sweetcraze

Chocolate pear cupcakes

2011-11-22T22:46:00.000+11:00

Following my adventures of trying new cupcake recipes I've decided to try a combination that I've never had before. Chocolate and pears. I was a little uncertain about how it will taste as I've never eaten two of them together before! Infact, I hardly ever eat pears and thought who else would eat pears?? Anyway, I thought to myself if it's in a book it must be good so I did it!

Results: The connect group really enjoyed it and it was finished quickly! This cupcake is definately a keeper!

Tropical cupcakes

2011-11-19T07:46:00.001+11:00

I wanted to try out a cupcake that brought in the summer fill and found this recipe in one of my borrowed books with pineapples in it and cream cheese frosting and so I tried this out for my connect group. Guess what?? It was a hit! The cupcakes were moist because of the pineapples and the cream cheese frosting went well with the cupcakes - maybe the cupcakes were tiny too so it went like hotcakes! I will definately make these again as they seem to disappear quicker than chocolate cupcakes!

Albees

2011-11-12T22:22:00.000+11:00

Here's another malaysian eat out in Campsee you can check out with it's many variety and the dishes definately brings you back to Asia.

Curry puff with egg inside $2.5 per piece and it runs out fast:

Char Kuey Teow (one of the best i've tasted in Sydney):

Sotong Kangkong:

Kuching Laksa which was not what I expected as it did not look or taste like the one I had in Kuching 3 years ago. I was pretty disappointed with this dish and probably would not order this again as it tasted just like any curry laksa dish.

cupcakes with love

2011-11-05T18:08:00.000+11:00

I've been experimenting with simple cupcake decorations and I made this for a friend who is getting married early next year with the colour of lavender as her theme.

It was fun and definately alot to learn but here's to a simple start of hopefully many more cupcake decorating in the future =D

Puppies cupcakes

2011-10-28T18:12:00.001+11:00

I've recently had an urge to decorate cakes and cupcakes but am scared to do it because it "looks" hard. So, I thought i'll start easy and begin with cupcakes and got myself some books from the library and bought some neccessity from the cake store! I never knew the cake store had so many different icing, cutters, glitters, cupcake cups, and the list goes on...and if I could honestly spend more $$ than needed getting different things to make one piece for the cake!

So, here are my first cupcakes I decorated for a work mate's 30th birthday and why puppies you may ask?? It's because she has a little pup that she talks so much about and love =D I got this idea from a cupcake decorating book I borrowed.

This is my favourite with the puppy digging his head in the grass:

The final product placed in the box ready to give away:

It was fun but definately time consuming and I think I have to read up more about drying the fondant so that it doesnt go soft or perhaps use a mixture specifically for making models. Nevertheless I'm happy with my first attempt lol!

Lemon cupcakes

2011-10-07T16:17:00.002+11:00

I had lemons in the fridge to make lemon and honey drink while I've been sick for the last few days and decided to bake lemon cupcakes! I love the smell of lemon and I've decided to not put any icing sugar on this because it smells sweet enough =D

I got this recipe from Rachel Allen's Lemon Cupcakes:

Ingredients

125g (4½ oz) butter, softened
125g (4½ oz) caster sugar
Finely grated zest ½ large lemon (keeping the zest of the remaining ½ lemon for the lemon icing)
2 eggs, beaten
150g (5oz) plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder

For the lemon butter icing (optional)

75g (3oz) butter, softened
125g (4 ½ oz) icing sugar, sifted
Finely grated zest of ½ large lemon
1-2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC Line a 12-hole cake tin with 12 paper cases.

2. Cream the butter in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer until soft. Add the sugar and grated lemon zest and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Gradually add the beaten eggs, then sift in the flour and baking powder and fold into the mixture

4. Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, until risen and golden. When cooked, the centre of each cake should be slightly springy to the touch. Remove the cakes from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool before you ice them.

5. To make the lemon butter icing, cream the butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon or hand-held electric beater until very soft. Gradually add the icing sugar and beat into the butter, along with the lemon zest and enough lemon juice to soften the icing, to a spreadable consistency.

6. Ice the cooled cupcakes!

Youranuse??

2011-09-13T08:22:00.000+10:00

If you haven't heard of Adriano Zumbo, he appeared on Masterchef Australia with his macaron tower, his disel cake, and the amazing ginger bread house!!! He is very creative in his macaron flavours and if you ever go there especially during the weekend, the queue is always out the door and the macaron flavours often run out in the Balmain store!

If you go to the Rozelle cafe, it's small but there were more macaron flavours there when we went. Hubby and I went for a day trip to Manly and happened to park next to Adriano Zumbo new store that opened in December 2010! We were unaware of this new outlet but was thankful that we found a new place to buy macarons and his amazing looking patisserie! They also had a little small place that you can order coffee and sit next door but like the other outlets, it's pretty crammed!

Out of all the "wierd" looking gateaux delight, we chose "Youranuse" which consist of mandarin mousse, tonka bean brulee, almond ginger crunch, sour cream jelly, fig sable, orange toffee creme and pain d'epice.

The many layers of wonders inside this small little precious delight:

hmmm can't wait to go back to try another of his creation..

Location:
Manly Pâtisserie:
Shop 1a/40 The East Esplanade, Manly

Hours:
Monday to Friday
7:00am till 7:00pm or until sold out
Saturday & Sunday
8:00am till 5:30pm

Din Tai Fung

2011-09-09T22:57:00.002+10:00

So after being in Sydney for almost 2 years, I finally visited Din Tai Fung, a well known dumpling place that is famous with not just the Chinese but with the local Australians as well. We arrived early for dinner so there was not much of a queue although inside was already packed with customers! When we left, the line outside was LONG!

So, their menus basically consist of dumplings, noodles, taiwanese rice, side dishes, a range of hot and cold desserts. I haven't blogged about this other restuarant called Chef gallery but comparing the both of them, Chef gallery had more variety of food whereas Din Tai Fung probably specialised in xiao long baos (soup dumplings) and noodles. Both resturants however is nice and I would definately come back again (early) to get sits!

Their xiao long baos were so juicy and smooth, and their noodles had a nice texture and was delicious!

Their famous xiao long baos:

Fried rice with pork chop:

One of my favourite noodles, Zha Jiang Mian:

Like I said at the start, there was a line and if there is a line it's normally pretty decent! The service is quick and efficient so that the turnover can be higher for customers standing in the cold to go in! Not a place to go for a quiet night out or have desserts to chill with friends, you'll have to move somewhere cosier and not where their actions seems to be rushing you out!

Address:
644 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Phone:
(02) 9264 6010

Website:
www.dintaifungaustralia.com.au/

Red Velvet cupcakes

2011-09-08T07:11:00.002+10:00

I've always wanted to make red velvet cupcakes because it seems to be the popular type of cupcakes everywhere online especially in the states! After being in New York earlier this year you can't go into any cupcake store without seeing a red velvet cupcake! These cupcakes are also sold in general grocery stores along the road!

I realised that red velvet cupcakes is the same as chocolate cupcakes just with the red colouring and vinegar mixed with soda perhaps to give it that different texture?

Anyway, this is definately a very popular cupcake especially with the vibrant colour and delicious cream cheese topping!

Red Red Red!

Cream cheese topping

Wrapped up for hubby to bring to work for his team as his birthday cakes lol!

Red Velvet Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted
2/3 cup (160 ml) cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 - 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting. Either spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula, or use a large 1M Wilton open star decorating tip to pipe the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Recipe from Joyofbaking =D

Red bean with walnut

2011-09-07T13:41:00.000+10:00

Ok, so I'm on a craze with all this baking and trying new fillings for the pastry so here's red bean and walnut filling and some pictures of the steps that took me there!

The fillings rolled into balls, red bean and black sesame with walnuts:

After wrapping Oil dough with water dough roll out into rectangle shape:

Roll it up like swiss roll (2 times in this process):

Cut into half and the one of the left should be faced down (you can see the spirals which becomes the outer skin):

Wrap a filling with the dough:

After wrapping it:

Ready to be put into the oven after brushing it with eggwash and black sesame topping:

End results:

Inside:

Easiest mini oreo cheesecakes

2011-09-07T08:16:00.000+10:00

I've published these easy little oreo cheesecakes before but here it is again. I love how it involves my favourite cookies and cream and the lightness of the creamcheese mixture on top melts in the mouth as you bite into it! I also like how these does not take much time to make and it's so popular with the guests!

Enjoy!

Chestnut Flaky mooncakes

2011-09-07T08:12:00.000+10:00

I've been making red bean flaky pastries that looks like cookies but it isn't...I've searched to see what they are called and some calls it flaky mooncakes, some calls it piah like tau sar piah and some just calls it baked red bean pastry. I'm still confused as to what it is called and have tried different recipies to get the perfect pastry.

I've thought of many flavours and happened to eye different flavoured paste in the fridge section in a local asian grocery. I bought chestnut paste to give it a try as I've never tasted that flavour before! It's amazing that it used to be just red bean and lotus paste you could find but now I found mung bean, chest nut, black sesame, and wife biscuit paste...it's good because it means that I can bake these little bites without having to make the paste! =D

So here it is, this recipe that I'm trying for the first time somehow gave me really big portions for the dough so the "cookie" looks rather big and my ideal size should only be half that size. However, when cut and eaten it tasted like those in the shops and my husband couldn't wait to get his hands on them!

Recipe

Ingredients

Water dough:
100g All purpose flour
25g caster sugar
40g shortening
40g water

Oil dough:
100g plain flour
40g shortening
15g butter (my usual recipe does not include butter but I'm giving this a try)

Filling:
Any paste of your desire

Directions:

1. Blend Water dough till smooth and divide into 5 portions and set aside to rest for 10 mins
2. Blend Oil dough till it becomes a dough and divide into 5 portions
3. Flatten a piece of water dough and wrap a piece of oil dough in it and roll into a rectangular shape
4. roll it up like a swissroll and turn 90 degree clockwise and flatten again
5. Roll it up like a swissroll again and cut into 2
6. With the side facing down flatten it into a round shape and wrap up filling to form a ball
7. Brush the top with egg wash (which I didn't for this round)
8. Bake in preheated over at 180 degrees for about 20 mins or until pastry looks golden and flaky =D

Ayam 99

2011-09-04T20:15:00.001+10:00

This is the first Indonesian restaurant I was introduced to when I first arrived in Sydney and ever since then I've been coming back regularly for their chicken and Bak Mie. I really like dry noodles like Mee Pok, Kuching kolo mee, Zha Jiang Mian, and the list goes on...hence this Bak Mie is always on my list when dining in any indonesian place!

I wouldn't say that this is the best as I've recently tasted another indonesian just 2 shops from Ayam 99 because it was closed Mondays and Tuesday when we went. Also, Ayam 99 is not the cleanest so that's another downfall especially if you are bringing guests around!

But for today, the grilled ayam (chicken) was so tender and juicy and the Bak mie was deliciously satisfying I was stuffed!

On the other note, if you want to order plain rice to go with your chicken, you must order other side dishes such as their tofu wrapped in banana leaf which is pretty tasty!

