Recently in Desserts & Sweets Category

In celebration of the new year, I thought it would be suitable to look back at all of my best eats in 2009. Here, I've included some of my most frequently visited restaurants as well as a few memorable favourites.

Most Visited Casual Restaurant: Dong Ba Bun Bo Hue, Bankstown, NSW
I think I have honestly dined at Dong Ba at least once every fortnight in 2009 - joining the regular local slurpers of Bun Bo Hue, a Hue-style spicy noodle soup. It is only $7 and the food (they also serve plenty of other traditional Vietnamese eats such as my second most ordered dish here, the Cambodian Rice Noodle Soup) is served at lightening fast speed. Dining at Dong Ba in Bankstown is always a guaranteed fuss-free cheap and cheerful eat. Another bonus is that the menu caters for all possible cravings of anything Vietnamese so is sure to satisfy everyone. But the best part would probably be their drinks menu which includes the iced black coffee and the avocado milkshake.

Dong Ba
296 Chapel Rd South, Bankstown, NSW

Bun bo hue (Hue-style spicy noodle soup) at Dong Ba, Bankstown - My most visited casual restaurant of 2009

Most Expensive: Le Cinq, Paris
In May 2009, I left home for my first eating extravaganza in Europe. Let me just start off by confessing that I have a really bad habit of not checking prices whether it be shopping or food. My boyfriend almost passed out when he browsed through the 'host' menu at Le Cinq, which I had booked many months in advance. Thankfully I had the 'guest' menu which didn't have the prices so he was able to break the shock to me slowly. We soon justified to ourselves that because we had travelled all the way from Sydney to Paris, it would only be right if we allowed this one splurge and promised to be sensible throughout the rest of the trip. Le Cinq sits within Paris' most luxurious hotel - Four Seasons George V, and is the most elegant space I've ever dined in. Something like 440€ (AU$900 at the exchange rate during that time) excluding drinks and service charge and almost six hours later, we left gleefully with a massive dent on my credit card.

Le Cinq
Four Seasons Hotel George V
31, Avenue George V, Paris, France
www.fourseasons.com/paris/dining

Best Surprise: Wiseman Park Wollongong City Bowling Club
My boyfriend was transferred to Wollongong for six months for work, a few years ago. During a visit to some of his old workmates earlier in 2009, we were introduced to Wiseman Park Bowling Club. Tucked within a senior's bowling club bistro is this spectacular down-to-earth yet slightly fancy restaurant. Think traditional Mediterranean and remember to make a reservation if dining on a Friday or Saturday night as the secret is out, and this place is hawt!

Wiseman Park Wollongong City Bowling Club
Gipps Road, Wollongong, NSW

Favourite City Travelled To: Barcelona
My time in Barcelona can easily be summarized with daily visits to the Boqueria Market - the best market I have ever been to. The vivid display of fruits, seafood and jamon was an amazing sight and simply drool-worthy. The friendliness of locals shouting "hola" and the buzz in eating paella after paella, oh, and the shoes made Barcelona my favourite city visited in 2009. Hopefully I'll get a chance to visit it again soon.

Boqueria Market
www.boqueria.info

Fruit drinks display at Boqueria Markets, close up of paella and tapas in Barcelona

Most Visited Seafood Outlet: Ocean Foods, Drummoyne, NSW
Almost every drive on Lyons Road in Drummoyne has resulted in me stopping by at Ocean Foods. Their floor to ceiling glass walls means there's no running away from the grand display of fresh and ready to cook seafood and salads.

Ocean Foods
154 Lyons Rd, Drummoyne, NSW

Most Visited For Dessert: Mamak, Sydney, NSW
Roti and condensed milk are just made for each other. After countless dinners at other restaurants across the city, Sydney food bloggers, myself included, seem to always end up at Mamak for dessert. The roti tisu is a golden cone encrusted with butter and sugar that tastes heavenly with a swirl of condensed milk and sometimes, even ice-cream. If that doesn't have you drooling, the roti pisang will - with freshly sliced banana that caramelizes within a thin buttery roti. Oh, so good.

Mamak
15 Goulburn St, Haymarket, NSW

Favourite Late Night Dining: Wagaya, Haymarket, NSW
With ridiculous trading hours (Wagaya opens until 2am on most nights), private booths and a quirky touch screen ordering system, late night dining at Wagaya is perfect for those night owls (like me) who want a decent feed. I can't get enough of their soft-shell crab hand rolls, lotus root chips or takoyaki gratin. Unfortunately, all this late night dining has contributed greatly to my growing waistline... Hmm... Did someone say New Years Resolution?

Wagaya
Level 1, 78-86 Harbour St, Haymarket, NSW

Dining at Wagaya - Most Visited Late Night Dining Restaurant of 2009

Best Discovery of a Hidden Gem: Uchi Lounge, Surry Hills, NSW
Uchi Lounge is only a street behind the chaotic Oxford Street but upon stepping inside, you're in a whole new world. It is soothing and peaceful, offering a selection of Japanese sake cocktails and some scrumptious food such as their grilled eggplant with miso and a sprinkle of parmesan.

Uchi Lounge
15 Brisbane St, Surry Hills, NSW

Favourite Bar: Water Bar at Blue, Woolloomooloo
I was introduced to Water Bar after my 25th birthday dinner in 2009. It's the fine dining of bars. As well as offering all the traditional cocktail favourites, Water Bar also features a range of new concept drinks that utilises some surprising and experimental techniques. Elderflower martini with a cucumber air, the kaffir lime dacquiri with coconut foam or the spiced fig whisky sour are just a few to name. The only downside here are their trading hours, closing at midnight on most nights and 10pm on Sundays and Mondays.

Water Bar
6 Cowper Wharf Rd, Woolloomooloo, NSW

Favourite Brunch: Rhodes Phoenix, Rhodes, NSW
Yum-Cha, Dim-Sum, whatever two words you use to call the fine art of eating dumplings and other Chinese delicacies over tea with friends or family, is a weekend hobby of mine. Having discovered the Phoenix group in 2007 - there's four of them: Sky Phoenix, Hilltop Phoenix, Manly Phoenix and Rhodes Phoenix, I quickly became a regular at the Rhodes restaurant which is only a short drive from my place. 2009 saw me dining at Rhodes Phoenix more than ever before. I have such a weakness for their prawn toast!

Rhodes Phoenix
1/5 Rider Blvd, Rhodes, NSW

While I'm not religious, my family and I have always celebrated Christmas as a time to be together, share food, and give love and appreciation. Part of the fun is of course within the preparation and cooking stages which gives you plenty of time to bond, giggle and make delicious goodies.

Cutting gingerbread, baked cookies pre-icing, whisking the icing and mixing colours into icing

The plan was originally to make an army of gingerbread men but my man-shaped cookie cutter was missing so I decided to use my set of star biscuit cutters to make a galaxy of colourful gingerbread cookies instead!

This recipe is really simple and the cookies are fragrant with ground ginger; the amount of which can be adjusted to suit your own taste. Plus with a baking time of only 10 minutes, you'll have your first batch of gingerbread, ready to be decorated in no time!

Let your imagination run wild, get the kids involved, mix different colours of the rainbow or experiment with hundred and thousands, cachous or raisins.

Iced gingerbread stars

Colourful gingerbread stars

Gingerbread Stars
Makes about 12 stars

Gingerbread

125g butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2½ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1½ tablespoons golden syrup

1½ cups pure icing sugar
1 egg white
4 drops lemon juice
Food colouring

1. Cream the butter and sugar
2. Add egg yolk and mix in remaining gingerbread ingredients
3. Combine and kneed until dough forms. Roll out dough and cut out shapes using cookie cutters or knife. Continue to remove excess dough for re-use
4. Bake for 10 minutes in a moderate oven (180C)
5. Remove immediately and place on a cooling tray
6. Whisk the egg white, then gradually add the icing sugar. Ensure that there are no lumps, then add lemon juice and food colouring
7. Decorate as you like

I quadtripled the quantities and as you can see, my dining table was truly a galaxy of gingerbread stars! Yum!

P.S. Merry Christmas! Thank you, my dear readers, for your support and words of inspiration throughout this year. I hope you all enjoy this holiday period both joyfully and healthily! x

A galaxy of gingerbread star cookies

Last week, I had the pleasure of not only meeting Jason Roberts, but also cooking with him, thanks to IGA, Stellar* Concepts and City Public Relations.

