Philippine Food Festival in Cafe Mix @ Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney

October - Good Food Month is the best yet worst month for a foodie. With an influx in food deals and events, it is hard to choose which events you want to go to. As part of Good Food Month myself and a few bloggers were invited to the launch of the Philippine Food Festival. 

The Philippine Food Festival involves a lunch ($48 pp, 12-230pm) or dinner ($75pp, 6-10.30pm)  buffet option at Cafe Mix inside the Shangri-La Hotel. Bringing the tastes of Philippines to Australian shores, by actually have 2 chefs from the Philippines cooking up a storm. The buffet has a salad bar, dessert bar, bain maries filled with food (mostly meat based), and a halo halo station! Available from the 1st - 15th October 2013.

Roasted meats

Banana leaf grilled fish

Pork knuckle cooked in sweet soy sauce

Crispy pork Belly

Seared ox tail in peanut sauce

Bain Maries!

Rice noodle with smoked fish and shrimp sauce

Seared mussles in ginger broth

Chef making pork sisig

Ox Tripe & ox feet menudo

Pork with tomato based sauce and capsicums

Grouper sour broth with miso

Grilled blue marlin with anatto oil

Squid with chilli and coconut milk

Salad bar

Salad bar

Plate 1: All meats, no greens

Plate 2

My aim was to try as many components as possible, yet still have room for dessert! As you can see from the photos, Filipino food isn't very vegetarian friendly. However, for all the non vegetarians our there, Philippine Food Festival is a great way to taste the flavours of the Philippines. 

My favourite of all the dishes was the mussels and pork sisig. The pork sisig had amazing fresh flavours, with a kick of spice. It was also topped with a bit of Japanese mayonnaise, which finished it perfectly. This was my first time eating Filipino food, and I find it extremely hard to describe the flavours of Philippines. It doesn't have the distinct spice of thai food or nuttiness of Malaysian food. Filipino food is filled with flavour, sauciness and overall delicious. I know that lacks description, but hopefully the photos do it justice. Now onto desserts!

Meringue Roulade filled with vanilla custard

Vanilla sponge layered with cream and mixed fruit

Glutinous rice topped with raw sugar

Glutinous rice with chocolate

Leche Flan

Ube pudding

Young coconut with pine jelly, fresh fruit and 

mixed fruit with cream and condensed milk

Halo Halo station

Desserts!

Halo Halo with fruit, jellies and ice cream!

All the desserts were delicious! The various glutinous rice dishes were unique in there own way. The leche flan was fantastic, it had a perfect balance of egginess and sweetness. The meringue roulande with vanilla custard was delectable. A soft meringue texture, with vanilla custard yet a crisp top layer, need to find out how to replicate such a dessert. Ube pudding was pefect,  I wish I wasn't so full so I could have gone for another plate of that alone.

Halo halo is a popular Filipino dessert consisting of shaved ice, evaporated milk and other toppings of your choice (as if you are picking toppings for froyo). It is traditionally presented in a cup, but I wanted a bowl to fill it up. It can be an acquired concept, but delicious in every way.

The Philippine Food Festival was a great way to experience the flavours of Philippines. The buffet means a fulfilling dining experience, and the desserts alone are a reason to have a taste. 

Good food, good times!

Coffee Warehouse Cafe & Deli @ Homebush

My brother loves pizza, probably one of his favourite food. So, for his birthday he organised a dinner at Coffee Warehouse Cafe and Deli. Coffee Warehouse Cafe & Deli is located along the busy Paramatta road amongst a bunch of car manufacturers. The name of the restaurant is quite a handful, and I am not sure if I can really refer to it as a restaurant. By day it works as a place for coffee and cafe style food, and at night as a pizzeria. The warehouse element of the 'restaurant' is that they sell a range of coffee machines, coffee beans and other interesting European biscuits and sauces. (Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the interior).

Meatlovers

Ham, cabanossi, pepperoni, bacon, bbq sauce

Mexicana

Pepperoni, onion, capsicum, olives, chilli, jalapenos

Ham & Pineapple

Smoked ham, pineapple

Polenta Chips

Homemade polenta chips with rich napoletana sauce and parmesan

Roasted rosemary tomatoes

Rocket and parmesan salad

Caoricciosa

Smoked ham, mushrooms, olives

Prosciutto

Prosciutto, mascarpone, olives, rocket, extra virgin olive oil 

PATATE

Pizza Bianca - sliced potato, prosciutto, rocket

Digging in! 

All the food was exceptional! Despite some of the photos making the pizzas looks oily, they aren't that greasy. The pizzas aren't overcrowded with too many toppings, which allows all the individual elements to come through. The dough itself allows for a crisp crust and base. I definitely recommend ordering sides helped break through all the pizza goodness. Possibly the best Italian Pizzeria I have been to! 

On top of my brother loving pizza, he loves cakes with mousse in it. So I went to Cavallaros in Liverpool to purchase one of their popular cakes - Nocciola. It is composed of hazelnut daquoise, milk chocolate mousse with praline, and there are also little circle crisps through out the mousse.

Happy Birthday!!

The dinner was for 12 people, and in between us we ordered 8 pizzas (I think) and a whole bunch of sides to share amongst the entire table. We were all completely stuffed by the end of the meal. It is a great place to celebrate a birthday. However, they do charge a cake fee of $2.50 per person. 

Good food, good times!