MYFoodDiary: Ukusan!

Written by chuiling on April 26, 2011 in MYFoodBible - 1 Comment

That simply means ‘delicious!’ in Croatian.

And delicious was the Croatian meal I had on the evening of 16 April 2011.

It was a pleasant surprise when I received the dinner invitation from Dubrovnik as I was just there a week earlier shooting for my new TV programme, “Menu, please!”

The proprietor, Dina, knowing that I didn’t really get to properly taste the food we shot that day, purposely invited me back for dinner again, so that this time I could savour a proper Croatian meal.

After Dina gave a short presentation of her restaurant and its cuisine roots to her guests, we proceeded to a quick game of Taboo, where yours truly managed to answer one question although I answered it for the other team! There were lots of laughs around the table and it was indeed a good icebreaker.

Dina giving a brief introduction.

Then came the highlight of the evening. Dinner!

Cevapi and Calzone.

We started with Cevapi, which is grilled mince lamb and beef kebabs served with spicy vegetable salsa, followed by the Calzone, which is a folded pizza filled with tomatoes, mozzarella, beef and mushrooms. The Calzone is cheesy yet perfectly light and tastes like a western version of our local popiah.

Mains consisted of the Chicken Stroganoff, Riba Champignon and the pride of the restaurant, the Lamb Peka.

The Chicken Stroganoff is chicken cooked in wild mushroom sauce, sweet peas and capsicum and served with wild tomato rice. Creamy, full flavoured, the chicken pieces were tender and moist.

Chicken Stroganoff.

The Riba Champignon is a fillet of the fresh ‘catch of the day’, lightly marinated in herbs, pan-fried and baked in a wood-fire oven with delicious wild mushroom sauce.

And the star of the evening, the Lamb Peka. This is the traditional Croatian way of preparing marinated meat, cooked under the iron bell for 3 hours in a wood-fire oven. The lamb was was deliciously tender and well-flavoured. But this dish is only available over weekends. So if you feel like eating it during weekdays, you’ll have to order two days in advance!

Lamb Peka.

I was already well-stuffed from the starters and mains, and was just about to say I was done. But when the dessert platter was placed in front of me… all self-control went out the window and I succumbed to temptation.

The dessert platter of Royal Chocolate Cake, Apple Pita and Crepe Suzette.

My favourite was the Royal Chocolate Cake. Oh, how sublime. One of the diners described it as a huge slab of Ferrero Rocher. Indeed it was! I could go back just for it again and again and again.

It was a truly wonderful evening filled with good food and great company. I left feeling well fed and satisfied and told myself I’d definitely be back for more!

One for the road! Say Cheese!