Laduree

'If I am not going to Paris, Paris is coming to me' 

I stubbornly said at one stage this year and yes, there is a little piece of Paris down in Sydney, at Westfield Pitt St as evidenced by these photos!!

Laduree at 11:30 on a Saturday morning

I We chose to sit in behind the long cues outside mulberry - where I can stare at the yummy looking leather - and order us some refreshingly expensive good tea =D

Pastel green menu, pastel pink tea cups served by sleek looking waiters with heavy french accents (not pictured).

Tea #1 Josephine:-
A Chinese black tea wrapped in various citrus fruits of mandarin orange, grapefruit, orange and lemon, delicately enhanced by a ring of jasmine flowers. A fine blending very elegant. A tea to enjoy throughout the day

I am not a big fruity tea person because I think of it being super deceptive! This is what normally happens: as soon as you start pouring this tea, the fruity citrus-y aroma hits your senses and it send your salivary glands into over drive as you prepare yourself for a tangy sweet drink. You pick up the cup and take a deep breath to inhale this mouth watering scent and you think - YUM. You take a sip and you taste...........

nothing 

I know, it is a tea that is 'wrapped in various citrus flavours' and the aroma is indeed elegant, however I'll just feel let down and disappointed....

Not the case with:

Tea #2 Marie Antoinette:-
An dulcet marriage of Chinese black tea combined with rose petals, citrus fruit and honey. An pastoral walk at the « Petit Trianon ». An delicious afternoon tea for a sweet and romantic pause. All the spirit of Ladurée.

Tell me I am boring, but this is is very similar to one of my favourit teas the lady grey. Don't ask me how it is different, but it is and I like it!

Macaroon flavours available

Macarons flown all the way from France selling at $3.20 sounds like a bargain but because we sat in, they are a whooping $4 each!! and yes we tried all the available flavours - apart from licorice of course like so....

Clockwise from top left: vanilla, raspberry, blackcurrant violet, almond marshmellow

Nice smooth vanilla, sweet raspberry, liked the tangy blackcurrant filling which balanced out the sweetness of the shell and almond marshmellow.... which left an almond essence taste in my mouth.

Clockwise from top left: Lemon lime marshmellow, coffee, Violet marshmellow and pistachio

On to my second marshmellow macaron which I am still undecided about... and at that stage I was still undecided about it!! Liked the coffee flavours: strong, indulgent, YUM! Liked flavours of the violet macaron, however I realised why I did not like the marshmellow macarons 

1. they are too chewy 

2. do not really like marshmellows in the first place and 

3. as soon as you attempt to bite into them the shell completely breaks apart!

 Clockwise from top left: mystery macaron, chocolate, salted caramel, lemon

We were really puzzled at the mystery macaron that did not appear on our menu until we went around to the front of the counter and went ohhh, there is a bigger menu! It was Orange blossom not that it mattered, my favorites were still the classic salted caramel, coffee and chocolate. 

The macarons themselves were not as sweet which was great and flavours were really smooth and not over powering (like some other more adventurous/avant-garde macaron makers)

With the introduction of carbon tax, rising fuel costs and more public awareness of 'food mileage' - these are beyond being a luxury! Yes these are the coveted macarons from one of the best of the best macaron makers in Paris, but I can't help to think about all the effort it took to bring them down here! 

Oh well regardless, very soon I will be packing some of these babies up and flying them - express courier style on top of the 17,000km journey from Paris - across the country to my extremely pregnant friend in Perth, or should I say another 3300km for these precious macarons!!

2012!

Yay Happy 2012!

It feels like I am off to a good start with a blog post on the first day of the new year!! After all the times I have been telling myself to get back into it, and not being able to overcome my laziness, I think this blog post deserves to go off with a bang of some sort. Just like the short endless 20 minutes of $6.5 mils priceless pyrotechnic spectacular last night!

Personally I think I deserve to celebrate the end of 2011, I have done what I was suppose to do and I am super thankful for just being back at home spending saturday afternoons lazing around in the house or baking a cake with my parents (mom and I instruct, dad is the willing/manual 'kitchenaid') and devouring/critising our own sweet creations washed down with a big cup of tea and having a blast at catching up.

