Posts tagged Bakery

De…Luxe Woollahra

Review
Sydney Food Blog Review of Luxe, Wollahra

Sydney Food Blog Review of Luxe, Wollahra

From cafe, to bakery, to restaurant, Sydney’s Luxe seems intent on TAKING OVER THE WORLD. Okay, maybe I’ve been watching one too many action movies, but you get the idea.

Luxe started from a little cafe in Westfield’s Bondi, and then proceeded to open a bakery in Newtown to control the quality of the baked goods they serve. And now, they’ve moved on to restaurants, opening the first one in Singapore earlier this year, and now a beautiful location in Woollahra accented in white and gold.

Very…lux!

Sydney Food Blog Review of Luxe, Wollahra: Grilled Octopus with Chui's XO SauceGrilled Octopus with Chui’s XO Sauce

And with Chef Chui Lee Luk on board – whom I had previously met at Asia Town – I jumped at the invite to sample their new winter menu.

We started off with Grilled Octopus with Chui’s XO Sauce. Tender pieces of octopus are balanced with cooked capsicum, and Chui’s take on the omnipresent XO sauce that is used everywhere in Asian cooking. Traditionally, XO sauce is made with dried shrimp, scallops, chinese dried ham, chilli, garlic and ginger (amongst the bazillion other ingredients that could be in there). Here, Chui uses bacon instead of chinese ham to echo the other parts of the Luxe menu that already uses bacon.

And really, there’s always a reason to use bacon.

Sydney Food Blog Review of Luxe, Wollahra: Roasted Barramundi, Plum Pickled Eggplant, Ginger Butter Sauce. Roasted Barramundi, Plum Pickled Eggplant, Ginger Butter Sauce

For mains, we were served up the Roasted Barramundi, Plum Pickled Eggplant and Ginger Butter Sauce, and Balsamic Glazed Duck to share.

Sydney Food Blog Review of Luxe, Wollahra: Balsamic Glazed DuckBalsamic Glazed Duck

And of course, veggies, because…something something balanced diet.

Sydney Food Blog Review of Luxe, Wollahra: Broccoli and HazelnutsBroccoli and Hazelnuts

Sydney Food Blog Review of Luxe, Wollahra: Luxe SlawLuxe Slaw

Chui has extensive experience as a chef and an intimate understanding of Asian ingredients, and it definitely shows in the conception and execution of this menu. The umeboshi (Japanese plum) pickled eggplant delivered pops of tartness which made the Roasted Barramundi incredibly more-ish, and the slaw and broccoli lightened up the rich, dark balsamic glazed duck.

Sydney Food Blog Review of Luxe, Wollahra: Pear and Apple Tart Pear and Apple Tart

And even though we ate SO MUCH – I can’t help myself – I actually walked away still feeling light and food coma-free! Even with a Pear and Apple Tart for dessert, it was a nice kind of full. I would have liked to see more Asian elements from Chui given that I know how well she can manipulate the ingredients, but it’s really decent food in very posh surroundings. I really liked how they married the “luxe” decor with a relaxed cafe style service, and a menu that sits somewhere in-between.

If this is the winter menu, I really need to go back and have a look at their lunch!

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Luxe Woollahra.
Luxe Woollahra
118 Queen St
Woollahra, NSW
Website: http://luxesydney.com.au

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Amazing Hidden Gems in Sydney

Food Guides 2 Comments
Amazing Hidden Gems in Sydney

Sydney has always been quite the foodie’s paradise, with many cultures converging into this melting pot of a city, with some of the best produce I’ve seen in the world, to boot. And with the stampede of foodies hunting down every amazing eatery in town, it can be easy to think that there’s nothing really left to be discovered in Sydney.

Well, fear not, because I’ve found a couple of hidden gems in Sydney’s crevices, and armed with a true passion for amazing food and service, they’re putting the ‘hospitable’ back in the hospitality industry.

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Drive-by Eating: Lim’s Hot Bread, Eastwood

Review 3 Comments
Vietnamese Pork Roll with Cucumber, Coriander, Spring Onion, Mayo, Paté, and plenty of pickled carrots

You know those days when you just have to grab food on the run? Where you’re walking while you’re eating, trying not to spill random bits of a sandwich down your shirt? Those are the days that I call Drive-by eating, where the ol’ grab-and-run is the order of the day. I find that Vietnamese pork rolls are one of the best options for this: it’s compact, flavourful, filling, and served in a paper bag that catches all the errant sandwich fall-outs. Which is why I always find myself at my local bakery, en route to my weekly grocery shop.

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Bread-ucation!!

Recipe 2 Comments

Bread is one of those things – you’re not guaranteed a result even if you are given the recipe. It takes technique, with the right recipe and the right conditions, to achieve the fluffy interior and crusty exterior that is the holy grail of white bread.

I’ve dabbled with bread on and off over the years, but I knew that I would absolutely get back to figuring this culinary puzzle out if it was the last thing I did!!

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Leonard’s Bakery, Hawaii

Hawaii Review Travel 3 Comments
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You’re walking down Hawaii’s eat street – Kapahulu Avenue – after a full dinner. The night life is bustling, and people are spilling onto the street. At the end of the road, a neon sign beckons you, like the neon signs of Vegas calls to gamblers in the wee hours of the night.

“Come,” it says, “I have doughnuts.”

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Malasadas, to be more exact, are a Portuguese dessert that consists of deep fried balls of yeast dough that are then coated in sugar. Variations – which are the spice of life – include different coatings (Original, Cinnamon and Li Hing – which is the flavour of Chinese dried plums), and fillings like Custard, Haupia (Coconut) and Dobash (Chocolate).

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You can hardly go wrong with deep fried balls of dough, and Leonard’s Bakery is all kinds of right. They take your order, and deep fry them on demand, so you always get hot Malasadas. A crispy toasty ball of goodness is encrusted with sugar, and gives me the kind of high that rivals the memories of being a kid. I also love the filled Malasadas, which add a velvety custard-based filling to this deep fried cloud of decadence. If you’re in Hawaii, do try their flavour of the month – I had macademia whilst I was there, and while it didn’t taste overwhelmingly like macadamias, it was still a delicious creamy filling.

Mmmm..doughnuts.