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Comfort at my table Cafe - Brisbane

2012-01-29T13:11:00.005+11:00

Have you ever heard of Boring Brisbane?

Well the locals call it boring. I call it Brilliant.

The next handful of blogs will be devoted to my small yet fulfilling trip down to the sunshine state. My mission, to get a healthy tan and of course eat till my heart’s content.

My lovely cousin bought me to this small yet unique cafe called – Comfort at my table, the name totally spells out the atmosphere.

*licks froth*

The chai was quite mildly flavoured with just the perfect balance of sugar and chai to tickle my tastebuds.

Skim Cappuccino

Crispy bacon, vanilla poached strawberries, ricotta, maple toasted almonds $12.80

AMAZING, the crispy bacon together with the toast, strawberries and ricotta created a sweet yet savoury taste, quite the perfect balance. According to my cousin, this is a traditional Canadian breakfast.

Nims Eggs

Poached eggs, bacon, pesto, banana chutney, roast tomato $11.80

I’ve never had banana chutney before and mind you both the sweet and savoury taste of the chutney perfectly complimented the eggs. It was like eating both main and dessert in one hit.

End notes-
- Definitely coming back for more :)
- Lovely service
- So decently priced (note I doubt you can get brunch for this price)
- Nice and comfy place to rewind
- I love the use of tropical fruits in their dishes!!

mmh cookbooks, i like!

Their homemade jams :)

Quote of the day:

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.comfortatmytable.com.au/

Happy Lunar New Year

2012-01-25T12:48:00.002+11:00

Happy Lunar Year My Fellow Readers,

As it’s the New Year, that equates to change.

My first announcement *drumroll*, you can now find me at:

www.cupcakiedolly.com

Keep in tune for the second one: )

I’ve also accrued an awesome moderator aka best friend Andrew who will be helping me with the ongoing blog maintenance. Welcome my dear friend.

Wishing you guys a lovely, healthy and happy year,

With Love,

Dolly

Homemade Baileys on the rock

2012-01-04T22:35:00.000+11:00

I’m no alcoholic, but when it comes to a creamy, milky and sweet consistency; I definitely let my guards down. One morning one of my colleagues was raving about her Grandma’s secret bailey recipe, of course she didn’t share it with me. This particular conversation lead my curiosity and inspired me to make my own.

1 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 cup heavy cream + extra if it’s too running for you, divided
1/2 cup wholecream milk
1 cup condensed milk
½ cup or as much as you please of Irish whiskey (I used black label)
1 tsp vanilla extract

*recipe adapted from Bittersweets.

1. In a small bowl, mix together instant coffee, cocoa powder (with a tablespoon of hot water) until smooth, then add tablespoons of heavy cream mix until smooth.
2. Using a hand-held mixer, combine the coffee & cocoa mixture, with the remaining heavy cream, milk, sweetened condensed milk, whiskey and vanilla extract, and blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds.
3. Transfer to a tightly sealed bottle, and store in the refrigerator.
Tips:
- For the best flavour, let chill at least overnight to allow the flavors to meld together. Shake well before using. This should keep for up to 2 months.

Quote of the Day:

With Love,
Dolly

Welcome 2012

2012-01-02T12:50:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year Boys and Girls.

When I think of the New Years, the first thing that comes to mind is a list of New Year’s resolutions. But did you ever think of a New Years Eataloution?

Let me share you mine:

- Cafe Sopra
- Felix
- L'Artisan
- Ocean Room
- Orto Trading Co
- Pink Salt
- Porteno

Dear Readers, what is your Eataloution?

Quote of the Day:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
– Albert Einstein

With Love,
Dolly

Farewell Two Thousand and Eleven

2011-12-31T10:43:00.000+11:00

As 2011 draws to the end ...

I just wanted to thank all my readers and subscribers.
Your time and commitment following my blog brings much motivation and enthusiasm for me to continue my epic eating and cooking journey. It’s been another lovely year, being able to share my thoughts and perceptive with each and every one of you.

Also want to thank those restaurants who’ve invited me to venture to through their doors.

Another thanks to my friends and colleagues for their ongoing support throughout the year, and those who’ve I’ve met this year that bring much laughter and experiences onto the table.

Ken, thanks for being there for me throughout the year. I know we face a lot of challenges every day. May every challenge bring us a glimmer of strength, courage and love. I pray and hope 2012 brings us much happiness and laughter to continue onto a much stronger and fulfilling relationship.

Last but not least, I want to thank whoever from above who is looking down on me and giving me the strength to strive for my best and looking out for my well-being.

With lots of love,

Dolly

*source

Longrain - Surry Hills

2011-12-23T12:30:00.000+11:00

The weather is so temperamental this summer; I wonder what it’ll be like in winter. Nevertheless the drenching rain did not stop us running from Wynyard to Surry Hills, sacrificing Ray’s suit and my skirt hello dinner.

Longrain

Freshly shucked oyster with red chilli nahm jim & coriander - $4.50

Ever since Bistro Avoca, I’ve definitely acquired a soft spot for oysters, especially Thai inspired oyster. The oysters had a nice balance of sauce and chilli. Though felt as though the fried onions were a bit overpowering, maybe a smaller sprinkle would be suffice!

Eggnet with pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts & sweet vinegar - $31.00

This dish lured me to Longrain.

Did it live up to its name?

The egg net filled with pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprout and sweetened coconut strips had the perfect balance of flavours and crunch all intertwined into one. I was amazed at how simple this dish was and how it perfectly flavoured my countless bowls of rice. It also came with a vinaigrette cucumber salad which gave that extra zing of flavour!

Caramelised pork hock with five spice & chilli vinegar - $33.50

What lured Ray to Longrain, Pork Belly!

Like Ken, Ray has a soft spot for pork belly. Are all guys like this?

At first I kept poking my fork into it, complaining to Ray “Gosh this is brick hard”. Little did I know that the crunchiness outside turned out to melt into my mouth once devouring it. Ray instantly fell in love with it. The pork also came with a sweet chilli sauce topped off with chilli for those chilli fans, undoubtedly for the light weight. The flavours were perfectly balance, the caramelised and sweet soy sauce and vinegar created a sweet and sour taste with the added crunch.

Green papaya salad with dried shrimp & peanuts - $18.00

Unfortunately this did not wow both of us, it was left on the side untouched. I think it was a bit too sour; the flavours didn’t mix as well as I thought.

Thai jasmine rice - $3.00ppThe rice was actually quite hard >.<

Taro & coconut pudding with roasted peanut ice cream -16.00

When I see taro on the menu my eyes start to glow, unfortunately the pudding was just too sweet for me, the ice-cream was quite light. I ended up picking at the roasted coconut.

End notes:
- Recommended: Egg net and Caramelised Pork Hock
- I kept raising my hand, the waiters just ignored it. It got to the point where my arms started to ache!
- $$$
- There’s also a bar downstairs, I quite liked the ambience.

Thought of the day:

To the guys:

Do you have a soft spot for pork belly?

Quote of the Day:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
– Albert Einstein

With Love,

Dolly

Place:
http://www.longrain.com.au/

Bistro Avoca - Randwick - Bloggers Dinner

2011-12-05T21:49:00.000+11:00

What do you define as a bistro?

Wiki defines a bistro as “a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve”.

To be honest, I don’t often eat at bistros. If memory serves me right my first bistro experience was at The Carlisle Castle Hotel Bistro where I devoured stunning lamb shanks!

Now lets fast forward to my second bistro experience … Tucked in the middle of Avoca Street, Randwick lies a small Bistro named Bistro Avoca, serving Modern Australian cuisine with a shot of Thai; opened in June 2011.Bistro Avoca cooks with fresh and seasonal ingredients at a pocket friendly price.

So what dishes did Bistro Avoca offer a table filled with hungry bloggers?

Entrees

Thai oyster shots with, fresh herbs and ginger, garlic, chilli, lemongrass & lime nam jim – ($3.50)
The potent fish sauce definitely enhanced the flavours of the oyster, undeniably worth a shot!

Seared sea scallops, cauliflower puree, bacon crumble and pesto oil ($17.00)
The scallops itself seemed a bit undercooked for my liking, the sauce needed just that extra spice to tickle my taste buds.

Blinis served warm with sliced smoked salmon, pickled Spanish onion and dill sour cream -($16.50)

Linguine with heirloom tomato, zucchini flowers, extra virgin olive oil and parmesan - ($14.50)
I was overjoyed to see zucchini flower, it’s a rare dish and only done in season unfortunately the excitement was slowly crushed by the absence of the flower itself. Bistro Avoca's version was mini zucchinis deep fried in a tempura like batter.

Duck & shitake mushroom spring rolls, pickled ginger & rocket salad, sweet chilli dipping sauce-($14.50)

The spring rolls were nice and crispy, abundantly filled with duck and mushroom.

Mains:

Black Angus steak, Irish colcannon, asparagus, sugar snap peas and red wine jus – ($28.50)
The steak was cooked to perfection with array of side dishes. The Colcannnon was a spoonful of mash potato, cabbage and bacon (the bacon enhanced the colcannon perfectly). Definitely an interesting twist opposed to your typical mash.

Rocket, pear and parmesan salad ($6.50)
This salad was perfect in every way; the flavours were well mixed together, if you are a fan of soft pears this is the way to go!

Noisettes of lamb, caramelised sweet potato, zucchini ribbons, brocollini and onion marmalade -($28.50)
I’m no fan of lamb, but this did not disappoint; infact I’m quite happy to come back for more! The lamb was cooked to perfection, bedded on top of sweet potato and garnished with caramelised onion gave the lamb so much flavour. The lamb was perfectly made, it was hard leaving room for dessert!

Desserts:

Crème brûlée with strawberries marinated in orange syrup ($14.00).
The crème brulee was perfectly flavoured though consistency wise was a bit on the runny side.

Vanilla and raspberry bombe alaska with rhubarb confit and praline ($14.00)
Not only is this dessert photo worthy it tasted absolutely awesome. The meringue was squeezed to perfection, light and airy. Bistro Avoca definitely has outdone this dish with the rhubarb and praline.

Warm soft centred chocolate pudding, kahlua crème anglaise ($14.00)
I thought Jamie’s Italian chocolate brownie was decadent, have no fear Bistro Avoca is here, one spoonful is enough for me to cringe and satisfy my taste buds!

Baileys Liqueur coffee $9.50
Espresso coffee with your choice of liqueur topped with whipped cream and ground nutmeg

The coffee itself seemed a bit watered down and bland for my liking, the additional whipped cream and nutmeg gave the coffee an extra zing!

End Notes:

- cupcakiedolly suggests: Thai oyster shots, Noisettes of lamb and Vanilla and raspberry bombe alaska.
- Overall it was a lovely experience; Bistro Avoca may be distantly challenged to some.
- Bistro Avoca’s presentation is excellent for a bistro (especially desserts)
- Price was reasonable, nice homely servings.
- Thanks for the invite Charlotte Foot PR

Cupcakiedolly dined as a guest

Quote of the Day:

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
-Paulo Coelho

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.bistroavoca.com.au/

Medusa Greek Taverna - Town Hall

2011-12-04T11:35:00.000+11:00

So on this particular evening, Dolly and I decided to catch up with our friends Milton and Jennifer after work. Seeing that we were in the city and not feeling any Asian food, but still wanted hearty food on this cold, wet and rainy evening; we decided to try out this tavern nestled in the heart of Sydney under the Allianz building.

Jennifer and Milton had never tried Greek food before so we decided to try to give them a good impression of what the Greeks have to offer apart from Spartans and a rich mythology.

Mezze plate ($36.00)
taramosalata, tzatziki, halloumi, country style sausage, dolmades, olives, pickled
vegetables with pita bread

Our entrée was the Mezze plate which has become Dolly’s favourite choice of entrée whenever it is offered. The tzatziki dip is one of the best we have tried with a rich acidity in the yoghurt and fresh parsley with a brilliant strong smell. We loved it so much that Dolly asked for a second plate of it! The Halloumi was another highlight with strong cheesy flavour to satisfy the tastebuds but leaving you wanting for more. The taramosalata (fish roe) dip was quite a surprise, especially since I’m not too much a fan of seafood. My first unknowing bite into the dip was of the mellow fishy taste to the fish roe which was not too overpowering, with sweetness in the aftertaste.

Special- Kolokithokorfathes Gemistes ($17.00)
Zucchini flower filled with ricotta, dill, rice, tomato lightly fried with lime/dill sauce

This was Dolly’s first experience of Zucchini flowers, despite always longing to try them. Thankfully they did not disappoint, with a lovely crunch as you bit through the crumbed layer then followed with a spicy sour taste in the rice stuffing.

Paithakia ($29.50)
lamb cutlets, marinated in lemon, oregano, grilled, served with potato, grilled
capsicum and caramelized onion stack

I always have a soft spot for well made lamb, especially when Greeks make it, as my best lamb experiences have been with Greeks; and Medusa maintained the trend. The cutlets were very tender and juicy on the inside while the outside was crisp and crunchy. Coupled with the caramelised onions, each mouthful made me forget the rain outside, taking me to a warm spring day at a family bbq. The only bad thing I can say about this dish is that there wasn’t enough!

Kalamarakia Yemista ($29.50)
whole baby calamari filled with rice and sultanas on a chilli spiced tomato salsa

The baby calamari was overcooked and a bit tough, but the stuffing was really delicious with sultanas giving a sweet balance to the chilli and acidy flavours. However, I found the salsa quite salty and overpowered the stuffed calamari.

Endnotes: A surprisingly good Greek restaurant with very lovely waiters and you get nice mint Turkish delights at the end of your meal!

Love,

Ken

Creme caramel recipe

2011-11-13T10:21:00.000+11:00

MIA for the past few weeks,

MISS ME?

Heres a super dooper easy crowd pleaser. Perfect for the upcoming heatwave!

Adapted from SBS

Caramel
- 60 mls of water
- 150 grams of white caster sugar

Custard
- 180 grams of caster sugar
- 12 eggs
- 1 litre of quality full cream milk
- 1 cinaamon stick
- 2 tsp of vanilla essence (add extra vanilla bean for extra flavour)

Method:

Caramel
1.Place water in a saucepan, add sugar, pouring into the centre of the water so it doesn't touch the edges.
2. Cook over a medium heat for ten minutes. Do not stir. The caramel will slowly colour from blonde to brunette, to a dark, rich colour. Pour into ramekins.

• Note do not leave this unwatched, it burns easily!

Custard
1. Whisk eggs, one at a time into sugar until mixture is slightly frothy.
2. Pour milk, cinnamon stick and vanilla essence into a saucepan and bring to boil, remove from heat and stir into egg mixture (do not over mix).
3. Pour mixture through a sieve into a jug and then pour into ramekins. Be careful when pouring over the caramel that you swirl a little as you pour so the warm mixture does not crack the toffee.
4. Place ramekins in an overproof dish and fill half way up the sides of the dish with water. Bake at 150°C for 30 minutes turning the baking dish around after 15 minutes to cook evenly.
5. Rest for 30 mins. Run a knife around the edges of the ramekins before turning out onto a dish.
6. Enjoy, best served chilled for at least an hour :)

Quote of the Day:

With Love,

Dolly

P.s click on the sbs link for a video

Jamie's Italian - Wynyard

2011-10-22T16:09:00.000+11:00

When i was a young girl, i religiously glued my eyes against the tv watching Jamie’s kitchen every single week without fail, little did i know that i could dine in one of his restaurants in Sydney.

Ken and i were at the Night noodle markets last night (my first time) when we bumped into the beautiful Jing, who informed us of Jamie’s kitchen.They had a training night 50% off the bill.

Oh didn’t our eyes glitter in joy!

Arriving to the restaurant we bumped into a familiar face, Rachel then other bloggers started to come! Nice to meet you Stephanie and Karen.

Okay lets get to the food...

Italian Nachos $7.00
Crispy fried four cheese ravioli with ‘angry’ annabiatee sauce

These acquired an interesting taste, the parmesan cheese was the most prominent of them all, it wasn't as crispy as I’d thought, eat these asap otherwise they’ll swell down!

Bucatini Carbonara $19.00
Tubular spaghetti with fried smoked pancetta & leek tossed with free-range eggs & parmesan

The tubular spaghetti acted as a novelty and was a bit undercooked. Though I guess we all are guilty of overcooking our pasta! The sauce was nice and mild, the pancetta was rich in layers of fat >.<.

Personally I think Ken does a better job!

Mushroom Panze $20.50
Half moon pasta shapes with brown cap & porcine, chilli, ricotta & Parmesan.

The pasta was generously topped with mushroom, and bread crumbs which gave it that extra crunch!

Crab and Squid ink risotto $26.50

I found the risotto slightly under flavoured, until the waiter came back and told us to mix it up, it definitely gave someone a burnt tongue!
The additional bread crumbs gave some umph to the dish! I loved the crunchiness!

Polenta chips

The polenta chips were topped off with parmesan and rosemary. These were a nice side to balance the pastas, Stephanie really enjoyed it!

Bruschetta with crab

The Bruschetta was generous topped with spanner crab, it was so fresh and tasty!

Trevise & Gorgonzola Salad $9.00
With caramelized walnuts, pears & sticky balsamic

This salad was a lovely mix in flavours, the pear was as crunchy as expected though complemented well with the dressing!

Chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream

This muffin like brownie had a crunchy top, drizzled with dark chocolate on top, definitely heaven sent!
The brownie was so decadent in chocolate, i must confess one couldn’t finish a brownie!

Raspberry Panacotta

The panacotta was rich in cream and topped with raspberry compete, it possessed a very light vanilla flavour than I imagine.

Brioche and ice-cream

These hamburger likes were filled with ice-cream, orange, pistachios. I found the Brioche a bit dry and hard yet very cute.

End Notes:
- Nice ambience, very relaxed
- Recommended : Trevise & Gorgonzola Salad and Chocolate Brownie

Quote of the Day:

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

Jamie's Italian
107 Pitt Street Sydney 2000

-Official opening 24th October 2011

La Bodeguita Del Medio - Townhall

2011-10-09T20:44:00.000+11:00

Have you ever experienced Cuban cuisine?

Let’s rewind a bit, my first encounter was at Vivid Sydney when I saw a Cuban stand offering cassava chips with homemade aioli. I’ve always wanted to try authentic Cuban, though undoubtedly never got the opportunity until La Bodeguita Del Medio.

La Bodeguita Del Medio, is probably the closest Cuban you can experience in Sydney designed like the Old Havana and is home to the famous Mojito cocktail. La Bodeguita Del Medio is conveniently situated behind Sydney’s iconic QVB, walking into the restaurant you could see the walls graffiti with past and present diners acting as a memento of each diners visit.

The menu consists of Comestibles (Shared dishes), Entradas (Entrees), Fondo, Carnes, Para Acompanar (Sides).

Croquetas de malanga - $15
(Taro croquettes served with aji de gallina sauce)

Did you know Taro and Cassava actually originated from .... ?

The crispy taro croquettes were liberally filled with shredded taro, with starchy walnut sauce and accompanied with shredded vinaigrette cucumbers which gave a refreshing balance.

Terrine de cerdo - $18
(Pork cheek terrine, pear, cinnamon and molasses vinaigrette)

The terrine was beautifully presented; unfortunately the presentation didn’t outweigh the taste. The terrine was slightly hard and dry for my liking. Ken was very intrigued by the clear spaghetti noodles it acquired a vinaigrette taste.

