There is something irresistible about the aroma and flavours of char-grilled meat, cooked over an open fire. The barbecue takes on many forms: The South Africans love their Braaivleis, here in Australia everyone enjoys a Barbie, and in Brazil, they celebrate all things meat with the 300 year old Churrasco tradition. With churrasco (pronounce shoo-has-co), large cuts of seasoned meat are cooked on slow rotating skewers over hot charcoal. This allows the meat to gain an even smoky seal on the outside, while trapping all the natural juices inside and keeping the meat tender. Once cooked, the waiters walk through the restaurant and carve the simmering meat at the table onto the diner's plate (a service style referred to as rodizio).
The churrasco method is still the most popular way to cook meat in Brazil. We did not need a passport to experience this tradition. We merely travelled 6 km to the west of the city to Bardon, a quiet and leafy suburb on the foothills of Mt Coot-tha. Residents of Bardon generally have a healthy bank balance, are professional, own a bicycle and a bit of lycra. It is here that we discovered Mundo Churrasco, Brisbane's own little bit of Brazil. There are 7490 Brazilians in Australia, with 670 living in Brisbane, most of them students seeking to improve their English.
Our friends Phil, Martina, Steve and Persephone arrived, and we kicked off the evening with a round of the traditional cocktail Caipirinha, which has Brazil's national spirit cachaqa (fermented sugar cane juice) as the base. At the same time, we received a bowl of fried bananas dusted with cinnamon sugar and some cheese bread. The friendly waitress (clearly here to improve her English) explained the service and suggested a variety of sauces to accompany the meat. And then it began......beef rump, chicken thighs, pork belly, leg of lamb - name a part of the anatomy and it was served...even chicken hearts were available on request. Bom apetite! (yes...it is bom)
We ordered a bottle of Bodega Zapata Alamos Malbec from Argentina, which perfectly complemented the meal. It was full and rich (big enough to cope with the rock salt on the rump, the peri-peri on the chicken, the honey-lime-mint on the lamb and the paw-paw sauce on the pork belly) yet a hint of chocolate and the sweet spiciness of the American oak were evident. Also on the table were bowls of potato salad, tomato and onion vinagrete and a green salad with kiss peppers. There were sausages, grilled vegetables, caramelised pineapple and more, which we eventually had to turn away. This was achieved by turning the little wooden block placed in front of each diner upside down to expose the red side. If the green side stays on top, the food will simply keep on coming! Our protein quota for the year has well and truly been exhausted. We did leave room for dessert this time: Passionfruit and salted caramel mousse with tropical fruit and burnt marshmallows, and Churros (South-American donuts served with cream and chocolate dipping sauce). In summary, the meats were all truly delicious, the accompaniments adequate and the dessert completely unnecessary. Dining at Mundo Churrasco is an experience well worth having.
The facts (see blog week 1), again, were fascinating. As Boetie was absent, Keith gave us a run-down on the flag (quite a long story...) and the three national animals ( the Jaguar, Macau and Rufous-bellied Thrush).
When Nielen thinks of Brazil, he thinks of their five time World Cup Winning football team.
When Keith thinks of Brazil, he thinks coffee (Brazil supplies 25% of the world's coffee).
When Phil thinks of Brazil, he longs for the congestion free 16 lane highway in the capital Brasilia. When Persephone thinks of Brazil, she recalls her gap year travelling through South-America and the powerful image of the Christ The Redeemer statue on Mt Corcovado in Rio. When Steve thinks of Brazil, he thinks 200 million heads of cattle (one for every person in the country). When Martina thinks of Brazil, it's the Amazon Rainforest, home to one third of all forms of life on earth and the destruction thereof through deforestation.
And when I think of Brazil, I think PARTYYYYY! The Rio Carnival started in 1641 with masquerade balls. In the 1800's the elite started to parade the streets in their amazing masquerade ball gowns, accompanied by military bands, and from there it evolved into a full blown festival, with the focus on dance. Today it is essentially a Samba Dance-Off between the over 200 different Samba Dance Schools (4000 people per entry).....a Parade Extravaganza like nowhere in the world! The traditional masquerade balls are still held at the Copacabana Palace and the more exclusive Banda de Ipanema.
But for now, the party is over and we have to grind away another week before we can celebrate all things Japanese.
The churrasquiera
Picanha
Linguica
Mundo Summer Plate
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