strawbeari3's Friends, Food and Footsteps

Australia Day & Farewell High Tea at Le Jardin, Palazzo Versace

2013-01-27T09:00:00.000+10:00

The ladies planned a farewell outing for one of our good friends who is moving back to Singapore. Our initial plan for a picnic in the beach had to be cancelled due to rainy weather. We had to look for someplace indoor that is still fun and memorable. After looking and asking around for suggestions, we came across Palazzo Versace. As none of us have been there before, we decided to give it a go and head down to the lobby bar, Le Jardin for High Tea.

Le Jardin is a casual restaurant located right at the lobby. Besides high tea, it serves light meals such as antipasti, cheese, oysters and a range of salads.

We ordered the Fashionista High Tea ($45pp) that is available between 11am to 5pm. High tea was served in a 3-tier stand, shared two ways.

The bottom tier consists of a quiche, a sausage roll and 4 scones. With only a single quiche and sausage roll, we either had to fight for it, or cut it in half to share. We went for the more civilised way and cut it in half so we both could have a taste.

We had a choice of apricot, cherry and strawberry Bonne Maman preserves to go with the scones. After tasting all three, I have to say that the classic scones with strawberry jam and cream is still the best.

The second tier consists of an assortment of sandwiches (ham and cheese, smoked salmon and egg) and sliced bread with dip.

The top tier consisted of a range of sweets themed around Australia Day: meringue with passionfruit curd, lamington, chocolate éclair, fruit tart, chocolate cakepop, chocolate macaron, tiramisu chocolate cup, lemon mini cupcake and macadamia tart.

Overall, we found the food to be just average. My least favourite was the fruit tart because the pastry was too soggy and the chocolate cakepop which was overly sweet. On the other hand, I loved the macadamia tart – crumbly pastry, nutty but not sickly sweet. The sundried tomato dip was another favourite which went really well with the toasted bread.

Throughout the service, we noticed that the waitresses were rather unfriendly and did not smile even once. Although it had never bothered me in the past, this was quite obvious and slightly uncomfortable. For a classy hotel/restaurant like this, I expected a higher level of customer service.

In the end, the most important thing is that we enjoyed ourselves and had a few good laughs along the way. Which we did. :)

Food from the New Zealand Cruise Holidays

2013-01-26T09:15:00.002+10:00

Having recently retuned from a cruise to New Zealand, I'm getting over the result of a good holiday - or what I would say, 'overeating'. I had a wonderful time in the ship, but as a result, now need to shed a few kilos.

The showcase of pictures below are the different meals I have indulged in over the 2 weeks period. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree Cookie

2012-12-24T00:44:00.000+10:00

Christmas brings about the spirit of giving. It is not only a celebration of the birth of Jesus, but the demonstration of God’s giving spirit. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

In the midst of this festive season, we have decided to give something home-baked to our friends. The idea of a Christmas Tree Cookie came about from a recent high tea visit with my friend. It is simple and yet pretty. The recipe below came from Exclusively Food, which I have tried several times and loved.

Ingredients:
220 grams of softened butter
80 grams of icing sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
300 grams of plain flour
About 2 teaspoons of plain flour (to flour the cutters)
1 packet of Queen Royal Icing

1. Beat butter, icing sugar and vanilla together until mixture is creamy.
2. Using a spoon or electric mixer/beaters on very low speed, incorporate the flour into the butter. mixture (don’t over-mix the dough). It is normal for the dough to be soft.
3. Cover dough with cling wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (150 degrees Celsius fan-forced).
5. Take half of the dough out from the fridge and form a round ball.
6. Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll it out to a thickness of 6mm.
7. Flour the cutters and cut it out into desired shape.

8. Bake cookies until they are a light golden colour on the edges. The baking time required will be influenced by the size of the cutter used. The Christmas Tree Cookies were baked for 15 minutes.
9. Cool cooked cookies on tray for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Decorate the cookies as desired with royal icing. I used a packet of Queen Royal Icing (330 grams of icing and 50 grams of water).

I doubled the recipe and made about 60 cookies. It was a fun gift and well suited for the season. Hope you have sorted out all your Christmas presents and baking. Enjoy this wonderful season!