Many of you will remember Jason from his time at Channel Nine's cooking program 'Fresh' which was broadcast to Australia and New Zealand, five days a week for four years! Since then, it appears he has cracked the US market, written a few cookbooks and now has become the brand ambassador to IGA's Food 4 Life program.

At the Sydney Seafood School, a small group of food editors and myself were invited to a demonstration and cook-up, highlighting the key message behind IGA Food 4 Life's program - by pre-planning meals and buying simple and seasonal produce, families can prepare easy and healthy meals, without spending hours in the kitchen and that daily interaction in the kitchen with family is an effective way of bonding with the family.

Jason's personable nature, cheeky smile and dedication to healthy home cooking was truly captivating, particularly as explained the Brain Garden concept. I'm no nutrition-geek but what he said made so much sense! I can go on forever, listing the examples but here are a few which will convince you to eat more vegies:

• A sliced carrot looks like the human eye and greatly enhance the function of the eyes.
• A walnut looks like the brain, with left and right hemispheres, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Its wrinkles and folds even look like the neo-cortex, and scientifically, we know it helps develop neuron-transmitters for brain function.
• Kidney beans do not only look like the human kidney, but they also heal and help maintain kidney function.
• Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb look like bones and they also help with bone strength.
• The tomato's colour and its four chambers looks like the heart. Research has also shown that tomatoes are loaded with lycopine which is pure heart and blood food.

And what did we cook?

Courtesy of Jason Roberts, I am sharing with you these two easy peasy recipes - Salmon in a bag, and a gluten and fat free passionfruit and praline souffle.

Fresh vegetables

Cooking Salmon in a bag

I personally love this recipe, not for the fish, but for the vibrant salad. Who knew that zucchini could be so tasty raw?

SALMON IN A BAG
Serves 2

"This is a delicious way to prepare a single portion of fish with minimal effort and incredible flavor, This method of cooking has been around for a very long time and is definitely a style of cooking that is underused. Once you have mastered this technique there are so many variations to play with." says Jason Roberts

2 x 180gm piece of  Salmon
6 small potatoes steamed and skinned removed, and sliced into 1cm rounds
3 tablespoons chopped green shallots
3Tblspn olive oil
1 lemon, cut 2 slices, the remaining used for its juice
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt
Ground white pepper
1 cup of fresh mint leaves
1 small yellow and green zucchini finely sliced and lightly salted
½ bunch chives, finely sliced

1. Pre heat the oven to 200’C (430’F)
   
2. Make sure the fish is trimmed of fat, pin boned and free of scales
   
3. Take 2 pieces of baking paper about 30cm in length and lay it flat on the bench
   
4. In the center of each piece of paper lay the steamed potato slices along with a sprinkling of the green shallots, season with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and then top with a piece of salmon
   
5. Squeeze over a touch of lemon juice along with a little more of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, top with a slice of lemon and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and seal the bag. Take the edge of baking paper close to you as well as the opposite edge, bring together above the fish and fold downwards creating a tight pleat, fold the ends to the left and right back under the fish creating a snug little parcels
   
6. Place fish parcel onto a heatproof tray, and then put into the pre-heated oven, for approximately 8 minutes or until cooked to your liking. The best way to test is to pierce with a sharp skewer; you are looking for almost no resistance.
   
7. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the sliced zucchini along with the mint leaves and a scattering of the chives, season with a pepper, a little oil and another squeeze of lemon juice.
   
8. Once fish is cooked remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for a minute or 2 before opening bag
   
9. To serve, tare the bag open, Dividing the zucchini and mint salad evenly, and place on top of each piece of fish, it is not necessary to remove the fish from the paper bag
   
10. Enjoy

Passionfruit and praline souffle, the goodie bag and dining at the revamped Sydney Seafood School

It is hard imagining how a souffle with praline would rise, but this did. Because it is both gluten-free and fat-free, the texture is extremely airy and seriously melts in your mouth. The zing of the passionfruit simply spells out a summer delight.

PASSIONFRUIT AND PRALINE SOUFFLE
Makes 8 x 240 ml soufflé moulds

"This is one of those impressive desserts with wow factor, I love making this because it’s gluten and fat free, well...
Till I add a spoon of freshly whipped cream" says Jason Roberts.

Extra butter to grease the dishes and caster sugar to dust the interiors
 
160 ml (5.4floz) passion fruit pulp
200 mls (6.8floz) orange juice
25 g (0.9oz) corn starch
120 g (4.2oz) caster sugar
300 ml (10.1floz) egg whites, free of any yolk
Pinch cream of tartar
100 g (3.5oz) caster sugar
 
Praline
75 g (2.6oz) blanched almonds
50 g (1.8oz) toasted, skinned hazelnuts
125 g (4.4oz)sugar
2Tblspns water to melt the sugar
 
Icing sugar to dust
Whipped cream at your discretion

1. Pre heat oven to 175C (380F) for 14 minutes
2. Melt the sugar and water over low heat until dissolved thoroughly. Increase the heat and cook to a caramel - 175º C/380’ F on a sugar thermometer. Should be amber in color but not burnt.
   
3. Off the heat, quickly incorporate the nuts using a swirling action rather than a spoon if possible then turn out onto a clean flat baking tray. Spread with a  spatula.
4. Cool to room temperature then finely chop, set aside.
   
5. In a small saucepan place the orange juice along with the 120gm quantity of castor sugar, set over a medium heat
   
6. Mix well the passion fruit and corn starch to make a slurry, add to the orange juice mixture. With a wooden spoon, beat till thickened and then continue to cook for a further 8-10 minutes over a low heat. After this time place into a sieve and pass removing the seed content, return a few seeds back to passion fruit and cornstarch puree, set aside to cool
   
7. Either by hand or electric mixer you need to beat the whites to semi firm peaks, I find the electric mixer very helpful, but whatever you choose to use, make sure equipment is super clean and free from any fat content.
   
8. Place a kitchen mixer onto a medium speed, add in egg whites along with cream of tartar and continue to mix till well-incorporated and fluffy (approximately 1 minute) increase the speed and slowly start to add the 100gm sugar quantity, a little at a time.
   
9. The egg whites should almost triple in volume and hold semi firm peaks.
   Start incorporating the egg white into the passion fruit base; this will need to be done in thirds. The first quantity you can be quite liberal with, mixing well, the second addition of whites needs to be a little gentler, reserving volume
   
10. Before folding in remaining whites, scatter in the praline then the whites and very gently fold till well mixed
    
11. Fill each prepared mould to the top, leveling with a spatula,  tapping gently to remove any air bubbles, Using your thumb, run around the outside of the top of each soufflé to create a clear track for soufflé to rise evenly
12. At this point you can set aside in the refrigerator till ready to bake and serve, no longer than 6 hours in advance though,
    
13. When ready place into pre heated oven and cook till risen by at least a third of the depth of your soufflé mould, approximately 8-10 minutes
    
14. When cooked remove from oven, dust with icing sugar and serve

Cooking our own lunch inside Sydney Seafood School, Jason Robert's cooking demonstration and me with the man himself, after I won the door prize!

For more of Jason Robert's simple cooking ideas, visit the IGA Food 4 Life website.

Rice and pasta are kitchen staples I can't live without. And now, thanks to Blu and the team at Haystac, I can add Pearl Couscous (also known as Israeli couscous) to my list of must-have versatile ingredients.

You can win 1 of 5 packs of Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous to trial in your very own kitchen. Keep reading to find out how!

Peal couscous takes its name from its unique pearl-like shape and size. They're around 3mm in size and made from hard wheat toasted in an open flame oven, which gives them a rich, nutty flavour and a smooth texture -perfect for absorbing sauces, stocks and spices!

I put these to the test and made both a savoury and a sweet dish.

1 small fennel bulb
1 tablespoon butter
1 small leek, rinsed and finely sliced
3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 litre fish stock
½ litre water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4x 100g smoked cod fillets
4 tablespoons aioli
10 basil leaves, roughly torn
¾ cup Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous

Trim the fennel bulb, reserving the feathery tops, then cut the bulb in half and finely slice it.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the leek and cook until soft, then add the tomato, sliced fennel and stock. Bring to the boil, add remaining water then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and fish and cover. Cook for 7 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Lift out the fish and add the pearl couscous, stir well and simmer for a further 8 minutes.

Add fish back in and simmer for a few minutes. Divide among four warmed pasta bowls. Ladle the broth over the fish and top with a spoonful of aioli. Garnish with the fennel tops and basil.

Serves 4.