I don't think I have ever missed being around my parents so much! Yes I am not young, but as some famous quote says, carpe diem!! I have spent my 17 months being independent, now it is the time where I truly can appreciate and return to being careful (wonderfully) by my parents.

Post all the fireworks and with a little wisdom from siri:-

Yes siri...

Although Siri put forward quite a convincing answer to the age old question, I didn't get chocolate to prove it right. I am not going to give it any satisfaction - if it had any... But I did get the next best thing!!

As a little treat/completing one of my to-dos from 2011, I happen to pay a visit to Adriano Zumbo's 'new' patisserie shop at The Star.

 Excuse the grainy/distorted pictures, iphone still isn't very up to scratch even with their 8mp cameras!

The sushi train-esq din in shop wasn't open as it was a public holiday, however they were still selling their famous macaroons and a few of cakes and look at these babies!!

 

3 dozen colourful sugar loaded zumboron

No it wasn't all for me as one friend asked, although that would have probably given me a sugar high lasting a full week!! Weeee!!

My first 2012 sugar hit

There are some really weird flavours there... I went through 5 halves with my mom and only the lychee one (bottom 3rd from left) was nice and made an impression out of raspberry, watermelon, ?oreo and chili chocolate (woah serious heat). I am not sure whether it was the particular packaging/temperature but some were soggy!! 

I've flown macaroons not from zumbo to Coffs Harbour before and those lasted extremely well!! Zumbo still remains to be the king of macaroons with all the full bodied weird and wacky creations he makes. Some are awesome but I am not really sure these are my favourite go to macaroons now as there are so many patisserie out there.

For the time being, I am glad that I crossed one thing off my list of to-dos from 2011 (better late than never!) and carpe diem!

Random photos of foood

Just some of the places I have been to, been really slack in taking pictures mainly due to me being such a hermit and going through a rough phase. Will try and get back into it, one step at a time! 

 Tokonoma scallops ($7 each)

 Lindt macaroons ($2.80 each)

 Lindt blueberry chocolate mousse

 

3 x hazelnut hot chocolate + our feast

I am awesome...!!!

....as evidenced by these pictures!!!

Perfect macaroon with its 'foot'!!

4" sponge cake - for one!

ANZAC biscuits - gifts (excuse the macbook as the background!)

More awesomeness on its way!

Backlog #2 Galileo

During one of my visits back to Sydney, I was fortunate enough to be involved - some what - in a couple's (or should I say one person's act of) commitment to the next stage of their relationship.

The day started with purchasing a BIG bunch of flowers - which unfortunately I didn't get a picture of as we were too busy scheming/thinking/hoping that our plan would work - Roses to be exact.

Next, to hide it without crushing it, destroying it or ruin the beautiful arrangement for the next 3 hours where it will safely and (un)happily reside in the boot of the car. Thinking back, it was good that we were in the middle of winter, and not a scorching hot day in summer - don't think flowers agrees with saunas...

Then we happily made our way to our dinner destination:

Galileo at The Observatory Hotel - 89-113 Kent St, Sydney, 9256 2222

I first went to Galileo in 2007 during the much lesser known SMH Good Food Festival (now better and more widely known as Sydney International Food Festival) where we had fantastic soft, juicy and perfectly seasoned pork belly on top of mash and bok choy drizzled with plate licking worthy asian style sauce. That meal was simply too good to forget, I still reminisce that $35 let's do lunch - have not found one that matches the pork belly!

 Selected pictures taken 2007

I simply adore The observatory Hotel. Decorated in the old 1920s (correct me if I am wrong) glamour. The whole place is decorated to make you feel like home, inviting, welcoming and the furniture actually says 'sit on me, be comfortable and a butler will serve you tea shortly'

Entree of Crab Mille Feuille layered with (perfectly) sliced avocado & tomato coulis

We opted for the al carte menu and even though I never liked avocado, but with crab I'll eat anything and I was willing to try this. I am glad that I did, not because it tastes good (did not go beyond 2 bites) but because I realised why I did not like avocado in the first place - allergies! As soon as I swallowed the first bite, my throat slowly swelled up and I began coughing quietly, took a sip of water and swapped my entree with K.