Blackforest Cake

2012-12-19T23:56:00.000+10:00

For as long as I can remember, D has always wanted a cheese cake for his birthday. This year, he decided to break tradition and asked for a Blackforest cake instead. I have never made a Blackforest cake before, but decided to take up the challenge and started looking for good (and easy) recipe.

The only one that came to mind was the Masterchef Blackforest cake that we have been drooling over on TV. However, after reading through the ingredients list and steps, I have decided to search again for something ... erm .. more time efficient.

A girlfriend pointed me to a recipe at Taste.com which looked really easy and practical, so I decided to do that instead (with a bit of modification).

Ingredients:
1 Chocolate cake
670g jar of morello cherries
2 tablespoons castor sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
600ml thickened cream
1 tablespoon of castor sugar
6-10 cherries with stem
Chocolate Rice or Chocolate Chips for decoration

Note: I use a packed of Greens chocolate cake mix for this recipe. Due to limited time, I divided the steps into multiple days. Of course, you can make this cake in one day, allowing time for the cake and cherries mix to cool.

Steps:
Day 1 - Cake
1. Bake the cake and cut it into 3 layers.

Day 2 – Cherries
2. Place cherries and 160g of the juice in a saucepan with sugar and cornflour.
3. Stir over low heat until mixture boils. Transfer into a large bowl and leave it to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.

Day 3 – Cream and Assembly
4. Beat cream and castor sugar until firm peaks form.
5. Place the first layer of cake on the cake board.
6. Spread the cherries mixture and a thin layer of cream.

7. Repeat the cherries and cream mixture with the second layer.

8. Place the final layer on top.
9. Add some cream on top and spread evenly. I have decorated this with piped rosette, cherries and chocolate chips.

And the result was amazing! D was surprised to see that I could pull that off so beautifully. Oh no, does that mean that he’ll give me a harder challenge next year?

The Bun Mobile

2012-11-27T07:30:00.000+10:00

I have wanted to visit The Bun Mobile for quite some time and finally managed to track them down a couple of weeks ago at Kangaroo Point.

I think they have brought a revolution to street food in Brisbane. Their concept is simple; it is just a mobile truck selling buns. The location changes daily, but thankfully they have a good social media presence and constantly update their locations on the website and Twitter.

We ordered the Wagyu Bun ($8) and Chicken Bun ($8) from the standard menu and decided to try their specials of the night: Taiwanese Pork ($10) and Mango Parfait ($10).

We were not quite impressed by the wagyu bun: Slow Cooked Wagyu Beef, Butter Lettuce, Soy Pickled Shitake Mushrooms and Red Dragon Sauce. We found the wagyu to be a bit tough and the flavour combo slightly odd to our liking.

Our favourite was the chicken bun: Char Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, Slaw with Julianne Carrot and Mint, Japanese Mayo and Hoisin Sauce. It has good combination of flavours and a delight to eat.

The pork bun is very much similar to the ones we get at the Taiwanese breakfast shop at Market Square, except a bit fancier: Braised Pork Belly, Pickled Mustard Greens, Sugared Peanuts, Coriander and Ginger and Orange Hoisin. The flavour was great, meat was tender, but there were too much fat on the pork (it’s pork belly after all).

Finally the dessert bun, mango parfait: Fresh Cut Mango, Greek Yoghurt, Mascarpone Cream, Macadamia and Ginger Crunch. It was fresh and refreshing for a hot night and the perfect way to end the meal.

It was a bit messy to eat with food and sauces going all over your face and hand....but again, who cares? We enjoyed a bit of casualness once a while in our dining experience.

High Tea at McMahon's Restaurant

2012-11-23T21:06:00.000+10:00

Continuing on our food journey and post-exam celebrations, a couple of girlfriends and I headed to McMahon’s Restaurant at Quay West for high tea. The normal price was $38 each, but thankfully we had a Spreets two-for-one voucher.

There was a big storm when we arrived and it was quite hard to get parking closer to the place (street parking is off-limits on weekends). Therefore, we decided to give ourselves a treat and used the valet parking at the hotel. We drove right up to the entrance, handed the key to the valet and off we went. The valet service costs $30, but since we carpooled and shared the cost, it worked out alright.

