Food around exams.. part 2

 I have the habit of freezing leftovers thinking there will be a rainy day when I don't feel like cooking, and as a result I have a freezer full of these meals... and indeed my rainy days came all at once in the shape of the clinical exam.

So here are just a few pictures in a somewhat anthropological fashion... to remind me of those meals that lighted up my dreary days. It was a welcome distraction, even if it was just heating up a frozen meal.

Leftover pasta sauce with three-coloured gluten free pasta shells (surprisingly yummy)

Good old dumplings

Noodles with kale, fried tofu and red braised eggplant

Cannelini bean stew with wholemeal roti

The same cannelini bean stew with couscous and a few vegetarian chicken nuggets

Sweet potato gnocchi with kale, pesto and lots of cheese

Scrambled tofu with spinach, mushrooms and peas (inspired by Gather on the Green)

Miso grilled eggplant which I ate with rice one day and on a salad the next.

Onto the "beautiful" food, I was also blessed with friends who dragged me away from my desk to share other delicious meals.

Ricotta hotcakes with mascarpone, berries and flaked almonds from Hoochie Mama's.

Lemon tart, and a brioche "cake" with custard from Pig & Pastry. There were a few vegetarian options here but I obviously couldn't read because I got too excited at "roast cauliflower salad" and didn't realise the next part was "with bacon"

Banana blossom salad from Khao Pla. The flavours in this dish were quite fresh and wholesome, though it was a shame they couldn't veg-ify it and my friend had to pick out all the chicken & prawns.

Veggie burger from Chur Burger. This was one of those things that you salivate thinking about, but in real life wasn't so awesome - nowhere near as amazing as the mushroom burger at Mary's. The bun was kinda dry, and the pattie was kinda a bit too thick though the sauce was tasty.

Potato hash with avocado and poached eggs from The Runcible Spoon. Right after I'd raved about all their veg-friendly options, they took everything I loved off the menu! This hash was tasty but nowhere near as "special" as their old veg favourites.

Delectable egg hoppers (masala dosa in background) from Indo Lankan Food bar in Seven Hills. The public must have known we were coming because a middle aged man collapsed unconscious at the table next to us while we were eating! I even did a bit of CPR before he woke up and pushed me away.

Buns from wonderbao at the Night Noodle markets - the vegetarian one was filled with fried silken tofu, coriander and lots of peanuts on top - amazing flavour combination.

Ramen burger from the night noodle markets! Kitschy but cool. The ramen is shaped into a "bun" and fried to help hold its shape, but in reality once you take a bite it starts to fall apart. Messy and fun, but not amazing tasting.

 Watermelon and haloumi salad from Clover in Annandale.

Viet rice noodle salad with tofu and mushrooms from Mama's Buoi in Surry Hills.

Last but not least, the centrepiece of the celebration dinner at Devon. A perfectly steamed wobbly egg custard with an incredibly smooth creamy mouth feel is topped with young broad beans, mushrooms and roast garlic chips. Each mouthful had a different contrasting texture and the amalgamation of flavours was impressive.

Two trip dreams

Singapore airport
I get a phone call from Henry saying that he finally perfected the recipe for glutinous rice balls, and he managed to make both the skin and the filling just perfect. He says he is going to change the world with his rice balls and now he has something to contribute to the world.

Next thing I am emerging from sleep and the clock on the wall says 5 o'clock. It is semi dark in the room and I cannot tell if it is 5am or 5pm. I look around me and the room seems featureless.

I smell coconut milk and fragrant spices resembling laksa. I wonder how the rice balls have turned into laksa, then I wake up.


Nyaungshwe, Myanmar
The dream starts in a busy restaurant. It is quite atmospheric - the lighting is somewhat moody with flickering red candles on the tables, and there are large brass bordered mirrors on the walls reflecting the light.

I am there with a few high school friends and we are eating pasta. I can't remember what we discuss at first, but soon the conversation turns to the imbalance between rich and poor in the world. We ask for the bill and are told that this is a pay-as-you-like sort of restaurant. I open my wallet and it is empty so I ask one of my friends to pay for me.

Stepping out of the restaurant, a 470 bus arrives immediately and I get on. The bus seats are reclining and when I tilt the seat back, I can see an incredible number of stars. I am amazed that one can see so well in Sydney, and I start looking around for star formations I recognise. Then I see the milky way and I am awestruck.

