Baked eggs at home

My non-stick pan is no longer non-stick which means that a quick brekkie at home of eggs on toast, ends up in a mess of egg glued pan.

Keen for some eggs without the mess (or the queues on Easter weekend) I decided to bake some just like I order at a number of cafes around Melbourne.



Baked eggs with double smoked ham, potato and fennel
I made this from leftovers in my fridge, if you intend to do the same just make sure there are enough wet ingredients to dry ones.

2 eggs
2 slices ham
1 roast potato, sliced
4 mini roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 baby fennel, finely sliced, tips reserved
Meridith dairy feta and the marinating oil
S+P
toast to dip


Distribute the ham, potato, fennel and tomato in a shallow bowl, small baking dish or large tapas dish
Crack eggs on top and drizzle with feta, extra marinating oil and season with salt and pepper

Bake at 220C for about 10minutes until you can see the whites have set, yet the yolks are still runny, remove from oven and garnish with fennel tips
Perfect to eat just with a fork and toast to dip, whilst reading the paper (or news online, in my case)

Serves one

Roast goose in Hong Kong

A friend is heading off to Hong Kong soon and I was ranting wax-lyrical about of food places that must be visited.

The friend politely retorted but "I didn't read about this on your blog..., or did I miss it?" Well I was put in my place, yes, caught out in my own blog back log.

So in an effort to validate my recommendations - and thinking about this I really should post a list of Paris and Barcelona, so I don't have to keep writing it out - please may I share with you roast goose in Hong Kong.

We made a fleeting visit to Yung Kee in Central just before we jumped a ferry to Macau. It was meant to be a more relaxed affair with the opportunity to savour more of their menu over an extended meal but courtesy of Qantas we drank free champagne instead.

Yung Kee is a bustling multi-level building in the expats section of Hong Kong, lots of very steep hills and roads, but lots of spots to stop in for a drink and snack to refuel.

We were served these century eggs and pickled ginger as a complementary appetiser, a generous offering, that no doubt many tourists would waste.

The yolk was softer and I had seen in century eggs before and had a green tinge to the charcoal grey colour. They may look scary but the firm jelly texture and the thick, rich, creamy yolk are just to die for. The ginger perfectly cuts this richness, if its all a bit too much.

I love the idea of the techniques involved in this... image discovering it for the first time, what a game person it was to try eating it! But I guess there are lot of foods like that, the percebes I ate in Spain a couple of years back were hilarious, especially when you read through the comments of the post... we ate some bits we shouldn't have.

But I am getting off track, we were here for the roast goose and here it is.

Texturally the flesh was quite firm with glossy lacquered skin on top of a little layer of viscous fat. The exciting thing about roast goose in comparison to roast duck, is that you get so much more breast meat on the larger bird, a definite thick fillet of flesh between the skin and rib cage.

I've eaten goose many times before but cooked in a French method, so I was not surprised at the coarseness but increased flavour of the meat, but did think that the skin could have been a little more blistered and crispy.

Next time in Hong Kong, I'd perhaps seek out a less touristy goose destination but was none the less, pleased to be able to squeeze this experience into our trip. I should also note that the staff worked the space like clockwork, friendly and professional and extremely unhindered by our request to mind a mountain of luggage while we ate. Thank you!


Next backdated post is the best cheese of my life, at Atelier Joel Robuchon. Oh, I can just taste it now!
And perhaps even my yum cha round up, three days, three experiences and not even close to my benchmark experience 3 years ago... in Vietnam.

Unlaid eggs???

I openly call myself a food nerd, people usually laugh and shake their head no, while thinking yes... so I was surprised to stumble across something very interesting at Prahran market last weekend. At first I didn't quite believe the butcher until I got thinking about it this week and then did some research (see I told you, food nerd!).
In little round plastic takeaway containers one of the poultry butchers had about ten small little orange balls that looked like perfectly round egg yolks. I enquired after staring for a while and were told that they were unlaid eggs. Now most people would probably be grossed and try and not think about it any more, but I asked what you would use them for. I was informed that they are great dropped into soup or to make an amazingly rich custard.
The research I turned up was this article from the New York Times and this amazing photo
Tony Cenicola/The New York Times


I didn't buy them but immediately now think of a curry I had in Laos that I bet had them in it, and I reckon I have also had them in 'special' pho soups on Victoria St.

What do you reckon? Too freaky? Do you have a recipe?
Jack