Travelling with avocado and smokey goodness

I had a magnificent breakfast in Perth recently… it consisted of smoked salmon and avocado… and an amazing fruit salad with yoghurt and berry sauce… as well as good coffee… the place is on Pier Street just near the Pensione Hotel (part of the 8Hotels chain)...

Avocado featured again at a recent lunch in Brisbane (within the 8Hotel in Spring Hill)… on top of a smoked chicken salad…

Later in the day, the New Zealand ice-cream on Southbank was a bit bland and disappointing… I asked for strawberry cheesecake flavour, but she gave me plain strawberry (which was similar to a neapolitan strawberry flavour from a supermarket tub).  My second flavour was caramel pecan, which was ok, but nothing special.

The Hazelnut wins again at Gelateria Primavera, Spring Street

Why do I feel I need to try exotic flavours?  They often disappoint.  Bubbles and I took a break from Christmas shopping at the Gelateria Primavera in Spring Street… Bubbles did the right thing and ordered the hazelnut (relishing the creamy goodness of a flavour we know well and have tried there before), as well as a very mixed peel flavoured Panatone Italian Christmas flavour...

I ordered a floury cardamon and pistachio with chilli marscapone (too savoury)… I felt far from the Hill of Content, where we had been shopping for presents...

You can't buy happiness, but you can buy Juaja's ice-cream

Helados Juaja on Lygon Street is my ice-creamery of the year… We wanted to take a Sydney friend there one morning before the cricket, but unfortunately they only open at 12:45.  Bubbles and I decided to loiter in Carlton, checking out the books, CDs, DVDs and diaries at Readings until they opened… and it was worth the wait… We actually loved wasting time in Carlton… it was like a mini holiday in our own city….

I had my favourite (rose water, raspberry and pistachio gelato) and Bubbles tried the passionfruit divine (lived up to its name) and the boysenberry white chocolate (too sweet)…

Summer Strawberry - the Connoisseur at home

Recently we indulged in a tub of Connoisseur Summer Strawberry for desserts at home… it goes very well with banana… I love the jammy swirls of strawberry and the creamy consistency of the ice-cream… 9/10 for the connoisseur at home...

So wrong, it's right - Messima, Darlinghurst, Sydney

In late November I had the pleasure of an evening in Sydney… I caught up with friends and we walked from a delicious dinner at Fratelli Fresh (underground in Bridge Street) to Messima in Darlinghurst.  This was the selection of ice-cream flavours on offer:

I had the Boss' Wife, which was delicious… I love Hazelnut and Messima always delivers… So I am looking forward to my next trip to Sydney in mid January to try more flavours...

Cones, Glenferrie Road Hawthorn

Yesterday James and I took a break between house inspections and indulged in some delicious gelati from Cones (836 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn).

It wasn't exactly ice-cream weather, but that never bothers us.  There was even a queue of four cute kids in front of us trying to decide on flavours...

Forrey tried the Bounty and Jaffa flavours... we both agreed that the Jaffa was scrumptious (orange and chocolate go so well together) 9/10... Forrey also liked the Bounty with it's dessicated coconut and chocolate swirls, but that didn't appeal to me so much.

I ordered the Pistachio crunch and Ferrero... the Pistachio was very creamy (I prefer more pistachio flavour) and the Ferrero was good with the chocolate and crunchy pieces. 7.5/10

Cooking as a team building activity

I recently participated in a work team building activity.  We were broken into two teams and a chef walked us through a recipe, which we had an hour and a half to prepare the meal, then plate it up and then we could eat what we created.  They judged us on team work, taste, presentation skills and the love letter we left to the chef!

My team had to make bacon stuff chicken breast, mushroom sauce kumera rosti and green salad.  We won and it was delicious... It was really fun to chop, stir, fry and mix with my work mates...  Everyone participated with great enthusiasm, so it was a great bonding experience and the highlight of my week away.

This was my plate and the way we served everyone in the team (not the one we made for the judges, which was very fancy with the salad artistically poised on a celery stick)...

