01x07 - Dessert

[bunniefuu]

I'm Jimmy Shu.

My parents were Chinese
but I grew up in Sri Lanka,

working in my dad's restaurant,
and I've been a foodie ever since.

Nearly 30 years ago,

I moved to Darwin in
the Northern Territory,

in the Top End of Australia,
to open my restaurant, Hanuman,

and this tropical city has
had my heart ever since.

Closer to Asia than any other
Australian capital city,

the Top End is a rich melting pot

of Indigenous culture,
the flavours of

Asian migration, and incredible
tropical produce, creating

a vibrant, dynamic food scene
that's one of Australia's

best kept secrets.

Wow, wow.

Welcome to my Taste of the Territory.

I have to admit, I love desserts.

It's the only part of a meal that's
sole purpose is absolute

indulgence and pleasure.

In Darwin, we have such
an incredible range of tropical

fruits and ingredients,
but like everything else we do up

here, we do dessert
a little differently...

With a Top End twist.

If you're like me,
with a sweet tooth, you're

going to love this episode.

It's impossible to think
about dessert without

thinking about chocolate.

Today, I'm spending the day
at the Bumble Bean Chocolate Factory

in Stuart Park, an inner
city suburb in Darwin.

Bumble Bean Chocolates
was founded by Leo Cleanthous,

Darwin's first chocolatier.

Leo's handmade chocolates
are like little bite-sized works

of art, and have become known
for their unique use

of Top End flavours.

Yeah, I was born and bred in Darwin.

This is my home
and I love the place.

I've always been interested in art.

Creating chocolate art is something
I'm passionate about.

And I surprise myself sometimes
when I...when I make something

and I think, "Oh, that
looks pretty good."

Before I discovered
my passion in chocolate,

I was an accountant.

I ran my own practice and

I still run my own
practice in accounting.

I love coming down here because it
just gets me away from the numbers

and, you know,
the stresses of life.

I started dabbling with chocolate
more than 15 years ago

when I was at home.

When I turned 50, I bought
myself a birthday present.

And that was a chocolate-making
course in Melbourne.

I spent a few weeks there
learning about chocolate,

how to temper it,

how to create things,
and that was the

starting block of what you see here.

Jimmy, I'd like to introduce
you to my local works of art.

What inspires me is chocolate,
and Top End, local, fresh produce.

And what I've done here
is combine both of my passions

into the chocolates.

This is a fabulous
array you've got here.

This is, uh, dragonfruit,
uh, mango, cumquat.

Kakadu plum and rosella and,
uh, ruby chocolate.

I source mainly organic fruit,
in season, and I make a jam

or a paste out of it so I can
preserve it and use it

all year round.

With the dragonfruit,
when it's in season,

I'll get as much as I can.

The mango, I've got family in
the mango business, so.

Uh, rosella, that's, uh,
another friend who's

got a farm and he
picks them for me and

cumquat is direct from my
brother's backyard.

It looks stunning.

Let's try some chocolate.
We're going with the Kakadu plum.

I love the soft centre.

I got that little bit of tartiness.

It matches though, so beautifully.

That little bitterness
there and the chocolate.

The next one we'll go
with is the rosella.

Gee, I really love that.
It's almost like a fragrance.

Oh, nice.

I guess it's
to do with the flower?

As you're eating it,
it's the layers of chocolate

with the tartiness of the rosella.

Different layers of
flavour coming through.

We'll go from the rosella,
straight to the, the mother

of Darwin, which is the mango.

- My favourite.
- My favourite too.

But so far, everything has become
my favourite.

Well, there's two layers.

First layer is a mango
jam but not sweet.

And the next layer is a mango
ganache made with white chocolate.

Hints of the mango,
which is just nice.

- You don't want it over...
- Overpowering, no, no.

Yeah, overpowering.

And I think you've chosen
that white chocolate perfectly.

The last one is the cumquat.

Orange-y. Mandarine-y flavour.

Like a marmalade-type paste.

