Bring it on, 2010!

SO, a I guess its time to say goodbye to 2009! I have to say though, that The Noughties have been good to me. To start off, an unforgettable holiday in Malaysia and a very memorable week in Langkawi. Came back to my casual job. Got a management position within a few months. Move to the city store within 2 months. Bought a CAR (which is so full of AWESOMENESS!). And just got a new phone N97...from which I am blogging now (I know, wtf! hence the lack of paragraphs cos I'm still figuring out how to press enter lol MAJOR FAIL! but I'm loving it cos I now look like I belong in Gossip Girl!). So, you may ask, how did I usher in 2010? I curled up in my bed at 8pm and slept all the way through to 10.30am the next day. YES, 14hrs, occasionally waking up because of random new year SMSs. I was feeling very pathetically anti-social and tired...full time work does that to you. As for 2010, I have no idea what it will bring, but I'm ready for it! (I think...)

Strawberry Sponge Cake

Recently, I've been haunted by anything pink, red, white, lace, raspberry, strawberry, cream, girly ...whatever..

So anyway, I had my mind set on making a strawberry sponge cake, and it was gonna look awesome...something like...THIS:

so I googled for a recipe...and set about making one !!


Baby in the oven

Yeah, I know, its lookin pretty gross huh? The red bits are squashed strawberries...swirled into the cake mix.


Trying to make the cream ! It took such a long time to thickened, I thought there was something wrong and started adding egg whites and more icing sugar?? hmm....anyway...it thickened in the end =)

I slathered cream all over the first cake, put a layer of strawberries, and then more cream, and put the second cake on the top...

Tried to make some kind of super awesome pattern with the strawberries on the top...but...failed...

and....




TADAH!!

Finally all done....

a SUPER AWESOME STRAWBERRY SPONGE!!!

A Slice View...

Well, to be honest, it didnt taste as super awesome as I wanted it to. The sponge was a little too dense...not light and fluffy and yummy.

Leichardt

After 10 years living in Sydney, I decided it was high time I went to the 'little Italy of Syney" , Leichardt! Well actually, that weekend was meant to have the Italian Festival, but when we arrived...lets just say it wasnt very festive... =(

The Italian Forum

So no festival! Dont ask me why...I have no idea! In fact, stopping at some random restaurant, we asked the waiter about it...and...he didnt know what we were talking about! wtf! but right in the middle of the street was a HUGE banner claiming the festival was meant to be on that weekend! hmmpphh! sorely disappointed!

Stopped for some lunch of smoked samon salad, pasta, pizza and wine...

Considering we were dining in 'little italy', we decided to order the only wine that actually came from Italy...and I think I can safely conclude that AUSTRALIAN WINES ARE SO MUCH BETTERRRRRRR!!!!

BABYCAKES!!

so small, easy to eat, looks delicious

BUT

is super oily and fattening!! The paperbag was soaked after only a few hours! Gross!

Rasberry Friands!

yeap in my baking frenzy, I also made Friands!!! ...succesfully!!!



the mixture in the friand baking tray. LOVE rasberriesss!!!




My babies in the oven!



and 30mins later......


FRIGGIN AWESOME RASBERRY FRIANDS!!!
even better than my cheesecake! These tastes like the real shits!


Thats what I thought anyway...! Mum said they were'nt soft enough (only cos I cut down on the butter in an attempt to be healthy), so I decided to make a second batch with the right amount of butter....but.....



major fail!! My babies were growing too fast and pooping out (literrally) from the tray!! =(




still edible though~!

Good Food and Wine Show Sydney 2009

Last week I attended the Good Food and Wine Show in the Convention Centre at Darling Harbour. It is the one event where thousands of chefs and awesome food exhibits get together and create hype about...well...food! and wine, of course!

Eventhough throughout the day, after laying my hands on every free sample that I could stuff myself with, I still couldnt resist when I saw...

The Lindeman's Early Harvest Restaurant!

What?? A restaurant in the middle of a market of food?
.

NOT only any restaurant, but one of a kind, because never in any other place will you find Matt Moran, Gordon Ramsay, Alastair McLeod and Tobie Puttock cooking in four stalls, side by side

We had to purchase food 'coupons' first before entering the restaurant area to order our food, so that it was easier and faster to get our food. Each celebrity chef had set three course meal (entree, main and desert) and you get to choose either just one course, two or all three! We were contemplating going the full ride but....to be honest, I started this meal on a full stomach!! So, a three course meal was definitely impossible!! so...we settled on two courses...!!!!

I chose Gordon Ramsay's entree and main course: Blue-eyed cod broth (I think?) and Ocean trout on a bed of radish and baby spinach.

I chose Gordon Ramsay because there has been so much hype about him and since I couldnt get a ticket to his show, I thought this would be the next best thing. Personally, I dont really like him, only because he is a little bit vulgar (from what I see on TV, of course). Both entree and main was really good because it wasnt overwhelming with flavour. It was nice and light. The ocean trout was GOOD! =)

We also chose the entree and main from Alastair McLeod's food stall: a selection of Antipasto plate and a sort of beef salad thingy...

Both were good, but they felt more like eating snacks, and I wouldnt really pay for this in a real restaurant =(

Both meals were $16 for entree and $24 for main, including a glass of accompanying wine for each course. Reasonable, considering the meals were made by reputable chefs.

Missing out on the Gordon Ramsay show, we settled for the Masters of MasterChef Australia, Gary and George. Which is hardly 'settling for' considering I'm super obsessed with MasterChef right now (Go CHRIS!!!)...the only reality TV show that I'm absolutely hooked on!

