As Tantalising as They Look

There is never a pressure for me to hand over a fistful of recipes and until occasion does arise that calls for one I shall rather in the meantime remain disinclined and impromptu in doing so.It is not what 'Mummy has taught Me' how to cook recipe here but it was rather more the result of what I managed to create to amuse myself during my childhood where toys were scarce and expensive. I remembered vividly when I was six I use to raid our chicken pen for eggs and with a box of matches stealthily went into the Malayan rubber land of ours and cracked all the hard gotten eggs in a disused pot ware and cooked them up with dirt, twigs and dry grass. Smoke bellowing out from my garden's hideout meantime and I still wonder what all the pandemonium was about what with my sisters giving me all the serious reprehension and my old mum going all haywire. I still wonder what all the fuss was about. Didn't I get a good old belting that day fancy me mixing good whole weeks ration of family eggs with dirt.

You thought I would never come up with a gallery don't you! Well! See what I have in store for you. And there is yet more to come that is provided this wretched ramshackle template didn't give up its old life on me.The Thai fried rice above is pretty obvious enough.Its like a kid with his bloc or a graphic designer not to forget his dots and pixel except that this is in spice and herbs and rice. Enough said this dish has to be viewed as a contemporary art in itself. I think it would be hard even if someone wants to imitate or copy it.

Seafood chilli cooked in sambal sauce ginger and red wine has always been popular with our customers. Originating from the Malay fishing villages and street stalls nowadays this dish is as popular as ever as they crept into the country's 5stars hotel menu. In Malaysia it is squid octopus, ham cockles, fresh fish, prawns. In Tasmania I make do with local mussels, oyster and tasmanian scallops. But for those purists who seek pleasurable taste sensation out of no bounds they may find solace in out of season pricey local cray meat .

This is indeed a red hot affair. The fish dish I mean pumped with fiery ginger, tomato puree, garlic, ground red chilli, red paprika, tumeric and red wine but not to forget the essential sambal oelek. Sauce is thickened from cornflour when mixed with water. Use good quality fresh fish. Deep sea trevalla is a good fish steak fillet to start with.Pay more and you get more in return Anything less than the humble shark flake (although lamentable this is no longer cheap either nowadays) is not ideally recommended for a good dish. We eat too much meat. Lets take on more seafood for a change... like a seachange. Pardon my silly pun here.

Don't forget coconut milk as a base when it comes to curry regardless. Vegetarians go for sprouts, nuts and bean curd (dofu). Use salt sparingly but don't use fish sauce as it is not agreeable with fresh vegetables.Seasoning should be as little as possible when combined with coconut milk. It should be just a bit of sugar add to taste and a pinch of salt to counter balance.

The secrets in a soup like this is lots of fresh ginger preferably diced in matchstick size ground chillis , chopped coriander,2 sprig of lemon grass dash of sambal oelek, few slivers of tomatoes, fish sauce, tamarind juice, sprinkle of sugar and a dash of fish sauce. Tom Yum in Thai is a spicy paste. Goong stands for prawns. But you can do this with slices of chicken meat and we duly call it Tom Yum Gai . Gai stands for chicken. Please hold back your chopped coriander last preferably serve it last with dried shallots as garnish Currently on the internet there is a film release called Tom Yum Goong . Am I right? Or I must be going dotty pretty soon.