Smoked cod and fennel soup with pearl couscous

I love the simple flavours in this soup. It is almost a bouillabaisse but not as rich. The broth tastes delicate and light and the best thing about this recipe is that the pearl couscous makes it a meal!

I also wanted to play around with spices so poached a cup of pearl couscous in a divine syrup of fruit juices, lemon rind, cinnamon sticks, star anise, vanilla bean and honey, and then once chilled, I mixed it with some fresh strawberries and blueberries. The result was a sublime fruity dessert.

Sweet pearl couscous with berries, French vanilla bean ice-cream and pineapple jerky

Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 4 apples
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon butter
2 - 4 teaspoons honey, to taste
1 cup of Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous
2 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, split
water, as required
Handful berries, according to personal taste
4 scoops vanilla bean icecream

Combine the juices, zest, honey, butter, star anise, cinnamon and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir every few minutes until honey has dissolved.

Bring to the boil, then add the pearl couscous. Simmer for 6 minutes and add water if necessary.

Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid. Allow the couscous to remain covered until cool; fluff with a fork occassionally.

Remove spices and mix through berries (I've used quartered strawberries and whole blueberries). Serve chilled with a scoop of ice-cream.

Serves 4.

I've served these with a slice of pineapple jerky as well, as I've been slightly obsessed with my fruit dehydrator lately... more to come on that shortly!

Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous

Win 1 of 5 packs of Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous
To enter, simply leave a comment below in 25 words or less and tell me what you would use pearl couscous for?

Sorry, for Australian residents only. Competition entry closes on 8/12/09 11:59pm; winners will be announced on 9/12/09. Please use a valid email address so you can be contacted for your mailing address, shall you win.

Good luck and happy eating! x

For more information on pearl couscous, visit Blu's official website.

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED.

Vietnamese-style coconut and pandan waffles

I grew up on these waffles. I remember sitting on the kitchen bench on many after school afternoons, eagerly waiting for my parents to pour batches of batter onto our Black and Decker Sweet Hearts Waffle Maker. The aromas of coconut and pandan filled the house with a delicious scent.

So recently, while spring cleaning, along with throwing out all of my old size 6 clothes (which I know I will never fit back into), I found this cute appliance and was thrilled to discover that it was still in working condition!

My Mum had lost her recipe but a quick search online led me to Andrea Nguyen's fantastic recipe which I have simplified here.

Coconut and Pandan Waffles
Makes 3 waffles

1 all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, separated
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1½ teaspoons pandan (la dua) extract

1. Heat the waffle iron and have an electric mixer handy.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, salt and baking powder.
3. Use the whisk to combine the egg yolk, coconut milk, butter, and pandan extract.
4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to gently stir. Switch to a folding motion toward the end to incorporate all the flour. If the resulting batter looks lumpy, that's okay. Expect the batter to be thick and avoid over-stirring.
5. Use the electric mixer to beat the egg white for about 1 minute until it looks solid white. Use the rubber spatula to gently fold in the egg white.
6. Spread a decent amount of batter onto the waffle iron.
7. Cook the waffle until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Place waffle on a cooling rack.

These waffles are eaten as a snack by itself. There's no need for maple syrup or condensed milk. And they taste even better when re-toasted (as I like mine very crisp on the outside).

Have a go and I'm sure you'll agree with me that it makes the best air freshener scent ever!

Last Monday would have been just another girly catch-up dinner at CeCi in Strathfield had I not discovered Hello Happy (to which I squealed with excitement).

As you may have noticed, I'm a regular at Strathfield. With a growing South-Korean, Chinese, and Sri Lankan population, it has become a trusted suburb for authentic Asian cuisine. However, there has always been a missing piece to the culinary puzzle when it came to dessert. There was waffles at Beauty & The Beast cafe on the corner of The Boulevarde, Gelatissimo just outside the plaza and now, there's Hello Happy, offering a cute selection of cakes, pastries and good coffee!

The interior featured hand-draw graffiti characters across some walls and had a really calming and welcoming jungle touch. Hello Happy is only in its second month of operation so everything looked brand-spanking new. It was a breath of fresh air in an aging street.

New to Strathfield: Hello Happy patisserie

My tart was fruit paradise! The thin glaze made each piece look plastic and perfect. It consisted of blueberries, raspberries, grapes, a strawberry, a slice of kiwi fruit, 3 generous slices of sweet pineapple and a quarter of a peach. Beneath the fruit was a beautiful sweet pastry crust which held together, a classic custard.

Mixed fruit tart

Tracey has the strawberry mousse dome which looks more like a work of art. It is sponge cake coated with a light fluffy mousse and wrapped in strawberry slices then strawberry jelly, and last but not least, adorned with crushed pistachios. It was a blissful taste of heaven.

Strawberry mousse dome cake

Our chai lattes were fantastic too. They were frothy and sweet, but not sickening sweet, allowing the natural spiced aromas of cinnamon, cardamom and ginger to stand out.

Chai latte

Korean-chic interior

Hello Happy is a lovely new find that I hope many will appreciate.

Hello Happy
22 The Boulevarde Strathfield (next to NAB)
Phone: 9715 6259

In celebration of the upcoming release of Julie & Julia, and thanks to Sony Pictures, I have one very exciting competition for JENIUS readers.

If you don't know anything about this movie, here's the synopsis:

Meryl Streep is Julia Child and Amy Adams is writer Julie Powell in the comedy Julie & Julia, the story of how one woman’s journey became another’s inspiration.

Before Julia Child became the world’s first celebrity chef, she was just a woman searching for her calling in life. In 1948 her husband's job has brought them to Paris, and with her indefatigable spirit, she yearned for something to do.  She enrolls in the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and embarks on a journey that will change American home cooking for ever.

Fifty years later, Julie Powell (Amy Adams) was feeling the exact same way.  Pushing 30, living in Queens and working in a cubicle as her friends achieve stunning successes, she seizes on a seemingly insane plan to focus her energies.  Julie decides to spend exactly one year cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and write a blog about her experiences.

Director-writer-producer Nora Ephronseamlessly melds these two remarkable true stories into a comedy that proves that if you have the right combination of passion, obsession, and butter, you can change your life and achieve your dreams.

I'm sure that like me, there are many foodies and food bloggers out there eagerly waiting to see this movie! With part of the movie based on a blog, I can't wait to follow the journey of a women, looking to restore herself by cooking through the marvelous book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, of which I have a copy of (thanks to Sony Pictures).

The book has provided me with hours of foodie pleasure and what I love most, is Julia Child's painstaking detail of every process. Heck, the dessert tarts recipe plus variations was spread across 15 pages of text! But what appears initially as intimiating turned into comfort and confidence as I realised the detail means the result will be almost fool-proof.

So I'm sharing with you, the steps to make one fine Apple Tart.

Mastering the Art of French food blogging Competition

How to win

Simply cook up your very own tart, using the recipe below! Share your tart as a comment on this post, including a short description of your tart plus a link to either your blog post or photos of the final result. Don't forget to comment using a valid email address (this will not be visible to others) so the winner can be contacted for their mailing address.

The prizes

The most creative adaptation, as judged by me & Sony Pictures will win:

1 x Julie & Julia Apron
1 x Oven Mitt
1 x Peeler and Grater
1 x Multi Chopper
1 x Recipe Journal
1x Double Pass

Plus, 5 runners-up will each win 1x Double Pass

Terms and Conditions

For more information about the movie, or to check out the trailer, visit JulieAndJulia.com.au.

Julie & Julia
Only at the movies October 8
Advanced screenings October 3, 4 & 5

TARTE AUX POMMES (Apple Tart -warm or cold)

This classic French apple tart consists of a thick, well-flavoured apple sauce spread in a partially cooked pastry shell. Over it thinly sliced apples are placed in an overlapping design of circles. After baking, it is coated with apricot glaze. For 8 people.

THE PASTRY

The pastry for dessert tart shells in molded and baked in a flan ring or a flase-bottomed cake pan so that the shell may be unmolded. The small proportion of vegetable shortening included with the butter in each pastry recipe gives a less brittle crust when you are using all-purpose flour. If you have pastry flour or French flour, you may use all butter, increasing the amount indicated for vegetable shortening.

We'll need a 10-inch partically cooked pastry shell set on a baking sheet.