Name:
Ayam 99

Location:
464 Anzac Parade
Kingsford

Closed Mon Tues

Mainly New York

2011-09-04T19:42:00.003+10:00

I recently visited USA earlier this year and had the opportunity to try some of the popular food people rave about...bagels, pizzas, burgers, red velvet cupcakes....well ok these are actually what others suggest we eat while in NYC! There are definately other types of amazing food and the city is just to BIG to explore all of that!

I thought I'll post some of the simple yet very tasty bites we had while we were there!

Teriyaki chicken in a fried burger bun and their amazing delicious chicken wings that is what makes this tiny jap place popular:

Salmon cream cheese bagel which is one of my favourites:

Cream cheese bagel if you prefer it plain:

Red Velvet Cupcake, one of MANY around NYC! This craze has got me making some red velvets which I shall remember to post soon:

To prove that it is red inside:

Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, super long line, waited for about 30 mins to get in:

Chicken on rice somewhere in the city that only starts business at night and the line is super long!

Pretzels and Kebabs everywhere in their carts along the streets of New York, you'll never starve!

Ice cream called dipping dots which is like small bubbles that is hard when you scoop it but melts in your mouth like an ice cream should!

That's all for now! Good to see that Polar bear in San Diego has a better diet than me!:

Tan Viet - Do you feel like crispy chicken tonight?

2011-09-02T21:12:00.005+10:00

One of my favourite places to go in Sydney has got to be Cabramatta! I like it because it brings me back to Asia with it's vibrant colours, amazing bakeries and food, and the bustling atmosphere!

I like how I can find my favourite pandan chiffon cakes, sugar cane juice, durian shakes, dim sums, Vietnamese desserts and many tropical fruits such as Durian, Jackfruits, Starfruits, Longans, and the list goes on...so whenever I have visitors and I have a car I'll bring them to Cabra to eat with their eyes and their mouth!

So with my sister in law visiting Sydney for the first time this week I had to bring her here! Before we went, I had to search for places to eat as I'm not familiar with that place at all! So, we ended up at this place called Tan Viet on 100 John Street. We were expecting to have the usual beef pho and spring roll vermicilli but to our surprise it wasn't in the menu!!!! We looked around and realised very quickly that they were popular for their crispy chicken and noodles which can either be soup or dry! So, obviously we ordered that and was really satisfied with the freshnest of the ingredients and the tenderness and crispyness of the chicken.

I am not surprise why there is a line outside most of the time while we were in there! We were glad we found this place and definately will return! Just incase you were curious, they also serve spicy beef stew and you can have their bread rolls to dip in them. Also, they had tomato rice with some kind of meat with it. I'll have to give them a try next time!

Name:
Tan Viet Restaurant Cabrammata

Location:
100 John Street
Cabrammata

Price:
Crispy chicken with noodles or rice = $12
Most dishes above $12

Greentea with red bean macarons

2011-09-01T19:23:00.000+10:00

Not the best texture and shells but another attempt of making macarons with both my favourite combination greentea and red bean.

The red bean filling was basically red bean paste and creamcheese as I wanted to finish of the cream cheese but I think a better texture and taste would be to make buttercream...any ideas on what is the best to use for the filling?

Mother Chu

2011-08-31T22:52:00.001+10:00

My sister in law is here for a visit so brought her to the usual touristy place such as Chinatown and we decided to try out Mother Chu taiwanese crusine. I've only been here twice but this time we tried their Congee with century egg:

Mee sua and green onion pancake:

I haven't had congee for SOOOOOO long and when I put a spoon of congee in my mouth, it was so tasty, and the green onion pancake went well dipped in it too! The pancake seemed fresh with a bit of a crunchy texture which I love.

There's so many other dishes that looked so authentic that I would like to give a try next time! This is somewhere that I would definately come back to get my taiwan fix, however, not for bubble tea just the food =)

In the noon, after all the walking (not that long), we needed a coffee break so after being in Sydney for almost 2 years, I finally visited Max Brenner that everyone raves about especially for their chocolate fondues and pancakes. We were however too full and wanted a coffee fix QUICK! I heard from someone that they used allpress coffee beans which is one of my fav back in Auckland so I decided to give their coffee a try. Both my sis in law and myself agree that their coffee was actually pretty decent and better than other "coffees" out there!

Cappucino in Kangaroo cup, with caramel drizzles over the top and a little chocolate bit at the side.

Name:
Mother Chu's Taiwanese Gourmet

Location:
Chinatown
86-88 Dixon Street
Sydney

Price:
Good

Macarons

2011-08-31T09:08:00.002+10:00

There seems to be a macaron craze for quite a period of time and so I was one of those curious ones that wanted to try one of the most fragile delicious little bite! It took me after a few trials and failures to produce what you see here below:

It brings such joy in my heart when i see these shells!

Filled with chocolate ganache:

I had to read up on macaron websites and the different methods they used to come up with the right texture for the shell. For me I found that it definately helped when:

1. The eggwhites are aged
2. The shells are left to rest for about 45 mins on the baking tray before putting it in the oven
3. Leaving the oven door ajar with a wooden spatula so that the oven is not too

It does take alot of trial and error to really know how the consistency of the eggwhite mixture is suppose to look like before piping it on the baking paper. I've bought silicon mat just for this purpose hoping the macarons will slip off easier but I have yet to try it!

This chocolate macaron is the only flavour that turned out the nicest and I've tried greentea and red bean macarons but it did not turn out as smooth and nice as this!

Macarons

Ingredients

225 grams icing sugar
110 grams ground almonds (I used almond meal)
110 grams egg whites (about 4), aged overnight at room temperature
30 grams granulated sugar
Pinch of salt

Procedure

1. You can draw circles on baking paper first and set aside to make piping easier

2. Push almond flour through a sieve, and sift icing sugar. Mix the almonds and icing sugar in a bowl and set aside. If the mixture is not dry, spread on a baking sheet, and heat in oven at the lowest setting until dry. (if you have a processor just grind it more)

3. In a large clean, dry bowl whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip to stiff peaks—the whites should be firm and shiny.

4. With a flexible spatula, gently fold in icing sugar mixture into egg whites in about 4 additions until completely incorporated. The mixture should be shiny and 'flow like magma.' When small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, stop mixing.

5. Fit a piping bag with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheets, in the previously drawn circles. Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles. Let dry at room temperature for 1 or 2 hours to allow skins to form.

If the cookies form peaks on their tops after piping, flatten them with a wet fingertip. (I left mine for only 45 mins because I was impatient, so perhaps leaving it longer could help with the rise and the beauty of the shell) – (you can do your ganache filling while waiting)

6. Bake, in a 160C/325F oven for 10 to 11 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar, and rotate the baking sheet after 5 minutes for even baking. (Depending on your oven, mine was at 140c otherwise the top gets burnt!)- Keep checking on the shells so that it doesn’t burn or expand like a lava. I also didn’t rotate my baking sheet which I might next time.

7. Remove macarons from oven and transfer parchment to a cooling rack. When cool, slide a metal offset spatula or pairing knife underneath the macaron to remove from parchment. (I sprinkled a little water underneath so that the steam helps the macarons to be removed easier)

8. Pair macarons of similar size, and pipe about 1/2 tsp of the filling onto one of the macarons. Sandwich macarons, and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend together. Bring back to room temperature before serving

Bittersweet Chocolate Cream Ganache
- makes about 2 cups (550 grams) -
Ingredients

8 ounces (230 grams) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona Guanaja, finely chopped (I used normal cooking chocolate/buttons)
1 cup (250 grams) heavy cream
4 tablespoons (2 ounces; 60 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Procedure

1. Place the chocolate in a bowl that's large enough to hold the ingredients and keep it close at hand. Bring the cream to a full boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. While the cream is coming to the boil, work the butter with a rubber spatula until it is very soft and creamy. Keep the butter aside for the moment.

2. While the cream is at the boil, remove the pan from the heat and, working with the rubber spatula, gently stir the cream into the chocolate. Start stirring in the center of the mixture and work your way out in widening concentric circles. Continue to stir—without creating bubbles—until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Leave the bowl on the counter for a minute or two to cool the mixture down a little before adding the butter.

3. Add the butter to the mixture in two additions, mixing with the spatula from the center of the mixture out in widening concentric circles. When the butter is fully incorporated, the ganache should be smooth and glossy. depending on what you're making with the ganache, you can use it now, leave it on the counter to set to a spreadable or pipeable consistency (a process that could take over an hour, depending on your room's temperature) or chill it in the refrigerator, stirring now and then. (If the ganache chills too much and becomes too firm, you can give it a very quick zap in the microwave to bring it back to the desired consistency, or just let it stand at room temperature.)

Enjoy!

My Kitchen

2011-08-30T09:05:00.001+10:00

So, I've recently been back to Auckland over the weekend to witness a wedding of a dear friend. During that short time there, I managed to spend time with mum at a cafe enjoying what I love best which is sitting out in the sun sipping on my soy mocha and breaking the eggs on my eggs benedicts. mmmm it really makes me miss Auckland more.

One new place I did visit due to the recommendation of my sister in law was this taiwanese place they ventured out and really really liked! When I first arrive there, it looked like a takeaway booth but there's actually stairs that goes up and you will find tables and chairs to sit on! This place reminds me of other taiwanese cafes like J's tea or Momo Tea but bigger. They have a great choice of food on their menus, and their bubble tea is definately comparable if not better than the others I've tried in Auckland. My sister in law being the bubble tea QUEEN has stated that this is better because of their pearls!

The menu comes like e bento box with side dishes such as tofu and vegetables and a slice of orange. The popular dishes was definately the fried chicken type and their rice was topped with mince pork which is one of my favourites!

I'm definately glad I went there and if I was living in Auckland I would definately be there to fight my taiwanese cravings!

I am amazed to find new places to eat each time I return and am always in the look out for more new places and bakeries for sure! However, during my trip back I was crazy over my bakeries and remembered how Classic bakery does all the flaky mooncakes so that the FIRST thing I bought and ATE it anytime I could squeeze it in my day! WHAHaha

Back again next month so I can start dreaming about going to get my sweets again =D

Enjoy something sweet today! =D

Name:
My Kitchen Express

Location:
543 Dominion Road
Auckland

Price:
Reasonable

Birthday hat

2011-08-08T07:13:00.000+10:00

I am useless at cake decorating so instead of decorating my cake with fondant and creative little art work which I hope to do one day, I've decided to make a simple birthday hat for my friend. This is simply placing a cake on top of a covered cakeboard and ice the cake with icing and decorate with ribbons or anything you want on the hat!

Returning soon

2011-08-01T08:40:00.000+10:00

Wow, it's been AGES since I've Blogged....I think it's time to start again. So much to put up on what I've been baking, and places I've been dining at! Sydney is just so big to explore but for sure I'm on my way to blog more!

I love brunches on a sunny weather!

2011-01-09T08:03:00.001+11:00

It's been awhile since I've checked out a new cafe for a saturday brunch and this weekend a couple from church introduced us to a cafe along Crown Street in Surry hills which is known for their cafe cultures and alternative lifestyle too.

We were suppose to go to this other cafe but it was closed so we chose one of the many along the road and ended up in lemon twist cafe. This cafe is pretty retro, with the coffee machine reminding me of the 70s and they had really alternative ornuments hanging around!

Coffee wasn't bad although I'm not used to their mocha made with thick chocolate stuff at the bottom (which i think i was suppose to mix but didnt)

Sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomato, hallomi on turkish bread:

Salmon eggs benedict:

Prices were pretty reasonable with each dish around $13. An interesting little cafe to dine in for sure, and I'm satisfied with the brunch and company!