I look up and realise that I am on Norton St - I missed my stop! I ask the bus driver to stop but he says that this bus doesn't stop. Then I wake up in a cold sweat.


Amsterdam 
In this dream Grace and I are on a foreign street with our luggage, and I don't really recognise where we are. We come across a suitcase abandoned on the side of the street, a large brown one with the handle up as if someone was wheeling it just before they left it.

We look around, it is a busy street and people are rushing up and down, there are some shops nearby but the people going in & out of them take no notice of the suitcase.

We discuss what to do with it. I want to just leave it but Grace says we should try to take it to a police station. We start walking down the street, and the next thing we know two thugs come out of nowhere and start beating us up. The violent bits are somewhat surreal as if I am out of my body, watching my body being beaten. I fall to the ground and curl up as I get kicked again and again. Then I lose consciousness and lie there like a crumpled doll next to Grace who suffers the same fate.

The next scene is a fly-on-the-wall where the two thugs are at the casino playing poker. One says 'I'm really good at poker' and the other says 'I'm much better than you'. They try to out play each other but the dealer seems to be doing even better than them. Suddenly the dealer pulls out a gun and I realise in a flash that he is the enemy to the thugs. He shoots both thugs in the head neatly, one bullet each. The sound is smooth and slices through the air with minimal fuss. They fall silently from their stools to the ground.

After that I am at a hospital, walking along a corridor. I understand that I am recovering from the attack, and move slowly, even a little gingerly. I come across one of my bosses who exclaims - I told you not to deal in marijuana! It's a dangerous business.

At that moment the alarm goes off and the dream ends. 

Taunggyi balloon festival

I love quirky things when travelling - it is so refreshing to do something a little obscure or unusual. So I knew as soon as I saw the Taunggyi balloon festival (when I googled "Burma November festivals") that I wanted to go. It was to become the most unusual experience we had in Burma.

Let me break it down:

Getting there
Instead of taking a taxi, we thought we would go the local way on a pick up truck. Perched on tiny little green plastic stools, we bounced our way from Nyaungshwe to Taunggyi. The rainy season had just ended and everything was a beautiful lush green. The steep ascending roads offered stunning vistas of the mountain ranges, dotted with the occasional glint of a golden stupa.

We were unceremoniously dumped in a back alley next to a Fair & Handsome advertising billboard. Following a bunch of women, we managed to get to a busy road but had no idea where we were. The nearest modern looking shop was a mobile phone shop but the people there struggled to tell us where the festival was, pointing to both left and right. Eventually we stumbled across a sign for a hotel where an elderly man drew us a comprehensive map of the town and how to take a pickup truck to the festival.

We stood on the street shouting "pwe? pwe?" at every passing pickup truck, and eventually got on one along with some Burmese women dressed in their finest. They didn't seem to speak any English but managed to charade to us to watch out for pickpockets. The police had shut down the road leading to the festival showground so we took a massive detour, only to end up about a block from where we were roadblocked. Finally we were there!

Entering the festival

Walking along the road, we passed by large groups of excited teenagers, families with children, and couples on dates. The excitement was palpable as we headed towards the festival, the entrance to which was marked by a Kenbo gate. Even though we were in rural Myanmar, the festival was sponsored by Kenbo, a motorcycle store.

The row of stalls seemed to be endless - shops sold all types of clothing from pyjamas to longyi to jackets, many promising "export quality!" or "Korean style!"; herbal supplements seemed to be popular as did thanaka (a type of branch which women rub on their faces for a sunscreen effect).

Thanaka stall

Soft toys next to toy guns for sale

There were lots of food stalls which sold greyish desserts, cookies and dried snacks as well as all types of freshly grilled foods such as whole chicken on a stick. As we got deeper into the stalls, more became teahouses and beerhouses where locals waited for the balloons.

Tasty but super spicy rice pancakes stuffed with sprouts & tomatoes

Eventually we came to an empty flat space which appeared like an oval except all the grass had been trampled away and the whole space was covered in all sorts of rubbish. Plastic bags floated melancholically in the air and old rice bags were on sale to protect from the rubbly ground.

