Kazbah, Balmain

Shortly before my first foodbloggers meet at Adriano Zumbo, I sneakily went into Balmain with friends for a long awaited breakfast. Trying to organise groups larger than four can sometimes be a little hectic for me - more people juggling even more commitments usually means I have to book people further in advance than I would like (like a hairdresser’s appointment:S). Luckily for me, I managed to round up a small crowd for a catch up breakfast at Kazbah on Darling. Writing PhDs, work, sport and sleep are no excuses when there is a delicious 9.30am breakfast to be eaten! 9.30am is a horrid time for breakfast on a Sunday by the way, had the food not been so good, I’m sure the table would have rapidly descended into bleary eyed anarchy… Next time, I’ll be booking earlier for a later time.

Moroccan Mint Tea

While coffee, tea and interestingly, sangria are available to quench the early morning thirst, I chose to start my morning with soothing Moroccan mint tea. Served in miniature Bodums, the earthy and obviously minty tasting tea left me rejuvenated and calm, a stark contrast to the peppy zing I get when having my usual skinny cappuccino.

Breakfast Tagine

Lamb mince, Sucuk, Feta, Spinach, Capsicum, Caramelised Onion, Tomato and Eggs, served with Lebanese bread and Turkish Toast

I had long ago decided I would head to Kazbah to take advantage of the Middle Eastern influence and start my day with a Breakfast Tagine. Herr Mouttard and JJW joined me and together we chose the carnivorous version. It’s a hearty dish, layered with finely ground mince at the bottom, followed by the succulent onion, capsicum, and finally crowned with 2 large eggs and tomato. Despite it’s appearance on the menu listing I couldn’t taste or see any feta in mine:S The flavour explosion from one of these is a must try for those in Sydney. The rich meat itself has a subtle spice which intensifies as you continue to eat it and the richness of the runny yolked eggs are delicately cut by the sweetness of the onions and capsicum combined with the acidity of the tomato. The small tagine belies the dish’s capacity to satisfy the most famished of stomachs. I simply could not finish mine. The boys, while sporting empty tagines, were also sporting bloated bellies lol.

Breakfast Tagine (Vegetarian Option)

Pumpkin, Feta, Spinach, Caramelised Onion, Tomato and Eggs, served with Lebanese bread and Turkish Toast

Sindel chose the vegetarian option, which is exactly the same as the meat eaters version except that the meat is substituted by large hunks of tender pumpkin. Again no sight of feta, whose saltiness would have been complimentary with the rest of it… As always, Sindel graciously shared her food with me (she’s awesome), so I had a few pieces of pumpkin:) I preferred the vegetarian version to the meat and would order it next time round.

Poached eggs with salmon and baked tomato and a side of hollandaise sauce

Madam Saucy opted for a more traditional breakfast, feeling the urge towards the familiar. Her generous slice of toasted Turkish bread was topped with two perfectly poached eggs, seemingly never ending layers of smoked salmon and two giant baked tomato halves, sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. True to her name, she also ordered a side of Hollandaise sauce. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of said sauce, but it was possibly the best Hollandaise sauce we have ever had. Served in a small dish, it was very thick, creamy with pepper speckled through it. Despite the small serve and three ravenous girls eager for more creamy goodness, it remained unfinished at the end of our meal, a testament to its unctuous and decadent nature. I recommend getting this on the side if you decide to order, it’s so rich I imagine it might be too sickening if served with your eggs…

French Toast, Bacon, Caramelised Figs, Double Cream, Apple Cinnamon Syrup

LadyChulie chose this indulgent dish. It looked so beautiful and the portion was massive, with her slice of French toast easily the thickest piece of toast I have ever seen served, piled high with the sweet figs and syrup and topped with rashers of chunky bacon. It was delicious!! If I had wanted to sweet breakfast, this would have been it. I tried to help her finish it, but struggling with my own meal, it too, lay unfinished at the end of the meal.

