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Victorian Restaurant winner Kara Maisano of Masani Restaurant and Bar with Gastro Pub winner Tyson Murphy of Provincial Hotel. STOP PRESS! Celebrate Eat Street’s 10th anniversary at Sofitel and help the Australian Childhood Foundation. More than 30 top restaurants and wineries have signed on for the special 10th anniversary edition of Eat Street at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Festivities start at 6pm and top restaurants, including The Press Club, The Brasserie, Vue de Monde, Flower Drum, Maha Bar and Grill and The Point will support the popular event, which will have a Winter Wonderland theme. Eat Street’s stellar line-up of chefs will be joined by Sofitel’s new star in the kitchen James Viles, representing the hotel’s skyline restaurant, No 35, scheduled to open in late June. Combining fine food, song, dance, auction events and great prizes, this year’s Eat Street extravaganza will dazzle an expected 700 guests, and over 100 volunteers for an unforgettable evening in aid of the Australian Childhood Foundation. . Eat Street will again invite guests to bid for their favourite foodie as part of its now famous chefs’ auction on the night and up for grabs will be Shane Delia of Maha Bar and Grill; Scott Pickett of The Point and John Savage, Sofitel Melbourne On Collins’ Executive Chef. Also auctioned with be a magnificent 1.21 carat diamond, a David Larwill painting, hand-crafted designs from well known Australian fashion designers, such as Sass & Bide, Alice McCall, Cohen et Sabine, Willow, Gwendolynne; and beautiful headpieces from Richard Nylon and Peter Jago. Patrons of Australian Childhood Foundation Eric Bana and his wife Rebecca have also donated memorabilia including a signed jacket worn by Eric in Love The Beast. There will be music and dancing and plenty of entertainment. To date, Eat Street has raised more than $1 million for children’s charities. Money raised at this year’s event will go to the Australian Childhood Foundation, an organisation which provides specialist counselling to children traumatised by abuse, family violence and neglect. Tickets to Eat Street’s 10th Anniversary Winter Wonderland are $145 per person. Book tickets by phoning Sofitel Restaurant Reservations on 03 9653 7744, or email H1902-re13@accor.com
Originally from Singapore, I grew up in a Straits Chinese family and this meant being surrounded by the most delicious food, the arts and culture. Straits Chinese families have been in Singapore and Malaysia for many generations and I am a sixth generation Straits Chinese living in Australia. It is almost mandatory for Straits Chinese girls to learn good cooking and there was no question of whether you wanted to learn, you just did. We had maids at home, but Mum and Dad, always did the important cooking for significant occasions, such as Chinese New Year. I did the usual home economics classes and cooked boring stuff like rock cakes, sponges etc and did not really enjoy it. Now I know why: my teacher did not teach us chicken curry or Vietnamese salads!My repertoire was quite limited when I got married and started my own home. More dining out led to a greater interest in more exciting food and once I started there was no stopping me. I tried as many cuisines as I could and Singapore was a great place to start. We ate everything from classic French at Hugo's restaurant at the Hyatt to hawker fare at Newton Circus. I also did cooking classes under a temperamental French chef who swore at me in French if I held the knife incorrectly. Anyway, here I am, a dedicated Melburnian of over 20 years and loving every minute of it.
I continued my dining career as a restaurant reviewer at Leader Newspapers and had my own column, Ida Out East, in the Progress Press and Malvern Prahran Leader (now Stonnington Leader). I have also written about restaurants in The Age and the Herald Sun. There's not many restaurants, restaurateurs or chefs that I don't know in Melbourne and elsewhere in Australia, after dining out here all these years. As a cooking demonstrator and teacher I have shared demo kitchens with luminaries such as Iain Hewitson at the Harvest Picnic, Geoff Jansz of What's Cooking and the late Bernard King, among others. Denise Drysdale was quite taken with my spring rolls when I did a cooking segment on Denise (Channel 7) at Chinese New Year in 1999. I have cooked at the Home Show, Home Beautiful cooking show, Family Circle cooking and entertainment show, Queen Vic Market chefs' kitchen, various shopping centres and cooking lessons at private homes. I have also done cooking programs on Optus TV. I am also an author and have written three books for children and am in the midst of writing another on my dining adventures as well as a recipe book in the very near future. A Wok on the Wild Side will have recipes, cooking tips, information on what’s new on the foodie scene, chef profiles, recipe book reviews and much more. Join me on this journey and enjoy the ride!
Bon appetit from Ida! If required, please contact Ida: ida@awokonthewildside.com
Many thanks from Ida!
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