Titilating Savouries

Something for the hedonistically inclined naturally just to stimulate along your fare. The triangular shaped depicts our seafood pockets. Next to the it partially covered by lemon wedges are the home made vegetarian spring rolls. The lightly battered larger irregular pieces are the sweet tasting deep sea trevalla fish fillets popularly known as 'blue eye' trevalla on the local market. Prawn cutlets act to grace the seafood platter finishing touch. Another snack size bite to whet your appetite at the old Teahouse Salamanca is the paratha a sub-continental indian version of spicy curry bread with specially prepared sauce dip as accompaniment. Kneading the flour into into a good firm dough is a thankless task without the aid of machine but the tasty outcome is well worth the effort. This dough is then well mixed with mortar and pestle pulverised spices, chopped chillis and coarsely mashed up boiled eggs. This ready spiced and flavoured dough is then portioned into goftball size for individual serve. When ready they are repeatedly flatten by an wooden roller pin before being gently panfried on both side in lightly ghee greased butter. This is really the raw Malaysian curry puffs in the making. Miniced meats are usually precooked in the saucepan with mixed spices chopped onions, herbs and curry powder before they are wrapped in dough pastry. Individual puffs are ridged into shape with the aid of a fork.
This is our ever popular dish, the Malaysian chicken satay.Though it is here as an entree size on offer people generally opt for as their main. Perhaps the spiced rice itself is just as delicious as the satay skewers or that its peanut based saucing dip is just as equally tasty and flavoursome as the rests but all in all I dare say this dish has always been a winner with our regular customers.
The Yin and Yang of Dim Sim making
Both are IT (Information Technology) students having some bytes at their lovely creation Dim Sums. Steven is a programmer at the local university. Little Mao has just graduated in his network engineering course at TAFE College. My staffs are all very knowledgeable when it comes to food because they have tasted all of them. Our customers are constantly astounded by their knowledgebility and their ' content' in practically every dish that comes out from my steamy wok.

Hobart's Landmark

Salamanca Place A Hobart's Landmark Just like the Ginza Strip in Tokyo or Orchard road in Singapore Salamanca Place in Hobart attracts all the tourists and revellers from all over the world especially during summer where great water events such as the Sydney to Hobart yacht race are held annually. This place might be a far cry from the Sunny Salamanca of Spain where histories were made in Europe where the Moors and European interchanged for centuries to produce the grandeous cultural and learning centre of the world.

But the little Salamanca of Hobart is an outlet whereby all formofsocialandcommunities activities happened especially towards the weekend. I frequently go there in the morning to have my cup of tea or coffee before heading to work. Well in the case above its more than just a cuppa as it must have been a case for a long working lunch.

I call the random shots

When you have just purchased a digital camera chances are in the midst of excitement you are eager to use it in a manner that is rather impetous probably lacking any sense of direction. You would then wonder how long you would be able to sustain a line without a theme. It is like life and life itself. People first work to stay alive then they work for $$$ for status and for power. Soon we tend to forget about living altogether.We become oblivious neglectful and insensitive to all things natural simple and beautiful. At times we end up paying heavy social costs in terms of personal health and dirty environment and ad nauseam. A picture tell a thousand words. Above illustrates the big expanse landscape so typical of our island state. The picture is taken from a stretch of highway on my trip back from Hobart airport

The dockland of Hobart. Historically this have been set as provedoring points for whalers and seal hunters. Today more tourists throng the place than local inhabitants.

Here is a typical middle class suburb where my regular customers seem to come from. The suburb is also named after water view and it is called Sandy Bay. In the foreground you may notice part of Hobart's city. The writer is too poor to live there.

A Community of Hearthrobs

In practically every scenery view of the city where local residents post there will always be water view at the background. The city is similar to bay city status as shared by Vancouver in Canada and Auckland in New Zealand.

Hobart's Water View Hobart is surrounded by water .This is a simple upshot of my the window view which I took from my kitchen. Its a view on oil depot at entrance point of the huge Derwent river.

Here is a photo of my friend's yacht which I never have time to board. Most of my friends are rich and I am poor. I only service them for the food I cook. They are basically my regular customers. His yacht is named after his wife 'Jeanette'

Yacht Club and Society- Some of the boats pictures I took on a stroll down river Derwent. Sailing boats are a familiar sight during summer in Hobart Bay when water sports is at its height

The mighty river Derwent again where Bellerive sprawling suburb is just visible in the foreground. Most Hobartians gather around both side of the shores to witness the final stage of Sydney to Hobart yacht Race during Christmas and New Year festive period.