Pato con chocolate $36
(Duck breast, sweet potato & spinach croquants & chocolate sauce)

The duck was crispy yet succulent bedded on a sweet potato puree and spinach croquants which balanced the duck handsomely. The duck was topped off with chocolate sauce which possessed a chocolaty yet subtle bitter flavour. Bitting through the cherries drowned in chocolate sauce provided me an instant hit; I could taste a slightly sour yet bitter taste yet smell chocolate. I was extremely intrigued by the mixture of flavours and asked the waiter, later to find out the chocolate sauce was a red wine reduction, such an attention-grabbing concept here! Didn’t my tastebuds have fun!

Bife Ancho 400g
120-day grain fed dry age rib eye steak 37

This steak was cooked to perfection; it was topped with a capsicum salsa, a herby pesto and rosemary wedges. The herby pesto acquired a sour taste opposed to the salsa sweet. These accompanies brought out the perfectly cooked steak and definitely enhanced its flavours. Ken thoroughly enjoyed this steak.

Tostones
Fried plantains with Cuban aioli 8

When I saw this side, I instantly thought of Cassava and Aioli (nostalgic moment), I was advised by the waiter this was deep fried green banana. My eyes instantly glittered. This side definitely gave a twist to your normal banana fritter. The green banana deep fried gave a starchy texture dipped in the aioli was an instant winner. Sometimes simple things are best!

Two happy stomachs <3

La Lechera - $14
(A classic ... LBDM style)

Due to the generous serving of dinner, our stomachs couldn’t digest 2 desserts. That meant choosing a worthwhile dessert!

After ten minutes of deciding, we ended up with La Lechera. La Lechera means milk. This humble dessert contained 3 different types of milk (dolce de leche - caramel like, condensed milk and sweet boobles of milk?). The condensed milk was used as bubbles. I wish there were more! This dessert isn’t ice-cream yet slightly frozen. The milk pieces had a cookie base; it was milky and smooth, not too sweet for one’s tastebuds. The La Lechera was topped off with a swirl of chocolate semi frozen mousse which was light and airy. I must confess this dish looks small but made a big statement in my books!

LBDM totally jazzed up your typical hit of calcium!!

I know something for sure; I’m definitely coming back for more desserts!!!!

Mojito

Was a great balance of Havana Club Rum, Fresh Mint & Lime, Soda & Sugar. Ken thoroughly enjoyed this.
Mojohis are only $10 a pop if you manage to arrive and order between 5-7pm.

La Bodeguita Nojito

A cracking mix of Cloudy Apple juice, Fresh Mint and Ginger Beer. 6.5
Unfornatunately I was unable to try the alcoholic version of Mojito, though as Ken told me this version was on par less the hit of rum. This mocktail was nice and refreshing; I could definitely go for moreish.

End Notes:
- Lovely service
- Euphoric live music, therefore lovely ambience
- Recommended: Bife Ancho 400g, La Lechera and Mojito

Ken leaving his trail :)

Cupcakiedolly dined as a guest of La Bodeguita Del Medio.

Quote of the Day:

"A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes"
- Mohandas Gandhi

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.lbdm.com.au/

Cafe - Ish - Surry Hills

2011-10-02T20:23:00.000+11:00

Being me, I’m always tentative buying coupons.

Why?

The variety of dishes offered is too limited.

Cafe Ish proved me wrong!

Located on the corner of Foster & Campbell Street, lies a petite cafe serving a fusion of both Native Australian and Japanese Cuisine. The sign even said “No Sushi” what wonderful creations can this cafe offer you?

Cabbage -wattle seed miso mayonnaise

When the waiter placed this entree on our table, I originally thought this was a joke? Little did I know I was so wrong!
The mayonnaise complemented the crisp and sweetness of the cabbage perfectly. The mayonnaise was so addictive, couldn’t help myself but asked for more, due to my “generous” dipping skills: P

Fried potato & organic fetta mochi - w Davidson plum sauce

The plum sauce was ultra sour for my tastebuds

Edamame - w Murray River pink salt

I’m not a huge fan of Edamame, nevertheless I can tell you these definitely fell short compared to Monkey Magic.

Miso soup - (kombu & mushroom stock)

We both agreed the Miso soup was heavily watered down.

Seared tuna salad – w rocket, avocado, soy beans, tomato & lemon myrtle dressing

Regrettably I’m no fan of raw tuna; the waiter was hesitant to redo the dish, so I ended up tossing the whole thing. Apart from not liking raw tuna, I could certainly tell it was fresh tuna, how and why? Ken possesses a sensitive nose and is no avid fan of seafood. If he can’t smell it, he gives his seal of approval!

Crocodile sushi with avocado.

I’ve never tasted Crocodile, to be honest hearing the name scares me already...
I associate crocodiles as big and evil having this mental image made it hard to swallow!
Fortunately I was unable to taste the crocodile, the crocodile tempura was the size of chopstick. Maybe another day...

Wa-gyu ribs twice cooked w native flavours, Smokey soy caramel, garlic, chilli, coriander, sesame

The Smokey sauce was beyond words, if only this was completed with rice, I could eat bowls full *hintken*. The ribs cuts were a bit disappointing as we were presented with pieces ounced in fat *shiver*. Nevertheless these ribs were not wasted!

Kangaroo, prawn, ginger gyoza - w black vinegar and white soy

Like Crocodile, I couldn’t taste the Kangaroo as the prawn was too overpowering. The black vinegar made the gyoza skin slightly bitter for my liking.

Ai’s freaking awesome fried chicken - w vinegar & shallot dressing, crisp eschallots

Did this chicken live up to its name? Yes indeed, It was super dooper crispy. The vinegar made it too bitter and sour. Want a quick fix? I dipped it in the Beef Ribs. OMG, instant winner!

Kara age crab omelette - w garlic, chilli, soy, ginger dressing, avocado, shallots & lime

I want to let out a cry, this dish was presented last. The omelette was A-M-A-Z-I-N-GGet my drift? All the flavours complemented each other so well. I’d totally go back for this omelette!

Wattle Maccacino

Being Cafe Ish’s signature coffee, we couldn’t help ourselves but to order this!
I must acknowledge it’s definitely photo worthy. As for the taste, its one of the sweetness coffees Ken’s had. The wattle seed was a bit to light for us to notice. Nevertheless it acquires a unique yet strong coffee taste.

Green Tea with Rice

Overall Ken and I enjoyed Cafe Ish, we’re hoping to visit them again due to the lack of room for dessert, definitely K-O ed!

End Notes:
- Service was efficient
- Tables are petite
- Recommend : Cabbage, Wa-gyu ribs twice and Kara age crab omelette

Quote of the Day:

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.cafeish.com.au/

Billu's Indian Eatery - Harris Park

2011-09-27T21:13:00.000+10:00

On this particularly wet and cold spring Saturday, Dolly and I decided to visit the nearby hood of Harris Park, a place renowned for its multiple night-time armed robberies and assaults, and of course it’s delicious Indian food. Billu’s is a particular favourite of Dolly’s as she attends this restaurant religiously, not to pray but to eat as a pre-exam feast!

The first dish was ( ) which is a weekend special, and looked like the Indian version of nachos, except much more fragrant and spicy. Though the ‘lentil chips’ lacked the crisp snap that you get when biting into corn chips, it had a very wholesome crunch like that of eating a biscuit. The sauce consisted of a mix of chickpeas, yoghurt, and 3 different sauces that were all a mahogany in colour. Eating the pieces started off with a crunch of the chip, followed with the rush of spices in the sauce and finished off with a minty tingle on the tip of your tongue.

The next dish was a mixed platter of various curries, along with roti, rice and a dessert. The lamb curry was a very mild and creamy curry where the meat was very tender and had a taste of slow cooked in the curry for hours.

The butter chicken was a beautiful rich saffron colour and had a good mix of spices and coconut cream. Now I see why Dolly says other butter chicken is only second class compared to this.

The mung bean curry was quite hot but was also quite oily too! Dolly and I agreed that this dish was not as good as the others.

The chickpeas were really really good; they were very soft and were a good balance to the strong flavour of the spices in the curry. This was a pleasant surprise as I have an issue with chickpeas in how they are usually extremely bland, flavourless and undercooked when done in salads and mixed rice dishes.

The roti was quite nice and fresh, but it lacked the airy feel of naan bread. The basmati rice was also a letdown; it was quite dry and seemed to taste quite old and not freshly cooked.

The last dish in this was a coconut rice dessert, which Dolly likened to a Le-Rice dessert that you get from your frozen section of your local Coles or Woolies. It was sweet and creamy but did not have much flavour or fragrance to it, well not to the level you would expect an Indian restaurant to deliver!

To finish off, I tried the mango lassi, which I must say is the best lassi that I have had to date. This is because the lassi had the perfect balance of thickness and watery smoothness, while packing heaps of mango flavour in as well.

Definite recommendation: If it is your first time then it is worth trying the (works), the mango lassi is worth drinking, very high quality drink.

Song of the week: David Guetta feat. Sia- Titanium

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb6mS6Yj_UA

Enjoy,
Ken

Celini's Cafe & Restaurant - Marrickville

2011-09-25T16:06:00.000+10:00

On a cold rainy day, having the ability to drive around in my friend’s new Mazda where did we venture to?

Somewhere close to the city? Somewhere different?

Thanks to one of my favourite blogs NotQuiteNigella we ended up here ...

Inside

Celini's Meze for two - $21

A choice of 2 dips, stuffed vine leaves, ladies fingers, fetta and Turkish sucuk served with Turkish pide bread.

When going to a Middle Eastern restaurant, I can never surpass Meze plates. I believe its the heart and the core. We chose the carrot dip and hommus. I was so excited, never heard of carrot dip it was light and creamy filled with grated carrots, it felt so healthy.

Ladies fingers, you could easily mistaken this for a spring roll, in fact its looks exactly like one! Little did I know, the innards was filled with goat’s fetta and parsley, I could totally do a plateful!

Sazan Balik - $23

Perch Fillet grilled with fresh garlic and Mediterranean flavour on a divan of pan fried vegetables

The fillet was grilled to perfection, complimented with vegetables. Too bad the meze platter didn’t leave me to much room for my main.

Turkish Izgara - Charcoal Chicken Skewers - $26

Chicken marinated in secret herbs, paprika and olive oil served with bulgur pilaf, roka and sumac onions.

Definitely couldn’t complain, the chicken was soft, juicy and ever so flavoursome.

End Notes:

- Recommended - Ladies Fingers
- Service was quite slow
- A bit dear for Turkish

Random Thought - I wonder why Celini's names their cheese pastry Lady Fingers?

Quote of the Day:

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.celinis.com.au/

ZenQ - Chatswood Westfield

2011-09-16T12:25:00.000+10:00

When you think of the name ZenQ, whats the first thing that comes to mind?

For me, the first thing that comes to mind is BenQ.

Funnily enough, ZenQ is the latest and the first Taiwanese dessert restaurant to have landed in Chatswood Westfield.ZenQ, uses unique flavours combined with various creative ideas puts a twist on traditional Taiwanese desserts.

*source: © JASON MCCORMACK PHOTOGRAPHY

Not only that, ZenQ's dessert house is different too Meet Fresh. ZenQ is designed for guests to visit, sit down, and unwind from the stresses of daily life.

Conveniently opened till midnight unlike local cafes around the area, Will this be your new hangout?

I had the delight of tasting various deserts on the menu. The menu comprises of the Sweet Soups, pudding, Snow Ice and Honey Toast.

When I was asked what I wanted to try, the first thing that slipped out of my mouth was TARO MILKSHAKE! For those who don’t know I have an immense love for Taro. What do you think of Tarolly?

(Unfornately, once the taro shake came out i drank it to fast. I'll get a photo soon)

Taro Milkshake $6.80

This was actually served last; was all that momentum worth the wait?

Yes, the milkshake was thick, milky and starchy just how real taro shakes should be. Theres a huge difference between this milkshake and the taro milk teas you get from both Chatime and Easyway due to the consistency.

I really enjoyed this milkshake due to the taste,its neither too sweet nor bland just perfect aka liquid gold. I must confess the smell of taro is very subtle it goes to show that other places use syrups and artificial flavours oppose to ZenQ.

Kiwi Camelia Tea $6.00

Kiwi tea was quite sweet, filled with real kiwi pieces at the bottom, layered with tea and topped off with apples and rockmelon. The kiwi fruit pieces sort of tasted like candy. I was advised that the syrup added at the bottom gave it that effect.

Red Bean soup with ZenQ signature Q ball (Taro, Sweet Potato, Matcha) and Pearl (HOT)

The red beans melted perfectly in my mouth, the taro balls were nice and soft you could taste the real pieces of taro inside them. The sweet potato was slightly flavourless opposed to the Matcha balls which were kind of bitter for my liking.

*source: © JASON MCCORMACK PHOTOGRAPHY

When I first saw the leaflet on honey toast, my first impression: Is ZenQ crazy?

Danish toast and ice-cream? How could that work?

Boy wasn’t I wrong.

But let’s rewind a bit, and talk about the Honey Toast...

I was told that asian boys are quite timid so the purpose of the Honey Toast is for couples to purchase and share it.

How romantic? In Taiwan ZenQ even have couple seats.. aww... we need more cafes and restaurants that target couples!!! *hint*

Mango Danish Honey Toast $16.80

The process of making Danish toast: Danish is buttered, spread with honey, sprinkled with icing sugar and toasted.

Then it is covered with mango puree, dollop of whipped cream, 1 scoop of vanilla ice-cream and decorated with: blueberries, 2 wafers, marshmallows and 2 slices of strawberries (note the heart like shape).

When this came out, I instantly thought of a love boat, it’s so cute. It was hard making an insertion! The flavours in the toast were very unique, and one of the kind. Imagine eating a buttery croissant with mango, cream and ice-cream. The toast itself is very flavoursome the butter and pastry itself is stunning! If you’re asking if the Danish got soggy? Surprisingly very crunchy!

Snow Ice is on par with ice-cream, though a lighter layered version. It’s a similar gimmick to ice-cream balls, have you seen them before in Wonderland?

I was lucky enough to try the milk and cream. Its so light and airy, I could eat bowls upon bowls. For those health conscious, it’s not too sweet unlike other ice-cream which is filled with sugar!

The watermelon is similar to eating a watermelon iceblock. ZenQ uses fresh watermelon juice with no added sugar or flavours. Definitely refreshing for the upcoming summer weather! Say bye to slurries, frozen coke. Watermelon Snow Ice has come!

End notes:
- Recommended: Mango Danish Honey Toast, Taro Milkshake and Milk Snow Ice
- They even do takeaway
- Recommended for couples or first dates :P
- You should visit them now before others find out and encounter massive queues!
- There’s a competition – prize a whole year of ZenQ deserts yum!

Thanks to Ebony from PPR for letting devour delicious Taiwanese desserts.

Quote of the day:

"An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup"

- H.L Mencken

With Love,

Dolly

Place:
http://izenq.com.au/

Happy Mid-Autumn (Moon) Festival

2011-09-12T21:25:00.000+10:00

Last weeks Cabramatta Moon Festival

A bit of team work to complete turtley :)

What is the Moon Festival famous for? *drumroll*

Why hello there :)

Ken's favourite brand - Wing Wah

Lotus paste and 2 eggs.

Hope everyone is indulging on Moon Cakes, casue i know i am.

Happy Nomming guys!

With Love,

Dolly

Cheapeats Magazine and Bento Boxes

2011-09-08T21:25:00.000+10:00

You know what I love, going home and finding parcels or to the very least bulky envelopes.

Today I went home to a brown envelope, enclosed was the latest copy of "Cheapeats" in Sydney 2011-12.

(sorry for the bad lighting)

Confession: I saw this magazine in the newsagents, the only word that jumped at me was CHEAP.. being me. I mean who could miss a bright orange cover saying CHEAP. Enough with my cheapness.

Flicking through the book, they have: Our top picks, Restaurants (City-West) and Local Heroes.

Cheap eats even dedicate a whole page to each of the following: DIY dishes, Falafel, Burger Joints and Student Eats. They even include directions to get there.. gps immaterial much?

I must confess, I definitely can find more use with this magazine compared to SMH Good Food Guide, as the places reviewed in Cheapeats is for the average Joe.

Cheap eats can be found at your local newsagent at a mere $12.95 (57% cheaper than SMH)

Will this be your next food bible?

Thanks to Danielle from Universal Magazines Pty Ltd for the complimentary copy.

-----

Eyecandy - our homemade bento.

Our inspiration

Sarah's

Mine

Instructions will be uploaded soon :)

Quote of the Day:

With Love,

Dolly

P.s The bento boxes made in costed less than $20. Make someone happy for less than twenty dollars, PRICELESS!

Glass Brasserie - Hilton Hotel Sydney

2011-08-28T21:48:00.000+10:00

Waking up early is always a challenge, but how can you complain... if you're waking up to a breakfast buffet that is!

Plethora of pastries to choose from.
Love the jam selection!! Notice the honey on the wax .. cool.

Mmmh Mushrooms, being me mushrooms by the spoonful; there was also French toast and various other hot breakfast items.

Glass also freshly cooks eggs, pancakes and waffles. They also cater for gluten free!

The poached eggs were average; the cheese seemed a bit stale.

Omelette

Ken loved the pancakes. It was very fluffy and just right for a person who's been craving pancakes hehe.

On the other hand, the waffles were a bit disappointing. It was too oily and buttery for its own good. I only took 2 bites from it.. what a waste!

Mmhh.. Yogurt and muesli. I really enjoyed the Rose water couscous muesli with fruit yogurt and nuts. It sort of tasted like custard yet couscous, not overly sweet. Rose scented, it’s like eating something nice and soft with a crunch. Delicious!! The yogurt was okay.

Love the fruit selection!! Very fresh and tantalising!

Freshly squeeze fruit juice, yummo!

Surprisingly, the best juice was wheatgrass and mango the two ingredients complimented each other so well. Let’s back track a bit... heres Ken and I and a shot of wheat juice.

Squirming like little kids late december 2010

Mixed fruit was okay, I'd have to agree with Ken the beetroot and orange juice was a weird mix. It had a distinctive yet odd taste, guess we aren't use to it.

End Notes:
- Recommended - Pancakes, Rose water couscous muesli with fruit yogurt and nuts and wheatgrass and mango
- Service was fine
- Good ambience

If only buffets were bit-sized dishes.. wouldnt be such much wastage

Quote of the Day:

"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: words without thoughts never go to heaven"

- William Shakespeare

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/

Hinode - Chatswood

2011-08-17T22:09:00.000+10:00

Down to your last $10 note?

Listening to your stomach grumble?

Having a predicament between fast food and real food?

Heres your answer:

Fran suggested we visit this restaurant hidden amongst chatswoods many restaurants in a corner near Chatswood chase. One could not miss the $10 and under sign. My eyes began to dazzle, wondering why was the food so cheap, and what they could offer us.
To my surprise they even did sashimi for $10, it begs the question ‘how fresh can the fish be?’ I don’t eat sashimi so I asked Fran her opinion, she said it was okay, I guess its decent for what you’re paying!

Heres what we ordered:

Entrée:

Age nasu - $6.80
Fried eggplant in sauce
These teriyaki eggplants were nicely seasoned and well cooked, I undeniably wanted more.

Age-dashi Tofu - $7.80
Fried bean curd in sauce

This dish was definitely lived up to its name ‘fried tofu’ this wasn’t your typical age-dashi. It was just the boring fried tofu topped with boniko flakes (where’s the gooey or crispy batter??). The sauce was extra salty. Definitely didn’t taste well and not worth the price in comparison on our mains.