Unlike some other tea houses that provide a more Victorian style setting, the restaurant is quite modern but still has a classy touch. There is even a little leaflet with tea-etiquette information. It was quite informative and we had a good time ‘scoring’ ourselves against it.

High tea was served on a three-tiered stand with an additional plate of scones.

The first tier had a selection of assorted sandwiches. We found the sandwiches to be just average.

The second tier was quiches. The pastry was short, crumbly and very buttery. I loved it!

The third tier had a selection of assorted desserts. The downside was that there was only one of each, so we had to cut it three-ways for sharing. All I can say was that cutting delicate desserts three-ways was a little messy. My favourite was the white chocolate cheesecake with lavender cream. The lemon tart and lemon meringue pie were both too citrusy for me.

The unanimous favourite that day was the scones – light and fluffy, not too crumbly or cakey.

Overall, we enjoyed the experience as it was a good change from having high tea at a traditional tea room.

Kooroomba Lavender Farm and Vineyards

2012-11-16T23:51:00.000+10:00

Kooroomba Lavender Farm and Vineyards is one of my favourite places in the Scenic Rim.

I have visited several times and each time the beautiful mountain scenery just had me in awe: gazing at the breathtaking backdrop and admiring the beautiful natural landscape created by God. I couldn’t help but enjoy the peace and tranquillity the place has to offer.

It is located just over an hour from Brisbane. It is close enough to get away for a short weekend trip, but far enough to enjoy a taste of country life. The journey from Brisbane takes you along the majestic view of Scenic Rim Mountains and eases your mind from the busy city life.

The restaurant is open from Wednesdays to Sundays offering a range of Modern Australian dishes. Do keep an eye out for the dishes containing lavender as a key ingredient. Personally, I loved the baked potatoes with lavender honey mustard dressing. The lavender scent was subtle and did not overpower the dish.

On the other hand, I wasn’t very keen on the lavender ice-cream or sorbet. It was too strong and reminded me of hand-wash :(

I have always found that dining with this surrounding makes the food taste better. Eating lunch while looking out at breathtaking scenery is what I would call a great weekend away! I recommend you try it for yourself!

Pork Loin, Braised Green Lentils, Caramelized Baby Onions and Brandy Jus

Lamb Back Strap with Semi Dried Tomato Couscous, Green Beans and Pink Pepper Jus

Post exams celebration @ ARIA Brisbane

2012-11-15T22:50:00.000+10:00

Dear friends and readers,

I am finally back in blogosphere. The past month has been very hectic with work, study and other commitments. I am glad to announce that I completed my final exams last Friday and have regained my freedom. Hooray!

Since Friday, I have had multiple post-uni celebrations with family and friends, starting with lunch at ARIA right after the exam.

ARIA does lunch 'specials' for $36 for 1 course, $56 for 2 courses and $72 for 3 courses.

Whilst D settled for two courses I was greedy and went for three. It was a celebration for me after all :)

We started with entree of twice cooked pork belly with apple puree and endive salad and seared scallop served with smoked pork, watercress and almond gazpacho. Pork belly was very tender and went very well with the apple puree. Pork and apple, definitely the perfect match.

Twice-cooked Pork Belly with Apple Puree and Endive Salad

The smokiness of the pork covered the entire scallop dish, but surprisingly tasted good. D wasn't a fan of scallop, but enjoyed the smoky taste of the scallops.

Seared Scallop served with Smoked Pork, Watercress and Almond Gazpacho

For mains, I had the roast lamb cutlet and confit breast with caponata, baby peppers and spinach puree and D had the sirloin steak. The lamb cutlet was really tender and tasty. However, I find the lamb breast a bit too gamey for me.

Lamb Cutlet and Confit Breast with Caponata, Baby Peppers and Spinach Puree

The steak looked simple, but it was cooked to perfection - medium-rare, just as how we wanted it to be. The waitstaff brought it out with a selection of sauce: bearnaise, chimichurri, mustard and horseradish. D asked for the bearnaise and chimichurri. Personally, I preferred the creaminess of the bearnaise and secretly wished I ordered the steak instead =P

Sirloin Steak

For desserts, we shared the black forest with cherry sorbet, mascarpone and chocolate jelly. The dish looked more like a deconstructed black forest. The individual elements looked pretty on the plated, but tasted better when combined together.

