A Friday Afternoon of Overindulgence at Quay

 

I have a 'binge' eating buddy (Mr. Pad), okay maybe I am exaggerating a little bit, but the two of us will occasionally catch up over a long and sumptuous lunch. It started 3 years ago when we left the company where we met and went our separate ways. We always try to catch up once a month over Friday lunch where we ended up walking back to work feeling very full and sleepy, but with a big grin on our faces.

Crazily enough, Mr. Pad has recently joined my company and to celebrate our reunion he suggested that we should treat ourselves to Quay restaurant. We arrived at 12 noon and it was still very quiet, only us and another table at the far end corner.

The restaurant offers a contemporary and sophisticated, yet relaxed setting. Accompanied by a handful of very professional staff and knowledgeable sommelier; we knew instantly that it was going to be a very wonderful 'catch-up' lunch.

Once we have ordered our entrées and mains, we were immediately served with a selection of warm bread to choose from (wholemeal, white sourdough & unfortunately I forgot what the last one was).

Wholemeal bread with Butter

A complimentary Amuse Bouche of tuna with cucumber, apple and crème fraiche. The tuna was very soft and fresh, paired perfectly with the cucumber and apple to create a very refreshing starter.

Amuse Bouche

Sea Pearls 

Sashimi tuna, sea scallop, crab, smoked eel, octopus

Mr. Pad and I ordered the same Quay's signature entrée, the Sea Pearls. Each were delicately presented and have their own distinct taste and texture. We started with the sweet mud crab (my favourite of the four) wrapped in tapioca pearls and topped with edible silver leaf. Moving on to the second sea pearl was the smoked eel wrapped in octopus. The last two sea pearls, Sea Scallop and Sashimi Tuna were so delicate and soft, they were the perfect two to end our Sea Pearls journey.

Mains
1. Medium rare Angus Fillet on a bed of potato puree (own description)
2. Free range chicken breast cooked slowly with truffle butter, spring vegetables, young garlic cream, jamon & oloroso juices

When it comes to mains I usually go for steak or seafood but rarely chicken. However the word truffle butter caught my eyes and I made my decision there & then. Mr. Pad was kind enough to order the medium rare Angus fillet so he could share it with me. I thought I've made a huge mistake of ordering the chicken when I tried the steak. It was cooked to perfection; medium rare and delectably tender. But when I had my first bite of the chicken covered in truffle sauce, I was converted. The butter complimented the tender chicken, creating a pleasant melting sensation.

White Nectarine Snow Egg

Here comes the moment that I have been waiting for, dessert time! We ordered the two most talked about Peter Gilmore's desserts; the legendary Snow Egg and famous Eight Texture Chocolate Cake. This month's ingredient for the snow egg is white nectarine which I could taste all over the granita.We cracked open the sweet meringue and discovered the freshly made nectarine ice cream. At the base was vanilla custard made of vanilla beans, which was so fragrant. My advise is to try and scoop all the different ingredients together and have them in one mouthful.

Eight texture chocolate cake 

Featuring Amedei Chocolate

Once we made sure that there was nothing left for us to scoop from the snow egg, we moved on to the chocolate cake. To be honest by the time the waiter concluded her explanation of the eight different chocolates, Mr. Pad & I totally forgot what they were. All I could remember was that we were giggling all the way until the last spoonful. It was so rich yet surprisingly not overtly sweet. Did I taste the eight different texture? Perhaps, if I have taken more care and attention while eating it. The cake base was crunchy and I remember tasting hazelnut and caramel in the middle.

Petit Fours

To end our meal, Mr. Pad ordered a cup of coffee so we could get the complimentary petit fours. By this time we were too 'intoxicated' by the chocolate cake we paid no attention at all to the petit fours' description. The lighter colour was milk chocolate with a hint of hazelnut which tasted more profound than the dark chocolate (with crunchy-Ferrero chocolate texture).

I think it is your turn now to take on the Quay journey!