Crayons

The tabletops are covered with paper and we are thoughtfully provided with a small cup of crayons for the creatively inclined. During the chatter that continued long after the eating had finished, I created a masterpiece fit for a day care centre with these fat crayons lol.

With generous portions and high quality food, we had such an enjoyable breakfast that morning. Service was brisk but efficient and if you can gather a group of 8 or more, you can get a breakfast degustation :) It’s slightly pricier than a standard café breakfast but I think the food justifies the price, value was not an issue for me. Bookings are recommended for breakfast, but strangely enough, despite being told they could not fit us in any later than 9.30am, we saw many empty tables during our time there… Nevertheless, a fabulous breakfast option in Sydney, I do recommend:D


View Larger Map

Kazbah on Darling

379 Darling Street

Balmain, NSW, 2041

Phone: (02) 9555 7067

Fax: (02) 9810 5355

Opening Hours:Breakfast - Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays - 9:00am - 3:00pm

Lunch - Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays- 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Dinner - Wednesday to Saturday - 6:30pm - Late
http://www.kazbah.com.au/

Spanish Pork with Orange and Poppyseed Salad

At mine, miniature stacks of Delicious Magazine can be found adorning the numerous bookshelves that live in our house (we’re a household of voracious readers). I’m the type that actually reads recipe books for fun (lame, I know), so I find myself gravitating towards the monthly publications like Delicious to get a fix of new recipes and food porn photos. Since I’m temporarily out of Sydney, said cookbooks and Delicious mags are out of reach:( Never fear, bookstores are here!! I’ve decided to buy a new cookbook (and a Delicious mag of course) to tide me through this time and have chosen Valli Little’s (Delicious Food Editor) new cookbook called Faking It. This is the first book of hers I’ve bought so will update you all as I cook through it.

I adore fruit in my salads, so chose this salad recipe (saw oranges in fruit basket) to christen my Faking It journey. Not to mention I simply adore pork and wish I ate it more lol.

Overall a nicely balanced salad, with the sweetness of the pork, courtesy of the maple syrup in the marinade balanced out by the tangy orange and accentuated with a touch of spice from the chilli. The poppy seeds also add a nice touch both flavour and looks wise. I’d make it again.

Spanish Pork with Orange and Poppyseed Salad
Adapted from Faking It, Valli Little

Ingredients
Pork and Marinade
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1/3 cup maple syrup/honey
1/3 cup tomato sauce
2 pork fillets (~500g each), trimmed, halved

Salad
2 oranges
1 telegraph cucumber/3 lebanese cucumbers, halved and sliced
2 long red chilles, seeds removed, finely chopped
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar/white wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
2 tbs caster sugar
2 tbs poppyseeds
Coriander leaves (optional)

Method
Combine all ingredients for marinade in zip lock bag or non reactive bowl. Marinate pork for at least an hour or overnight (I did mine overnight).

Combine zest of one orange with vinegar, olive oil, caster sugar and poppyseeds to make the dressing.

To make the salad, peel the oranges, halving then cutting into slices, combine with cucumbers, chilli and coriander leaves if using. Set aside the dressing and salad.

Preheat the grill. In a frying pan cook the pork to seal, then place under grill for 5 – 10 min, turning regularly. Rest meat under aluminium foil for ~6 min, then slice.

To serve, divide salad into 4 plates, layer with pork, drizzle dressing on top.

Twelve, Newtown

Belated post. After another round of exams, the last for Madam Saucy, unless she wants that 3rd degree, my close girlfriends and I decided to have a long overdue catch up (and celebratory drinks) after our long self imposed study exiles. Another reason I just couldn’t wait for it all to be over was that I knew my great friends MedicineWoman and H would be coming from Brizvegas and Eden respectively to visit and celebrate the end of exams with us – aren’t they the best?!

