Review: Spice I Am, Darlinghurst

About a week ago AL, VH and I decided to hit up Spice I Am in Darlinghurst, located beside the lovely Tastevin which we had been the secret hideout of our previous girly gossip session. Despite each of us going on separate ways post-high school, each and every one of these meetings remind us of just how little we have grown up...

Booking a table in the lounge section in front of the bar meant that we simply could not control our alcoholic tendencies. Besides, what's a gossip session without the cocktails?

Luckily for us, Spice I Am does a range of scumpdiddlyumptious fruity cocktails.

Canadian Summer (left): Fresh corindi raspberries, Canadian Club Whisky, Absolut Raspberry vodka, French rockmelon liqueur, and ruby red grapefruit juice

Tiger Paw (right): Crushed pineapple, panama passionfruit, Wybowora apple vodka, French mango liqueur, and a touch of tiger secret

I rest my case.

Bour Tod (Phuket style fritter of green school prawns on crispy betel leaf with chilli sauce, crushed cashew nuts and coriander) - $14

I'd like to point out right about here that the waitress in charge of my area was perhaps one of the most lovely and attentive waitress I've encountered in my various roamings around Sydney's eateries. This Betel Leaf dish was one of her many recommendations for our table, and it was most certainly a winner.

If you ever visit Spice I Am, do yourself a favour and try it. Who knew a piece of leaf could taste so good?

Roast Duck salad served with whole cashews, chilli and lemongrass (seasonal special)

The roast duck salad was most definitely a winner with all of us at the table as the plate disappeared before you could even take a deep breath to soak up the aromas. Every mouthful was bursting with fragrance, flavour and fire.

Yeah fire. Did I mention that the dish was damn-freakin' hot?

As I quickly guzzled down water to put out the fire in my mouth, AL and her Malay innards pointed and laughed at me the way Ralph does in Simpsons. Despite practically losing my oral sensations, I still happily licked the plate clean. It was that good.

Pla Yum Ma Muang - Deep fried whole baby snapper with green mango salad, palm sugar, garlic and red chilli dressing - $38

Hello SK! This snapper is for you!

Anyway, I may have forgotten to mention that when our table ordered the snapper as one of our main, our ever-helpful waitress took a quick look at us before warning that the dish could feed us 4 times over. But then who can say no to deep fried snapper? I mean, you're talking about the person who could eat a chairleg deep fried. The snapper had to stay, and to that end we quickly struck off a few other dishes and stayed with this one.

Was I glad? You can bet your FIFA World Cup that I was.

The snapper was so moist and juicy on the inside, and the mango salad dressed on top was a real tangy hit to rid of any hint of greasiness from the deep frying. (What greasiness? Pfft...) I think I may have demolished 3/4 of the dish as AL and VH watched in horror.

Yum Hua Plee - Shredded banana flower with king prawns, roasted coconuts, shallots, chilli, coriander and nam pik pao dressing - $35

Back when we were in Hoi An, Vietnam, AL, VH and I all attended a private cooking class where we learnt how to make banana flower salad. From that day on not only did we fall in love with the incredible flavours of the dish - spicy, tangy, refreshing, fragrant, savoury, sweet, you name it - but everything about this dish brings back memories of our epic trip and sunfilled days biking around Vietnam.

This one was no different, except when it arrived all we could really talk about was how the banana flower market in Sydney may as well be a black market. I never see any around my area, but AL claimed to see them selling at $6 each in Cabramatta. I think I nearly choked when I heard that. Imagine what the prices would've been like during the banana crisis we had a few year back.

Hello QLD? Sharing is caring.

Khao Naew Ma Muang - Sticky rice served with fresh nam dok mai mango and coconut sauce - $20

The great thing about Spice I Am is that this is most definitely a place you could hit up later in the night for a good cocktail and grab some dessert. This Khao Naew Ma Muang was to die for, combining a delicate balance between a light savouriness in the sticky rice, the tangy bite of the mango and a light, smooth and creamy sweetness from the coconut sauce. Needless to say I was too full to fully devour this, but this is something that I would definitely reorder on my next visit back.

