Marie Antoinette High Tea

Lime curd meringue tart with Marie's portrait, macaroon with fresh blueberries, beetroot and cherry cupcake and the upside down portrait of Marie.

It's exams period at the uni(versity not uni as in the sea urchin... I wish!!!) and I am getting stressed out. So, if this entry sounds kinda choppy and short, I apologize in advance. If you remember the Guylian episode, I learnt from it by not expecting too much from the Marie Antoinette high tea. The result? I was happy with the outcome.

Mask for the theme, water and the chandon rose with J on the background

J was already waiting for me when I got there and right away the waiter gave us both water without being asked. The same when my other friend arrived. That... is good service. Then we got our chandon rose. I love a good bubble, especially after not having any alcohol for since I broke my foot...

The whole shebang: quite overwhelming!

The two tiered plates came next and we were speechless at how many food there were. I was pre-warned after I saw it on love my food and sugar's blog and checking it out on google, but still that was a lot of sweets on the top plate!

Slow roast beef with cream cheese stuffed baby belle pepper, the savory platter, deviled egg on heart toasted brioche and kiwi and orange croissant with mascarpone

Avocado and shrimp tartar and deviled egg on heart toasted brioche

I ate all of the savories and my favorite was the kiwi and orange croissant with mascarpone. The sweets though, I truly struggled! I liked the lime curd merengue tart, and cheated with the blueberry macaroon and chocolate cream with exotic fruit caramel and candied walnuts. I only ate a bite each... I managed to eat the scones which were warm and savory, served with their version of clotted cream and strawberry jam.

Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam: a high tea isn't one without some scones...

I chalk this up as a successful Sydney International Food Festival 2010 =)

The Westin Sydney Hotel

No. 1 Martin Place

Sydney, NSW 2000

Click here for the complete menu

100 Mile dinner at Bistrode CBD

Bistrode CBD Menu

Last week's Wednesday (Oct 27), I went with love my food and sugar to Bistrode CBD's 100 mile dinner. The idea is to have a meal where the ingredients involved were gathered from within 100 mile radius of the restaurant. Sounds like an interestingly green and support your local economy concept. I was quite curious as to what the food would be like as well since it has changed its chef. I also wondered if the charming Irish host, Howard would be there. Turned out, he is still there. He stopped by to say hello after noticing love my food and sugar's big ass dslr.

My slice of sourdough

I was famished when we got there and was quite happy that they started serving. The sourdough was perfect to stifle my stomach from rebelling. I truly enjoyed the Diamond Creek Olive oil as it tasted so fresh and delicious with a pinch of salt that I added, I was so tempted to request for another slice of bread but refrained from fear of over eating later.

Salted blue eye croquette and tomato ketchup

Twenty minutes later we got our first dish: salted blue eye croquette and tomato ketchup with rockets on the side. My first thought was, OMG it's so tiny! What it lacked in size it made up in taste, it was delish. However, the croquette was a bit too salty so after I cut out mine into smaller pieces I smothered them with the ketchup on the side :)

Sand whiting , Sydney rock oysters, young leeks and peas

Thirty minutes later, we got our third dish: sand whiting , Sydney rock oysters, young leeks and peas. This is what quintessential English food is in my head. I took a bite of the oysters first and was surprised that again it was a tad too salty... The fish was nice though and the best part of it all was the peas. I am not a big fan of peas, but on this dish they were bursting with sweetness and crunchyness. I am a convert pea fans now.

Warm Thirlmere duck salad

It took us less than 10 minutes to devoured this and thirty minutes later, our duck salad arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that: 1. the duck was smoked and 2. there were different parts of duck being used including liver or maybe it was gizzard. The greens were fresh, sweet and crunchy, balancing the saltiness of the duck. So far this was my favorite dish.

Three ways pork with black pudding

Then the much awaited main dish: three ways pork. There were shoulder, loin, and crispy thinly sliced ears. Yes, ears! I was so surprised! I would expect that from a Chinese restaurant but not from a bistro. I couldn't wait to taste them. The shoulder and loin were tender and the ears? Crispy and savory. It wasn't enough... When Howard came along to take our plates, he noticed that I hadn't eaten my black pudding and he threatened not to give me dessert if I didn't try. I didn't, but he showed mercy and gave me my dessert hehe...

