January- After finishing my extended thesis in late 2010, I organised the trip of my lifetime where I travelled to the USA/Europe/Hong Kong. It was the perfect reward after a tough Honours year and I enjoyed every second of it. See my post about aeroplane food. In this month, I relocated to Canberra for a work grad program.
February/March/April/May- I began my first full-time job. Being new to Canberra, I socialised rampantly, ate and drunk maybe a bit excessively. The grad program's 'honeymoon period' eventually wore off and people stopped going out as much. Work became the centre of my life and I didn't have any outlet for creativity or self-expression... so I started up this blog!!! See my first post.
Juneish/July- My flatmate and I hosted a massive afternoon tea for our Canberra friends. She went overseas and left the apartment all to myself. I contemplated throwing wild tequila parties where I'd encourage my guests to lick the salt crystal lamp in the apartment, invite homeless people over where we'd strip and dance.
I kept myself occupied by visiting Sydney a lot. There I enjoyed home food and hung out with friends. A few of my Sydney friends visited me in Canberra, including Milly and Jacqui. This definitely cheered me up from the Canberra cold.
August- During the few months up to August 2011, I was appealing the mark that I received for Honours. Theses normally take 9 months, but I my whole journey with my thesis and the body of research spanned over 2 years. I tackled barrier after barrier in university and government politics, structures and bureaucracy. The appeal was the icing on the cake as it was rejected by the university. I was so tired of fighting for what I believed in. I felt that no matter how much blood, sweat and tears I put into something, there are sometimes structural forces that work against me. In August, work in Canberra was also very stressful and I had a few personal things going on.
Nevertheless, writing for this food blog was the easiest thing in my life. I would: take photos, write, my post would get published and friends/family read my blog.
I needed to get back on my feet and to combat the biting Canberra cold. I made warm food such as daal kofta curry. Luckily, there were things to keep me busy in Sydney. I visited the city to show around a friend from America and for my graduation.
September- The weather warmed up, more events were going on and I enjoyed food outdoors.
October/November- I disappeared from this blog as I immersed myself in work travels, social events and volunteering to organise a wine tour. November was the anniversary of when my long-time best friend passed away. I took it more harshly in 2011 than normal, because I missed sharing things with my friends, being able to love them, chilling and being myself. I tried to make a life for myself in Canberra and the pictures show this.
December- Everything work-wise quietened down but my social life went nuts. I realised that where ever I live or travel to, to some extent, I somehow recreated similar lifestyles in each location. I spent time with my closest friends and ate out at every chance to laugh about this. All the opportunities to take food photos made become a bit addicted to this blog. It was the festive season after all!
xo
Saturday, December 31, 2011
macarons at the the cupcake bakery
The instance I bit into the strawberry macaron from the Cupcake Bakery, I knew it was a bad choice. The macaron's exterior shell was tough and the centre of the biscuit was as chewy as hard bubblegum. The chocolate ganache was also difficult to bite into. If this ganache was used on a cake, I doubt the dessert spoon would be able to cut through it.
The macaron was a waste of calories. Sorry. The cupcakes in the Cupcake Bakery aren't bad. It's probably best for this franchise to stick to their day job - cupcakes, not macarons.
Cupcake Bakery
Parramatta Westfield
Parramatta, Sydney
Emma's on Liberty Lebanese Eatery
I lived in Sydney for the majority of my life. Living in Canberra allowed me to realise that travelling overseas, or the strong desire to, is a well-pronounced trend among most of my friends more so than other Gen Y people. Not all Gen Y people want to do this or have the finances to do so. It feel fortunate to have seen what I have overseas, but I also feel like a spoilt brat.
Yonks ago, two of my friends had a farewell dinner at Emma's on Liberty in Enmore. I think it was the first time I had Lebanese food outside a takeaway shop - haha.
We had the typical falafel and tabouli. It felt odd to eat falafel with a fork and knife, but I realised that there is more to falafel than the stuff in kebab shops. I had fried cauliflower for the first time and it was amazing (essentially cauliflower lightly fried in spices). I thought: 'What? Cauliflower doesn't have to be in a wet stirfry but just be cooked with dry spices?!?!'
I have fond memories of the Ladies Fingers, which were filo pastry rolls, filled with lamb, pine nuts and pomegranate molasses. The fillings were sophisticated but a bit heavy. I brought some away in a takeaway container, and the fat of the lamb just hardened up. Some foods aren't suitable for takeaway :S. But I loved the casualness of the rolls and being able to eat with my hands.
And for dessert, we had baklava and turkish coffee. Delicious and difficult to share!
