Posts tagged Bloggers’ meetups

Fisherman’s Wharf Seafood Restaurant, Pyrmont, Sydney

Review May 7, 2011 7 Comments

The lovely Miss Piggy and Starloz organized a blogger’s meetup, and much MUCH food was consumed. We all went to Yum Cha at a restaurant and sat above the Sydney Fish Markets, and well, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Yes, that was our bill in the end. Though, considering that it was over 20 hungry food bloggers in attendance, it wasn’t a bad effort at all!!

The food, well, it was ok, but not particularly exquisite. I think that especially since I have to commute to the city, there’s no real draw for me to make another dedicated trip back by myself.

I did have a really good time though, and I think the whole experience made it really fun for me – the hustle and bustle as the trolley-pushing ladies jostled for our attention, cameras going off in every direction, plates and cups clinking…it all made for a very memorable day indeed.

A big thank you to our lovely organizers, and it was lovely to meet everyone!!! =)

We ate at:

Fisherman’s Wharf Seafood Restaurant
+61 2 9660 9888
Sydney Fish Markets Gipps St,
Pyrmont NSW
Mon – Fri: Yum Cha and A La Carte Lunch – 11am-3pm; Dinner 5pm-11pm
Sat – Sun: Yum Cha and A La Carte Lunch – 10am-3.30pm; Dinner – 5pm-11pm

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Fat Noodle, Pyrmont, Sydney

Review April 30, 2011 6 Comments

While the food was absolutely fantastic, I think what really made the dinner memorable was the company in which it was eaten. I had a really awesome time meeting and getting to know everyone. =)

I love blogger meetups.

We ate at:
Fat Noodle
Level 1
Star City Casino
80 Pyrmont Street
Pyrmont NSW 2009
1800 700 700

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Chinese New Year Part 2!

Review February 21, 2011 2 Comments

There were festivities a-plenty during the Chinese New Year period, and there was also one down the street from my place!

So Sean and I met up with Miss Piggy and her other half to try some tasty food!!

First up was Char Siew (Bbq Pork) Siew Yok from Sun Ming BBQ Restaurant. For $5 we got a takeaway container mixed with Barbecued Pork and Roast Pork.

It was incredibly cheap for a box of meat, but it was good meat. I’m generally happy when I go there to eat usually, and it’s great to see that the mixed meats were so popular that they were constantly replenishing with a freshly chopped supply.

The BBQ pork was sweet and firm and not too dry, but what I really enjoyed was the roast pork. The crackling. The mean might have been a little on the fatty side, but the crackling was absolutely divine.

It was definitely well worth the $5 a box.

They also sold really nice peking duck pancakes. They were nice, not as good as the Iron Chef ones, but still above average, especially for a festival like that.

And who can give up the sight of egg tarts!!

Personally I still prefer the Portuguese version, but these were still decent enough to satisfy my love/craving for them. The flaky pastry and the silky custard filling are a sure win for me anytime.

It wasn’t a large festival, but considering that it was down a short stretch of Church St South in Parramatta, it was still enjoyable enough, even with the offerings of gelato, spaghetti bolognese, and music that sounds like it came off a Zumba workout soundtrack.

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And so concludes the final part of my CNY bumper posts! I hope that you’ll have a good year ahead, filled with good food, good company, and good cheer.

So what did you get up to this Chinese New Year?

Sydney Xmas Food Blogger’s Picnic 2010

Food For Thought December 16, 2010 6 Comments

Camembert with Cranberry Sauce and Walnuts from Georgia at Bakery Bookery.

The Sydney Food Bloggers’ Xmas Picnic 2010 was such a blast! It was such a lovely feeling to unwind for an afternoon – especially when that new job has me so beat all the time! It was just food and friends, and a much-appreciated chance to chill out.

Orange and pistachio cupcakes from Angie at Angie Lives to Eat.

Mini chocolate Christmas puddings from Vivian at Vxdollface.

Chicken drumlettes from Josh and his mom at Belly Rumbles.

Strawberry Santas from Ayana at Absolutely Ayana.

Springrolls from Julie at I Dream in Chocolate.

Salmon Quiche from Clarissa at Eat My Shots.

Slow Cooked Ribs from Billy at A Table for Two.

Macaron tree from Cleony at I eat sweet.

Pork and Brie rissoles from Simon at The Heart of Food.