Mains:

Tem Zaru - $10.00
Cold buckwheat noodles with tempura

The buckwheat noodles were very dry for my liking even dipped in the sauce. On the other hand, the tempura was okay, nothing spectular per say. I ended up tossing ¾ of my noodles *sigh*

Crispy batter chicken udon - $10

Ken had the udon, served in a nice big bowl, one cannot complain. The chicken was a bit fatty, not enough meat I say!

Other meals our friends ordered:

The fillet of eel looks surprisingly generous

The sashimi looks decent right?

Drinks:

Ken had green tea, as he was driving. They even refilled it for him without charge. How sweet!

Tsunami - $6.50
Sparkling sake cocktail

A lot of our friends ordered this, it like vodka cruiser only sake. This sake had a lycee flavor to it, very refreshing.

It was also HJ birthday. Ken bought him a Taro cake from Savoy.

Holey Moley, I could demolish this in an instance. The creamy purple taro cream is just *foodorgasm*. This is a MUST MUST try!

Here we playing monopoly deal, the LONGEST game I’ve ever played reaching nearly 2 hours. Ruse students think too hard hehe. Guess that makes them a Ruse!

End Notes:
- Food was okay, I mean for this price of $10 and under, I guess I can’t be too critical
- Must try: Age nasu (eggplant)
- Service is quite slow

Quote of the Day:

"It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind."

- T.S. Eliot

At the table, we had an argument over which noodles are the best:

Udon Noodles or Ramen.

Which is your favourite and why??

With Love,

Dolly

Din Tai Fung - World Square

2011-07-27T19:34:00.001+10:00

Many food blogs have been raving about Din Tai Fung’s Tofu and Thousand year egg.

My Verdict:

I’m no fan of tofu, though this dish definitely makes me think twice!
The cold tofu soaked in the sauce topped with pork floss, egg gives it a cold, sweet and savoury taste. It’s an explosion of flavours!
Though this dish does have a slight bitter aftertaste

The prawn wonton’s tastes much better last time. The chilli sauce tasted quite bitter.

The noodles were mediocre at best.

The avocado juice was poorly made compared to last time; it seemed more milked/watered down!

The soy milk was overly sweet for my liking

My friend really enjoyed the lycee mocktail.

Strawberry Gelato was ordinary, Gelato Messina highly recommended!

Definitely must try! The taro cake was divine; I enjoyed the deep fried batter dipped into the taro icecream. The taro icecream was quite bland and light, though dipped into the deep fried batter with the sweet taro inside definitely bought out the flavours!

End notes:
- Highly Recommended: Tofu Pork Floss, Taro icecream with taro pastry
- Service is always efficient
- Don’t want to wait? Visit them at 9.30pm

Quote of the Day:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

- (Matthew 7:7)

With Love,

Dolly

Charlie and Co - Opera House

2011-07-26T21:22:00.000+10:00

Pretty Harbour

Federation burger $21.50

Probably not the best burger I’ve had, the meat patty was dry and the bacon was dripping in oil :(

Fried Chicken Burger $21.50

My friend wasn't happy with this burger as the chicken was bland and dry.

He highly recommends Blacktown Maccas, they change their oil regularly. Yes it does make a difference to your burgers and fries :)

Parmesan & Truffle fries $10.00

Undeniably one of the best fries I’ve ever had, though mind you OD-ing on these later on really do get to you. Is it worth? YES. I also asked for some aioli, the aioli perfectly compliments these chips!

End Notes:

- I'd definitely come back for fries!
- The burgers are much dearer at Operakitchen, though you pay for the view.
- Service was good; they even replenished my chips when I asked for my burger to be cut, how sweet

Random fact:

Did you know a lot of the food taken on commercials is fake?

Apparently ice-cream is sometimes coated in plastic: P.

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.charlieandco.com.au/

http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/Opera_Kitchen.aspx

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle

2011-07-17T21:34:00.000+10:00

Just a super dooper mini project before I head to bed:

My inspiration:

A fortnight ago, Ken's sister – Jo gave me Reese's Peanut Butter cups.. god they were delicious. I didn’t know where she bought them from, though ever since I’ve had an itch to make them!

I stumbled across Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate whilst buying Ken Topgear at Epping Newsagent *yay*

Anyways here’s my interpretation :)

Quote of the day:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
-(Matthew 7:7)

With Love,

Dolly

Meat and Wine Co - Darling Harbour

2011-07-06T20:37:00.001+10:00

On a cold winters night me and my friend were set for Hurricanes, though due to the wait we opted for Meat and Wine Co.

Unlike Hurricanes, the atmosphere here is quite trendy and high class, though did the food live up to its name?

Pork Ribs $37

The pork ribs were perfectly glazed, but unfortunately over cooked. The meat didn’t fall off the bone *sad face*

Lamb Ribs $29

The lamb was chewy and a bit under flavoured, though it still tasted quite decent. The ribs were accompanied by garlic mash, delicious!

End Notes:
- Nice ambience
- A bit on the expensive side
- Service was great

Quote of the Day:

"Nothing is more difficult , and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide"
- Napoleon.

With Love,
Dolly

Place:
http://themeatandwineco.com/

Harry's Singapore Chilli Crabs - Surry Hills

2011-07-03T18:37:00.000+10:00

Having a love for seafood is one thing and having friends or at least the boy’s friend who loves seafood is an extra. Patrick and I had this long winded conversation about fish dumplings and a seafood dinner last Christmas. The time finally came, just in time to celebrate the end of the financial year.
Hello Harry’s Singapore Seafood..

We were seated at the rear ended of the restaurant secluded from other diners, to my surprise there were only 5 other diners on a Thursday night.

The first crab - “Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab – level 7) - $170.00

The crab was sweet, succulent, and saucy with a slight tingle of chilli. I found the sauce very tomatoe if that makes any sense. I really enjoyed lathering the crab sauce on my rice topped with a pile of shallots and garlic.
The market price was $70 p/kg that night

The Second Crab – Quangzhou Salt and Pepper Crab - $170.00

I really renjoyed this, it was crispy, tender and perfectly flavoured. It slightly reminds me of Salt and Pepper Squid only much pricer. I kept licking the batter off the shell *facepalm*.

(Notice our white rice in the background $27 worth OMG)

Steamed Barramundi Fillet with ginger and shallots - $26.80

Very poorly made, frozen fish :(

Caramelised Chairman Maos Pork - $20.80

The pork was overcooked sweet and savoury. I like my pork sweet opposed to ken who likes his pork salty. Guess it’s the best of both worlds? The pork was accompanied by a bed of Chinese cabbage soaked in a bed of oil.

Harry’s Singapore noodles - $15.80

These noodles were a bit too oily for my liking. I’m not too sure if everyone’s tasted the Singapore noodles they use to sell in high school, in the square foils. OMG $4.50 did me justice!!!

Garlic Sauce and Mixed Vegies - $15.80

Pepper salt calamari - $19.80

These were perfectly battered, the garlic and shallots definitely made this dish worthwhile.

End Notes:
- Service is quite slow
- Definitely go for crabs and only crabs, I wouldn’t suggest you trying other dishes.

Quote of the Day:

“You tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is: never try”
– Homer Simpson

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.harryschillicrab.com.au/page/menu.html

Happy New Financial Year

2011-07-01T23:35:00.000+10:00

Happy New Financial Year

May this year bring you lots of deductions and a healthy refund.

Just a few snaps of work lunch at Office Hotel ..

- New Years Dinner - i just got home from Akenya, no photos >.<

A few snaps from the end of financial year celebrations at Harry's Singapore Crabs with the Ruse boys.

Harry's singapore crab .. yum!!

Salt and Peppper crab .. yum yum yummy!!

Quote of the Day:

" Wherever you go, go with all your heart."
– Confucius

With Love,

Dolly

p.s Will be back really soon. Thanks for reading guys xx

Sourdough - Townhall

2011-06-14T12:34:00.000+10:00

I have no doubt majority of you have now heard of or have eaten "The Reuben”. A lot of food blogs such as the lovely Suze from Chocolatesuze and John from He needs Food have been raving on such delicacies of the Reuben.

Thinking to myself, what’s all the hype about?

So I find myself at Soughdough Townhall...

The Real Reuben $8.50, Virgin no more

Filling: Shaved corned beef, sauerkraut, provolone cheese, Russian dressing on a whole meal baguette.

I must confess the Reuben possesses an interesting, yet unique taste. It seem healthy light and quite flavoursome to ones taste buds. The sauerkraut bursts out in juice, thank god I took a few napkins, otherwise my desk would’ve been rained upon. The sauerkraut is nicely pickled, not too salty and not too light. Just right!

The corned beef reminds me of Vietnamese pork sausage found at your local Vietnamese grocers; this beef is definitely more lean and healthy!!

The Russian sauce is a bit hot but nice, kind of tastes like peri peri.

So my final verdict:

I'm quite happy try more Reubens, I believe I have yet to try the best.

Here's some photos from Saturday’s game: Highlanders vS Waratahs, which I arrived just in time for Half time >.<.

Whenever i think of footy, i associate it with meat pies and sausage rolls. Heres to tradition.

It was pouring in rain

My team <3

I can’t believe they have laska, butter chicken and pizza at the stadium heresy I tell you!

Billie Chu reminds you of ????

Quote of the Day:

With Love,
Dolly

Place:

Soughdough Panini Bakery
60 York Street, Townhall

Creamy Vanilla Celeriac Soup

2011-06-11T16:10:00.000+10:00

There’s nothing like a warm and hearty bowl of soup in the cooler months of the year!

I don’t often get the luxury of making my own; though I strongly believe homemade soup is the most heartiness of them all. If only I had a grandma who could make me some hearty soup.

So instead of studying for my exams... Procrastinating right here, this right moment.

Going to see the Highlanders Vs Waratahs soon yay.

Inspired by Jbp Restaurant from last year with reference to by post:

http://cupcakiedolly.blogspot.com/2010/06/sydney-food-bloggers-meetup-and-jpb.html

Here’s my interpretation of: Creamy Vanilla Celeriac Soup

The Ingredients

Celeriac

Method:

1. Dice the Celeriac, Potato, Celery, Garlic and Onion into cubes.
2. Add a tsp of oil and 2 tbs of butter, and then add onion and garlic into the pan. Fry until fragrant and the onions become brown. Then add the diced celeriac, potato, celery. Cook for 5 minutes (on medium heat).
3. Add your stock, increase the heat and bring to boil. Once boiled, reduce the heat and let it simmer until your vegetables are tender.
4. Remove from heat, let it cool down before you use a stick blender. Blend until smooth.
5. Return soup to simmer on a medium heat. Stir in sour cream and taste accordingly with salt and pepper. Then add vanilla essence.
6. Serve with parsley and nice crunchy bread.

Bon appetite

Tips –

1. Blend the soup in batches otherwise your arms will get tired
2. Add vanilla essence when the soup has cooled down otherwise you’ll lose the fragrant smell of vanilla. Don’t be cheap on your vanilla essence. Always use the best. I recommend Herbies, a bit on the pricey side but delicious when added to dishes.
3.If you're vegetarian, substitute with vegetable stock.
4.Cut the skin off the celeriac thickly

Quote of the Day:

With Love,
Dolly

Zaaffran - Darling Harbour

2011-06-05T14:06:00.000+10:00

As winter approaches, there’s one thing I’ll miss about summer and autumn. The countless BBQ kebabs, of course! But don’t worry I know a restaurant that offers Indian BBQ banquets all throughout the year!

Zaaffran!

Zaaffran offers two BBQ options - E and F. We opted for option F which includes a 5 course meal opposed to option E.

Within minutes after choosing our drinks, Lentil Wafers (Pappadums) suddenly appear on our table.

Unlike last time, these Lentil Wafer were crispy and crunchy. You could easily call these Indian Nachos (a slightly healthier version) accompanied with a mint dip. Just like nachos, these can be addictive!

Course 1 - accompanied by Garlic Naan and Assorted Dips

GOL GUPPA
(MINI POORIES WITH SPICED MOONG BEANS AND POTATOES; DOUSED WITH MINT/TAMARIND LIQUOR)

When these arrived at our table, I couldn’t help but note how cute they were. We filled our mini poories with the beans and poured both mint and tamarind liquor into the provided deep fried shells. It was a burst of flavour.

Definitely remember to mix the liquor and once filled eat asap otherwise your shells will go soft!

ALOO MAKKAI TIKKI CHAAT
(CRISP POTATO AND CORN MINI PATTIES LACED WITH YOGHURT..)

These little patties tasted very corny and cheesy, the sauces unquestionably complemented it well.

SALAD
(MESCLUN, ROASTED CAPSICUMS, OLIVES, SUNDRIED TOMATOES AND ONIONS WITH LEMON-MUSTARD DRESSING)

Unfortunately the salad was a slightly oily for my liking; maybe an extra hint of sourness might have satisfied my tastebuds. On the other hand I’m grateful for salad, as too much meat can be gluttony.

MINT, BEETROOT, GARLIC AND CHILLI SAUCE

love the palette of colour

Course 2- accompanied by Mushroom Naan

MALAI TEY CHANDANI JHEENGAY
(KING PRAWNS TANDOOR-GLAZED)& GILAFI SEEKH(SKEWERED CHICKEN MINCE, TANDOOR GRILLED WITH AROMATS & SPICES; MINT, CORIANDER & ONION)

These Indian Chicken Kebabs were slightly dry, yet possessed a distinctive taste. For the love of big prawns hehe.

Course 3 – accompanied by Plain Naan

MACCHLI CHARMINAR
(SALMON – OVEN ROASTED; DILL MUSTARD MASH; LEMON-TURMERIC REDUCTION; MINT CHUTNEY)

Ken doesn’t eat seafood, and melts at the stench of seafood. Surprisingly ken did take a small nibble of my salmon. Thankfully that nibble turned into someone aka Ken demolishing half a piece of salmon. Ken commented how well it was cooked and the less prevalent fish odour, I guess this can be perceived as fresh and the acidic reaction of yogurt and salmon. Nevertheless I’m very thankful to Zaaffran who has made a non fish eating person take the initiative to try more fish. Finally some omega 3 !!

DULARI KUMBH
(OVEN BAKED SMOKED CUP MUSHROOMS)

Due to Ken’s inability to eat seafood (coughwhoatehalfofmysalmon), instead Ken requested oven baked mushrooms. He absolutely enjoyed the mushrooms, definitely juicy and well cooked. The only thing he criticised about these mushrooms, he wanted BIGGER ones hahaa..

KANE FRY
(BARRAMUNDI FILLETS SEMOLINA CRUSTED; FRIED CRISP)

I’ve never had semolina batter; the menu saids “Fried Crisp” Amen.

Course 4 – accompanied by buttered naan

PASLIYAAN MAJNOON
(YEARLING BEEF RIBS – BRAISED AND ROASTED)
There were equal layers of meat and fat on these ribs which make it cook perfectly, the meat fell of tenderly of the bone; generously glazed with various Indian herbs, definitely unique!

PESHAWARI SEEKH
(MAJNOON TANDOOR GLAZED SKEWERED LAMB MINCE)

Course 5 – Icecream/ kulfi

To finish off our BBQ banquet, we were presented with Indian ice-cream aka Kulfi. The rose kulfi was divine, the pistachio kufli was mediocre.The rose kulfi was not too creamy and not to sugary which gave a nice ending to the banquet.

Does this remind you of summer?

Drinks:

Chai Latte

I’m such a chai lover, and honestly Zaaffran to date is my favourite.Why? It’s so milky, creamy and just enough chai. The tea is not overpowering yet not to light. Just the way I like it.

Theres definately something in this cup, which makes it stand out from the rest, my guess was condensed milk,unfortunately my tastebuds were incorrent. Can someone please tell me whats in this chai latte!!!

If you are a chai lover, definitely try Zaaffran and tell me your thoughts!

I’ve been to many restaurants and always look at their drinks and cocktail menus, not many restaurants seem to focus much on creating their own signature cocktails.

Zaaffran offers an extensive menu which is either twisted to their imagination or created on house inwinded with their Indian cuisine.

I was lucky enough to taste Zaaffran's latest cocktail.
This dessert cocktail is an Indian fusion, featuring rose petal kulfi, chocolate liqueur, strawberries, blueberries, hazelnut, pistachio, cardamom and passion!

DEFINATELY MUST TRY!!!

Imagine drinking a creamy thick shake with the added liqueurs, blended nuts and topped with strawberry pieces.

Definitely a stunner!!!

We also ordered a tiramisu cocktail; it was a bit too strong for us, though I did enjoy eating the froth.

End Notes:
- Lovely ambience
- Attentive management
- Definitely should try : Chai Latte, Mushroom Naan, Beef Ribs & Cocktails

Cupcakiedolly dined as guest of Zaaffran

Quote of the Day :

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough”
- Oprah Winfrey

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.zaaffran.com.au/

Swissotel – Crossroad Bar High Tea Buffet

2011-06-01T19:39:00.000+10:00

I've always wanted to try Swissotel, though there was always the question "Who to take?". Thankfully the answer came along when i found Ken.

After a long wait, I had high hopes; it was slowly crushed by the mountainous offerings of sweets. To be honest, the wait wasn’t quite worth.

The sandwiches were dry; you can definitely make an assumption they were made hours beforehand. Though the egg and mayonaise sandwiches were quite enjoyable!

Likewise the cakes were average, nothing significantly stood out, opposed to the Crème Caramels.

Crème Caramels, Ken was itching for more

The generous amount of vanilla bean mixed into the custard totally made it worthwhile increasing our chances of diabetes.

The selections of tea were pitiable, compared to Sir Stamford extensive and freshly brewed tea menu.

I’ve never experienced water like cheesecake; imagine diving your fork into cheese water then hitting a rock wall enough said.

To conclude our high tea, we rushed over to the Dark Lindt Fondue, undeniably rich and creamy.. Delicious too bad we were ¾ full from the high tea itself.

To conclude our day, one may ask ‘what’s for dinner?’

*drumroll*

we shared a chicken burger and a strawberry milkshake XD.

End Notes:
- Live pianist, lovely ambience
- Must try: Crème Caramel and Fondue
- Tea bags opposed to freshly brewed tea
- The scones were deformed :(

Price: $55p/p

Quote of the Day:

With Love,
Dolly

Place

Swissotel

http://www.swissotel.com/EN/Destinations/Australia/Swissotel+Sydney/PROMOTIONS/gourmet/afternoon-high-tea.htm

P.S – we visited Swissotel in April 2011

(To date, i'm still favouring Sir Stamford's High Tea)

Temasek - Parramatta

2011-05-26T22:57:00.000+10:00

Hidden behind the Roxy hotel lies this famous Malaysian restaurant called Temasek. I’ve read a plethora of reviews raving about their Hainan Chicken. So what stopped Ken and me from trying such delicacies?

Dinner is served:

Wonton soup

There was nothing spectacular about these wontons, though I always love having a soup dish to keep me warm during the cooler months.

Hainanese Chicken Rice - $12.80

(Succulent Tender boneless chicken served with flavoured rice, soup, grounded ginger, chilli and soya sauce)

Maybe I was sick; the chicken didn’t live up to my expectations. It was quite dry for my liking, and patted with a LOT of oil. Temsek didn’t provide shallots, I’m so heartbroken, in my opinion, the ginger shallots definitely bring out the succulent chicken flavor. On the other hand, the rice was delicious, Ken kept nabbing my rice, and the rice was definitely well seasoned and soaked with yummy chicken stock.