1 1/3 cup flour
A mixing bowl
2 Tb granulated sugar
1/4 Tsp salt
11 Tb fat: 8 Tb chilled butter and 3 Tb chilled vegetable shortening
5 - 6 Tb cold water

Measure the dry ingredients and mix into the bowl. Quarter the chilled butter lengthwise; add to the flour along with the chilled shortening. Flickr the machine on and off 4 or 5 times, then measure out a scant half cup of iced water. Turn the machine on and pout it all in at once; immediately flick the machine on and off several times, and the dough should begin to mass on the blade. If not, dribble in a little more water and repeat, repeating again if necessary. Dough is done when it has begun to mass; do not overmix. Scrape the dough onto your work surface and proceed to the fraisage (final blending).

Fraisage (the final blending)

Place the dough on a lightly floured pastry board. With the heel of one hand, not the palm which is too warm, rapidly press the pastry by two-spoonful bits down on the board and away from you in a firm, quick smear of about 6 inches. This consitutes the final blending of fat and flour.

With a scaper or spatula, gather the dough again into a mass; knead it briefly into a fairly smooth round ball. Sprinkle it lightly with flour and wrap it in waxed paper. Either place the dough in the freezing compartment of the refrigerator for about 1 hour until it is firm but not congealed, or refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Uncooked pastry dough will keep for 2 to 3 days under refrigeration, or may be frozen for several weeks. Always wrap it airtight in waxed paper and a plastic bag.

Rolling out the dough

Because of its high butter content, roll out the dough as quickly as possible, so that it will not soften and become difficult to handle.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board or marble. If the dough is hard, beat it with the rolling pin to soften it. Then knead it briefly into a fairly flat circle. It should be just malleable enough to roll out without cracking.

Lightly flour the top of the dough. Place rolling pin across centre and roll the pin back and forth with firm but gentle pressure to start the dough moving. Then, with a firm, even stroke, and always rolling away from you, start just below the centre of the dough and roll to within an inch of the far edge.

Lift dough and turn it at a sight angle.

Give it another roll. Continue lifting, turning and rolling and as neccessary, sprinkle board and top dough lightly with flour to prevent sticking. Roll it into a circle 1/8 inch thick and about 2 inches larger all around your pie pan or flan ring. If your circle is uneven, cut off a too-large portion, moisten the edge of the too-small portion with water, press the two pieces of pastry together, and smooth them with your rolling pin.

The dough should be used as soon as it has been rolled out, so that it will not soften.

Making a pastry shell

A French tart, quiche, or pie is straight sided and open faced and stands supported only by its pastry shell. In France the shell is molded in a bottomless metal flan ring that has been set on a baking sheet. When the tart is done, the ring is removed and the tart is slide from the baking sheet to a rack or the serving dish. You can achieve the same effect by molding your pastry in a false-bottomed, straight-sided, cake pan 1 or 1 1/2 inches deep. When the shell is ready for unmolding, the pan is set over a jar and the false bottom frees the shell from the sides of the pan. It is then, with the aid of a long-bladed spatula, slid off its false bottom and onto a rack or the serving dish. You can also make pastry shells using two matching pie pans; once in a while, the weight of the filling will force the outward-slanting sides of the shell to collapse, so we are not recommending it.

Patially baked pastry shells are used for quiches and for tarts whose filling cooks in the shell. Fully baked shells are for tarts filled with cooked ingredients that need only a brief reheating, or for fresh fruit tarts that are served cold.

Butter the inside of the mold. If you are using a flan mold, butter the baking sheet also.

Either reverse the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll it over the mold; or fold the dough in half, in half again, then lay it in the mold and unfold it.

Press the dough lightly into the bottom of the cake pan, or onto the baking sheet if you are using a flan ring. Then lift the edges of the dough and work it gently down the inside edges of mold with your fingers, taking in about 3/8 inches of dough all around the circumference. This will make the sides of the pastry shell a little thicker and sturdier. Trim off excess dough by rolling the pin over the top of the mold.

Then with your thumbs, push the dough 1/8 inches above the edge of the mold, to make an even, rounded rim of dough all around the inside circumference of the mold.

Press a decorative edge around the rim of the pastry with the dull edge of a knife.

Prick bottom of pastry with a fork at 1/2 inch intervals.

To keep the inside of the pastry shell from collapsing and the bottom from puffing up, either butter the bottom of another mold, weigh it with a handful of dry beans, and place it inside the pastry; or line the pastry with buttered, lightweight foil, or buttered brown paper. Press it well against the sides of the pastry, and fill it with dried beans. The weight of the beans will hold the pastry against the mold during the baking. Refrigerate if not baked immediately.

We'll need a partially cooked shell: bake at the middle level of a preheated 400-degree oven for 8 to 9 minutes until pastry is set. Remove mold or foil and beans, prick bottom of pastry with a fork to keep it from rising. Return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes more. When the shell is starting to colour and just beginning to shrink from the sides of the mold, remove it from the oven. If it seems to you that the sides of the shell are fragile, or are liable to crack or leak with the weight of the filling to come, do not unmold until your tart is filled and finally baked

Otherwise, unmold and slip it onto a rack. Circulation of air around it while it cools will prevent it from getting soggy.

PREPARING THE APPLES

4 Ibs, firm cooking apples (Golden Delicious)
1 Tsp lemon juice
2 Tb granulated sugar
A 2-quart mixing bowl

Quarter, core and peel the apples. Cut enough to make 3 cups into even 1/8-inch lengthwise slices and toss them into a bowl with the lemon juice and sugar. Reserve them for the top of the tart.

THE APPLE SAUCE

A 10-inch heavy-bottomed pan: enamled saucepan, skillet or casserole
A wooden spoon
1/3 cup apricot preserves, forced through a sieve
1/4 cup Cavados (apple brandy), rum or cognac; or 1 Tb vanilla extract
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 Tb sugar
Optional: 1/2 Tsp cinnamon, and/or the grated rind of 1 lemon or orange

Cut the rest of the apples into rough slices. You should have about 8 cups. Place in the pan and cook, covered, over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occassionally, until tender. Then beat in the above ingredients. Raise heat and boil, stirring, until apple sauce is thick enough to hold in a mass in the spoon.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spread the apple sauce in the pastry shell. Cover with a neat, closely overlapping layer of chilled apples arranged in a spiral, concentric circules, or as illustrated below.

APRICOT GLAZE

1/2 cup apricot preserves forced throiugh a sieve
1 Tb granulated sugar
A small saucepan
A wooden spatula or spoon
Optional: a candy thermometer

Stir the strained apricot preserves with the sugar over moderately high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until thick enough to coat the spoon with a light film, and the last drops are sticky as they fall from the spoon (225 to 228 degrees on a candy thermometer). Do not boil beyond this point or the glaze will become brittle when it cools. Apply the glaze while it is still warm. Unused glaze will keep indefinitely in a screw-topped jar; reheat again before using.

THE FINAL TOUCH

A cake rack or serving dish
1/2 cup apricot glaze
2 cups heavy cream to creme fraiche

Bake in upper third of preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the sliced apples have browned lightly and are tender. Slide tart onto the rack or serving dish and spoon or paint over it a light coating of apricot glaze. Serve warm or cold, and pass with it, if you wish, a bowl of cream.

This competition has now closed.

Stay tuned for more giveaways on JENIUS :)

With a name like this, how can anyone not like them?

Smiling doughnuts are also commonly known as smiling mouth cookies, happy mouth cookie balls, deep-fried sesame cookie balls or from it's direct Cantonese translation, 笑口枣 means smiling mouth dates.

These little gems are usually served during Chinese New Year celebrations because the natural cracks on the balls resemble a smile and hence brings happiness to the home.

You must not confuse these with the yum-cha favourite: glutinous sesame seed balls (jin deui or 麻团) which are larger but hollow (sometimes filled with lotus paste, black bean paste or red bean paste) and have a soft chewy texture.

Smiling doughnuts are easy to make which is why I decided to give them a go when my little brother's school was holding an international food fair.

Step by step guide to homemade smiling doughnuts

This recipe makes about 60 tiny balls (and by tiny, I mean the size of a golf ball or smaller). Special thanks to my Mum for sharing :)

Ingredients
2 cups self raising flour
2 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water
500 grams of sesame seeds

Directions
1. Pre-heat enough oil for deep-frying.
2. Combine all dry ingredients (except for sesame seeds) then add remaining wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
2. When the dough is smooth and sticky, using a spoon, scoop out tiny balls and roll it around your palms.
3. Drop the ball into a bowl of sesame seeds and coat it well. Repeat the process until you have enough balls to fill a frying pan.
4. Deep-fry the balls a handful at a time. You should notice cracks appearing around the balls.
5. Drain the deep-fried balls on a baking rack then transfer onto paper towels.