Yonks ago, two of my friends had a farewell dinner at Emma's on Liberty in Enmore. I think it was the first time I had Lebanese food outside a takeaway shop - haha.
We had the typical falafel and tabouli. It felt odd to eat falafel with a fork and knife, but I realised that there is more to falafel than the stuff in kebab shops. I had fried cauliflower for the first time and it was amazing (essentially cauliflower lightly fried in spices). I thought: 'What? Cauliflower doesn't have to be in a wet stirfry but just be cooked with dry spices?!?!'
I have fond memories of the Ladies Fingers, which were filo pastry rolls, filled with lamb, pine nuts and pomegranate molasses. The fillings were sophisticated but a bit heavy. I brought some away in a takeaway container, and the fat of the lamb just hardened up. Some foods aren't suitable for takeaway :S. But I loved the casualness of the rolls and being able to eat with my hands.
And for dessert, we had baklava and turkish coffee. Delicious and difficult to share!
Emma's on Liberty: Lebanese Eatery
59a Liberty StEnmore, Sydney
The Last Emperor exhibition and Mamak
One of my Sydney neighbours volunteers for the Art Gallery of New South Wales and kindly offered me two tickets to the opening exhibition of The Last Emperor at the Gallery. This was one year ago. I grabbed this opportunity as it was the day after my thesis was due and I was in SERIOUS SERIOUS SERIOUS need of alcohol (i have my priorities in order).
The exhibition was okay... in fact, I thought it was over-rated. There were tons of people, which was a shock to my system after being 'hermitted' (adj) in my bedroom for months. We queued up for the exhibition, which contained heaps of tiny Chinese artefacts and a few terracotta warriors. I like reading and studying about history and mostly respect galleries, but this exhibition was a bit boring. Knowing that thousands of terracotta warriors exist, the sight of just a few didn't excite me. Maybe my judgement is misinformed, uneducated about how the exhibition was put together. But the exhibition per se didn't do it for me. Maybe a 'taster' of Forbidden City wasn't enough.
Oh yes, and we went to Mamak, a popular Malaysian Restaurant. The food was flavoursome, filling and different to what I normally eat. Mind you, I can't stand really hot curries and welled up in tears throughout the night. I was amazed by the puffy roti (top left hand corner). In real-time, it looks massive but I could eat it like crack on a stick.
Mamak
15 Goulburn Street
Haymarket, Sydney
Friday, December 30, 2011
high tea at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
In 2010, I received a membership to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. One of the benefits of being a member is having vouchers for gallery events and tours. I wanted to share this with my friends so I invited them to an tour of Art & Soul accompanied by high tea.
I enjoyed the combination of food offered for high tea. However, at $35 for members, you get what you pay for. The dishes were commonplace, not necessarily made on site and rough around the edges.
We started with a pumpkin soup and a mini sausage roll with rockmelon/proscuitto. Crustless sandwiches had either roasted veges/feta (just like your typical panini at the local take away shop) or curry chicken of some sort. Although the sweets were aesthetically appealing, they were the key downfall of the tea. The cakes were clearly pre-packaged, scones were hard/dry (I can make better) and the macarons could have been skipped as they were a bit stale or hard.
Okay, to step down from my high horse, the high tea was just a bit of fun, and at least my friends got to experience it. I have high expectations for high tea and should understand that not all high teas are equal. It was good for what it was. After all, the art in the gallery should out shine the food.
Art Gallery Road
The Domain, Sydney
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/
Almustafa Lebanese Restaurant (Glebe)
Looking back at all my food pictures and preferences, I'm starting to think that I'm a tad obsessed with Middle Eastern/ Lebanese/ Turkish cuisine. Maybe I fancy their use of chickpeas, or I crave a refined version of falafel. I also crave baklava at random parts of the day (after a work lunch, when eating salad, going for walks)- maybe I love the complexity of take away baklava. Whatever it is, it is yum and I should stop trying to pin-point my taste through self-analysis.
The Almustafa Lebanese Restaurant in Glebe was lively but had intimate mood lighting, bustling but guests could have {{private conversations}}. We ordered Baba Ganouge, Falafel, Vine leaves and Shishbarak (Pan fried pastry ravioli filled with lamb, pine nuts, and onion, served in a sauce of yoghurt, coriander and garlic and on the side, white baked rice with vermicelli noodle). This last dish I remember being amazing and something I've never tasted before.
Each dish was presented beautifully and had sufficient (and interesting) sides to complement the star act. There's absolutely nothing that I could complain about.