Saa Ku - Tapioca pearl with coconut and dark palm sugar sauce - $15

Oh heaven save me from my ever-increasingly bulgy stomach. Not only was this a great dessert to finish the night off with, but the mango iced topping worked surprisingly well as a refreshing palate cleanser with light coconut milk syrup being beautifully indulgent without the richness. Unfortunately our three spoons simply did not fit well in the glass all at the same time so the table descended into anarchic hell as we turned our spoons into swords and battled down to the very last morsel of this dessert.

Classy as always. Interpret how you will.

Spice I Am

296-300 Victoria Street

Darlinghurst, NSW 2010

Tel: (02) 9332 2445

http://www.spiceiam.com/the-restaurant/index.html

Review: The Bathers' Pavilion, Balmoral Beach

So, what do a bunch of 20-something year olds do when they're bored in the evening with next to nothing to do? We're over the drinking, over all the clubbing, and generally over the fact that most of us will be graduating soon and free time simply won't feel the same again?

Well, they hit up a nice place for dessert of course! Especially the ones which require a little driving just to get away from parents screaming from behind at how ridiculous it was that we were heading out so late in the evening.

And that was when we discovered The Bathers' Pavilion Cafe at Balmoral Beach.

Crème caramel, poached caramel pears, cinnamon filo crisp - $15.50

"You're going to the beach NOW?" cried my father. Yep, anything for the food. Besides, it's not like Mum makes Crème Caramels for me for dessert.
"Do you even know your way?"
"Nope, but if I get lost, we ALL get lost"

Perhaps I should suggest to him that if he could make such a creamy and luscious Crème Caramel for me at home then I would consider staying home a tee-wee bit longer. Oh and the filo pastry was to die for. I could eat this stuff all day! (Hey, there's a thought! That way I wouldn't even bother heading out.)

Lemon delicious, confit lemon, lemon sherbet - $15.50

Either way SK, LT, JL, JC, SL and I all managed to find our way there that night - albeit a little late. By a little I really mean half an hour. I'm sure AY admired the evening view while he waited in the breeze.

Or perhaps he should have ducked inside before us and smacked his face in his Lemon Delicious. I know I often say "What's in a name?", but seriously, if this had been called anything more complicated I probably would have pondered over whether it was delicious or not - but Lemon Delicious? Lemon. Delicious. Simple. Straight-forward. When the dish lives up to its name, you know you just have to get another spoonful. Just the way life should be sometimes.

Pineapple tart tartin, pineapple compote, coconut ice-cream - $15.50

So was the whole getting lost, arriving late and dishevelled, being flamed by the always-5-minutes-early AY really worth the effort? Well short answer is yes; long answer is when you are warmly greeted and seated after arriving at close to 9:45pm on a quiet evening in a beautiful location, the experience is simply a rare thing in itself. To be honoured the visit with such delectable morsels of food such as a Pineapple Tart Tartin was just the right icing on top.

It almost felt like the only thing missing was a glass of Pina Colada and some dancing.

Vanilla & strawberry cheesecake, strawberry salad, strawberry sorbet - $15.50

And then there was the factor that there really was something in it for everyone. For the fruity dessert lovers (or those chocolate goddesses in search of a change in scenery, aka, SK), the Strawberry Cheesecake will do no wrong. With a scoop of refreshing strawberry sorbet on the side mixed with a tangy sweet strawberry salad, I prithee, this is something you'll not want to walk away from.
Anna's chocolate and banana gateau, chocolate fudge sauce - $15.50

And then if you really cannot peel yourself away from your chocolate addiction, well, I wish you all the best! At least here at Bather's Pavilion you'll get a slice of the lightest chocolate cake bending over for you, waiting for the perfect scoop to take it to your mouth.