The ganache I've made
is with white chocolate.

And the dark chocolate shell

breaks down the sweetness
of the white chocolate.

Very interesting combination.

As you keep tasting it,
then all those flavours sort

of burst out.

You can't leave my shop without
trying my bestseller.

This is a dried mango
dipped in chocolate.

- Perfect.
- Perfect?

And the chocolate is dark
chocolate, so it complements

the mango very well.

I've been in Darwin for 28 years,
and I've never met a chocolatier.

- You have blown me away.
- Thank you.

Making these chocolates,
it's a labour of love.

We're creating something
unique and when people buy

chocolates from here,
they're buying Darwin.

Desserts, by and large,
evoke a feeling of indulgence,

a guilty pleasure.

I don't think I've ever had
a dessert and thought,

"This is good for me."

But today, I'm at the Parap Saturday
Market, and I'm spending the day

with Petra Kepic, who runs
Petra's Raw Cakes, and creates

decadent desserts
that are actually healthy.

Petra's Raw Cakes have become
a staple at the weekend markets

and cafes around Darwin.

And as someone who doesn't know much
about the raw food movement,

I'm certainly intrigued.

I got here when I was about 17
from Slovenia.

I came with all my family.

Because we always cook from scratch
and I love cooking so much,

seeing these tropical ingredients,
mango and dragonfruit and

all this kind of stuff I'd
never seen before...

Seeing all this tropical produce,
it really inspired me to use it

in my raw cakes, and see how those
textures and flavours would work.

Because the flavour
of tropics, that's not

something we have in Europe.

So it was really, really interesting
to use it in another way.

So I make all these cakes here.

It's all gluten, dairy-free, made
all with natural, local ingredients.

No refined sugars.

Anyone eating this is not
going to feel guilty.

That's right. Guilt-free cakes.

Today Petra's going to show me
how to make one of her

beautiful raw cheesecakes.

But first, we need to get some fresh
ingredients at the market.

I just love coming to the markets.
Love the smell of the food.

All the beautiful produce.

So, I usually get these ones here.

They're organically grown.

I just wanna take you to
another place to get one

more special ingredient.

So this is where I get
my last ingredient.

- Here?
- Yeah.

- At a shoe shop?
- Yes.

- Hi, Savvas.
- Kalimera, Petra.

- Kalimera.
- How are you?

- Kalimera.
- Kalimera.

- Lovely to meet you.
- Pleased to meet you too.

This is where I get my lemons.

Shoe shop, lemons.

Well, my kids, they wanted,
you know, some pocket-money.

Because we had so many lemons
at home, they would,

uh, go out the front on market day.

And sell lemons, so.

As they got older, they
didn't want to do it anymore,

so I would sell them
at the shop, on the counter.

- Continue the tradition.
- There we go.

Awesome.

So you wait until you taste
these, they are the best.

I've been getting it for


I stumbled upon them by accident.

Walked in the shop here and
saw these beautiful lemons.

- In a shoebox.
- I know, right?

We're now off to Petra's
kitchen to start cooking.

So Jimmy, this is my
kitchen where all the magic happens,

where I make all my Petra's Raw
Cakes.

Raw cakes, which means that it's
really raw, there's no cooking?

Really raw. All ingredients are raw,

unprocessed, and the cake is also
not cooked and not baked.

So you get all the
vitamins and minerals.

All natural ingredients.

Local produce.

So it's like a plate
of fruit and nuts -

in a shape of cake.

So first we're going
to make the base.

I'm going to show you how
it can be made not cooked.

Now what we've got to do is get
all the seeds out of the dates.

So, the dates actually
act as a binder.

So, the next ingredient is almonds.

Once they're gonna be spinning
around and crushing done,

it's gonna release oil,
and that's also a binder.

When you put it in the fridge,
it holds it all together.

So the almonds and
the last is some coconut.

Just put it straight
into the cake tin.

Spread it out, and then
we have to push it down.

So this is considered
your bestseller?

It is, yes. People just love it.