Sweet Infinity, The Strand

I have fallen into my own trap, I call it the lazy trap. As you can see the last blog I posted was more than a month ago when my family was here visiting. So this week with much hesitation I forced myself out of my laziness and start blogging again.

Last week when I was looking for a camera strap at The Strand, I stumbled upon Sweet Infinity. I have been wanting to go to Sweet Infinity at Woolloomooloo for quite some time now, but I can't see to find the time to do it. I was quite disappointed to find a limited selection of cakes, nevertheless I still managed to leave the shop with a box of goodies.

Sweet Infinity is famous for its brownies, they make around 400 a week. As a chocolate lover, this is one treat not to be miss! Unfortunately I was not entirely satisfied with the brownie, to be honest I've tasted better ones. The outer layer was almost too crispy and crumbly for my liking, however the texture inside was soft. Mostly it just tasted of sugar, which overpowers the chocolate flavour.

My two(2) favourites would be the custard berry tart and lemon meringue tart. They come in two(2) sizes, small and regular. Since I wanted to try both flavours, I opted for the more reasonably (less greedy) small size. The custard berry tart, which was topped with fresh blueberries has a milder flavour compared to the lemon meringue. However if you are a HUGE fan of lemon meringue like myself, then you will love the burst of citrus flavour as you bite through it.

When it comes to tarts, I love the pastry to be just crumbly enough to bite and not overly sweet custard filling. I have to admit that both tarts delivered the same excellent consistency in the pastry and filling.

The chocolate wafer mousse was such a delicious treat. Its small bite size made it so innocent for me to have more than just one. Crunchy chocolate wafer filled with soft dark chocolate mousse that was sweet enough and topped with a blueberry for a touch of freshness.

Head over to Sweet Infinity at The Strand or Woolloomooloo for an afternoon tea indulgence. You can also grab a quick lunch - delicious selection of pies and sandwiches to choose from.

Sweet Infinity
53 Riley Street
Woolloomooloo
NSW 2011

tel 02 9331 2448

Opening hours
Mon - Fri: 7am - 4pm
Sat: 7am - 1pm

La Renaissance Journey Continues

For the past few weeks I have been planning for my Europe trip next year, deciding on which countries and cities to visit. Choosing the countries/cities is probably one of the hardest task of my planning process as there are so many beautiful places all around Europe. Paris is definitely on my travel list! How can one resist the temptation of French butter, wine, baguette, cakes and macarons?

Unable to contain my excitement further, I visited the local French pâtisserie La Renaissance. I went during office lunch break and there was a long queue. While I queued impatiently, I kept hoping and wishing that they still have a good selection of cakes and macarons. To my surprise and excitement, there were quite a number of cakes for me to choose from.

I happily chose the Goya and Fleur De Lys, both have the same round shape and shiny, smooth surface.

Goya $8

The Goya was filled with light creamy mixed berry and passionfruit mousse. Topped with a slice of passionfruit, blueberry, raspberry, and 2 half of macaron shell on each side. The taste was not overly sweet due to the slightly sour and refreshing passionfruit flavour.

Fleur de Lys $8

If you are on the hunt for a really sinful, thick and dark chocolate cake then you definitely have to try the Fleur De Lys. Filled with Valrhona "Guanaja" 70% chocolate mousse with a creamy "Guanaja" centre, crunchy praline and chocolate biscuit base.

 Coffee & Honey and Dark Chocolate Macarons $2.50 each

My last treat of the night was the Coffee & Honey and Dark Chocolate macarons, the only available flavours at the store as they have sold out. Both macarons have the same shell consistency; crispy, soft and chewy on the inside. Surprisingly I enjoyed the Coffee & Honey more than the Dark Chocolate due to its intense coffee flavour. The Dark Chocolate macaron was still too sweet for my liking.

 

Pecan & Chocolate Tart

I finally had the courage to invite two of our closest friends over to our place for dinner. For most natural cooks, having two guests is hardly a challenge but for me it's like cooking for a major event. My cooking style is very simple or in my own definition 'lazy'. I use condiments to a bare minimum and prefer to throw everything in the oven.