As the night went on, belly dancers came out onto the restaurant floor to entertain the restaurant guests! This was a lovely surprise. Some guests probably felt that it added to the authenticity of the restaurant. I kinda felt like a tourist (note that Glebe isn't really a tourist hot-spot, so I'm probably just being a sceptic).
I'd definitely go to this restaurant again and would recommend anyone else to go :)
23 Glebe Point Road
Glebe, Sydney
http://www.almustafa.com.au/
yum cha @ Golden Jade Seafood Restaurant
Yum Cha (meaning 'drink tea' in Cantonese) is something that I miss in Sydney. It's not that Yum Cha in Canberra is bad, but its either in a place that's far away from where I live, doesn't have 'yum cha ladies' who push around metal carts or the food is just not as good.
On a recent Sydney trip, my mother brought my little brother and I to the Golden Jade Seafood Restaurant to have yum cha. This is a popular restaurant in Eastwood, frequented by Chinese grandparents who insist their adult children join them at the table and 20-something year olds from HK/China who came to Australia to study and miss food from home.
The food, as always, was great. The dumplings are usually considered as a key indicator of the overall quality of a yum cha restaurant. Here, the pastry of the dumplings was appropriately 'bouncy' and there were no holes in the pastry. My fav dumplings are the ones with chives or asian veges. I also love the sago dessert- here it is like a baked custard with little balls of sago.
On a recent Sydney trip, my mother brought my little brother and I to the Golden Jade Seafood Restaurant to have yum cha. This is a popular restaurant in Eastwood, frequented by Chinese grandparents who insist their adult children join them at the table and 20-something year olds from HK/China who came to Australia to study and miss food from home.
The food, as always, was great. The dumplings are usually considered as a key indicator of the overall quality of a yum cha restaurant. Here, the pastry of the dumplings was appropriately 'bouncy' and there were no holes in the pastry. My fav dumplings are the ones with chives or asian veges. I also love the sago dessert- here it is like a baked custard with little balls of sago.
Golden Jade Seafood Restaurant
140 Rowe Street
Eastwood, Sydney
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Massive cakes @ Buzzzbar Cafe in Newtown
I caught up with the Honours 'kids' at the Courthouse in Newtown. We were drunk off our faces (typical), or maybe it was just me. Either way, we were starving, not really thinking the nutrients we should be consuming and wanted quick food. We rolled over to the Buzzz Bar Cafe and stuffed our happy flushed faces with massive cakes (at $7.50 per cake, you get a size for what you pay). Chocolate flourless, baked cheesecake with an apricot topping, some sort of fig cake and some sort of almond gluten free cake.
All cakes were delicious. We ignored all social ettiquette and ate of each others plates as if we were cats. The chocolate one might have been a bit heavy and needed to be shared. Despite the context of our consumption, the cafe is not just the type you'd go to soak up alcohol but the food was delicious and I'd definitely go again.
349 King Street
Newtown, Sydney
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/70/750400/restaurant/Sydney/Buzzzbar-Cafe-Newtown
christmas cake recipe recieved through viral email
I recieved this wonderful Christmas cake recipe through a viral email. Good for those who "can't remember last year's cake recipe"
Ingredients:
* 2 cups flour
* 1 stick butter
* 1 cup of water
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 cup of brown sugar
* Lemon juice
* 4 large eggs
* Nuts
* 2 bottles wine
* 2 cups of dried fruit
Sample the wine to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the wine again. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the wine i...s still OK. Try another cup... Just in case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Go to Woolies and buy cake. Pick the stupid fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the wine to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.. Check the wine. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the wine and wipe counter with the cat.
Bingle Jells!
moscato summer pudding
I wanted to make a dairy-free, mostly healthy but 'different' dessert for Christmas Dinner with my cousins. I wanted the dessert to match the warm climate of an Australian Christmas, as opposed to heavy puddings and fruit cakes which are better for a colder Northern-Hemisphere Christmas.
For some time, I held a recipe for Summer Pudding with Moscato from Gourmet Traveller, and this was the occasion to experiment! After all, if it failed miserably and my family hated the dish, my family is still my family (mwahaha, yes).
Summer Pudding is a quintessential English pudding. It's usually made with forest berries, white bread, vanilla bean paste and sugar. This recipe had boozy Moscato in it, which I thought was appropriate since my cousins and my family are all adults now.
The final result ended up looking like a lopsided blotchy alien which failed to develop a perfect tan from the red glare of the planet Mars... Nevertheless, it was pretty and fruity (as long as anything is aesthetically appealing and healthy, its okay).
BERRY CHRISTMAS xo
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