(Random, I know, but bear with me and I promise you there'll be plenty o' pretty food pictures later on).
Now, I have a major problem with the assertion that dieting is the single most effective way to lose weight. First and foremost, it completely undermines any justification I can put forth for ingesting something like this:
On a more serious note, though - I believe that this kind of thinking encourages drastic dieting, which has the potential to turn into disordered eating. Are there honestly people out there - intelligent people - recommending that we should sit on our asses all day withering away like plucked flowers?
As most of you ladies out there can attest to (and maybe some of you gentlemen as well), dieting is never fun. And if you've never dieted in your life, trust me on this one. You see, it was only slightly more than a year ago that my doctor sat me down and gave me a firm talking-to about my weight. And I wasn't just a little overweight either. I was so overweight that I had high blood pressure, sleep apnea, a constantly elevated heart rate, breathlessness on the slightest exertion...basically, the entire metabolic syndrome. I was also so out of shape that running up the ramp to catch a train would make me break out in a full-body sweat and bring on wave after wave of nausea. Not a pretty picture. Especially for my poor, fellow passengers.
Long story short, I followed my doctor's advice and started on a strict diet. For the first six months, I basically lived off of lean protein, leafy greens, and low-fat yoghurt. The weight disappeared...but so did my happiness. I felt like life had lost all meaning. I honestly believe that I'm one of those people who were born to eat. The notion of eating only for sustenance is a completely incredible and foreign one to me. I eat for the texture. I eat for the variety. But, most importantly, I eat for the companionship that can only come from carving slabs out of a chocolate and peanut butter mudcake with a gaggle of girlfriends.
So imagine my delight when I discovered the magic of exercise. I could now rekindle my love affair with food, while still staving off the onslaught of weight-related diseases. I am now in the best shape of my life, and recently ran the entire way home from the city, covering a distance of 13.5km. I couldn't have done that a year ago, and wouldn't be able to do so now had I relied on a strict low-calorie diet to maintain my weight.
The whole point of that little sojourn into my medical history is to illustrate the importance of finding a balance in life. Maybe I would be a lot thinner and fit into smaller clothing sizes if I didn't go on planned "eating trips" every single week (read: every other day), but that's not my agenda in life. My purpose is to ENJOY the gift of life, and to make the most of my appetite while I still have all my real teeth. Just sayin'.
Gluttony (in moderation!) is how I choose to live my life. I'm sure all serious food lovers out there would agree!
Now, onto the food!
Last week, I finally had a chance to check out the food court on Level 5 of the ultra-modern Pitt St Westfield. After much browsing, my friend and I settled on sharing a Wagyu Reuben sandwich from Reuben & Moore, with plans to grab something else afterwards if we were still hungry. 'The Reuben' is chef Michael Moore's take on a New York specialty, and features Wagyu beef as the meat filling.
Unfortunately, both my friend and I found the sandwich (which costed a whopping $13.50, with fries) to be most unsatisfactory. The rye bread was so soft that the juices from the beef made it soggy, and the over-generous portions of saukeraut, pickles and mustard completely overwhelmed the taste of the Wagyu beef. And the whole thing was just too salty. Salty beef, salty pickles, salty sauces. Neither of us finished our share. The shoestring fries were met with enthusiasm, though :D But for a sandwich that price, we really were expecting something spectacular, and this fell way short of our expectations.
This was the best cake I've had in a very long time. I took time to savour each individual layer, and the sheer variety of flavours and textures was just incredible. From the smooth, dark chocolate ganache to the lightly whipped and buttery hazelnut buttercream, this tiny morsel was worth every cent of the $3.00 I paid for it. How beautiful is that white chocolate shard on top? I'm interested in getting my hands on a chocolate transfer sheet with a musical pattern like that. Dunno what I'd do with it, but I still want it!
I then moved onto the macarons, and got two from Via del corso - a peppermint one and the Gianduja, which tasted like a Ferrero Rocher!
To wrap things up, I got a single scoop of the chocolate sorbet from Via del corso (see first picture). Even though chocolate sorbet does not contain any form of dairy, I found the whole thing too rich and sweet, and uncharacteristically, couldn't finish the whole scoop :( It tasted like really cold pure chocolate ganache. Even tried eating a cup of ganache with a spoon? The first few bites were absolutely euphoria-inducing, but then the sugar headache started to set in. I think my friend may have been slightly horrified that I even got through as much as I did, lol :D
Food fest over, I proceeded to go nail polish shopping with my uber-chic friend. We then walked back to her apartment and I handed her some of my stuff to safe-keep. You see, I was a woman on a mission. And my mission was to make my way home from the city on foot! And so I ran. And ran. And ran. I ran through traffic lights. I ran along the stretch of Parramatta Rd. I crossed from side to side of the road various times. I stopped for nourishment at a bakery in Ashfield (take that, you 'food as reward' naysayers!). I knew the end was in sight at that point. I kept running, and running, and running...until I found myself facing the door to my home. I'd made it, and couldn't have been prouder of myself at that point!
Eat, exercise, and be merry!
Level 5 Food Court, Westfield Sydney ('Food on Five')
Cnr Pitt St Mall and Market St Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 8236 9200
Website: http://westfield.com.au/sydney/store-profiles/cafes-restaurants/level5
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