Boxes of smiling doughnuts, ready for a school international food fair

These doughnut balls are slightly sweet, crunchy and like anything golden and deep-fried... They're extremely addictive. Om nom nom nom...

I don't care what you call it (or how you spell it): slushee, slushy, slushie, slurpee or granita. But this has to be the world's best tasting and looking slush.

Served on large martini glasses, LNC Dessert House offer over 20 variations of slushees. My personal favourite is this mango and lychee slush with mini sticky balls and mango gelato. Despite not being able to see much of the slush on first impression, they do serve the perfect amount -I found myself finishing it off just as I was beginning to shiver and get a brain freeze ;)

The colourful things you see on top are glutinous sticky rice balls. They have a light chewy texture which balances the smooth slush quite well. Also scattered beneath the scoop of mango gelato are whole pieces of crisp and juicy lychee, green mango and jackfruit.

The whole combination is sweet but not overpowering. It is fruity and refreshing.

Mango and lychee slushee with mini sticky balls and gelato

Dianne, my dining companion, had her usual repeat order of the mango slush with fresh grapefruit and sago. I think any dessert with sago is usually a winner.

Mango, grapefruit slush with sago

Other slushee combinations include mango slush with cendol, mini sticky balls and mango gelato; red bean slush with sticky rice and coconut gelato; lychee and strawberry slush with strawberry gelato and black sesame slush with green tea gelato. Click on the menu below to for others.

Click the menu to zoom in

LNC Dessert House is the closest thing to Hong Kong's legendary desserts without having to step on a plane. These slushees totally beat anything from a convenient store.

Mmmm, I could do with another one now.

LNC Dessert House
Shop 12, 339 Sussex Street, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9283 3832

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I'm a big fan of Time Out. I would never visit a city without first consulting the local Time Out guide.

Time Out Sydney's Food Awards 09 winners were announced this week, so let's see who made the cut:

People's Choice
Winner: Glebe Point Diner, Glebe
Runners-up: Bodega, Surry Hills; Quay, The Rocks; Marque, Surry Hills; Longrain, Surry Hills

I'm a bit ashamed that I haven't yet dined at Glebe Point Diner. There are all round positive reviews from other food bloggers, namely, The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry, Double Cooked, Lemonade Land and Steph's Food Journey and along with mountain loads of press and editorial reviews, Glebe Point Diner is an obvious people's choice.

Best New Restaurant
Winner: Rockpool Bar and Grill, Sydney
Runners-up: Sepia, Sydney; Spice Temple, Sydney; Etch, Sydney; The Beresford, Darlinghurst

Rockpool Bar & Grill in Melbourne is an absolute favourite. While I haven't been to its Sydney sister, can anyone tell me if it's any different?

Etch is simply full of pretty spaces and their macaroni is to-die-for. The revamped Beresford trattoria is also a clear winner (runner-up in this case) with the locals.

Best Cafe
Winner: Cafe Sopra, Waterloo
Runners-up: Deus ex Machina, Camperdown; Wall, Surry Hills; Ruby's Diner, Waverley; Kazbah, Balmain

Anyone who has been to Kazbah's breakfast banquet will be an advocate. Hmmm, why isn't Dank Street Depot a runner-up?

Best Desserts
Winner: Universal, Darlinghurst
Runners-up: Pier, Rosebay; Quay, The Rocks; Longrain, Surry Hills; Rockpool, The Rocks

I haven't been to Universal, nor Pier or Longrain. But if Quay is any benchmark for the winner, I have to get myself to Universal. I adore Quay's eight texture chocolate cake and their pear creme caramel, sauterne jelly, pear icecream and caramel cream!

Best Steak
Winner: Fix St James, Sydney
Runners-up: Bistro Moncur, Woolahra; Rockpool Bar & Grill, Sydney; Tabou, Surry Hills; Mad Cow, Sydney

Wow, I haven't been to any of these places. What about Prime? Chophouse?

Best Fixed Price Menu
Winner: Bentley Restaurant and Bar, Surry Hills
Runners-up: Assiette, Surry Hills, Atelier, Glebe; Vini, Surry Hills; Marque, Surry Hills

Best Seafood
Winner: Sepia, Sydney
Runners-up: Tetsuya's, Sydney; Manta, Woolloomooloo; Fish Face, Darlinghurst; Pier, Rose Bay

Am I the only one who hearts Flying Fish, Masuya and Ocean Room?

Best Burgers
Winner: Rockpool Bar & Grill, Sydney
Runners-Up: Plan B by Becasse, Sydney; Ruby's Diner, Waverley; The Burger Joint, Darlinghurst; Paul's Burgers, Sylvania

You will have no doubt seen my recent list of where to find the best burgers in Sydney. I still stand by it -although from reading the comments, I need to get myself to Rockpool Bar & Grill and Counter Burger!

Best Cheap Eat
Winner: Black Star Pastry, Newtown
Runners-up: Din Tai Fung, Haymarket; Guzman y Gomez, Newtown; Mamak, Haymarket; Gumshara Ramen, Haymarket

Seriously, how can anything beat Mamak? OK, maybe #chronic ramen is close, but a pastry shop? It must be bloody good, and I have yet to try. But the bigger issue here, is how 6 xiao long bao (soup dumplings) for $8.80 can be considered a cheap eat!

Best Sandwiches
Winner: Malibu, Surry Hills
Runners-up: Pilu Kiosk, 'On the Beach', Freshwater; Big Bite, Sydney; Hong Ha, Hurstville; Plan B by Becasse, Sydney

Best Patisseries
Winner: Adriano Zumbo, Balmain
Runners-up: Croissant D'Or, Potts Point; Yellow, Potts Point; Bourke Street Bakery, Surry Hills; Sweet Belem, Petersham

Ah, Zumbo. Post-Masterchef, Zumbo appears to be the real winner with endless queues and requests for his macarons, croquembouche and the chocolate mousse cake.

Best Noodles
Winner: Gumshara, Haymarket
Runners-up: Pho An, Bankstown; Twisted Noodle Bar, Sydney; Menya Noodle Bar, Sydney, Tan Viet, Cabramatta

I think ramen should be in its own category. But regardless, you'll still find me every fortnight slurping up $7 noodles at Dong Ba in Bankstown.

Best Thai
Winner: Spice I Am, Surry Hills
Runners-up: Longrain, Surry Hills; Sailor's Thai, The Rocks; Chat Thai, Sydney; Crocodile Senior, Sydney

Best Yum Cha
Winner: Fisherman's Wharf, Pyrmont
Runners-up: Marigold, Sydney, Sunny Harbour Seafood Restaurant, Hurstville; Sky Phoenix, Sydney; Golden Unicorn, Maroubra

Best Tapas
Winner: Bodega, Surry Hills
Runners-up: Ash St Cellar, Sydney; Delicado, McMahons Point; Sean's Kitchen, Pyrmont, Catalonia, Kirribilli

Bodega, can anything beat it? I think Spanish Terrazas, Velero and Cantina may be close contenders for runners-up.

Best Pizza
Winner: Lucio Pizzeria, Darlinghurst
Runners-up: Pompei's, Bondi Beach; Rosso Pomodoro, Balmain; La Disfida, Haberfield; Pizza Mario, Surry Hills

Errr, Pizza e Birra anyone?

So what do you think? Are these the winners or losers?

The Aussie in me has never experienced a cold wintery Christmas. I'm used to the barbecues, the fresh seafood, chilled fruity drinks and spending the morning watching a repeat of Christmas cartoons followed by a balmy afternoon at the beach.

My dear friend Sarah decided to host a Christmas In July afternoon tea last week. There was no roast turkey or presents for each other. Instead, we used this occasion as an excuse to kick the boys out of the house and bake. Then instead of swapping presents, we brought along gifts and donations for kids in need and burnt off the calories wrapping some rather difficult open shoe boxes.

I took this opportunity to bake lemonade scones -I have always been fascinated by the simplicity of the ingredients required; and lemon meringue tarts, from my newly bought cook book: Patisserie (Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection), which was only $5.95 from Basement Books!

Lemonade Scones
(From Nigella's website)

Ingredients

3 cups self raising flour
1 cup thickened cream
1 cup lemonade

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine gently. Knead and pat out until 3cm thick and cut out with a 5cm scone cutter.

2. Place on lined tray, brush with milk and bake at 200 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes until top is browned.

Lemonade scones in the making

Lemonade scones

The scones were so quick and easy to bake! It's a great recipe for the young ones to be involved in too. The result were these delicious fluffy scones, which were accompanied with homemade mulberry jam and cream.