Black Forest with Cherry Sorbet, Mascarpone and Chocolate Jelly

To finish off, we were served with a complimentary petit fours. The theme was 'orange': orange flavoured turkish delight with a really strong blood-orange gel, orange truffle and some-sort of an orange cake.

Petit Fours

I went to ARIA a couple of years ago for dinner and was a bit disappointed. I must say that this lunch experience has changed my mind about ARIA. I really enjoyed the food and service (or I could be really tired after a long week and grateful that my exams was over).

berryme

2012-10-11T23:00:00.001+10:00

Berryme is a cute-looking frozen yoghurt shop located in Kelvin Grove Village. Pink walls, white tables and pastel green chairs - looks fresh and cute for a dessert shop.

The self-serve concept is very simple. Pick a cup, Choose flavour(s), Add toppings & Weigh and pay.

I have tried all the flavours and liked them all. If I has to pick only 2 favourites then it would be chocolate and green tea.

Apparently it is really healthy and good for you. Check out their marketing propaganda on the cup and also on their wall.

This has become my favourite after lunch snack. I've been there many time over the past few weeks and have introduced some of my friends and workmates to it too. This is a great and healthy snack for the upcoming warmer months.

Aja Coffeehouse

2012-10-04T22:57:00.000+10:00

Aja Coffeehouse is located in Elizabeth Arcade facing Charlotte Street.

Unlike other busy cafes in the city, this one looks dark and quiet from outside. The first impression changed as I walked in. Dimly lit, chandelier and comfy couch, it is certainly classier than any ordinary cafe.

We ordered a regular mocha, banana bread and a mixed berry muffin. The total cost came to $10, which was very reasonable compared to other cafes around town.

I was blown away when the meals were served. It came on a fancy plate, with a dollop of cream mixed with toffee crunch, chocolate spread and strawberry slices.

Not only did it look good, it tasted great too. The crunch in the cream added an extra dimension to the texture.

They use merlo beans so those that like Merlo will feel right at home here.

I would highly recommend this place to the city folks. Apparently the lunch menu is also fantastic. Classy, tasty and value for money....what more can you ask for?

The Bean Bank

2012-10-01T18:18:00.001+10:00

With limited food choices in Ballina, we trusted TripAdvisor with our breakfast selection. No.1 on the list was The Bean Bank, boasting the best coffee in Ballina. A convenient, short walk from the hotel, The Bean Bank is a small and unassuming cafe with signage promoting 'Bean in Love' coffee beans.

Thankfully it was open on a public holiday, but there was a 10% surcharge on coffee and meals.

We ordered Toasted Banana Bread ($5.50), Ham Egg Cheese and Rocket English Muffin ($6.50), Regular Mocha ($3.70?) and Large Flat White ($4.20).

I loved the Mocha but D found the Flat White to be a bit light. As for the Banana Bread, it was yummy, rich and buttery! Not what you would call as a healthy breakfast, but oh well, we were on holidays! The muffin was pretty good, lifted by the fact that the yolk was still soft & runny - why can't others do this?!?

Road trip to Northern NSW

2012-10-01T18:07:00.000+10:00

Thanks to the Queen, we have an extra day of public holiday this year. To me, it was a much needed break as it was the end of my one week mid-semester break. I needed the time off from both work and studies to rest and recharge before I power on full-speed for another month till the end of the semester.

We decided to go for a drive down south to Northern New South Wales, where D grew up. It was fun listening to his childhood stories as if we were reliving it again.

Our first stop was at Kingscliff for lunch. We recharged on a scrumptious meal and then continued our journey down south.

The next stop was Ballina where we had booked a place to stay for the night. It was a peaceful and quiet coastal town.

The next morning, we headed west to Lismore and Casino where D spent most of his childhood years. Finally, after taking a few pictures for keepsake, we commenced our journey back home.

Chouquette

2012-09-22T10:33:00.000+10:00

Whilst having a leisurely walk around New Farm we stumbled across Choquette. Though we had heard good reviews from friends, we had never tried it for ourselves.

There was not a lot of seating but the casual-eating layout allowed for communal eating with strangers along a bar type setup. It was about 12:30pm and the place was packed so we decided to take-away some of their delectable pastries.