The rides
One couldn't walk a metre near the showground without seeing the rides. To start, the music was so loud even earplugs didn't help all the way on the other side of the grounds. The neon lights flashed all shades of gaudy pink and green, as if it was Christmas gone wrong.

There were two large pirate boats which were operated by a primitive diesel engine, operated by an adolescent pouring things into the engine. As the boats swung, huge plumes of black smoke filled the surrounding air - simply gross. The others were however pollution free - at first I thought there were a bunch of people trying to get a free ride on the ferris wheel, then I realised it was operated by a bunch of boys jumping from one rung to the next to propel it forward! The carousel was also spun manually, one little boy stopped going around as his "spinner" got bored and walked away.

Propeller boys in action on the bottom

Time for balloons
Before the balloons came, we could see a blue neon outline of a buddha moving slowly across the showground. This was ceremoniously parked in the middle of the grounds.

Buddha arrives

Two truckloads of people dressed in blue & white uniforms then arrived as well as two large packages. They had a team leader who had a megaphone, and a photographer with an impossibly large lens.

The group split into three - the first group formed a human barrier by holding hands in a large circle, keeping the crowd out; the second group unpacked a huge multi-level structure with all sorts of fireworks hanging out of it; the third group was responsible for the balloon itself.

First the balloon was unfolded and laid flat upon the ground. Then branches were lit and the fire was held under the balloon to inflate it - I wasn't sure if they used any aids to this as it seemed to inflate quite quickly. Once the balloon inflated (it was an advertisement for a new block of apartments), about 20 people held onto the balloon to prevent it from floating away, standing on their tippy toes. Then there was a mighty big shout by the team leader, and the second group picked up the whole tray of explosives and started hooking it onto the balloon. The fire sticks under the balloon were just inches away from the explosives, a truly disturbing sight. The attachment of the tray took no more than 10 seconds as everyone was eager to hook up their corner of the tray.

Look at those explosives!!

Then the balloon holders let go and the balloon shot up into the sky. Fireworks started going off immediately and as it was only a few metres off the ground, the burning embers started falling to the ground at an alarming rate. The crowd stopped cheering and started running for their lives. I was making a video of this at the time, and half of the video was of the ground as I was trying to get away from the fireworks!

The balloon continued to drift upwards and at a certain altitude, a proper firework show started (I think the earlier ones were just strays) and the crowd started cheering and dancing (now that they were no longer in danger of death)

Getting home
I had the worst headache ever at the festival because of the intense noise from all the blaring music. We decided to go early but even then it was a bit of a disaster. Back out on the road, we asked every pickup truck if they were going to Nyaungshwe, but it appeared that no one was. We were stuck between several taxi drivers all of whom wanted to make the exorbitant fee - in the end we went for an old man with a hat, and he turned out to be a real gentleman.

So that was that, our fun day out at the Taunggyi balloon festival. I'd seen pictures of animal balloons being floated during the day and we were sorry to have missed that, but we sure had a bloody bizarre time!

24 Oct 2014 - liberation day

14 months of hardcore studying and many moments of insanity later, the fellowship exam is finally over. It sounds strange, but I really hope that was the hardest academic exam I will have to complete in this lifetime.

The journey was a rocky one. I started out thinking that I could sit the exam in March/May, but in December my term allocations for the year were changed and that was no longer possible. I was upset and frustrated by this, but eventually came to terms with the fact that a few more months of study was probably beneficial anyway.

Though I had done random bits of work-related reading, the actual studying started in August 2013. Each phase of the study was difficult for its own reasons

- The first few months were tough because it felt like a sea of information which all merged into each other, trying to stick to a "timetable" was not easy
- The month of Dec/Jan were a particular challenge as I felt like the goalpost had been moved to Aug/Oct
- The next few months were spent trying to make sure all of the major topics were covered, a laborious and arduous process
- Leading up to the written, it was hard to know what topics to go over again vs. learning new obscure topics.. probably the most trying period for time management
- After the written keeping the motivation up to study for the clinicals was near impossible and I had to have a few weeks off for a mental break
- The last few weeks before the clinical exam were gruelling. mentally I was overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation and also with the prospect of having to do the exam again - I had an intense desire not to have to put my life on hold anymore, a pretty strong motivator for passing.

