Random round-up!

Still in the throes of preparing for some great, big exams *stresses*. So here's another quick quickie post :D

Firstly - Pappa Roti opened in Strathfield yesterday! There's a special offer for a free bun with any drink purchased.

Very nice piping 

Sick of studying, I ventured out under the blazing sun and brought back one of the fluffiest buns I've ever seen. The smell was absolutely incredible. 

Despite trying to spend every waking minute cramming useless knowledge into my brain, I find the time to do some therapeutic baking. I made Portuguese egg custard tarts:

As well as my very first quiche, loaded with bacon, cheese and caramelised onions. Yum! I was supposed to take it to a revision session with some uni friends, but since the date passed and I didn't hear from any of them, I was - ahem - forced to eat most of it by myself.

The quiche got me in the mood to do some more fancy cooking. I don't know if this constitutes as "fancy" to other people, but for a rookie cook like myself it seemed quite involved. Those eggs Benedict from 2042 Deli & Cafe left me craving eggs for breakfast for the next few days, and I took it upon myself to replicate a cafe-style brekkie at home:

Pan-fried eggs with smoked trout, cream cheese, and sauteed baby spinach.

Last but not least, a trip to Balmain led to an impromptu visit to Adriano Zumbo's Patisserie...oh, who am I kidding. I drove to Balmain for the very purpose of acquiring some macarons. Or Zumbarons, as they're now apparently called. I gawked at the cake display:

And came away with three 'Zumbarons': 

Must. Go. Study. NOW!

Bourke Street Bakery, Surry Hills

Just as people have certain dishes they consider as "comfort food", I view Bourke Street Bakery as my very own security blanket, and a home away from home, if it isn't too presumptuous to say so.

At times, I would purposefully get off the bus a few stops earlier, just so I can walk past the bakery on my way to wherever it is I am going. Sometimes I would go in and grab a few things for lunch or a snack. On the rare occasions that I am actually not hungry, I am content to simply admire the window display of gigantic sourdough loaves, raisin snails, and (my personal favourite) the pain au chocolat.

The said pain au chocolat.

My friend Pumpkin Pie, a self-confessed Bourke Street Bakery aficionado, gave a somewhat embarrassed recount of the time she and her mother polished off half a loaf of sourdough, just the bread on its own, at lightning speed while sitting inside their car. I countered her story with one of my very own: myself and another friend, each clutching an armful of brown paper bags filled with baked goods sweet and savoury, stumbling over to the park across the street and wolfing down half of our purchases before our brain could even process what it was we were eating. And when it did start to process, the scent, sight and atmosphere of the moment only served to stimulate our appetites further, and we finished everything off at a more leisurely pace, agreeing at the end that this was one of the best eating experiences we have shared.

Toby the dog, who left the side of his master to watch us eat. This was his expression throughout the length of our meal, and would return to his face each time he was done devouring whatever we gave him from our bounty.

Amongst our purchases were two sausage rolls, a variety of sweet tarts and a pain au chocolat to have then and there, as well as a few loaves of various sourdough to take home (or just in case we were still hungry afterwards).

We started with the savoury: the sausage rolls.

Pork & fennel sausage roll

The pastry of the pork & fennel sausage roll was very, very buttery and flaky, as evidenced by the state of my shirt afterwards, but did not taste greasy at all - a true indication of the freshness of the ingredients used and the rapid turnover of goods at the bakery. The pork and fennel filling was juicy, aromatic and very well seasoned. I can say with certainty that this was the best sausage roll I've tasted up to that point in time.

Inside the pork & fennel sausage roll. Look at the beautiful colours of the pastry and filling.



The lamb, almond & harrisa sausage roll was similarly fresh, flaky and delectable. A sprinkle of what looked to be poppyseeds on top gave this a distinctly gourmet look. It tasted gourmet too! ;D

Lamb, almond & harrisa sausage roll.

The insides of the lamb, almond & harrisa sausage roll.

The sausage rolls were quite substantial in size, but we had just completed a long run and still had more than sufficient stomach space to accommodate desserts. So, without the slightest reprieve, we moved onto the sweets!

Ginger brulee tart

There's certainly no skimping on the ginger in the ginger brulee tart. The caramelized top tasted of deeply burnt sugar and ginger (a good thing!) and the custard underneath was smooth, wonderfully chilled, and held echoes of the gingery flavour.

Chocolate tart

The chocolate tart reminded me of a Twix chocolate bar. I maintain that Bourke Street Bakery has the best sweet tart crust (the recipe for which, if I recall correctly, may be found in the bakery's cookbook). It's not crumbly like shortbread, but very brittle, like a freshly made cannoli shell or the casing of a brandy snap. And tastes best when chilled, I reckon.

 Passion fruit meringue tart

The passion fruit meringue tart was definitely the stunner out of all the tarts in appearance. Perfect balance between the acidity of the passion fruit curd, and fluffy sweetness of the meringue.