After much consideration (indecisive us) we selected:

Chocolate Tarte
Pain au Raisins (Raisin Pastry)
Pastry with apple filling

The Chocolate Tarte was very rich and chocolatey (as you'd expect) but was more gelatinous than we expected. It was still enjoyable but not the best chocolate tart we've ever eaten.

The raisin pastry was 'just ok' and perhaps slightly overcooked. We were a little disappointed as we fell in love with these things during our trip to Montreal.

The pastry with apple filling however was delicious and had just the right balance of light, crispy pastry and apple filling.

Having now tasted a few of the items on offer, I can understand why Choquette is so popular given the relatively limited pastry choices around town. Perhaps we will make our way back there again to try a few more...

Pirate Cupcakes

2012-09-22T10:17:00.000+10:00

Last Wednesday was the International Talk Like a Pirate Day. We had an event at work which included dressing up and talking like a pirate, as well as a cupcake fundraising.

I made some pirate cupcake toppers during last weekend in preparation for that. The tools used were:
a) Big scone cutter for the pirate face and hat
b) Edge of piping tip for the mouth
c) Tear drop cutter for the eye patch

With lots of fun and a bit of help from D, we managed to put together 15 little pirate faces.

The cupcakes were freshly made the night before using the Lemon Cupcake Recipe. I doubled the recipe and made about 30 cupcakes. The toppers were glued on the cupcakes using buttercream. The remaining cupcakes were decorated with piped buttercream rose.

The response was wonderful and all cupcakes were sold out on the day (including cupcakes made from my other colleagues)! Thanks to all who supported, we managed to raise a substantial amount of money for the cause :)

Malt Dining

2012-09-10T20:45:00.000+10:00

by D

Every time we start to think we know the restaurant scene in Brisbane, we turn another corner and stumble upon a new one.

We first heard of Malt from an overseas visitor who read about it in one of the tour guide books. Not wanting to miss a good meal we did our own research (96% of urbanspooners 'like it') and waited for an opportunity to celebrate something and try it out for ourselves.

The opportunity came along this week and we booked ourselves in for a Friday night dinner for two. Upon approach, the downstairs bar sounded a little noisy and we were not sure what to expect but all fears were soon put to rest as we were guided upstairs to the aptly named 'attic' where the restaurant resides. You could not hear a whisper from downstairs.

It was hard not to fall in love with this place as first sight - the setting was warm and cozy (mood lighting and old style brick walls) and the waitress exceedingly pleasant and cheerful. We ordered our meals and waited with anticipation.

Shortly after ordering, our waitress appeared with complimentary bread, accompanied by olive oil and balsamic. This is something we've grown to appreciate and (for what little it costs a restaurant) cannot understand why more restaurants do not do the same.

Our entrees soon arrived and the (cheerful) waitress took her time to run through the elements on the plate. We ordered:

- Pan Seared Hervey Bay Scallops, Cauliflower Beignet, Wild Rice Granola, Coriander ($20)
- Slow Cooked Quail Breast, Tart of Confit Quail & Caramelized Fire Roasted Onion, Jerusalem Artichoke Puree ($18)

The scallops were delicious and were without a doubt the sweetest tasting scallops we have ever eaten. Each element complimented the others well and made for an enjoyable well-rounded entree.

The quail was cooked well but like always (with quail) you just wish there was more of it. The tart was a surprise star of the dish and cooked wonderfully. Once again, everthing just worked.

The restaurant was starting to fill up at this stage but the food kept coming. Before too long the mains arrived:

- Seared Rack & Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lame, Aligot, Black Olive, Baby Vegetables ($37)

- Selection of Bangalow Sweet Pork, Carrot Puree, Coffee, Onion Rings & Pine Nuts ($36)

- Roasted Parsnip & Kipfler Potato with Chorizo (side dish) ($9)

Both mains were delicious and had contrasting textures to really bring out the best from each dish. We couldn't help but taste a little of each other's dish and we were both pleasantly suprised at just how well the coffee worked with the pork!

By the time we had finished the mains there was barely room for dessert but we just couldn't resist trying the "Malt Brownie" ($15) served with salted caramel, chocolate textures and peanut brittle. This was a magical dessert and even though the serving was quite generous, you couldn't help but want more. The caramel in particular was a standout and left you scraping away at the plate trying to get every last morsel.