Mulberry soup and Paesanella Mascarpone Sorbet

The dessert was the best of it all. That saying "less is more" is so true. The mulberry soup was soft and understated but surprisingly leaving you wanting more. The mascarpone sorbet was plain enough but not so plain that sweeten the whole dish. I would love to have more of that.

It was a nice English meal experience and hopefully the mulberry soup is here to stay on the menu as a regular.

Bistrode CBD

Level 1 Corner of York and Kent St

Sydney, NSW 2000

+61 2 9240 3000

Open Mon-Fri for lunch and dinner

Guylian Cafe's Sugar Hit

Grand Forest by Guylian

If you remember from my post last week, the way I've been approaching life these days is to "expect less" so that when things don't turn out the way you wanted it you're not too disappointed and if they turn out better than you expected it, you are nicely surprised. What I forgot to mention is that this is one of those things that are easier said than done.

A closer look

I finally went to Guylian Cafe last night for Sugar Hit. I was really looking forward for the Grand Forest, the specially designed cake for this year's Sydney International Food Festival (SIFF). That was my first mistake, "looking forward" means expectation. Although I have to admit there were many other factors at play that might have distracted me from the actual taste. Long story short, I was rather disappointed as the cake was too sweet for my taste and the whole thing rather fell short of my expectation. The inside was better especially with the grand marnier strawberries and kirsch cherry, as the sourness cuts the sweetness therefore balancing the taste. I am sad to admit that I wasn't able to finish the cake!

The Brown Brothers' "cienna" wine was nice, a little bubbly on the sweet side but not too sweet. It softened my disappointment. I suppose that's what I get from letting my expectation get ahead of me. Although, it could also be the fact that prior to this, I had a dinner thing with my group from a uni course where I had pizza from Pancakes at the Rocks... and I think I ate way too much. If only I could have a do over...

Chicken Tandoori Pizza from Pancakes at the Rocks

I'd still recommend the Guylian Cafe's sugar hit as the cake was quite nice. If you don't have an overly sweet tooth, just try not to eat the chocolates on the plates. Oh before you go, don't eat a heavy meal, get a salad or something light.

Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe

91 George St, The Rocks, Sydney

'Sugar Hit' (1-31 October 2010, 9pm-11pm daily, $20)

+61 2 8274 7500

Annual Tea Ceremony at Eden Garden

Chabana (flower arrangement for tea ceremony) and the tea ceremony time

The annual Chakai (tea ceremony gathering) that I have been waiting for was finally here! I was helping out at the reception so that means I had access to backstage areas that would have been off limit to any other normal participants. A little power trip once in a while is good, I'd say ;)

Misonodana presentation, cleaning the bowl, hantou (helper) serving tea to VIP guests, and my bowl of matcha

The chakai was held at Eden Garden near Macquarie University in the northern Sydney. Despite the weather, we had a great turn out and everyone seem to be very happy to be a part of this event. The chakai was in two parts, honseki which was the formal tea ceremony and misonodana which was the more 'modern' as the host is seated at a chair and prepared the tea on a table rather than on sitting on his/her foot, seza style on tatami. Misonodana was first presented when the current Japanese emperor was a prince, so it is quite recent in its development.Fear not! You don't have to sit on your foot, folding your knees seza style at any time during this event. If anything you are seated on a chair! (as you can see from the pictures)

The Honseki: cleaning chashaku (tea ladle), explaining the rituals and its meanings

The other style presented was honseki, the more traditional one. Here you can see that everything is done on a tatami mat. On the right, the lady in pink kimono was explaining the different rituals and meaning of the ceremony. On the previous picture, you could see the misonodana host cleaning the bowl, and here the host is cleaning the tea ladle. All utensils are cleaned before guests entered the room, however, any chakai host will always clean the utensils again in front of the guests to show their respect, care, and hospitality for the guests.