Chocolate mousse and raspberry tart

The mousse component of the chocolate mousse and raspberry tart was very chocolatey, but not too sweet. The raspberry part was quite sour. They paired very well together.

Lemon curd tart

On the brink of a sugar coma, it was a good thing this lemon curd tart lived up to its name. The curd is indeed very sour and lemon-y, and may not necessarily be everyone's cuppa tea, but if you like a bit of bite to your desserts, do try this!

Oho, if we haven't scared you off yet with our gluttony, you should know that somehow, we managed to fit in a chocolate croissant as well!

Surely I am not the only one who sees a cute little piggy snout in this?!

And that was the end of our feast, I promise :D

Bourke Street Bakery

633 Bourke Street, Surry Hills.

Phone: (02) 9699 1011

Website: http://www.bourkestreetbakery.com.au/

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday: 7am - 6pm

Saturday & Sunday: 8am - 5pm

Hello Happy, Strathfield

The uni course I'm currently doing is structured differently to most degrees, so we end up having weird, random "holidays" while all my friends (who study different things, or are at different unis) are in the midst of preparing for their mid-sem exams. One MAJOR consequence of this is that I don't have anyone to hang out with. Not that that ought to be an issue, since these holidays aren't meant to be real holidays anyway. (Can you sense my bitterness?) I've written about it before, but I have some HUGE exams coming up at the end of this year, and as far as I know, the more studious amongst us are spending these holidays with their heads burrowed in their textbooks. I should be doing the same, but each time I sit down to do anything uni-related, I always get distracted by something on the internet. And, most of the time, it's food-related. *sigh*

Choco mousse dome

Case in point - two weeks ago, I was locked in the throes of some intense preparation for my end-of-course exam. My day consisted of getting up at 6am in the morning, shovelling down breakfast (I'm one of those weird people who wake up starving), and then plonking myself down in front of my computer for the next 12 hours in a desperate attempt to cram as much knowledge as possible into my tiny brain. I know you're probably thinking, "Wow, that's some dedication you had going on!" Yeah, I wish. You see, I'd plonk myself in front of my laptop with full intentions of spending the next 12 hours studying, where as in actual fact I'd get distracted within the hour and end up stalking people on Facebook. Or reading food blogs. Or running down to the local Hello Happy bakery for "brain food" while my family is out (since my mother disapproves of my love affair with pastries. Please don't tell on me.)

New York Cheesecake

On this occasion, I purchased the choco mousse dome and a slice of the New York cheesecake. I can't remember the exact price of each, but their cakes average around $3.80 - $5.00 per serving. More expensive than the ones from Chinese/Vietnamese bakeries, but cheaper compared to the European-style ones. Quite reasonable, I suppose. The choco mousse dome was everything I hoped for - creamy, light as a cloud, sweet and chocolatey.

Cross-section of the mousse dome. Excuse the mess on my desk.

The cheesecake, on the other hand, was a major letdown, tasting very dry and crumbly from being overbaked. I was in the mood for cheesecake on that day, but if I'd been so inclined to purchase anything from bakery, I most certainly would have gone for the almond croissant. Which I don't have a picture of, but trust me when I say that it is THE BEST ALMOND CROISSANT I've ever tasted. The flaky pastry absolutely shatters when you bite into it, and the almond filling is so wonderfully creamy and nutty...must get another one sometime soon, just so I'll have pictures for this blog ;P

Lindt Chocolat Cafe, Martin Place

I wistfully think back to those childhood times when I wouldn't have thought twice about having a thick slab of some generic chocolate mudcake for an after-school snack. These days, I tend to save my "chocolate allowance" for the more high-end stuff: a pretty choccy from Colefax or Belle Fleur, a square of Lindt Excellence 99%, a raspberry and chocolate mousse tart from Bourke Street Bakery etc. Remember, my friends - good food has no calories; only happiness :D

After spending half the day on my feet volunteering for a uni event, I was famished an in serious need of a sugar boost. My friend P., who was conveniently roaming the city on that day, suggested that we meet up for afternoon tea at the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place. Sounds good to me!

We chose a cake each as well as three scoops of Lindt ice cream to share between the two of us.

First up - the Opera cake. A firm favourite with my friend, who'd purchased the large version on numerous occasions for special events. In fact, she took home one on the day for her dad's birthday!

Looking at how beautifully thin and even each layer in the Opera cake was, it was obvious that the Lindt pastry chefs really were maîtres chocolatiers. According to the Lindt website, the gold leaf on top is 24-carats. Wow!

The cake I picked was the Chocolate & Pear Poire - milk chocolate mousse with a centre of caramelised pear and caramel mousse. Loved how everything was just melt-in-your-mouth, including the pear!

We were allowed to pick three flavours for our ice cream dessert. We decided on the Lindt Excellence 70% cocoa, Black Forest, and Cookies & Cream.

We both found the Excellence 70% to be strangely powdery in texture. The other two, however, were absolutely addictive. Especially the Black Forest, which tasted like it had pieces of chocolate sponge swirled into the ice cream.