A lot of people come to the markets
and they can't have any gluten.

And they say, "I haven't had
a cheesecake in 20 years",

and they have a bite of this
and their eyes just light up.

- Wow.
- It's really rewarding to see that.

There we go.

Now the base is done,
we can move onto the next thing

which is the cheesecake filling.

So this our cashew nut.

Our lemon juice that we squeezed.

So this is gonna create a cheese.

Coconut cream.

That's instead of the butter
and milk that you would use.

And our sweetener,
which is the organic agave nectar.

You can use any other sweetener.

You see how it's starting to curdle?

One more thing we have to add
to make it really pop in flavour

is just add some zest.

We had lemon juice, now we're
gonna put lime zest.

Mix it up, make it tropical.

- Can you smell that, Jimmy?
- Of course I can.

Amazing.

So now that that's blended,
we have to add a couple more things.

So this is cold-pressed,
virgin, coconut oil.

This is what is gonna set the cake.

So how much of avocado
would you use?

Oh, I would use one or two,
depending on the size.

So, this is our cheesecake, Jimmy.

Oh. Lovely colour.

There we go. Perfect.

I think you've done this
a few hundred times.

A couple of times, yes.

So this is our
cheesecake filling now.

So, it's got to go in
the fridge for an hour.

This is once it's set.

So a bit firmer, but still soft.

Yes, it's perfect.

So for our final thing, Jimmy,
we have to make the topping.

We need some macadamia nut, all
natural, no processed ingredients.

Lime juice, coconut cream.

That's an interesting combination,
the lime going into the macadamia.

Yeah, it's beautiful.

To also make like a cheese,
and our coconut oil to set it.

Oh.

Gee, the consistency
is like ice-cream.

It is. So smooth. Beautiful.

And just spread it out a bit.

Now this is done, we're gonna pop
it back in the fridge.

This should go in for
about 20 minutes.

OK, Jimmy, now that all is ready
and set, only that's left to do

is to decorate.

- So look at those colours.
- Oh, yes.

It's looking so good.

The colours are beautiful.

So we're just going to add some
of these crushed pistachios.

And there it is Jimmy.

The lime-lemon, macadamia
cheesecake with dragonfruit.

Geez.

For someone who really loves
a cheesecake, they couldn't

tell the difference.

- That's awesome to hear.
- Thank you so much.

Wow. Completely raw.

Highly, highly, highly recommend it.

Darwin's Rapid Creek Sunday Market
is best known for its piles

of fresh produce.

But its bustling corridors are also
full of incredible food stalls.

Amongst them, is
Wana's Thai Desserts.

Pastry chef, Wana Sinclair,
comes from a long line of master

Thai dessert makers.

Her mother's stall that she now
helps run, has been here for over 30

years, and is one of the oldest
stalls at the Rapid Creek Market.

I was born at nice town
about 300k from Bangkok.

We came here in 1978.

As long as I can remember,
my grandmother, my mother's mother,

was the best chef.

She could cook anything
out of what she see,

she can create anything.

She's a specialty in
traditional, Thai dessert.

I think I have a little
bit of her knowledge,

but I didn't realise it
because I took it for granted.

Just because it's in front
of me, I eat everything.

And from there I just keep
memorise what I've been

seeing and eating.

And then I keep trying
and trying, until I get

close as what I smelled,
and close as what I saw.

From now on, when I do my own
that's why I think of her.

Wana's delicious and beautiful
desserts, that combine old,

traditional Thai recipes
with modern pastry techniques,

has a loyal following
at the markets.

And her signature dessert,
the Mung Bean Doughnut,

is a particularly rare traditional
sweet that's now even hard

to find in Thailand.

And it's definitely the only place
in Darwin where you can

try this delicacy.

And today I have the great privilege
of being shown how it's made.

Wana starts by steaming
the mung beans.

These mung beans have been soaked
for at least 2 hours in the

warm water to get the process
shorter.

And then, rinse it out
until the water's clear.

When it cooks, you can
smell the beans.