Never knew food could be so trippy, eh?

The Bathers' Pavilion Cafe
4 The Esplanade
Balmoral Beach, NSW 2088
Tel: (02) 9969 5050
Website: http://www.batherspavilion.com.au/

Review: Azuma Kushiyaki, Sydney

Gomenasai, this post is SO belated that it's almost ridiculous to be doing it now. But it seemed like such a waste if I didn't post about it, because out of all the Sugar Hit experiences that were on offer, this one simply blew away the rest of the competition.


Of course, I'm talking about the much raved Azuma Kushiyaki.

Since I'm so backlogged in posts, I'm going to stop my usual non-important ramblings and cut straight to the real deal here. Clearly you're not here to listen to my ramblings, so here it is:

For those who were unaware, Azuma's Sugar Hit menu was so popular that they were completely booked out for the whole of October (during which the Sugar Hit event was happening). Instead of sticking to the rules and forcing eager beavers like us to miss out completely, Azuma decided to extend their offer into November, which was when we managed to get our booking.

Just take a squiz above and its not hard to see what it was such a hit. Especially when you compare it to this one.

Mochi with Kinako, Vanilla Ice Cream and Japanese Brown Sugar Syrup

My favourite bit for the night was this Mochi with Kinako (which is a soybean flour) and Vanilla Ice Cream. The round balls of mochi were soft and chewy and I absolutely fell in love with the Japanese brown sugar syrup.

Japanese Brown Sugar Syrup, Nori Seaweed Langue de chat Biscuits, Green Tea rolled cake with Chestnuts

The Nori Seaweed biscuits was also a surprise hit with me. The seaweed had a toasted flavour and the biscuits were brilliantly crisp and fresh. I was so sad that I finished mine so quickly.

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat

Hennessy V.B

I love a bit of muscat, but the boys decided to go the Hennessy way. I felt like telling them that it just wasn't going to make them grow any bigger if they drank this stuff with their dessert.

Belgian Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Cheesecake

Vanilla Cheesecake

My favourite part of a cheesecake is the biscuit base. In other words, I'm no fan of cheesecakes in general and this was no exception. But I have to admit that for cheesecake lovers, this probably would've hit the spot head on. On the other hand, I absolutely fell in love with the Belgian Chocolate Mousse. It was so beautifully light yet rich in flavour without being sickening and there were nice layers of either chocolate sauce or chocolate sheets in between which gave it an interesting contrast in texture at times.

I loved the experience here and would definitely recommend the menu to anyone. Sadly I'm not sure if it still on offer. However, given the showcase presented for the Sugar Hit event, I would think that whatever is on offer right now is sure to impress, and I would definitely return for a second stint sometime in the near future.

Azuma Kushiyaki
Ground Floor Regent Place Shopping
501 George Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9267 7775

Review: Adriano Zumbo Cafe Chocolat, Balmain

...because one visit wasn't enough.

The very next day after Macaron Day, I revisited Adriano Zumbo with another group of friends -- this time to visit the cafe.

The cafe itself is situated in a little courtyard a few doors down from the patisserie shop. A quick glance at the menu will give anyone a headspin -- some things in life you just cannot choose with ease.

The Younger Years

This was CL's order, called "The Younger Years". I'm pretty sure most people would pick up the connection pretty quickly, but if you don't, then I won't spoil your innocence by any means whatsoever.

Taste-wise? Well look. It's Adriano Zumbo. He's not THE Adriano Zumbo for no reason.

