Posts in Beauty

Lindt Dome of Decadence

Review August 24, 2013 6 Comments

I love how Lindt always comes up with new things! This time, it’s a cracker of a dessert that they’ve called the Lindt Dome of Decadence.

According to Marketing Director of Lindt Andrew Curran, there is a very deep seated psychology that has to do with people and eating chocolate. Apparently, chocolate enjoyers are divided into two categories: Controllers, and Indulgers. The controllers love to enjoy and savour their chocolate in small amounts, and the indulgers just love to dive head first into abundant amounts of the stuff.

Me? I think I’m a controller, but when it comes to Lindt, I could always do with just a little bit more.

But, before we get into the nitty gritty of the dome, Lindt prove themselves to be gracious hosts by greeting us with chocolate martinis and other, equally decadent food.

They’ve got Master Choclatiers on hand to answer all our questions.

And so we begin.

The dome is made of tempered Lindt Chocolate set into a mould.

A chocolate base gets a scattering of roasted hazelnuts, and then beautiful vanilla bean and white chocolate ice cream.

More hazelnuts, then the dome gets carefully placed onto the top.

Now, the fun bit. When you order a dome of decadence, you get a little pot of warm molten chocolate to yourself.

What happens next?

I could just look at that all day.

The molten chocolate coats the top of the dome before it collapses in on itself to reveal the beautiful ice cream within. This luxurious dessert is definitely made to share, and comes in three flavours – berry, salted caramel, and hazelnut. What can I say, except that this lives up to the Lindt stamp of excellence, and I love how it brings back a sense of theatre into dining.

So, are you an indulger or a controller? 😉

Note: Tammi of Insatiablemunchies was invited as a guest of Lindt Australia and Trish Nichol Agency

Cherry Bean Cafe, Eastwood

Review August 12, 2013 2 Comments

Eastwood is home to a plethora of different cafes and bakeries, and I LOVE IT. So one morning, before doing the groceries, a leisurely brunch seemed to be in order.

This quaint little cafe has an adorable decor, with wood grain tracing all over the walls of the cafe. It had a great ambience to kick back and have a chat with friends.

The big breakfast was a little pricey – it was about $15 – but the fare was decent. Everything that was meant to be hot, was hot, and everything that was meant to be crispy, was crispy.

We also had the Eggs Benedict.

This wasn’t the best breakfast by a long shot. I had asked for the eggs to be underdone, and the eggs were clearly overdone. The ham and muffin wasn’t actually toasted, and was left cold, and the wilted spinach was stringy and not silky like I expected. The hollandaise sauce was thick and creamy, but not actually buttery like it should be.

In all, the food was average, although a bit pricey, and the service was very dicey. A few of the staff members were quite friendly, but the person that was actually standing behind the counter was disinterested, dismissive, and looked like he really didn’t want to be there.

I wouldn’t mind taking away a coffee there again at some point, but I’m not that inspired to have another meal there any time soon.

We ate at:

Caffe Cherry Beans, Eastwood
Eastside Shopping Centre
Shop 201, 62-80 Rowe St.
Eastwood NSW 2122

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Japan City, Top Ryde

Review August 4, 2013 5 Comments

I always thought that Japan City was a gift shop. Really, I did. I used to walk by the one at the Westfield’s in Hornsby and stare at amazement at the utterly cute things in the window. Well, little did I know that it also had a sushi bar! Would the food be as adorable as the random gifts?

Well they were. The sushi was dainty and a comfortable mouthful, and packed full of flavour. The seafood was fresh and well balanced, and the service was polite and attentive. There wasn’t table service, but they were lovely and polite in seating the group before informing us that we need to order at the counter, and the food will be brought out to us.

We also ordered some gyoza and Japanese marinated eggplant, which were also quite delish. The food came out all at once, which was nice especially we were sharing, and the interior had a lovely bright atmosphere, filled with beautiful Japanese goodies.

In all, a pleasant experience, and one that I wouldn’t mind repeating again. I also loved the extra perk – they provided free wifi and let us sit and chat for as long as we wanted without trying to reclaim the table for other customers. Lovely, fresh and light.

