Chocolatesuze Cupcake Lovin Aussie Food Blogger living in Sydney, Australia

so my laptop died yesterday and when i got noods to take a look he squawked gleefully get a mac this would never have happened on a mac! hmph i am still undecided if i want to join the dark side but i always have issues with my laptops. eh. and my blog is about to exceed bandwidth booo i dont want to upgrade to the next package argh its already costing me $500 a year to run this! in a month im going to malaysia for a holiday and i cant wait! now if only jetstar stops stuffing us around! ill be at rouse hills markets this sat and castle hill craft markets on sun come visit me!

i man my biscuit tree stall pretty much every weekend (i have no life) and something that gets me thru the day is thinking about what to eat. Each market will always have a burger stall, a gozleme stall and a mini pancake stall and a new addition is Rp’s Kurtos.


Low fat! Organic! Dairy & egg-free! im excited! The rolls are baked fresh for each order before being rolled in the topping of your choice like cinnamon, vanilla, almond, coconut, walnut or sprinkles.


This happy dude was a good sport and posed for my camera hurhur


Roll roll roll!


My half roll covered in sprinkles ($4). It tasted like a cross between fairy bread and a donut and a bagel, slightly crispy when you bite into it and then soft and chewy


and me with a whole roll covered in cinnamon ($6)

hee hee i finally have my nerd glasses! 2 whole years ive wanted nerd glasses! noods kept saying id look stupid and then the other day when i decided i was going even more blind cos things have been really fuzzy lately so i picked up a pair of nerd glasses and put them on and told the boy i was getting them no matter what and he pauses and goes oh they look alright actually… ahh everything is much clearer now! and the geek tshirt is from where else but thinkgeek.com

sometimes eating a main for lunch just seems too heavy especially when you’ve just woken up at 11.45am (i likes my sleep) so after arriving at Euro Lounge (Shop 21/2 274 Old Northern Rd, Castle Towers, Castle Hill) at 12pm on the dot me and noods decided to order 3 entrees. Euro Lounge is one of the few places where the staff dont pressure you into ordering a 3 course meal and they automatically bring you iced water without being asked. little things like that make us happy lol that and they dont blink an eye when we rock up in jeans and a tshirt half the time haha or maybe they just know us by now lol


Cream of Cauliflower Soup ($12.90). the soups at euro lounge are always awesome and packed full of flavour. our fav is their mushroom soup but the cream of cauliflower soup with the scallop tortellini and black truffle oil comes a close second


Pork Belly ($19.90). the twice cooked pork belly was soft and tender with a gorgeous crispy skin and i was happy with the poached apple that hid under the crispy proscuitto because i get antsy with apple puree cos i think it tastes like baby food… and i know what baby food tastes like because ive had the great fortune of getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth out…


Wild Mushroom & Truffle Tagliatelle ($17.90). the tagliatelle was entree sized but i think this would have been the perfect size for me for a main cos i get full fast after eating a creamy pasta. the freshly made tagliatelle had so many slices of wild mushroom in it it felt like more mushrooms than pasta which is not a bad thing because i love mushrooms now! and the addition of truffle oil gave the dish such an incredible heady aroma that noods scraped the bowl clean…

Ashfield is best known as Little Shanghai among the Chinese community and although it is nowhere near us we’ve heard great stories about the dumplings at New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant (273 Liverpool Road, Ashfield).


i took this foto arond lunch time but the brightly lit restaurant glows from the street at night.


all night these dumpling ladies stand behind a glassed-in room and were hard at work folding, poking and squishing meat into the noodle skin to make the wontons and dumplings. it was kinda hypnotic…


Famous new shanghai steamed mini pork ($6.80) yeah that was the name on the menu. if you have nothing better to do go and grab a takeaway menu and highlight all the spelling mistakes (the mothership counts 17mistakes). eh but anyways moving along now. the dumplings, also known as xiao long bao are fantastic, the noodle skin was just thin enough that it was almost translucent yet still able to hold the magical soupy innards. wait a bit before biting into one or you will surely burn your mouth! or do what my bro does and stab it and save the soup for later…


Shallot pancake ($4.80). Crispy and very morish the fried pancake was chocablock full of shallots


Famous new shanghai pan fried pork bun ($8.80). 10 whole buns arrive all soft and fluffy on the outside and porky goodness on the inside


Egg pancake with fried dough ($4.80). we ordered this mainly because it sounded funny… it was ok the fried dough just tasted like those cruellers you get at yumcha? and the egg pancake was pretty much just a thin crepe with a bit of shallots


Special steamed mini crab meat and pork ($9.80). more dumples! look how the bottoms have poofed out like they want to explode and release its soup to escape our hungry stomachs


and the star of dinner: Deep fried crab with yolk of salted egg ($26.80). have you ever had the salted egg yolk in the mooncakes? yeah imagine that coating on crab… mmm salty goodness!


the only way to eat crab… NOM NOM!