Sindel and I kicked off our celebrations with a post exam bbq at our house, but emerged later to join the rest at Twelve on King St. I like the exterior look of Twelve as a restaurant, it’s huge glass front offers a peek not only at the fixtures, but allows people like me to spot friends inside:)

Antipasto Platter

Starting with the antipasto platter to share, we were lucky it consisted of mostly chargrilled veggies (MedicineWoman is vegan). The veggies tasted fresh and even though it’s not in the picture, there was large, crispy bread sticks to mop up all that dip:) Nothing spectacular but still a nice start. In the past I’ve also had the saganaki prawns as a starter and they were yum (not to mention the serving size was huge).

Lamb with Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin, served with a Mint Jus

This dish was quite large. The meat was cooked well – tender and juicy, but I thought the beetroot could have been more flavoursome. The jus was a lovely compliment to the meat and Madam Saucy had no complaints with this meal.

On a side note, this restaurant is extremely noisy. There’s something about the acoustics of the place… It used to bother me but I guess I must be used to it now. If you touch underneath the table you can feel the foam they’ve added there to absorb the noise but I don’t think it does much. Note the noise never stops me from coming

Fresh fig, chilli and basil fettucine

Sindel and I voted for pasta. My usual pasta dish here is the fettucine with WA swimmer crab, champagne, parsley and marscapone, which is divine:) but that night I didn’t feel any desire for a seafood oriented dish. Instead I opted for Sindel’s old faithful, the fig, chilli and basil pasta. This wasn’t an entirely bad thing as I always stare at her plate and ask for bites when she has it anyway lol. The figs are gorgeously sweet, and the amount of chilli is just right, offset by the tiniest dash of cream. The combination of flavours was beautiful, although I do think it would benefit from less pasta and a more figs lol (that’s just me being cheeky and wanting mooooore!)

The staff here are just great, every time I’ve been here I’ve had an efficient, friendly waitperson and tonight was no exception. MedicineWoman needed to make some small adjustments for a pizza in order to accommodate her veganism and both the wait and kitchen staff were more than happy to switch menu items for her:) I didn’t manage to get a decent shot of this said pizza (apologies), but it looked fabulous:)

Italian pavlova with marcscapone and vincotto macerated black grapes

H joined us just in time for dessert – looking smashing as per usual. This dessert was the special on the night and H, Sindel and I shared it (Madam Saucy and MedicineWoman were done with food for the night). It looked beautiful, the pavlova was cooked to perfection and the creamy marscapone was deliciously sweet but not sickening. The grapes were large and juicy.

Overall I love coming to this restaurant. Not only is it close and convenient for me, it also offers something unique on a street that is undoubtedly dominated by thai food. Sure, it’s a little noisy, but I’ve always found the food and staff really enjoyable, PLUS the fact that it’s BYO, and there’s a Vintage Cellars next door :D


View Larger Map

Twelve
218 King St

Newtown, NSW, 2042
Phone (02) 9519 9412

http://www.twelvenewtown.com.au/

Sweet Potato and Salmon Quiche

What’s a girl to do when she’s got new tart/quiche pan and a whole stack of shortcrust pastry in the freezer? Earlier in the week, I made a Lime Tart, which was a complete disaster (but I’m still psyching myself up for another try lol), so to avoid another sweet gooey mess, I decided to go in the entirely opposite direction and make a quiche.

The last time I had quiche, it was in Paris, from a little boulangerie tucked away in one of the many enchanting streets that make up Montemarte. I remember marvelling over the sheer choice and beauty of these quiches, the French really do know how to bake:D Herr Moutarde and I bought some extra for travel food as we had a flight later that afternoon to Rome – yummy quiche sure as hell beats airplane food!

I found this recipe on the Taste website and was convinced by the number of positive reader comments at the bottom. I’ve made a few little changes to the recipe so for the original please check this link:)


Ingredients
1 ½ sheets of regular sized frozen shortcrust pastry or 1 if you’re using the larger size
250g orange sweet potato, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 cups baby spinach
210g can red salmon, drained
1/2 cup low-fat feta cheese, crumbled
3 eggs
½ cup milk

Method
Make the quiche shell, by fitting the pastry into a greased flan tin (I used a 25cm one), and blind baking with either rice or baking weights in a 200˚C oven for 15 min, then baking a further 10 min without any weights to crisp.