We ate at:

Japan City Top Ryde Pty Ltd
(02) 9809 3001
Shop L1/ 109-129 Blaxland Rd
Ryde NSW 2112, Australia

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Product Talk: Maggi Stir Fry Creations

Review July 30, 2013

As part of Product Talk by Nuffnang I was sent some Maggi Stir Fry Creations to try. And we all know how I feel about receiving things in the mail. =)

Each pack comes with two sections: the infusion paste and the finishing sauce. You’re meant to marinate the meat in the infusion paste, then fry off your meat and veggies in the finishing sauce. The idea is that it gives you two layers of flavours, in the most speedy fashion possible.

The back of the packet calls for 500g of meat and about 3 cups of chopped veggies.

I love that the instructions are basically to throw whatever meat and veg in that you have on hand. It’s a great way to clear the fridge, and provides flexibility for whatever is in season. And a great way to get in your 5 fruit and veg in a day! Just fry the veg off in order of hardness to softness, and add the meat. Then the finishing sauce, and you’re done.

The result?

Well, I’m partial to slightly more punchy flavours, so these are a little on the light side for me. I did add a little more chilli and a dash more soy, but I suspect that it’s also because I added extra noodles in. On the whole, it’s a great idea for a super convenient lunch or dinner, especially if you’re not the kind of person to have a pantry cupboard full of random condiments – as I have. And as with anything, it is always easy to tweak things if you’ve got a decent base to start with. And it’s a decent enough base.

It also managed to create a portion that was enough for a big serving for 4, or a medium serving for 6. And with all the veggies I managed to pack in, I was plenty full on a medium serving anyway. Definitely something I would use as a base in a pinch.

Jazz City Milk Bar, Darlinghurst

Review July 16, 2013 4 Comments

Sometimes, dinner is such a mission.

After hearing so much about the Jazz City Diner and its decadent Southern goodness, I was chomping at the bit (literally, I was that hungry!) to get to this hole-in-the-wall delight that everyone’s been raving about.
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Zenya Ramen Bar, Eastwood

Review July 14, 2013

I’m not usually a soup person. As a child, I used to order noodle soups and then fish the noodle out, so that I get all of the flavour, but have the noodle cool much faster because it wasn’t sitting in soup getting soggy.

But experiencing winter – Singapore has no winter, only rain – in Australia actually inspires me to have soups. Noodle soups, rice soups (ochazuke anyone?), creamy soups, vegetable soups, bone soups…it’s all good to me. There’s something comforting about wrapping your hands around a warm boil of steaming food when your fingers are nearly numb from the cold.

Or you could have a cup of tea. Or coffee. But I like noodles.

And so I went to Zenya Ramen Bar in Eastwood, hoping that it would be a good local ramen bar that I can visit regularly. It being my first time, I decided to go with the Mini Set Menu, where you get a mini version of a couple of things, which allows you to try dishes across the menu! I specifically chose the Mini Ramen and Mini Donburi set, and from that I chose to have the Pork Ramen and the Karaage Don, with dessert and drink. ($16.80)

The ramen came first, and to be honest, it was pretty average. The egg – and you know that the ni-tamago can make or break a bowl of ramen for me – was slightly overdone and under-seasoned for me, the broth was average, and the noodles had a nice bite, but were also average. I did like the serving size though – it was actually the serving size of the meals I would have at home – and the price was not bad for the food, considering the amount of food you get for it.

Interestingly though, for a ramen bar, I much preferred the Karaage Don.

The fried chicken was crispy, not too greasy, and didn’t have a strong chickeny smell that you can get sometimes. Biting into it, it was juicy, fresh, crisp on the outside. My favourite bit though, was the mayo. Sweet, tangy, and just slightly spicy, the mayo completely made the dish for me. This set was actually ordered to share between two people – and there was more than enough to share – but I think I stole the lion’s share of this chicken.

Not knowing that the mini set was actually not entirely too mini, I also ordered a medium plate of mixed sashimi.

The seafood was fresh, and cut so that it was a pleasant mouthful – not so much that I can’t fit in my mouth, but not so small that I miss it completely and am left wanting more. Not the most unique dish, but great quality, and better than I expected.

In all, the food was only slightly better than average, and a good value for money. The service is truly special though, and though the staff might not speak perfect English, I really appreciated the way they interacted with us. For example, when they had to interrupt our conversation to ask if we had any last orders (it was a late dinner for us), they actually hung back till there was a break in the conversation, and then apologised for the interruption in a very gracious way.

I would (and have been) keep going back to Zenya, not so much for the ramen, but for the Donburi and the excellent service.

