Tom Yum, frangipane and seafood chowder

What’s fea­tur­ing in my memory this week?

Tom Yum sweet and sour soup from Thai Chef, Canteen’s shell­fish bouil­labaisse and pear and fran­gi­pane tart, and Rach’s sea­food chow­der at the City Mar­ket.

Over a group catch­up, we decided the Tom Yum sweet and sour soup at Thai Chef was ideal for a sore throat (and pretty), and the vari­ous entrees were unique and fun (Pump­kin Patch with plum sauce, Sleepy Pig in Bed and Larb Balls).

A couple of the mains were a touch under­whelm­ing, but there are good reas­ons to still have Thai Chef on your list – the sense of fun (the Alcoholic’s noodles any­one?), buzzy envir­on­ment (they seem pretty con­sist­ently busy) and value for money (esp entrées).

Canteen I’ve talked about before, but their shell­fish bouil­labaisse amuse bouche (uh oh, tongue tor­ment!) was really deli­cious and pleas­ingly presen­ted in tea­cups.  Includ­ing fen­nel, chili, aioli and a few oth­er secret ingredi­ents (includ­ing a Mack and Mabel sauce I’d guess), if you get the chance to try this I don’t think you’d be dis­ap­poin­ted.

And the pear and fran­gi­pane tart.  OMG.  Died.  Heav­en.  Light, slightly crumbly, and beau­ti­fully bal­anced in both tex­ture and fla­vour. Mac has a bak­ing back­ground, and it shows.  I think this has just gone onto my last-meal-on-earth list (yep, its gonna be one hell of a final eat!).

And lastly, Rach’s sea­food chow­der at the City Mar­ket (Rachel Taulelei of Yel­low Brick Road) just has to be men­tioned.  With a cult fol­low­ing, and the con­ver­sion of a few veget­ari­ans under its belt, this chow­der is simply one of the best. The recipe is a fam­ily one, with Rach includ­ing whatever sea­food is freshly caught this week, along with bacon, potato and vari­ous oth­er secret ingredi­ents.

Although the mar­ket runs until 1230 on Sundays, I’d sug­gest you get there much earli­er to guar­an­tee a sup at the pan of this georgous­ness (and yes you can take a jar down weekly to fill for your week­day pleas­ure as well as inhal­ing a cup at the mar­ket).

Ciao.