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!

Exciting news!

Back to the food scene
Back to exploring new restuarants
Back to pollution, traffic jams, cityfailrail, trains without air conditioning in summer, rude people
Back to where I came from
Back to where I wanted to be for the past 17 months.

Now that it is really sinking in, I think I should get a move on and explore Coffs!!!

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

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!!!

Backlog #1 Sushi Tei

Was just uploading my backlog of pictures from my camera and realised, wow I have so many good material (food porn) in there - what have I been doing?

Well mostly procrastinating on my days off, being a major hermit/homebody. It is really bad! Need to be pro-active - do things that I want to do, when I say I will do them, and not putting it off again and again.

This will be the nth time I have said that to my self - it doesn't hurt to try again right?

First up Sushi Tei - Chiefly Square, Ground floor, Cnr Elizabeth and Hunter Street 9232 7288

Came here for a good friend's 'farewell' dinner. It is funny how I came to know her; you know you will be good friends with someone when they make the same mistake as you do. Meaning you think alike - even if it means in a stupid way!

Anyhoo short story short, we went to the wrong location at the same time for a class we were all quite late for and since then we've became good friends.

 

Pretty flame 

I love restaurants that has pictures with their menus, even if it means the menus are big enough for you to knock hands with the person next to you. The good thing about the picture is that you get to 'taste' - with your eyes that is - and decide whether the food appeal to your eyes. After all, the 'look' is what really attracts your attention, regardless of what the Japanese letters beside it means!

I know it sounds awfully superficial, ordering food based on 'looks' - or partially based on looks. But it is true in reality isn't it? Whether it appeals to you with its smell, aesthetics, texture or its description.

Enoki mushroom wrapped in wagyu beef slices

We ordered a few starters, first up these bite sized, juicy and flavoursome parcels. The melt in your mouth beef bursts open to reveal delicate enoki strands soaked in the salty marinade of the beef.

Grilled salmon cheeks with mayonnaise

Next up, we ordered salmon cheeks. When my dad was young, he lived very close to fish farms, when ever we had whole fish at home, he would always pick out the 2 fish's cheeks and place it in front of me and he would say, the fish's cheeks are the best part of the fish and I am giving it to you because ... (something along the lines of how you should get the best etc etc). Corny! I know but now I think about it, he is a pretty awesome dad - at times.

Somehow the surface of the mayonnaise formed a skin from the grill and it is interesting, when you bite into it, it feels like you are biting into a fish roe but instead of a burst of brininess, you get smooth creamy salmon goodness!!

Mornay scallops

Nothing more can be said about this dish, the simple classic mornay scallops. Fat juicy scallops covered in a rich creamy sauce topped with cheese and baked to golden brown.

Wagyu Sukiyaki

After the 3 starters, we had to fill our stomach with a filling staple and we opted for the wagyu beef sukiyaki. It was good, hearty and decent sukiyaki - I am always surprised with so many Japanese restaurants not being able to do a good sukiyaki!

The share for all this was on the costly side, but after having the excellent starters and a good sukiyaki, I would say I really like the food here and would come back again despite slow service. It didn't seem too bad as we had a huge group of people.

*Salivating for decent Japanese food now! the down side of living in Coffs Harbour!*

!!! Exclaimation mark !!!

The past 4 months have flown by without any major drama - except for the time when my washing machine flooded my laundry at 1am in the morning. I am back in Sydney for the 3rd time since moving north - with an inverse relationship with the amount of frequent flyer/velocity points accumulated in the process and $$ in the account. No I am not saving much, but it is so good to be back home - for 2.5 days.

Back to the busy streets with shops that open past 2pm on weekends, Asians, lots of cars, traffic jams, city(fail)rail and of course my friends and family!

Food wise I have been extremely diligent and proud of myself having cooked every night for dinner - apart from dinner out with friends - I have always packed my lunch for the next day for the past 4 months at Coffs. Whether it be a boring sandwich with various fillings or a hot meal like a pasta or rice dish with plenty of vegies. Of course not to mention my staple snacks at the office - a serving of plain low-fat yoghurt with muesli or frozen berries and a piece of fruit.

I admit I still don't get enough exercise, not with work being only 10 minutes away from door to office chair and shops being 5 minutes away.

Finger's crossed for tomorrow, for something might go majorly right/wrong which might change my situation now!

One busy Saturday back in Sydney Part I

(Exactly) 5 days after I have made my brave move up north to Coffs Harbour, I got myself a 3 day weekend. As soon as I knew that I told my friends that I am back to Sydney for a visit:-

Friend #1: "What? And how long have you been up there?"
Me: "...."

Friend #2: "Huh? its only been 5 days"
Me: "...."

Friend #3: "Gee that was quick"
Me: "..."

With my friends missing me HEAPS, I just HAD to go back....

The Saturday started with breakfast at Newtown's Badde Manors.

I was starving by 7:30am and quickly ordered the biggest breakfast - the Badde Manor Big Breakfast from their extensive menu. Badde Manors specialises in vegetarian and vegan choices - not that we realised when we went in, I was just hungry...

The vegetarian/vegan menu, no trace of meat to be seen!

I had a big day ahead of me, breakfast and a big day of shopping in the city, as I will no be able to go on random shopping sprees in Coffs Harbour! Having breakfast outside is also a luxury for me, I often go out for lunch or dinner but I can count with my both hands the number of times I have been out for breakfast - mostly because I'm just too much of a sleepy head to get up just to have breakfast.

My big breakfast arrive with scrambled eggs, and gee did it look healthy!

Badde Manor Big Breakfast - (scrambled) eggs, with spinach, mushrooms, baked beans, seasoned chat potatoes and grilled tomato served on rye bread $13.50.

The mushrooms were excellent cant have better mushrooms than these for brekkie! And of course a traditional pancake won't go amiss!

Homemade pancakes - served with maple syrup and topped with fresh ricotta and blueberries $10.50.

The pancake was light and fluffy, I just wished that the bottom 2 pancakes weren't so thoroughly soaked in the syrup!

We left the cafe with our stomachs protruding (how embarrassing) and slowly made our way to Broadway where I started my shopping. By the time we got to Paramatta 2 hours later we were craving something, something that we haven't yet had in that day......MEAT!

That just shows how important a breakfast rich in protein is. (*ahem* even though there were eggs, baked beans +/- bread and potatoes, we did share this between 2 peeps so there is NO way that's enough protein!). So we trekked to the food court to get us some KFC which we devoured in a matter of minutes! Disgusting - I know - but Oh so satisfying!!