(btw, what happenened to the other part of my chicken skin :()

Beef Rendang - $18.80 -- paid extra for rice

(Medium size beef simmered with fresh grounded spices in coconut broth)

Sadly due to my inabilities to eat hot dishes, this was quite hot though I’m slowly opening my horizons and learning to accept hot food. Though ignoring that factor, I still ate a bowl of rice with Beef Rendang, if you notice there’s a big layer of oil, which is always a turn off for myself.
Ken loves beef rending, unfortunately this did not live up to it, he commented on how the beef were cheap and fatty cuts soaked it lovely sauce. He did say the sauce was delicious though, when restaurants try to compromise and reduce the quality of meat it really gives a notable difference opposed to other restaurants.

(insert your vivid imagination :))

Coconut drink $3.50

They ran out of soy milk for me. How sad.

End Notes:
- Rice doesnt come with curry,must order seperately
- Service is quite slow.
- Food pretty much overated.
- Price is mediocre

Dear readers, Can you recommend me another restaurant that has succulent Hainan Chicken?

Quote of the Day:

"Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion"
- G.Q.F Hegel

With Love,
Dolly

Place:

Temasek.
The Roxy Arcade
71 George St
Parramatta NSW 2150

Boston Baked Beans

2011-05-16T21:59:00.000+10:00

On Friday night, instead of going to the gym I decided to divulge myself to hungry jacks.
YES I had the biggest craving for a burger.
Anyways I felt so guilty and walked to the gym in waiting for the Ken to finish his session.

What more of a procrastination tool.. Hello May edition Superfood ideas.

Recipe:(variation from Superfood ideas)

Ingredients:
- 800grams borlotti beans
- 800grams of diced tomatoes
- Brown sugar to taste, smoked paprika to taste
- Dash of hp sauce (courtesy of nay), 3 tsp of tomato paste, 3 tbs Worcestershire
- 2 tsp maple syrup (recipe said golden)
- 1 brown onion, 1 garlic, 2 tsp of olive oil
- 4 rashers of middle bacon (finely sliced and diced)
- 1-3 cups of water, depends how salty it gets (mainly from the bacon)

Let’s stir this together:

1.Preheat oven to 180degrees
2.Heat oil, fry onions until soft. Add bacon and garlic until bacon is cooked.
3.Add paprika until fragrant, add sugar, tomato paste, maple syrup and Worcestershire sauce. Cook it until it’s well combined.
4.Add in the beans and fry it so it can absorb some flavour.
5.Add diced tomatoes, bring it to boil. I suggest you add water here and taste it again.
6.Bake for 30-40 minutes until the sauce has evaporated into the beans
7.ENJOY.

Comfort Food ?

Tips:
- Definitely add extra water, the recipe doesn’t add any. It was ridiculously salty, especially when it reduced in the pot. Imagine your beans even saltier once they finish baking.
- HP sauce makes the beans more intense. Do add.

Quote of the day:

"The really happy peroson is the one who can enjpy the scenery, even when they have to take a detour"
- Sir James Jeans

With Love,

Dolly

Pho An - Bankstown

2011-05-14T12:01:00.000+10:00

To celebrate my birthday, I decided to take a few of my mates out to eat what is known as the best pho in Sydney. Now for a few years now I have been promising to take my mates out to have better pho than that which you get in the city. So what better place to take my mates out to have good pho than Sydney’s best Pho An.

Pho Bo Tai Large - $13.00

So I had Pho bo tai, which is thinly sliced raw beef that is put into the pho soup and cooked by the boiling hot soup that is in your bowl. The soup was very fragrant and well flavoured, not too salty. One thing to note was the freshness of the mint, basil and bean sprouts that you add to your bowl of pho, this is great as most pho joints do not always give good fresh ingredients.

Ca Phe Sua Da $4.50

The drinks that had were the iced coffee and soya bean drink, the coffee was great not too sweet and just enough coffee in it to make it a good drink. The soya bean drink however could not be commended it was more like green cloudy water than a soya bean drink, totally watered down.

All in all, it was nice to have great pho again after nearly a decade of not having pho from Pho An. However, the price is about $5 more than what you normally get in other pho joints so it is the premium that you would want to pay for great pho.

Pho faced :)

Dolly –

Pho is one of Vietnamese renowned dishes. Pho An supposedly is the best, yet the dearest.
I had Pho Bo Dac Biet, I found the meat to noodle ratio was quite generous, in fact adding extra meat would be a gluttony. The soup was flavoursome, though not the best! The thing I like about Pho An opposed to Pho Tay Bau is the bowls, served in white ceramic really make the distinction opposed to plastic. I’ll post my thoughts on Pho Tay Bau soon. The service was nice and efficient, only thing is the waiters stand there and stare at you o.O. Since we had a group of boys who love to talk *cough*, I did feel a bit awkward staying too long. Pho An I guess isn’t much of a sit down talk, but a Eat and Walk out. Thank god for Lebanese sweets.

Also Pho An charges (Spare bowls for 15 and over $3.50) .. WTF since when did extra bowls cost? WHERE IS THE LOVE I TELL YOU? Likewise they don’t provide small dipping bowls for your sauces and meats!

Lebanese sweets

Assorted Bacalavas

this needed more sugar syrup hehe

After pho, I decided to take my mates to try some Lebanese sweets due to the lack of Lebanese food that they have tried. We tried a small assortment of these sweets and one thing that is to note is that Lebanese sweets are terribly sweet which is ok if you are drinking dark bitter coffee with it to balance the flavour!

This was a great experience for my friends to try Lebanese desserts and the wealth of desserts they have to offer.

Quote of the Day:

“…you have to live for the present. You have to be in the moment. Whatever has happened to you in your past has no power over this present moment, because life is now.”

– Oprah Winfrey

End notes:
- Best Pho, not quite
- No love whatsoever, I only see this place as a money grabbing pho joint
- Drinks weren’t that great.. nothing I’d really recommend

Dear readers, would you be happy to pay for extra bowls?

With Love,

Dolly and Ken

Place:

http://sydney.citysearch.com.au/E/V/SYDNE/0020/34/15/

Happy Birthday Ken

2011-05-08T17:37:00.000+10:00

I just wanted to say:

Happy Birthday Love,

I'm sorry today didnt turn out as antipicated, im deeply sorry. I hope to make it up to you soon.

I just wanted to say that i'm very blessed to have you in my life and will continue to fight for it and be able to change for whats best for both of us.

Sincerely,

Dolly

Sky Tower Buffet - Centrepoint Tower

2011-05-03T12:25:00.000+10:00

Just a super dooper quick update during my 45 minute lunch break.

Last Friday Ken and I visited Sky Tower Buffet.

Captivating views (note don't visit when its cloudy)

Yummy Pavolva

Yummy chocolate, passionfruit and hokey pokey icecream

To be honest, the food here isn't great. $70 for view and $15 for food = $85 buffet.

Would i come back? For the breath taking views, YES.

Sky Tower, brings back old memories. I was once told "you should only bring special people here" .. ditto, ever since then whenever i've walked past Sky Tower i've had a nostalgic moment...

Lets Fast forward to May 2011.. Its time to make a new memory :)

Quote of the Day :

"Don't cry because its over, smile becasue it happened"
- Anonymous

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.trippaswhitegroup.com.au/our-venues/Sydney-Tower-Buffet/7

p.s - quack, thanks for sharing this awesome place with me. i will continue to share it with people i cherish :)

Happy Easter Guys

2011-04-24T10:27:00.000+10:00

Just a quick blog before i drown myself into assigments.

Happy Easter My fellow readers :)

Turtle <3

Nooo my head >.<

Quote of the day:

"The most wasted of all days is that one which one has not laughted"
- Nicolas Chamfort

With Love,

Dolly

Zaaffran - Darling Harbour

2011-04-18T19:03:00.000+10:00

Everyone always associates Indian food as your normal butter chicken and beef roganjosh, little do we know that there is a much larger world to Indian cuisine than the typical curry and naan. As the manager has said, if the menu of Zaffran was to present all the different flavours of the different regions of India, it would take a thousand years for the same dish to be repeated…this may or may not be a hyperbole!

(love the complimentary print out menu)

Thus the lovely people at Zaffran have very kindly allowed us to experience one small part of Indian variety through their diverse banquet as part of Dolly’s 22nd birthday celebrations.

To start off our Indian food odyssey, we were presented with pappadams with raita dipping sauce; this was very different as the pappadams were not made with your normal corn but with wheat instead. Sadly this change of ingredient meant that the pappadams had a tough texture to them that made them feel stale, and Dolly felt they were a tad salty too. The raita sauce however was a quite nice and refreshing with a bit of a kick to it with the addition of mint.

ALOO PAPRI CHAAT- WHEAT CRISPS WITH A TOPPING OF POTATOES, DATE-TAMARIND CHUTNEY AND
MINT CHUTNEY; BESAN VERMICELLI

Next on our banquet was the ALOO PAPRI CHAAT these were curious wheat crisps which gave a nice crunch to every bite, while the tamarind chutney created a sweet and spicy heaven in your mouth. To return us back to reality, the appetizer used the mint chutney to freshen our senses.

MACCHLI CHARMINAR - SALMON – OVEN ROASTED WITH YOGHURT, GINGER, GARLIC, RED CHILLI, LEMON JUICE AND GARAM MASALA; SPICY ONION-TOMATO AND PRAWN TOPPING

MALAI TEY CHANDANI JHEENGAY - KING PRAWN TANDOOR GLAZED WITH GINGER, GREEN CHILLI, CORIANDER, CARDAMOM, MACE AND CREAMED CHEESE:

DAKHNI KEBAB - CHICKEN TENDERLOINS – GUILDED GOLD IN THE TANDOOR WITH PEPPER, GINGER, GARLIC AND CURRY LEAF:

After the appetizers, we had our starters, which was a mixed platter of salmon, king prawns and chicken all doused in 2 rings of orange spice and green mint sauce. Due to my inability to acknowledge seafood as food that is easy on the nose, I did not try the salmon. However according to Dolly, the salmon was cooked perfectly, was tart yet spicy and not too hot (which is Dolly’s worst nightmare).

I might like to add that usually I would gag at the smell of seafood but these two items of the ocean did not have the usual smell and I even ventured to try the king prawn (yes its Dolly’s challenge to try to get me to eat seafood by the end of the year).

The prawn was well flavoured but I felt the flesh was a bit tough. The chicken on the other hand, was very soft and tender, the pepper gave a burst of spice when you bit into them and was a pleasant surprise.
Dolly – The chicken was lovely and tender and just totally busted with flavour.

GOORUR-E-DARIYA - LOBSTER MEAT STIRFRIED WITH TOMATOES, ONIONS, GINGER, MUSTARD SEED AND CURRY LEAF WITH A SPRINKLING OF COCONUT; WITH IDDIAPPAM

Now when one asks you about what an Indian main would be, the last thing you would say is lobster, lamb and prawns. To add to that none of our mains included a dish that was a curry dish! The lobster sauce was very flavoursome and had the homely feeling like a massamam curry.

Dolly – I’ve been looking forward to lobster all week, the lobster sadly was a bit overcooked, though the sauce totally made up for it, chunky, full of flavour with an inconsistent texture, I definitely enjoyed the mild sauce to complement it. If I could, I would have asked to takeaway the sauce and only the sauce!

Dolly – I loved it how we had to wrap the lobster in vermicelli, it sort of made it viet cuisine.. ONLY WITH LOBSTER!

BIRBALI NULLI - WHOLE LAMB SHANKS SLOW COOKED IN AN ONION, TOMATO & YOGHURT SAUCE WITH TRUSHED CHILLI, CORIANDER & FENNEL SEEDS

The lamb shanks were delicious they were very well cooked and tender; the spicy sauce had managed to find its way in between the slices of meat which flavoured the meat very well.

Dolly – Definitely one of the best, I’m a very tentative person when it comes to lamb, the smell, the odour scares me away! Honestly speaking this tasted like beef, zilch odour!

CHINGRI AUR RATTAN MALAI CURRY - TIGER PRAWNS, SCALLOPS & BUG MEAT IN A RAGOUT OF COCONUT MILK TEMPERED WITH MUSTARD OIL AND CHILLIES; INFUSED WITH CINNAMON AND CLOVE

The prawn and scallop dish was a hit with the other guests at the party and everyone’s consensus was that it was a very tasty and creamy dish, the scallops were very well cooked and the sauce was a good compliment to the seafood.

SUBZ MILONI - SELECTION OF SEASONAL VEGETABLES, CHICKPEAS & POTATOES IN A FENUGREEK-FLAVOURED, GARLICKY SPINACH SAUCE

The seasonal vegetable mix was an interesting way to make your normal steamed veges into a fun side. The spinach sauce was very tasty and went very nice with the naan. Unfortunately, the sauce was still unable to hide the bland taste in the steamed veges.

To go with the mains, there were 3 different naans; plain, garlic and mushroom naan. The mushroom naan was by far the most interesting one as when the waiters brought them to our table; we were hit by an initial pungent fungi smell. But when we ventured to try the curiosity, it was very hard not to finish the rest. The saffron rice was quite fragrant, but on a table with so many offerings it was definitely outmatched by the other food.

Dolly - The Mushroom naan totally bought me off my feet. If only there was a sprinkle of cheese, to obesity!

METHI MATTAR MALAI - GREEN PEAS COOKED WITH FENUGREEK IN A CREAMY SAUCE

Dolly – Eating vegies a whole day is one thing, being a vegetarian is another. I was fortunate enough to nab a small platter of Emma’s vegetarian banquet. I must say the METHI MATTAR MALAI is absolutely superb. The creamy sauce and peas were a BURST in flavour. Definitely worth tasting!

Zaafran even created a 7 course banquet for my friend Emma who doesnt eat onion, leeks and garlic. They created such a generous and mouthwatering meal. I must confess very little resturants cater for vegies, if so its all mudane!

Heres are some quick snaps of our mocktail and cocktails :)

(MUST TRY- toblerone)

Dolly's End notes:

-The service at Zaaffran is of great excellence and it is pleasing to see such a fine restaurant provide great service despite is position and views. Will we come back? Yes we will.. so much more to eat. Nom nom nom
- Vegetarin and vegan friendly
-They offer a lovely variety of mocktails to cocktails – must try – toblerone!
- Love their chai latte, they add condesed milk to it, such a lovely twist!
- They even offer bbq banquets (so untypically Indian, i cant wait to try it soon)
-Unfortunately their signage is a bit small when walking towards Harbourside. Maybe this (from memory was a red and yellow sign) could be improved and given a bit more exposure, easily missed.
- Zaaffran has now set a precedent to my Indian cuisine

Quote of the day:

"To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe"
- Anatole

With Love,
Dolly and Ken

Place – Zaaffran
http://www.zaaffran.com/

Twenty Two

2011-04-10T18:11:00.001+10:00

Just wanted to share something special:

Thanks Hunny <3.

Carrot cake - Sweetness Pasterrie

(insert pic soon)

Mudcake - Sweet Temptation Patisserie (thanks hun)

Delicious lunch at Zaaffran

(photo - courtesy of Albert)

With Love,

Dolly

El Jannah - Granville

2011-03-29T22:02:00.000+11:00

Everyone seems to rant and rave about charcoal chicken in Granville. Especially Ken!

Apparently they're most renowned for their garlic sauce.

Last Sunday, we decided to drive down to experience this phenomenon!

The lines were long, tables were scares.

Half chicken $10.50 (served with garlic sauce, pickles and bread)

The chicken was alright, it didn’t seem that special to me. Succulent, YES, Tender YES. I think it needed just a bit more seasoning! (Even though Ken told me the garlic sauce is suppose to provide that). The chicken was also a tad too burnt for charcoal o.O"

Garlic Sauce

The almighty promising sauce which made us drive from the northern district down to the west. My thoughts 5/10. I think it was just too heavy dipping the chicken.

Coleslaw $5.50

For the price, definitely decent!

Chips $4.00

Definitely needed more chicken salt, though dipped into garlic sauce gave it that extra oomph!

End Notes:
- There’s another charcoal chicken place down the road on the corner which offers the same quality cheaper. I went there a year ago. According to Ken and his cousin Jenna, Habibs is quite decent.
- Will I visit again.. its a bit out of my way, im happy to settle for KFC and their gravy!
- The waiter was very rude.
- wallet friendly dinner
- Nice bumping into Ken’s cousin and my old friend Diana (they had a 20th
birthday there haha)

What are your thoughts on El Jannah ?

Quote of the Day:

"Unless we remember we cannot understand."

- E. M. Forster

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.eljannah.com.au/

p.s - Please do not abuse - these are just my thoughts (you know who you are!)

Steamed Barramundi with Black Bean Sauce

2011-03-26T18:33:00.000+11:00

Having fish cravings?

Here’s your solution!

Super dooper easy steamed fish recipe.

Ingredients:

- 2 fillets Barramundi fillets
- 1 bunch of shallots
(cut both the top parts into 4cms just for marinating,
and the white finely chopped parts for toppings = no wastage)
- small knob of ginger (finely chopped)

Seasoning:

- 3 tbsp black bean sauce
- 1tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1-2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Mix all the seasoning together in a bowl.
2. Carefully spread the seasoning onto the fillets topped with the upper green parts of the shallots and some ginger.

3. Marinade it for 15 minutes in the fridge.
4. Use a steamer to steam the fish (it took around 8-10 minutes).
5. Remove the green shallots.
6. Garnish with the white ends of the shallots, topped with ginger, black pepper. Dinner is served.

Quote of the day:

“I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.”
- John Burroughs

With Love,
Dolly

Assiette - Surry Hills

2011-03-22T20:21:00.000+11:00

Instead of staying at home and studying diligently like any another studious student, I had dinner with my cousins on my 1st blogversity. My cousin and I went through the whole “Good food and wine 2011 book” we were tossing over Flying Fish and Assiette.

After much deliberation, Assiette it is!

Starters -

Freshly baked bread with butter.

The bread was crispy outside and fluffy inside, the butter wasn't as creamy as Betty's Soup kitchen (OMG best butter I’ve had)

Seasonal Oyster with Vietnamese dressing and baby coriander

I'm not too fond of raw oysters’ tbh, but this definitely cut the fat. The dried onions really bought out this dish. The dressing was divine. Though the aftertaste was a bit bitter, is this normal?

Cured 'Regal' Salmon with avocado, cucumber and radish salad with sesame dressing

The avocado mayonnaise was delicious; I’m going to try making it! The salmon was okay, though mixed with the radish salad definitely gave the salmon a hit!

Millefeuille of Kervella goats' curd with pine nuts, beetroot vingarette and basil

This was the best savoury dish. I'm definitely no fan of goats cheese, but this cheese had little to none goat odour, it was creamy and crisp. The beetroot sauce was tanglising, I would of licked the plate if possible. It was sweet and so unique. The definitely worked well with goat's curd. I never knew there was such thing as Orange Beet.. Something new you learn every day. The basil jelly wasn’t of significance, but it definitely made the plate look presentable.

Seared Scallop and prawn beignet with white asparagus barigoule and cauliflower puree

The scallop was perfectly cooked, the sweet mixed with the sourness of white asparagus and the puree. yum. the prawn didn’t work well, the batter was too salty and overpowering, definitely ruined the dish :(

Cone bay barramundi with saffron gnocchi, fennel, leek and mussel emulsion

This dish didn’t taste as good as it looked. The sauce was too light and flavourless. I guess this was too plain for my liking!

