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: La Bohème Restaurant & Cafe

Since we were in Balmain for the day, VH, AL and I thought we might hit up a cafe for lunch after Adriano Zumbo. As much as we wanted to get our hands on those macarons, being good little girls, we thought to have our treat AFTER a proper meal.

That's when we ran into La Bohème.

Stylistically speaking, La Bohème's menu oozes with European - meat and alcomohol. For me, European sausages are hard to go by, and seeing it was lunch, I couldn't bring myself to having anything more substantial than that. I had a hard time saying no to the Beef Goulash, but I repeated to myself: "Macarons, macarons, macarons..."

European Style Debreciner Sausages (grilled with cheese and served with beetroot horseradish, Hungarian mustard and rye bread) - $13.90

I chose to have the European Style Debreciner Sausages thinking that they would be lighter considering that they're on the breakfast menu. Little did I know that the sheer portion I was going to receive would fill me up till well past dinner.

I must say I was thoroughly impress. Nothing beats a couple of meaty European snags with a little pickle and sauerkraut and mustard. Mmmhmm.

Pasta with smoked salmon (with spinach leaves, chilli and olive oil) - $14.90

The portion sizes here are quite large, and all three of us had trouble finishing our plates. AL's Smoked Salmon Pasta was lightly tossed with spinach and flakes of smoked salmon. Simple, but a smidge on the oily side for my liking.

Norwegian Smoked Salmon Sandwich - $10.50

VH's Norwegian smoked salmon sandwich looked absolutely divine to bite into. Lavish slices of smoked salmon and layers of avocado, cream cheese amongst other fillings made the sandwich almost impossible to fit into her mouth. If you knew what VH looked like, watching her trying to tackle this sandwich was entertainment in itself.


La Bohème Restaurant & Cafe
Rear Mans Institute Arcade
Shop 9, 332 Darling Street
Balmain, NSW 2041
Restaurant Tel: (02) 9810 0829
Cafe Tel: (02) 9818 4745

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

Destressing Pumpkin Soup

When you're buried six feet under in a pile of book-rubble thanks to the oh-so-exciting end of semester exams, you often find yourself sprouting creative ideas (aka. procrastination) from all orifices on your body.

The brainchild of my uber-ultra-uhhh-productivity is this super destressing pumpkin soup! Why destressing? Because it takes about half a brain to make. Even Amus* could make it. It also makes you feel productive -- you are technically doing something useful...just perhaps not studying.

For those who are living in Sydney, let's ignore for a minute the amount of sun we've been getting in the past few days and rewind back about a week or two or so.

Rain. Remember that kids? Yes. Well this soup is perfect for those days...and books, if you must.

I didn't originally plan on posting about this soup, but my test guinea pig decided that it was safe enough to share with the world and encouraged me to post it.

So here it is folks!

* Chicago reference, in case you're giving me the eyebrow

Destressing Pumpkin Soup
Serves: 3

To buy:
1/2 Butternut Pumpkin
4 cups Chicken Stock (always have more on standby, though)
1/2 tbsp Dried Parsley
1 onion, roughly sliced
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cream (optional)

To cook:

1. Cut pumpkin into 2cm cubes. Roughly.
2. Add oil to a deep pot and saute onions until transparent
3. Add pumpkin and gently stir around to initiate cooking process
4. Add stock and bring to boil. Put on lid and bring down to simmer
5. Sprinkle dried parsley. Season with salt and pepper
   
6. Simmer for about 20-30mins until pumpkins are soft enough to break with a fork.
7. Blend content either with handheld mixer, or in batches** in a blender.
8. Return to low heat and stir around content until even.
9. Add cream if desired
10. Serve with buttered toast/soldiers/whatever you fancy.
    

** If you're using a blender, make sure you leave the middle opening slightly ajar so that the lid of the jug does not fly off (i.e. to have the blender exploding on you). It gets messy. I'm pretty sure you don't want that happening.