The Cube Hot Pot

2012-09-01T18:55:00.002+10:00

The Cube Hot Pot is located in the car park area of Sunnybank Plaza. Though we find ourselves searching for food in the Sunnybank area quite often, we rarely stray this far, until just recently.

A friend introduced us to this place and we have been there a couple of times since. The funny thing was that in the two times we went there we were with the same group of people, sat at the same table and ordered the same dish. Needless to say, we really liked the soup.

There are other soups and dishes to order, but we defaulted to the Spicy Fish Soup ($45.80) because it was perfect for the cold weather and enough to feed a party of 4. The soup came with 1 kg of fish fillet, chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorns. As it was a hot pot style dining, it also came with a side dish of mushrooms, vermicelli, wombok, corn, tofu and seafood sticks.

Whilst the soup is spicy, you can customise the level of spiciness by selecting Mild, Medium or Hot when ordering. We have tried both mild and medium spiciness and I preferred the mild - mainly because the ‘medium’ had so much chilli oil that it formed a thick layer on top and made it hard to drink the soup. The mild soup was still hot (not for those that can’t take chilli) but yet very enjoyable.

With winter having come to a close we will have to find an excuse to go back and try some of their other soups.

Chocolate Pavillion

2012-08-19T16:26:00.000+10:00

Last weekend, we visited Westfield Carindale to check out their new wing. Not being a regular shopper at Carindale, I can’t really comment on what had changed. However, the only thing I can say is that it is starting to look a lot like Westfield Chermside.

Their new food court featured quite a number of restaurants and cafes. Since we have already had lunch, we decided to try out the dessert at Chocolate Pavillion.

Our first impression was that it was quite an impressive dessert bar with a ‘dessert train’ concept. However, upon closer inspection, there weren’t many dessert options on the train which was a bit disappointing.

There is a chocolate store at the front of the shop and some emphasis that they were selling Mary Chocolate from Brussels. Reading reviews online, some called it the ‘best chocolate in the world’. However, I didn’t get to try that and might check it out another time to see if it lives up to the hype.

We ended up ordering the Jaffa Dome ($13) and a Chocolate Butterscotch/Caramel frappe? ($7.50). Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get the exact name of the drink. Gosh, it sounds like I was rather disorganised that day. :)

No doubt, the Jaffa Dome was rich and flavoursome - chocolate and orange are a perfect match.

Overall, the experience didn’t really ‘wow’ us. We found the menu items to be slightly overpriced and menu options quite repetitive (with minor variations). The service was alright and some staff was more attentive and friendlier than others. Would I go back again? Hmm...maybe not.

Last Meal at Bretts Wharf

2012-08-15T18:11:00.000+10:00

Last week we received an email stating that Bretts Wharf will be closing down on the 2nd September 2012. Their business had suffered since the announcement by council to resume the land and then cancelling the plan later – when their other bookings had already been cancelled.

We go to Bretts Wharf annually and have celebrated several special occasions there. This was not the first time we received news about their closure, but we felt like we are really going to miss this place.

We decided to make a trip there for a last meal before they close. They seemed very busy and the restaurant was 'almost' full.

For starters we order sourdough with hazelnut dukkah ($3). The sourdough was hot, straight out of the oven (or reheated). It was a great way to start the meal.

We then moved on to the next appetiser, barramundi and tiger prawns spring roll with garlic ginger dressing and lime ($16). It was my first time eating a seafood style spring roll and I really liked it. The lime and ginger dressing cut through the fishiness of the seafood and was perfect.

For mains, I was looking for the seafood platter that I had almost every year, but it was not on the menu. The closest thing was the seafood platter for two. I somehow managed to convince D to share it with me. :)

It was a plate of Chermoula prawns, grilled Moreton Bay Bugs, crispy squid, grilled Kilpatrick oysters with lemon butter sauce ($94). I have to admit the price has gone up by a lot since our last visit. The prawns were a bit salty for me, but the rest was great: squid was light and crispy, bugs were perfectly grilled (just wished it was bigger) and oysters were just delicious. D doesn’t really like oysters so I had most of it to myself. Yay! :)

That brings us to the end of dining at Bretts Wharf. I also found pictures of our first dinner at Bretts Wharf back in 2008, to give this post a closure. Enjoy!

