Lunch at Shanghai Tea House

On Friday, the girls I work with decided to check out Shanghai Tea House, the newest culinary addition to the Burnside Village. Located on the timber deck, the size of the restaurant is quite deceiving. It looks small on the outside, but seats about 30-40 not including the 2 private booths. That's right, private booths! They are intimate without being squishy and have a curtain you can pull across the entrance to the booths. Perfect for that business lunch?

The food is nothing like I expected. The reviews for Shanghai Tea House haven't been very favourable online, and they did colour my opinion before I'd even been. But I'm glad I did go. There are all sorts of delicious treats and lovely teas. For the Burnside Village, the pricing is quite reasonable. Lunch specials are around the $15 mark, with morning and afternoon tea specials around $10 which includes tea and a snack.

There specials are updated daily and the yum cha consists of deep fried goodness as well as healthier options. The tea list is quite extensive and a pot of tea for 2 can easily be shared between 3 people. The tea comes in little pots with the cutest little double walled tea cups. I will be sourcing these, or definitely adding them to my wishlist!

Lily wolfberry tea

The lunch specials are amazing. I went with the garlic prawns. An old favourite. I was expecting the old take away dish, a creamy, heavy sauce with 2 or 3 prawns. I was pleased to receive the below dish, a light garlic sauce, which was so very more-ish.

Garlic prawns and rice

The tea was delicious, I'm a bit apprehensive about trying anything outside of my usual black tea, but found it was light on the palate and suited the meal very much. Shanghai Tea House is also fully licenced, and judging by all the ladies ordering Moet on the day, it was appreciated!

I would definitely recommend visiting Shanghai Tea House if doing a spot of shopping over the other cafes in the village. It is somewhere I can't wait to go back and visit and will have to go for yum cha over a leisurely lunch.

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Shanghai Tea House is located at Shop 108, Burnside Village, 447 Portrush Road Glenside. Phone 7200 3063 for bookings.

Opening hours:
Mon - Wed: 10:00 - 17:00

Thu - Sat: 10:00 - 22:00

Sun: 10:00 - 17:00

Quick Review: MAC Purchase

I recently purchased some MAC from the US. MAC's pricing in Australia is daylight robbery, so I thought I would get myself some sent over.

The good news is, they're authentic! I was a bit sus about buying online unless it was from MAC themselves, but it has passed the authenticity test. I could only go by swatches online, as getting to town or Marion is a pain.

I purchased MAC Lipglass in Embrace Me and MAC Satin Lipstick in Viva Glam Nicki.

The Nicki Minaj Viva Glam is a lot more pastel in person than the swatches show. But Her Minaj-esty would be proud! After applying it, I may have broken into a loud, off-key rendition of Starships. Hey, it called for it! It feels a little drying on the lips, but I don't wear lipstick every day, so I can deal it with occasionally.

Embrace Me is a vibrant fuchsia colour. As far as lip glosses, it's sticky, but great coverage and staying power. After blotting my lips, I end up with a nice pink finish. I don't expect a lot of lasting power, but this is definitely a night out on the town colour.

I think I have the MAC bug, and might have to get some more soon!

Flaounes (Traditional Cypriot Cheese Pastry)

It's Easter eve (Holy Saturday) and after seeing everyone post beautiful food on Facebook, I decided that I should make something. But what? Sweets are covered, lamb on the spit is out main course. Why not go back to my heritage and make flaounes? Flaounes are traditionally made on Holy Thursday before Good Friday. In Cyprus, the women of the village gather together and make huge batches of these time consuming pastries. Well worth it, but some recipes I've seen call for around 18 eggs. This the cheat's way, but they are still amazing!

Ingredients

• Yeast dough
  • 750g strong plain flour (bread flour will do)
  • 1 sachet dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, water to mix
  
  
• Cheese filling
  • 250g cheese: you can use any Greek cheese, but my local Coles is small and didn't have any Greek cheeses so I used cheddar
  • 100g Haloumi,
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon crushed dried mint
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  
  
• To finish
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • sesame seeds

Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Add the oil and enough water to make a firm dough. Knead for at least 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a plastic bag and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise.

For the filling, coarsely grate the cheeses, add the flour and baking powder then gradually stir in the beaten egg and seasonings until you have a stiffish paste (keep some of the beaten egg back if the mixture becomes too runny).
 

Divide the dough into egg sized pieces and roll these into 10cm discs.

Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the centre of each pastry disc, spreading it slightly. Pull dough up at 3 points to make a triangle, or 4 points to make a square. You should still be able to see the filling in the middle.

Press corners together to seal and leave to rise. Just before baking, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds over the finished flaounes.

Bake in a hot oven at 230'C for 12-15 minutes until cheese filling is puffed and flaounes are golden.

Serve warm or cold.

Makes 12, but I easily made 16.

Kopiaste and Kali Anastasi!