Knowing the fact that I can never prepare a feast as good as my guest(mydatewithfood.blogspot.com) and her husband, I kept my menu to a simple 3-course meal. However, I promised myself to put a lot more effort in making the desserts. Mixing the known with the unknown, I made Passionfruit Crème Brûlée (you can get the recipe here) and Pecan & Chocolate Tart.

So here comes my real challenge, baking the perfect Pecan & Chocolate Tart.

To bake the perfect tart is to get the right texture in the pastry. Too hard and you are left with a chipped tooth or flying pastry like what our guests and myself experienced that night. Or if it's too soft, you are basically eating uncooked pastry. A perfect pastry should be crumbly enough to hold its shape when you cut through it without making a mess.

Unfortunately my pastry was almost as solid as a rock. It would have been a disastrous dessert if not for the perfect combination of the pecan & chocolate filling and the crème fraîche. 

Recipe adopted from Delicious Sweet edition.

Serves 8

50g unsalted butter, softened
125g light brown sugar (I reduced it to 100g)
150ml golden syrup (I replaced it with maple syrup)
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g milk chocolate, melted
200 pecan nuts, chopped, plus extra chopped pecans to serve (optional)
Icing sugar, to dust
Thick cream or ice cream, to serve (I used crème fraîche)

Pastry
1 2/3 cups (250g) plain flour
110 icing sugar, sifted
110g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
1 egg

For the pastry, place flour and icing sugar in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg and process until mixture comes together and form a ball. Enclose in plastic wrap, then chill for 30 minutes.
Roll pastry out on a lightly floured workbench and use to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill.
Preheat oven to 180C. Line tart with baking paper, then fill with pastry weights or uncooked rice and blind-bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights, then return the tart to the oven for a further 5 minutes until golden and dry.
Meanwhile, place butter, sugar and golden syrup in a bowl and beat until smooth. Add egg, vanilla, chocolate and nuts. Pour into tart case and bake for 30 minutes or until set. Set aside to cool.
Dust with icing sugar and serve at room temperature with cream or ice cream. Garnish with extra nuts, if desired.

Le Manifique Astral

Astral, located on the 17th floor of the Star City Hotel Tower, it has one of the most magnificent harbour & city views that we Sydneysiders take for granted. Dining at Astral that evening I felt like a tourist, re-discovering the magical Sydney city through Astral's floor to ceiling glass wall. Its modern interior with a touch of elegance and dim lighting are the perfect setting for fine dining.

Unfortunately we were slightly disappointed with the level of service that evening. Even though we were immediately ushered to our table upon arriving and presented with the wine list, it wasn't until a good 15 minutes later when we finally had one of the waitresses attention. She came with her pen & notepad ready to take our order, but soon realised that no one has even shown us the menu! Thankfully her professionalism shined through & we had her full attention all night.

My first dish was the light and aromatic Smoked Salmon, one of Sean Connolly's signature dish. The dish arrived covered with a smoky glass and as soon as the cover was lifted, the smoked chamomile aroma fills up the room. The thinly sliced salmon was very fresh & soft, and it had that subtle smoky taste.

Marinated king salmon, Isigny crème fraîche, pea tendrils, chamomile pearls, chamomile smoke

My husband had the Mandagery Creek Venison two ways, tartare and carpaccio. Initially I was slightly afraid that the venison might have a strong smell, but the dish proved me wrong. Wonderfully lean and freshly cut tartare, it just melts in my mouth. The carpaccio was marinated long enough to soak the vinaigrette flavour, complimenting the raw venison taste.

 Tartare & Carpaccio with crisp potatoes, grebiche vinaigrette

We paid an extra $40 for one of the mains, the Australian Marron Tail. Such a delicate dish, we were definitely paying for the quality instead of quantity and it was worth every dollar. The marron had that crunchy fresh texture and mildly sweet taste. The bisque & parmesan froth was creamy yet light, I kept soaking the perfectly cooked ravioli into the froth and savour every moment of it.

