Cocorea Korean Restaurant, Civic, Canberra, July, 2016.

We were reluctant to review Cocorea, as we eat there regularly and it can be problematic to obtain a table.  The reason we eat there often: the food is consistently good, the staff are polite and efficient, the price is reasonable and the variety satisfies all of us.

Cocorea is situated in Garema place.  There are tables both inside and outside and it has recently been refurbished and the menu has changed slightly.  The food is still good and we are looking forward to trying some of the new menu items.

Random Recipe: Cooking in Colour. Baked Beans and Toad in the Hole

Once again this is a cook book which will always have a place on the shelf.  As a child I remember it was a privilege and exciting to look through this book and be amazed at the variety and different types of food shown in the book.  Admittedly much of the time was spent looking at desserts, sweets, cakes etc., but some time was also spent looking at party food and marvelling that sandwiches could be different shapes.

There were some recipes which were strictly avoided: anything in aspic, or things containing tripe or pigs feet.  The cook book Cooking in Colour (Australian Women’s Weekly) was published in 1960 and unfortunately the paper cover disintegrated over the years and the measurements are in pounds and ounces.  It is strange to look at the photographs today and while possibly at the time they were tempting, now they look tired and sometimes barely edible.

Bad Temper Curry

This is a bit different from our usual entries.  This recipe is based on an actual recipe created when it was impossible to find a recipe that provided a slow cooked beef curry without coriander, yogurt and most important store-bought curry sauce or paste.  And, yes, one of us was in a bad temper when they prepared this curry.

Important Preparation

To begin this meal you must wake up in a reasonable mood.  This is important.  It helps if the last 6 months have been extremely stressful and you have decided to put this behind you and have a pleasant, productive day.

The next really important thing is to go to some appliance/piece of technology you use regularly, like a computer, car, drill or microwave.  When you attempt to use it, it must fail for some stupid reason.  Please note: it cannot be broken but will require at least half an hour to an hours effort to restore it to working order and it should have done the same thing in the last week.

To complete the setup you now need to go shopping for fruit and vegetables on a busy Saturday morning at a popular place where most people own 4 wheel drives and know the right fashion items to wear to this exclusive event.  You are dressed to keep warm from the biting wind.  Make certain while there to let people push in front of you and trap you near the broccoli while they chatter about sport or a party they attended.  Do not try to ask them to move.  You are wearing the wrong clothes.  You will be ignored.

On arriving home unpack and wrestle with the limited space in the vegetable bin in the fridge while others stand around watching.  Sigh and leave some of the vegetables in the other part of the already crowded fridge.  Place ‘Cleaning the fridge’ on your mental list of things to do.  Do not try to locate the top of the mental list.  Place make a written list of the mental list on the mental list.  That will solve everything (in an alternate universe perhaps).