Quinoa with beetroot, goats cheese and grilled chicken

To celebrate selling my hubby's old house, we went out for lunch at Poynton's nursery cafe by the Maribyrnong River.  I had a truly delicious meal consisting of a bed of beetroot quinoa, topped with grilled chicken and surrounded by goats cheese and tomato puree... I haven't had quinoa before, but I really liked it... It reminded me of rice, but was a bit nuttier like a lentil or a chick pea... (or as my hubby says "girl food")... Bring back ancient grains, I say... Beetroot is also one of our favourite things at the moment... messy to prepare, but definitely worth it:

The smear

I have noticed a trend of smearing sauce or mustard on plates... as if they are using a paint brush.  My husband calls this "the smear" and is not a fan.  I am not sure I like it either... It is sort of ugly art... or what my grandmother would say was "very modern" (and therefore of dubious merit)!

This was a mustard smear with my delicious steak at Mecca in Auckland... Couldn't they just have dabbed a few dots of mustard around the steak instead?

Federal & Wolfe breakfasts (Auckland, NZ)

My favourite cafe for breakfast is Federal & Wolfe in Auckland... My recent experience lived up to my high expectations...

One morning I had the bircher muesli... the rhubarb sauce is divine... and the bircher itself contains lots of delicious nuts, seeds, cranberries and apple... I also like how they serve their fresh juices in old jars (I like the orange, lemon refresher):

Another morning I had a nice stack of poached eggs, spinach and hollandaise sauce on two pieces of muffin... they make great coffee too:

Sebel in Auckland, who would have thought room service ice-cream could be so good?

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the ice-cream I received as part of my room service during my stay at the Sebel in Auckland.  I have never ordered ice-cream through room service before, because I imagined it would melt quickly and be a soupy mess by the time it reached me.  

This dessert was perfect... the chocolate chip was the best flavour... every creamy and strong... the raspberry sorbet was nice and tart, so formed as a good offset and cleanser... It came with 2 little cake-like morsels... and I liked how they served the ice-cream on big plastic spoons... 8.5/10

Sara Lee Hazelnut Swirl

Our IGA has just stopped stocking our favourite Aurora hazelnut gelati, so we decided to try the Sara Lee Hazelnut swirl (it was on special too).  It did not disappoint us.  We liked the chocolate sauce swirl through it and actual nuts, as well as the creaminess of the ice-cream.  At $7.99 it is a nice treat, 8/10:

Joy at the gelati festival on Lygon Street

We had a wonderful time at the Gelati Festival in Lygon Street yesterday morning.  The vendors were very generous and so we tasted nearly all the competition entries.  For $10 you could have 3 tiny cones and 2 cups... a lot more ice-cream that even the Celebrity Ice-cream Critics eat (and we eat a lot of ice-cream)!

Our favourites were (using initials for anonymity):
M - salted caramel with macadamia nuts
C - fig and mascapone
F - coffee and roasted candied almonds (strong, not too sweet, plus crunch)
R - passionfruit pavlova (light fluffy elegance)

Lots of spoons from all the tastings (no, we are not trying to dress like twins and don't always go out in the same colours - we were in a rush getting ready... he he...):

This was the roasted almonds and coffee from Enmore in Sydney

Rich chocolate:

We realised that you really need to pace yourself when it comes to ice-cream... In summer the Celebrity Ice-cream Critics have been known to eat ice-cream twice a day (after lunch and after dinner).  However we found that after we had tried 5 or 6 ice-creams, it was hard to like them... they just seemed super sweet.  I suppose it is similar to a wine tasting... you can get palate overload...  Perhaps we need water with a dash of lemon or lime between tastings to cleanse our palate!

Nevertheless... we have one voucher left, so might go back today for another tub of deliciousness!

Juaja, Argentinian ice-cream in Lygon Street

It was not really ice-cream weather last night, but we needed a walk, so decided to reward ourself with ice-cream!  My colleague Sara had told me about this new place... It was quirky and fabulous with all ice-cream made from scratch with good ingredients (and you could tell)...

The vendor was a character and told us all about the flavours... it was really hard to choose, but I eventually settled on rose water & pistachio (amazing - light and delicate 9/10) and strawberries & cream (just ok 6/10)...