It definitely helped lots having a study buddy, both for study related reasons and for the mental support as we took turns going mad. It definitely did not help that I had nights 2 days before the written and 2 weeks before the clinicals - but that is the nature of our work.

Looking back, the single most challenging part of the exam was the last two months between the written and clinicals. Doing cases with different people and getting different feedback was incredibly tiring and I often felt devastated, as if there was no way I could see any light at the end of the tunnel.  I was told by various people that my performance was suboptimal in terms of diction, grammar, presentation style and body language. Almost everything I did was criticised at some point and that was very trying, especially so close to the exam. So many people said that the exam is a performance and that I was not good at the type of acting the exam required.

At the peak of my demoralised state, one consultant told me just to be who I am. I found that single comment gave me the strength to rise above all the other negative comments - I felt that someone out there was on the same page as me, that I just want to be the down-to-earth unpretentious person I am - screw the exam! So in the end that is what I did, and I got through.

I cannot describe the feeling of numbness as I was holding the fateful envelope. Many candidates walked away to find a quiet corner, but I just opened the envelope on the spot. My mind was completely blank as my eyes scanned the page for the fateful word - successful or unsuccessful. The weight of the moment didn't register till much much later, and at the time I felt intensely emotional with disappointment for my friends who were unsuccessful. At the celebration drinks, the examiners were dressed in their formal academic gear and lined up to shake our hands and congratulate us. That felt totally surreal as well - did I really just finish the fellowship exam?

The understanding of the exam also changes throughout the year of study. At first one is studying to learn the topics and answer the questions, and it seems exam focused. Then one realises that the topics are actually what we need to practise good medicine, so that the things you want to learn are the things you actually need. At the very end, when the exam is finished, you realise that this is just the foundation upon which you will build your practice for the rest of your career.

One of my favourite quotes by Winston Churchill:
Now this is not the end
It is not even the beginning of the end. 
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. 

A vegetarian degustation at Bentley

I had never been to the old Bentley but thought about it once for a birthday as it is one of few places to offer a vegetarian degustation. It has now moved to the Radisson Blu and occupies half of its foyer, a dark yet welcoming space with muted tones. The atmosphere is sophisticated - no noisy young ones here, strictly date material! The tasting menu is $150 for carnivores and $130 for vegetarians, $80 for matching wine. You know it's fancy-lah when the menu is written in combinations of the ingredients!

Cracker, cheesy stuff, melon slices

I was in the bathroom when the amuse bouche was brought out and my friends didn't catch what this was. The earthy cracker is topped by light foamy dollops of ??goat cheese and subtle slices of melon.

Fresh sourdough

We ate way too much of this bread! They even gave us refills.

Sugar snaps, zucchini, asparagus, pine nut

Pretty as a picture, this was a textural delight. The crunch of blanched then browned sugar snaps is accompanied by velvety soft zucchini slices and a crumble of nuts. Who knew clover could be tasty too?

Onion broth, Jerusalem artichoke, brillat savarin 

The base to this dish was a rich onion and mushroom reduction which packed a real punch. The brillat savarin cheese popped in the mouth to release a sensuous ooze of creaminess, offsetting the solid chunks of Jerusalem artichoke.

Globe artichoke, salsify, white asparagus, brown butter 

The very heart of globe artichokes is paired with pan fried white asparagus, another textural contrast of soft and crunch. The sweet-ish red sauce is further sweetened by a dollop of butter so brown it is caramel, one of my dining companions found this too sickly sweet. 

Cauliflower custard, mushroom, black garlic

This was the most visually stunning dish of the night. Immaculately presented, it consisted of meaty chunks of wild mushrooms sandwiched between a base of cauliflower custard and a crunchy mushroom disc. The whole thing is then decorated by dehydrated wisps of cauliflower, roast black garlic and salty mushroom bits like mushroom jerky. Every element of this dish worked so well together, it was by far my favourite savoury dish.

Roasted parsnip, orange, wattle

Parsnips are such hearty vegetables - here they are presented as caramelised roast parsnip batons amid a thick orange yoghurt sauce. The wattle is pretty but tastes bland.