Scones with homemade mulberry jam and cream

Lemon Meringue Tarts
(From Patisserie (Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection))

Ingredients

Shortcrust Pastry
200g plain flour
Large pinch of salt
Large pinch of caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, chilled
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 - 2 drops of vanilla extract or essence

Meringue
4 egg whites
200g caster sugar
2 tablespoons icing sugar

Lemon Filling
6 egg yols
250g caster sugar
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
Juice of 4 lemons
60g unsalted butter

Method

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and place in the flour.

2. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the combined egg, 2 - 3 teaspoons water and the vanilla.

4. Slowly work the mixture together with a palette knife or pastry scraper until it forms a rough ball. If it is slightly sticky, add a little more flour. Turn out onto a lightly floured cool surface, gather the dough into a ball and flatten it slightly. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes before use.

5. Brush two 12-hole muffin tins with melted butter. Preheat the oven to moderate 180°C.

6. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a 3mm thickness. Cut 22 circles of pastry to fit the tins, then ease them into the tins and chill for 20 minutes. Cut 22 circles of baking paper slightly larger than the pastry cases and place in the cases. Fill with baking beans or rice. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove the baking beans or rice and paper from the cases and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, leave to rest for 2 minutes, then cool in their tins on a wire rack.

7. To make the lemon filling, half-fill a pan with water and heat until simmering. Using electric beaters, whisk the egg yols and sugar in a heatproof bowl that will fit over the pan without actually touching the water, until light and creamy. Add the lemon rind, juice and butter and sit the bowl over the pan of simmering water. Whisk continuously for 10 - 15minutes, or until the mixture is thick and creamy and leaves a ribbon as it falls from the whisk. While the filling is still hot, pour into the cases.

8. Preheat the grill to medium. Place the egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat them with a balloon whisk or electric beaters until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating well between each addition, until stiff glossy peaks form. Spoon or pipe onto the lemon filling in the pastry cases and swirl attractively with the top of a spoon. Sieve the icing sugar over the surface of the tarts and grill for 1 - 2 minutes, or until the meringue is just tingled golden, then serve as soon as possible.

Shortcrust pastry

Lemon meringue tarts in the making

Lemon meringue tarts

These tarts were tangy, sweet and divine. They were totally worth the effort it took to make the pastry and filling from scratch. (Although you may notice from my pics, that I did forget to add the icing sugar in the final step :-\)

Half section of lemon meringue tart

Afternoon tea at home

Wrapping boxes for a charitable cause

I'm not a regular baker and am definitely not the neatest. This challenge has led me to appreciate the hard work that goes on behind any scrumptious work of art but it has also triggered a new desire to perfect my baking skills! So stay tuned for more ;)

I think Uchi Lounge is the perfect place for a first date. Now, I've been with Zen for almost 7 years and can't quite remember what first dates are like, but how can an equation which includes awesome sake cocktails, a drool-worthy bar menu and an intimately lit room go wrong? The bar is quirky and the restaurant upstairs is Modern Japanese glam.

The decor is soothing and the peaceful ambiance complements it well. For a tiny lounge tucked behind Oxford Street, I was surprised.

The bar downstairs

Uchi doesn't take bookings on Friday or Saturday nights, but Amanda and I frown when we're advised the restaurant has reached its capacity and soon after the waiter steps away to chat with the boss, and we are offered a table downstairs. They don't normally serve the restaurant menu downstairs so I'm glad he has made an exception.

I ordered the Zen Booster cocktail which was only natural since it held the name of my other half. I'm not a big drinker so thought the mix of passionfruit sake, vodka, cointreau and organic apple and carrot juice was a little harsh. I much preferred Amanda's Crunchy Tiger. The sweetness of the mango juice mixed with passionfruit sake, vodka, cointreau was delicious.

Zen Booster sake cocktail

Crunchy Tiger sake cocktail

While analysing the menu, we were served these complimentary homemade rice cakes (or should I call them crackers?). They were still warm and tasted freshly toasted. I heart the basic flavour of toasted soy sauce on a crisp rice bed.

Complimentary rice cakes

Both Amanda and I are big foodies so don't be astonished by the amount we have ordered and demolished :)

The first dish we had were mussels with chilled wasabi and coriander. These were slightly disappointing as the mussels were over-cooked. But the flavours were nonetheless refreshing. Next were oysters with umeshu (a Japanese liqueur made with ume plums) vinaigrette. The texture of the vinaigrette was jelly-like and totally unexpected!

Chilled wasabi and coriander mussels

Fresh pacific oysters with umeshu vinaigrette

My favourite of the night was the following dish -grilled eggplant with miso and a sprinkle of parmesan. I simply loved the saltiness of the parmesan and miso mixed with gorgeously textured eggplant. However, the serving size only included half an eggplant so a whole would have been a bliss.

Grilled eggplant with miso and parmesan

The specials menu included 2 eye catching dishes which we just had to order. One of them was the shallow-fried soft shell crab wrapped with hijiki, edamame rice and snow peas. Whilst the filling was scrumptious, I was deeply disappointed by the oiliness of the beancurd sheet which encased it.

Shallow-fried soft shell crab wrapped with hijiki, edamame rice and snow pea, served with wasabi mayo

Inside the soft shell crab roll

The other dish we ordered from the specials menu was this yuan-grilled Suzuki jewfish with organic sesame oil and tamari, served with bamboo shoot rice and blanched bok choy. The bamboo rice was the best!

Yuan-grilled Suzuki jewfish with organic sesame oil and tamari, served with bamboo shoot rice and blanched bok choy

Ah, finally, our last main dish of medium rare beef steak with chilled wasabi mash. The mash must've consisted of fresh wasabi -its sharpness was so aromatic. And the accompanying sauce which I can't recall was so luscious, we found ourselves mopping it up with every piece of perfectly seared steak.

Medium rare beef steak with chilled wasabi mash

Dinner ended sweetly with desserts of their signature green tea and cinnamon creme brulee and houjicha (oven-roasted green tea) pannacotta. The crystalised toffee was as it should be -a thin glossy sheet. Cracking it has always been a secret pleasure of mine. The green tea and cinnamon custard beneath was silky smooth. But the pannacotta left me speechless as I continuously devoured spoon after spoon. Its refreshing houjicha essence paired with a light-as-air texture was sublime.

Green tea and cinnamon creme brulee

Houji cha pannacotta

Amanda et moi

The next time you need a quiet bar/restaurant for a date or to catch up with friends, check out Uchi.

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Uchi Lounge
15 Brisbane Street, Darlinghurst
www.uchilounge.com.au

Shopping in Melbourne is sensational... and every time my energy depleted, a San Churro Chocolateria franchise seemed to come to my saviour. They were seriously everywhere! Brunswick Street Fitzroy, Lygon Street, Harbour Town & more.

Chocolate tapas, truffles and more, on display

A double serve of churros included 6 hot Spanish donut sticks and a choice between white, milk and dark liquid chocolate or dulce de leche (Argentine caramel). The churros were irresistible. Hot and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. We dunked our way through the plate in no time.

Churros for two

On a separate day, we had tea, a cappuccino and fondue set. The fondue set was an astonishing $18.90 but all was forgiven once I dived in.

English breakfast tea

cappuccino

Fondue set for two

Strawberry dipped in liquid dark chocolate

Inside

For decadent desserts, chocolate-themed everything and sticky fingers, San Churro is the place to be. There aren't as many franchises in Sydney, namely Glebe, Miranda and Chatswood but I'm dying to try the banoffee bolero of fresh banana, Argentinean caramel, milk chocolate ice cream, whipped cream and masses of chocolate shavings.

San Churro Chocolateria
Web: www.sanchurro.com/contact.php

Welcome back! I hope ya'll had many delicious moments during the break.

To kick off a new year of blogging, I thought it would only make sense to firstly conclude 2008 with my family Christmas dinner.

It was a little chaotic at the start, with me doing too many things at once; whipping up the meringue, cutting and peeling vegetables, wrapping the last minute presents and more. But once the vegetables were sliced, fruits were cut up and meringues were baking, everything started to fall into place. Phew!

We started with some dips and crackers, then a giant seafood platter. I tried really hard not to over-cook this year. The following fed 7 adults and 1 kid... we had a few prawns leftover, as well as half the mashed potato and half the salad. I think I did fairly well!