Quail ballotine wrapped in prosciutto with sautéed corn and crispy quail's egg

I love the crispy quail egg, I want more!! This dish is unique, though having it after the flavourless salmon made it unnoticed!

Roast lamb loin in balsamic, lamb shoulder rillette, eggplant puree with potato gallette

I had the well done, knowing me. It was perfectly cooked, so juicy and tender! The shoulder on the other hand was too salty.

Brillat-Savarin Cheese cake with honeyed walnuts and pear puree

The cheese was so flavoursome, it was like blue cheese without the blue! At first I was quite hesitant; to dig in as this looked odd until my cousin was like Dolly this is awesome! The crispy sandwich without doubt gave a crunch. The raisin didn’t work quite well.

Vanilla pannacotta with blueberry compote and sorbet

My cousin was itching for more. Such a small serving, yet ever so potent! The pannacotta was nice and creamy mixed with the sorbet gave it an extra kick.

Chocolate delice with smoked orange ganache, citrus and buffalo yogurt sorbet

To conclude a lovely degustation we were presented with this, the chocolate delice sorta tasted like the chocolate paddlepop stick, though topped with a generous layer of orange ganache. Oh so chocolaty I could feel my teeth tingling! My cousin absolutely loved this!

Dinner courtesy of cousin, thanks :)

Cost $99 per person

End Notes -
- Unquestionably good for an anniversary
- Love the ambience
- Service was nice and friendly
- Decor, nice and relaxed
- Positively will come here again, once Ken can eat seafood *eyes ken*

Quote of the Day:

" the way i see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain"
- Dolly Patron

With love,

Dolly

Place:

http://www.restaurantassiette.com.au/

P.S - Assiette is owned by Chef Warren Turnbull a fellow kiwi :)
P.SS - Did you know the waiter at Assiette can earn more than a Macq bank worker in one night and also get free dinner.. OMG hire me for the weekends, hello part time job :)

Happy 1st birthday cupcakie :)

2011-03-14T00:30:00.001+11:00

Happy 1st Birthday to my food blog :)

So what did i devour on this special day?

Bagels haha... i also had a family dinner at Assiette, degusation. DELISH. :)

With Love,

Dolly

Hotel Saravana Bhavan - Croydon

2011-03-08T17:37:00.000+11:00

So after 1 week and 1 day of no meat and living on a starved diet of picking the vegetables out of dishes and getting sick in the process, I finally had the chance to eat meat again. Sadly since I’m sick I don’t eat foods that are unhealthy so Dolly’s grand plan of taking me to eat half a cow had to be shelved. Instead we went to discover more of Croydon which is like a little gem in Sydney with nice restaurants and not too big of a crowd.

This southern Indian restaurant has both a mix of Indian and Sri Lankan favourites as well as a very well mannered and amusing host.

The pappadams were complimentary which is always a bonus, and to go with it we had 3 nice dips, our favourite was definitely the mint one which also made our white pappadams look like crazy food.

Onion Paroka - $8.50 (sensational onion dumplings)

The entrée were not onion dumplings as advertised on the menu but balls of onion and sweet potato deep fried in batter, none the less it was very nice and went very well with the mint sauce.

Butter Chicken - $17.90

With the mains we had 2 curries; the first was the classic butter chicken. We chose the mild butter chicken as Dolly has a low tolerance to chilli. This dish was very nice and was well flavoured; if it was made normally it would have tasted even better! None the less the chicken was fresh and tasty and did not let the sauce down.

Dimbula Beef Curry - $23.90

The second curry we had was beef, which was served on a hotplate with veges underneath the bowl of curry, a sizzling delight on this cold autumn day. The sauce was slightly spicy that gave a slight tingling on the tip of your tongue, but the beef pieces became hard and overcooked the longer they stayed in the bowl…more reason to eat more of them.

To accompany the curries, we had a bowl of rice which was mixed in with saffron, raisins, cashews and a whole lot of other ingredients. They also gave us a dish of sambal which we could add to the rice to give it a bit of a chilli kick, which I highly advise of doing even if you fear chillies. Dolly was so happy with the rice and sambal mixture that she said she would be happy to just eat the rice itself. We also had garlic naan to go with the curries, these were not as puffy as your usually naan and was much more solid and “meaty” than other naan. It also meant that it was a lot harder to break apart with one hand.

Dolly - samabal indian style. I actually quite like the mixture of chilli and roasted lentils, though i did squeeze a puddle of lime juice :):)

(Use your imagination)

To cap off our meal we had the in house specialty of earl grey ice cream. To be honest this did not taste like earl grey, mainly due to the insane amounts of nuts put in and the lemongrass but the ensuing mixture was very pleasant and something worth trying.

End Notes: This restaurant places a heavy emphasis on presentation of its food and in a way makes you want to eat more! The hosts are very nice to talk to and always have good chai and earl grey tea to sell to you too!

With Love,

Ken

Dolly - sorry for the poor quality, courtesy of my little htc :)

Plum Café

2011-03-05T14:30:00.000+11:00

This is going to be my last New Zealand blog.

Want to view more New Zealand Food Porn? please visit:

http://www.facebook.com/Cupcakiedolly

Last breakfast in Wellington.

Plum Café

This café stood out from the rest, it wasn’t too alternative, instead a mixture of trendiness (theres an nice piano at the back).

Running out of ideas, I ordered the Plumster – Eggs your way (poached), Kranskys, Bacon, Slow Roasted Tomatoes, House-Made Hash Browns, Grilled Mushrooms and Toast - $19.50

I’ve become more accustomed to poached egg these days, maybe cause its slightly the healthier option. The egg wasn’t as nice opposed to Espessolics, though eatable. The Kransky was a bit hard yet still filled with flavor. The Hash browns were so flavoursome, crunchy yet moist inside.

One thing that set this place apart from Espessolics was the homemade tomato sauce. I could eat litres of it. It was sweet yet tangy; I could taste the fresh tomatoes. Delicious!

The drink menu was too long and being me I was quite indecisive that morning, so I asked the cute waiter to decide for me. He pointed me to Lemon, Honey and Ginger – Freshly made by our barista $5

This was so potent, that I only managed to take 4 sips. You could definitely taste the fresh squeezed lemon, crushed lemon and spoonfuls of lemon. This glass is definitely good for the sick.

This concludes my New Zealand Blogs. I hope to visit you again.

Quote of the day:

"It is with true love as it is with ghosts; everyone talks about it, but few have seen it"

-Francois de La Rochefoucauld

With Love,

Dolly

French Crepes

2011-02-28T20:55:00.000+11:00

Wellington’s summer is equivalent to Sydney’s autumn or winter.

It was freezing; I totally underestimated the weather forecast, before packing my bags. Thank god Marcs still had some winter clothes left; in fact it was all on sale too.

Anyways, throughout my 5 day stay I kept walking past this small bright yellow shop hidden amongst 2 clothing stores called French Crepes a lot of people would like up every day to see this man whip up a crepe.

It only hit me on my 2nd last day that it was time to divulge myself into one for breakfast, being me I didn’t get just one but two. I was talking to the lovely man, he use to work in AMP finance and left to France to chase his dream and come back to his homeland to do what he dreamt off. How sweet. Not everyone is capable of getting a job of their dreams. Kudos to you.
So what did I order?

BRING ON THE CHEEEESSSEE

notice the deadly amount of onion hehe

La Complete: Ham, Cheese, Onion and Egg $10
It tasted like any crepe, I asked for EXTRA onion <3. I think the guy was overly generous it did kill the flavour of ham and cheese. I could only taste onion. Oh didn’t my breath smell nice haha.. Oh well I dug my hole there.

White Forest: White Chocolate with Cherries $7
This tasted a bit weird as the white chocolate clumped into the cherry water which created a very foul brown colour. Maybe fresh cherries would have been better.
Nevertheless the line was very long especially when it was thundering and raining quite hard. Majority of the customers were couples and teens.

End Notes:
- Nice and cheap lunch
- Best eaten once bought

Quote of the day:

"In friendship as well as love, ignorance very often contributes more to our happiness than knowledge"
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

With Love,

Dolly

Primo Milk :)

2011-02-27T13:17:00.000+11:00

2 days left of summer. Hurray.

My heart goes out to those families and victims of the Christchurch Earth Quake. <3

Please dig deep to those charities raising fund for New Zealand's EarthQuake.

(and yes its scary, ive witness some earthquakes in my lifetime)

Today's blog is dedicated to Milk.

The benefits of drinking milk:
- contains vitamins (calcium)
- strengthen bones
- prevents or reduced risks of various cancers

What vitamins does milk contain?
- Calcium
- Riboflavin
- Phosphorous
- Vitamins A, D and B12
- Pantothenic acid.

(Source Better Health Vic)

Let’s rewind a bit, when I was young, milk use to be delivered in glass bottles every day. Oh how Milk these days have changed. Today, you can instantly get a glass of milk at your nearest convenience store or even your local supermarkets.
Something I think the Kiwi's should exploit is their dairy produce. Their milk is just absolutely delicious. Oh baby. Unfortunately I didn’t get to try their yogurt.

New World Supermarket, notice how their prices are digitally tag (very smart idea).

I ran into the milk aisle to find theses babies:

Helloo Milk :0

Primo Lime Milk

This was a bit sour, yet tantalising to ones taste buds. You could taste the lime flavour yet the nutritious content of milk :)

Primo Jaffa Milk.

This was a bit too sweet for me, yet I love the mix of chocolate milk and orange. This definitely tasted like eating a Jaffa, better yet getting the nutritious content of milk. This must be a WIN WIN situation!

A photo of me modelling yummii milk and my haircut lols

Every since coming back, I’ve been drinking more milk that usual (normally this comes from my daily coffee binge).

I hope work hasn’t noticed why the milk keeps evaporating out of thin air hehe.

Dear Readers, How much milk do you drink per day?

Quote of the day

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
- Abraham Lincoln

With Love,

Dolly

Source:
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Milk_the_facts_and_fallacies

P.S: Drinking flavoured milk isn't the healthiest option, though if you aren’t an avid milk fan it’s a stepping stone :)

Espressoholic - Cuba Mall

2011-02-15T20:03:00.000+11:00

There are ever so many backlogs to my 5 day trip, which has generously added 3 kilos of chubbiness to my face. Mind you I’m training like a mad woman *cough*.

Since I was young, I’ve been taught - Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; Skip lunch, Skip Dinner, though skip breakfast then you’ve committed a sin.

Trotting along the streets of Wellington (Cuba Mall), I came across this cafe called Espressoholic.

What does one lonely little girl devour?

Skim Chai Latte

Hands down to New Zealand's milk produce, don’t underestimate the strength of Skim. It was so creamy and oh just delicious on a cold summers morning!

Sour dough, spinach, ham, harsh brown (home-made), poached egg, avocado and hollidaise sauce.

This dish was simple to the dish i made with Ken, only differences are the bread, hash brown, avocado and sauce.

The verdict:
The homemade hash browns were a bit dry, and needed a bit more flavouring. The sauce was very light and airy compared to other cafes.

This little breakfast totalled to $24.80 .

Quote of the day:

"to think forwards is to dream, to think backwards is simply to remember"

- Sheldon cooper

End Notes:
- Definitely a nice café to relax, very retro
- Generous servings at a decent price

With Love,

Dolly

Place:
Espressoholic - Cuba Mall
http://www.espressoholic.co.nz/index.html

Dragon Resturant

2011-02-06T13:27:00.000+11:00

Dinner with Auntie Marie and her family.

Ironically I’ve eaten more Chinese cuisine than ever opposed to my normal eating habits in a time span of 5 days :) .

Say hello to The Dragon’s Resturant, a pretty high end restaurant with each main averaging around $30.

Complimentary soup

Sizzling Beef with Shallots

They put too much bicarb, hence the meat was extra tender. So bad for your stomach :(

Crab meat, prawn, Chinese cabbage and vercemilli soup. I loved this soup, it was very light and hearty. Especially the crab meat balls hehe.

Prawn dumplings
Were okay, i prefer Sydney's yumcha.

Deep fried tea leaves, prawns, capsicum and shallots.

Definitely the highlight of my night. According to Auntie
Marie this dish is widely known and is a typical Chinese dish.
Can someone please clarify this? I've personally never tried. Its
quite tasty indeed. Infact the crisp tea leaves just melt into
your mouth nom! Though i seaweed would've been more
optimal.

Quote of the day:

"Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. If you could see them clearly, naturally you could do a great deal to get rid of them but you can't. You can only see one thing clearly and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin."
- Kathleen Norris

Love,

Dolly

Place - Dragon Restaurant

Tip Top Hokey Pokey Icecream = Forgasm

2011-01-23T19:21:00.000+11:00

I'm currently devouring hokey pokey ice-cream.

I've waited FOURTEEEN YEARS for this moment!

FOURTEEN .. gees i sound archaic.

Kia Ora, childhood memories.

Price - $4.38/ 2 litres

What makes this stand out from the rest:

- memories = nostalgic
- creamy (fresh)
- milky (fresh)
- not too sweet only the hokey pokey gives it that extra tingle
- small and neat carton

THIS TUB OF ICECREAM IS JUST TOTALLY AWESOME!

Thought of the Day:

Simplicity is the key.

With Love,

Dolly

End Notes:
- there use to be MORE hokey pokey mixed in the icecream. I feel jipped!

Freaking Awesome Salad

2011-01-23T07:25:00.000+11:00

Heres a super dooper quick snapshot of my lunch I devoured yesterday.

Hello there Freaking awesome salad.

This salad contains the awesomeness of:
1. rocket
2. camembert cheese
3. diced bacon
4. roasted potatoes
5. shallots
6. roasted capsicum
7. kidney beans and various others

For only $7 a bowl. I must be in heaven.

I also had a pea, ham and egg pie accompanied by homemade tomato relish $7. The pie wasn’t that great, maybe lacked a bit of salt. The relish was a bit more sweet than anticipated.

Nevertheless for $14 I’m one happy girl.

Heres a lovely photo of Oriental bay.

Thought of the day:

Home is where the heart is <3

With love,

Dolly

Place: The Smith Grocer

P.s: No i didnt finsih my lunch infact i was pretty KO by the salad itself.

Encasa Resturant (2nd Visit) - Pitt Street

2011-01-20T21:55:00.001+11:00

Encasa is one of my fav places to eat in the city, mainly for its uniqueness of the food, its poor English speaking (and totally not exotic looking) waitresses and most importantly its price. So for those who have not discovered its delights, its situated in the not so upper class area of Pitt Street near the hostels. This is a great place for its tapas and my gosh! do they do a good tapas!

Gambas Sevillanas - $13
(Peeled king prawns in spicy tomato salsa)

To start off we had the tomato salsa prawn tapas, well I personally am allergic to seafood (how untragic!) but according to Dolly, the flavour in this was a bit bland and was not as good smelling as she may have hoped. I can second this cos my seafood allergic nose was barely able to smell the prawns.

Toledo - $18 (medium)
Chorizo • Artichokes • Roasted Red Capsicum • Olives

The next dish we were served was the Toledo pizza, though quite small and a bit tough at the edges, it was very delicious and the chorizo can make anything taste good! The olives that were used somehow managed to stay very juicy and flavoured, even after being baked in the earthen oven at the front of shop.

Pesto - $16
Chicken • Pesto • Mushrooms • Cream

Next dish to arrive at our humble table was the pesto penne, sadly since this was an Italian dish in a Spanish restaurant, there was nothing spectacular about the dish. One odd thing though, was that in the sauce were shallots, giving the pasta an odd taste…neither good nor bad just odd.

Albondigas - $21.00 (main)
(Beef meatballs in almond sauce)

These meatballs that we had looked very nice, however, possibly due to our high expectations they did not taste as good as we’d have liked. But to the meatballs defence they were up against Billy’s meatballs and the Persian room’s Kufteh’s. Nevertheless, there was not enough sauce to lubricate the inside of the meatball, which made it a lot dryer and harder to eat. A solution that Dolly proposed was that the meatballs should be dripping in the pesto pasta sauce…this was not tried thankfully.

Chamgiñones al Ajillo - $9

Finally the dish that I had been waiting since my last Encasa meal…Garlic Mushroom tapas! Yes this is one of the reasons that I’d be willing to return to Encasa! The button mushrooms are cooked in a beautiful red bowl, soaking with garlic sauce! If you ever go to Encasa, you must try this tapas, as you will not have had a pure mushroom dish until you’ve had this…and nothing else will compare!

Notes: Due to the size of the kitchen and the amount of orders, the order of meals did not arrive in order, and yes even though it may have been to build up to the climax of the meal with the mushrooms at the end…I would have preferred having tapas before eating my main meals.

Also the premise is very small and squashy so if you’re concerned about your personal space, hope you’re getting a large table!

Dolly – Our Belated New Years Dinner with Anthony and Nelson. Awesome catch up .. Chinese New Year? We also had Dessert at one of my favourite cafes - Azuma :)

The lovely - Anthony and Nelson.

My little surprise for ken .. aw so cute.

Us.

Quote of the Day:

“Friendships develop over food and wine” –
Prince Nicholas Romanoff, (Vanity Fair, April 1999)

With Love,

Ken and Dolly

Place:

http://www.encasarestaurant.com.au/

Sydney Fish Markets Pyrmont and The Meeting Point Haymarket

2011-01-20T21:08:00.001+11:00

Can you believe its my first time visiting the fish markets?

Unfortunately Ken is "allegic" to seafood .. (who wants to bash him for me? seriously)

It was a lovely Saturday afternoon when Reboc and I caught the metro tram to the home of freshly shucked seafood.

Hello

So what did we girls devour?

Seaweed Salad $4.00

I can never say no to SSalad, its didnt seem as fresh as the one i buy regularly at Wynyard. I think it also lacked a bit of sesame seeds.

Prawns $2.50ish?

Sashimi $8?

Im no fan of raw fish. Though it did look very fresh :)

Oysters

Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab (Doyles)

I think they could've seasoned the batter a bit more, nevertheless crab yum!

Half a Monay Lobster with Salad and 1 Oyster Kiltpatrick $25.10

The lobster was dry and overcooked, there wasnt as much monay sauce as seen. Looks are decieving! The oyster was cooked to perfection. yum.

Grilled Fish and Chips $10.00

The fish was decent, though isnt suffice to eliminate my seafood craving. Sorry Ken.

The lovely Reboc and I

After walking around in Sydney's sunlight we were boiling hot and wanted to cool down.

Hello - The Meeting Point, located under Market City, tucked in the corner closest to UTS. This could be a nice place to just chill and unwind with a fusion of Japnese and Taiwanese.

Mango and Milk $6 ish

This was overly sweet, i had to ask the waiter to water it down for me. I really dislike places that use powered artifical flavourings. Why cant you use fresh fruit? :(

Reboc ordered some tea, she also commented on the sweetness.

Conclusion: Never order "fresh fruit" thinking its fresh fruit. You're better off ordering Pearl Milk Tea casue you know it is genuiely powered :)

Mango Sago $5.80

Since Ken knew that i was at the fish market i decided to surprise him with something sweet. Though he thought it was fish *stupid ken* ..