Charred pumpkin, black rice, broad beans

This was bloody fancy pumpkin. Slivers no more than a couple of millimetres thick are roasted and then reconstructed to form a thousand-layer chunk of roast pumpkin sitting on top of pumpkin puree. The orange is offset by several elements of green - young tender broad beans, a green sauce and pea tendrils. Another well balanced dish.

White chocolate, apple sorbet, fennel

I wonder how they came up with the ingenious flavour combination for this dessert. Fennel is represented in a syrupy swirl, matched by a scoop of the freshest green apple sorbet, discs of softened green apple and intense blobs of white chocolate mousse. The flavours are so wonderfully refreshing that it feels like a garden party in your mouth.

Mandarin icecream, liquorice, coconut

This was a very different dessert course. Under the meringue topping is mandarin icecream, a coconut based cream, segments of dehydrated orange and little nuggets of licorice flavoured cake. There was some visual trickery - the bit which looked like mandarin was actually coconut and vice versa. Whereas the first dessert course tasted of spring, this was a very adult winter dish.


What a treat this degustation was. It was lovely to see the effort they had put into a vegetarian tasting menu that is varied and interesting, definitely no token mushroom risotto at Bentley! I thought all the elements of food were well done - beautiful presentation, pure wholesome flavours, textural contrast, and alchemy of palate. Would love to return for another special occasion.

Food highlights from peri exams

The last month has been just a gluttony of food for me. I think it's because my body and mind are going through such a gruelling ordeal, I feel the need for indulgence. The weeks leading up to the exam saw me walking the paths from my place to the harbour foreshore back and forth, usually clutching a coffee from 2 Birds in Annandale (the brightest, airiest, friendliest place to get coffee in Annandale) and a pocketful of flashcards. I would recite the contents of the cards while watching the happy dogs and fending funny looks from passerbys - I'm pretty sure those mothers pushed their prams away from me faster as I muttered and gestured to myself.

Catching up with friends has kept me sane too. One welcome surprise was the rediscovery of the Runcible Spoon which has some pretty good vegetarian options. Admittedly the service can be grumpy, and sitting outside when it's miserable and wintery is not the best, but I just adore this dish.

Wholesome fleshy field mushrooms sizzled in butter and herbs rest on a bed of lentils, topped with fried eggs, a dollop of labneh and deep fried crispy sage leaves. The flavours are simply wonderful together. I could eat it every week and never get sick of it.

Another dish from the Spoon. Black beans with pickles, chilli sauce, poached eggs and chilli corn bread. The black beans are pureed which is a bit odd, but lots of textures come from the pickles and warm runny eggs. The corn bread is quite interesting - crispy on the outside and crumbly on the inside, perfect for mopping it all up.

I am thankful that I have some good eating options within walking distance. I love In the Annex - the Umami coffee is smooth, the food is inventive with lots of vegetarian options, and recently they started stocking cronuts. What's not to love?

Pretty as a picture. Winter vegetable salad on a bed of lentils. 

Baked eggs with goats cheese, spicy soft chickpeas, chunks of sourdough and herbs. Words cannot describe how delicious this is.

Cronuts at the Annex - somehow nicer than at Brewtown because they are nicely presented and no grumpy waiters are around.

Dad's friend visited and we made these vegetarian siu mai with sticky rice, mushroom & carrot filling. Making the skins and wrapping them was super fun! They were tasty but boy they do look a bit ugly.

Three Williams is awesome but they have stopped serving narnies for breakfast which is sad. We each ate our own savoury dish then shared this decadent brioche french toast, the sweetness offset by a pool of natural yoghurt, fresh berries and crunchy caramelised pecans. It was as droolworthy as the photo.

I'm sure Rising Sunworkshop in Newtown isn't really a pop-up because they are still there, a few months after they were meant to close down! They keep changing their Monk ramen which is nice. This time around it had corn, kimchi paste and lots of fresh shallot. I miss the miso eggplant though.

 Oreo pie from the Pie Tin.

Circa is amazingly hipster, it doesn't feel like Parramatta at all. The whole menu is interesting and it was hard to pick but I'm glad I chose this dish of lemon & thyme baked ricotta, zaatar-coated egg, mushrooms and kale on a spicy eggplant puree base. The bunch of grilled cherry tomatoes was so adorable and sweet.

Now, is it any wonder I can't fit into my suit?