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):