Location:
393 Crown Street
Surry Hills 2010

Tiny gingerbread men

2011-01-06T15:38:00.001+11:00

I bought this really cute little gingerbread man cutter from the gingerbread factory and wanted to try it out. Also, my work mate has been asking me to make more cookies so I decided to make some.

Instead of tying a ribbon around it I stapled the plastic so that it wouldn't crumble.

Now im exhausted!

The ginger factory

2011-01-05T15:39:00.000+11:00

Over the Christmas break we went to Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. It was raining most of our time there but it did not dampen our spirit and we still had loads of fun at the water theme park and dream world!

On one of those raining days we drove one hour from Brisbane and about 25 mins away from Sunshine Coast to this Ginger Factory. It was really an experience as everything here is literally ginger!

I had a ginger overdose with this ginger scone and ginger jam, along with ginger flat white! My husband had chips and ginger aioli which he made a very disgusted facial from that and stuck to tomato sauce instead! As you can tell, he's not a ginger fan!

There were also a ice cream section with over 65 types to choose from. Many of the flavours included some kind of ginger....

The shop that was there had everything ginger from gingerbread men, gingerbread cutters, ginger nuts, jam, chocolates, nogurts, honey, tea, coffee, and the list goes on!

One of the many gingerbread men sold there:

A worthwhile trip for sure if you like ginger and if it's raining and you want to stay dry =)

Gingerbread men

2010-12-23T19:33:00.003+11:00

I've always wanted to bake gingerbread men because
1) I like the smell and taste of ginger
2) It's christmas
3) I have the gingerbread men mould and
4) I wanted to decorate and make little presents to give away

So...I went to get the main ingredient, well not really but I needed the ground ginger I suppose....and colouring and little m & ms to decorate the little men!

I searched for recipes and there were quite a few but I stuck to the one from taste.com

Plain cookies needing to be dressed:

Colourings and m & m to decorate, you could also use other fun stuff to decorate your men too like raisins, cherries and the list goes on

Happy family:

Wrapping them in cellophane paper and tied it with a christmas ribbon ready to be given away:

Reciepe from taste.com.au

Preparation Time - 15 minutes
Cooking Time - 10 minutes
Makes 20

Ingredients

* Melted butter, to grease
* 125g butter, at room temperature
* 100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
* 125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
* 1 egg, separated
* 375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
* 1 tbs ground ginger
* 1 tsp mixed spice
* 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
* Plain flour, to dust
* 150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar, sifted
* 8-10 drops red liquid food colouring
* 8-10 drops green liquid food colouring
* Smarties, to decorate

Method

1.Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush 2 baking trays with melted butter to lightly grease.

2.Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

3.Meanwhile, place egg white in a clean, dry bowl. Use an electric beater to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Divide icing among 3 bowls. Cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Add red colouring to 1 bowl and stir until combined. Add green colouring to remaining bowl and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

4.Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a 9cm gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Repeat with any excess dough.

5.Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.

6.Place prepared icings in small plastic bags. Cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread men to decorate. Finish with Smarties.

As I was decorating the gingerbread men, I felt like a little child having fun with colours, piping, and thinking of ways to decorate the cookie. It felt so liberating to be able to play with the gingerbread men.

Wrapping the men up is fun too, looks like the ones sold in stores! I can't wait to give them away!

Merry Christmas everyone!

My Stop

2010-12-22T21:00:00.003+11:00

I should have taken some photos of the food but I didnt...instead I was too busy eating and taking photos of my family instead =)

If you're looking for another malaysian place to dine in, check out this place hidden away inside the New Market Railway. I know, it's odd to be inside a railway station but it's definately worth the try. I only came to know about this place because mum comes here quite often and promised me she will bring me there!

We had their coconut prawns which was HUGE, their fish vermicili noodles, fried char kuay teow, marmite pork chops, and fried beans. It is definately one of the good malaysian restarants I've been to and the price is definately comparable.

The staff are very friendly and they take time to ask how we are.

The only down side was they had no more ingredients to make ice kachang which I was looking forward to!

I'm looking forward for my next STOP at MY STOP when i return!

Address: 28 Remuera Road (shop 16) New Market

J's tea

2010-12-22T20:15:00.008+11:00

Prior to my short trip back to Auckland I heard all about this yummy taiwanese place that my sister in law really really adores! She craves about their bubble tea and their chicken popcorns, tofu and their beef stew on rice!

So, when I was there, she made a date night to bring me there!
I ordered stew beef on rice and they had pickled veges at the side as well as one very nice soft soy sauce based tofu. The beef was not fatty and the sauce was delicious although they could have provided more beef or tofu because I finished the meat with only less than half the rice!

Beef Stew:

Pop corn chicken:

The bubble tea was nice, comparable to hulu cat in the city but somehow I preferred hulu cat's bubble tea.

What's great about here is there are car park spaces available and they do have pretty decent meals not just toast or snacks which you commonly find at other bubble tea outlets. I would definately return again when Im back there!

Address: 919 Dominion Road Mt Roskill

Tau Yu Bak (Braised Pork)

2010-11-14T12:34:00.006+11:00

I enjoy having friends over for a meal because that's when I get to try out new dishes (risking the fact that it may turn out real bad!). I decided to try braised pork because I've never really tried it but really like the taste and the fact I could add in mushrooms and tofu and basically anything that goes with the dish.

I altered the recipe I found on the net and when marinating the pork I overdosed it with pepper!!!!! (So I had to quickly give it a rinse and pray that the dish will turn out fine!)

Ingredients:

600g Pork Belly

Marination:

1 1/2 Garlic Bulb (smashed with the skin on)
3 Tbsp Dark sweet soy sauce
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp of pepper

Oil for cooking
2 Star Anise
2 small cinnamon sticks
1 tsp sugar (to taste)
Water to boil

Chinese mushrooms (soaked/optional)

1) Marinate pork belly (leave in long strips) with the marination over night or for a few hours before cooking.

2) Heat up oil in pot
Fry star anise, cinnamon sticks till fragrant

3) Add in marinated pork to brown

4) Add in one cup of water and bring to boil

5) Let it simmer for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours
If gravy is drying out, just add more water. Likewise if meat is not tender enough, just add water and simmer for a longer time.

6) (optional) Add in mushrooms after 1/2 hour or simmer

7) Add sugar in the last hour and anything else to your taste

8) To serve, cut pork into slices and add gravy to the dish. Garnish with spring onion. Served hot with rice.

Summer's here

2010-11-08T12:33:00.003+11:00

You can smell summer, you can taste it and by the number of people outside at the beach you know summer is here!

This is how packed the Bondi to Bronte walk is on Sunday! Everyone was everywhere, beaches was filled up, ice cream shops were packed! It was such a lovely sunny day you wouldn't want to be anywhere but OUTSIDE!

Although I've only done this walk ONCE I really enjoyed it because of the beautiful view and looking out towards the sea. It can get really packed which makes it sometimes annoying having to dodge people =)

Ramen Kan

2010-11-07T22:14:00.003+11:00

I was brought to this place in China town after church one day & fell in love with the Ramen here. It's located upstairs hidden away & gets very busy quickly!

Takoyaki: Very tasty and great texture, definately beats the ones I've had back in Auckland

Tonkasu Ramen: Love thier Ramen, the soup, the simplicity of it all

Besides Ramen, they also do Don Bouri, other side dishes & a few nice drinks such as ice coffee & green tea milk.

Address:
Level 1, 90 Hay Street, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney
+61 (02) 9211 6677

Sinma Laksa House

2010-11-07T21:57:00.005+11:00

Simple lunch today after church at Sinma, not a bad place to go to for a range of Singaporean & Malaysian food =p

Hainainese Chicken rice: The chicken was not very tender & the rice was alright

Fried carrot cake: Not bad but not as tasty as the ones I used to have back in Singapore!

3/391 Anzac Parade Kingsford, NSW
(02) 9313 7663

Mamak in Chatswood

2010-10-31T21:43:00.004+11:00

I have been going to Mamak in the city once a week & I still don't know why I go back there week after week when there's so many other delicious food around!

Anyway so we were in Chatswood and thought what we could try out and heard that Mamak opened its second new store there so why not give it a try! So that's where we ended up!........... AGAIN....

Nasi Lamak with Fried Chicken:

Roti Chanai:

Mutabuk:

Chicken Satay:

This photo from the wall shows the Mamak in the City:

Address:
Shop P9, 1-5 Railway Street Chatswood(02) 9411 4411

Artisan Bakery in Crows Nest

2010-10-31T18:15:00.004+11:00

Visited a church in Crows Nest today & since I'm HARDLY out this way we decided to have a quick bite nearby on a hot and sunny day! There's definately many choices of cafes here in Crows Nest & it was quite hard to pick one to try.

However, I came across this Artisan Bakery & decided to check out what they have inside....and then i spotted scones!! Yap I love scones! They had a selection of scones that includes pumpkin and pine nut, orange with chocolate, raspberry and white chocolate and last but no least savory scone. I decided to try the pumpkin scone to go with my soy mocha and it was really light and nice. I regret not having my camera with me to take pics to show but what I liked about this scone was the pumpkin bits inside and the crunchiness of the pine nuts. Normally I would have thought that a pumpkin scone would just be orange and made with pumpkin puree, but this had actual chunky bits in it and it had a light texture as well which was great, not too heavy and too buttery!

They do a range of pies, quiches, sandwiches, breakfast, and other delicious bakery that includes tarts, cakes, croissants!

I would definately pop by again if I head out that way!

St Malo Bakery - 83 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest – (02) 9906 6256

Taiwan Cuisine

2010-10-22T21:02:00.002+11:00

So tonight being a Friday we decided to try a new place in the city & found our way to this Taiwanese place called Taiwan Taiwanese Cuisine on 52 Dixon Street Haymarket in Chinatown.

This place was very interesting as you get to order your meal, and pay for it through this computer screen, it really amazes me the different types of concept each country embraces from the inside of the restaurant, to the types of food available - I heart this experience!

Once we ordered, it didnt take long for the food to come, so in a way, the food came out one at a time so if you want your food altogether it's better to order the one that takes the longer to cook first.

Here's a very typical taiwanese pork mince and mushroom rice:

Chicken fillet in pepper sauce that we thought it was way too pepperish for our liking! Thank God we ordered milktea coz that was the only way hubby could drown the taste of pepper overload!

There were many side stewed, grilled, deep fried dishes to ordered but we decided to give this stewed mushroom a try, it was very tasty but again on the peppery side but I like pepper! (Poor hubby)

Overall this place is pretty good if you want to order size dishes to share and can satisfy both the hungry and not so hungry. The milktea here was pretty good, I had the red bean milk pudding milktea which I really enjoyed.

There are noodles, main dishes, teppanyaki, soups, rice dishes that are available to try. It's not that cheap but I would say it's probably comparable to the other dining along Dixon Street.