And then there was the Kris Kringle!! Everyone had to bring a gift worth not more than $10, and contribute them to the pile. I contributed some homemade jam (which I had second thoughts about after I saw all the other cooler things that came out of the pile) that Peter got. I’m so glad that he liked it! =)

There were also Ninjabread cookie cutters that everyone fought over.

Thanks to Chocolatesuze and Grabyourfork for organizing!! I had a lovely time. =)

P.S. Sorry for the rather taciturn post. I was just really exhausted for the most of it. Also sorry that I don’t have everyone’s dishes down pat!! If you’d like to pop me an email or a comment ‘claiming’ your dish, please do and I’ll make the edits. Thanks guys!

Nuffnang Christmas Party!!

Review November 19, 2010

Went to the “Blue Hawaii” themed Nuffnang Christmas Party at the Bavarian Bier Cafe! Just as a note for anyone who is going to BBC in the city, there are two – I actually went to the wrong one. =( (Sorry to Cate and Ann who waited for me!!)

There was a prize for most Hawaiian, of course, and I dressed up too, but Cate definitely took the prize with her inflatable palm tree!! Congrats!

She won a blue Shuffle for her efforts. =)

There was a bar tab too, but as mentioned before, I can’t drink beer. They had interesting selections of Lychee and Peach though! And served in a very cocktail-looking glass!

And the food. I missed out on the cheese platter, but I had the vegetarian platter, and a meat one.

The Mushroom and Garlic Flemmenbrot was absolutely divine, with its buttery mushrooms and crisp base. A little cold, but still AWESOME! Definitely one of the more memorable bites of the night.

The rosti was tasty, but really, no one can go wrong with a rosti!! Mmm potato.

I’m not quite sure what this was, but I remember tasting avocado, and that it was fruity and light. Very refreshing when you’ve had the meat platter (coming soon my lovelies!).

I’m not quite sure what this was too – but it was quite nice. Nothing memorable though.

And finally…

The MEAT PLATTER!

A selection of schnitzel, potato wedges and…

PORK BELLY. Juicy pork belly with its succulent meat and crispy cracking. And the sauerkraut. YUM.

This, and my previous experience with the BBC has told me that their pork belly is definitely worth paying for. Time and time again, it’s never failed.

Man this will haunt my dreams tonight.

We ate at:

Bavarian Bier Cafe
16 O’Connell Street Sydney, NSW 2000
02 9221 0100

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Food Bloggers’ Picnic

Food For Thought October 9, 2010 20 Comments

Went to the food bloggers’ mad hatter-themed picnic today!! Yes, that is my hat. Photo thanks to Billy, from A Table for Two, who also organized the whole event (*edit*) with Karen from Citrus and Candy(*end of edit. I can’t believe I missed her out. I’m so sorry Karen!!”). I won craziest hat!! If you want to make it, here’s the youtube tutorial. So happy. I won a Beef and Beer Masterclass for two at Mumu grill! hehe. =) There were heaps of prizes, including a Kitchen Aid for best dish! Naturally, just about everyone had an entry.

So yes. Bloggers started arriving, carry all sorts of goodies!!

Group shot! And how’s this for coincidence? Third from the left is my primary school classmate!! How cool is that? She’s the blogger behind Nommynomnom. And in the far right is Anna from Diary of a Ladybird.

And there was a Pinata!

And there were hats galore!! Phuoc from Phuoc’n Delicious had a candy hat!! And we picked the candy off it after the picnic.

And the lovely Anita from noredmeat!

Rosalind from Rasarosa made this lovely hat and some really good kueh!! Hats off for her patience – Kaya is notoriously hard to make.

And my entry for the food competition was Tea-ramisu served in chocolate teacups!

I made the teacups by following this youtube tutorial, with a twist. I piped chocolate handles then ‘welded’ them on after. For the filling, I soaked sponge fingers in black rose and french vanilla tea (instead of coffee) and made the filling with home-made mascarpone! (That I learnt from a cheese making class that I attended, post to come soon.)

And the food, glorious food!!! When you go to a food bloggers’ picnic, you know that you’d be well fed.

Anna made this lovely chocolate cake with salted caramel (yum!!) and it had a beautiful picnic scene that is made out of fondant! She won the best sweet dish. =)

Sook Ching made these oh-so-cute Cookie Monster cupcakes!! I forgot to mention that one of the categories is best ‘blue’ dish, and this was pretty blue!