It should be about 40 minutes.

That is a super, big-sized steamer.

Yeah. OK.

I love desserts with the sweet,
the sour, the pepper.

It is typical Thai flavour.

Oh, just only three, yeah?

Diced.

Oh, you'd like it diced, yeah?
Yeah. OK.

I feel useful now.

When mum cooking, I never learnt how
to write it down or anything

because I hate it so much.

You're bringing back
my childhood memories.

Yeah, yeah.

I grew up in my dad's restaurant,
and I disliked it with a passion.

- Yeah, that's right.
- "Come here, come here.

"This is what you do,
that's what you did.".

But now, very grateful.

Well, now, I wanna
have that taste again.

Now you can't find it now.

What am I going to do?

I have to bring out my own memory.

Put it into what I used
to see my mother put together.

And now the taste is not the same,
and then it got closer and closer

every day until you've got it.

If you're really
hungry, you'll get it.

The mung beans are now cooked
after 40 minutes in the steamer.

OK, one cup of oil.

The onions are wok-tossed in oil
'til they are caramelised.

A good dose of pepper.
Mm-hm.

You try to sleep in the morning
and the old lady do this.

You're awake anyway
because we're sneezing.

Then after that, we smell
the already done cakes and we've got

to get up.

It's not the same as when the food's
finished and then put the pepper in.

You've got to cook
the pepper as well.

The cooked mung beans are now added
to the onion and pepper mix.

Wana then adds some sugar,
salt and some more pepper.

Now you've just got
to mix it through.

- See?
- It smells, it looks delicious.

I can see now the
textures have changed.

It's like, mashed up there.

Yeah, it's ready to be balled.

OK, we go inside to
start rolling these.

Now, to make a ball.

I have a good helping
hand with this scoop.

What I like about it is,
it gives you a perfect round.

Yeah. And have to be, uh,
really tight.

Packed in, yes.

I'm just going to put it
in the freezer for 5 minutes.

OK, that should be enough,
I think, to feed the chooks.

Chooks?

- [CLUCKS] I'll be the chook.
- OK.

The mung bean ba*ls
are put into the freezer

for around 5 minutes.

Next, Wana makes the pastry
mix for her doughnuts.

- Glutinous rice.
- Glutinous rice, yes?

- A tablespoon of salt.
- Tablespoon.

- Rice flour now.
- Yes.

Some people probably use
the coconut cream, but

I use a whole coconut
just to get the texture.

Palm sugar, this is how
I wake up my coconut.

You wake up.
I love what you said.

Yeah.
And then I put it in the microwave.

- It go back to life again.
- Right.

See?

The palm sugar is a bit,
if you use the white sugar,

the sweets are not the same.

The wet and dry ingredients
are added to the mixer to make

the pastry covering
for the mung bean ba*ls.

- It's firm but yet, very pliable.
- Yeah.

The mung bean ba*ls are taken out
of the freezer and are ready to be

rolled in the pastry mix.

Now this is something special
which I believe I've never

seen it before.

Pastry chef qualifications,
modern techniques.

Innovations, still with
the roots from Thailand.

Yes. You put that in, and you start
from there.

- Yeah.
- Push the finger in.

- I won't push it in.
- Close it.

- There.
- Oh, and pinch it up as well.

Gee, it's perfect,
the pastry you made.

- Mm, not too sticky, just soft.
- Yes, correct.

Then when I put these in oil,
I will squeeze it again.

- Right.
- To make sure the air out.

The mung bean doughnuts have been
rested for 10 minutes and are now

ready to be deep-fried.

Wana starts by making a sugar syrup
to coat the doughnuts,

by adding water
and sugar to the wok.

The mixture is left
to caramelise on low heat.

And once it's done, put it in there.

- It's starting to get the...
- The shape, is it?

- Yeah, the shape.
- So it's basically, will expand.

Mm-mm.
When it cook, it'll get lighter.

So you're going to
wait 'til it browns.

- Yeah.
- A golden-brown.

