100TH POST! Easter Tea Party

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! But also a HAPPY 100TH POST! I am not sure if it is really a milestone, but to me it seems to be. After blogging for almost 2 years, I continue to find joy with it, and hopefully it is helpful to some people. Anyways, going on with Easter, my girlfriends decided to host a high tea at my house, where everyone was to bring a savoury and sweet dish. It was a great first high tea, and hopefully be one of many catch ups! 

My contribution was a Strawberry and Watermelon Cake (the famous one from black star pastry), however the cake part didn't quite turn out, so instead it became a tart (by using puff pastry and used baking beads to flatten it). So I will definitely be trying this recipe again, if you are after the recipe it can be found here on Gourmet Traveller: strawberry and watermelon cake recipe. 

Collection of tea pots

Victorian style tea set that has been with the family for years

My Easter display, lindt chocolates in a basket

Ham, cheese & cucumber, and turkey, spinach & avocado sandwiches

Hedgehog slice

Mini pandan cupcakes and vanilla, coconut, pandan tarts

Date pastries and toasted oregano and tomato sandwiches

Strawberry and watermelon tart

Cross section of the tart

The tart and I

The lovely girls! xx

Good food, good times!

Black Star Pastry @ Newtown

As part of Crave Sydney International Food Festival 2012, Newtown Precinct created Taste of Newtown Food Festival. This was a month long event where various restaurants of the Newtown Precinct offered food deals to diners. As the website said 'Surry Hills is sooooo 2010 – eat your way around Newtown instead…'. Therefore, for my Newtown fix I went to Black Star Pastry with a few friends. The deal was 2 coffees/hot chocolates, 2 savouries and 2 sweets for $25!

When I first laid eyes on the strawberry watermelon cake and chocolate eclair a few years ago I have been a fan of Black Star Pastry . Ever since then, every trip to Newtown involves a visit to Black Star Pastry.

Lamb & Red wine Pie

Australia is known for meat pies, and Black Star Pastry can deliver a damn good meat pie! I didn't even need to add too much tomato sauce, and it was perfect temperature to enjoy without burning my tongue.

Beef sausage roll

This was my friends dish, and she said it was nice, and definitely better than the ones are uni (which are the frozen packet ones).

Proscuitto and rocket in olive infused bread 

I didn't get the chance to try this but my friend said it was really nice. She enjoyed the olive infused bread.

Mushroom, spinach, feta and cheese toasted sandwich 

My friend that tried this stated that she had never had anything like this before. I took a bite, and it was very mushroomy, so if you enjoy mushrooms this is the sandwich for you!

Chocolate & lime tort and Strawberry & watermelon cake

Strawberry & watermelon cake and Raspberry creme brulee tart

The chocolate and lime tort was very interesting, definitely not a dessert for everyone. The layers of chocolate cake and ganache helped the intensity of the lime jelly, however there was still a strong hit of lime. Out of all 4 of us, only myself and one of the other girls liked it. If you enjoy desserts that have a tangy twist, this will be for you.

The raspberry creme brulee tart is a simple delight. With the fusion of a vanilla custard and raspberry centre, it is a perfect treat for a quick sugar hit.

As I said earlier in the post, the strawberry and watermelon cake can never go wrong. Fresh layers of cake, watermelon, cream and topped with strawberries and jelly = Summer in your mouth. Everything about this cake is delightful, the only annoying part is that you can't eat it perfectly. Even though the layers may break apart, it is one of the reason I always go back to Black Star Pastry, an all time favourite.

Good food, good times!

Newtown Bites

I woke up one morning, and thought I need an afternoon of good company and great food. I messaged one of my close friends and decided, lets go to Newtown, and off we went to some of our favourite places and venturing to some new ones.

First stop: Luxe Bakery (195 Missenden Road, Newtown NSW 2042)
No matter the sweet craving I always have to go for savoury first to set the mood. So we decided to start our Netown bites with some savoury brunch delights.

Toasted herby chicken with prolone cheese, lettuce + tangy orange sauce $10

I have yet to try a bad sandwich at Luxe Bakery, and that streak continues. I had a taste of what was one great sandwich, with the moist chicken and orange sauce. I wished the sauce had a bit of a stronger taste, nevertheless it was wonderful. 

House cured trout with hash browns, poached egg & truffle oil $16

The house cured trout is my idea of a good lunch. Everything on the plate works well together, and the perfectly poached egg gives the dish that little extra kick. This is my second time having this dish, and compared to the first time, the trout didn't have a lightly dill coat. The dill definitely makes a difference to the taste, adding another level of freshness to the trout.

Second Stop: The Pie Tin (1a Brown Steet, Newtown NSW 2042)

Let the sweets begin! This was our debut to The Pie Tin, after seeing chocolatesuze post a photo of some awesome looking pies she was eating, I had to get in on the action. Walking into The Pie Tin and seeing all the pies in the glass cabinet, made them all look irresistible. Flavours including apple, chocolate brownie, strawberry, snickers, oreo, pumpkin, coconut custard, raspberry & lime jelly and more! After a good 5 minutes, we finally decided on which sweet pies to get.

 GIANT APPLE PIE!!

 Pie prices: $6.50 - $7.50

We purchased American sweet pumpkin, and coconut custard pie. The pumpkin pie was my favourite of the two, it wasn't to sweet, but it was sweet enough to just hit the spot. The coconut custard pie was relatively light. It had more of an egg custard filling, compared to a vanilla custard filling. Which didn't quite tickle my fancy, but tasted nice regardless. The coconut added a little extra sweetness.

Third Stop: Gelatomassi (262 King St, Newtown NSW 2042)

I read about Gelatomassi in a SMH article titled Sydney's tastiest gelato. Not realising where it was located until we walked passed it on the way to luxe, I made sure we came back for a taste. Ice-cream is a weakness for me, especially at a place like Gelatomassi where there are plenty of flavours to choose from.

Price range: From $4.50

After sampling a few flavours, we chose pistachio and dark chocolate, due to Four Square where most people stated they enjoyed these flavours. The sweetness of the pistachio complimented the bitterness of the dark chocolate resulting in an awesome combination of flavours. The texture of the ice cream was smooth, and creamy, yet not too milky. It reminded of the ice cream at Pompeii (in Bondi) but Gelatomassi is cheaper and I think will be one of my new favourite spots to eat ice cream.

Final Stop: Black Star Pastry (277 Australia Street, Newtown NSW 2042)

The journey ends at one of Newtown's hot spots, famous for there chocolate éclair and watermelon cake, Black Star Pastry. The main reason we went there was to try there new granita, that was a limited edition summer item, but they didn't make it on the day, so instead we chose the blueberry lavender tart ($6) and lemon meringue tart with basil jelly ($6).

The blueberries on the tart had a sugar coating, which I personally didn't like too much. It made the tart a bit too sweet for my liking. I am unsure to what the filling of the tart was but it was nice and light, and went well with blueberries that weren't coated in sugar. Nevertheless, a well flavoured sweet sensation.

The lemon meringue tart with basil jelly was definitely interesting. The thing I found intriguing was the shape of the dessert, and the perfectly torched lines on the meringue. The meringue with the lemon curd tasted typical to a normal lemon meringue tart, however the basil jelly is what made a difference. The basil jelly added a 'herby' taste to the dessert, which worked strangely well with the sour lemon and sweet meringue. After a while, the lemon became a bit overpowering, but I wouldn't have expected any less.

Good food, good times!