U Gotta Love Coogee

Sunday was a day well spent.

The Hub and i  spent the arvo ambling along the streets of Coogee before heading off to a beautiful home for a BBQ.

We order a very refreshing Mango Tango smoothie @ Melon Head- which was a blend of ice, mango and orange.

Be warned on a hot day its packed and busy !

Melon Head

256 Coogee Bay Road
Coogee 2034
(02) 9664 3319

The Main Road in Coogee 

I fell in love with Maloney's Grocer- stocked with fresh baguettes, cheeses, Persian rice salads and figs.

There is a big range of meats and sauces too.

Maloney's Grocer

256 Coogee Bay Road

Coogee 2034
(02) 9664 3319

There's so much i could write about Coogee!

The great BBQ, the beautiful house i got to visit.

We shall save that for another time ...

                                   Have a lovely day. Truffles

Jazushi, Surry Hills

I've just come home from such a fantastic evening and am eager to blog all about it. A great girly night out with a couple of close girlfriends, amazing Japanese food and a little bit of jazz to compliment the evening.

Jazushi is a small restaurant offering Japanese fused with new Eurasian food. Have I already mentioned that the food here is amazing? This is a must visit for any lover of Japanese food!

Before I share the food, let me say that all but one dish (sashimi/ sushi platter) was absolutely divine, they're small servings made to share and honestly they were like small bites of heaven! I will definitely be visiting here again.

Okay, onto the food...

Complimentary Edamame

Pianist playing contemporary jazz throughout the entire evening

Agedashi Tofu - Deep fried tofu with green tea noodle in bonito sauce - AMAZING!

Camembert Tempura served with creme Teriyaki sauce - A signature dish that certainly lived up to the hype. Deep fried cheesy goodness - how can you go wrong? The Teriyaki sauce gave it that extra flavour that left us hanging for more.. mmmm...

Nasu Grilled - Eggplant steak with tofu, tomato, miso & cheese. Absolutely divine! This literally melts into your mouth, the flavour seeping into your tastebuds!

Crispy Soft Shell Crab - This photo does not do it justice, but it was a very generous serving of mini but plump soft shell crabs. Also extreeemely tasty!

Kakuni 'Kurobuta' Pork Belly - slow cooked Japanese 'Kurobuta' pork braised and marinated overnight in soy dashi sauce. This is the sort of dish that brings up those great child hood memories. The pork was ever so tender and each bite melted away into our mouths. Wonderful dish!

Im a huuuuge sashimi fan - I've experienced Tsukiji fish markets so I'm a little bit critical in this department and I'm disapppointed to say that this didnt meet expectation. Certainly not the dish of the evening - maybe it was a bad night or perhaps its just not their forte *shrugs*

Dessert plate - Choose 3 deserts of your choice. We chose vanilla creme brulee, Chocolate Cake and Cheese Cake

Brulee was made to perfection, several taps to break through to the custard goodness. The Chocolate cake was more of a brownie and went well with the vanilla ice cream and crunchy nuts crisps (hidden underneath the ice cream). The Cheese cake resembled the soft insides of a scone and was well complimented with a serving of jam! Mm-mmm-mmmmm!!!

As a Japanese Cuisine lover, I highly reccommend this restaurant! The atmosphere is great, a happy buzz and each diner making what they may of their area. The service is a little bit slow, which in this case was not such a bad thing as it gave us time to digest and appreciate each dish!

Jazushi
145 Devonshire Street
Surry Hills 2010
(02) 9699 8977

Sayonara!
Holly Cupcakes X

Red Chilli Sichuan Restaurant Glebe

Red Chili Sichuan Restaurant (Glebe)

We recently were able to take our friends to try the famous Sichuan Hotpot at Glebe

The communal dish is a  red broth is infused with Sichuan peppers, dried chili, ginger and garlic. We also opted for a a less spicy chicken broth for half of the pot.  The fillets of fish, tofu, vegetables and silky noodles are blanched in the boiling stock and dipped in a garlic sesame oil.

Its a surprising mix of spices from Northern China and it's a bit of a work out- make sure you have a jug of water on the table!

Red Chili Sichuan Restaurant Glebe

15-21 Glebe Point Road
Glebe 2037
(02) 9518 5328


F. Truffles
 =)

Baia, Cockle Bay Wharf

Ciao!

I randomly ended up at Baia for my sister's birthday. It was a very late (9pm) and last minute decision, she wanted to eat only by the Harbour and Italian is her favourite cuisine. Enter Baia!


Personally, I prefer Italian in small, hidden trattoria's, there's something a little more authentic about it - not that I've been to Italy (yet) - perhaps its the people??

Moving forward- here's some happy snaps of our meals:



PANE ALL'AGLIO -Looks can be decieving, there was nothing crunchy about this bread :(





Gnocci Al Pollo - gnocchi with braised chicken, porcini mushrooms & Italian herbs









Chorizo Pizza (special of the day)- highly recommend!




Tiramisu Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream - highly reccomend

   


Chocolate Gelato

   
Baia The Italian
Cockle Bay Wharf Sydney, 
Australia 2000 
02 9283 3434


Arrivederci!
Holly Cupcakes X

Reminiscing About Paris



Our 1 year wedding anniversary was celebrated over in Europe

The Eiffel tower was a grand reminder of the beautiful cheeses, baguettes and sauces we encountered on our trip.