Quote of the Day:

"A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something" - Frank Capra

With Love,

Dolly

Places:

Sydney Fish Markets Pyrmont
The Meeting Point - Under Market City

Happy New Year

2011-01-09T19:01:00.001+11:00

-------

On NYE, the lovely Michael and Julie organised a bbq at Pyrmont. There was a plethora of food ranging from bacon and eggs to seafood (fresh from the markets). Highlight of the night was the tamarind lamb chops, this definitely gave a kick to your normal bbq chops, and unfortunately I didn’t eat many due to my inability to devour lamb.

The Lovely Julie cooking

Tamarind Lamb Chops

THANKS FOR ORGANISING SUCH A LOVELY BBQ GUYS:) Ken loves you haha.

How cool would it be to have your wedding on New Years – Congratulations to Phillip and Joyce's Wedding (Ken's friends).

How cool is this .. ? Totally !

The first thing we ate in 2011 were canapés from Phil and Joyce’s wedding, unfortunately we were very hungry and didn’t get a shot of it.

After the service we walked down to David Jones Food Hall, this place is like heaven to me :)

Pork Roast $14.95

Definitely not the best and this is coming under the name of David Jones, the veggies were dry, flavourless and the salty gravy didn’t complement the roast well.

New Years Dinner at my Place

I made these Samosas from scratch, if you would like the recipe feel free to email me

Prawn Curry

My mum's awesome Vegetarin Bi Cuon, I love Vietnamese cold rolls.

Thought of the Day:

Life is short, so remember to share the best moments with those you treasure.

Hope you had a lovely New Year, eat well guys.

With Love,

Dolly

Chocolate Kkomz - Eastwood

2010-12-29T22:14:00.000+11:00

So after a nice church service at West Ryde (Christmas Day), Dolly and I pretty much had the rest of the day to chill and enjoy the beautiful sunlight. So after hanging out in the shade of trees in Boronia Park, we or I finally got hungry and so we went to Eastwood in search of lunch. Seeing as mist restaurants were closed or pretty crappy, we went to this quiet restaurant opposite Eastwood station.

One awesome thing about this restaurant is the many booths it has, that partially seclude one set of customers from another group…so you kinda get some privacy when dining.

Fried Dumplings - $10.00

First for entrée, were fried dumplings…Korean style. These were quite nice as I personally have a preference for fried dumplings over steamed but the thing that won this dish over for me was the dipping sauce; it had chilli, soy sauce, sesame and a few spices that gave a bit of an explosion of flavour in your mouth!

Side dishes -wise they were all pretty standard style Korean side dishes. Though Dolly loves the honey soy potatoes which mind you are very nice, I believe we ended up ordering 3 dishes of this again. (Dolly - one thing i love about korean FREE FREE)

King Grill - $46 for 2
(A combination of spicy pork ribs, Kkomz drumsticks, Kalbi, Sausage and Bulgogi skewers served with a side salad)

For the main, we shared the King Grill and heck yes it was fit for a king. I’m sure there was a kilo of meat on that platter; it even needed a trolley to be delivered! So there were Kalbi (sweet beef paddies), Bulgolgi skewers, spicy pork ribs, and spicy chicken drumsticks. The ribs ended up being overcooked and were tough to eat. However the kalbi and the skewers were very good, especially when dipped in the extra salad dressing that we asked for. BBQ food is good but gets dry when you eat too much so dipping it into the creamy salad dressing gave the meat a good balance to its dryness and added extra flavour! Definitely a must try!

Black Sesame Tea - $6 ish

To top it off Dolly tried the Black sesame tea, which is very different and delicious to drink. But did remind me of the powdered milk that you get from the sachets.

Sweet Potato Pancakes - $8

After struggling to finish the king grill and the salad that came with it, we decided to off our Christmas lunch with dessert…a purple sweet potato pancake with ice cream. We thought it was only a single pancake but it turned out to be 4! They were very delicious and sweet, the batter was very fresh and well cooked, and turned out to be my favourite part of the dessert cos it was so crunchy!

All in all, a very nice place to dine in the quiet of Eastwood and very generous servings, so be aware of how much you can devour! Will I come here again? Yes of course so many other interesting things to eat and beats all the other restaurants in Eastwood! Also its good value for money!

Love,

Ken

Place - Chocolate Kkomz - Directly opposite to Eastwood station

Perama Greek Resturant - Petersham

2010-12-26T23:29:00.000+11:00

Christmas is the time when you get together with your loved ones and dine till you whine.

Hello Christmas Eve Dinner.

Hidden amongst Petershams Portguese resturants, here lies one of the Best Greek Resturants in Sydney - Perama.

I've always wanted to take Ken to a Greek Resturant, as hes never experience it before.
My first Greek at Athenian (Wynyard) made me think less,little did i know Perama proved me wrong!

IMAMBALDI (STUFFED ROASTED EGGPLANT) 5.5
(Roasted eggplant wedges stuffed with a spicy tomato mix and served with a spiced yoghurt)

This Ouzomezedakia would've gotten 10/10 if they've melted cheese on top. The tomato sauce definately complemented well with the sour dough bread.

PORK BELLY BAKLAVA 19.00
(Layers of flaky filo pastry, pork belly meat, date and pistachios, topped with crispy crackling and served with a date and mastic sauce.)

This dish was so exotic. Sweet, savoury and nutty (the works). The greeks definately gave a twist to the normal crackling pork, surrounded by date sauce OMG! This is a must try!

MUSHROOM AND TRUFFLE MOUSSAKA 28.00
(Layer of potato, eggplant and mushroom sprinkled with a black truffle and graviera cheese mixture and topped with rich creamy béchamel. Served with a green apple and cucumber salad)

Delicisouly dangerous for one's health. I dont recommend anyone finsihing this by themselves. AND NO KEN NO!, they are definately generous with their cheese, i love it how the cheese and mushrooms bursts in flavour. Oh the joy!
The apple and cumcumber salad was very well balanced with the sweet balsmic sauce, i can definitly eat a whole bowl of this.

--

We orginally wanted to double up on our desserts, knowing me. SKIP ENTREES, SKIPP MAINS, HELLO DESSERTS. That plan fell facedown.

OLIVE OIL ICE CREAM 8.50
(Two scoops of EVOO, pistachio and dried fig ice cream.)

This is one of the reasons why i wanted to take ken here, unfornately this icecream came of no delight. Infact i could feel oil at the back of my throat. The pisachio and figs wasnt a great mix; unlike maggie beer *drools*

--

Greek Coffee $6 - Vietnamese coffee anyday!

Chamolie Tea $4 - Aww.. no houseblend.. Dilmah.

End Notes:
- This resturant is dubbed as one of the best Greeks, did it live up to its standards?
Yes, im quite happy with dinner. They definately brought up some spice and also very afforable.
- Decor is very planm its a bit small as the chairs are a bit hard to put in and out

Quote of the Day:

With Love,

Dolly

Place:

http://perama.com.au/

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T19:52:00.000+11:00

Hurray my computer has been fixed just in time for *drum roll*

MEERRRY MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FELLOW FRIENDS :)

Last week, Ken and I went to Francesca house for the "Ruses Christmas Dinner"

Here are some happy shots.

Our Apple and Cinnamon glazed Ham

Something i've never seen before.. tasted like blackberries

The awesome hosts

Having our moment

Merry Christmas :)

With Love,

Dolly and Ken

Sydney Food Bloggers Picnic 2010

2010-12-15T19:56:00.000+11:00

I'm surely the LAST blog to update.

Nevertheless heres some awesome food porn :P.

I would like to thank Helen (from Grabyourfork) and Suze (from chocolatesuze) for organising such a lovely picnic.

One of the Kris Kringle Presents i brought. So me haha..also brought the Lush Jelly.

I got this cool Japanese Box with Chopsticks courtesy of Marvin. Thanks :)

Most Tastiest Dishes (2)

Salmon quiche from Clarissa (eat your shots) -

The Empty Fridge -- ken's favourite!

Most Creative Dishes (2)

Most Prettiest Dish

I also got to meet one of my favourite blogs *drum roll*

THANG from Noodlies. Hope to catch dinner with you one day *hi5*

SO COOOL, I WANT ONE!!

us :)

Quote of the Day:

With Love,

Dolly

Green Gourmet - Newtown

2010-12-05T18:29:00.000+11:00

Ken - Normally I would shake my head in disgust at vegetarian food due to its lack of iron, but vegan cuisine goes even further to take out one of the best sources of calcium and omega-3 (ie eggs and milk). Now after trying vegan cuisine, I can definitely say that it is one of the most tasteless foods out there.

Dolly- Coming from a house 80% + meat free, I’m always happy to try new Vegetarian restaurants. It’s always funny how i have to pick sides when my family goes out! I’ve always walked past Green Gourmet and wanted to take my mum there. Since i decided to surprise Ken and help him get ready for his 1 week meat free challenge this was just the beginning.

Steamed Gow Ghee/ ‘Prawn’ Dumplings (3 pieces) $4.60
(Sea kelp protein and water chestnut wrapped with delicate opaque pastry made from low gluten wheat starch)

Ken - To start we had “prawn” dumplings…now I dislike seafood but this was so bland and dry that soaking it in the soy sauce couldn’t help.

Dolly – definitely lacked flavour and the pastry was too sticky.

Shanghai Wor_Tip (3 pieces) $4.60
(A traditional dumpling in Shanghai. Wheat flour pastry stuffed with tofu and bok choy)

Dolly – The pastry was also too sticky and hard to pick up with chopsticks.

Won Ton Soup (Short Soup) $5.50
(Six dumplings in vegetable stock)

Dolly – The won ton was okay, however the soup was mildly fragrant. I still prefer my mum’s version or even just won ton skin in soup would do me justice!

*Sweet & Sour Taro Fritters $15.80
(Better_Than Sweet & Sour Pork. Fried taro fritters served with carrot, capsicum, pineapple and tomato)

Ken - The highlight of the main meals was the sweet and sour fried taro balls, this is the vegetarian version of sweet and sour pork. This dish was very nice though we suspect it was only because of the sauce. The taro balls themselves were quite dry on the inside due to the lack of the egg in the batter.

Dolly – Since Ken was craving Sweet Sour Pork, hello my fellow substitute. I rank this better than any other dish we ordered. Though as Ken mentioned, it was dry maybe they should add milk and egg.

Clay Pot Tofu Pillow with Eggplant $15.80
(Succulent pillow of tofu sheets cooked slowly with fresh eggplant and pickled vegetables)

Ken - Next dish was a claypot of eggplant and “tofu pillow” as said on the menu, which turned out to be just shreds of bean curd. This by far is a horrid abuse of a much loved dish where bean curd does not match tofu pillow in its soft fluffy texture. This substitution of ingredient made the claypot dish very very hard and difficult to stomach.

Maybe we should report this place to the ACCC for false advertising…

Dolly – lost for words.

Sago Mango Pudding with Ice Cream $6.40

Ken - My dessert was the mango and taro pudding, though it was lacking the taro component and ended up being just being a mango pudding. The taro ice cream that came with this was very light and a pleasant surprise.

Banana Fritter with Tofu Ice Cream $6.40

Dolly – They could of added coconut and sweetened the batter. It was too salty and didn’t complement the banana at ALL! Icecream was delicious 

Rose & Lemon Grass Tea (per pot) $4.50
(This refreshing, champagne-coloured herbal tea is naturally rich in Vitamin C and has a mild flavour)

Dolly – They definitely gave us heaps of dried roses, it really brought out the lemongrass flavour.

Ken’s Conclusion: would I return again Never! Is the food is so bland that food at the Buddhist temple is much more tasty than this and they barely use much flavouring. The “fake” imitation food is nowhere close to being decent let alone to comparing against their meaty counterparts. Further the restaurant is reminiscent of a rundown dingy old place…not very helpful for your appetite.

Word of Warning: The menu is totally incorrect from what you’re getting so be careful of what you’re ordering!

End notes:
Ken - For the vegan people, I would ask you to learn some agriculture before deciding your reasons for being vegan. Chickens lay eggs regardless of whether the eggs are fertilised or not. The eggs that are picked from the chicken cages are those that do not get fertilised…eating eggs with a chick in it is just disgusting and poor farming practice. A chicken laying eggs is the equivalent of females having periods.

Dolly – would i return, No.

Quote of the Day:

“It's your aptitude, not just your attitude that determines your ultimate altitude.”
-Zig Ziglar

With Love,

Dolly and Ken

Place:

http://www.greengourmet.com.au/

Olivo Restaurant - Darling Harbour

2010-11-30T20:58:00.001+11:00

Wow doesn’t time fly.

Today we came together to celebrate:

*drumroll*

Mandy has FINALLY given in her thesis :) Congrats!

Being us, we eliminated as many cuisines as possible and finally concluded with this restaurant (we walked around like nomads for nearly an hour)
Olivio. Olivio situated in Darling Harbour offers wonder views (who could miss the word 'world square' hahaa).

Dinner time ...

Twice cooked Belly - $26.90
(Served on mash with a crispy skin, green apple and a duck jus)

The pork belly was well made, with equal layers of fat in comparison with the meat.

300g Angus Sirloin - $29.50
(with Portobello mushroom, onion marmalade, gorgonzola and port wine jus)

Fileto Barramundi - $28.50
(grilled fillet on Mediterranean vegetables with lemon gremolata)
The fish was cooked perfectly, the flavours of fish and med. vegies mixed oh so well!

John Dory - $28.50
(fillet on potato scaloppine with lemon butter sauce)
Was it me, or was this fish overcooked and flavourless?

Osso Bucco - $26.50
(veal shin braised slowly served on the bone with garlic mash and gremolata)

Desserts -

Chocolate Hazelnut Pudding - $9.50
(soft chocolate centre served warm + vanilla gelato)
Very stomach warming.

Vanilla Pannacotta - $9.50
(served with poached pear and berry compote)

The pannacotta was too sweet, not the best ive taste. Craving Rachel's awesome poached pear from last year *drool*

Vanilla Creme Brulee - $9.50
(baked amd infused with vanilla)

Lemon Lime Tart - $9.50
(with vanilla anglaise)

Gelato served with strawberries and biscotti - $8.00

Just like any other gelato.

End Notes:
- for some view, this place is affordable.
- food wise is quite average, service is fast

Quote of the Day:

"Progress is impossible without change: and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything"
- George Benard Shaw

With Love,

Dolly

Place:
http://www.olivorestaurant.com.au/

Creole Cuisine - The Essential Ingredient Rozelle

2010-11-24T22:45:00.000+11:00

I've always wanted to attend cooking classes, and I know Ken always wanted to secretly attend one too... So our opportunity crept up when I received an email from The Essential Ingredient.

Ken - Dolly decided to give me a HUGE surprise and take me to cooking lessons (or more a showcase for her), and a surprise it was. I didn’t even know we were going to cooking classes till we walked into the kitchen, she kept telling me it was a gallery tour and like a baby to candy I bought it.

Hello Creole Cuisine.

Creole cuisine is influenced by various cultures including: French, Spanish, Italian, African, Native American and Cajun local ingredients.

Chef Dan McGuirt - Whos opening Jazz City Diner next week :)

Our thoughts on the class :

Ken - The cooking class was very interactive and fun too and Dolly got to take a picture with Michelle from masterchef.... what a suck up! Though one problem was that we weren’t wearing closed in shoes so we didn’t do much cooking! But nevertheless it was very amusing and fun.

Me - It wasn’t too much hands on as thought, time was a constant constraint.
Chef Dan McGuirt, was a very pleasant chef to talk to, I could see Ken flirting with the Chef haha. It’s always a bonus meeting people who share the same passion with you.

A few happy snaps ...

ken, chef dan, michelle and me

ken being domesticated

our humble class

ken after one glass of wine (weak) and me after 2 ahahahaa

Down To business :

Ken - We made a gumbo, which is like rice in a spicy soup thing. We all agreed that this wasn’t a very good tasting dish but still a good experience. Somehow the flavours didn’t add up.

Dolly - i didnt like this at all. The rice was hard. It was just wan odd combination, even though this is supposely Creole's pride and glory or some can say a signature dish.

Ken - Next was the Jambalaya, this is like a paella but American and without seafood and a lot better tasting for that matter. This was very spicy and flavoursome that we asked to take some of it home!

Dolly - DELICIOUS! im not a fan of rice, yet this just cuts the fat. The sweet juicest of both chicken and sausage mixed with vegies definarely complete the puzzle.

Ken - For dessert number 1, we had bread and butter pudding, which was really sweet and rich in flavour! According to Dolly it became even better tasting after a day, as all the spices had infused with the bread. Yum crusty bread!

Dolly - i have a sweet spot for anything cinnamon!

Make way for my new sensual bf :)

Ken - And for our second dessert, we had bananas foster, which is similar to banana split but with a very very sweet sugar suryp.

End Notes:
Ken - My Gosh will I die from diabetes if I have these desserts regularly. There was a lot of sugar used in them which for me is a No no as I have a low sugar tolerance before I get tingly on my face and start twitching. But a must try the Jambalaya! So good!

My next expectations from Ken:
By next month you'd be able to cook me a 4 course meal. No excuses you had the opportunity to watch, do and have the recipes hahaha.. As some say: you train them while they're young so no sole responsibility in the future years to come.

I finally got a copy of ... hahaa :)

Quote of the Day:

"If we value the pursuit of knowledge we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us"
- Adlai Stevenson

With Love,

Dolly and Ken

P.s Hope you enjoyed your first class Ken.

Place:
http://www.essentialingredient.com.au/index.php/classes-events/#Rozelle

Cost:
$125 for 2 people.

Notes:
- I have (2) 10% vouchers if anyone wants one? (feel free to email me)
- If you want a copy of the recipes feel free to email me.

Sculptures at the sea & Le Paris Go Cafe

2010-11-21T21:29:00.000+11:00

Last Sunday, we ventured out to Bondi to see "Sculptures at the Sea".

so pretty.

splat.

little ken.

Lunch Time

We had a bit of trouble deciding where to eat, after much anticipation we chose Le Paris Go Cafe. The cafe itself is tiny, with large tables all being communinal. Luckily enough me and Ken grabbed a corner :). The service was very slow.

Starter

Grilled Haloumi Cheese - $11.90
(With salad and lemon)

The Cheese was a bit overcooked, other than that this dish was average.

Mains:

Marinated Chicken Breast - $19.90
(With mash and veggies)

The chicken was a bit dry and lacked some salt, though definitely healthy. The mash was nice REAL POTATOES, opposed to flour and milk.

Fettuccini Boscaiola - $15.90
(Pancetta ham, mushrooms & shallots in a cream sauce)

They used wholemeal pasta, which definitely gave it a twist. The sauce was oooh so creamy, i couldn’t finish the plate. The bread was nice, though there was no garlic:(

Mango Smoothie
Nice and refreshing for a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Dessert:

Walking past smooch, we were thinking oo maybe we should get dessert here. Later on having lunch at Paris, a lady gave us a voucher for free ice-cream yogurt hurray.

Hazelnut Yogurt

You could definitely taste the probotic yogurt mixed with hazelnuts, though the essence was too strong yet still refreshing. Is that even possible?

Waffles with maple syrup and chocolate sauce

This was OVERLY sweet, that I was digging for water.
End Notes:

- nothing -

Quote of the Day:

"What is strength without a double share of wisdom"
- John Milton

With Love,

Dolly

Places:

Le Paris Go - Bondi
Smooch - Bondi

Gorkha Palace - North Strathfield

2010-11-17T13:43:00.000+11:00

This is Nepalese cuisine or as Dolly calls them Nepanese =) Nestled in the insurmountable Himalayas, this is a mix of both Chinese and Indian cultures, hence rightly so it’s a mix of both Chinese and Indian food too.