Hobart City. Hobart is a small capital city of the island state of Tasmania, which is just an hour flight away south of Melbourne in Australia. It has a population of 185,000, a university, a casino but little heavy industry. Rural farming still features strongly in export trade. Currently there is no external link with international air routes. The domestic airport is mainly serviced by regulars’ flight from Adelaide Melbourne and Sydney. Tourists generally shy away in winter and throng thru the place in summer when the weather is warmer and when the 'Sydney-Hobart' sailing yacht race is on.

Small Kitchen

This is a small kitchen in which I work in. Small can be beautiful and awesome much depends on how we make do with its existing limitations . Besides, in reality we don't find all restaurants built in with a '5 star' kitchen. Right now it is a quiet time before the storm and this is the best time for revaluation. Fresh produce like meat , seafood and vegetables are loaded in early for the day.They have to be resorted and put under refrigeration without delay as only portions are used up for that day.

It would be hard to imagine how much work is involved behind the scene in the kitchen. Fun time begins in the actual food preparation stage. Shelling of seafood slicing and dicing chopping and peeling fresh vegetables carrots and potatoes. Its all very labour intensive nitty gritty work and the devil is in the details.

Most vegetables are properly washed and rinsed before they are ready for further processing. Preparation has to be the essential part of the whole cooking process from the ingredients raw stage to its final product that is eventually the fine food served and consumed on the table. The amount that is required to be prepared for the day is the amount to be determined by the level of business activity expected of for that day. It varies from day to day. But after many years of experience in the same business minimisation of materials being wasted is generally carried out by the rule of a thumb.

Cutting of prime meat and painstakingly removing gristles fat and the likes. Sliced meats will ultimately be well marinaded with some sauce cornflour sesame oil and tenderiser. Prepared meats then will be left to set and breathe for a few hours in the chiller before they are ready for use in our cooking.

The daily fresh vegetables we use at Dom's Teahouse are rather extensive in range as viewed in graphic details. A preponderate consideration in running this tiny kitchen of ours is certainly not the cutting costs . Reputedly this has never been over the years. By far it is to the provision of variety and diversity of fresh vegetables and spices to our public in a well balanced healthy delectable and scrumptious diet that remains our primary concern.
Engrossed in our last two pictures are a glimpse of vegetables variety I chose to use on a daily basis that might not be necessarily found in other similar type of eating house. Bamboo shoots, fresh bean sprouts, snow peas, fresh asparagus, leafy bok choy, shaghai wong bok, fresh mushroom, celery, red and green capsicums carrots and zuchinni.

Zestful flavour in Herbs and Spice

I once used to old folks saying 'all things nice and spiced adds variety to life.' Well indeed if only they can wake up today to find out the amount of hard work and grind it takes to generate the happy contentment and well being of diners in their indulgence for gastronomic perfection. Above are some of the herbs and spices we daily use in our kitchen. These are the purchasing stage of basic food ingredients. Some herbs and spices are outsourced whilst others are dealt directly with wholesalers and frequently retailers such as supermarkets are relied on should vital items be not available with the primary suppliers. A lot of travelling time is spent on buying from the source of supplies, as not all suppliers are involved in deliveries especially to the suburbs where we are now.

In any successful Asian restaurant the main essential ingredients and spices are found on the premises are of the following. Fresh ginger, galangal, garlic, dried and fresh chilli, fish sauce, lime lemon juice, lemon grass, tamarind paste, sambal oelek and shrimp paste. For fresh vegetables we always stick to the authentic asian leafy type like bok choy, wong bok, coriander, basil leaves, and bean sprouts whilst not forgetting the basic tofu bean curd and chinese dried mushroom.



The Indians use to enormous amount of chlli in their curries. Chillies are a good accompaniment to Asian food especially in the hotter climate. This is because it not only adds to your appetite but it makes you feel cooler when and especially after you sweat over a hot spicy meal. Chilli is also a means of cheap food preservation over a longer period than fresh food would otherwise allowed in less developed places where refrigeration are hard to come by. In a lot of fishing villages where I visited overstocked fresh fish caught from the sea are generally salted and dried in the sun or preserved in chilli for future use. Such process also adds additional flavour to what is in the fish.

