The Elusive Blue Quandong - Adventures in Singapore

Isn’t this fruit gorgeous? Exploring South East Asia sure brings with it some very special finds. Who would have thought we would find Blue Quandong in the middle of a garden city like Singapore.

Elaeocarpus Angustifolius, known in India and South East Asia as the Marble Tree, is also referred to as the Blue Quandong. Native also to the tropical rainforests of northern Queensland, the wood of this rainforest tree is highly valuable and utilised in furniture and boat building. These deep blue, almost perfectly round, fruits have a sour taste and work great in tarts and jams. Though, we think presenting these beauties simply halved on a plate with some vanilla ice cream is perfect enough! The seeds are commonly polished and used in jewellery such as Hindu prayer necklaces called Rudraksha. In Australia, they are often used in seed jewellery, like that made by one of our favourite social enterprises of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council , the Tjanpi Desert Weavers. 

As many of you may have noticed, RiverMint Dining is currently working between Perth and Singapore. Although our bookings have been limited in Perth, we are doing plenty of culinary research and workshops in Singapore. It is our hope that upon return to normal operations in 2019, we will be able to bring new skills and inspiration to our pop up events and catering options. 

Singapore is world-renowned for its food scene. Think of a cuisine and you are sure to find it in this small but vibrant island country. Food here is a national obsession and a uniting link between the various cultures that make up its population. Go to a local hawker's market and the main ethnic groups are represented - Malaysian, Peranakan, Chinese, Kristang, Indonesian and Indian. Eating at a local hawker's market or shopping mall food hall is generally the most popular pastime. Dishes like Haianese Chicken and rice, Chilli Crab, Roti Prata, carrot cake (made with eggs not carrot!) and Laksa are just the start of an enormous repertoire. It is our hope that we can glean new inspiration here whilst in the process learning how to meld food cultures and preserve the integrity and simplicity of an ingredient.

Keep watch for our next blog post where we present a new Asian influenced kangaroo recipe!

Winter Events with RiverMint Dining

The weather is getting chilly here in Western Australia and that means there is no better time to immerse ourselves in cooking, red wine, cosy dinners and winter fruits.

RiverMint Dining has a number of events coming up over the winter months. To kick off NAIDOC week we will be catering a 30-seat ticketed dinner called the Mungah Festival Dinner as part of the Binjareb Park NAIDOC celebrations on Saturday the 1st July. There will be tours, an outdoor cinema experience and some great live music throughout the day culminating in the dinner. Join the Pinjarra community in celebrating this special occasion. To find out more about Binjareb Park and the event visit the Binjareb Park Facebook page. Tickets can be purchased directly through trybooking.com here

We are excited to be collaborating with Westfield Whitford City in Hillarys as part their NAIDOC week celebrations. Customers will get the opportunity to try various tastings featuring native Australian ingredients and to chat with RiverMint Dining about using these ingredients in your own home. We will be located in the fresh food market section from 11am - 2pm on Monday 3rd July - Saturday 8th July. So pop on down when you are doing your shopping and try some delicious morsels.

We are also gearing up for the second of our pop up events to celebrate the season of Makuru. Local produce, north coast seafood and indigenous game will be featured on the menu and guests will be treated to a 5-course tasting menu with canapés and drink on arrival. Held at Riki Kaspi's The Cooking Professor, in Mt Hawthorn, the cosy location will provide an intimate and warm experience complete with drinks menu featuring some of the best Swan Valley beers, ciders and wines. We are very privileged to have Noongar Elder Auntie Neta from Urban Indigenous attending who will open the evening with a unique Welcome to Country. Local children's illustrator Jodie Davidson will also be showcasing some of her work highlighting the Australian landscape. Tickets available on eventbrite or click here.

Winter is looking busy for RiverMint Dining with some exciting collaborations, tastings and corporate catering functions in the works. Be sure to keep your eye on the Rivermint Dining Facebook page for updates on dinners and events or sign up to our newsletter to stay in the know.

We look forward to seeing you all and to enjoying a chilly but beautiful Makuru season.

Piney Illawarra Plums : Daalgaal

Known also as the Plum Pine and botanically as Podcarpus Elatus, the grape-like burgundy coloured fruit of the Illawarra Plum is a popular choice for bush tucker enthusiasts.

Native to the semi-tropical coastlines of Queensland and New South Wales, these fruit actually grow on the blue-black stalk that is connected to the dark seed cones of this large evergreen tree.

It is said that Illawarra Plums contain seven times the antioxidant levels of blueberries and are known to calm stomach cramps and encourage a healthy gastro-intestinal tract. What better reason to feast on these little gems? Though they are available frozen year round, the freezing process, we have found, tends to extract some of the subtle piney flavour of the plum. Consuming Illawarra Plums when they are in fruiting season over Autumn and Winter is therefore highly recommended.

There are many ways to use Illawarra Plums in cooking. They can be incorporated into fruit salads, smoothies and also used to make a gorgeous jam. We often poached them in a port reduction to accompany Emu fillet and turn them into a jelly to be rolled in chocolate as an after dinner petit four. They are fabulous lightly roasted with a touch of brown sugar also and served as a garnish to a chocolate dessert. Try them today!