La Vie En Rose

The title of this dish stood out to me by a long shot not simply because I love Edith Piaf, nor was it for the fact that I'm secretly in love with Marion Cotillard, or that Audrey Hepburn sang this song in one of my favourite movie scenes, but when I read the menu, I envisioned flavours that melded together so prettily - if such a word may be used to describe food. My vocabulary fails me at this moment, but 'subtle' simply isn't the right word, and 'delicious' simply doesn't do it anymore justice. I've always found that rose flavoured desserts were often overlooked for more common indulgences such as hazelnut and chocolate. It makes me sad a little because I would love to see more rose flavoured ice creams and desserts around the place. This one definitely did not disappoint. I also found the coconut-muddled berry and tapioca pearl drink to be wonderfully complementary to the sweetness of the sorbet, custard and macaron combination.

This is definitely something worthy to draw one back for a revisit.

Mrs Marple, deconstructed

Lastly, JL chose the sunny "Mrs Marple Deconstructed". This was also something I would gladly have served up to me any time, any day. The sweetness factor was just right, and the dish was beautifully presented for the extra "eat me" factor.

I wish I could give you a few more words because I feel like I haven't given this post justice, but I'm awfully tired seeing exams have just finished and it's late and I have work tomorrow. I promise I'll do a better job next post.

Cheers.

Adriano Zumbo, Cafe Chocolat
308 Darling Street
Balmain, NSW 2041
Tel: (02) 9555 1199

Review: Adriano Zumbo, Balmain

Macarons, macarons every where,
And all inside did shriek;
Macarons, macarons every where,
Nor any particular one to seek.

Never have I seen so many macarons in my life! Pink ones, green ones, purple ones, 10 billion different chocolate ones, orange ones, bright red ones...you could fill the colours of the rainbow with all the different macarons Adriano Zumbo piled his store with today.

60 flavours, one day. And all the mouths of Zumbo-fans around Sydney to fill. The flavours range for the typical favourites such as Chocolate & Praline and Strawberries & Cream to the slightly more exotic flavours like Blue Cheese & Pear to Maple Syrup, Bacon & Pancake for the more adventurous.

Honestly, picking what flavours to get was by far the most difficult part of the experience. We needed a moment to just settle down to all the vibrant colours around us, before VH finally pulled out her iPhone and looked up all the different flavours online.


"Can we please get 2 Golden Gaytimes?"
"Make that three"
"And 2 Mango and tonka beans?"
"Is that Cheesecake? Oh my god, can I get a Cheesecake as well?"
"Ooooh what's that purple one? Can I get a purple one?"
"Make that two"
"Hey look there's Toasted Marshmallow!"
"Two of those please! And a Finger Bun one"
"Can I also get a Strawberry Bubblegum please?"
"Sorry what's that one there?"
"Lamington"
"Oh can I get that?"
"Whats that you're getting?"
"Lamington."
"OH could I get one as well?"
"What are you guys both getting?"
"Lamington."
"Oh me too!"
"Let's get a Maple Syrup, Bacon and Pancake one..."
"Hmm....yeah okay, let's do it!"

Spoils of war

To be honest, I have no idea what we ended up getting in the end. Not like it really mattered. AL, VH and I just divided our spoils into three boxes and agreed that it'll just have to be like a lucky dip. All the more fun for each of us.


We actually TRIED, to distinguish them by sniffing, but macarons don't really give anything away. All I know so far is that I've bitten into what I thought was Golden Gaytime, half a Lamington, Strawberry Bubblegum, Fig & Blackcurrant, and what I presume to be Chocolate & Salted Caramel.


All in all, we made a great day out of the event. A great big Happy Birthday to Adriano and what a great success the store has been. And yes, I just realised I used "great" three times in two sentences, but I blame that on the sugar coma that I'm under at the moment.



Adrian Zumbo Pâtisserie
Shop 296, Darling Street
Balmain, NSW 2041
Tel: (02) 9810 7318

Review: Sugar Hit at Grace Hotel, Sydney

Nearing the end of the Sydney International Food Festival month, it was natural that another Sugar Hit take place before the end – although the popularity of Azuma Kushiyaki has prolonged that particular option for an additional month so you may all anticipate a post about that soon! I had heard from several people that Grace Hotel had one of the largest selections on their dessert platter offering and upon seeing the plate, this was very much confirmed.