Lightly toss sweet potato in olive oil or spray (any oil really, but please choose a plant/vegetable source) and bake at 200˚C for about 20 min until tender (may take longer or shorter depending on oven). Lower oven to 180˚C after the sweet potato and pastry shell are done.

Wilt baby spinach with garlic in a small amount of oil in pan.

Whisk together eggs and milk

Layer sweet potato, then baby spinach, salmon then feta cheese into the baked shell. Pour over egg mixture.

Bake in oven for ~40 min or until set (mine took about an hour…) Cool in pan for 10 min then release and slice:) Enjoy.

A really tasty recipe, I was a little apprehensive at first that it would be too fishy for me, but the combination of flavours works really well. We had it as a (very) quick lunch, while bustling around the house, multitasking:)

Serendipity Natural Ice Cream and Sorbet, Marrickville

Mission: Ice cream run. Destination: Serendipity!!! Person who got roped in: The considerate Herr Moutarde:)

So we’re off to Serendipity Natural Ice Cream and Sorbet, which is conveniently and dangerously close by. I first had a taste of Serendipity goodness at a dinner party held by my uncle (who is a fantastic chef), where he incorporated the Serendipity Coconut and Kaffir Lime sorbet into one of his magnificent dessert creations. I was instantly hooked.

Herr Moutarde and I have a tendency to throw portion control out the window when faced with things like ice cream, so we decided to buy only one little tub that day – and I was given the task of choosing that one special flavour. Well, I had difficulty narrowing down the multiple flavours and ended up getting two, the Fig, Honey and Pistachio (150ml), and Peanut Butter Disaster (500mL). Other flavours that made it on my (long) shortlist were Mangos and Cream, Super Fudge Brownie and the Strawberry and Cointreau sorbet.

Peanut Butter Disaster
Peanut butter ice cream with nutty praline and ripples of dark chocolate sauce

When I asked if this was any good, the girl in the store looked at me with a knowing glint in her eye and told me it was part of a new collection and that she herself, couldn’t get enough. Good sign lol. It’s delicious, with crispy praline pieces swirled through this creamy, gooey peanut butter icecream. Despite being the bigger tub, we finished this first (it went much too quickly for my liking lol). If you’re a fan of the peanut butter and chocolate combo, you have to try this:)

Fig, Honey and Pistachio

The taste of fig and honey was especially potent in this mix; I would have loved more pistachio, but overall still a tasty flavour combination.

Just in case…

The shop is located in an awkward place, since there really isn’t much else to do in the immediate area, but if you’re ever in the general Marrickville/Enmore/Newtown vicinity, it’s worth popping in to have a look. The staff wrap all purchased goods with a mound of paper so even if you’re driving a bit further to get home, melting shouldn’t be too much of a problem.


View Larger Map

Serendipity Natural Ice Cream and Sorbet
333-339 Enmore Rd

Marickville NSW 2204
Phone: (02) 9557 8986
Fax: (02) 9557 8990
Email: info@serendipityicecream.com.au
http://www.serendipityicecream.com.au/

Apricot Buttermilk Slice

I’m undoubtedly a summer person. Being brought up in the tropics, I thrive in sweltering, hot conditions and morph into a whiney, miserable, shivering woman who constantly feels suffocated by the numerous layers needed to keep herself warm. So in a sense, it’s quite unfortunate for me to be now living in Sydney, where the weather is both unpredictable and never consistently sunny/warm enough for my liking (fingers crossed for this summer). That being said, I love Sydney and realise there are much worse places weatherwise lol.

So now that it’s December, we’re in stone fruit season – yet another reason I simply adore summer. Currently up in Cairns, I’ve lost access to all my recipe books down in Sydney. Never fear, the trusty and easily accessible Delicious Magazine is here! Of all the juicy, sweet stone fruits, I must admit, I tend to neglect the humble apricot. For some reason every time I think of apricots, my mind conjures up images of giant, rubbery dried ones:S So this week, while at the grocers, I noticed a tempting display of apricots and the very next day, saw this recipe in this month’s Delicious magazine – How can I say no?

