibe to Crust stores around the country.

The ‘La Dolce Pizza’ range comprises of Porcini, Chilli Gambero and Quattro Salumi pizzas with the fourth flavour being kept a secret. The secret pizza can be unlocked by customers in store or via Crust's website,

Crust are also giving away a classic Vespa to one lucky customer who purchases any Crust pizzas during the promotional period.*

Customers will be given a special ‘key’ with a unique password when they purchase any Crust pizza; they then need to visit the Crust website and enter their unique password to be eligible to win the classic Vespa.

We loved sampling the Chilli Gamberi (which we ordered from the Melbourne CBD store) - a fiery pizza which boasts a combination of Marinated Tiger Prawns, blanched Silverbeet Spinach and roasted Roma Tomatoes on a Tomato Base, garnished with Chilli Flakes and fresh chopped Red Chilli, dressed with Chilli infused EVOO and  a Lemon Wedge.

For more information about Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar or to order online visit www.crust.com.au.

*The competition is being run across all Crust stores from November 2 to December 23. The winner of the classic Vespa will be drawn on December 23.

LongLeaf Tea Vodka

LongLeaf Tea Vodka is a combination of the depth of flavours from founder, Ram Krish's Sri Lankan heritage growing up in tea plantations and the purity of nature in Australia, the place he now calls home.

LongLeaf was born out of a desire to create a unique and premium spirit that is 100% natural and 100% organic. Recently named 'Best Tea Vodka in the World' at last year's San Fransisco World Spirits Competition, LongLeaf Tea has been going from strength to strength, subsequently winning 2 other international awards including one premier competition in London.

We thoroughly enjoyed this aromatic, supremely refreshing fusion of the finest, hand-picked Ceylon tea, skillfully blended with artisanal, organic vodka made with the purest rain water from Australia’s Hunter Valley. 

Find out more about LongLeaf Tea Vodka here.

Recipe: Chee Cheong Fun

Malaysia Kitchen has recently launched its cooking series on Seven Two on Saturdays at 3pm (Read more here). To whet your appetities, here is a recipe for the Chee Cheong Fun from Episode 2...

By: Jackie M 

Ingredients: 

125 g rice flour 

2 ½ Tbsp tapioca flour 

500ml water 

1 Tbsp oil 

2 Tbsp oil, extra for mould 

Toppings 

¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted 

1 cup oil 

1 brown onion, peeled and sliced thinly Chilli sauce (Sriracha), optional 

Topping Sauce Option 1 

⅓ cup prawn paste aka Petis Udang 

½ cup water 

*Kicap manis (sweet soya sauce) 

Topping Sauce Option 2 

1 cup hoisin sauce 

1 cup water 

⅓ cup sugar 

Method: 

Combine all the rice flour roll ingredients and mix well, batter will be very thin. 

Brush a square metal cake pan with oil, pour a very thin layer (2 mm) of batter and steam on high heat for 1 - 3 minutes OR use an oiled non-metallic baking dish and microwave on high for about a minute and a half (75 to 90 seconds depending on strength of your microwave). 

Allow to cool slightly then use a spatula or scraper to lift up the edge of the rice flour sheet. Roll up then put aside and repeat process until all the batter is used up. Toast sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, cool. 

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the onion until light brown. Remove onion from oil and transfer onto paper towel to crisp up. Store the onion crisps for future use, reserve oil for topping the rolls. 

For topping sauce 1, combine prawn paste and water in a saucepan. Simmer on low heat, stirring constantly, until well mixed. 

For topping sauce 2, combine hoisin sauce, water and sugar in a saucepan. Simmer on low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. 

To assemble, cut the rice flour rolls into 3 cm widths. Drizzle with either sauce option. Drizzle with onion oil and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, serve with chilli sauce if you like it spicy.

Original Chai Co.

Despite the booming chai craze in Melbourne, many devotees don’t realise that the beverage is inspired by Indian masala chai, which is quite different to the sweet version served up in lattes. Melbourne based Gauri and Apoorv have introduced traditional chai to Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market where visitors can get a real taste of India at Original Chai Co.

The couple’s love for chai recently bagged them a prestigious award at this year's Australian International Tea Expo in October 2015 where the morning blend was named “Best Chai”.

The Original Chai Co. range includes morning masala chai and an afternoon masala chai that are both naturally low in caffeine, gluten free, contain no hidden sugars, just masala goodness.

In keeping with the authenticity of the family recipe, the range comes in bold assam tea and masala blend separately, so drinkers can combine their desired amount of spice, and make the drink to their own tastes. 

We adored the morning masala chai which comes with stronger aromas to wake the body up and is inspired by Gauri’s family who come from Haridwar, a colder climate in India where a warm and strong chai is the only way to start the day. 

The afternoon masala chai is perfect to wind down with its slightly milder flavour which calms the body down and is inspired by Apoorv’s family who come from a warmer climate in India, Indore.   

What: Original Chai Co

Where: I Shed, Queen Victoria Market

When: Saturdays and Sunday 9am-3pm

Link: http://www.originalchaico.com.au

Win an ipad mini with Malaysia Kitchen's Pic & Puzz Contest

Malaysia Kitchen is having a special contest called ‘PIC & PUZZ’ to test your knowledge about Malaysian dishes based on jumbled portrayed visual and blurry images. All you have to do is name all the dishes provided and share your answers with Malaysia Kitchen!

Make sure to sign up to receive all the weekly hints and complete a sentence in less than 15 words to win an IPAD Mini 4 128GB! For further information on contest rules and regulations, click here http://www.malaysiakitchen.my/contest. 

Mercedes Benz Night Noodle Market Opening @ The Temporium

Written by Simon Ly.

The Mercedes Benz Temporium is a creative space that is a visual feature at Melbourne’s Night Noodle Market. The Temporium is well placed in Melbourne, complimenting the same design ethos as the nearby Federation Square with converging and crossing lines creating the dome structure.

Themed alongside the hawker stall Asian food on offer at the Night Noodle Market, the Temporium served up a deep fried chicken bites drizzled with yoghurt, with a spicy and refreshing Asian salad.

The food was prepared by Shane Delia, of Maha fame. Delia had to dig into his creative skills with the food on offer at odds with the Middle Eastern Food served at his restaurant.

However, staying true to his Middle Eastern heritage, Delia snuck in a Turkish dumpling dish, topped with fresh Asian asparagus, rice crisps and egg yolk. The dumpling was soft in texture, with the rice crisps and asparagus providing the textured flavours with the right amount of crunch. 

The Temporium can be visited and viewed throughout Melbourne’s Night Noodle Market, which is located at Birrarung Marr (wedged between Federation Square and the Yarra River) between November 12 - 29.