Deep fried bean curd tofu in yolk of salted egg ($12.80). and because we couldnt get enough of the salty eggy goodness we ordered the tofu and while it was pretty good with super soft tofu innards in a crispy coating we thought it needed more of the salted egg coating


Mini pork wonton soup ($4.80). hurhur so cheap! less than $5 and you get a whole bowl of wontons swimming around happily


and because noods is still hungry…


da family

twice a week for the past month i have been ringing zumbo land asking what flavours of macarons they have and then on sat after mosman markets i managed to convince the boy that a drive to balmain was very important to make me happy heh. as we drove past i spied an a4 paper in the window and my heart skipped a beat thinking that maybe the sign said they were closed


but instead a new range of fabulous cakes greeted me all colourful and shiny and preeetty they were


sadly my favourite wheely good has disappeared but that was soon forgotten as i did a happy dance while deciding on which cakes would leave their shiny cabinet and make the journey home with me oh the decisions!


can i get the macarons in a box i asked counterboy. he paused for a split second before asking how many i wanted. 15 i smiled oh and could i also get some cakes…


my babies!


pile o babies. i like how king zumbo has the random flavoured macarons- some work, some dont but its all about tricking your tastebuds into thinking its eating something thats not just a normal biscuit. the first on the pile of macarons was olive oil which i found interesting and slightly nutty on the first bite but a tad too oily aftertaste. my least favourite was the earl grey. it really tasted of tea [duh] um but it was way too strong for my immature tea-hating tastebuds.


my favourite was the banana caramel macaron, it was slightly wonky shaped but appearances can be deceiving. at first i was unsure if i should buy it for i hate all things banana flavoured but it was shiny! and golden! so i bought 4. heh. and boy was i glad! it tasted like banana squeezings! the caramel leaned towards a butterscotchy flavour which made me want to eat a banana split covered in butterscotch sauce


and coming in at a close 2nd favourite is the rice pudding macaron! i know weird flavour huh? but it was awesome! a light dusting of cinnamon on a pale crispy shell sandwiching a creamy vanilla filling with granules of rice that reminded me of passionflower/serendipitys’ sticky rice icecream. oh yes it was awesome.


heehee my giant macaron! its almost half the size of my face 0_0


cherry cherry ($8.95) aint it a beauty? i didnt even read the description of what it was i just took one look at it and registered that it was a gigantic macaron and did another happy dance. the cherry cherry is an awesome take on the cherry ripe bar but way more pretty.


its pink! the boy complained but its about 3 times the size of a normal macaron i squeal gleefully


behold the innards shot! the PINK macaron sandwiched a layer of chocolate sabayon mousse, morello cherry compote and coconut moisture. i have slight issues with coconut in general but i loved the juicy slightly sour cherry bits


tuk tuk nothing ($7.50). coconut dacquoise, coconut pandan mousse and caramelised exotic fruit. it looks like my wheely good has been replaced and while i was initially saddened i was very curious to see a cake with a pandan flavour thats not made by sally chen cakes [heh hi stan] and it was a lovely subtle flavour, soft and creamy mousse with the crunch of the meringue layers. but it is the macarons that i will be back for oh yes. the macarons call to me.

related links:

adriano zumbos cakes 020608

adriano zumbo macarons vs lindt 280508

our engagement party was set a whole month after noods proposed mostly because we needed to concentrate on the good food and wine show. luckily the weather brightened up and we had a gorgeous sunny day!


lol i paid $1.50 per balloon and somehow noods managed to deflate one before it even reached my house. he claims he didnt do anything but i think he ate the helium.


nat, me and auds my fabulous helpers who arrived earli while i scrambled to get everything done on time


we have like 5 fridges in our house 0_0 and it was actually easier to just move the fridge from the garage to the backyard instead of paying and filling the eskys with ice cos we’re cheap heh noods said it was his dream to organise a fridge just for beer…