Entree of pork belly.... *item no longer on menu hence the descriptiveness*

 The pork belly was rather dry and despite the pretty presentation which I promptly went "Ooo" for, it was huge disappointment!

Principaux of Duck and fois gras pie with mesclun salad and sauce aigrie doux

Forget about all the fancy stuff after the 'duck and fois gras pie...' THIS is a pie, this is a HUGE and expensive pie! The extensive description reads:-

"The duck pie is a long process which requires a level of experience to integrate the marriage of flavours with optimum ingredients. The duck and fois gras has been marinaded in Hennessey XO and truffle jus for 3 days, which is then encased in a traditional hand made French style 'puff' pastry"

X-section of the pie with visible chunks of fois gras and duck meat

With the first bite I was blown away, literally with the powerful and intense flavours that was hitting my taste buds like...(how do I put this)....whip. Don't get me wrong! It is very nice, and I can understand how it would take a very experienced chef to be able to integrate, work with and make all the different flavours of each individual ingredients really complement each other.

With each mouthful, I come to appreciate the skills of the chef in presenting these bold and aromatic flavours. I polish off 1/2 of the pie and swap with K. This pie is definitely not for cowards and this would definitely appeal to a particular crowd of diners with a very matured palate. Much like preference of red and white wines!

Principaux of fillet of grilled wagyu marble score 9+ 150g tenderloin fillet cut with baby vegetables and pomme paillasson

What can go wrong with steak, as a matter of fact Good steak. Have to say though after 5 months, I cannot remember much about this steak meaning it was good, but not memorable!

Petit fours which came with coffee/tea

We were so full to the brim - me especially with my tastes buds trained up for this meal - we have to battle on with dessert! Not before a cup of coffee to aid digestion! These petit fours were "complementary" (not quite when tea/coffee cost $10.50) but we still needed to try the dessert!

Dessert persimmon tart?

Excuse my unbelievable memory. We picked a dessert to share and as I have seldom seen persimmon used in desserts I picked this. In hind sight, it was probably not the best choice! It was nice, but still not memorable. 

I came out of Galileo thinking when is bed time when I realised 'Hey! There's still a flower dying in the trunk!' We ventured over to circular quay where Vivid Sydney was transforming the opera house into a huge canvas.

Finally, after a tiny mishap, the guy drops down on one knee and pops the question with an enviable ring in his two hands. Just as the back drop of the opera house projects 'LOVE' the girl screams hysterically excitedly and graciously consent to building what will be the next stage of their long and happy relationship/marriage.

Ahh love stories with happy endings!!!

Planning my first dinner menu

Haven't blogged in zonks, been busy just with work, boring domestic house keeping and the odd social life. Now the weather is finally warming up - still with odd showers - outdoor sport is becoming a good option when I am trying to find stuff to do on my days off and so far I went swimming in the newly refurbished pool, played golf (range + course) and tennis!! Ahhh those childhood memories!! 

But back to the topic - planning my first dinner menu. I have toyed with the idea of cooking for our tiny social group before and last time I 'nearly' went for an Italian themed menu with:-

1. Greek salad with fetta cheese, olives, cucumber, tomato and lettuce

2. Garlic prawn linguine with a tomato based sauce

3. creamy bacon, onion mushroom spirals 

4. chorizo with cheese stuffed bell peppers pizza

5. Tiramisu

But then again I chickened out like I always do (lack of confidence + afraid of what others will think of my food....) I did however make the tiramisu.

Now 2nd chance in overcoming my fear, I am planning something more closer to my traditional cuisine ie Taiwanese/chinese home cooking.

1. 3 cup chicken with carrots and shallots

2. taiwanese style pork chops

3. cabbage with shitake mushroom

4. pickled cucumber with chili flakes

5. mango pudding

and of course rice!