Recipe from Delicious Magazine, December 2008/January 2009, pg 178.

Ingredients
200g self raising flour (1 1/3 cups)
150g almond meal
200g caster sugar
175 unsalted butter/margarine
150ml buttermilk
3 large free range eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
6 ripe apricots, stoned and halved
2 tbs runny honey
50g (2/3 cup) flaked almonds

Apricots

Method
After processing the flour, almond meal and caster sugar together in a food processor, the remaining ingredients (except the apricots, honey and almonds) are added and pulsed until the mixture is just combined. I’ll use this opportunity to advocate for the use of margarine (plant based fat) instead of butter. I used it in this recipe:)

This mixture is then spread into a greased and lined 30X23 cm (5cm high) baking pan, and topped with the apricot halves.

The runny honey, I used a little more than 2 tbs, was drizzled on top, followed by a scattering of the almond flakes.

The recipe recommends baking for 40min in an 180˚C oven, until a skewer in the centre comes out clean. Up here in Cairns, it took an extra 20 min, but since all ovens are different, check at 40 min and see how you go.

Cool for 20 min, then slice. The recipe also gave ingredients for a honey cream to serve, but I simply laced some natural yoghurt I found in the fridge with honey.

YUM!!!

Well, that’s definitely miles away from rubbery dried apricots! This recipes also fits in well with the the baking bug that I’ve caught since I’ve been up here, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as I love the smell of baking wafting though the house and now there’s an abundance of yummy baked goods in the house:)

Wagaya, Haymarket

As Daisy Moo, ChocolateQueen and I walked into Wagaya, we were grateful we’d made a booking. Despite the early dinner (by our standards), the foyer was absolutely packed with people waiting for a seat, and as we approached the counter, a frustrated looking couple brushed past us, muttering about how they would never get fed… So, the place is in demand.

The restaurant has an attractive layout, with modern, sleek individual booths and high tech touch screens. The booths are a functional and fun idea, allowing some much appreciated privacy but I did notice that noise levels were still relatively high in the restaurant.

Our awaiting booth

The ordering system consists of simply a touch screen menu, where everything including water and the bill can be electronically requested. I admit, I have little patience for poor service and this system suits me well. The dishes are brought out remarkably quickly and the staffs themselves are polite and endearing, as only Japanese wait staff can be:) We were also provided with a laminated A3 menu as a paper menu.

Touch screen menu

We start the night with Takoyaki, a favourite of ChocolateQueen’s. I fell in love with these octopus dumplings while I was in Tokyo, where I was mesmerised by the way they were cooked, in spherical pans with impossibly long chopsticks.

Takoyaki

They are as you would expect, hot, with a crispy outer and that moreish centre.

To be honest, we were a little underwhelmed by the menu, considering the rave reviews and the large number of dishes on offer, and it took us a fair few glances at the menu to decide what we wanted. Nothing seemed to jump out at us that night…

Beef Tataki

Eel and cheese spring roll

Despite their name, the dominant flavour of the rolls was in fact mushroom. The rolls were piping hot (a good sign), and each bite yielded a large splash of mushroom flavoured juice. Warning HOT!!! Although the texture of the eel was obvious, it’s flavour was essentially masked by the overwhelming mushroom and none of us tasted or saw any hint of cheese.