James had caramel choc chip (James' rating: flakey choc chips that melt in your mouth, yum 8/10) and strawberries & cream (James gives it 7/10)...

More flavours for next time... definitely worth the $16.10 we paid for 2 ice-creams with 2 flavours:

Icecream and Hyatt high tea

We were given a voucher for high tea the Hyatt hotel on the corner of Collins and Russell Street... we took the 12-2:30pm option and enjoyed elegant sandwiches, curry puffs, california rolls, petit fours and icecream... Sparkling wine and coffee made everything go down nicely.  We sat in the window... in a little booth looking into the tree tops and big bird scultpures on Russell Street...

Our favorite was the wagu beef sandwich and the pistachio layer cake... Here are the snaps of our icecream plates...

Breakfast in the Rocks

Peter did a wonderful job of plating up... here is his creation from the buffet at the Sebel in Sydney...

Fratelli Fresh, Bridge Street, Sydney

This week in Sydney, we visited an underground cavern of rustic italian delights... We sat in a corner booth on red upolstered couches... surrounded by pictures of Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck... the groovy set were out in force... the place was full...

We shared antipasto before our main... I had the lasagne (yum) and the salads were delicious... fresh simple ingredients:

A mini foodie tour of Melbourne

I had a friend visiting from New Zealand on Wednesday and wanted to give a little foodie tour of Melbourne.  I chose Roule Galette for lunch and Trunk diner for dinner...

The spinach and mushroom crepe:

The salmon and basil crepe:

The wagu burger with guacamole and cheese:

Yum!

Home made pistachio icecream and pavlova

Last weekend I tried a new recipe from Neil Perry.  It was in the Good Weekend.  I was surprised that the recipe required me to boil the cream.  I decided to be good and actually follow the recipe... It didn't thicken the way I had envisaged despite whisking it for twenty minutes.  It stayed runny... not really thick... It had 6 eggs yolks, sugar and 3 tablespoons of rose water... I love the smell of rose water (procured at King & Godfrey in Carlton)... When it finally froze, it was hard and very nutty (contained 150 grams of crushed pistachios - I crushed them roughly).... It was delicious (and rich), but next time I am going to try whipping cold cream and see if I can get a creamy light consistency:

The pavlova was a good way to use up the egg whites and so light and yum... also make the room warm on a cold day (150 degrees for 30 minutes then 120 for 45 minutes):

Brisbane and Melbourne

This week took me to Brisbane and breakfast by the river was divine...

It was 23 degrees and here are the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon with berry juice...

Croque Madame:

And this morning at Cafe Vu... the bircher was beautiful...

Cafe Vue in St Kilda Road

Earlier in the week my Sydney colleagues were in town and we tried Cafe Vue in St Kilda Road (near the corner of Toorak Road).

I had the poached pears on crumble with yoghurt (the pears were fantastic, but the crumble was a little sweet for that time in the morning):

Banana bread with macadamia nut butter (bit too rich for me):

Angela had an egg on toast with bacon and cheese inside...

Felicity had the full breakfast:

This was lunch at Henry and the Fox on Monday... an artichoke pizza... the peppers in the bowl behind were very hot!

Treats from Thomas Dux

Thursday afternoons need not be cold and glum...  Peter brought us treats from Thomas Dux...

The chocolate cake was flourless...

 

We brainstormed about the best lollies from NZ and discussed schnapps...

Happy Friday

Jo and I went to Journal for brekky (with the birds) this morning.  We had coffee, fresh juice and toasties (cheese and tomato).  Yum!  We had a table by the stair case and enjoyed great service.

 

 

What a good way to start the day!  All the world's challenges can be solved by eating soft warm cheese in toast...

Cumulus for breakfast

The gang went to Cumulus for breakfast this morning.

Peter had the trout, Sara and I had the Cumulus Breakfast (Boiled egg, toast, yoghurt, jam, yoghurt, juice and coffee) and Chris had the full brekky (minus the blood sausage).

 

Smiles all round.