Brown Brothers Dessert Wine

The large rectangular platter had seven little desserts including: Turkish Delight with Fairy Floss, Walnut and Fig Biscotti, Sticky Rice with Custard, Pavlova with Berries and Cream, Tiramisu, Mango Sorbet in a Brandy Snap Basket, and Vanilla Bean Brulee Tart. A very detailed description of the desserts which I otherwise wouldn’t have known – as I am still a foodie-in-training – had I not done a quick search on Grab Your Fork. The waiter and waitress who served us were not only incapable of properly (by that I mean gently) setting down our plates of dessert and glasses of dessert wine, but didn’t even try to explain to us what we were about to eat. With such a large selection before us, I would have expected at least an explanation of which dessert was which, if not a brief spiel about how we should progress to give our tastebuds the maximum pleasure!

Dessert Platter

Disregarding the poor service, the dessert itself didn’t wasn’t particularly special to making my impression of this Sugar Hit any better. The basket holding my sorbet was disturbingly soggy and the tiramisu lacked the familiar flavour and aroma that makes it usually one of my favourites. For tonight’s Sugar Hit, the pavlova was honestly the only item I could say I ate without frowning or feeling a bit let down by. Although we were offered to most here, compared to the other Sugar Hits, I was quite disappointed at both the quality of service and that of the dessert which we were served.

The Grace Hotel
77 York Street (corner of King St), Sydney
Tel: (02) 9272 6636

Review: Sugar Hit @ Sheraton on the Park, Sydney

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat

After our Mamak visit we headed for Sugar Hit @ Sheraton on the Park. Initial reactions were a bit mixed seeing that the Tea Lounge looked rather like much like the lobby area of a hotel with napkins and cutlery arranged on the tables. Confusion soon disappeared once we were seated and treated to a glass of Brown Brothers Orange Muscat.

Warm Chocolate Pudding with Ice Cream and Chantilly Cream

Putting my indifference towards chocolate aside, the warmth of the chocolate pudding was surely an indulgent way to finish off the night. The pudding was rich, and oozing with sumptious chocolate - perhaps a little too rich for my liking. I managed to devour half the pudding before pushing my plate away and offering it to the sugar monster - aka. JL.



Sugar Hit @ Sheraton on the Park
161 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9286 6686

Review: Passionflower, Capitol Square

"Celebrated heads of state, and even great communicators - did they have brains or knowledge? Don't make me laugh - they were Popular!"

As you can probably tell, I'm pretty Wicked-ed out.

Green apple jelly with Soda and hint of vodka

Passionflower is currently celebrating the showing of Wicked! at Capitol Theatre with a limited-time only selection of Witch-Green desserts and drinks. These range from green apple flavoured jelly with ice cream (green tea ice cream lends a hand to the occasion) to other fancy green-coloured cococtions.

If the green thing ain't for you, by all means there's the usual menu from which you can select old favourites.

Super Duper Brownie

AW and TC ordered the Super Duper Brownie to share. And share they must for there was no way any one person could have possibly finished this baby. So what's inside? Triple chocolate fudge brownies with chocolate mud, cookies and cream, white chocolate and hazelnut, and I believe we also had a little coffee in ours. Not sure if it was on the menu, but it tasted like heaven anyway.

VH's tiramisu was also delightful, albeit a tad rich for my liking. Hidden deep beneath are sponge fingers, all dark from soaking up the espresso and topped with mascarpone.

Really, what more could anyone want?

And don't say tickets to Wicked. Besides, we had them anyway. (AND IT WAS GREAT! If I had a blog about musicals I think I would have written an epic, godly review of Wicked).


Passionflower
Shop G12, Capitol Square
730-742 George Street
Haymarket NSW 1240
Tel: (02) 9281 8322

The Most Diet-Unfriendly Cake You'll Find Here

...and it's all thanks to Donna Hay.