Rainbow Sushi

An assortment of sushi, we opted for this over the Sushi Roulette simply to get a larger variety of flavours. Toppings included salmon, tuna, kingfish and prawn and avocado. The sushi were fresh and tasty, my favourite for the night being the sweet kingfish

Ox Tongue Nikomi

We’ve only ever had ox tongue at Japanese BBQ, so thought we would try this alternative. The tongue was quite meaty, sitting atop a tomato based, pasta like sauce. To the side was a dob of mayonnaise and the only way I can describe the vibe this dish emitted is Bolognaise meets Japan…

Salmon Sashimi

Something I feel compelled to mention is the presence of large chips on all but one of our serving plates; I’ve managed to hide most of them in the photos with repositioning. Not only was it unsightly, with huge white chips on our otherwise darker crockery, it’s also a health hazard, as microscopic, potentially harmful germs aggregate and grow in the exposed porous material. An unexpected annoyance in an otherwise flawless setting.

This place is ideally suited to larger groups, as the booths themselves are quite large, and to it’s credit, I never got the impression that we were being rushed (something I truly detest), even though the line was becoming longer as the night progressed, evolving into a mini mosh pit of hungry, hungry people.

If you haven’t been before, the immaculate surroundings, efficient service and novel ordering system make for a unique experience. I strongly recommend booking ahead to avoid the impossibly long cue.


View Larger Map

Wagaya
Lvl 1/ 78 Harbour St

Haymarket, NSW, 2000

Phone: (02) 9212 6068

Bacon Madness

Thanks to random net surfing, I’ve recently stumbled across some unexpected bacon products. The first is deep fried bacon, simply the thought of this mortifies me….. For $6 (US), it’s now possible to acquire deep fried bacon as an appetiser. Rashers of bacon, dipped in egg wash, dusted with flour and deep fried in vegetable oil….served with a suspicious looking white “gravy”.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against deep fried food. I really enjoy the crunch of a good hot chip/calamari ring /spring roll, or the barely there crispness of freshly cooked tempura batter. I even appreciate that as a cooking technique, while being energy dense, deep frying offers a method of keeping food moist while adding another dimension to texture and flavour.

Of course there are many things deep fried that I never would have thought of frying - I’ve eaten a deep fried Mars Bar (I quite liked it lol) and my Scottish friends once told me that back home it’s possible to get deep fried pizzas, but still, the idea of deep fried bacon doesn’t appeal to me…

Don’t be fooled by the shirt

A quote from the chef: “Just hearing about it makes your heart skip a beat”. An understatement, at best… Yes I could easily get started on the dangerous effects of this appetiser on the human cardiovascular system……

The second item is the world’s first bacon flavoured chocolate bar – Mo’s Bacon Bar. Apparently a hit with the British palate, the option of having chunks of smoked applewood bacon and salt in your milk chocolate is so appealing that the entire supply in the UK was sold out within the first 48 hrs….

I recall a Simpsons episode (yes this ramble is Deep), where Homer can’t comprehend that an assortment of meats (bacon, pork, ham, hot dog) come from the same animal “Oooo a Magical Animal”, and am reminded that pig meat, is indeed versatile.

I guess I really can’t pass judgment until I’ve personally tried it… To be honest I’ve eaten much weirder things before and if the opportunity presented, I’d definitely be up for at least a nibble. That being said, I won’t be going out of my way to find them.

Rosso Pomodoro Pizzeria, Balmain

While Dominos/Pizza Hut pizzas will always serve a purpose, I relish quality authentic takeaway pizza. Whilst enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon at JJW and Snow White’s house, Herr Moutarde and I realised we’d have to forgo dinner out plans :) We were due for an appearance at a housewarming party and there was simply no time - we’d spent most of it with relaxed drinks and conversation, some trashy pay tv (cue Exiled) and a cute little puppy called Pippie. Being out of our own little area, we decided to grab some takeaway pizza from Rosso Pomodoro, a perfect solution which meant we could continue being our social selves AND fit a meal in:)

After placing our order we quickly drove to get pizza! And who was to be the pizza mule? Me. Gracefully (as only I know how), I darted through the fat rain droplets, avoided a giant puddle/pothole (or did I…), and ended up in the doorway of Rosso Pomodoro, where I was greeted with a hearty “Ciao Bella!” I have to say, whilst I was only in the premises for a relatively short period of time, I was very taken with the staff. They were cheery and warm, with dreamy Italian accents and an enthusiasm I rarely see when popping in for some takeway.