Grilled Moreton Bay Bugs

Seafood Platter

Strawberry Cupcake in Icecream Cone

2012-08-14T16:22:00.000+10:00

It is Ekka week (Brisbane Exhibition) and I am craving the famous Ekka Strawberry Sundae. I heard on 96.5fm earlier this week that Ness made strawberry icecream cupcakes. That inspired me to try it out at home.

I adapted the recipe from Woman’s Weekly Raspberry Swirl Cake.

Ingredients:

125 grams of butter
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
150 grams of castor sugar
2 eggs
185 grams of self-raising flour
80 ml milk
2 tablespoons of strawberry jam
1 teaspoon of poppy seeds
A drop of pink food colouring

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy
3. Add in 1 egg at a time and continue beating
4. Stir in sifted flour and milk in batches and continue mixing
5. Add strawberry jam, poppy seeds and pink food colouring and continue mixing until the colour is even

6. Pour the batter to the icecream cone to 2/3 full. I noticed that it will overflow if you pour it too full. The batter on the front right was too full and overflowed.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cake is cooked

I was initially sceptical about using an icecream cone to hold the batter, but it turned out very well.

I was going to cover the top with white chocolate ganache or buttercream, but didn’t have the ingredients to do so. So, my healthier option is to top it with a strawberry. Enjoy!

Giggle and Hoot 1st Birthday Cake

2012-08-05T19:52:00.000+10:00

Last week, I was approached by a friend to make a single-tiered fondant cake for her daughter’s upcoming 1st birthday.

The brief given was to make a 1 tier cake, covered with fondant. The cake had to be at least 9 inches to fit the toppers provided.

As this was my first cake ‘job’, I was very excited and wanted it to be perfect. I started writing down the order of work and shared the workload with my helpers (a.k.a. my husband and my cake buddy).

I created a 3-layered cake alternating between butter cake and chocolate cake. I used the 5-star Buttercake recipe from my recent cake class and the chocolate cake recipe from inspiredbymichelle.

The cakes were sliced into half and layered with white chocolate ganache.

Then, the whole cake is ganached using the upside down method taught by Eleanor Heaphy.

It was my first attempt ganaching without supervision. I must say it wasn't too bad for a amateur. :)

Next, with the help of my cake buddy, Ingrid, we kneaded, rolled, laid and smoothen the fondant on the cake.

Finally, we got to do the fun part which was to put the toppers on. This is what the end result looked like.

Hope you had a wonderful and blessed first birthday Eliana!

Olympics: Ancient to Modern

2012-08-01T23:31:00.000+10:00

In the spirit of the Olympic Games, the most talked about topic this week, I have decided to share some pictures from my trip to Greece last year.

Our tour group explored the ancient ruins of Olympia, where I stood on the first Olympic Stadium. This was where the first Ancient Olympic Games was held back in 776BC. It started off with running as the ONLY event in the Olympics.

The ancient game was held to honour the mythological Greek God, Zeus. The game lasted until 394AD when Rome reigned over Greece and Christianity became the state religion of Rome.

The Modern Olympic Games was revived in 1896AD in Athens. A young Frenchmen, Pierre de Coubertin brought revival to the games to inspire sportsmanship. Our tour group made a stop at the Panathenaic stadium where the first modern Olympics took place.

It was an incredible experience to go back in time and appreciate the sights from different era in history.

Back to the topic of Olympics, I have never been to a real game. If you have any pictures or stories to share, feel free to me drop a comment.

Chocolateria San Churro

2012-07-23T07:22:00.000+10:00

Chocolateria San Churro is yet another chocolate cafe that recently opened up in Southbank. Each time I have walked past there has been a long line of people waiting for table.

I visited this chain in Melbourne a few years ago but wasn’t particularly impressed. However, I decided to give it another try as there was no line and I felt like something sweet.

We were seated almost instantly, with our orders taken shortly after. We ordered the churros for two ($13.95) and a passionfruit macaron ($2.50) .

The macaron was served almost instantly. I liked the two-tone colour on the shell. Unfortunately, that was where the goodness stopped. I found it to be quite dense, chewing and sickly sweet.

