During my stay in the US of A for more than 4 years, I’ve came across a few local dishes that were new to me. While there are many famous American dishes such as steak sandwich, clam chowder, good old fashion hot dogs and such that you can find in many restaurants, there are some that for all practical reasons, you hardly get them outside the country unless you make them yourself.
One of these dishes is a party snack called devil’s egg, and I’m going to show you how to make them.
first, make some hard boiled eggs
I made these for a home BBQ session with the Maldives diving friends and some colleagues a few weeks ago and the reception was pretty good. It would have been better if I didn’t have to substitute paprika with curry powder, but sometimes you have to make do with what’s available in the kitchen.
Anyway, here goes.
Ingredients:
- chicken eggs (I made 14)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon mustard
- salt & pepper to taste
- paprika for garnishing
- 2 tablespoon sweet pickle relish (optional)
remove egg yolk & mix with seasoning
Instructions for hard boiled eggs:
- put eggs in a pot of cold water (cover up the eggs by 2 cm), this prevents egg from cracking
- adding a pinch of salt will allow easier peeling of egg shell later
- bring to boil
- cover the pot and turn off heat wait for 12 minutes
- remove egg and peel the egg shell under cold running water
Instructions for devil’s egg:
- cut eggs in halves
- remove egg yolks and place in mixing bowl
- add mayonnaise, mustard, and pickled radish (optional) to egg yolk, and mix with a fork
- add salt & pepper to taste
- carefully fill egg whites evenly with mixture
- garnish with paprika, and you’re done
mix it back and sprinkle some paprika, serve!
As this is not a hot dish, you can keep it in the fridge and prepare it earlier before the party starts, best consume within the same evening though.
Enjoy! Check the category list under “cooks” for more easy cooking recipes from yours truly.
Before I go to Melbourne, I received quite a few suggestions on restaurants and eateries that should visit from friends and blog readers alike. Among all the suggestions, the one place that I was pestered to visit over and over again by Jessica was MART 130.
“You must go to MART 130, they serve the best breakfast!”
“If you don’t go there, I will kill you!”
“Take a taxi, take tram, take whatever, just get yourself there!”
MART 130, Zehan & Mell
So on the 2nd to the last day at Melbourne, Mell, Zehan, and I took the 96 St. Kilda tram to MART 130 after stopping by the city early to buy the tickets for Wicked the musical (which was very awesome and worth every penny of the $85 ticket.)
MART 130 is actually a reverse anagram of TRAM 130, which is only apt because the restaurant is converted from an old tram stop. Which also means that getting there is a short 20 minute ride and you don’t actually have to walk more than a few stops after getting off the tram.
flat white & latte, ham hock and cannellini beans
The restaurant is busy but relaxing, old but clean, and simple but sophisticated. Furniture consists of well maintained old wooden chairs and tables, with most diners seated at the semi alfresco area on the side not facing the track. Whole side of the wall is made up of transparent plastic that can be reeled up when the weather cooperates.
Mell ordered a glass of flat white and while I asked for latte (apparently they are basically the same except that flat whites have a slightly higher caffeine content.). The coffee arrived in a very aesthetically pleasing form that is well in line with the great taste. Now why can’t our local baristas do that too?
Zehan with her french toast, Mell’s scrambled egg and Portobello mushroom
After much deliberation, we ordered 3 breakfast from different category in order to have a bit of variety. I asked for the Ham Hock and Cannellini Beans since there’s pork in the ham, of course. Mell ordered Scrambled Eggs and Portobello Mushroom, while it’s the French Toast with Orange Syrup for Zehan.
The ham hock and Cannellini beans ($15.9) came with organic sourdough toast with crumbled goat’s cheese, I’m normally not a very big bean person, but this was very tasty and wholesome. The sourdough toast fresh and very delicious too.
Mellissa and the friendly owner
The other two sets were, in some ways, even better than what I had since they provide a slightly more varied ingredients. The scrambled eggs ($9.9) were done to perfection, with spinach, mushrooms, and fetta cheese (add $3). You can also have grilled bacon, goat’s cheese, and sausages (add $4)
Zehan’s French toast ($15.9) was pretty interesting, the mixture of orange syrup, with organic brioche and pistachio mascarpone (I didn’t know this is yet another type of cheese) was very delicious, according to the eccentric girl.
MART 130 is at tram stop number 130 on 96 St. Kilda line
Over all it was a very good breakfast experience and certainly a place I wish to visit again. The prices might seem a little high (for Malaysian standard anyway,) but the ambiance was very good, quality of food excellent (organic & free range), and above all, it tasted great.
The place is opened from 7:30 to 4pm everyday, so you don’t even really have to wake up that early to enjoy their breakfast.
Address:
107A Canterbury Road,
Middle Park 3206,
Melbourne, Australia
GPS: -37.850103, 144.965608
Tel: 03-9690 8831