One thing that amazes me is the time and effort the french pour into their delicate food to fold in layers of flavour. Take the time out and make a spectacular meal with simple ingredients this coming weekend and savour every moment =)

Truffles

The Ocean Room

Spent a charming evening at The Ocean Room for a 30th Birthday

(Happy Birthday Amey)

Sashimi platter

Seared Tuna

Intense Dessert Platter

A great dinning experience to share with friends

F Truffles

Mme Grenouille, Broadbeach + One Stormy Christmas Eve.....

I stumbled across this wonderful french bakery attached to the Meriton Hotel, which is where I was conveniently staying whilst at the Gold Coast.

 

 

 

I decided it would be best not to venture in during my stay, seeing as I have such a sweet tooth and am more than happy to gorge on sweets all day long. I could not  however, leave the Gold Coast without a take home pack of delectable macarons! So, on my last day, I wandered downstairs and placed an order for pickup right before my bus ride back to the airport. 

It was Christmas eve and the beginning of Queensland's severe rainy weather conditions. I trekked my way to the airport via the public bus all on my lonesome with all of this in tow: 

As luck would have it, it would be my destiny to miss out on going home and spending Christmas eve/ Christmas day in the company of loved ones. After a 5 hour delay - my flight ended up canceling due to the severe weather conditions and there were no further flights heading out that evening! =/ Let me tell you, every minute of delay was extremely stressful and I could feel my blood pressure rising as I became more and more anxious. During this time, I decided to try and busy myself in the treats that I had picked up and get a little bit snap happy  :) 



Blurry, but you can see all the delayed and cancelled status' :(





Clockwise: Vanilla, Chocolate, Coffee & Pistachio



The macarons were of a very high quality, like small bites of perfection! I have honestly not tasted a better macaron,(in Sydney) so I highly recommend them! The textures were faultless, the shell very crisp on the outside yet delicate and light as you bite in, and the centre smooth and bursting of flavour. The chefs are French Japanese so it comes as no surprise that these little confections are so delicious and quality made. This a definite must try if you're in broachbeach!

Mme Grenouille

2669 Gold Coast Highway
Broadbeach QLD 4218
(07) 5538 3111

Holly Cupcakes X 

Free Pure Gelato, at work!

As Franny mentioned a couple of blogs ago, I was enjoying some delicious gelato, courtesy of work! :)  3 servings in fact!

Mango Sorbet

Rocher

Pure Gelato offers a fantastic service, leasing out fully functional gelato stall's complete with freezer and generator plus access to all its famous flavours. This service is available for various events including fundraising and corporate hire. If you're in the market for a fun and different approach to fund raising or trying to boost employee morale, why not try a gelato stand! 

Here are a few pics from a fund raising event I held a couple of years ago using their services:

mmm gelato!

just like the freezers in store :)

Pure Gelato
www.puregelato.com.au
02 9716 4488

Enjoy!
Holly Cupcakes X

Ribs and Rumps, North Ryde

To celebrate a friends 20 something-th birthday, a group of 15 or so of us dined away at The R&R last night. My friend's restaurant choice criteria: somewhere simple and very casual. With majority of the group being guys, where better than a good ribs and steak place? 

Personally I was quite excited having dined here several times before and enjoying the experience. Let me just make a point of saying that I'm not the type of person who is into eating loads of meat. I will rarely ever order a steak (yes, even at a steak joint) and thats simply because I'd rather choose a burger, the chicken or the seafood. Nevertheless I'm in love with the sides and the burgers these sort of restaurants put up so that is what today's blog will focus on - Sorry to everyone expecting a meaty-read! I will offer some food porn though and my friends thoughts :)

Original Burger- Highly recommend! Angus beef lodged between a soft bun with the standard lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard and tomato with options of cheese, bacon, egg etc.  Really a very delicious burger, every bite leaves you wanting more. I ordered mine with cheese and bacon options and a side of mash. Strange combination, I know but I'd choose creamy garlic mash over fries any day!

Original Burger w/ Cheese, Bacon and side of Creamy Garlic Mash

I also ordered an entree of grilled butter and garlic mushrooms and oh boy, as a mushroom lover, these were a real treat! Giant field mushrooms oozing in buttery and garlicy goodness. Went very well with my side of creamy garlic mash!

Garlic Butter Mushrooms

Original burger with egg, cheese and bacon gets the thumbs up!

Beef Ribs, Lamb Ribs and Rump - quality meat, very tasty! comes highly recommended by the rest of the table! 

Sticky Date Pudding - Absolutely delicious! Cute presentation too.

Ribs and Rumps offers great money for value meals ranging from as litte as $15.90 - $50, as well as a geat atmosphere with lots of chatter and laughter in the air. Alongside our group, it was a packed house (on a Tuesday night too) filled with several other birthday celebrations, families and many business men and women. Service was also great with very efficient and helpful staff.

 Ribs and Rumps, North Ryde

11 Talavera Rd
North Ryde NSW 2113, Australia
(02) 9805 1199

Thats it for now,

Holly Cupcakes X

Brunch in the Moutains

The girls and I went up to Kurrajong Heights to have a short trip away from the big smoke.

Free ranged eggs, smoked bacon and apple juice from Bilpin... brunch @ Sassafras Creek was a memorable one....

We had a great time eating, laughing and browsing around the shops in the local village



Sassafras Creek Restaurant 

83 Old Bells Line Of Road

Kurrajong 2758
(02) 4573 0988

Open Tue-Thu,Sun 9am-5pm; Fri-Sat 9am-5pm, 6:30pm-10pm

F. Truffles

We All Scream For Ice Cream

Holly's Gelato looks delish...



It definitely makes the day more bearable...

Creamy Mango Gelato..