Surprise appearances: Matt Preston - the food critic who cant cook, and Justine - contestant of MasterChef. The prettiest of all the contestants, but I found her abit boring which was disappointing. Matt, on the other hand, was very entertaining and humorous; very different from his harsh persona on the show!

Couldnt see them quite so well, so I took pictures of the screen instead! XD

Both Gary and George cooked their separate dishes in the 30min show, with Matt tasting (of course!) and when Garry made his deep-fried jam filled doughnuts, I screamed and screamed, along with the many audience sitting on the left side of the stage...and he came to our side AND I ATE HIS DEEP FRIED JAM DOUGHNUTS AND THEY WERE AWESOME!!! omg so fresh and hot it melted in my mouth!!!

After watching all of them on TV for the past 9 weeks, it was so surreal to see them in real life!!!

NOT only that, after the show, we caught sight of Matt on some far off site....and I ran up to ask for a photo!!!

*Matt Preston*

He even shook my hand and I told him "I love you on Masterchef!!!"!!!!

Well, there wasnt much time to say much else, there literally was a line leading up to him, to talk, take a photo, book signing etc.

Yes, I really did say that!

SO cliched! haha I dont even "love him" on Masterchef lol I dont know what came over me! Just psyched that I saw him I suppose XD and you know, he really is HUGE in real life! Like MASSIVE! and he poses like that on purpose!! wtf! Looks as if I'm standing in front of a poster of him and taking a photo (what a loser!) because of the flash...but, no, really, I SAW HIM!!

Anyway, was walking around abit more...and spotted...

CUTE!! haha this little dwarf thing is some mascot for Smith's Chips..? Dont ask me why! But its literally half my size!

Yeap, and I still had room for Movenpick Ice Cream!

Such an eventful day! I cant wait for next year!! Roughly $30 pp, extra for celebrity chef shows!

more info: www.goodfoodshow.com.au/

Birthday Trip to Hunter Valley

This is what I did on the 26th May 2009: Drive down to Hunter Valley in BMW z4 for lunch!

Yeah~ no picture of the car ~ but I can safely tell you it was SO awesome I couldnt even think about my camera! So there we were driving down to Hunter Valley with the top down and the wind in my hair (more like slapping the shits out of my face)

*On the way ...we had to stop to look for directions lol*

So my friend found this awesome restaurant called The Cellar, located right in the Hunter Valley Gardens Village, best known for "contemporary Australian fine dining"

The Chapel located in Hunter Valley Gardens Village...so picturesque...

Entrance to the restaurant

and inside.....

Quaint and darling interior!

So on to the food...

We chose the Degustation Menu, which is a set menu of 5 courses for two. AUD$85 pp without wine and AUD$130 pp with wine. We chose one with and one without wine, which was great because the staff actually 'split' the wine of one person into two glassses so we both got to drink, just...less! Awesome because #1 Although I can appreciate wine, I'm not the biggest wine drinker, #2 because obviously one of us had to drive the awesome z4!

Course 1
Seared Scallops with Pork Hock Terrine, Crackling and Sticky Mustard Dressing
Wine - Pannier Brut Champagne

The pork was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!! no...seriously! or maybe I was just hungry XD but the scallops were just a tad overdone. The champagne was good...nice and light for a starter

Course 2
Crystal Bay Prawns with Crab Zucchini & Pinenut Tortelinis, Safron Butter and Tomato Broth
Wine - Scarborough Chardonnay

This was OK. While the prawns were nice, the tortellinis were a bit bland. The broth was really intense with flavour (though you really couldnt tell by looking at it). This course had my favourite white: Scarborough Chardonnay! Good flavour, not too strong which is why I like it.

Course 3

Confit Duck & Fois Gras Terrine with Crispy Soft Poached Egg and Toasted Brioche

Wine - Allandale Pinot Noir

This was my favourite dish by far! The duck confit was so flavoursome and the fois gras was just intense! LOVE! and the egg was awesome!! The external and internal were completely different textures, but it worked really well together. And take a look at that yolk! ...so orgasmic!

Course 4
Wagyu Rump with Porcini Polenta, Creamed Spinach, Speck and King Mushrooms

Wine - Tullochs Pokolbin Dry Red Shiraz

This course only gets a small picture...because it was...crap! hmmm that may be abit harsh, and maybe its because I was really full by the time this dish came out...but to be honest, it really wasnt great at all! The wagyu was abit tough (I got tired just from cutting and chewing), and the serving of the polenta/spinach/murshroom was abit much.


Course 5

Desert Tasting Plate of: Chocolate Creme Brulee with a Little Strawberry Tart & Hazelnut cream AND French Crepes with Rhubarb, Orange and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Wine - Scarborough Late Harvest Semillon

Desert was OK. I wouldnt say it was bad, but not mouth watering either. And because I'm not a big fan of super sweet desert wines, I didnt enjoy the accompanying wine either.

To finish off, we adjourned outside to enjoy coffee and tea and complimentary brownies!

*outside*

*very rich brownies!*

Unfortunately, the timing was so bad, we didnt have enough time to stick around to buy wine and smelly cheeses...which is what everyone does at Hunter Valley. Such a shame to make the 3hr trip only to have lunch, but having said that, lunch at The Cellar is superb! Service was great, but that might be due to the fact that there was no one else in the restaurant. I wish I could say that my boyfriend was so romantic and thoughtful, he hired out the whole restaurant so we could have an intimate lunch for two, but unfortunately..I dont have a boyfriend, and if I did I doubt he would be so romantic (or rich) to do that!

The drive on the way home was much much shorter (about 1.5 hrs) ...and 5pm is such a great time to be heading home because the weather is just right