Our pizza’s were freshly cooked and ready to go:)

Diavola
Tomato, Italian mozzeralla, hot salami, capsicum

I’m usually apprehensive about the Diavola whenever I get pizza because many a time, I’ve been left numb in the mouth from excessively hot salami – before I even get full! But this one had been recommended strongly to us by Snow White and JJW, and for good reason, it’s delicious! The salami was fiery without being overpowering, while the capsicum was juicy and tender.

Funghi
Tomato, Italian mozzarella and fresh mushrooms

Gorgeous meaty mushrooms made for a satisfying vegetarian option. A fresh zing added by the scattered parsley on top.

Herr Moutarde is notoriously picky with his pizzas. Having enjoyed homestyle Italian pizzas for most of his life overseas, he’s still searching for the perfect pizza here in Sydney. He often laments at the thick doughey pizza bases, piled much too high with a myriad of mismatched toppings, which seem to be ubiquitous here, even in supposedly “authentic” pizzerias. Not this time. The bases were superbly thin and crispy (and not in the Dominos thin crust way) and the toppings were simple, fresh and minimal:) This coupled with some simple rules including - NO half & half, ONLY Italian mozzarellla and NO corkage if you dine in, and the big one - “NO ham & pineapple” was enough to coax the seal of approval from Herr Moutarde, the pizza purist.

We’re yet to eat in at this little gem in Balmain, but we’ve been told aside from the delicious pizza, they also do a fantastic antipasto plate. Will keep you posted on that one.

Rosso Pomodoro Pizzeria
Shop 90-91
24 Buchanan St
Balmain (White Bay)
Phone: (02) 9555 5924
http://www.rossopomodoro.com.au/

Adriano Zumbo Weekend

If you’re a reader of other Sydney food blogs you’ll realise this post is late(ish). 3 days may not be much in the real world, but it definitely is in the blogosphere lol.

I’ve just had a Balmain/bakery oriented weekend, starting with a breakfast on Saturday, which I’ll post later:), and a trip to Adriano Zumbo, followed on Sunday with…….Adriano Zumbo again, this time with fellow Sydney food bloggers.

SATURDAY

The new collection at Adriano Zumbo is aptly titled – “Please sir, can I have some more!” and is a spectacular array of mouth watering desserts. I hada quick looksee on Saturday morning to give myself a heads up (and also to satisfy a post breakfast sweet tooth lol). Sindel, Madam Saucy and I took quite a while trying to decide what we wanted.

What’s on offer

Mingled in with the newbies are some remnants from the previous collection, including the green Tuk Tuk Nothing.

Scrolling to the right…

I ID the Charles du Jour as a target for the foodblogger event, The intriguing baubles are enough to suck me in, I get a White Christmas/Wedding Cake vibe lol.

And right again…

I can see the successor to the Tuk Tuk Nothing, it’s pink (always a good sign with me), but has no description tag. I ask the lady behind the counter and she tells me she has no idea what it is either and is also waiting for a tag lol. The mystery!

I’ve been craving cheesecake for quite some time now, only to be greeted with old/dry looking cheesecake everywhere I turn. Awkward. But not here!!! I choose the Miss Marrple Cheesecake and carefully bring it home:)

Miss Marple Cheesecake
Orange cheesecake with orange strawberry compote, cream cheese crème legere with crepe and maple glaze.

Apologies but this is a (slightly) erroneous shot. For the “attention to detail” types out there, there are actually white chocolate slivers pieced on the ends like bookends, but I may have eaten them on the way home….

A gorgeous dessert - satisfied that craving quick smart.

Sindel chose the Chocolate Fondant, but we got to that before the camera could;)

Onto Sunday!