And also that it floats
to the top there?

If you're not careful,
you let it there and

you're not stirring it,

You end up in 5 minutes,
where are all the mung beans gone?

It's on the roof
when you look at up there.

Ooh, that colour
is getting beautiful.

- It's a real golden-brown now.
- Mm-hm.

That is perfectly fried.

- Perfectly done.
- Here goes.

When the food is perfectly cooked,
you can hear the sound.

- Mm.
- It's crispy outside.

- Yes.
- And soft inside.

So you do this while the sugar
syrup is cooling down.

Yes.

So as it cools down so that it
almost crystallises,

and it then coats the ball.

Oh, and then it's
turning white as well.

Yeah.

There's a lot of work
in this, my gosh.

Good enough to serve the king.
I'm telling you.

This is what they do
for the king and...

- Is that right?
- Yeah.

- Satisfaction?
- More than that.

I love the crispiness.

I love the coconut flavour.

Now, where have you eaten
a dessert that is sweet,

it's got the onion
flavour, and also pepper?

Brilliantly made.

Very simple food,
but it's very worth it.

All my cooking is showing what
I feel inside.

When you like something,
you're passionate about something.

That's it.
You know, you can't stop.

If I can keep these
tastes of Thailand alive

another 500 years, I will be happy.

It's August here in Darwin,
which means two things -

fabulous dry season weather,
and the iconic Darwin Festival.

It's a very special time
of the year, where the whole

community comes together
to celebrate the arts.

And we, at Hanuman, have been
feeding the festival-goers

for 19 years.

Being a part of a festival
is so much more than seeing a show.

But it's about being together
and a big part of that is food.

It's impossible to imagine
Darwin Festival without Hanuman.

Every year, one of the most popular
dishes at the festival

is a black rice creme-brulee.

And that happens to be
my favourite dessert.

I mean, look, everyone
raves about the black

rice creme-brulee, of course.

It's the signature piece.

It's not always on the board,

so people are looking out for it,
and you can smell it

when it's being made.

And when you see people eating it
before they've eaten their mains,

because they just can't wait.

As a chef, we look at an ingredient,
we know the taste, we know

its potential and we're
always searching.

And that's what makes
our job interesting.

We're always searching how
we can incorporate that

into something else.

Having grown up in Asia,
I love the black sticky rice.

Of course, it's got to be cooked
with coconut and palm sugar,

and the pandan leaves
to give it that aroma.

And I was always wondering
how do I incorporate that?

How do I fuse that
into something western?

And I thought, why not try it
beneath the classic French brulee?

I offered it to my
friends, and guess what?

They all loved it.

And that's where the black sticky
rice creme-brulee was born.

Since then, it's been on our menu.

This is the cooked brulee.

And how we finish it off is we
caramelise some caster sugar over it.

You can see the beads forming,
which means it's melting.

This is what I would call
a perfectly caramelised brulee.

It's almost like
an ice-skating rink.

The creme-brulee is always the
piece-de-resistance, as you say.

Uh, no matter what we get, we always
end up getting a creme-brulee.

And obviously, things like, uh,
the black sticky rice,

growing up in, in the Asian
countries where I grew up,

uh, it always reminds
me of that as well.

Beautiful.

This the dessert of the festival.

In fact, I don't know if there's
any other desserts anywhere here,

because I've never
gone anywhere else.

I think it connects with, uh,
the Territory just because of it's

got that, you know,
the Southeast Asian flavours.

There's so much influence
here on the Territory.

Hear that.

There you go.

And look at that piece
of toffee there.

Cheers.

Mm.

Then you've got the custard,
which has got the right consistency.

Look at that.

You dig deeper into this now,
and you get the black gold -

which is the black rice.

I don't like blowing my trumpet,
but I think that's bloody good.

Next time, I celebrate the taste of
the Top End at its absolute best.

To me, it's pure
raw, genuine food.

And it all comes from this land.

I like to mix
all flavours together.

Food will always excite me.

The pursuit will never end.