Slow cooked marron tail, open ravioli, creamed leek, bisque, parmesan froth

The other main was the Beef Cheek with potato puree & sauteed mushrooms. A generous serving of beef cheek, cut thickly but cooked long enough to achieve a very tender result. This tender meat was paired with the soft & creamy potato puree that has soaked up some of the beef jus.

Potato purée & sautéed mushrooms

To end our meal we ordered one dessert each, but of course I had most of mine and some of my husband's. As a chocolate lover I ordered the Chocolate Dacquoise. An interesting layer of sweet & sour passionfruit and coconut cream flavour, covered in tempered chocolate and topped with champagne foam. The coconut sorbet was like a palate cleanser, very refreshing and not too overpowering with coconut flavour.

Passionfruit, coconut & champagne foam

Surprisingly, I enjoyed my husband's dessert more than mine. Having had 2 meat dishes for his entree & main (venison & beef cheek) he went for the light & refreshing Mandarin sorbet. The mandarin sorbet was served with fresh mandarin juice, jelly and the most interesting ingredient: pop rocks candy. Pop rocks candy creates a fizzy reaction when it dissolves in the mouth. So imagine eating the sweet mandarin sorbet & juice and suddenly you have this sparkling sensation.

Sorbet, compressed segments & soup; lemon balm & hibiscus jelly

Another spectacular dining experience that was full of flavour & creativity. Where to next?

Astral Restaurant
Level 17, 80 Pyrmont St
Pyrmont, Sydney

Pre-Theatre
2 course $70
3 course $85

My Successful Attempt on the Chocolate Fondant - from MasterChef Australia

After our lovely breakfast at Bird Cow Fish yesterday, my husband & I visited the NSW State Library to see the annual photography exhibition World Press Photo 2010. A collection of inspiring and breathtaking images taken by amazing photographers from all over the world.

We then head home, spending our lazy Saturday watching the prerecorded MasterChef show that I missed from the previous night. I became alert as soon as Gary said that he will be teaching the contestants on how to make chocolate fondant. After listening to him intently and concluded that this is a pretty easy dessert to make, I started with my very own MasterChallenge.

To be honest, it was very easy to make. The only thing that you have to be mindful of is the timing of the chocolate fondant in the oven. It took me 11-12 minutes for the chocolate fondant to bake perfectly in the oven and achieve a gooey chocolatey sauce inside. It is a very rich dessert and best eaten warm when the outer layer is still spongy and oozing in the middle. Be generous with the Amaretto if you like to have an intense alcohol flavour in your dessert. Also, I was unable to get hold of the Amaretto from the local liquor shop and used Kahlua instead. 

Recipe taken from the MasterChef website

Serves 6

Ingredients

Melted butter, for greasing
Cocoa powder, for greasing
200g dark couverture chocolate
200g butter, chopped
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
150g plain flour. sifted
100g butter, extra
100 g cocoa powder

625ml milk
5 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 tbs amaretto



Method

Step 1: For the fondant, preheat oven to 180C. Place a small square of paper in the bottom of 6 ramekins and grease with melted butter and cocoa powder. Place ramekin on a baking tray.

Step 2: Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a small saucepan of boiling water, turn off heat. In an electric mixer, add the eggs, egg yolks and sugar and mix on high speed until fluffy and white. Tip chocolate mixture into a large bowl, pour egg mixture into chocolate mixture and fold together. Fold in flour and mix until smooth. Spoon or pour mixture into ramekins and place in fridge until ready to serve. When ready to serve, bake in over for 8-9 minutes.

Step 3: For the milkshake, place 500ml milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, cream egg yolks and sugar together with a whisk. Split vanilla bean in half, scrape seeds out and add the bean along with the seeds to the milk. Once it comes to the boil, pour half onto the yolk mixture, and then pour the mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Place over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, then strain into a bowl and cool over ice. Pour anglaise into a jug and place in the fridge for about an hour.

Step 4: Add 250ml of the anglaise, remaining milk and amaretto to a large jug. Froth with coffee machine steamer or a hand blender until thick and frothy.