Seafood platter with smoked salmon, shaved Spanish onion, dill and capers, prawns with 3 dipping sauces, fresh oysters with lime, lobsters and spicy wedges

Meringues baking in oven

Berries for the pavlova -strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi fruit and passionfrut

I forgot to photograph the wagyu which we bought from Vic's Meat, but it's marbling was delectable! We chargrilled these eggplants, sweet potatoes and asparagus on the side. These were simply prepared with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cracked pepper.

Vegetables for chargrilling

Mixed green salad with dill, cucumber, haloumi cheese, anchovy stuffed olives, cherry tomatoes and balsamic dressing

The baby carrots were caramelised with a combination of butter, brown sugar and parsley.

Caramelised carrots

Rosemary mashed potato

Charcoal and flame

Meringues are simple to bake and require minimal ingredients. This is the recipe I used:

8 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups of caster sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon cornflower
2 teaspoon white vinegar
Fruit and double cream to serve

1. Preheat oven to 120°C, whip up the egg whites and until stiff peaks form.
2. Slowly (spoon by spoon) add sugar while continuously beating the egg whites.
3. Once sugar has dissolved, all remaining ingredients and combine well.
4. Spoon onto baking paper into required sizes / shapes and bake for 90 minutes or until crisp.
5. Leave them in the oven with the door ajar to allow cooling.
6. Serve with fruit (I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, passionfruit and kiwifruit) and double cream.

Pavlova

Happy New Year!

A little mishap led me to be finally endowed with a chance to eat at Ryo's Noodles. Random location, tiny restaurant, queues which stretch onto the street and signature postings by Japanese celebrities! There were more than enough signals to their authenticity and of course, a good meal ahead.

One of the first things I noticed was the menu item of additional ramen for $3. Perfect for those big eaters or for people like me who just want to mop up the rest of the soup.

While Wynn and I chatted over industry gossip, love, boys and dressmaking, strangely enough, our ramen arrived before our entree of roast pork rice balls. We were hungry so dug straight in. My soy-based ramen was a tiny bit too salty but it was a bliss. The huge square of nori kicked ass in comparison to the tiny shredded sheets served at most other ramen places in Sydney. I also appreciated the egg's perfection (the yolk was still a tad runny) and the slight fat left on the tender roast pork. So good, and so filling -I didn't end up ordering the extra ramen.

Tokyo style soy-based chicken stock ramen with roast pork, nori, egg and bamboo shoots

Wynn had her repeat order of tonkotsu ramen which she assured me was at its usual best. Rich, hearty and flavoursome.

Tonkotsu ramen with egg, nori, shallots and roast pork

Apart from ramen accompaniments like corn, roast pork, garlic and pickles, there were also the common side dish contenders of gyoza (pan-fried dumplings), karagee (deep-fried chicken), kimchi (picked vegies) and more. We shared the pickled bamboo shoots and had a roast pork rice ball each. The rice ball was so moist and delicious. I adored the generous chunks of roast pork and sesame seeds which were wrapped within a delectable piece of nori.

Roast pork rice balls

Side dish of pickled bamboo shoots

Inside

Still needing to satisfy our sweet tooth we caught up with Sham and shared (but unfortunately, did not finish off) this massive stack of vanilla icecream with stewed pears, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and nuts.

Ice-cream from French Riviera

Ryo's Noodles
125 Falcon St Crows Nest, NSW
Phone: 9955 0225
Opens Thursday -Tuesday, noon - 2.30pm, 5pm - 9.30pm

French Riviera
Corner of Liverpool and Sussex Street
Phone: 9264 2932
Opens 7 days a week, 10am - 2am

For as long as I can remember, it has always been a fantasy to visit a real chocolate factory. My expectations of course were hyped up by films such as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.

At Cadbury's visitor centre, for only $5, you get to smell plenty of cocoa beans and watch footage of chocolate in the making. I learnt lots about the company's history and the world's chocolate eating habits and even get to shop at the factory outlet for discounted chocs! But we weren't allowed past the gates, into the real factory... boohoo!

According to ABC Hobart, the chocolate floor tours had stopped in April. Damn, I missed out by a few months!

Still worth a visit.

Cadbury Visitor Centre in Claremont Tasmania
Web: www.cadbury.com.au/sites/cadbury/index.php?pageId=55

And I thought I'd also include this pic of my fave dessert. Dad's homemade tofu dessert with caramelised ginger syrup. It's better than at yum cha :)

I took my family out to Rise this week for another celebration of my birthday! Once upon a time, I filled out a membership form which was hidden beneath the bill. And earlier this month, I received an email from them with an offer for $25 discount off the 6 course Omakase degustation. Yay! It was still $60 per person for the rest of the crew, but I think Rise is Sydney's best value degustation.

Dessert tonight was panna cotta with kumquat granita and tapioca pudding with starch balls and coffee flavoured granita. Mine was brought out with sparklers and an impressingly neat chocolate-written 'happy birthday'.

Rise restaurant
www.riserestaurant.com.au

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I've made my own baklava at home plenty of times. While it's fun mixing and matching different nuts, syrup to pastry ratio and wacky shapes, nothing beats walking into a baklava pastry store. The huge display here offers more varieties of baklava than you can imagine.

Here's what I ended up with:

The long ones in the back-right are lady's fingers cashew baklava... these are crispy, buttery and not overly loaded in syrup. Splendid. The round disc of pastry with cream has been an all time favourite of mine... the soft fluffy cream balances out the sweetness so well. Ah, and my second most loved baklava would have to be the king's crown of long kounafa pastry which resembles a bird's nest full of whole pistachios. It's pure heaven.

Auburn Baladna Pastry
Opens 8am - 10pm daily!!!
150 South Parade, Auburn
Phone: 9649 2324

Every time I'm in the Broadway area, which isn't often... I cannot resist stepping into Bourke Street Bakery. Yesterday was no different.

However, I think I ate the bad batch. Is there really such a thing, you ask?

I left the 5 megapixel point and shoot camera at home to charge... so here's my proof, taken with the handy 2 megapixel camera on my Nokia 6110.

The tart, clearly becoming a signature item has increased to $4.40. The case and custard was still as I had remembered... divine. The brulee was unfortunately a bitter, burnt toffee.

So, this visit wasn't as satisfying as my previous... but it's not going to stop me from trying another batch, another day.

Bourke Street Bakery on Broadway
130 George Street / Parramatta Road Broadway
Near Kinkos & Mountain Street
Phone: 9281 3113

Also at:
633 Bourke Street Surry Hills
474 Gardeners Road Alexandria (on the corner of Ellis Ave)

I love this place with passion. Bourke Street Bakery has delicious savoury breads, sourdough of all sorts and my favourite tarts.

They used to do an amazing pistachio and ginger brulee tart which seems to have been replaced by this vanilla brulee tart with strawberry puree. (A good thing since strawberries are in season now)

The tart was gorgeous. A delicate layer of crystalised sugar floated lightly above the creamy vanilla filling. The buttery case was rich & just as satisfying!

I also picked up a plain croissant to munch on... it was light and flaky.. mmmmmm :)

Bourke Street Bakery on Broadway
130 George Street / Parramatta Road Broadway
Near Kinkos & Mountain Street
Phone: 9281 3113

Also at:
633 Bourke Street Surry Hills
474 Gardeners Road Alexandria (on the corner of Ellis Ave)

...it doesn't mean I like getting ripped off. Passionflower does not serve free tap water. They have a minimum $10 spend per person on Friday and Saturday nights... and for 3 scoops, you're looking at paying at least $12. Now that I've got that off my chest... for the good stuff!

Passionflower no doubt offers unique and delectable flavours with an Asian twist. Some to name are lychee with rose petal, black sesame, jackfruit or durian... and more!

Tonight, we sampled the crepes with 2x scoops of ice-cream. The lychee flavour is sweet and creamy and has lovely bits of lychee all around. The cookies and cream is a classic which is hard to go wrong with.

Next was the Eastern Sunrise. The waffle cup was crispy and looked as pretty as a vase full of fresh flowers. It was ingenuinely glued to the plate with some honey. A scoop each of green tea, sticky rice and taro were mounted ontop of each other, with bits of banana, lychee and orange marrying up the flavours. My favourite has always been the green tea flavour as it particularly reminds me of the Japanese cuisine. The sticky rice was nice too... glutaneous grains of rice were a fascinating texture.

Visit Passionflower at Capitol Square.
Web: http://www.capitolsquare.com.au/html/passionflower.html

Vanilla Sundae cupcakes from Cupcakes on Pitt

The perfect end to a hearty dinner.

On the same night, after dining at Ichi ban Boshi, we strolled down to Darling Harbour's newest addition. The Lindt Cafe.