Fingers cross it goes well!

Tiramisu + personal random nutrition beliefs (a.k.a RnBs)

After having a fairly disappointing tiramisu, I decided I would make my own.
I followed a tiramisu recipe from taste.com.au taking into some reader's comments mainly suggesting to beat the hell out of the thickened cream and egg whites as so soggy tiramisu are not very palatable.

Ingredients (I made ~10 individual glasses)
1 cup strong black coffee (or what ever you have at home, I used instant!)
1/2 cup marsala (I used tia maria)
3 eggs, seperated
1/3 cup caster sugar
250g mascarpone cheese
300ml thickened cream (whip until it's cement like)
1 packet of savoiardi biscuits (bought at coles)

1. Pour coffee + tia maria together in a dish, set aside
2. Beat egg yolks + sugar until pale and white using an electric beater. Add the mascarpone and whipped cream and mix until just combined.
3. Beat egg whites until stiff (defies gravity) and gently fold into the mixture in (2).
4. Dip sponge fingers on both sides into the coffee mixture (max 3 seconds, you don't want it soggy) and create a layer at the base of your container. Layer the mascarpone mixture on top.
5. Repeat the process in (4) and create how ever many layers you want (I did 3) finishing the tiramisu with the mascarpone mixture at the top.

Tada and ooh sooo gooood especially with a cup of unsweetened coffee.

They may not be restaurant worthy in appearance - a dusting of coco powder/shaved dark chocoalate can help with that - but the taste definitely were!!! 

One thing I would change next time would be using espresso coffee as the instant stuff just doesn't cut it - even though I put 4 teaspoons to 1 cup - and probably opt for a liquor/spirit higher in concentration to get that extra ooomph

Side note: 

I do believe in healthy eating (contrary to what people have said about my dessert consumption ) but I definitely don't believe that telling your self to NOT eat certain foods help at all. Yes, most desserts are extremely unhealthy BUT I do eat them because:

1. Desserts are a sometime food, not regularly and definitely not for everyday

2. If I am to eat dessert, I'd rather eat the full flavoured version (none of the low/reduced fat/sugar free crap as it just doesn't taste the same - you'll end up wanting more

3. Hey, if I was eating them once a week, I'd rather eat the best/most delicious

4. I keep my daily consumption balanced so I will be able to afford (not $$ wise) to have dessert without growing sideways (exercise does help!) 

Toodles

Chocolate Lava Cake

Was bored today at home, so I decided to make chocolate lava cake - hmm the gooey goodness. A bit ironic as it has some reference to the lava erupting out of the Earth's crust in Iceland, as the volcano continues to puff smoke and dust onto the atmosphere.

No these aren't as gooey as I would have liked them, but hey they are damn delicious and chocolate is one of the feel good foods too! (Perfect for the little grumpy me at home) Dark chocolate is what I used, although being only 40% coco solids, they were the only thing I had in the house.... none of those fake imitation chocolate flavours in sight around my house!!! (white chocolate is NOT chocolate!!!). Still don't have the courage to open/use the 99% coco solids I bought last month!!!

I followed this recipe from famous french desserts (yes I believe in the "I'm feeling lucky" button) with a few modifications (ie more chocolate, less butter):

Oozing Chocolate Lava cake - I made 8 little lava cakes 
200g dark cooking chocolate
140g butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup plain flour
butter for the ramekins

1. Butter the ramekins with softened (not melted) butter and place back into the fridge
2. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees
3. Melt the butter and the chocolate together (by either having a bain marie, or microwave)
4. Beat the eggs and the sugar together until pale and fluffy (electric beaters makes life so much easier)
5. Mix in the melted chocolate and butter followed by the flour
6. Pour into ramekins
7. The time is takes to bake really depends on your oven... mine took around about 12 minutes

I made them about 3 hours ago and there is only 2 left.... The irresistible and decadent chocolate smell can not be missed and if this can cause my parents to stop watching their TV show and come down stairs with their cups to enjoy a bit of dessert after dinner... then it is definitely a real winner.