Firstly a big “Thank you!” to Reem for organising us:)

This is the first foodbloggers meet I’ve been to and I had a fabulous time. It’s great to be able to put faces to the names I’m so used to online. It’s a great crowd and quite a spectacle at times – cameras and desserts galore. Herr Moutarde graciously accompanied me and we had a decadent breakfast to start our Sunday:) Being me, I spent a fair bit time chatting which subsequently caused a drop in photo quality/quantity. This unfortunately means my snaps are incomplete for the entire collection. Not to worry! There were so many of us you’ll see pics all over the net!

Attendees:

Reem: I am obsessed with food
Helen: Grab Your Fork
Suze: Chocolatesuze
Karen: Citrus and Candy (my new designated camera buddy lol)
Lorraine: NotQuiteNigella
Richard: Herecomesthefood
The team from Eatshowandtell (Howard, Linda, Teresa)
Simon: Simon Food Favourites

Plus a few others that popped in as I was leaving and sadly did not get to meet. So, where do you put a gaggle of snap happy food bloggers?? In the nearby Adriano Zumbo Café Chocolat of course! This man is slowly but surely creating an empire. Luckily for the rest of us, Reem has managed to secure us a cosy little alcove in this place where we can rest, sample and photograph our desserts in peace:)

The Table

No doubt place to be: seating AND food:)

Charles du Jour
Tart pate sucree, vanilla ganache, vanilla crème Chantilly, vanilla water bursts, vanilla glacage.

Helen beat me to this beauty, and generously divided it up so we could have a bite, (foodbloggers are a generous breed). It really is as good as it looks.

Choccies!

Herr Moutarde and I couldn’t resist the mass of chocolates ordering counter. Guess who ate more?

PARIS – La Vie en Rose
Rose crème brulee, raspberry sorbet balls, fresh lychees, rose macarons served with a strawberry tapioca shake.

It became evident to me that the mass purchasing had led to the group with samples of nearly all available bakery treats. I graciously stepped forward to choose an offering from the café menu (my life is tough). The counter boy (Charles) at the bakery had recommended a dish with creamed rice and fruit salad, which sounded amazing but alas, I was told there was none left when I got back to the cafe:( I ended up choosing this beautiful concoction, named after one of my favourite cities. With scattered rose petals, it’s easily the prettiest thing in sight.

The studio

The sheer number of desserts led to a makeshift studio being set up at the nearby table, which was quickly swarmed by photohungry bloggers.

Past jobs
Kaffir lime and ginger pannacotta, black sticky rice pudding, exotic fruit jelly and palm sugar marscapone.


Framboise Millefeuille
Raspberry coulis and marscapone with caramelised puff pastry and biscuit jaconde.


Zumbo the Kid
Vegemite bavaroise, peanut butter crème legere, raspberry jelly, chocolate peanut glacage, peanut feullitine, flourless chocolate biscuit


Wheely Wildly Wendy
Fresh roasted peach in a tonka bean crème legere and sandwiched between two almond dacquoise disks and rolled in almond crumble.

Yum! I remember a few months ago, Daisy Moo and I split the green Tuk Tuk Nothing, much to her dismay - she’s not of a fan of coconut, which is beautifully laced through the green version of Zumbo’s wheel. I’ll be pestering her to share this with me next time we go;)

UZC
Biscuit macaron, sweet corn jelly, saffron bavaroise, vanilla brulee.

Another dessert I quite enjoyed was the rice pudding éclair that the lovely Suze brought along, a simple and lighter combination of rice pudding and cinnamon in an éclair form which I could easily have eaten all day. Sweet Karen brought along the cheesecake and Cassius, while Richard also gave me a bite of another café creation called It’s a Macaron and Not a Hamburger. Check out their blogs for photos:) So many things to try!!!!

The new collection will be available until the 22nd of May 2009, which gives us all plenty of time to try them all again, and again….and again:)

Adriano Zumbo Patissier
296 Darling St
Balmain, NSW, 2041

Open 7 days

Phone: (02) 9810 7318

Adriano Zumbo Café Chocolat
308 Darling St
Balmain, NSW, 2041
(inside Balmain Mall)

Open 7 days

Phone: (02) 9555 1199