Burwood

2010-10-19T08:17:00.004+11:00

I've been very lazy with taking pictures of food lately wherever I've tasted new places. However I thought i'll just post some of the new places I've tried over the last few months of being here in Sydney and thought it was pretty yummy and would definately return again! I've tried 3 restaurants in Burwood & my favourite at the moment would have to be

Botoli Restaurant, Burwood
66a Burwood Rd, Burwood

They do a range of food & each dish that we've ordered was satisfying and we were pretty impressed with it. They do a yummy steam tofu egg dish with century eggs inside, DIY paper rice wrap springroll like vietnamese style, tasty noodles, eggplants etc etc. This place is good to come with a group of around 4-5 to really try a range of food there. The deco inside is pretty dull but have been here twice already and each time we were happy with the service and food.

If you feel like hand made noodles and dumplings here is a simple pretty decent price meal to have try:

Beijing Station Noodle, Burwood
Address: 135 Burwood Rd, Burwood

They do yummy hand made noodles and because I really like dry noodles such as mee pok, kuching mee, zha jiang mian etc I really liked the dish I ordered with is fried beef noodles. The picture will defintely do it justice because the way I just explained it was pretty boring lol!

They also do beef noodles soup which was very tasty and tasted abit like bak ku teh and the taiwanese beef noodles soup. So if you like that this noodles is definately worth a try. Being a Beijing restaurant they do also do pancakes (jian bing) which was very fresh and soft and I really liked it & thought how nice it would be with some curry! Other dishes they make include dumplings fried, pan fried, boiled and are all very tasty!

I'll definately want to go back again, it's quite a small little place & it was packed when we got there so definately seems like a pretty popular place!

I must remember to take some pics when I dine there again!! arrghh =p

Some extras in your food

2010-10-17T09:35:00.004+11:00

Yesterday I had sushi from Asagao in the foodcourt just by our place & I was savouring each bite of the teriyaki chicken avocado rice roll when by mid way I saw a piece of dark thick hair with it! I was grossed out because it was quite big and obvious & it's my second encounter in 2 weeks with funny things in my food that I was pretty tired of it. Just to give you an example, 2 weeks ago while having one of my fav ying yang cha (coffee & tea combination) I was digusted to find a piece of insect leg floating around in my drink! I drank it anyway taking it out thinking it's just some dirt but then I found more as I continued drinking.........so I S.T.O.P and thought of cockcroaches, and all kinds of insect that the leg belonged to! ARRGGHH the image is still so vivid in my mind! Ok so to cut the LLOOOONNNGGG story short, I asked for refund and surprisingly they gave it back but I'm NEVER going back there again!

Ok so to continue from the sushi story...hubby returned the sushi asking for a refund which we got & a few minutes later a lady came from that sushi shop and gave us this:

I don't know what to make of this but it was a nice gesture for them to do so especially when we don't expect anything even a refund. It just goes to confirm how dirty Sydney is and it can exist even in what you think is a clean area!

So what extras have you found in your food lately?

Silken Tofu with soy sauce

2010-10-16T21:55:00.001+11:00

Always wanted to make tofu dishes because it's easy and pretty healthy right? So here is another simple dish that you can make up and it was very tasty too!

Ingredients

1 packet of chilled Soft Tofu, drained
2 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Peanut Oil
3 Shallots, sliced
2 stalks Scallions, chopped

Method

In a small saucepan, fry the shallots with peanut oil until golden brown in color. Remove the shallots and place them on top of the tofu.

Turn the heat off and pour in the soy sauce into the oil and let it sizzle for a while. Pour the oil and soy mixture on top of the tofu and sprinkle with some scallions. Serve immediately.

Mini oreo cheesecakes

2010-10-16T21:15:00.002+11:00

I'm never a big cheesecan fan and always quite afraid to try making cheesecakes because i'm not sure how it should turn out etc etc. I have made small oreo cheesecakes before which turned out fine but came across this recipe on http://kokken69.blogspot.com/2010/07/cookies-and-cream-cheesecakes.html and wanted to make them for dessert tonight! What I like about these is how they are in tiny portions so you don't have to finish a big slice and you can have them as little finger food in parties too!

Here's the simple recipe which I changed alittle because I had more cream cheese mixture to use so I could have more cookies to use:

Recipe

9 cream- filled Oreo Sandwich (whole)
4 Oreo Sandwich , coarsely chopped
227g Cream cheese (I used phildaphia)
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Egg beaten
1/4cup Sour cream
Pinch of salt

Method
1. Preheat oven to 135C
2. Line muffin pan with cup cake liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup
3. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add in sugar and beat until smooth. Add vanilla extract.
4. Drizzle in egg and mix until well coporated. Mix in Sour cream and salt. Fold in chopped Oreo.
5. Scoop cream cheese mixture into each cookie filled cup. Bake at 135C for 22mins.
6. Cool down on wire rack in the muffin tray. Refrigerate for at least 4hours before removing from cup cake liner.

Oreos being placed at the bottom of each muffin cup:

Finished mini oreo cheesecakes:

I was going to drizzle some oreo sauce that I have but didn't want to oreo kill it so perhaps next time i'll give it a try!

So go ahead and try these it's so simple and yummy!

Stir Fry Spagetti with minced pork

2010-10-14T18:09:00.003+11:00

One thing I love about left over pasta or packaged noodles is simply frying it up making it a quick and easy tasty meal!

I really my stir fry noodles with minced pork because of the fragrant smell when fried with minced garlic and yummy chinese green veges and fried eggs! I normally use hokkien noodles but I had left over spagetti so I used that instead.

I also like how I can simply put in soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame sauce, salt, pepper and very often sweet chilli sauce (because it's my fav sauce) and simply toss the wok and as if I'm making some kind of quick art and out comes colourful stir fry!

Amsterdam

2010-10-07T16:09:00.009+11:00

During our Europe trip we also stopped by Amsterdam and really enjoyed the vibrant character Amsterdam has to offer. Apart from the red light district and the "coffee shops" which doesn't sell coffee, I really enjoyed cycling everywhere and trying new food!

Here is a few food I thought reminded me of Holland and I don't find much of them anywhere else:

Dutch Breakfast with thinly sliced raw beef on a toasted bread with eggs similar to eggs benedicts but with beef not salmon, pretty intersting:

Mini dutch pancakes called Pofferjes served with powdered sugar and butter:

Raw Herring: Dutch fast food can eat the whole fish like this man below or eaten with raw onions and/or pickles:

Dutch Apple cake/pie:

A selection of Dutch beef stews that we had in a very dutch restaurant:

Italy

2010-10-04T20:49:00.008+11:00

I've been quiet with the blog lately due to travelling around Europe! It was an amazing trip with lots of yummy food, wine, coffee, gelatos and interesting bakeries!

One of our destination was Italy, we visited Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice with Florence being one of my favourite! There were plentiful of pizzas, pasta and gelatos everywhere! Gelatos and caffe creme were my dessert after every meal!

The pizza was sold by grams and so they slice it up, weigh it and you pay for how much it weighs. The best pizzas I've had in Italy was in the small pizza shops that only sells pizzas with very little seating inside.

One of the many pizzas in Rome:

Unleaven bread with mushroom sauce, cheese, smoked ham and aubergines in Florence, this was one of the yummiest meal I've had which probably played a big part on why I liked Florence more than other places!

Inside:

Lagsana in Florence:

Seafood Pasta in Florence:

Pizza rolls in venice:

I really miss the tasty food there but not the price, everything is very expensive and double in price if we choose in dine in. There won't many chinese places to dine at so I'll definately miss my asian food if I was there any longer.

rocky road

2010-08-12T22:06:00.005+10:00

I decided to make rocky roads today because it had a simple recipe and didn't need baking in the over but sadly I didnt have the camera with me so didn't take any pictures but because it tasted real good I must put it up for future.

Ingredients:

200g of milk chocolate
75 g of dark chocolate
25 g unsalted butter
100g of marshmallows cut into pieces
90g of glazed cherries
50g peanuts

Method

1. Line a 3cm-deep, 8 x 25cm bar pan with plastic wrap.
2. Place the milk and dark chocolates with the butter in a saucepan and stir till melt
3. Stir marshmallows into chocolate with remaining ingredients.
4. Spread into pan, chill in fridge for 2 hours or until hard.
5. Slice and eat!

What's so good about this is that you can put anything you want, such as raisins, other types of nuts, turkish delights and the list can go on!

I will definately make this again and probably add more peanuts and marshmallow in the mix because there was too much "brown"/chocolate or perhaps my stirring isnt very well mixed =)

Eph 3:20

2010-08-12T16:00:00.005+10:00

This month at church we are studying the book of Ephesians so I thought I should use that as part of my reading time. Ehephians has many good verses and this one stood out to me because it is often taught but it never really sinks into my spirit...

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us!"

Wow, my God can do so much so much more x10000000000000000000000 more than what I can imagine my life to be! I am so often limited to my fears, and what my own natural eyes can see and therefore easily give up or feel helpless. God, on the other hand gives and does more than what we ask of him & it may not be what we envision it to be but if I step out in faith and not limit him in my box I'm sure what he does in my life definately goes beyond what I can imagine!

I know I have to keep putting my trust in God for the things that I do not yet see but know that it will come in his timing and even better!

90Rhodes

2010-08-02T19:12:00.005+10:00

An italian restaurant just 2 min walk from where we live and I finally gave it a try on our bank holiday!

Veal schnitzel:

Steak:

Fried Risotto balls:

Arrabbiata:

Simple food, fried risotto balls were really tasty & the coffe here is strong lol real italian ay!
Definately come back again to try thier pizzas!

Address:
90 Rider Boulevard
Corner Mary St, Rhodes NSW 2138

The Gap

2010-07-24T03:28:00.001+10:00

One of our many weekend day trip out of the city, at the Gap which is totally beautiful!

Baroque Bistro Patisserie

2010-07-15T20:05:00.005+10:00

We went to this french place called Baroque Bistro Patisserie at the Rocks for Marcus birthday and they had a range of yummy looking desserts displayed as you enter. They had lots of colourful macarons on display!

The food here was delicious! They served bread in the basket accompanied with oil and keeps being refilled when its finished. Their very creative with their presentation and the food was really tasty and colourful and pleasing to both the eyes and the tummy!

Filet de Barramundi, aubergine, olives vertes, anise, sauce basquaise

Confit Berkshire pork belly, heirloom carrots, tarragon, silverbeet

I enjoyed the food here and it's at a really good location by the opera house and the rocks, would definately want to return again! Yummy!

Address:
Baroque Bistro Patisserie
88 George Street (corner of Hickson Road)
The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000

Jimmy's Laksa

2010-06-25T07:55:00.006+10:00

Another Malaysian eatout we normally go to because it's

1) Good price
2) Quick and effiicent
3) Good portion for the price
4) Taste good to satisfy

There are all the food you would order when ur in Malaysia except Kuay Teow! Their probably more famous for their laksa hence their name. They have Assam Laksa, Ipoh Hor Fan, Curry Laksa, Prawn mee, Roti, Rendung, Nasi Lamak, Mutubak, Wonton Mee and other noodles.

Once you place your order the food is ready in 2 minutes. They don't accept cards so only cash which is annoying but it seems like it happens alot here in Sydney! It's so different to just using your eftpos card (AKA cash) back in Auckland.
Here, Jimmy is very busy during the weekdays with the working people eating there, and on Sundays after church. They are not open during nights so only lunch time! I would'nt say they are the best but in terms of price and quality I think it's worth it.