Cheers.

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: Tropicana, Kingsford

Chicken Laksa - $7.90

Simple loves.

If you've ever watched How I Met Your Mother, one would know of the significance of McLaren's in the lives of Barney, Lily, Marshall, Ted and Robin. To be honest, I think there's a McLaren's in everyone's hearts - a place which brings back fond moments in your life spent with your friends, time and time again.

For me, there's a few - Cafe C'ador (Strathfield), Tropicana (Kingsford), Pepper Lunch (George St) and Maloney's (the old one. On George Street - don't judge, it's a rite of passage okay?)

Beef Laksa - $9.50

I've been to Tropicana around 5 or 6 times now. All in the one year. And everytime I've visited, I've somehow managed to be slotted away in the same cubicle in the corner, which almost feels like home now.

The food here is simple, yet student-friendly and casual. Little needs to be said about the laksa -- the rich creaminess is always a stand out. I decided to try the beef laksa this time, semi-expecting bicarb-soda soaked pieces of meat floating around in my broth. To my surprise, the texture of the beef was so beautiful tender, as if it had been slowly braised for hours before.

Fish Ball Noodle Soup

DW and PC both ordered the Fish Ball Noodle Soup. DW wasn't feeling too well on the day, and at first did not want to eat anything at all. With a little encouragement, she decided to give it a shot, and these noodles definitely gave her a little pick-me-up after a long day.

Simple loves.


Tropicana
243 Anzac Parade
Kingsford, NSW 2032
Tel: (02) 9662 8896

Review: Tomodachi, Rhodes

Tomodachi = "friend" in Japanese.

If you ever decide to make a weekend out of Ikea, bringing the whole entire family, kids kicking and screaming and jumping on the sea of mattresses, sofas and chairs laid out in a somewhat playgroundesque fashion, feel free to take a gentle stroll down to the other end of the shopping centre, where you may find a little peace of mind out of Tomodachi.


Situated on the cinema end of Rhodes Shopping Centre, on a good, sunny day, one would barely notice its location in a shopping centre. Sun beams brightly through the windows, and if you prefer things al a carte, then by all means you may sit outside on the balcony in front of the waters and enjoy the view while munching on some lovely Japanese food.

AY and I opted for sushi train instead. Who can resist looking at the line yummy dishes rotating around?

Tamago and Unagi Nigiri

Egg and Eel is my typical pick at any restaurant. It's always my starting point for judging the quality of the food. If the eel is fishy, then it's no deal for me. Tomodachi gets it right, and I continue munching away happily.

Seaweed Sushi

AY comments on the speed and dexterity of the sushi chefs refilling the train whenever a dish is taken off. I've always found that a full train of dishes with a large variety of dishes to be paramount to the enjoyment of sushi trains. Another big tick.

Grilled Salmon Nigiri

Unfortunately when compared to most other sushi trains, Tomodachi is fairly pricey. I blame it on the management and leases at Rhodes.

Tempura Prawn Nigiri

One of the dishes I love at this place is the tempura prawn nigiri pictured above. They are delightfully crunchy and light, but not too oily. The tangy Japanese tartare sauce served beside just makes me want to smack my face right into it.

Salmon Sashimi Salad Sushi

This creamy salmon sashimi salad was a bit of a hit and miss. While I loved the fresh flavours of dill, I found the creamy sauce a little rich, but lacking in any distinctive flavour.

Spider Roll

The spider roll was nicely executed. Not fishy at all. I wish they had put a little more of the creamy mustard sauce.

Teriyaki Salmon Roll

Teriyaki salmon was pleasantly presented and delicious. It's not really part of my typical repertoire during sushi train visits, but I'm glad to have had this. The teriyaki was mild and not overpowering of the sweetness of the salmon.


Tomodachi
Level 1, Shop 74
Rhodes Shopping Centre
Rhodes, NSW 2138
Tel: (02) 9736 1764