Suburbia

Suburbia so described. Just like most of the common folks in China live in rural countryside so do most Australian in vast expanse of suburbs linked with quality highways and transport communications. As the author of this small business does not live in the city centre area each day he has to commute from the place of his residence which is quite a distance from the other side of Hobart city CBD to his place of work at the Blackman's Bay southern coast. Driving can be an exhilarating and breathtaking experience especially when the journey is of some distance. Tasmania is a huge island state south of Australia and its countryside is rather picturesque at times of the year but when you mundanely and repeatedly do it on a daily basis practically everyday of the year going through the same routes and viewing the same scenery then it certainly takes the shine and fun out of your drive.

Updated and currently operating at Bayview Market shopping centre 15 minutes drive from Hobart city that is where you will find Dom’s Asian teahouse. The restaurant trades from 5 p.m. 6 days a week closing on Monday. It specialises in Malaysian Chinese Thai Indonesian and Singaporean cuisine. It is BYO (Bring Your Own Wine) and holds 7 tables. Perhaps it is wise to book in advance especially for the weekend.

The Teahouse Banquet Style

Banqueting Style At The Teahouse

It is time for a banqueting style dinner at the Tea house. An approach to a balanced nourishing diet. There is fresh fish, seafood, lamb, beef, chicken, pork, vegetables and of course you can't go without the rice and other accompaniments. This is virtually a whole night session. I once remember I used to do about 120 people on a New Year's night at a larger premises than the current tiny size restaurant down at Salamanca Place.

We can see there is the ever popular Indonesian Nasi Goreng here. with a seafood platter in the background. Malaysian chicken satay on skewers with peanut sauce is a real hit with the populace. Sambal Udang the king size prawns cooked in fiery fresh chilli red wine sauce ginger and red tomatoes. Rendang Daging(Beef) is rich in sauce subtle in flavour spicy certainly in every sense of the word but not necessary hot and chilly. Lamb in Garam Marsala is actually my favourite. We can also envisage deep fried specially made meat dumplings as entrees and don't forget to overlook the Singaporean famous street hawkers' Hokkien spicy noodles liberally sprinkled with seafood tit bits.

Its because for the first time my premises is a BYO (Bring Your Own) It no longer remains licensed to sell alcohol. On Wine Riesling is good and cool for summer. It goes very with chicken dishes. Chardonnay also goes smoothly with any Asian dishes that I know of. Most would prefer red or heavy red for spicy beef or lamb dishes. Sauvignon or Cabernet. But generally when folks come out to celebrate they usually bring a mixture of bubblies , champagne ,beer, liqueurs and the likes. We used to stock our own different version of skinless wine specially labelled for banqueting during our eight years trading then at the Teahouse Salamanca.

Inclusion is the best policy for not every member of a party can be expected to favour or savour all things hotly spiced and curried.Notice how I also incorporate a few less exotic and exhilirating dishes such as the traditional marinaded beef in black bean sauce and and the non challenging deeply fried battered fish in sweet and sour sauce. In a typical banqueting situation we are not trying to please every Tom Dick and Harriet for it is impossible. But it is to the greatest happiness for the greatest number that is what we do go for.

Producing food is a consuming task. First off there is a lot of calculations in approaching a banquet style dinner. Consideration has to be given to the number of people partaking a zestful style of banquet. There is also the cost of labour involved as well as the actual costs of raw material. I tend to avoid any overheads run. Allowance must also be made for some wastage at times.http://domsasianteahouse.blogspot.com

A new face uplift

A VERY WARM WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF DOM

This is a new addition to the photo gallery making up the most current restaurant image. I have been checking up on the normal functioning of my webpage. Into the world of robot crawlers and spiders I went what with all the xml and some chicken feed like RSS! I do apologise for the downtime and disruption. But I am back with a vengeance. To all I say a very warm welcome to the world of a non professional non chef the world of DOM .