=D


me, ev, connie, kev, matty. mmm west coast


jonno… with balloons…


and because we were sooo organised noods had to leave and go off and pick up our 6 foot sub from subway north rocks.


superman! our sub barely fit on our table haha


our awesome sub from my ex boss at subway. thanks heaps emil!


satay lady!


hurhur our table of food! 6 ft sub from subway, wontons & spring rolls from baz, salad from boey, satay from zaida the satay lady, vegetarian noodles from mrs wong, ham & hommus wraps from the mothership, cheese & sourcream dip from me and wait for it:


our glorious roasted suckling pig! mmm piggy


i like knives!


noods hacking away at the pig


noods in deep concentration


somehow jonno got conned into manning the bbq heh thanks jonno!


my dad eating the piggy tail…


noods’ work friends gave us $400. IN COINS.


will…


me and baz


fiona and me


me, connie, mig, baz, matty, linds and kev


lene, viv, me and sophia


marj and me


me, ev, nancy


i couldnt hire the jumping castle cos there wasnt enough space. so i hired a fairy floss machine heehee my dad had alot of fun telling people their fairy floss wasnt big enough lol ready for a whole bunch of fotos of people with their fairy floss?


my wonky fairy floss


noods deciding fairy floss in a compacted ball was much tastier


dougs with THREE sticks of fairy floss


connie is unable to wind much fairy floss on her stick so it looks like cotton buds


trish the super fotographer and me like our fairy floss mmm


seth and me heh thanks for coming sethels lol sorry you didnt know anyone else!


soph, me and nae


joel, trish’s other half and super fotographer #2 has a fairy floss beard


john is proud of his fairy floss skills


so is linds


heehee noods’ grandparents are so cute


speech! speech!


noods’ mum tells her side of the story heh


the footies win our 20questions game and won bubbles and spent the arvo seeing who could make the biggest bubble lol


dessert time! pink and blue cupcakes by me and pavs & lemon tarts by the awesome auds. the skewered fruits and marshmallows were for:


my brand spanking new chocolate fountain from nat! this baby uses one whole kilo of chocolate but it was worth it!


heh. it was so very good =D


me and joke thanks for helping set up the fountain dude!


des comp girlies jene, alicia, sarah, me, jodie


me and john


therese, me, amie


noods and me =D

thank you to everyone who came we had a great day catching up with you all! hope there was enough food and we’ll see you again soon [wink]

day 1 of the good food and wine show totally buggered us because this year for the first time the organisers decided to do 2 sessions of the show- day and night, and the day session visitors were supposed to leave at 5pm so we stall owners could have a break and grab something decent for dinner instead of the junk food we’d no doubt been eating all day but of course the drunks paid no attention and kept wandering everywhere even hiding in the bathrooms to avoid paying! serves them right when someone got locked in hahahaha


sometimes i just really hate people that wont let me eat. you know? i get hungry!


i cant remember if this was a lunch or dinner but we ate at the Lindemans Early Harvest Restaurant where food was prepared by chefs including Ben O’Donoghue and Peter Evans. i got the Braised Pork Belly with Spiced Spaghetti in a Pork Sweet Onion Jus ($18). the line for this was the longest and stretched out past the entrance! i wonder if the other chefs felt sad their dishes werent as popular…


lol noods’ line was shorter than mine so it meant he got his food first and he sat at the table for a good 5mins pleading with his eyes to let him start eating before i took a foto while i was lining up hehe i didnt think he could eat so fast by the time my food arrived! and argh the menu on the good food website changed! and since i have such awesome memory skills all i can say was noods ordered a lamb shank ($18). on rice. with a side of naan bread. uh little help noods?


the bubbly beverly came to visit bringing along her other half mike chris congrats on the engagement dudes! and the lovely jenny came by bringing along a slightly intoxicated justin heh heh thanks to all the lurkers who visited too! kat did you start on the jams yet? and my mum said she was speaking to someone who congratulated her on my engagement and that was the exact moment i woke up from my nap under the table aww sorry i couldnt meet you dude


something to keep my sugar levels up: a cup of creamy melty milk chocolate from adora ($2)


i didnt go to any of the gordan ramsay shows. it felt like i did tho cos our stall was so close to the theatre that i wanted to punch the announcer every time he screams and its goooordaaan raaamsaaay! eh. anyways i thought this post wouldnt be complete without a shot of his head at the book signing


and then wally rocked up and off he and noods went in search of free wine samples. and whiskey samples. and vodka samples. and kahlua samples. and anything alcoholic they could get their hands on lol


lol noods is lopsided


day 3 started with a quick detour to the zumbo land (excuse the crappy shots i took them in the car with noods seemingly intent on driving in all the potholes and swerving around the roundabouts…) after having a dream about the passionfruit and yoghurt macarons but alas it was not meant to be!