Tre Pesci

*while K drives back from Broadway*
Me (whining very loudly over James Morrison's Undiscovered): I'm hunnnngrryyyy

..... (I admit that I am very annoying some/often/most of the the time)

K: Let's try that place thats always full on our way back.
Me: What place?
K: The place I told you last time
Me: ???? (poor memory)

Tre Pesci - 105 Victoria Rd, Drummoyne, NSW 2047, (02) 9719 2100

We were the first diners that night, we waited outside (me super eager) until the sign was flipped to 'Open' by the charming restaurant manager Danny.

A few words from Danny on the menu 

We order an entrée to share, 2 mains and a dessert =] its kind of out of our normal budget, but hey it is the week leading up to both our graduation and our 3rd year anniversary on the same day!

Inside the restaurant

The ambience was warm and inviting. Some good sound insulation went into planning this restaurant as it was dead quiet inside (us being the only ones) beside the noisy Victoria road traffic.

What's on in Tre Pesci

As we wait for our meal, I took note of the $12 pasta available on Wednesday and Sunday nights - If the pasta I ordered are any good!

Bruschetta $8.50

I love bruschettas, I love the salty/oily/aromatic tomatoes. I know its probably dead easy to make but we always order this in a decent Italian restaurant and these are just what I expected. However these are SUPER over priced! 

Filetto Con Dijion $35 - Grain fed eye fillet with king prawns, dijion mustard and mash potatoes

The fillet was recommended by the super cherry Danny and was requested to be medium rare, however these are more like medium/well done. That said, these were extremely tender and the mustard sauce was smooth, creamy but light. I ate the piece of fillet lathered in in the sauce with a great deal of mash - awesome! If I made a comparison with the steak at Mad Cow - which I recently went to, for the same price I would definitely get this!

Pappardelle con Gamberi $25 - flat ribbon past with prawns, garlic, bacon and cherry tomato

I don't normally like tomato based pastas as I find it too sour most of the time - or maybe I just haven't tried good pasta? But I ordered these as I love flat ribbon pastas. There is just a hint of the chilliness, saltiness from the bacon and the cherry tomatoes had just enough sweetness to make these pasta extremely satisfying.

We both stay silent as we savour the different flavours and being extremely satisfied with what we have ordered.

Tiramisu $10

Happy customers are more likely to spend more right? We normally don't stay for dessert/coffee at the same place as our meal (won't lose the chance of trying other places!) but we ordered - a very Italian dessert - the tiramisu. It is decent enough, but as I find out later on - when I made my own tiramisu - I can totally make it better than them! 

As I was finishing my beloved peppermint tea, I took a look around, the restaurant was now full with only 2 tables left at 7pm on a Sunday night. We chuckle to ourselves as we realised we probably brought down the average age in the Restaurant by 10 years! 

Creme caramel...out of a packet

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, I decided (K just went along with me like all the other dessert things I love) that we should make our own creme caramel! Not the ones you make from scratch (eggs, cream, caramelise the sugar) but the simple, easy and no bake method of getting picture perfect (almost, if I was more gentle in unmolding the custard) creme caramel.

We were thinking that we would ultimately compare the creme caramel from different brands! We bought the 'Classic Creme Caramel' from White Wings ($2.40 from coles).With K being the model + the person making the creme caramel, I am the paparazzi, happily enjoying my authority in directing progress (Me: "Stoppp! don't move, little bit more, yeeessss that perfect") =]

 The Package, what comes with it, the things that you will need and basic prep.

Firstly the ramekins need a thin coat of oil. It is best to use the oil spray, other wise you will end up with oily creme caramel!

 Pouring the caramel mixture along with the 1/2 cup boiling water + mix

The smell of the caramel started to waffle(?) in the kitchen as soon as the boiling water is poured in. Oh the wonders of modern technology, instant caramel! Mind you the consistency does look a bit dodgy.

Mixing the milk with the custard mixture (woah at the food colouring!) and adding it to the simmering milk.

Then comes bringing the 3 cups of milk to a gentle simmer, add the - scarily looking, bright, neon yellow - 'custard' to the simmering milk.