Gianna from The Empty Fridge won runner up for craziest hat, and she brought a blue Sangria (which matches her hat lol). Her lamb pies were SO AWESOME though. Lamb mince encased in puff pastry with olives and sun dried tomatoes. Mmm.

Simon from The Heart of Food had slow cooked pork with bourbon sauce. Mmm that tangy sauce. *salivates* I feel so greedy for admitting this, but I actually took home leftovers! Sandwiches here I come!

The girls from Sugarlace even dressed up!! How pretty is that?

And Billy was nicely modeling the handbag that they brought!! lollllll.

And after all the eating, it’s time for the prize giving, with the three judges!

And of course, the poor pinata that had to die. He had a dinner voucher that Sexyninjamonkey won.

And the best dish of the picnic, and winner of the Kitchen Aid is……

Anita from noredmeat!!!! Her thai fish cakes were DA BOMB. They also happened to disappear in seconds.

She also made this caramel slice with popping candy that she didn’t bring out earlier because she thought that they weren’t “Kitchen Aid worthy”. As if! These were really yummy too, and I have two sitting in my fridge for tomorrow. =)

It was such a good day. Great weather (for me, I love cold weather), great food, and best of all, great company. =) And I do so love a themed party.

A big thanks to Billy, Karen and Nuffnang for organizing it all, and for the lovely prizes that were there to be won!! =)

Nuffnang Blogger Meetup

Review September 29, 2010 6 Comments

I went to the Nuffnang food blogger’s meetup on Saturday!! It was so exciting that I finally get to meet other food bloggers. Never have I had such a thoroughly enjoyable time listening to and taking in the atmosphere of food conversations all around me, punctuated by the sound of clinking cutlery and the roll of the lazy susan, the humid steam rising off steel trolleys permeating the air.

It was so interesting to see two full tables of people taking endless photos of the food as it arrived. I think the lazy susan went round a couple of times before the food was even touched. It was so cool!! Everyone had their turn to get their shot, and no one got impatient. I’m still bowled over by the understanding.

First came the dessert tray (remember, dessert spelled backwards is “stressed”), and we got some custard buns off it.

The custard was sweet, but not egg-y, and I really liked the crumbly topping that they put on the buns. It reminds me of this coffee bun that you can get in Singapore and Malaysia, that has a similar crumbly, buttery topping that absolutely melts in your mouth.

And speaking of melt in your mouth, the Cheong Fun is my must-order at any Yum Cha restaurant.

As loathe as I am to admit it, the glutton in me sometimes lies awake at night dreaming of those smooth, silky sheets of steamed rice noodles encasing plump sweet prawns, all basking in a pool of dark sweet-salty sauce. MUST. HAVE. MORE.

I didn’t have the Char Siew Buns, but they looked so pretty with their sweet glaze that I had to snap a photo of them.

And then the steam baskets arrive.

I love LOVE chicken feet. (Ok, that sounded a bit odd, but in my defense, in Mandarin it’s 凤爪, which means “Phoenix’s claw”.) The wrinkly skin slide off and taste of the rich, spiced broth that it’s been cooked in. Heavenly.

What I truly love about a good Har Gow (prawn dumpling, if literally translated) is the skin. The translucent encasement lovingly clings for a brief moment as you bite into it, before tearing off into a succulent mouthful with a good amount of bite. The filling has to be good too, of course, but to me, the art is in the skin. It can’t be mushy, but it can’t be too resistant to a hungry mouth either.

The mango pancake was creamy, with a good amount of juicy mango. I’m sorry I can’t say too much about them though, I haven’t yet had a mango pancake that completely blows my mind.

Now the 豆花 (Douhua) is truly lovely. Warm silky layers of toufu drizzled with a ginger laced sugar syrup. It looks so deceptively simple too!

On a side note, I just realised that I was so pre-occupied in taking photos of the food that I completely forgot to take some photos of the people. -.-

In all it was a really nice time meeting people of like mind. It’s lovely to see other foodies like Cate, Suze, Simon and many others!

Thanks to Nuffnang for organizing the meetup!!

We ate at:

The Regal Restaurant
Tel: 92618988
Levels 4 & 5,
683-689 George Street, Sydney