Clearly our insulin response wasn't what it used to be, as we found ourselves teetering on the edge of a sugar coma after we licked the last dregs of melted ice cream from our spoons. Time was I could have polished off this whole lot by myself without feeling the least bit ill. Although, my heightened sensitivity to sugar may not necessarily be a bad thing :D

We had a quick wander around the shop.

Lindt chocolates.

Macarons known as "Delices".

Lindor Balls. Some of the flavours I've never come across before, like peanut butter (now my favourite). I brought home a bag of these.

Various cakes, in indiviual portions and the full-sized versions.

Lindt Excellence bars, including the 99% cocoa one(!!!). I've been looking for the 99% for ages. I bought it and tried a square later at home. INTENSE! Probably better suited to melting in a mug of hot chocolate or coffee (easy Mocha!) than eaten on its own.

Next time (and I do intend to return there), I'm going to try the waffles or a slice of the Wimbledon. Maybe both!

Lindt Chocolat Cafe

3 Martin Place (Cnr Phillip Street),

Sydney 2000 NSW
Phone: (02) 8257 1600

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday: 7.30am – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10am – 6pm 

Baroque Bistro + La Renaissance Patisserie, The Rocks

I've had some pretty good memories where La Renaissance Patisserie is involved. It is always with a great deal of excitement and anticipation that I go about grabbing a macaron or two, or a butter pain au chocolat from this patisserie in The Rocks after a Saturday morning spent browsing the market stalls in the area.

But more on that later. On this particular day, my very good friends C. and L., whom I have known for almost a decade now (and I'm 20 years old! - that's, like, half my life so far :D) were celebrating their 20th birthdays, and they invited myself and some others out to lunch at Baroque Bistro. Now, I didn't realise this until very recently, but Baroque Bistro is owned by the same Charkos family who run La Renaissance. Well, that explains the superlative quality of the food we were served!

I put it down to my very poor knowledge of French cuisine that I was expecting bistro food to be more or less on the same level as bar food - you know, a big plate of steak and chips, or chicken schnitzel. Or maybe bistro food is kinda like that, and Baroque is the exception to this. I found my dish of the confit lamb shoulder to be extremely delicate, in that all the flavours were distinct and no single one overpowered the others. And so beautifully presented too! Nothing like your steak 'n' chips :D

 Confit shoulder of lamb, eggplant, snowpeas, rosemary, lamb glaze, $29

Two of my friends ordered the roast of the day, which turned out to be chicken.  

Roast of the day (on Sundays), $25

One of the birthday girls chose a pea risotto, which she seemed to enjoy immensely. I'm not a risotta person (reminds me too much of mushy rice), but I liked the bite that I had.

Risotto (found on the 'Specials' menu) - I think it was $31

And finally, P., who is of a delicate constitution and has a stomach the size of a button, decided for some reason to brave an entire chunk of Wagyu brisket. It was hilarious seeing her face towards the end. I exchanged some of my lamb for a bit of the brisket, and my goodness it was deliciously fatty!

Slow cooked wagyu brisket, pearl barley, broccoli, wasabi, almond butter, $35

We also nibbled on crusty, warm baguette dipped in olive oil throughout the meal. As always, I went slightly nutso on the carbs.



Baroque Bistro has a pretty extensive dessert menu (no surprises there considering the affilitation with La Renaissance), but people had places to go and we disbanded after the last vestiges of our sumptuous meal were mopped clean from our plates.

But I had to get my post-lunch sugarfix some way, and others being present or not, I was determined to get a cake from La Renaissance. Yes, even after the serious amount of protein I had just ingested. I grabbed the only friend who was free to hang around, and off we went!

The extent of my gluttony and greed really shames me at times...but then I just eat a piece of cake to dull the annoying, nagging voice shouting "MODERATION!" in my head. I wanted to try every, single cake that was on offer, and it was only the limited cash in my wallet, rather than limited stomach space, which made me settle for a single serve of the Fleur de lys.

Fleur de lys, $9 (eat-in)

The first bite quelled the voice of reason in my head all right. In fact, it pretty much stopped all other thoughts save the one that went something along the lines of "OMGOMGOMG,keepeatinsogoodgottahaveanotherbitechocolatechocolatechocolate..."

The description of the cake on the patisserie website reads: "Valrhona “Guanaja” 70% chocolate mousse with a creamy “Guanaja” centre, crunchy praline and chocolate biscuit base." I have to say that, after the initial few breath-taking bites, I found myself yearning for more of a texture differential. It honestly felt like I was eating spoonfuls of chocolate ganache towards the end.

The friend I had with me, P.S., showed admirable restraint and opted for a much lighter fruit mousse cake.

Passion de Pierre, $7 (eat in)

"A light creamy passionfruit mousse, with a layer of raspberry jelly, encased in joconde and decorated with fresh seasonal fruit." I managed a cross-sectional shot, and a tiny taste, before P.S. took her time finishing this gorgeous creation.

What a terrific day this was. Good food + dear friends = a Sunday well spent!