Pouring, pouring and more pouring. 2 hours in the fridge and tada!

It was advised that the custard to be poured on to the back of the spoon to minimise the mixing of the custard and the caramel sauce at the bottom. A picture perfect creme caramel (ok probably not, there are so many things wrong with the picture!)

Taste wise? Extremely sweet, it is also missing the good 'authentic' creamy taste of the traditional custard made with real eggs and cream and the caramel was missing the slightly bitter, smokey and rich flavours of the aromatic compound formed during the millard reaction (joining of the sugar and protein - chemistry talk time!!)

After this attempt, I think I will probably still try another brand but would really avoid all these 'straight out of a packet' mixes in the future. I mean how hard can making creme caramel be?! *putting that on to my to do list*

Fix St James + Azuma Patisserie

Me: Weeee entertainment book!!!
Y: let's go Fix St James!

Just like that it was decided. Even being a midweek dinner, this little restaurant was already packed with only 2 tables left - one being ours. We take in the atmosphere, tables lit with candles and an impressive wall of wines complete the look. A cheery and upbeat staff comes and distribute the menu and after a short explanation of the frequent menu changes he points out the tasting menu to share, where we would be able to taste the best dishes, picked by the chef. Having NO idea of what to choose at all, we nod and agree to having the Quick Fix at $39pp.

By this time the last table in this restaurant was filled and I observed (lame math terms coming up) the positive linear relationship between the number of bottles of wines opened to the increasing loudness of the restaurant.

We happily munch on the complimentary warm sourdough dipped in olive oil while we wait for our dishes to come, we don't know what we are getting yet

Stuffed Zucchini flowers 

First course, stuffed zucchini flowers, it is delicious, juicy, firm and not over cooked. The for those who didn't know it was stuffed zucchini flower (eyeing K) he had a little surprise when he was savagely destroying (being the hungry person he is) the flower when the gooey cheese started oozing and popping out of the flower!

Tomato, anchovy and buffalo mozzarella salad

Our second course doesn't seem to appear on the menu nonetheless the salad was tangy balanced by the sweetness of the red capsicum(?), saltiness of the anchovies and the smoothness of the lovely buffalo mozzarella. I have to say though, it was a tad bit oily (look how shiny the salad leaves are in low light!) but sharing it among 4 peeps was just right.

Chicken liver pate with caramalised onions and crustless toast

While we were still finishing off the salad, a funky looking plate of food appears and the cheery wait staff explained (to only 1 person of the table as noise level at this point was... beyond -  lets say interesting - for my throat). I did a little 'woot' in my mind as I loved pate (excuse the missing dash above the 'e') since the first time I tried it at Caliniere. However I was puzzled at the choice of I guess, 'bread' but sandwich toast!? really?! The caramelised onions were tangy and it helped to cut through the creamy, fatty liver. I wish there was more bread - although we didn't ask any - or maybe another type of bread?

Next was a dish that I forgot to take a photo for... sardines with caviar and couscous. The pan fried sardines were slightly crispy. I was a bit annoyed at this point as the serving sizes were SMALL! and this was already the 4th dish!

Pine mushroom risotto with parmesan cheese

The final dish had me happily scrapping my plate and wishing for more. The huge pine mushrooms were so aromatic, juicy and plump! The risotto was cooked perfectly, the rice was slightly chewy and not soggy and heavy on the cream + cheese! Just the way I like it!

I think we all some how damaged our vocal cords that night trying to yell over the 'background' noise, the portion sizes were a bit disappointing, but as we had the entertainment card, I wasn't too upset.

With our entrees and main meals done, we were searching for our last course - dessert - to properly finish and fill our stomachs! We arrive at the new Azuma Patisserie, next to the famous Azuma Kushiyaki Japanese Restaurant at Regent Place for Japanese tea and cake!

They were not cheap cake + tea deal is $9.80. Love the teas though =]


Fix St James
111 Elizabeth Street
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9232 2767

Azuma Patisserie 
Ground Floor Regent Place Shopping
501 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000