Word of warning! The food here is quite spicy and chilli loaded so if you can’t take any chilli at all then best to let the chefs know. Otherwise you’ll be crying all night long.

Momocha Meat - $8.00
(steamed dumplings with minced chicken served with special home made momo chutney)

Ken - First up dumplings, these are like normal dumplings but BETTER! Why? Cos its just so full of flavour and spice the sauce is very fragrant and tongue tingling too!

Dolly – One word, DELICIOUS! I love the mixture of spices, it really brought together much flavour and making you crave for more. Confession, without the spicy momo chutney these dumplings would be obsolete! I definitely want to try making these dumplings.

Ken - One thing here was that since Dolly loves garlic and cheese too, and since we couldn’t get cheese and garlic naan, we got multiple servings of naan. This was so good we got extra cheese naan afterwards. Only way it could be any better was if it was actually baked in a wood fired oven..Yum!

Dolly – The Naan was freshly made when ordered, it definitely made a difference compared to cheap Indian premade takeaway. They could have offered cheese and garlic though.

Kashmiri – $14.50
(tomato, cardamom and a hint of cloves – Chef Special)

Ken - The curry wise it was very very nice though very hot too dolly ended up eating all the carrots and chicken in the dish cos the sauce had defeated her and she didn’t want to be seen bawling her eyes out.

Dolly – So flavoursome, the onions were my highlight of this curry hahaha..

I kept thinking that this place had cherry dumplings *facepalm*

Pistachio Kulfi - $5.90
(milk mousse dessert)

This was frozen like icecream, a bit too sweet for my liking. Though the mango puree definitely gave the pistachio definition and highlights the nut content.

Rato Mohan - $5.50
(fried milk curd soaked in sugar syrup served with yogurt)

OVERLY SWEEET. The milk curd was so hot, that it burnt Ken’s tongue. They didn’t give us yogurt, until i requested for it. This definitely tastes better with yogurt as it diminishes the sweetness of the syrup so it’s not as overbearing.

Chai - $4.50 (i think?)

To strong for me =(

End Notes:
- Ken - Overall a very good place and one where we will be revisiting to try out all their curries! (definitely)
- Love the dumplings
- Service was a BIT slow, thought its worth the wait.
- Reasonable price
- Love the decor

Quote of the Day:

"It is easy to stand in pain, but difficult to stand an itch"
- Chinese Proverb

With Love,

Dolly and Ken

Place:

Gorkha Palace

http://www.gorkhapalace.com.au/

A bit of exam loving... or loved..

2010-11-17T08:50:00.000+11:00

Last week, we attempted to follow this awesome book i scounted from dymocks.

my pastaboy modeling the awesome reciepe book :)

Model mee....

The ingredients

The instructions

Our interpretations:

Take 1.

Take 2.

Take 3.

Take 4.

Lunch is served =) .. or brunch.

End Notes:
- Deliciously healthy
- The Brie tastes awesome melted on the tomatoes.
- Be careful cooking the egg, i suggest washing the pan per 2 eggs cooked

Quote of the Day:

With Love,

Dolly

P.ss - Hoildays are finally here, hopefully i can catch up with my 342364754385 posts.

Ikea Breakfast and Homemade Dumplings

2010-11-06T11:17:00.001+11:00

EXAMS NEXT WEEK ARHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

WISH US LUCK =)

Another day, another breakfast and another dinner (i dont recall eating lunch, opps)

1. Breakfast at Ikea

Bargain breakfast, though the quality wasnt fresh but can you complain when breakfast only costed you $4.95?

Loving yogurt, i opted for berry yogurt, it was a gooy consitency. The yogurt was too sour for my liking. I could tell it was powered yogurt yuck!

2. Hello Dumplings.

Homemade = homeloved

The Ingredients:
Pork Mince, Shallots, Chives, Sugar, Vegetable Stock, Salt, Sesamse Oil, Soy Sauce, Pepper.

We also decided to make a variation of watercress dumplings, after all Houston's dumplings are AWESOME! (his mothers haha)

Method:
Basicly being asian .. cut all the shallots and chives finely, mix it into your mince and flavour it.
I think its very important to fry a bit of the mince up, just to taste test it incase its too salty or bland.
Wrap wrap away. I'll include a proper ingredients and method below, as i got taught without a recipe.

Dipping Sauce -
I like to buy the dumpling sauce from the asian supermarkets and finely chop extra ginger and garlic for that strong and intense flavour.

See the James Ruse concentrating ... quack!

I must confess, Ken did a FINE job wrapping all of them. Good work hun.

Ken's dumplings cooked .. delicious!

End Notes -
- delicious
- good team work
- cooking the dumplings are always a challenge for me
- use premuium pork
- dont go stingy on the shallots and chives

Quote of the Day -

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them"
- Mother Teresa

Now my friends, me and Ken had this fight over using Green Cabbage or Chinese Cabbage for our dumplings, which one do you use? (the loser ie. of us will be eating vegemite for brekky for ONE WHOLE WEEK, though since it lives in Ken's kitchen .. it must be a sign!)

Actually i brought Cheesymite eww!

With Love,

Dolly

Sources -

http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-chinese-jiaozi-leeks-and-pork/

Nem Nuong Pizza

2010-10-31T11:21:00.000+11:00

So who knows what Nem Nuong is ?

For those who dont know, it is Vietnamese Pork used for BBQ, oh so delicious.

I've always like Dominos meatball pizzas and thought to myself, why dont i try Nem Nuong.After consultanting with Ken, on the list it is!

I dont think anyone has tried this WOOOT! Pioneers we are (sorry i can be lame, though you'd notice if you follow this blog)

LUNCH TIME:

In the pouring rain, we drove down to bankstown for Nem nuong, definately worth the drive. We also picked up Banh Cuon for Lunch

(very important to have semi cooked bean sprouts, vietnamese cha (ham), corrinder and fried dried onions). Sadly we didnt have corrindar, oh well.

DINNER TIME :

Nem Nuong Pizza here we comeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

The ingredients:

Making Nem Nuong Meatballs-

- important to use gloves otherwise the meat will stick to ur hands and nails >< also dampen the gloves a bit to prevent sticking

Naked Pizza

Loved Pizza, in hindsight spread the tomato paste to the VERY edge as it expands in the oven

We added more basil since Ken likes it well flavoured

Instead of adding cheese on top as it will burn, add it on the bottom first (a genorous layer boys and girls)

Baby Spinach yum

Hello juicy mushrooms

Love love you meatballs (note we had to lightly fry them)

Adding a bit more colour, Ken was hesitant adding olives. Though in the end he was glad i did.

Finish it off with a light sprinkle of cheese (we used Pizza Plus, mixed with Mozella, cheddar and parmesan)

In the oven you go.

2nd pizza :

We had leftover duck from last night's Peking Duck, why not make half and half?

Half a Nem Nuong Pizza, oh so innocent.

Hello duck, Quack! Topped off with Black Olives

Pizza number 2, getting warmth with love

FINISHED PRODUCT :

Pizza number 1 final -

Pizza number 2 final -

The smell of the duck, totally blew me away. In all i think the duck was the best, though i still cant say no to Nem Nuong Pizza.

Slice of Duck =)

Dessert - Brought from Burwood Plaza

Verdict - everything was okay, the only stand out was the Tirumasu which was nicely made. The base was hard. Oh yummiii

End Notes -
- Not healthy at all
- Definately spread the tomato sauce till the edges
- Add more spinach
- recommended for couples, good team work and an opportunity to be creative topping it off with lovely dinner.

Quote of the Day -

"Its the friends you can call up at 4am that matter"
- Marelene Dietrich

With Love,

Dolly

Peking Ken

2010-10-28T18:14:00.000+11:00

I've always loved this simple dish, though it costs an arm and a leg. So why not make it at home?

http://cupcakiedolly.blogspot.com/2010/08/thai-terrific-bondi-junction.html

PEKING KEN IT IS!

After work and Uni, we headed off to the asian groceries and asian duck place.

Ingredients -

(make sure you pick a nice juicy duck)

Method -

1. Cut the duck and shallots into thin
2. Steam your Duck Pancakes
3. Spread Hoi Sin Sauce in the middle, add shallots and duck
4. Enjoy.

The finished product

Kenilli also made WaterCress soup with pork mince. It was nice and refreshing, a bit salty, though it was my fault as i was snacking on duck before i tasted it and told him to add more salt.

Refresh me...

End Notes -
- I forgot to buy cucumber, cucumber will add a refreshing feel
- Hoi Sin is pretty strong, i wouldnt recommend too much
- Watercress and pork is very refreshing and healthy for the stomach opposed to duck .. arh the fat content.. *shrivers*

Quote of the Day -

With Love,

Dolly

Sparkle Cupcakery - Surry Hills

2010-10-28T10:28:00.000+11:00

My lovely Pastaboy showed up at my office with these little beauties.

Thanks hunnny.

I've confessioningly brought over 2 dozen of cupcakes for people, though i havnet been tempted myself. haha..
Though i've always wanted to try Sparkle, i guess its karma right?

The Best Flavour -

Oriental Flower - Lychee and rose cake with sweet rose topping

Apparently, Ken told me he had to wait until Friday for this flavour, aww how sweet of you.

I loved it how there was a fresh rose inside, it was lightly scented with a buttery vanilla taste. I couldnt taste lychee =(

Others Flavours -

White Chocolate & Strawberry - real strawberry chunks and buttons of white belgian chocolate.

Definately a stunner, it was just so aromatic? lovely for the people like me who dislike chocolate, not to sweet nor sour.

Lavender and Honey - soft scented lavender cake with creamy honey frosting

Im not a fan of lavender, though the scent was perfectly used in the batter and the frosting was oh so good.

Coconut Ice - tropical shreeded coconut cake topped with coconut ice

Not a fan of coconut, but this was a perfectly made cupcake.

Pure Sparkle - Vanilla cake made with the world's best pure vanilla bean extract

So Ken told me this is suppose to be the best one, though i did give it to my little brother. Luckily enough he told me just in time, i scabbed bits off my bro. It was definately
very vanillay buttery can see vanilla beans. If you love vanilla, dont hestiate to get a dozen of these babies.

The Least Favourite -

Pistaccio & Cardamon - Spices of the middle east
There were pistacho nuts lumped into the mix, though it was dry and flavourless. I had such high expectations, though crushed once devoured ><

Thanks a bunch hun.

End notes -
- Love the icing
- Recommended Flavours : Oriental Flower and White Chocolate & Strawberry

Quote of the Day -

"If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow, wherever that search may lead us."- Adlai Stevenson

With Love,

Dolly

Place -

http://www.sparklecupcakery.com.au/

Chilli Jam Resturant - Parramatta

2010-10-20T21:17:00.000+11:00

Instead of eating at church, Ken decided to call me up for lunch on Sunday (maybe cause they served prawns, i like!). Ken wanted to go local casue i was cramming an assignment. Typical much?

I scared him during the week with this link:

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/if-insects-dont-bug-you-try-swapping-steak-for-cricket-stirfry-20101006-167yx.html

Yes, little did he know that he would be licking this!!

The photos tells all.

My handsome little pasta =)

Ken - Since Dolly had been locked up in her house for a whole 2 days, I thought it would be a good idea to take the little vampire out for some sunshine. Conveniently there was a festival happening on Church Street Parramatta, so off we went to see what was there!

Sadly though the festival was quite empty and didn’t have anything at all apart from a lot of hill-billies singing on stage. So finding a place for lunch we found Chilli Jam, a thai restaurant that make roti, which is a predominantly Malaysian

dish.

CHILLI JAM IT IS!

I love the modern decor, there was a Roti Chef in the front (reminds me of Mamak). We waited nearly half in hour for food, definately poor service.

Roti Massamun Currt with Beef - $15.90
(plain roti served with beef curry)

The sauce was absoutley divine, even Ken was licking his knife. They were very generous on their beef cubes hurry. Funnily enough served with roti, is their sauce - tasted like Nuoc Mam aka Vietnamese Fish Sauce, only Thai version!

Ken - I had the massamam curry with roti, this dish again was not spicy at all and quite sweet instead! The beef brisket bits were very well cooked and the curry itself is a very healthy one with star of Anise as one of the ingredients, which

is very good for preventing the common cold!

Pad See Ew Duck - $11.90

This probally one of the best Pad See Es's i've had, though a bit tooo much oil. They were quite generous with the Duck.

Ken - Dolly had the typical Thai dish which was very sweet and not spicy at all. This dish was pretty average Thai dish and was lacking quite a few elements…eg spicyness (even though I have low tolerance to chilli I still like the taste)

We had to get dessert casue they close before dinenr, they literally kicked us out =(.

So anyways takeaway dessert, at least we saved $1.90 (which was spent on Mount Franklin)

Pandanus Roti - $5 t/w & $6.90 eat in
Crispy roti served with sweet creamy pandanus sauce

The Roti was a bit bland, could of been sweeter, maybe they could of added panadan into the flour? Green ? The sauce wasnt as pandanous as thought, more creamy and coconut like.

Ken - Finally for dessert, it was pandan roti, which is sweet as you’d expect. This dessert does not taste as good as it sounded, which may be partly attributed to the small amount of delicious pandan sauce given and the roti became quite

tough when cold.

All in all this restaurant is definitely not authentic and is made very sweet for western people, though it’s a good experience for roti and all things sweet

---

We also we bumped into Yardley Kyling from Chefs Gallery, It was lovely bumping into you and hearing that you did take some of our suggestions. Yardley also introduced to her friend Linh who owns La Mint (http://www.lamint.com.au/)

I went through the menu, i must confess looking at the menu La Mint isnt your typical viet, the price is 2 to 3 times more than your average cabramatta joint. I never knew Vietnamese food could be presented so elegantly. Definately looks

premium quality compared to the Vietnamese food offered in Cabramatta. I'm actually surprised how the vietnamese in cabramatta dont target and make a fusion of viet and french (apart from vietnamese bakeries) For the LOVE of Pork

ROLL! It would be such a delicacy. I definately have a soft spot for french food, especially Escagots !! Hopefully one day i shall get an opportunity to devour La Mint.

Quote of the Day:

"years end is neither an end, not a being but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instil in us"
- Hal Borland

End Note:
- affordable
- food was sweeet, but hey i like sweet

With Love,

Dolly and Ken

Congee and Noodle House - Chatswood

2010-10-13T17:11:00.000+11:00

Ken –

Since it was the long weekend, I figured it would be nice to surprise Dolly by taking her to see the Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, a movie that Dolly was very eager to see cos the whole movie is based on owls! (her fav animal by the way). So the movie started later in the evening so we decided to find some dinner at Chatswood.

Ken -

Now walking around we didn’t find too many places that were open nor fancied our tastebuds. Perchance, we walked past a Chinese noodle and congee house and seeing that Dolly hadn’t had thousand year old egg before and was craving soupy stuff; this was the perfect opportunity to have some congee. One thing to note is that the egg is not really left there for a thousand years, it’s just called that, and actually tastes really nice and has no smell apart from a boiled egg smell. So naturally not having had it before, Dolly was quite hesitant to eat it, but after realising it doesn’t have any smell she began to gobble up the traditional congee. The other dish was a baked spag bol done Asian style which was very nice, esp the burnt cheese part, though there weren’t enough cheese. But all in all, the food was quite good for a quick southern Chinese meal.

So stingy on the shallots =(

Hearty?

Thousand Year Egg and Pork Congee $8.00 per bowl

I love hot soup on a cold rainy night, especially congee. The congee was not to thick and not to thin.The egg tasted like Thit Kho’s egg <3.

Chinese donut $2.50 (we ordered 2, you can never have too much!)

This came out hot from the deep fryer, so fresh. It was made perfectly. Definitely the best I’ve tasted.

Baked Spaghetti Bolognese with Shredded Cheese $11.50

This was your typical average pasta dish, less the herbs. It’s not as fragrantly though edible. What really sparked with was the choice in meat. They used Pork instead of Beef, very interesting taste; Ken’s family uses pork too.

Quote of the Day:

"A smile costs less than electricity and gives more light"

- No Author

End Notes –

- Cheap and cheerful
- Love the Donuts

With Love,

Dolly and Ken

Sir Stamford High Tea - Circular Quay

2010-10-12T22:30:00.000+11:00

Finally, We made it.

We endeavoured to visit Pyrmont markets last month, though missed out by 30 minutes. I don’t really understand the hype these markets received, my colleague is a devoted Growers Marketer. I honestly found nothing of interest, everything was definitely overpriced. We didn’t end up getting anything but egg rolls and mango/peach and blood orange juice.

Ken –

Since it was the start of the month as well, we decided to pay a visit to the Grower’s market at Pyrmont, which was much of a letdown as there were way too many people and not enough space/stalls for everyone. Nevertheless it was fun walking around and trying homemade jams/cheeses and spewing over how overpriced the stuff here was! One thing to note when going to these markets is that the food runs out very quickly! Most of the stalls were out of one of their ingredients for their bacon and egg rolls by 10.15, though the buns of these newly reduced egg buns were very fresh and delicious.

Mango & Peach vS Blood orange juice

Here’s the verdict:

Mango and peach was heavily watered down, I originally asked if this was pure =(. It was too sweet for my liking. Opposed to Blood Orange which was as sour as lemon and heavily watered down.

After the markets me and ken walked to my favourite park and waited till 1pm for our high tea booking. Ken being a guy, has never experienced proper high tea, i remember him rambling on and on how his boss went and his experience when we were friends. I originally planned to bring him to The Victoria Room, though things changed I booked Sir Stamford instead =). Ken’s original first time high tea was T2 – Macquarie Centre last month, though it was more of a snacking session then the real deal. So here’s the real deal, I’ve promised you.

Ken –

So I haven’t had proper high tea before so Dolly promised to take me to a proper high tea so I would know what it’s like. Surprisingly she actually lived up to her promise and off to Sir Stamford we went for high tea!

I was very hungry by 1pm, and forgot to take a photo of us before demolishing the sandwiches.

This is how i like it =)

1st Plate – The scones were wonky, but definitely fluffy. I definitely enjoy the scones with clotted cream opposed to their king island cream. The jam was average, something i could purchase from coles, opposed to T2’s raspberry jam.. oh the goodness of sugar.

Ken's favourite dessert of the day

2nd Plate – Desserts, Dolly’s FAVOURITE.
1. Strawberry flavoured cupcakes with white chocolate icing – This wasn’t anything grand, the icing was toooo sweet.
2. Chocolate Melt Biscuit layered with Coconut cream – Divine! It was very crumbly that we had to use folks to eat it.
3. Wattle tree crème brulee – Unfortunately i didn’t finish it, though it was well done, there was the right amount of sugar and the right amount of cream = delicious.
4. Caramel and pecan nut tart – I love it how they actually caramelised the nuts before grinding them. The caramel cream mixed with nuts was a bit too sweet, though acted as a perfect complement to the tea ordered.

3rd Plate- Sandwiches were tasteless, dry and some of the crust was still intact!
Flavours included:
1. Avocado, watercress and tomato – this was a substitute to salmon.
2. Poached chicken with mayonnaise and chives
3. Mediterranean eggplant, tomatoes and Goats cheese
4. Cumcuber and pesto. (needed more salt)

High Tea - $44 per person with a glass of wine and tea.