Yuzu and matcha sweets, bubbles on top of the tea

Summer camellia (Nerikiri: moist bean cake)

The sweets were all handmade by the Chado Urasenke Tankokai Sydney Association members. The summer camellia was made from lima beans and naturally colored with matcha powder to make it green. The yellow pieces on the top was dried mango. I forgot what the other ones are called, but they were also handmade by the members, from yuzu (Japanese citrus) and matcha.

Sweets used in chakai are chosen to represent the season. This is tied to the zen idea 一期一会 (ichi go ichi e) literally translated as "one time, one meeting". It's basically the idea that life is transient, and that every moment is fleeting, everything its 'once in a life time'. So the host commemorates the preciousness of this moment in time with his/her guests by choosing the right sweet that represent the moment in time, the season.

Chasen (to whisk the tea) and the chawan (tea bowls) prepared for the guests

The tea powder is made from whole tea leaves, it is therefore rich in antioxidant, vitamin C and caffeine. During the chakai, it was explained that these are the reasons green tea was so popular amongst Buddhist monks who needed to fulfill their discipline in chanting sutras and meditation late into the night. In the olden days tea was used for its medicinal properties as well. Unlike our everyday tea that we chuck out of our tea cups after steeping, with these tea we drink the leaves, and this makes it a lot richer with antioxidant, vitamin C and caffeine.

My chawan

Chawan used for tea ceremony are also seasonal, another representation from the zen idea i explained above. The host will always ensure that the prettiest side of the bowl will face the guests to honor them, and the guests to show their thanks and humility to the host's hospitality will turn the cup twice to drink from the less pretty side of the bowl. After the guests drink their tea, they are welcomed to inspect the bowls. In the tea ceremony tradition this practice is not rude. The host invites the guests to inspect to show that the host has taken great length to ensure that everything used to entertain the guests are the best quality.

Mizusashi (fresh water container) with bamboo ladle on the top and the hot water kettle; clementi chabana (flower arrangement for tea ceremony)

Some people might think what a tedious way to have a cup of tea, but I really love the whole thing. It's very zen and with everything that's going on in life where our minds are constantly in the race for the next thing that we need to do, it's good to just be in the moment once in a while. To appreciate the moment and your companies, instead of trying to do a gazillion things at once, typing frantically on our smartphones while with out family or friends. I admit, I am guilty for this crime at times...

If you're interested to join the event next year, stay tuned, I post the info closer to the date. Also some flowers tips from the Ikebana and Chabana master from the chakai: if you want your clementi to last longer, bite the end of the stem with your teeth; and for wisteria, put it in an alcohol solution and not just water.

Annual Japanese Tea Ceremony Gathering

Presented by Chado Urasenke Tankokai Sydney Association

Just Desserts at Tomislav

Expect the unexpected for less disappointment and more nice surprises

As of late, my motto has been "set low expectation" so that when things don't turn out nicely you're not overly disappointed and when things turn out nicely, it's a lovely surprise. So when food enthusiast (read: food obsessed) love my food and sugar asked me if I was interested to go for Tomislav's 'Just Desserts', I said "sure, why not". I didn't really think too much of it till she happened to mention that Tomislav worked with Heston Blumenthal from Heston's Feast. OMG. I felt my expectation rising up... ugh not good! Luckily, my slow recovery of my broken foot and college assignments kept that expectation in check.

Table and the restaurant's surrounding

Less than 15 minutes after arriving at the restaurant, I was in an invariably good mood. I was pleasantly surprised (read: rather blown away) with the staff hospitality! First, the hostess was really lovely and asked me about my foot without being overly nosy. She asked me if the table they had allocated for us was convenient for me. Then she remembered that love my food and sugar is allergic to alcohol and informed the kitchen so that when the Delamotte champagne and violet granite were served, the kitchen staff had replaced her champagne with lemonade. How's that for awesome hospitality?

Delamotte champagne and violet granite & how to mix it - look how pretty the color is!

Totally loved the champagne and violet granite. Aside from the fact that purple is my favorite color, the taste was really refreshing with just a hint of sweetness. Oh and it doesn't hurt that it reminded me of my fantastic holidays in the lavender fields of Furano! Maybe it was the champagne, maybe it was the company, or the staff or everything, but I think I fell in love with Tomislav then, or in the process of.

Grilled strawberries with white chocolate and mint

The first course was grilled strawberries with white chocolate and mint. When it was brought out, I couldn't stop the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever to start playing in my head as I marveled at the powder converted white chocolate and mint. Hell's yeah molecular gastronomy! Love love loveeeeeeeeeee the white chocolate and mint powder! It totally reminded me of eating milk powder during my childhood. Another score for Tomislav. The mint?! Gosh, lovely lovely flavor and texture. Embarrassing as it is to admit, we were both scraping the plate... WE WANT MORE!

Goat curd cheese cake with elderflower and pistachio

The second course was this goat curd cheese cake with elderflower and pistachio. When I read that after I first sat down I was like... goat curd... hmm hope it's not stinky. Thankfully it came stinky free in a shape of a snail's house. I absolutely adored the whole plate. It was so pretty! It looked like a little garden with a snail surrounded with pretty flowers. Presentation? CHECK! The goat curd cheesecake was light and fluffy and below there was this other thing that I suspect was vanilla something. Absolutely delicious. All my pain, frustration over my foot, stress over my assignment were gone in this euphoric moment. I love the elderflower jelly, sweet and sour to counter the cheese. The pistachio added a crunchylicious factor too! The catch? None, but there were these little leaves that baffled us at first as it taste like lemongrass but for sure it wasn't. The staff informed us that it was lemon balm. Fancy that. If you can't tell, this is my favorite so far.

Caramel ice cream with toasted peanut

Soon after, came the caramel ice cream with toasted peanut. The unexpected factor? POP ROCK!! I kinda knew or hoped that pop rock will be incorporated somehow into the degustation menu and oh soooo delighted! This whole dish could be overly too sweet, caramel and all, but it wasn't and for that I was grateful and content.

Warm chocolate mousse with sea salt and olive oil, plus mulberry sorbet with horseradish topping

Then came the warm chocolate mousse with sea salt and olive oil that I had been anticipating. Ever since my trip to Barcelona's Alkimia late last year I look forward for any dessert that incorporates olive oil. The chocolate mousse was dark chocolatey, my favorite kind, salty with the sea salt and fresh from the olive oil. Did I die and gone to heaven? It came with mulberry sorbet and horseradish topping. Yup, you heard that right. Weird huh? Thought so too, but the whole combo worked perfectly.

Beef mince pie with grilled onion and de-re-constructed tomato sauce

Rice crackers and vinegar spray

Sad as we were that the desserts were done, we were looking forward for our beef mince pie. Once again, it did not disappoint. The pastry was yum. We asked the hostess to convince Tomislav to keep this as a regular menu. *Fingers crossed* Then for not so dessert 'dessert', we received rice crackers with vinegar spray. For some reason, I could not use the spray... love my food and sugar had to do it for me...

We were so sad that it was over... BUT!!! Tomislav and Black Star Pastry gave us a Black Star Pasty take away box! (see the photo at the very top) What a great way to finish! It was genius. We were ecstatic. And guess what?! Each box has NOT one but FOUR different pastries! I was in cloud nine. Tomislav and Black Star Pastry are now my favorites in Sydney.

Chef Tomislav and Black Star Pastry, will you be my BFFs?

Tomislav

2/23 Kirketon Rd

Darlinghurst, NSW 2010

+61 2 9356 4535

'Just Desserts' degustation was A$125 per person - but with amazing food quality and great hospitality, I am not complaining.

Day 5 of Japan trip: Kushiro, seafood heaven

Morning in Bibaushi

It is time to say goodbye to the lavenders in the heart of Hokkaido and continue our journey east to Kushiro where we would base ourselves to see the famous marimo at Lake Akan and horse ride in Kushiro marshland. We were really sad to leave Bibaushi and its surrounding as we felt so at home at our hostel. Since I woke up real early that day, a combination of jetlag and the fact that the sun rises at 4am in Hokkaido.... It was kinda surreal actually to wake up at 4 am and see it's sunny outside already. These surreal moments are one of the reasons why I love traveling. Anyway since I was awake, I decided to walk around with my camera to absorb moments when the town was waking up.

Various scenes from the Bibaushi train station

Life around the rolling hills of rice paddies in Bibaushi

Signs of spring and summer, the hills were alive with flowers!

We arrived in Kushiro at around 1pm and we were hungry. The city, one of the major hub in the eastern part of Hokkaido was decidedly more close to foreign visitors than the other places that we have been. It was amazing, because I just felt like we were amongst the first people to discover this city. Even if you don't speak Japanese, I truly recommend Kushiro. The people, the climate, its tranquility and the seafood are definitely worth our while. Unlike Sapporo and Furano where the humidity almost killed us (I'd still go back though!), Kushiro was very cool and dry with ocean breeze.

The cute ramen-ya near our hotel

Uni Ikura Donburi set - JPY 600 (~USD6)

Shoyu ramen, Kushiro style - JPY 500

We found this cute little ramen place near our hotel where we ordered ramen for JPY 500 and uni ikura donburi set for JPY 600. Yes!!! No typo there! Really! The total was JPY 1,100. No kidding, totally dirt cheap. The taste? One of the best I've had, SERIOUSLY. We shared the shoyu ramen which had light broth but full of taste. The noodle was just right, not over or under cooked. I finished the soup and I rarely do that. That's a testimony on how good it was. The uni ikura donburi set? The buttery sweetness taste of uni combined with the bursting in your mouth savory salty ikura were a match made in heaven. The sushi rice was still warm which was really nice. I always prefer warm rice than cold. We didn't even need to add soy sauce as it was soooooo fresh. I want to go back!

Unfortunately I cannot give you the shop's name and address as I forgot to get their name card. However, if you wander to Kushiro Palude hotel which was where we stay, if your back is facing the lobby you will be able to see this ramen-ya just one block ahead of you.

Spicy thrills from Chairman Mao

Chilli pickles - varied with each of my visit

The real Chairman Mao rocked the world with his ideology, this Chairman Mao rocks your mouth with chillies. I first spotted Chairman Mao through the window of the bus that I took to uni one summer afternoon earlier this year. Then I read about it on Time Out Sydney mag March or April edition and it then entered my "to try" list. Since then, I have eaten there 4 times and I still want to go back. It's that good. If you are interested to go, make sure you make a booking or you might not get a table.

Eggplant with chilli

One "Must Order" dish here is the stir fried eggplant. Be careful though, it's spicy. It doesn't explode in your mouth kind of spicy, its the kind that builds up slowly and by the time you realize it, your mouth is already begging for mercy. Trust me though, it is sooooo worth it to order. The eggplants are sliced thinly and stirfried with fermented black beans and chilli. Perfect combo with rice. Each time I visit, I always order this... Ugh, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

On this visit, I ordered 3 other dishes one is the diced chicken with cashew nuts, river shrimp with chives-like veggies, and beancurd with home made smoked pork. These three dishes did not disappoint and we never ordered them before!

Diced chicken with cashew nut and broccoli

The diced chicken with cashew nut was not spicy, we asked for it not to be spicy so that we wouldn't have to "suffer" so much. The chicken was coated in oyster sauce-like sauce which was savory with a hint of sweetness but still dry-ish. The cashew nut gave it a crunchy nutty flavor, obviously... On its own the flavor is strong, but with rice it's a perfect combo. It's also a nice balance for the eggplant chilli dish.

River shrimps with green vegetables

The river shrimps was a little spicy, we asked them to down tone the spiciness with this one again as the last time we were there everything was truly spicy. So we thought to give our tongue a break this time. The chive-like veggie was crunchy and tasted sweet. The flavoring was simple so it brought out the veggie flavor. The shrimps were smaller than I thought they would be and seemed to be lightly fried whole with their shells. Though at first I was skeptical, I understood why they included the shell, it made it crispy and crunchy with just enough sweetness of the shrimps' meat.