We ate at:

Zenya Noodle Bar
+61 2 9874 2122
217 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122, Australia

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Good Food and Wine Show, 2013

Review July 2, 2013 4 Comments

My stash: (Clockwise from left) Scarmoza Blanca from La Latteria, Colgate tea flavoured mouthwash, Kumquat spread from St Dalfour, Truffle Tapenade from Wine and Truffle Co., Flavoured salts from Smoke and Roast, Smoked garlic from Smoke and Roast, Porcini salt from Salt Meats Cheese.

FREE FOOD. Need I say more?

The Good Food and Wine Show is one of the bigger food expos that I attend every year. Beyond the aforementioned free food, I love the opportunity that I get to have a chat with small producers whom I might not otherwise get a chance to talk to, or might have to travel far to meet.

For example, meet Larry.

Larry is, in his own words, “the truck driver, the harvester, the everything” at the Handorf Hill Winery. Not having that much experience with wine – and not being very good with alcohol – I had many questions, and Larry patiently and eloquently explained to me the intricacies of the flavours and aromas of wine, and especially how the weather and microclimates affect them. The most interesting thing I learnt from Larry was the effect of the cool weather on tannins.

Tannins are compounds that are present in things like tea and wine, and contributes a certain kind of astringency that gives you that slightly dry feeling in your mouth. Because tannins are found in the grapes, the rate the grapes ripen will affect the amount of astringency that you get in your wine. From what I understand from Larry, the cooler Adelaide climates allow the grapes to ripen slowly, allowing the tannins to mellow out, resulting in a gentler wine. How cool is that?

There were also plenty of other producers:

ChocoMe had the most beautifully presented bars of chocolate I’d ever seen.

Robinvale estate, with their adorable graphics adorning their myriad of flavoured oils and vinegars.

Salumi Australia had a MASSIVE and impressive display of cured meats in every shape and form. And had these little cones at $5 a pop, besides the samples that they had on display.

Smoke and Roast had a very energetic spokesperson, and had the most beautiful-smelling smoked garlic and flavoured salts. He was sharing recipes left, right and centre and inspired me to try out his salts on a slow roasted pork belly. He said to different salts on different sections, to create a sort of rainbow of flavours, depending on which piece you eat.

The Wine and Truffle Co. had a great array of truffle products, and an impressive piece of truffle protected by a glass cloche. I was impressed that they could tell me off hand when the truffle was harvested – it’s very important to ask when buying truffles because truffles tend to go stale after about 10 days – and I loved the truffle tapenade so much that I bought one home for myself.

Kikkoman had a genius way of getting people to try their soy sauce – rather than getting people to dip crackers in (I’ve seen this happen, who gets people to try soy sauce with crackers?), they actually had little pieces of salmon and cucumber sushi for people to try with their sauce! I know it sounds simple, but I don’t think that I would’ve thought of that.

This is the most exciting bit of the day for me. Bohemian Delights had wild mushrooms out for sale, and there were samples of Slippery Jack mushrooms (right) which were simply sauteed with salt, pepper and some caraway seeds. SO DELICIOUS! There was also a man at the stall – the owner’s father – who told us that his wife uses Pine Nut mushrooms (left) in her goulash, instead of meat, before saying (with a wink in his eye) that Czech women make the best cooks.

And that was my Good Food and Wine experience. Did you go? Which were your favourite stands?

Prince Restaurant, Parramatta

Review June 12, 2013 3 Comments

I’ve heard many recommendations to try the Yum Cha at Prince Restaurant in Parramatta, and one Sunday, I decided to walk down there to get my Yum Cha fix.

It was extremely busy, and the hustle and bustle of ordering families and trolley ladies really got me excited for a great meal!!

A large hotplate of various delights greets you near the entrance, and I really love the look of the food being fried/cooked in front of you. It gives me a great feeling of immediacy of the hot steaming food.

The first thing that I absolutely have to order is the selection of rice noodle (Cheong fun) dishes. As previously mentioned, I have a certain thing for the steamed silky mouthfuls of prawn stuffed rice noodles. What I’ve recently discovered, though, is that I absolutely adore the fried version too! The fried version here came with a sesame/sweet dipping sauce, and each springy mouthful was an absolute delight.

I also ordered from their selection of dumplings.

The dumplings were all okay, but nothing absolutely fantastic. But then again, I have been spoiled for choice. The fried dumplings that they had here were okay, but I much prefer the ones my mother makes.

I know, spoiled right? 😉

Finally, no Yum Cha experience is complete without the order of Mango Pancakes!