There were macarons...

and more macarons,

truffles,

and chocolates on display,

cakes,

and plenty more cakes!

This is the Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau. The menu descibed it as a layered vanilla bean cake with roasted nuts, gianduja and chocolate ganache. It was lovely... light and airy.

For lovers of rich chocolate... this is a uber moist cake made with 70% cocoa!

And my favourite of the three... Lindt's version of the black forest cake. Rich dark chocolate with kirsch infused cherries... mmmmm....

You might also want to check out my previous visit to their Martin Place store.

Lindt
124-125 Cockle Bay Wharf Sydney

It was Friday lunch, but I felt the weekend vibrations already. Or perhaps it was an early Three Thirtyitis attack. Whatever excuse it was... feel free to drool.

Cupcakes on Pitt
Shop 2, 323-327 Pitt Street Sydney
Phone: (02) 9264 4644
Web: http://www.cupcakesonpitt.com.au

Girls love pampering, chocolate and gossip. To finish off my heavenly weekend (keep in mind this was wayyyy back at the beginning of this month), I had a manicure and a pedicure... and then arranged for high tea with the girls. I love high tea. All of us turned up in pretty summer dresses and stuffed ourselves with enough sugar to last a year. We spoke about uni, work, family, partners, holidays and aspirations. Nora then joked about it being called 'high tea' because we were so high on sugar. But who could resist? Everything was mouth-watering goodness.

The warm foods were delectable morsels of pleasure. The home-baked pies consisted of chunky pieces of pumpkin, gravy and steak. And the rissoles were spiced with traceable bits of chorizo... so wholesome and rich.

High tea at Swissotel is a 2 hour marathon of fun. It runs between 2 - 4pm and is $29 on weekends, and $25 on weekdays.

High Tea
Crossroads Bar, Swissotel Sydney
Level 8, 68 Market Street
Phone: (02) 9238 8888

Merry Christmas! Last night, I was put in charge of our family's Christmas dinner. So instead of last year's roast, fresh prawns and lobster mornay, I decided to stock up on some oysters, scallops and green king prawns. I also did the gingerbread baking a day in advance!

Nothing beats fresh oysters with a few drops of Tabasco and a squeeze of lemon juice.

I adpated the Cashew-Crusted Prawns with Honey-Lemon Sauce recipe from the Coles Christmas Magazine. And instead of using cooked Australian Black Tiger Prawns, I opted for the uncooked Green King Prawns... The prawns were shelled and deveined , but I left the head and tail on (to look fancy).

1/2 cup plain flour
2 eggs
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
100g cashew nuts, chopped finely
18 king prawns, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup peanut oil
HONEY-LEMON SAUCE
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
50g butter

1. Place flour onto a plate. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and cashew nuts in a separate large bowl.
2. Dip each prawn in flour first, shaking off excess, then dip in egg wash and finally roll in breadcrumb mixture, pressing firmly to secure. Place on a tray sprinkled with breadcrumbs and put in fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes till slightly thickened.
4. Heat oil in non-stick pan over medium heat. Cook prawns in batches for 2 - 4 minutes each side til golden. Drain on paper towel. Serve with honey-lemon sauce.

For our mains, I turned to Al Dente La Collezione (published by Hardie Grant Books, for Barilla Australia) - a compilation of pasta dishes by chefs around Australia.

120ml olive oil
1 leek, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 red chillies, finely chopped
4 tablespoons of sundried tomatoes, chopped
120g napoletana sauce
100ml cream
2 tablespoons of chives, chopped
24 large scallops
2 tablespoons of cajun spice
500g fettuccine or tagliatelle
CORIANDER PESTO
1 bunch coriander leaves, washed and dried
3 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 tablespoon of toasted pine nuts
salt and ground black pepper to taste
60ml olive oil

1. To make the coriander pesto, blend all the ingredients in a food processor. With the motor running, drizzle the oil down the feed tube until all are combined.
2. Heat 60mls of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add leek, garlic and chilli and cook, stirring often, until the leek is transparent. Add the sundried tomatoes and Napoletana sauce and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce starts to reduce.
3. Pour in the cream and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the chives and season to taste.
4. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, pat the scallops dry with a clean tea-towel. Dust the scallops with Cajun spice.
5. Heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan until very hot. Cook the scallops in batches for 30 seconds on each side.
6. Drain the pasta and return to the saucepan. Add the sauce, and toss over a low heat until combined.
7. Arrange the pasta onto serving plats, and top with scallops and a dollop of pesto. Serve immediately.

And last but not least, for the gingerbread, I drew inspiration from Helen (GrabYourFork)'s post.

125g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons golden syrup
ICING
1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar
1 egg white
4 drops lemon juice
food colouring

1. Cream the butter and sugar
2. Add egg yolk and mix in remaining gingerbread ingredients.
3. Combine and keed until dought forms. Roll out dough and cut out shapes using cookie cutters or knife. Continue to remove excess dough for re-use.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in a moderate oven (180C).
5. Remove immediately and place on a cooling tray.
6. Whisk the egg white, then gradually add the icing sugar. Ensure that there are no lumps, then add lemon juice and food colouring.
7. Decorate as you like.

After the Night Noodle Markets, the remaining six of us Foodies strolled down to Sofitel Wentworth for a Sugar Hit.

The table was split in two when we voted upon the best of the three. It was the creme brulee versus the berry and milk chocolate terrine. To my disappointment, the stickiness and softness of the brulee's caramelised sugar, and the "sweating" terrine proved that the desserts had been prepared in advance. Nonetheless, I found it much more enjoyable than the Sugar Hit at Westin.

Sugar Hit is available 9 - 11pm every night during October - the Good Food Month.

Sofitel Wentworth
61-101 Phillip St, city
Phone: 9228 9157

Check out the other events covered by Sydney food bloggers.

Tagged with: gfm06

In search for some late night sweetness, Zen and I hunted down Sugar Hit at Westin, Sydney... and to my surprise, only one out of the three concierges knew what Sugar Hit was (and where it was at). The armchairs were big and comfy -however, not so practical for dining.

One small but tall ramekin of the brulee, a tiny spoonful of the sour-cherry compote, and a pint-sized biscott lay on each of the corners of a large glass plate... what happened to the portion-size to plate-size ratio?

Take me back to Park Hyatt any day!

Sugar Hit is available 9 - 11pm every night during October - the Good Food Month.

Westin Sydney
1 Martin Place, Sydney
Phone: 8223 1197

Check out the other events covered by Sydney food bloggers.

Tagged with: gfm06

So, it's already the second week into the 2006 Good Food Month, and this is only just my first encounter for the year... I promise there will be more!

Bookings are essential, says the website. But are they really? I scored fabulous window seats, with a stunning view to Sydney Harbour and the Opera House -without a booking. The waiter introduced the Sugar Hit tasting plate, took away our dying candle for replacement, and ensured us that he would "remove" the cockaroach which was creeping beneath my seat. A good ten minutes later, he turns with a bottle of Brown Brothers Moscato. No candle, and no removal of the pest. The Moscato was beautiful, it was so refreshing, sweet and fruity.

By the way, did I mentioned it was priced at only $15 including wine?

Sugar Hit is available 9 - 11pm every night during October - the Good Food Month.

harbourkitchen&bar
park hyatt sydney
No.7 hickson road the rocks, Sydney
telephone + 61 2 9256 1661
email hkbar@hyatt.com.au

Check out the other events covered by Sydney food bloggers.

Tagged with: gfm06

Chocolate is a girl's best friend... So suffering from Tuesdayitis, my chocoholic workmates and I power walked to the Lindt Concept Store and Cafe at Martins Place during another lunchtime adventure, with the hope of reviving our mentality. The store emphasized the royal nature of chocolate with glass cabinet displays, marble columns and sky high ceilings. The windows reached far up and created a heavenly atmosphere. I thought I was fantasizing, but perhaps this explains the glowing menu.

The cafe was filled with black power suits... and very little staff. As a result, the waiters/waitresses barely addressed our existence! However, once a table was available, I found that the service was very swift, maybe even a little too hurried.

I ordered the Chocolate and Caramel Poire.

The temptation took over as we stopped by the chocolate and cake displays on our way out. I felt like a little kid in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... but this was the place for adults to indulge (in moderation ofcourse).

Lindt Concept Store and Cafe
53 Martin Place, Sydney
Tel: 02 8257 1600

Thanks for the b'day card and these scrumptious chocs, Eyeblaster team!