Sydney Fish Market

2010-06-20T20:07:00.001+10:00

I've finally visited the famous fish market here in Sydney! I must say it wasn't as big as I thought but I was welcomed by fresh lobsters, oysters, tuna, salmon, crabs, scallops, and of coz lots of seafood platters both battered and fresh!

If you do come here it's probably best to take public transport unless you don't mind paying $3 for the first half an hour then $5 for every hour after! It's probably worth driving if you have a few people.

Seafood here was relatively cheap compared to dining in a restaurant. They also have sushis, deli, coffee and bakery avaliable. There were a few eating places to choose from so it was a hard hard choice...you can take your food out to eat in the sun (with the birds) or enjoy it inside with the noise of people everywhere!

Sydney Market I'll definately return again n order more fresh seafood!

Crazy little Bakery

2010-06-06T08:49:00.004+10:00

We were recommended to this little bakery on Bourke Street in Surry Hills and we thought how bad can it be, I'm sure we can find a place to sit. HAHAHA. Yea right...when we drove past the little corner shop, there was a line queuing and there were only like 5 tables for 2 along the outside of the stall! Inside, there was not much room at all! It was definately a nice little "french" bakery type place and I had to order my usual soy mocha to give it a try! The mocha turned out to have a very rich chocolatety taste that was very creamily yummy but I could'nt really taste the "coffee" aspect like i would with other coffees. I can imagine how rich and delicious their hot chocolate will be like!

Anyhoo, on our second trip to this bakery because I wanted to get some fresh bread for dinner & because we were taking a drive to the city we stopped by Bourke Street Bakery again. Guess what. There was a long line as usual. The line goes pretty fast though so no worries as long as you don't mind bringing ur food elsewhere to eat!

There was a few nice french pastries and desserts there such as this strawberry vanilla creme brulee $4, more to the sweeter side as you can imagine with these treats

They had lots of nicely fresh baked bread and I wanted to pick up one for dinner so decided on olive fig flatbread $4. It tasted and smelt so divine that it's enough to eat on it's own!
I didn't do a very good picture of the bread but it went well with olive oil and i'll definately go back to get thier yummy bread again!

Going nanas

2010-06-06T08:41:00.006+10:00

I just love the smell of freshly baked banana cake or bread and the taste when it goes into my mouth! Yesterday I baked a banana cake instead of my usual sponge cake and decided to top it up with slicles of banana...however, when I inverted the tin, the cake came out perfectly but left the bananas on the tin so I had to scoop it up with a spoon and put it back lol!

I had to wait patiently to cut the cake at night when our cousins came over for dinner as you always want to know how the inside turns out after baking!

Banana cake with strawberries in the centre spinkled with icing over the top

This recipe is definately a keeper with its simple and few ingredients needed and definately a different texture to the sponge cake giving it a more firmer richer texture.

Upsidedown apple cake

2010-05-29T19:56:00.005+10:00

Having a few granny apples from baking apple crumble the other day I decided to try an apple cake but it reminds me of an upside down pineapple cake because the apples are on top of the cake when inverted at the end.
Here's my not so good looking cake but taste better than it looks cake lol

Place the sliced apples, cinnamon and sugar at the base of the baking tray

Covered half the batter on top of the apples and topped the rest of the apples on the batter

Topped the remainder of the batter on top of the apples and smooth with a spatula

Baked the cake for only 35 - 40 mins because the top was cracking and looked slightly burnt but inside was cooked

but when I turned the cake upside down, the apples were nicely placed and steam was creeping out of the cake

Finished and hubby enjoyed this cake and so did I!

We also tried this cake with vanilla ice cream thinking it will be similar to apple crumble and agreed that this cake is better eaten alone served warm!

Italian Kitchen

2010-05-26T20:14:00.001+10:00

We were trying to find an Italian restaurant that wasn't too far away and it was hard because we went on the net and just picked one without any recommendations on the food.

This place was rather quiet with only 3 tables of customers but the service was very friendly and welcoming. The atmosphere was quite intimate & it was warm and cosy for a nice dinner out. I think they do good pizzas although I'm not very familiar with what qualifies for a good pizza...to me it's the taste, the bread texture and thickness and the toppings etc etc....so I'll have to try more pizzas somewhere else to compare!

Their other dishes such as the ones above was quite dry and I didn't really enjoy them but the pizzas I was really pleased with and will definately come back again for pizzas if I wanted somewhere near home!

Sinma

2010-05-25T08:17:00.001+10:00

Another Malaysian/Singaporean place to try out here is Sinma...we've been here a few times after church because it's close by and there's carparking and the food is pretty good.

I quite like the choices they have and you can choose from the food cabinet as well and they have curries and vegetables that really hits your taste buds!

The Laksa is not that spicy and their food is honestly not that bad at all. I've always forgotten to take pics when i'm here but this time I manage to take two...
Chicken and mushroom kolo mee, this was our first time trying this as their house special and it wasn't bad

Prawn and chicken laksa

Kam Fook

2010-05-22T23:27:00.008+10:00

Kam Fook is one of the more famous chinese restaurant to eat as recommended by cheapeats in sydney. We visited the chain in Chatswood and inside was pretty grand. The food was not bad but the price was towards the high end. Too many choices to select so here were a few dishes we ended up with.

They gave us complimentary soup at the start which was deliciously sweet.

Superior tofu with seafood claypot

Mushrooms and vege

Fried duck with mashed taro

There were a few couples that dined in there and only ate half their dishes and tapao the rest home. I think it is rather common for couples to do that because it is quite hard to cook for 2, however, with the price of this place I dont think anyone can come in everyday! At the end when we got our bill we also found out that we were charged $2.5 per bowl of rice and about $2.50 per person for tea! There's so many extra cost that we were amazed by....

After dinner they gave us some free desserts such as fruits, cookies and my fav red bean soup =)

Vietnamese

2010-05-22T23:19:00.005+10:00

Here I am again in Cabramatta but this time with my mum & auntie who's visiting us! We had our first vietnamese food since we got to Sydney! There were so many stores to choose from we just chose the second one we saw that had people in them hehe...

The waiter approached us with menus and spoke to us in vietnamese which we had to reply in english and he got the drift that we weren't vietnamese. Thank God the menu is in english and there were pictures to help.

Food here was not bad and i'm glad that we experienced a little taste of vietnam finally!

Springrolls

Seafood and fishcakes think noodles soup

Fried Springroll and pork vermicilli

Chicken rice

Staff here were friendly, but if u're busting to go to the toliet you have to grab a key from the counter and make ur way to quite a smelly dodgy toliet just by the cafe

Definately will come back again but with the many choices avaliable it may take awhile =)

Crumbles

2010-05-15T21:02:00.006+10:00

Today I think i've found an apple crumble recipe that i'll definately keep! Despite my oven acting funny and burning and overcooking ALL my baking since I've been using it i'm glad that my apple crumble turned out good.

Made this apple crumble today from seasaltwithfood blog and I love the aroma and sweentness of the apples mixed with cinnamon and sugar

The finished product topped with smooth crumbs, the texture of the crumbs are fine and smooth and apple crumble cannot be finished without vanilla ice cream!

Recipe
Base:
3 Big Granny Smith Apples, peeled cored and sliced (I cut mine into cubes)
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon

(mix and set aside in a baking tray)

Topping:
1 cup of flour
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1) Mix flour and sugar together
2) cut butter through flour mixture and rub together till crumbs like
3) Sprinkle flour mixture onto apple mixture
4) Bake for about 30 mins or till top is golden brown

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy!

CeCi Korean

2010-05-15T07:43:00.008+10:00

Last night we had dinner at a korean cafe called ceci. Upon arriving into Strathfield where this place was located, we were welcomed with korean signs and people everywhere! This place reminded me of seoul! It was full with korean restaurants and I was impressed at how you can find a little bit of korea in Sydney so at least when you are craving for korean you know where to go!

Here's what we tried thanks to Charis and Andre who introduce this place to us.

Side dishes with the usual kimchi, bean sprouts, jelly, and potatoes

Spicy tofu vege soup which had bean spouts, mussels and tofu inside. Very nice soup especially in a cold winters night!

Spicy pork

Fried beef potato noodles which i really enjoyed

Fish

This place definately have a range of choices to choose from. The portion is definately quite big and you will feel quite full after i promise you!

Will definately want to check out other restaurants along this road as they all seem so fasinating!

CeCi
37 The Boulevarde
Strathfield, NSW, 2135
Ph: 02 9746 7710

Temasek

2010-05-09T19:37:00.003+10:00

Everyone has told us to try out Temasek, another Singaporean Malaysian restaurant in Sydney. So we decided to give it a try.
It was mother's day and we didn't book so we were told to leave at 630pm which was fine as there was only 2 of us. This place was fully packed at 6pm!

The menu is extensive with a range of Singaporean local food like mee siam, mee rebus, chicken rice, har mee, etc etc. I think their special dishes are the chicken rice, laksa, rendung as we saw them on other tables.

Singaporean style Kuay Teow:

Har Mee with a very delicious soup base:

Chendol which had too much coconut milk and made us sick afterwards:

Definately would come back again and try their other signature dishes but price is rather on the high end.

More desserts

2010-05-09T11:01:00.003+10:00

We were having a hard time to think of where to have desserts after church so we decided to stay in the city. We headed over to Passion Flower in Capitol and there was a few people waiting for seats..definately very packed. Thank God we didn't have to wait long to get seats for the 4 of us.

There were so many choices to choose from it was definately a hard decision. The price here is towards the high end and it pays to have more people so that you can try a little of everything. We decided on this platter: Black sesame, lychee and green tea ice cream with pancakes, green tea mousse, grass jelly, and mini sticky riceballs at the side:

Ice cream flavours were yummy, and I quite liked the green tea mousse topped with red beans, but the other side desserts were only OK...nothing that I will crave about...

Definately will come back again if ever I wanted to have desserts.

Be happy think happy!

2010-05-02T12:38:00.004+10:00

I deal with many customers on a daily basis at my work at the bank. I really enjoy the different cultures and ages that I talk to. The young ones teaches me about ambition and how they want to work and study so that they can get a job, the working ones reminds me of how they need to work in order to pay bills, support family and the more advanced in age often teach me about how life has changed so much over the years, and how they just simply enjoy the same simple routine everyday.

During my many interactions with the elderly customers, I ask one of the lady what makes them so energetic and healthy at the age of 90 (or if their over 70). I remember this lady telling me the key to her health and longevity is to be happy.

TO BE HAPPY....................

WOW

I just stood there shocked by how simple her answer was and yet it's so true! Being happy means we have a healthy heart, to live simply, to not bear grudges against others...

It reminded me of the verse

Proverbs 17:22 which says a cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

So, I have to put in more effort to make sure that I am happy by examining my actions, and the things that goes on around me and weather they are neccessary to be "stressed" or worried about!

Day trip

2010-05-01T12:56:00.000+10:00

Kiama 90 mins drive away from Sydney

Blowholes:

Simply a beautiful little town with a row of cafes and shops surrounded by the waters and the beautiful sound of the waves making their music along the rocks

Ice cream the asian twist

2010-04-29T09:56:00.001+10:00

Desserts and ice cream has gone a long way! I don't recall having ice cream in flavours such as taro, durian or black sesame but ever since the asian market has grown there is nothing I can't find here in Sydney!