Mango flavoured pancakes are wrapped around a soft filling of sweet, ripe mangoes and smooth creamy ice cream. Yum.

Considering that it’s a walking distance from home, it was an experience I would definitely repeat. The service, while sometimes slightly inattentive due to the business of the joint, was largely not bad! The food must also have been better than I remember, since most of the stuff I’ve eaten I seem to have forgotten to photograph! Goes to show how much a hungry tummy and make me slightly irresponsible in the food blogging department. =)

We ate at:
Prince Restaurant
(02) 9891 5777
100 Church Street
Parramatta NSW 2150

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Marmalade Pantry, Singapore

Review Singapore Travel June 5, 2013 1 Comment

I’ve long had a love affair with crustaceans of all types. And carbs, I love carbs too. So when they come together in something called Crabmeat Linguini, I am just about as close to heaven as I can get.

When I first heard about The Marmalade Pantry, I didn’t peg it for much of a savoury place. After all, the name to me conjures up image of scones and tea on a lazy afternoon in Autumn.

Well, I’m happy to admit that I was wrong. The Crabmeat Linguini is a must-order every time that I’m there, and the relatively large serving – my friend Yina and I shared a plate – means that you get to try other things on the menu as well. Chunks of mud crab are folded through a rich, tomato based sauce that is flecked with chilli and topped with a scattering of grated parmesan. It’s incredibly moreish, and you could very easily find yourself stuffed to the brim and on the brink of a food coma.

We also tried the Sticky Date Pudding. Warm, moist pudding, drizzled with caramel and paired with classic vanilla ice cream serving as a cold foil. It was definitely rich enough that I wouldn’t have finished a whole serve by myself, but it was fantastic to share.

The Marmalade Pantry is a great place to meet up at, and the service, while not drop dead fantastic, has always been consistently good. The savouries seem to have made more of an impact for me, but the sweets have always been decent enough. Worth dropping by for lunch if you’re spending a day shopping at Ion.

We ate at:

The Marmalade Pantry
Unit 03-22 ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn Singapore 238801
T: +65 6734 2700
F: +65 6734 2279
enquiry.city@themarmaladepantry.com.sg

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Ritzy Gritz Stone Grill, Kiama

Review May 28, 2013 1 Comment

Stone grill, coal grill…I think we can pretty much agree that meat + intense heat = AWESOME POWER OF DELICIOUSNESS! It’s a formula that has worked since caveman days, and it’s not about to stop working now.

Which is probably why Ritzy Gritz in Kiama is so popular! Sitting on Collins Street in Kiama, it is by far the busiest restaurant on that street on any given night. There was a good hour and a half wait on a Sunday evening for a table, because I didn’t think I needed to make a reservation. Even when we were seated at about 8.45, the restaurant was still packed to the brim with families and tourists alike.

To start with, we ordered Chorizo Tortilla Melt, $10. It’s quite a simple dish, really – a round of flat bread wedges is covered with oozy cheese, chorizo, seasoned tomato salsa, sour cream and then grilled to tasty perfection. It was a great start to the evening, and was just enough to whet our appetite.

And you can’t go to a stone grill without ordering a stone grill! Our Reef and Beef Stone Grill, $32 seemed like the best of both worlds because I could not in good conscience order both the meat grill AND the seafood grill. Although I totally would. Yes, I would.

IS THAT A CHALLENGE? I ACCEPT!

Sorry, I’ve been watching too much New Girl. Gotta love Schmitty.

Anyway.

Your meat is placed on a screaming hot piece of stone, and salt dusted over the top. The stone retains its heat amazingly well, and gives the steak a fantastic sear. You do have to season the meat further upon flipping it – meaning that you need to have some level of cooking know-how – and you need to also know how far you like your steak done, because you’re in charge of the cooking process. It’s quite smart, really – the restaurant doesn’t need to take responsibility for how well the dish is cooked because you’re doing the cooking, and it’s a lovely novelty and fantastic flavour because, as I mentioned before:

Meat + Intense Heat = AWESOME POWER OF DELICIOUSNESS.

It was a little on the pricey side for what we ate, but the food is tasty, and it is Kiama after all, and there’s not much competition. The service is decent and I really like how they were honest about how long you had to wait for a table. The food was fairly prompt for a busy night, and it was a nice vibrant atmosphere. Worth going to if you’re ever in Kiama.

We ate at:

Ritzy Gritz New Mexican Grill
40 Collins St Kiama NSW 2533
(02) 4232 1853

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