Step 5: To serve, gently run knife along outside of each ramekin and turn fondant out into serving bowls. Spoon amaretto milkshake around the fondant and serve.

Mini Cupcakes from Cupcakes on Pitt

A couple of weeks ago I decided to take a 'sweet' short walk during my lunch break. What is so dangerously appetizing about working in the city is that I am surrounded by different variety of cake shops. So that afternoon I set my heart on the mini cupcakes from Cupcakes on Pitt. 

 

Cupcakes are one of the most popular sweet treats in the world. They taste pretty ordinary, mostly made either from vanilla or chocolate sponge cake. However, it's the beautiful icing decoration on top that makes people go 'woww'. I am one of them! One who so easily fall for the pretty little cupcakes even though I know how ordinary they taste like. 

My favourites are the passionfruit and lemon meringue flavours. Both are vanilla base which is quite light and not overly sweet. I can taste a hint of passionfruit when I first bite into the passionfruit cupcake. Unfortunately the taste slowly disappears with every single bite.

From left to right: Passionfruit Cupcake, Lemon Meringue Cupcake

I love how the lemon meringue sits nicely on top of the base and melts softly when I put it in my mouth. Not as sour as I was hoping it to be, but overall I still thoroughly enjoy the lemon meringue cupcake. 

Blueberries are always great for making desserts and I had that expectation when I chose the blueberry cupcake. Regrettably, it does not taste like blueberry at all. The only thing that I can taste in the blueberry base and icing is sugar, lots of sugar.

From left to right: Blueberry Cupcake, Passionfruit Cupcake

Lucky last is the cherry ripe cupcake. Rich chocolate base, slightly heavier than the vanilla base, topped with sweet pink icing. Another one of the ordinary taste but pretty looking cupcake that uses cherry ripe chocolate as the finishing touch.

From bottom left to bottom right: Cherry Ripe Cupcake, Blueberry Cupcake, Lemon Meringue Cupcake, Passionfruit Cupcake

These mini cupcakes from Cupcakes on Pitt are great for parties, office hour tea time or whenever you fancy a sugar hit. They cost $2.50 each and are always delicately packed in a secure box. 

Check out their website for flavours, store location and opening hours.

Alexanders Restaurant, Hobart

On our last night at the sleepy Hobart town, we decided to dine in at Alexanders restaurant. Alexanders is nestled within the colonial mansion Lenna, which is located at Hobart's historic and trendy area Salamanca Place. I was captivated by the beauty of the mansion that was mostly lit on one side, creating a mysterious image.

As we entered the hotel lobby, we were welcomed by a very relax and elegant old-charm interior. Its colonial style carries through with the decor, from the chandeliers hanging on the ceiling to the furniture. The restaurant itself is dimly lit, perfect for a quiet/romantic dinner.

A quiet Sunday night, we were attended by the only wait staff working that night. She immediately serves us warm bread rolls with butter after taking our order. I have to say the bread roll is one of the best we've had so far; almost crunchy on the outside, soft and warm inside. Then came our entrees: chickpea & vegetable broth and coconut crusted prawns.

Chickpea & Vegetable Broth $11

Tomato based, minestrone like soup that is rich in texture and flavour. A warm and hearty vegetable soup that is perfect for a cold winter night.

Coconut Crusted Prawns $22

The prawns are fresh and the coconut crumbs added a crunchy texture without overpowering the prawns flavour. The refreshing ginger noodles and the crispy beetroot rosti are the perfect pair for completing the dish.

For mains, I choose the Marrawah Eye Fillet and my husband decided to have the Doo Town Venison.

Thick and juicy eye fillet, cooked perfectly on a medium rare as requested. It is layered with crusted black pepper seeds and nuts, adding an intense 'pepperish' flavour and crunchy texture to the meaty dish. To go with this heavy/winter dish, the chef made a wild mushroom and brie pudding. Mild and delicate cheesy flavour, however towards the end it was too creamy for me. $39.5

A towering dish of venison, apple, asparagus and goat cheese lasagne stack on top of another. Rich and tender venison loin, roasted medium rare and seared on the outer layer. The fresh asparagus cooked perfectly, however the green apple was a bit of a distraction; having cooked not long enough to bring out any flavour. $35

Unfortunately, the dessert was a let down. We ordered the Wild Trifle to share and were expecting something that is wild or bursting with flavours. We can barely taste the mango and lychees, and the chocolate cake at the bottom has a really bland flavour. Even the orange liqueur anglaise taste like a normal cream with only a hint of alcohol.