Ken -

For high tea, we were situated in a Victorian-esque room with fabric wallpaper! I decided to try their African vanilla tea, which was very nice especially when drunk with milk as it had a creamier feel to it. As for the food, the scones were very fluffy though lop-sided today, but it’s what goes in your belly that matters more! The sandwiches made here were very plain to the point where I was tempted to spread jam on them to give them more taste. Finally the sweets were quite well done and filling and extremely sugary. My face couldn’t stop tingling for about 15mins after taking one small bite of the icing sugar on the fruit cupcakes. My favourites from the high tea would definitely be the caramel and pecan nut tart, definitely need to learn how to make it for myself. All in all a very lovely experience, and thanks to Dolly I can say I have tried proper high tea!

Dinner Time..

Ironically we spent $4+$2 for dinner... Yes you heard right! SIX DOLLARS and let me tell you it was money well spent opposed to $44 per person high tea hahaa.

What was so cheap that i still to this date have cravings for?

*drum roll*

McDonalds – McDoubles.

To be honest, im not a big fan of fast food, and rarely eat McDonalds though this time i must confess McDoubles WIN WIN WIN =). Unfortunately Ken never got the real deal, since i kept licking off all the cheese. I’m sure Thursday McDoubles did you justice.

Quote of the Day:

"Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up"

- Robert Frost

End Notes:

- Very average. T2 far more value
- McDoubles = WIN, cheap and cheerful. I LIKE!

With Love,

Dolly and Ken

Places:

Grower’s market - Pyrmont
Sir Stamford Hotel - Circular Quay
McDonalds – Victoria Road and West

Cupcakes without Borders

2010-10-08T20:45:00.000+11:00

Is there someone's birthday coming up this October? Or do you want to give something sweet to someone? or to yourself?!

Say no more, I’ve got the perfect solution:

My lovely friend Mylinh is keeping her kitchen hot this spring, by baking cupcakes throughout this month supporting MSF - Doctors without borders.

If cupcakes are to sweet for your rumbly tummy.

Have no fear

Cookies, flower arrangements and greeting cards (by Teresa Chhay)

Are here.

Okay i really should grow up.

Flavours:

Cupcakes:
1. Vanilla
2. Chocolate
3. Mix

Cookies:
1. Vanilla
2. Choc Chip
3. Mix

These babies are:

- 5 cupcakes per box $12.00 (so cheap!)
- 5 cookies per bag $4.00
- Flowers (Mini bouquet - Seasonal best) - $20.00
- Greeting Cards - Pack of 3 - $12.00

*Delivery in Sydney CBD is FREE! Delivery outside Sydney CBD is $5.00.

So you may ask, Who are Medins Sans Frontieres ??

Every year, Medins Sans Frontieres brings crucial medical assistance to millions of peoplethroughout the world who otherwise might be enable to access life-saving care.

Please buy generously.. or if you want a tax deduction *like any accountant wouldn't*

Please visit - http://www.msf.org.au/

How to order:

As my blog doesn’t allow me to add files you will need to contact Mylinh directly, or please comment on my blog and i'll send you the order forms.

Mylinh - mylinhsproduction@hotmail.com

Quote of the Day:

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one”

- Mother Teresa

(if you haven’t noticed, I absolutely idolise Mother Teresa)

With Love,

Dolly

Note to Mylinh:

- Mylinh these cupcakes look absolutely exquisite, you have to teach me. Can’t wait to devour them next week.. I mean Ken will =).

P.s for those who are my friends on FB, yes i will update my blog in due time. I'm currently drowning myself with a Business Plan. Hello cupcakes =).

Kenilli's Pumpkin Soup

2010-10-03T16:08:00.000+11:00

So my kenilli has been croaking like a frog for the past 2 week.

(edit, nearly a month ago)

After a small swimming session, i decided to make him Pumpkin soup. Apparently went nuts with the onion so we shall call it Kenilli's Pumpkin and Onion Soup.

Here's the ingredients:

There are 2 secret ingredients, would anyone like to guess it? If you get it right i shall personally send you a box of Haigh's Chocolate. 1 Guess per person.

Clues:

Item number 1.
- As green as grass
- I am a stalk, I am a root
- I can be a volatile oil (which can be used in Perfume)
- I can be an aphrodisiac as i contain androsterone,a product of testosterone

Iten number 2.
- I can be used as a sweetener, a flavoring.
- I can heal humans medicinally.
- I am the main ingredient of a....... alcoholic beverage
- I am of thick consistency

--- Time to scatch ur head and think ---

I really dont have a recipe, since i'm pretty much asian and just whack everything into the pot. I did adapt the reciepe from this:

http://masterfoods.vibevillage.com.au/Recipes/ViewRecipe.aspx?IID=290

I did take some photos of the process.

1. Add oil and sauteed the onions and garlic till they are brown. (In hindisght, i would do this in a pan to avoid buring the pot)

2. Once the onions and garlics are done. Add in the hardest vegetables first (ie. pumpkin, potatoes, carrots) Fry them till they are golden brown adding a bit of sugar to carmelise them.

3. Add your chicken stock, wait till it simmers and some of the vegies distergrating.

4. Wait till your soup cools down, then use a hand held blend and BLEND AWAY.

5. Serve with Sour cream, chives and fresh bread.

6. Eat up sick little boy.

End Notes:

- Very easy soup to make for you loved one (if they are sick).
- Dont OD on onion, i ended up using 3.
- This took me 1 hour and half compared to Campbells saying 30 minutes.

Quote of the Day:

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them "
- Walt Disney

Love,

Dolly

Chefs Gallery Resturant, Regents Place

2010-09-28T12:34:00.001+10:00

Having godly powers courtesy of Multipass 2.

We decided to maximise our consumption once again and ferry along the Sydney harbour to a random location and explore.

Hello Timetables, courtesy of work's printer.

Where did we wonder about?

I actually really like this place; it’s so calm and serene compared to Manly which is totally the opposite, so we spent a few hours chilling here.
I did find some places for dinner, though a 1km walk we opted to go elsewhere.

Moving on, Ken woke up thinking about food blogging, and has eagerly sent me an awesome word document about The Chef’s Gallery, I’ll let him dominate this post =). Good work Hun.

Kenilli -

A new week, heralds a new destination for food! Now the first thing you notice walking into or past this restaurant is the huge panes of glass that surrounds the kitchen, or as the boss calls it, the fish tank. Next you’ll notice the various Chinese artefacts that are placed around the modern European seating…which all makes the restaurant feel like you’re dining in the Chinese section of a museum.

Dolly - Ken watch out, this menu could become your birthday card XD.

Guo Tie - $8.90 - 6 pieces
(lightly pan fried dumplings with cabbage and pork)

The dumplings here are very uniquely made, the reason for this is that the pork and cabbage filling is so finely blended that you kinda forget that you’re eating a dumpling. Rather than browned on one side, these dumplings are lightly fried and so they’re golden on the bottom which adds a crispy feel to the smooth filling.

Dolly – The dumplings here were uniquely wrapped, sort of like opened spring rolls. Adds a bit more uniqueness to the traditional way.

Xia Jiao – $5.90 - 4 pieces
(prawn dumplings steamed in a fine clear pastry)

We double dipped with dumplings and had the prawn dumplings. One thing I would like to point out is that firstly I HATE SEAFOOD! I cannot take the smell of the fishy-ness and it makes me hurl. Oddly enough there is this obsession with my female friends who can cook to try to feed me seafood. Why?! My nose is no test of your culinary skill…if you think your fish soup is that good then go on TV reality shows to see how good you are!

However saying that I will at times eat small portions of prawns, given that I cannot see them and that there is no hint of a prawn smell in it. So since I ate 2 of these prawn dumplings and didn’t hurl…you can say that they’re very well made

Dolly – The prawn’s defiantly tasted fresh, maybe even fresher than some yumcha places. The thing that put me off was the stickiness of the pastry how it was impossible to peel of the white cloth without breaking it!

Li Mian – handmade noodles - $13.90
(With Chef’s own golden snowflake chicken – lightly crumbed chicken fillet very crispy, tender and moist served with noodles in a pumpkin soup)

The specialty of this northern Chinese restaurant is noodles and by far the make very good thin noodles. As the boss says once you’ve had our noodles you won’t want to go back to 2 minute noodles, and rightly so the noodles were very well made. So with noodles in mind we had a chicken pumpkin soup with the noodles. Now this is a fusion of Chinese noodles and the western pumpkin soup. Sadly like most things the sum is not equal to the addition of its two components. Done Chinese style, the soup was very runny like water and tasted like a chicken stock…there just wasn’t enough flavour of the pumpkin to overcome the powdery taste of the noodles. To cap it off the deep fried chicken was cold, which I do not believe it is supposed to be. Maybe next time they should add onions and cream to the soup so that it has a more western feel to it, or truffle or go full Asian and try lemongrass

Dolly – As Ken noted, it’s a bit eccentric. Though when talking to the Supervisor Yardley Kyling, she told us she wanted to differentiate her dishes to other rivals namely (ie. Din Tin Fung). This soup was very watered down; though add a bit of pepper to soothe your tickling tastebuds.

Noodles were awesome.. Maybe add egg to the recipe, it would complement Tonkasu soup any day!

We also ordered both Chinese tea (Jasmine) $1.90 and Cold Soybean Milk $2.90

Dolly – I personally think the soy bean milk was too watered down. On the other hand Ken thinks it’s nicely made. Verdict – It’s at the eye of the beholder ...

Steamed sesame ‘piggy face’ bun, as sumptuous to the eyes a to the taste buds - a must-try for adults and children (2 pc) - $5.90

Black sesame ice cream in red bean paste with steamed pearl dumplings & almond flakes - $7.90

Since we skipped on dessert last week, I decided we needed to make up for that with piggy face black sesame buns and black sesame ice-cream. No I didn’t realise that the buns were black sesame too so we kinda got high on a double dose of black sesame…yum. Mixing the two desserts was gold, the heat from the steamed buns opposed the cold from the ice cream…maybe they should create a fusion of their famous piggy face buns with vanilla ice cream?

Dolly – The piggies were definitely cute! Though we waited over 30 minutes till our dessert came, and the shop wasn’t at its peak =(. The buns were smooth on the outside, not sugary but plain. The filling, sesame was a bit to thick and sweet for my tastebuds. Nevertheless delicious! Yardley said that she has a new recipe which will thin down the sesame paste, can’t wait to try it again!

The long awaited black sesame ice-cream came, was it worth the wait? Tokenly so, i do have this soft spot for black sesame yum, the icecream tasted fresh as Ken said, it wasn’t too sweet nor too bland. The black sesame icecream is probably ranked one of the best on my icecream list. The pearls tasted really odd with icecream since there was neither flavour nor taste to it. I guess it pretty much clashed!

How to eat your piggy buns Ken's way - (note we had 2 batches of piggies XD)

Step 1 - disect the head

Step 2 - Add Icecream

Step 3 - Enjoy

-- dont you reckon this looks like a witch? Goes to show Ken's true colours!

-- Our 1st batch of Pigs... definitey monsters!

End notes:
- Definitely worth a try, the prices aren’t to dear compare to Din Tin Fung.
- Service could be improved; i do know they are working on it.
- We were so happy to be seated on a 2 table opposed to being seated next to the fish tank, sadly we were seated right next to the “dish washing place” totally yuck, i saw some dirty plates and bowls it made me shiver, deluding me to think that i was already full and didn’t need dinner!
- The piggy’s are definitely worth a try if you have that someone special to share it with.
- Watch out Din Tin Fung, you now have a rival across the street.
- Thanks for taking your time, sitting down and talking to us Yardley Kyling, hopefully we will be able to visit you once again and devour more of your sweet offerings. All the best with Chef’s Gallery!

Quote of the Day

“We have not come into the world to be numbered; we have been created for a purpose; for great things: to love and be loved.”

- Mother Teresa

Love,

Ken and Dolly

Place:

http://www.chefsgallery.com.au/

The Carlisle Castle Hotel Bistro, Newtown

2010-09-25T18:45:00.000+10:00

A bit of Newtown loving.

To be honest, I’ve always been loitering around the city and unable to travel into the suburban areas, though tonight was different. Hello Newtown.

Newtown only 5 kilometres from the CBD offers an ethnic mix of cultures and lifestyles. Newtown seems to be symbolic for its Thai cuisine, yummy, cheap and fast who could say no?

So what went down our stomachs?

I've always been very shy and hesitant in tasting lamb, though things have changed. Ken brought me to The Carlisle Castle Hotel, situated on a quiet street of Newtown. The Bistro was loud, filled a variety of ethnics and ages. Quickly staring at the tables the local favourite were evidently lamb shanks.

Braised Lamb Shanks $24.50
(house made herb spatzle, baby carrot, peas, onion, garlic and jus)

Hello Baby. This was my 2nd time devouring lamb shanks. These were absolutely awesome. I’m totally sold thanks to Ken. The juicy meat fell of the bone, oh so tenderly. The 2 shanks were accompanied by something called Herb Spatzle, definitely something interesting I’ve never eaten. Lets Wiki it. Comparing this to The Persian Room, this is definitely more higher class. I guess that’s reflected in the price, very very dear for bistro food.

Chargrilled 300grams Pork Cutlet $24.50
(sautéed boy choy, choy sum, chilli, garlic and hoisin)

The pork was ever so juicy, you could tell it a decent cut. The hoi sin went very well with the Pork, the boy choy and choy sum were a bit overcooked. There was an enormous amount of chilli, was it hot? No way.

Kenilli,

Shanks, chops and…WHAT? No dessert?!

Getting sick of always eating out in the city, we decided to visit a different location…drum roll…Newtown of course! Home to half of Sydney’s thai restaurants and so much more!

Now, one thing with Dolly is that she hates lamb…until recently, and with good reason lamb is one of the hardest meats to cook, over cook/undercook it and it’ll smell and taste like a dirty rag. But if cooked to perfection, the rewards from taking the risk in trying the lamb outweigh the cost. So what better place to take her for lamb than a bar?

I must be insane right? Yeah I probably am, but you’ll understand if you went here for lamb too. So the dish is lamb shanks and this is the best lamb shanks I’ve had to date and has set the bar at a very high standard. The skin on this is nice and crispy that gives such a beautiful crunch when you bite into it, while the meat just falls off the bone…the way lamb needs to be cooked. Now compared to the first time I had these shanks, the meat was slightly drier this time and it was due to the shanks sunbaking on top of green pasta instead of bathing in a pool of gravy. Nevertheless the shanks were still good…I think I’ve sold you to occasional lamb now Dolly! Ken +1

My dish was the pork chop, which was done in a fusion way with bok choy and hosien sauce. Now this would sound weird and rightly so! The bok choy did not go too well with the pork and just made the dish taste odd. On the other hand though the pork chop was very well cooked, Dolly was so happy to just eat the strip of fat by itself because it was so crispy. No she did have some of the meat too; I just cut out the strip because I have a sore throat and should not be eating crispy foods.

Décor: it’s a bar! Enough said now let’s focus on the food again. One thing is that the kitchen closes by 9.30ish I think and while its open the whole place is packed full of people dining so you must get a table before ordering which is always a challenge.

Price: The food here is quite dear and is as expensive as normal restaurant food; I would still recommend this place

Finally to cap off the night, dessert…no dessert. Dolly’s reason for not having dessert, you’re sick Kenilli you shouldn’t be eating dessert! That’s just a poor excuse for looking at your growing food baby bump and cringing. More to love! :)

End Notes:

- Definitely going back for lamb shanks, thanks hun
- A tad expensive for bistro BUT worth it.
- There’s lots of different cuisine in newtown, that has sparked my eyes
- Hurry up and get well soon Ken before i miss out on more dessert!!

Quote of the Day:

“Our lives improve only when we take chances and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.”

- Walter Anderson

Love,

Dolly and Ken

Place:

The Carlisle Castle Hotel, Newtown
19 Abermarle St, Newtown

---

In addition, my dad was raving about this guy called Fred Pham, if you have a spare dollar or so please donate to this good cause:

http://fredpham500.org.au/

Its a good cause, apparently Ken knows him, how small does the world get?

ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE =)

A bit of sunbaking with Pastaboy

2010-09-19T18:38:00.000+10:00

Firstly I would like to welcome my lovely sidekick, okay I meant my lovely boy Kenilli. .. He’ll have a commentary at the end of my blog. Please welcome him =).

One Saturday afternoon, I and Kenilli decided to run off to the Beach.

1st stop - Brighton Le Sands

Lunch Time it is. The Souvlaki Bar

Hello there ????? aka - Gyros or Yeeros, $7 makes me happy. Unfortunately, they hiked up the prices $8 now.. nooo

Chicken Yeeros ($8 + extra sauce $1 & cheese $0.50 = $9.50)

Yum, i love the chicken one mainly because I dislike both Beef and Lamb. Though there is a bit of fat on the side, nevertheless it’s like a kebab. Why is yeeros the better alternative? The bread is soft and the garlic sauce is divine. In hindsight, I’m not having lettuce it’s so messy.

Beef Yeeros ($8 + extra sauce $1 = $9)

I didn’t like this, it had a weird after taste, sorta like lamb ew...

Dessert Time

Driving to Dolls Point, hello La Promenade Pattisserie

There were a lot of cakes to choose from, though I opted for this St Honore ( the name sounded nice) - $3.60

This was like a profiterole without chocolate but filled with custard, the bottom pastry was a bit hard and dry. There wasnt enough cream to finsih the pastry at the bottom.

A small trip to Coles:

Ken's an avid Fig fan, and I’ve always been talking about this special ice-cream my cousin once brought. Unfortunately not all Coles carry it. I guess it is a bit pricey for your local supermarkets.

We took less than 15 minutes to gauge this tub. Okay let’s not count our calories.

Kenilli :

On this fine sunny spring day (haven’t seen once for a while), we decided to go for a drive down to Dolly’s point, or Dolls point as known by the shire people…and everyone else

First stop, Yerros as Brighton Le Sands! Ive never had Yerros before, and thought it was something that is big and loud like all Greeks are! But that image was quickly dashed when I realised that it was nothing more than just a doner kebab with awesome garlic sauce. Dolly’s yerros was a sheer delight and ranks among one of the best chicken kebabs/wraps/yerros I’ve had. But sadly the Beef Yerros tasted really poor, as you’d expect considering the meat did come off a huge slab of processed beef on a stick… nevertheless I’ll still come back for the chicken or try the lamb because it’s always good to try new things.

Next stop was La Promenade, gosh they’re busy! We went there at like 2-3pm and the café was heaps packed…and it’s in the middle of nowhere! The yellow shop front surrounded by a background of green trees makes it look like it’s built in a forest!

Finally, after a getting the ice cream that Dolly has told so many legends about, we made it to Dolly’s point to try it out. I must say it is once very very nice ice cream! The proof stands in that we finished it in 15mins even though it was getting cold on the beach and we were saying ok we better stop eating this and eat the St Honore instead. Word of warning if you do try this, the fig sauce is so rich that I got instant tingle in my face from just one spoon of it, and by about 5 spoonfuls of the caramel ice cream with the fig sauce, I was twitching from the sugar coursing through my veins

End Notes:

- Definately worth my $9.50.
- Dont forget to ask for extra sauce haha.

Quote of the Day:

“Intense love does not measure; it just gives”

- Mother Teresa

Love,

Dolly and Ken

Places:

The Souvlaki Bar - Corner of Grand Parade - Brighton Le Sands

Additional information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyros