Earl grey tea cookies and truffle fries with parmesan

Earl greys cookies are lined up to report for duty

Today was a baking day. My first exam is 15 days from now and so far I have been procrastinating 2 days straight. Not good. Although... today has BEEN quite productive if at all in different ways. These days I really like baking cookies, they're so cute and simple, the process destresses me, and it makes me happy to see people happy when I give them and eat my cookies. Oh, and I don't pile on the calories. 'Happy days' as Jamie Oliver would say.

To explain the truffle fries, it started because a week or so ago ieatsweet and I were at Westfield on Pitt St. Mall where we ended up having Charlie & Co.'s truffle fries and parmesan. It costed us almost $20 and it dawned on us that we could make this our own! Sometime at the end of last week I got this message from ieatsweet that she already gotten the truffle oil and sent an invite for me to come bearing parmesan cheese and fries. Well, it didn't happen last week, but it did today. So to make your own truffle fries and parmesan? Simple, get these ingredients, oven bake the fries or fry depending your preference, drizzle the truffle oil, grate the cheese - and enjoy =D

Here's the recipe for the earl grey tea cookies:

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves, (from about 8 bags)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 (8 ounce) sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

Instruction:

1. Whisk together flour, tea, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Put butter, sugar, and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; slowly mix in flour mixture until just combined.

3. Divide dough in half. Transfer each half to a piece of parchment paper; shape into logs. Roll in parchment to 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log and force out air. Transfer in parchment to paper-towel tubes; freeze 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Space 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.

5. Bake until edges turn golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

This recipe is taken from Martha Stewart's book but is also available here. So far, I really like the earl grey cookies because it's so simple, yet so fragrant both from the tea and the orange zest. It also has a lightness to it that makes me less guilty than eating other cookies such as the dark choc sour cherry biscuits I made previously.

Awww... broken hearted cookie (for the record: I thought this was cute, despite ieatsweet's initial [or maybe still] disagreement)

For some lucky people, these little sweet hearts are yours to devour

Max Brenner at Paddington

Ever since I watched that final episode of the Australian Junior Master Chef where the two finalist kids had to recreate Adriano Zumbo's pear perfection, I had been planning to stop by Zumbo's patisserie in Balmain. So I dragged a friend who was visiting Sydney to Balmain and everything was so easy, I didn't get lost, got a parking space near the shop and even got in the parallel parking spot on 3 turns! I should have been suspicious! It was TOO easy, when we got to the shop... there were no more cakes! We were too late.

So E wanted her sweets and as such we decided to drive to Paddington for Max Brenner. Chocolate could never go wrong could it?! So I order what I always order, fresh strawberries with melted chocolate and E got the waffles. Going to the Paddington shop and ordering what I ordered reminded me of the first time I've ever been to Max Brenner in 2003. Back then there were only 2 shops: Paddington's and at David Jones' basement. Now, there are gazillions of them spread all over the world, which is kinda good when you are craving them from other countries, but I can't help but feeling a bit sad that it's getting more and more like a chain shop. Anyway, the strawberries were still finger lickin' good and from the way E was devouring her waffle, hers were too. It's good to visit a familiar place once in a while and I hope it stays good.

Max Brenner

Shop 437 Oxford St

Paddington, NSW 2021

+61 2 9357 5055

for opening hours and other locations click here

Getting bubble tea fix

On Thursday, I found out from my cousin that apparently Cha Time has opened a new branch in World Square, just in front of Coles. Good news as this shop is really my favorite bubble tea place as they have good selection of tea and nice tapiocas that have just the right chewiness. If you want the tapioca pearl, remember to ask for it at the register as the tea doesn't automatically come with the bubble (despite the pictures that makes you think so!). Anyway, topping is $0.50, so it's not that bad.

To make the news even sweeter, they are having a buy one get one deal till Nov 7, which is tomorrow. So this is why, I am sharing the news with you guys. Get your bubble tea fix for a good deal by tomorrow. If you do decide to go, remember to bring your patience! The line will be long....

Cha Time

World Square Shopping Centre

George st/Liverpool st/Goulburn st/ Pitt St block

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

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

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.

Cupcakes Nostalgia from Kambala Days

Vanilla Cupcake with Strawberry Icing

It was a mid September afternoon, merely hours before I broke my foot. Yes, I broke my foot and this is why I have been AWOL from blogging... well that and my school work. Anyway - stories on how I broke my foot can be re-told if there's demand. Now back to the cupcakes, I have been waiting for this moment since ages. One of my fond memories of my Kambala days was this cupcakes. I was so happy when a Kambala girl friend of mine told me that I can still have this cupcake! She told me where to get them but the last time I went there on a Sunday they were closed and I hadn't had time to return till that fateful day on September 17.

Loving the lettering of the shop's name - so 80s!

It was a step back in time, like going back in the 80s if you're looking at the store from the outside. It's nostalgic and so simple amongst all these new foodie craze in Sydney where cafes, bakeries, chefs compete to create the most innovative new thing, almost like an art design where you kinda just want to look at - so afraid to bite as you might just ruin a piece of artwork. At Dobinson, cupcakes are just cupcakes. There for your eating pleasure. Simplicity is key here with cake bases such as vanillas and chocolates.

Choose carefully - don't let your waistline hate you

Vanilla base cupcake with vanilla icing

Of course I just had to have the vanilla base cupcake with strawberry icing. Expect simplicity, there's nothing too strawberry other than the pink-ish colour, but as I bite into it, I felt like I was transported back to a time where everything was so simple. My partner in crime of the day who doubled as my informant in tracking down this place J, had the vanilla icing. We then got the mini cupcakes each. I also ordered 2 more normal size cupcakes to go. I just had to! It's been 10 over years since I had these cupcakes!

Chicken Mushroom Cheese pie

As it was lunch time and I can't just have cupcake for lunch, J and I ordered a cheesy chicken mushroom pie to share. I am in looooove... So soft and gooey, the chicken pieces were full of flavour - oh so savoury. We also ordered a cappuccino each, which came in this big glasses that I forgot to take a picture of. A total of 4 cupcakes, 2 junior cupcakes, 1 small cupcake, 2 cappuccinos and one savoury pie was around A$20! Love the reasonable price here... I really can't wait to get back. Unfortunately that afternoon I broke my foot - the right one. So doctor say no driving till cast is off. So lesson of this post: don't take your foot for granted and go get those cupcakes and live it up for me.

PS: It is said that the famous Adriano Zumbo once worked here.... Now, aren't you curious?

Dobinsons Cake

10 Newcastle St

Rosebay, NSW 2029

+61 2 9371 7334

Closed on Sundays

Day 4: 2nd round of Lavender ice cream and soba lunch in Furano city

Lavender soft ice cream Round 2!

At first it was definitely the rain that made us decide that we just had to go back to Tomita farm. However, I confess as you all probably have guessed that it was the Lavender ice cream that really tipped the scale. So it was day 4 in Japan, day 2 in Bibaushi and another visit to Tomita farm. Getting up early, we caught the train to Naka Furano and walked the 20 minutes walk to Tomita farm. The weather was as sunny as it was raining the previous day. By the time we reached Tomita farm, we needed to sit down under the shade and get something cold, yes we got lavender ice cream. Seriously though, it was the heat.

Lavender calpis jelly with poplar trees in the background

I then decided to try the Lavender calpis jelly and Ginko chan got the cream puff, also in lavender flavor. No surprise there eh? The fields were just so beautiful. I couldn't stop snapping pictures. I wish I had a whole week just to spend wondering around this area.

I wish I could have brought my late German Shepherd here, I miss him so much!

Norokko Go Train - Sightseeing train on operation in the spring and summer

Kodamaya front entrance, very summery

The sun was really shinning that day, as if to make up for its lack thereof the previous day. It exhausted us. So we made our way to Furano to get lunch and wait for the bus that will take us to the cheese and the wine factory. The tourist information recommended us this soba place about 7 minutes walk to the north of the station. We were lucky we got table right away because after that, people had to wait for quite a while. There were so many kind of soba to choose from too. I was tempted to get the Anago soba at first, but then saw the kinoko (mushroom) soba which I never see on any soba place menus. That settled it then. Ginko chan opted for the set and we waited for our food to come. We were super hungry.

Ginko chan's set, tempura soba, ikura soba and nama soba - fresh fresh fresh!

Look how fresh the egg is!

Mushroom soba with chicken

Yaki Mochi (grileld rice cakes) - my absolute favorite Japanese snack!

The soba, was really fresh. We ordered the cold kinds perfect remedy for such hot days. Honestly, I'm not really of a soba person, but I was happy here. Service was awesome, food quality was great and the price was friendly to my wallet too! Seriously, I heart Japan. There are so many affordable great quality food there.

Kodamaya

Click here for website

Click here for map

Day 3 cont'd: Aunt Stella's cookies

This is what got me interested in the first place. It had a watermelon scent, but it was rather chocolate chip-py for me. I was amused.

On the way back to Bibaushi, we passed by the basement of one of the department stores nearby and long story short, we ended up getting all sorts of cookies from Aunt Stella's Cookies. It was the first time I had ever seen such a wide variety of cookies. I was so impressed with their creativity. Tell me if you're not impressed after seeing all these pictures!

My favorite was the corn flake cookies. Hopefully soon I will attempt to recreate this. If it works out, I might just share the recipe with you. Or you just have to order it through IEatSweet who will give me commission ;)

Aunt Stella's Cookies

Click here for website

(It's only in Japanese... Sorry! Really I am, I wish I could put through an order)