Besides the dessert shop called passionflower that sells numerous ice cream and dessert, this shop in chinatown sells a variety of ice cream with asian flavours too such as taro, durian, green tea and black sesame. This shops is next to Helen cakeshop and sells chilli fishballs and other yummy desserts too!

Black sesame and chocolate ice cream with wafers:

It's not very cheap here with a scoop costing $5 and 2 scoops $7.50 it's probably more worth it if you came with a few friends n share! Next time i'll want to try their mango pudding!

It's definately a place to come to if you don't mind abit of noise because in Chinatown it can be pretty rowdy! If you want a more intimate or quieter cafe then I don't recommend this place but if ur craving for mango pudding, chilli fishballs, milktea then why not takeaway!

A taste of Vietnam

2010-04-25T22:00:00.005+10:00

It's been a LONG time since I wrote and it's because
1) I had no internet connection for about a month
2) I lost my camera stick that uploads pictures but praise God while at church somehow i was prompted to look at a specific place in my bag and I found it!! (That specific place is by putting my fingers through a small hole that is in a pocket where small little gadgets falls through and gets lost forever!)

Anyways, last weekend I finally visited this place called Cabramatta which is basically dominated by vietnamese food, hot breads, bread shops and desserts! There were lots of fruits and vege stalls around and little stalls that sells towels, necessities that reminded me of the stalls by the HDB flats in singapore selling all kinds of stuff!

While I was there I promised myself that I had to get apple custard fruits which I tasted a few weeks prior at someone's place and told myself I had to get them! They are so delicious and sweet which is probably the reason I liked it so much! It's not that cheap though...the bigger ones were like 6.99 per KG and the small ones were 3.99 per kg and not much flesh inside to eat. I've never tasted these fruits that looked somewhat like a smaller jackfruit and also durian but without the spikes! Inside is like fejiaos!

Here were the apple custards I bought:

There were also fresh sugar cane juice all over the place and I couldn't resist not having one and as usual I couldn't help but bought pandan cake, durian roll, chocolate marble cake slice to bring back home and finished it within 2 days for supper =) I have to have to stop buying from the bakeries!!!

I will definately go back again for the hype but i also just found out that it's one of the more dangerous places in sydney or perhaps CLOSE to the dangerous suburbs!
If you want to get an experience and have rather cheaper food and want to have a taste of Vietnam then this place is a must!

Chinatown Markets

2010-03-12T22:51:00.003+11:00

During the break from a women's conference I'm attending over the weekend, I happened to be in Chinatown coz it's just infront of the convention centre where the conference is held but also because I can't run away from the bakeries there! Well...besides buying the usual bakeries which I dont even NEED!!! I realised there were stalls and markets that are only there on a Friday and I've never actually been to one before! Well, to my surprise they had food stalls that I didn't know existed in western countries...well not where I'm from (Auckland), well not on a weekly basis that's for sure!

There were stalls like:

Pancakes

Bbq Pork

Chilli fishballs

I bought prawn takoyaki which was not bad

...and of coz I couldn't turn down red bean soup which really made me BLOATED!!! Sigh I don't know why i put myself through that!!!

Besides red bean soup, they also sold mung bean, black rice, sweet tofu, ice red bean

Besides the bloatedness, tiredness and burning my tongue from the red bean soup, I now know what I can get on Friday nights at Chinatown & I can say I've been to their markets!

Beef noodles

2010-03-12T22:33:00.003+11:00

This is one of the most simplest yummiest beef noodles I've tasted. It's in this Taiwanese cafe in Chinatown along Dixon Street.

Last time I came here was with Marcus and the food wasn't that great but I don't know why I chose this place to eat again....and it turned out better than expected! The beef is thinly sliced, not like the usual beef brisket I get when ordering beef noodles! The soup was very tasty as well!

Something not asian

2010-03-10T18:56:00.004+11:00

Today I went all the way to the city to have lunch with a friend but also EARLY so that i could buy the ma lai koh from the bakery before it's all GONE! Unfortunately, the ma lai koh was not as nice as ones before but still good! I A M so addicted to this aye! Sigh!!!!!

Anyway for lunch we went to this place in QVB and they had a variety of pizza slices. It cost less to "takeaway" than to eat there!!! This is the most silliest rule because I've never had to encounter this in Auckland or anywhere in New Zealand!

Sweet potato with feta and parmesean cheese:

I think the pizza I chose was rather plain, but Andrea had meat lovers and she said it was really tasty!! Ok, so next time me going for something with MEAT! I should have known...but because of my "lack" of vegetarian input I thought lets have some "vege" = potatoes...not really vege like green but I thought it's a change from my usual curry or meat!

Victoria Noodle Restaurant

2010-03-08T22:28:00.004+11:00

We have finally found a place with bake rice and the usual drinks of red bean or my fav mixed coffee and tea!!! OMG!!!

Shredded pork Preserved vege vermiceli:

Baked fish fillet with garlic sauce

Baked chicken with portugese sauce on spagatti

This place reminds me of Iano in Auckland many years ago while I was still at uni, I would go there every week to eat, or just drink and try to study in the midst of all the noise! It closed down sadly and I was never able to find another HK place to dine as nice as that. So when we were introduced to Victoria Noodle Restaurant which is hidden underground from the main road I was so happy!
I will definately be back again but the thing is there is so many other HK cafes to dine I must see which one is the best! They don't have my satay beef sandwich which I quite enjoyed the one in Auckland!
This place also does chinese, malaysian and thai cuisine but I'm not sure if i'll go there for that...honestly, with so many places to try it's only a matter of being brave and going in!

Sambal

2010-03-08T15:21:00.005+11:00

Went to Sambal for dinner with marc's relatives and tried a few dishes which was really tasty! This place is definately one of the nicest Malaysian places to check out except for one disappointing thing which I will share at the end.

Otak Otak (very big and chunky, unlike the flatter more spicier ones I've tasted)

Kang Gong

Beef Rendung

Fried Chicken

Ok so I'll definately bring visitors to this place BUT never NEVER never order their ice kajang again!!! It was honestly like eating ICe just ICe...there was no ingredients except for a few pieces of jelly and ONE piece of CORN!! I'm not exaggerating, and the ice wasn't sweet as well with very little condense milk and syrup. Last time I tried their teh tarik, it was diluted. So, I figured perhaps this place is not good for their desserts, however, they do have kuehs on the counter and that looked pretty good...so I might give them another chance and try that instead =)

Makota

2010-02-27T20:01:00.007+11:00

Today was a lazy sunny day and I was feeling tired, sick of looking at houses that seems to be going no where!!! This house hunting thing is really fustrating as its either doesn't fit what we want, or it's leased out before the open home even started!

Anyway after such a tiring day sitting in the car, I was too lazy to cook and wanted something "simple" but we ended up at Makota, a sushi train restaurant in Chatswood! Ok, so it ended up to be a rather expensive dinner than planned...sigh...the food was good but OMG how food is so expensive here!!!

Salmon roll:

Sushi roll with eel I think:

Fried scallop wrapped with salmon:

Salmon topped with mayo shrimps and caviers:

Salmon avocado roll with fish roes:

As you can see, it's a very salmon night as most of the dishes had salmon in it =)
For desserts, there were a few on the train too, we chose the pudding and hot red bean soup with sticky sweet riceballs inside. I prefered the pudding by far!

Black sesame pudding with syrup at the bottom:

This dessert was surprisingly good, the pudding was very silky like tofu and the combination of black sesame and the syrup together was a perfect match topped with peanut crumbs on the top!

Soban Korean

2010-02-26T13:49:00.005+11:00

I've only ever tried korean once here in Sydney that a friend brought us to and I was in love with it ever since! Last night we went to check out that place again. We had to wait about 20 mins because we didn't book! It's called SOBAN korean cuisine located in westfield in Chatswood Shopping Centre.

We tried the pancake and OMG it was really nice! The pancake was nicely done, crispy and not soggy and it had a nice sauce that you dipped into it!

I ordered the same thing as last time, kimchi rice wrapped with egg omelette and covered with calarami, scallops, covered with creamy mushroom sauce. It tasted like korean and italian mixed and the side dishes were very tasty too! They had this creamy pumpkin soup which I really like and could drink a whole big bowl of it!

The price is quite pricy about $16-$20 but it's so worth it once in a while! Yum Yum!
I told myself I have to try something NEW next time...

My atempt in macarons

2010-02-23T14:29:00.004+11:00

I failed in my first attempt making macarons and it must be the egg mixture and just not being in my own kitchen!

I had to buy all the ingredients from sratch as I didn't bring any from Auckland...and was amazed at the stuff they got here in the local supermarkets.

I tried making macarons again and this time my mixture was still a little runny and I my cheap piping bag broke so that did not make my piping easy! I should have drawn little circles on the baking paper so that i had consistent sizes, I guess I was overly ambitious!

They turned out better than expected because I did not have the right temperature in the oven so I had to keep a close watch on these as they seem to get burnt and done in what seems to be seconds!

The filling is chocolate ganache with a little rum flavour in it which gave it a really nice smell! The mixture was not spread evenly as the cookies were not even shapes so I had to mix and match.

I have so much to improve on next time!!!! Time to reflect!

Eat eat eat

2010-02-20T21:42:00.012+11:00

Today we went for a ferry ride to Watson Bay, which is about 30 minutes from Circular Quay in the city and cost $10 return.

Once we arrived at Watson Bay, we walked pass a restaurant where the line was queuing up for their fish and chips so Marcus couldnt resist it and bought one fish for afternoon snack.

The fish here are done differently to the ones we have in NZ, and they provided a small container of chilli plum sauce....

After our trip to Watson Bay we wanted to try this malaysian place but it was closed so we strolled along the road and ventured into one of the many Japanese restaurant:
There were so many Jap restaurants it was so hard to choose and we ended up at Yutaka along Bathurst Street. Here, they offer buffet for $24 so it's not bad but we opted for the a la carte instead having so much food during the day.

Chicken Karaage don:

Fish bento box:

After dinner we went to this place called LNC dessert house on Sussex Street, near Chinatown. They offer many variety of dessrts especially the usual Hong Kong style such as red bean, almond, chestnut soups and other yummy ice and ice cream desserts. There were so many choices and even though we were so so stuffed from all the food we had during the day, I chose the red bean slushy with sticky rice and green tea gelato

We were forcing ourselves to finish this dessert & it was definately a hard task but definately coming back again to try other flavours!

I HEART macaroons

2010-02-10T21:32:00.008+11:00

From my previous post I wrote about how I've discover macaroons and how delicate and deliciously light & yummy they are! Ever since then, everytime I walk pass some specialty french cafe or chocolate dessert place I would eye macaroons and buy them!

They're not cheap though, at Chatswood mall they were selling $2 each & you basically finish them in 2 bites or 4 if you savour is slowly! So today while in the city, my sister brought me to Lindt and OMG macaroons galore! There were so many flavours I decided to just think to my usual of hazelnut and my sister got chocolate. The French call them Macarons, but at the Lindt Chocolat Café they are Delice. It's basically 2 delicate halves of almond meringue with a deliciously rich chocolate cream filling or other amazing flavours.

Macaroons on display @ $2.20 each

Ice Chocolate & chocolate Lindy delice (Macaroon)

Delicious macaroon that melts in your mouth after every bite making you want more!

YUMMMMMMMM! The hazelnut macaroon I had was so divine it just made my day!