Over the years I've found Donna Hay recipes to be a tad on the sweet side for me. This then got me into the habit of messing around with the measurements and what not - which probably explains why half my baking adventures fail miserably. However, this Chocolate Truffle Cake really leaves me with nothing to complain about - except perhaps the fat content.

I am going to repeat this once again. If you are health-conscious, turn away now. Otherwise, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

This is also a time consuming cake, but it definitely is worthy of every minute spent labouring away in the kitchen.First you need to sift the flour and cocoa flour. Not once. Not Twice. But THREE times.
Do it. Or you'll be kicking yourself.
Next grab 4 eggs ad 1/3 cup of caster sugar.

I'm a strong believer of Free Range Eggs. The thought of my own garden-hogging chickens flap up when I get tempted by the price of caged eggs.

Won't somebody think of the chickens!?!
Beat the egg and sugar until light and fluffy. You'll notice your mixture growing in size. It's kinda cool like that. Next, fold in the cocoa and flour mix. I always use either a rice paddle or a metal spoon when I fold - I think the metal spoon idea came from Huey's.

Pour the mixture into a springform tin (one of the most awesomest bakeware ever). Smack the tin down on the bench gently to pop any large air bubbles which may have been trapped inside.
Pop it into an 180°C oven for 25 minutes. You may want to make the truffle filling at this point.

See, I told you it would be time-consuming and lots of hard work.
For the filling, grab about 400g of dark coverture chocolate and 2 cups of single cream. The original recipe asks for more, but I prefer this ratio. Melt it while stirring over a double boiler.

I find the Nestle Cooking Chocolate works fine, but if you're a chocolate connoisseur then by all means use high quality stuff to your liking.
It was some time here that the timer on my oven went off and I had to go rescue the cake. I know this because the ordering of photos on my camera tells me so.
I'm also going to use this opportunity to show you oven mits (?) that SK got me from the U.S. It took me ages to work out what the shape was meant to be, so I'm just gonna it leave it there for everyone to guess.
Back to the chocolate mix. Remember to keep stirring or it may just catch on the bottom.
After it is melted, set it aside and let it cool.
Next, separate six eggs. You'll need the yolks. The whites you can use for meringues or macarons. You can even make them and then stick them as decoration on the cake, or do something trippy and make it all Adriano Zumbo-esque.
Put the egg yolks with 1/3 cup of caster sugar over a double boiler. At this point I'm going to say I hope you have a power point near your stove, or you're going to need an extension cord.
Next, beat the egg and sugar over the double boiler. Make sure you scrap the bottom regularly with a spatula to make sure that the egg doesnt cook on the side of the bowl.
When the mixture is thick, put it aside and let it cool slightly for about 2 minutes.
Next, fold in the chocolate cream mixture from before. Make swift, gentle folds so that the mixture stays light.
And then place it into refridgeration for 30 minutes.
While the truffle filling is cooling, proceed to slice the cake into two. Don't be like me, cut them evenly, please.
Place the bottom half of the cake back into the springform tin. At this point I will stress that you remember to tighten your tin. Nobody likes runny truffle mixture all over the benchtop.
Pour half of the truffle mixture over the bottom layer. The mixture, at this point, should be at a consistency so that it will naturally spread itself over the layer without the need for a spatula, but it should not be so runny that the sponge cake will start absorbing it like syrup.
Put the top layer of cake on top of the truffle mixture...
...then pour the rest of the truffle mixture on top.

Easy right?
Then pop the entire thing into the fridge and leave it there for at least 5 hours. I experimented once with 5 hours, and once overnight. The overnight one was definitely more cutting friendly and was better texture-wise.

Once the cake is set, detach the springform tin carefully. It should come off quite easily without needing to run your knife around the edge.
Then just cut it up and serve!

(from Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2)