Restaurant Review: Hippopotamus

My wonderful husband surprised me with a night at the Museum Hotel and dinner at Hippo. It was spectacular. We had visited twice before but it had been a couple of years between visits. In fact, our last visit was the night we got engaged so it was quite the blast from the past!

We started with a cocktail in the bar before we were seated. There was a small but well formed cocktail list and we enjoyed ours. 

Shortly after being seated the sommelier pushed a champagne trolley to our table and asked if we'd like some champagne or a champagne cocktail. We went for the champagne cocktail, which he made in front of us and was delicious. 

Our orders were taken and bread was offered shortly after that. I had a nice walnut roll. My entree was the special of the day, a 46 degree salmon that was meltingly lovely. My husband had the pork shoulder which was wrapped in filo pastry. He seemed to enjoy it too.

My main was the fillet of beef which came with braised short rib and a very tender braised beef cheek. It was yummy but very rich, I only managed half before sending it to my husband. He had the venison which was served with beetroot and was exceptional, definitely the dish of the night. We also ordered a side of truffled chips but we didn't eat many as the mains were enough. 

We asked the sommelier to choose our wines to match each dish and he did an excellent job. He explained each wine before pouring and each one worked beautifully with each course. We didn't have pudding as were too full.

This is not an everyday place (unless you can afford it!) but perfect for those extra special occasions. We look forward to coming back in another few years.

Bircher Muesli

Bircher Muesli: I was inspired by this recipe by My Little Gourmet. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups/150g quick oats
• 1¾ cups/420ml milk
• ¼ cup/60ml apple juice
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 apple, cored and grated with the peel
• 1-2 tablespoons honey
• 1½ cups/375g plain yogurt (I used The Collective's pouring honey yogurt) 
• 1/4 cup of coconut
• 1 peeled orange, chopped into small pieces
• Prunes/raisins/sultanas to taste

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, let sit over night. Enjoy. 

Easy peasy, healthy and delicious. This recipe is enough for 4 - 6 servings. 

Chilli Con Carne

Chilli Con Carne - a recipe by taste.com.au but modified by me

Ingredients:

1 - 1.5kg of chuck steak or any kind of casserole steak

Olive oil

2 brown onions, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 chipotle chillis in sauce, diced (optional, you can use regular chilli or chilli powder)

1 can of tomatoes (I like Indian flavour)

1 can of black beans with jalepeno (optional)

Chop and brown the meat in olive oil. Place into slow cooker and turn slow cooker onto high.

Add onion and garlic into same pan you browned the beef in. Reduce saucepan heat to medium/low.

Add chipotle (if using)

Add cumin, paprika, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce to the onions and garlic. Allow to cook until thick and sticky, about 5 minutes. Add to slow cooker.

In the same pan add the canned tomatoes, and raise the heat to medium/high. Allow tomatoes to bubble, and scrape all the yummy charred bits off the bottom of the pan.

Add the can of black beans (if using) and heat through.

Add to the slow cooker, give everything a good mix around and leave to cook.

Cooking times: 4 hours on high, 8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on 150 degrees celcius if cooking in the oven. 

Slow Cooked Moroccan Lamb Casserole

Slow Cooked Moroccan Lamb Casserole Recipe - a recipe by me

• 1kg lamb suitable for casserole/slow cooking, chopped into large chunks
• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 10 - 15 pitted dried dates
• 2 tablespoons Moroccan spice mix
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• Slug of red wine, approximately 1/2 cup
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sweet potato or potato (optional) cut into chunks

1. Chop the lamb into large chunks. Place into large freezer bag or bowl ready to marinate.
2. Chop onion, garlic, dates, potatoes (if using) and add to the bag or bowl with the lamb.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of your favourite Moroccan spice mix, plus salt and pepper to taste to the bag and massage into the lamb and other ingredients.
4. Add the can of tomatoes and wine to the bag/bowl, mix and set aside to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
6. Once the ingredients have marinated for a suitable length of time, transfer into a dutch oven.
7. Cook for 3 hours but check the lamb every hour or so and give it a stir. The lamb should be falling apart when it is ready and the sauce should be thick.
8. Serve with couscous, I like Israeli couscous.