instead a speckled bright blue macaron stared at me snug in its display case and it was so pretty! like the outside of quail egg! but blue… it was a blueberry and lavender concoction that i had hoped was more blueberry than lavender but no there was much lavender and it felt like i was eating air freshener hmph


but this! behold the wagon wheel! a gourmet take on the classic it comprised of 2 macarons sandwiching a disc of spongey soft marshmallow with a dollop of jam in its centre and enrobed in chocolate. enrobed! doesnt that just make you think happy thoughts?


hungry for some steak we walked up cockle bay wharf and into i’m angus where the heady steaky charcoaly scent made us drool


Ribeye Steak 350g ($36). it’s our first visit to im angus and while the price of my steak did make me wince i know i would definitely come back and eat this steak again it was fanbloodytastic mate! cooked to a perfect medium rare and well rested on a bed of smooth buttery mash i was incredibly happy and spent the rest of the day chanting steak steak steak!


Kangaroo Fillet ($29.50). of course noods had to get the kangaroo. he finished it pretty quickly so i reckon if they add another piece of roo and increase the price itd feel like more value?


and because i know how you all love a photo of me holding knives…


our haul from the end of the day! discounted free range chicken from lilydale, batlow apple juice, bottles of soy sauce and chilli, turkish delight, cans of pink (sooo delish), discounted fetta and labna cheese and when everyone was closing we scored FREE bottles of lemon lime and bitters, free milk, free crabmeat, free yoghurt, free gourmet garden herbs and sauces. and a giant thank you to stan for feeding my parents! and for the beers heh

clad in our bright orange exhibitor shirts, the good food and wine show started early for us when we arrived at the convention centre in darling harbour early thurs to setup our stall

dodging forklifts and fellow exhibitors we started setting up our stall to the sounds of an over-excited announcer rehearsing the lines “and its gordon ramsaaaaay!”


me stall… there seemed to be a greater emphasis on the wine and alcohol stalls this year and with the free wine glass on arrival meant people were walking around rather sloshed and only interested in getting more sloshed…


at 10am the doors opened and the crowds streamed in. it soon became apparent people were only interested in the free samples bah! the day was brightened by a visit from the lovely helen who took some photos of me being ridiculous. heh. and crazy nat arrived soon after who scored us some fanbloodytastic truffle cheese not to mention the first of many colourful frozen daiquiris


and then noods arrived after work and his eyes lit up at the free beer and we found the yellowtail stall was awesome with their vinyl bar complete with headphones to listen to music, the kahlua stall with their free hand massages while sitting in basket chairs strung from the roof and the lowenbraus giant pot of salty pretzels was a beautiful sight to see


snacks from the show! a packet of sweet potato chips ($5), pink energy drink that tastes like nerds ($2), bagel crisps ($2), freenut butter and random chocolate and candy


a late dinner of a tart of unknown description from the cafe because the fancy schmancy restaurant closed earli.


so if youre into wines and beers this show will definitely be worth it for you. tix are $25 for adults and the show is on sat 21st 10am-6pm and sun 22nd 10am-5pm. if youre in the area come and have a chat and try some biscuits! if im not at the stall it could be becos im hiding under a table or something so ask whoevers manning the stall where i am lol


cheers!

its june already? halfway point to xmas kids! the days and the weeks have crept up so quickly its kinda disturbing how ive lost track of time. ill be at the good food and wine show this fri 20th june somewhere near the celebrity theatre. im hoping the theatre is enclosed so i dont have to listen to gordon ramsay swear every 2 words… and heres hoping he doesnt eat more human fingers! anywhos come find me manning my biscuit tree stall ill be at stand number R30 directly opposite the Lyndey Milan regional Producers Area and 2 aisles away from the celebrity theatre. come and have a chat and try some biscuits =D