We waited for another half an hour or so before the churros arrived. Whilst not particularly photogenic the churros were crispy on the outside and ... actually they were just crispy. They were very thin so the soft inside didn’t really exist but they were quite delicious.

I quite like the churros, but found that the service could be improved. We overhead a few customers complaining about items not being served or waiting too long for their order.

It is worth a try, but I wouldn’t rush back.

Sardine Tin

2012-07-22T23:26:00.001+10:00

After spending the afternoon walking around the stalls at Regional Flavours @ Southbank, we were famished. We spotted an empty table at Sardine Tin across the road and decided to give it a try.

The setting was simple and rustic. As for the menu, it was quite brief: a small variety of tapas dishes for sharing and a few light meals, suitable for one. They had an open kitchen too, so we could see the chef preparing our dishes.

I ordered Arancini with Tomato and Goats Curd ($12) and Arancini with Bacon and Mushroom ($12). Not only did it look good on the plate, it tasted delicious too. The crumbs were light and crispy and the arancini balls were packed with flavour.

D ordered Wagyu burger with gruyere, cos and tomato chutney ($15). It was cooked perfectly and had a nice balance of flavours. The side serve of mustard did not go to waste in helping us demolish the chips.

We also ordered a pear and rocket salad ($8) to share. It looked a bit ordinary but was light and refreshing.

It was a simple, yet enjoyable lunch. Friends tell us that they regularly change their menu so we will probably visit again some time.

Italian Cooking Class @ Stella Star Coorparoo

2012-07-16T22:01:00.000+10:00

For my birthday this year, my friend took me for a 3 hours Italian cooking class and dinner. It was conducted at a restaurant in Coorparoo called Stella Star.

In the class we learnt how to make cannolo and ravioli. I have never made my own pasta, so this was quite an experience for me. It turned out to be quite an easy exercise. All I need now is a pasta rolling machine! :)

We started by mixing the dough for the pasta. According to this recipe, it does not require any resting time. We started rolling the pasta straightaway to the thinnest consistency and filled it with the ravioli mix.

As for the cannolo, the dough needed to be rested for at least an hour. The chef/teacher explained the process to the class and prepared the dough for us.

When it was ready, we rolled and cut the cannoli dough into squares. Then, it was rolled onto a metal tube and to be deep fried.

The sage butter sauce for the ravioli and cannoli filling was prepared by the chef/teacher.

The end result? A plate of delicious food. Fresh pasta tasted so much better than packet pasta.

The cannolo was crunchy and the filling was very delicious too!

Thanks M for the lovely cooking class present. I had fun and was inspired to make my own pasta!

Jamie's Italian Restaurant

2012-07-16T21:55:00.000+10:00

Jamie’s Italian was on my short-list of restaurants to visit in Sydney. We saw on their website that no reservations were required for booking of less than 6 people. When we turned up for dinner on a Friday night, we were told that there was a 2 ½ hours wait for a table. It was 7.30pm, I was famished and didn’t want to wait till 10pm for dinner! We decided to go somewhere else and come back the next day for lunch.

The next day, which was also our last day in Sydney, we decided to go early to make sure we got a table. We reached just before 12 noon and most of the tables were still empty. Phew!

The lighting was a bit dark in the restaurant and my pictures did not turn out well. So, please forgive me for that.

The dishes were quite reasonably priced, which took me by surprise. Some of the Italian restaurants in Brisbane’s suburbs are charging a lot more than that. With that in mind, I was not hesitant to order a couple of dishes.

I ordered Prawn Linguine ($16) for entree and Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder with Polenta for mains ($22). The Prawn Linguine was mind-blowing with a great big chilli hit. I did not expect it to be that spicy, but it really liked it!

The pork shoulder fell off the bone and was moist and tender. The crispy crackling was a wonderful contrast against the smooth textured polenta. There was also a slightly zesty taste which helped to tie the dish together. Yum!

The other dishes ordered from my table were Crispy Squid ($12), Risotto Milanese ($21), Osso Bucco ($26), Specials of the Day Bruschetta with Pumpkin ($12.50) and Specials of the Day Pasta ($24.50).

Apart from the crispy squid which was quite ordinary and risotto which was too rich and buttery for our tastes, everything else was amazing!

We really enjoyed the meal and would definitely recommend it!