Wild trifle: chocolate cake, mango, lychees, chocolate and chilli jelly, orange liqueur anglaise. $12

Alexanders Restaurant
Cnr Salamanca Place & Runnymede Street
Battery Point 7004
Tasmania
Tel: (03) 6232 3900

The Source Restaurant - Hobart, Tasmania

Recently my husband and I went to Hobart, Tasmania for a mini holiday. On our first night in Hobart city, we escaped the winter chill by taking on an unforgettable culinary journey at The Source restaurant.

The Source restaurant is located at Moorilla Estate Winery, 15 minutes drive from Hobart CBD. Sitting atop the Ether Building, glass-walled, the views (from the restaurant) over the Derwent river and vineyard are magnificent. Unfortunately for us, we arrived after the sun has long set and had a slight difficulty in locating the restaurant as there was barely any visible signs/directions.

However, once inside the building and making our way up the stairs (to the restaurant) I cannot help but to admire the stunning 6m long painting on the ceiling. Apparently the restaurant is named after this painting by John Olsen.

The setting of the restaurant is very simple and contemporary, with an open kitchen near the entrance. This open kitchen concept allows us to take pleasure in watching the chef and his team work effortlessly and harmoniously together. The staff are very friendly and helpful, with one of them voluntarily baby-sitting a crying baby while the parents were having their meals.

We start by having the fresh oysters as an appetizer. These succulent oysters are served in two ways, natural and with wine & ginger. I much prefer the natural oyster as I can really taste the freshness of it. However, having the oyster infused with wine and ginger certainly enhances the oyster flavour.

Moving on to the entrees: (i) Crab, crab jelly, corn custard, almond, sauce verte and (ii) Lobster, herb and zest cous cous, almond milk, perfumed tomato.

The crab dish is served in a martini glass, with only the crab meat visible from the top and the smooth corn custard at the bottom. The dish is rich in sweet crab jus with cotton-soft crab meat and creamy corn custard.

The herb and zest (probably orange zest) cous cous beautifully partnered the fresh lobster. However, I have to admit it is the perfumed tomato that brings the dish to a whole new level of dining experience. As I bite through the tomato, it is bursting with sweet cherry tomato and mild perfume flavours.

For the main course, I ordered the Turbot fish, truffled macaroni, foie gras emulsion, jus. The turbot fish was flown from Spain for the Hobart Winter Festival which was to be held the next night at The Source. Turbot is highly prized for its delicate flavour, it has a firm and lean texture. To complement the mild fish flavour, the Chef introduces the intense flavour of truffle and foie gras. For someone who prefers truffle over fish, this dish is a delightful treat for me.

My husband ordered the Roasted duck, Belgian endive, salted caramelised apple, coffee sauce. The duck is very tender and the salted caramelised apple has a texture similar to creamy mash potato. The only thing that my husband struggled to finish from the dish was the Belgian endive; it got bitter with every single bite.

To end our lovely night at The Source, we order two(2) desserts to share.

Chocolate, olive oil, salt

Dark smooth chocolate ganache, drizzle with light olive oil and sprinkle of salt. What you get out of this unique dessert is a dark bitter chocolate, a nutty olive oil flavour and a salty taste towards the end. My kind of dessert!

Brioche pain perdu, perfumed egg nog, milk ice cream

Rich and tender brioche, sitting on a cream of perfumed egg nog and topped with milk ice cream. A stark contrast to the chocolate dessert, it is very rich, sweet and creamy.

The Source Restaurant
655  Main Road Berriedale
Tasmania Australia 7011
Tel: 03 6277 9900