Beancurd with home made smoked pork

The bean curd and home made smoked pork was the most interesting texture of them all. It's quite different to find smoked pork on a Chinese dish, maybe this is the normal thing in Hunanese dish - I'm not so sure. I really like this dish though, very savory and the choice of vegetables complimented the dish as the veggies were sweet.

Chairman Mao is definitely one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in town. If you're scared of chilli, don't! "Take heart chilli heads. It's not dumb to eat the fire, it's a sign of high intelligence." From the article "A Perk of Our Evolution - Pleasure in Pain of Chillies" from the New York Times. Click here for the full article.

Chairman Mao

189 Anzac Parade

Kensington, NSW 2033

+61 2 9697 9189

Open for dinner only

"Let's do brunch" at Cafe Ish

Karaage Soft Shell Crab Omelette

A few days ago I came across a tweet by @atablefortwo via RTs about Cafe Ish and Shoot The Chef competition that is part of the Sydney International Food Festival (SIFF) [click here for official website]. When I opened the link and saw the photo of Cafe Ish's take on eggs benedict with soft shell crab... I got really curious. Then by chance when I was checking out the SIFF website, I found the "Let's Do Brunch" promo (weekend only) at Cafe Ish: A$25 for karaage soft shell crab omelette (their specialty), breakfast triffle - yoghurt with native berry compote and muesli, and a cup of wattle macca-cino (another specialty of theirs). Not a bad deal I'd say. Talking to a friend, it turned out that she was planning a trip for this promo on Sunday and so I tagged along.

I set up my alarm for 8am as my friend as sent me an email reminding me of the time and that daylight saving started Sunday 3rd October. Morning came way too quickly as I had a real long day on Oct 2nd doing a charity fundraising for Youth Off The Streets - check out Race For The Youth on facebook if you're interested. Anyway, we got there early and it was raining. I really couldn't wait for the coffee, alas we were waiting for some people.

As we waited, I took out my camera and my friend told me to be careful and ask permission first before taking any picture as the owners are reputedly quite particular about people taking pictures in their cafe. Hmmm... okay.... Anyway, the next time the waitress was there we asked her if it's ok to take picture and she said yes. So that's done, but still I couldn't shake the weird feeling off. Another friend told me at the table that there has been some arguments between the owners and some Sydney bloggers regarding what the bloggers write on their reviews. Another weirdness..., but then the coffee arrived then the food started to arrive and we were busy taking pictures and stuffing our face.

Wattle Macca-cino with tiny cookie

I loved the wattle macca-cino, I drank it just as is with no sugar added. It tasted just right, balanced - just enough sweetness that compliments the solid coffee taste. I loved the cute cookie too. The waitress informed us that the cafe does all you can eat ribs every Wednesday for A$35 and I have a feeling that I will go back. Oh and maybe another visit to try the crab benedict.

The breakfast triffle - yoghurt, muesli and native berries compote

The native berry that was really sour if you eat it as is... interesting experience though

The breakfast triffle was interesting as well, it came with all these weird shaped dried berries that puzzled me at first. That is till my friend told me that the menu said "native berries". I tried eating one of the interesting looking native berries as is and it was really sours. So word of the wise, if you don't like sourness mix it well.

Salt: pink salt, green tea salt and chilli salt

Tasmanian pepper berries - didn't add any as the sauce delivered interesting flavour as is

Close up of the crab omelette - yum

After that, came the most anticipated dish - crab omelette. I couldn't wait to eat it and see if the raves were true. The chilli sauce on top was interesting. When the waitress told us at first that the omelette comes with a special sauce I was thinking Japanese-ish sauce. However, the chilli sauce tasted like Malaysian sambal belacan - chilli with ebi (dried small shrimps) base and then fried to take off the heat. I like the avocado, soft shell crab and shallots combination inside the omelette. It was like eating sushi but have the rice and seaweed replaced with omelette. The sweet and spiciness of the sambal belacan-like sauce went well with the sushi-like omelette. Halfway through the dish, however I started to feel that it was getting too salty. Overall though, I thought it was really creative to use soft shell crab on a breakfast dish.

Cafe Ish

82 Campbell St

Surry Hills, NSW

+61 2 9281 1688

Opening times varies so please contact the cafe directly