Mamak @ Dixon Street

2010-02-10T21:23:00.007+11:00

Tonight after eating at Mamak, I realised that the food here isn't that great compared to the other malaysian restaurants we've had. Roti chanai is probably still the nicest here though...but the Chendol and Nasi Lamak is WAY BETTER at Makan at Alice in Thornleigh.

The making of roti

Nasi Lamak:

Roti Chanai:

Chendol, with the jelly abit hard and the ice was icy, not as creamy & does not have red beans & grass jelly:

So tonight my verdict is I think I'll go back again to Mamak for Roti and teh tarik but probably not go into the city just for that..it was a long journey back home by train =(

French Toast with bananas

2010-02-10T09:58:00.004+11:00

I enjoy window food shopping

2010-02-08T18:22:00.003+11:00

Macaroons for $2 each, insisted that cj actually try one so she got the hazel flavour one & said it was delicious & light

Lots of mousse and cute little desserts so tempting!

Red bean green tea roll on the right, I'm so going to get one next time

Day out

2010-02-08T17:09:00.004+11:00

Visited DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) similar to Dressmart today and had a coffee break at Michel.

I wouldn't say this is the worst banana bread I've ever tasted, but it is one of the not so nice ones in Sydney I've ever tasted. So, I think it will be my last one from here...

My sister's cinnimon scroll which looked better:

It was a tiring day just waiting for my sister to try different dresses...but it's good to see that she manage to look good in most of them =)

Eggie Breakkie

2010-02-07T20:23:00.002+11:00

It's always so nice to have home made scramble eggs on toast with pepper and a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning!

Now, i just need to make hollandaise sauce for eggs benedicts!

Sambal

2010-02-07T17:24:00.005+11:00

We had lunch at this place called Sambal after visiting C3 Church in Oxford Falls, yes another Malaysian restaurant. Infact, this malaysian place is only about 2 mins drive from Marcus work and opposite the hotel that we used to stay in. It's a surprise we NEVER visited this place. I can't believe that I've visited so many places to eat in one week. Here, it was pretty packed and hidden away.

The Satay chicken here was nice especially the peanut sauce

Mee Siam here was quite spicy and a few cups of water didn't help but it was tasty

Hokkien mee here is better than at Makan @ Alice

My tummy really needed a rest but it's so hard when there is so many food to try!

This place also sells kuehs along the counter at $5.50 per box, and their only open from Thurs to Sun night and if you want fish head curry you'll need to give 2 days advance notice!

This place is definately a must to come back with more people and order dishes instead. It's just to far away to some of these places & the queues can be long if you don't book.

Makan @ Alice

2010-02-05T21:12:00.001+11:00

Tonight we had dinner at this place called Makan at Alice's about 30 mins drive from our place recommended by a friend for their chendol.

Honestly, after tonight I felt that Auckland Malaysian food was so so much better given the smaller population. The chendol tasted great and reminded me of the ones in Melaka, this could be the gula melaka. The Teh Tarik was alright, better than those in Auckland BUT the food...well let's just put it, I miss Selera and even Sri Putri because it's not that great that it stood out for me. The price also did not help given that the food was only so so.

Fried Kuay Tiew

Hokkien Mee

Nasi Lamak

I had the Nasi Lamak & the beef rendang was quite nice but I don't know why I prefer the one in Selera New Market...the portion here is small for the price of $12.50.
Food is so EXPENSIVE here!!!!

We were discussing about how we should open up our own kopi tiam or old white town coffeee or something since it is so hard to find good malaysian food.

Teh Tarik

Delicious Chendol

Chendol cost like $5.50.

So you guys in Auckland better enjoy your food there coz it's actually good =)

Eastwood

2010-02-05T06:39:00.009+11:00

Last night, we had dinner at this new suburb that we've never been to called Eastwood. It reminded me a little of howick area where the place is full of chinese restaurants. It mainly consist of chinese and hong kong style crusine so if you're looking for jap or korean you won't find too many around here.

We went to this small hong kong shop called BBQ One and apparently it's recommended in the cheapeats book of Sydney.

One meat on rice cost $9.80 and 2 meat on rice cost an extra dollar. They also sold laksa, dry noodles and their service was quick and free soup came with it too! I think my dad in law will like this place because of the roast meat =) It's pretty crammed and you smell after you leave....

Roast pork on rice

After dinner we crossed the road to have dessert. This place is called Taste of Shanngjai restaurant There were about 2 bubble tea place and this dessert store stood out because of the red bean display. This place sells very shanghainese food...there were so many types of buns, noodles, peking duck, and sweet desserts. The list goes on and so it's definately a place where I'll come back again and it's packed even at 9pm!
Here are some items off their menus just to give you a taste of what they have:

Rice cakes with preserve vege

Stir Fry noodles with prawns

Double filling of sesame and red bean in one sticky rice ball

This is the red bean dessert I had

Red bean + Herbal jelly + Ice cream

Vanilla ice cream on the top

Loads of jelly and red bean swimming in the sea of milk

This was sweet, lots of coconut milk so next time i'll probably ask for less milk. Also if you don't select regular size they automatically give you big which is quite big especially after dinner.

Honey melon drink served with herbal jelly and basil seeds

There were other drinks on the menu such as chendol, ice kajang, cheng teng, sago gulaman and the usual bubble tea, frappes, ice cream etc etc....definately a place to visit if you want your asian desserts.

I'm so glad we checked out this area coz now I can bring you to check it out when you come =)

Chatswood

2010-02-03T16:17:00.005+11:00

omg I must be really free to write in my blog so often!!! Anyway exploring the GPS, I took the car to Chatswood which is one of the biggest shopping area in the North and I really like this because it has everything I want. It has about 5 asian bakeries and lots of cafes and food...I used the GPS for the first time myself and even though it's not that hard to drive to I used it just in case..

So anyway, I went into every bakery and breadtalk caught my eye because it sounded like break top in singapore and also it was empty lol...so I went in and saw all these red bean bread...

I can't believe how many different types of bread they can make with red bean, well at least now I know where to go if I want to get one. It's really crazy here because every bakery has their own yummy bread which means that I have to choose one bakery each time....it's hard decisions isn't it...

Living away

2010-02-03T12:28:00.006+11:00

Just thought i'll show what the apartment looks like that I'm staying in. It's a good size apartment for 2 people & house keeping comes and gives us new towels and does our bed everyday except Sunday. It's nice to come back to a room that is tidied up for us..ahhhh better enjoy this while it last.Oh they even put away my dishes left on the tray!

Living room:

Kitchen with oven, microwave, dishwasher (which i never use):

Bedroom:

It's a pretty nice little place with a gym and pools but we hardly use it. I miss the fact that I used to live with one tree hill was just behind our place and I could just go for a run anytime. Here, I still have not done any walks as it seems quite industrial around here. I hope I get my act together and start doing something routined and just go for that run one day! I really miss the familiarity of my surroundings and the quietness of the neighbourhood and knowing where everything is.
Here, I find it hard to get around. It cost me about $8 return to the nearest mall and about $10 return to go to the city by train. Driving here is crazy and it's like driving in KL. We bought a GPS to help us get around but Marcus is brillant with his directions & a GPS was really for me if I ever need to drive around! Overall, I have no idea when I'll actually get comfortable with living here & familirise myself with everything, but I guess that will take time.

First time for everything

2010-02-03T12:12:00.004+11:00

I drove for the first time in Sydney after dropping Marc off to work and visited Macquarie Park shopping mall again. Marcus works at Macquarie Park so this shopping mall is only 5 mins walk from his work hence why I chose this mall.

Upon entering the mall, I was craving for my soy mocha and bought this coffee from the same shop I bought my banana bread and coffee from yesterday. It's called coffee fest at level 4 of the mall and I must say it's very comparable to the good coffees I've had in Auckland! I now know where to go back to for my coffees...oh and the service was great too with friendly staff!

I manage to visit Big W which is similar to K mart and the things here were pretty reasonable and also bought a international phone card from a newsagency there. Also, today on my way to the ladies in the foodcourt (one of my favourite hang outs) I saw the ice skating ring where you can sit and eat while look at people skating on the ice, reminded me of Pyramid in KL.

Parking here in the malls are free for the first 3 hours which is pretty cool but if you lose your ticket like what we did on our first day, it costs quite a bit!!! Let me tell you we've learnt our lesson and just leave our ticket in the car! I manage to drive back to our service apartment without using the GPS & just followed my instinct and signs & didn't get lost! (it's actually not that far so it's not that bad) I now have more confidence to attempt driving further away now =)

What you can't find in NZ

2010-02-02T17:46:00.004+11:00

While gorcery shopping and "window" shopping this morning at Macquarie Park Centre which is about 5 mins walk to Marcus work I was amazed at the variety of food they have here. I was actually amazed at the real figs I saw because I've always seen dried ones and really enjoyed eating them but never seen the REAL ones before!! Maybe I should say FRESH ones rather than REAL ones lol. The figs cost 80 cents each and i was so tempted to buy one to try it but not sure how to eat it or what with...I should google it & attempt it next time.

There were other fresh tropical fruits that you definately can't find in New Zealand & the variety of fruits reminded me of Singapore...

I've found out that fruits here are not that cheap at all. Bananas are $3.89 or something per kg compared to $2.89 in Auckland when not on special. Avocados here were $4.99 for one when not on special. Sometimes I'm confused by how they calculate their food, for example broccoli is $7.95 per kg which actually I'm not sure how to calculate because in NZ we buy per head.

There were also other stuff like a whole lot of cheese, and spices such as this:

I'm not a very fruit and vege person but my eyes were definately astonished by what can be found here! It is no wonder how easy it is to be creative and to explore the world of cooking because of the amount of ingredients you can find here.

Besides that I did buy a banana bread and coffee for indulgence and had lots of sushi too....my bloated tummy is definately not coping..

Jimmy's

2010-01-31T14:40:00.005+11:00

After visiting a church called Wesley Mission in the city we had lunch at this place called Jimmy's Reciepe just nearby. This place is famous for its laksa and the food is quick and ready when ordered so you know you can count on good fast food when you eat here! It does get pack really fast though like all other good places so it's best to come at a time that is outside the rush.

Ipoh Hor Fan:

Chicken Laksa:

Pretty cheap at $8.50 and food was good too. Will definately come back again although wished they had teh tarik and the rest like ice kajang heheheh but overall it was nice and simple!

Ikea

2010-01-29T21:48:00.005+11:00

Arrived at serviced aparment in the afternoon but wasn't ready so went to Marcus work to collect some stuff & I was thinking of Ikea's meatballs. I don't know why I was wanting to eat them but my friend said something yummy about it and should try it so we went all the way there to eat their meatballs!

Some food was pretty good,their mushroom soup tasted like the ones in the cans but it's the taste that children will like for sure...basically it's quite salty!

The chicken and chips here cost $3.95 and it was quite popular amoung the customers.

Meatballs was alright but both Marcus & I liked the mash potatoes and the gravy...it tasted like KFC mash potatoes to me!

After dinner we walked around IKEA & it was like a maze...there were loads of stuff to look at with their showrooms & cool gadgets! However, as we just arrived and pretty much tired out we had no mood to shop until we found a place to rent lol so all we can do for now is eat & look =)

NZ 114 Food to Sydney

2010-01-29T21:34:00.002+11:00

Praise God for upgrading to business class for $60 however, wished that it was a longer flight because honestly business class & economy doesn't feel THAT different...

Anyways, I guess we had a more intimate service by one crew member called Mark, he offered champagne at the start and followed by other "drinks" in which I chose Baileys...so here are the food that was offered on our flight to Sydney:

Baileys and chippies:

Kawakawa salmon with citrus jelly and chive potato salad:

Pan fried snapper with olive, fennel and tomato compote, wilted spinach and linguine pasta:

Black doris plum and creme fraiche ice cream and cookies and cream ice cream with chocolate and almond wafer:

NZ cheese & preserved fruits:

Pretty good food I must say especially with all the drinks that they kept offering I would be totally drank if I was on that plane any longer!!

Tanuki

2010-01-28T07:20:00.009+11:00

Tanuki is located along Queen St at #319. There are a few nice japanese restaurants around city but I wanted to eat at Tanuki because of the little appetizers and selections you can choose from instead of a main dish.

Below is a chef selection of appetizers which includes Tuna tataki,prawn & cucumber dressed with mustard vinaigrette miso sauce, Teriyaki flavoured fried chicken, Grilled eel wrapped in egg omelette, Diced salmon fillet in citrus flavoured soy sauce and California rolled sushi

Salmon Avocado Sushi

Deep Fried Egg plant with sweentened miso glaze

Fried Soft Shell Crab

Beef Tataki which is seared thinly sliced fresh rare beef served in a delicious tataki sauce

Website: http://www.sakebars.co.nz/tanuki/index.html
Price: Pricey but nice selection of small side dishes to share with everyone
Service: Friendly but were quite rushed as it was packed so they want you to get out fast
Food: 7/10

Number 5

2010-01-27T12:44:00.007+11:00

Last night we had dinner at Number 5 which is said to be one of Auckland's best fine dining restaurants. We thought we would give this place a try before we leave on Friday to Sydney & say that we've been to a fine dining in Auckland if anyone ask =)
When we first entered the restaurant it seemed abit quiet but the service was great! The table that we sat at was by the window and the chairs and lighting made the whole place glamourous and high class! The waitress really knew her wines and she was very good at selling the food as well.

The food was well presented and the portion was nice. Every bite that I took went well together and makes you want to take the next bite again! The meat was very tender and the wine was delicious! I had a Spatlese riesling that the waitress recommended & it was light and definately sweet! Definately would recommend this wine for those sweet wine lovers!

We ordered panfried pork fillet black pudding, pumpkin gnocchi, spinach leaves and port apple coulis, market fist of the day which was pan fried hoki with mash potatoes and beans and we were too full to order any desserts but we couldnt resist not having one so we chose this chocolate fondant with vanilla bean ice cream and orange tuille.

The dessert was quite sweet but hubby enjoyed it so it's all good. The chocolate sauce that came oozing out of the pudding had a very strong orange flavour to it so don't order this if you don't like orange chocolate!

I would definately come back here again if we had the money and splash it on more wines while we are at it!

Food: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Price: Pricey but worth it for a romantic date or just to pamper yourselves ;p
Location: 5 City Road, Auckland, New Zealand
Website: www.number5.co.nz

Orbit

2010-01-23T20:26:00.002+11:00

We wanted to use up our points on our action card before heading over to Sydney and thought we will dine at Orbit which revolves around 360 degrees with its great views!

The food wasn't bad, I had the salmon on top of rissoto rice which tasted very curry like. Eating the food made me not feel the spinning of the restaurant even though it was SO slow (takes 1 hour to rotate completely) it gave me a headache! - but it's not that bad honest!

It's a nice place to dine especially if you're a tourist and want to check out Auckland City.

fusion

2010-01-11T07:57:00.005+11:00

I am wowed by the differences in desserts and food that one cultural can be from another. I never would have thought that cheese platters would be found under "desserts" in restaurants because they're more like snacks and savory to me. I have come to appreciate the taste & the combination of these cheese/crackers/breads/olives/salami/dips which can give you a rich experience especially with a glass of wine!

Chinese desserts on the other hand are also appealing because of their creativity and their use of different ingredients like coconut milk, red bean, taro, green tea and the list goes on:

Early Saturday morning

2010-01-09T11:42:00.007+11:00

It's been awhile since it was just me and Liz hanging out & since we are both early birds (coz I can't see to sleep in!) we decided to have breakfast at Jones (Liz's fav cafe). When I meant early, I really meant early because we were the FIRST customers of the day! After we ordered, it became busy.
We had their mochas which was special because instead of the normal cocoa powder or syrup that they mix with their milk, they put a heap of chocolate buttons at the bottom of the glass and then top it up with the milk which gives it a richer chocolate taste.

Their banana chocolate bread is also very nice toasted but i felt quite sick with overindulgent of chocolate for the morning

After breakie we decided to go for a walk to the markets and we saw some really interesting carrots that were purple and yellow: you can cook it and eat it the same way as normal orange ones =)

There were the usual cheese, veges, fruits, coffee, wines, turkish delights, fritters, olives, bread, but my sweet tooth led me to one of these small macaroons. Somehow, they did not look as BIG & as NICE & definately did not taste as good as the Sydney Lindt ones I had.

I look forward to checking out the markets in Sydney and see what they sell there. It was a great morning spending time reflecting about the year and enjoying each others company. Oh and Liz taught me red bean soup today, don't add the sugar while it's boiling otherwise won't soften! Thanks, I finished the red bean soup she gave me & it tasted like the ones in the restaurants, I was satisfied!

Growing up fast

2010-01-08T06:14:00.008+11:00

Time flies so fast for sure after you turn 21! Last year just recently 2 of my cousins are engaged (from the same family)! I am SOOOOO happy for them & it seems like we were all in uni yesterday spending time together jamming & complaining about uni & exams! We were discussing about budgets, invite lists, & the lot...involving family & going through the planning and preperation process reminds me of mine & how great of a feeling it was!

Well it's been 3 years now since my wedding day & it definately still feels like it was not long ago when I was arranging for my music, reception, flowers, food, church etc etc...now I can enjoy and help hehehe

So...Sam & Jo's wedding is in December,Lin Ern & Ben's in January which means more trips back here = more airfares but it's family & I wouldn't miss it for the world unless I have a baby or something and I can't fly but hmmm who knows. This year seems like it will go by so fast and before I know I would have been in Sydney for nearly a year & both cousins MARRIED and SOON not yet but SOON they'll all be having CHILDREN too!!! WOW really starting to feel like we r all going thru life fast!

It's nice to reflect & talk about the good old fun days & wish that we can re-live that time but because the future is so promising and everyone is progresing & moving on in life, it's good to look to the future & enjoy what we have now & who we with because TODAY can NEVER be repeated again...so I have to tell myself to CHILL, & not think so much about stuff that actually doesn't matter & will not add an hour to my day at all!

Zarbo

2010-01-06T11:25:00.008+11:00

It's been awhile since I've been to Zarbo in New Market & it's always food galore when I enter because they have nice scones & cabinet food & coffee is not bad too!

Zarbo is similar to NOSH or JONES were they have a cafe as well as a deli with fresh bread, cheese, spreads, chocolates and gift basket to buy!

Before I go to Sydney end of the month I have to catch up with friends and enjoy the cafes here. Had a great brunch time with Yu Hwee & will definately miss our daily catch ups & she's my coffee buddy and God given encourager and sister who has helped kept me close to God. Thank God that I'll be flying back and forth hopefully and there is always skyp =)

I went for a normal Flat white instead of my usual soy mocha:

Sweet French toast:

Mocha:

And I cant not try a scone! I know I have to really stop this scone addiction coz its BAD lol so I thought try bacon n cheese instead of the usual dates! Scone as you can see is more cookie like sigh feeling guilty now from eating it Blah...anyways I wont find much scones in Aussie that's for sure!

Albert cooking LIVE

2010-01-05T11:54:00.007+11:00

We were privilegded to see Albert cook LIVE for us at Elizabeth & Marcel's place with the aroma of fried rice and noodles flowing into the house! He had spectators & paparazzis too!

Here are the dishes he prepared:

Bee Hoon:

Char mee:

Hokkien Char:

Fried rice:

Elizabeth also prepared chocolate self saucing puddings topped with cream and raspberry sauce...it was really rich and divine. It was like drinking real hot chocolate from the cup!

It was such a great night with live music and great fellowship just sitting in the presence of God's family and making me feel more like I don't want to leave Auckland. God's family is everywhere, it's just having people like Elizabeth and Marcel to open their homes and share their hearts that others can feel belonged & experience the LOVE of God.

Egg tart turned strawberry cake

2009-12-30T06:55:00.004+11:00

My sister CW wanted to learn how to make egg tarts before I head off to Sydney, so we went to buy evaporated milk and came back home to find that there was no plain flour....so we improvised lol and looked through a recipe book to find a simple butter cake & to make it different we threw in strawberries!

The cake turned out nice with the layers of strawberries inside the cake, not too mushy not too hard it was great and everyone at home gave great feedback =)

This cake was nice warm, even better with a dop of yogurt or cream. I would definately use this recipe again and perhaps try with other fruits/fillings.

Macaroons

2009-12-28T13:19:00.003+11:00

While in Sydney, Marcus work gave them a little present and that little present was:

Macaroons.....pretty little cookies that is sweet and light and when bitten into, the cookie melts in the mouth...YUM!

The many different colours represent different flavours and all were delicious!

Exploring Sydney food

2009-12-28T13:04:00.003+11:00

During our short time in Sydney before we had to decide to move there we had a great time makan - ing with our NZ friends Eunice & Kerhan who moved to Sydney not too long ago they brought us to this place to have really good indonesian food! There were the usual fried chicken and I had dry mince noodles and hubby had fried kuay tiew. The dishes was very tasty and came out relatively quickly too. The restaurant was packed at 6pm when the doors opened so it must be good! I don't know the name of the place but will try to find out? lol

To finish off the trip we had dinner at this place called PLATE by Darling Harbour & also to celebrate our 3rd year anniversary. The food was alright, had a lychee martini too which was not as nice as Singapore's Clark Quay

Looking forward to many more good food to try in Sydney!

Christmas Day

2009-12-26T08:17:00.006+11:00

Spending time with family & friends is such an important feeling and place to be at Christmas. Christmas is really demonstrated by the love of God that he gave his only son to come to earth so that we may have life and to have it to the fullest, although there are many times I do not live to that fullest.

Christmas is also where there is an over abundance of food, and good food...food that are home made and always taste better than outside! I had so much food over the last few nights it's crazy! No wonder people always have new year resolution of being healthy, losing weight etc lol must be all the food during this season!

Anyways talking about food, here is a Christmas cake that my sister in law Charmaine baked & Siaw Hui decorated it with beautiful choir boys and a tree. It was VERY impressive! Well done girls!

The figurines:

The inside of the cake:

We were blessed to be able to join Dorin & Jeff's family at their new home and taste her mum's great baking! Fruit cake to me has not always been at the top of my favourite cake list although I must say after trying this one that she made...I think i'll only come back for this! It's light and moist, and taste between malay cake and fruit cake....and without any shame, I had to take some back with me!

A more tradional fruit cake:

and you can't get away without the good old bbq!

Merry Christmas!