Bakery Trade Show 2010- Food Service Australia

I was lured by the promise of food-lots and lots of it!, bits of cool machinery and exciting new products out in the market. And yes, the free entrance.

Bakery Competition.

A competition using breads as medium to create almost life-like sculptures. There seem to be a recurring theme too. I think it has something to do with this guy called Ned Kelly. Apparently, he is a bushranger/ outlaw... Strange theme. Anyway, it was interesting to see all these bread sculptures and taste all the excess breads, generously given away by the chefs.

Decorative cakes.

Freebies. Yes, that is why we're here.

It was interesting to see that there were quite a variety of machines on show. Apart from your standard deck ovens, there were huge rotating ovens that can bake an entire push-cart of baking trays (abit like in the airline kitchens), hi-tech cleaning equipment to automated piping machines (for choux, shortbread, macarons, you name it), and automated doughnut-maker (from start to end-piping, frying, glazing). There were so many automated this, automated that, that, to tell the truth, I started asking what is the point of a pastry chef, of a human being? And is Australia heading in that direction? In a world that is fed by machines? I hope not. I still want to be fed by humans.

End.

Madang- Best Seafood Pancake in Sydney

The title says it all.

Banchan, complimentary side dishes. They are not fantastic like the ones in Myunga, Eastwood, but they are still good. I like the apple dressing of the lettuce salad!

Haemul pajeon 해물파전, $11-small ($19-large). Best seafood pancake ever. Simply because it has the right thickness, generous bits of squid, prawns and shallots, this awesome soy-sesame dipping sauce to go with and is damn crispy. And it stays that way through out the meal.

Nakji bokkeum 낙지볶음, stir-fried baby octopus with lots of julienne onions in gochujang sauce. It looks really spicy at first, but as I chewed on the baby octopus tentacles, I was quite relieved because it is actually quite sweet! But after a few bites, as the chilli builds up, and it gets really spicy! Beware!

Spicy tofu and crab soup. Definitely on my favourite Korean soup list. The crab meat in the soup is real stuff, not crab sticks, hence it lends this subtle sweetness to the broth. On a cold winter afternoon, this boiling hot broth with a bowl of steamed white rice is the perfect remedy to an empty stomach.

Sorry about the names and prices, I forgot all of them and had to go searching on the internet for them. This is the best I can do...

371A Pitt Street

Sydney, NSW 200

Phone: 9264 7010

The place is a little hard to get to (for me who is an absolutely fail at directions, it is almost impossible). Best find a friend who had already been there to show you the way.

End.

Macquarie Visions. Vivid Sydney

From 21 May to 21 June, Energy Australia and Vivid Sydney has put together a series of light installation by projecting light images onto monumental buildings. It starts From St Mary’s Cathedral and Hyde Park Barracks to Parliament House, the State Library of NSW and The Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

My first impression of St Mary's was eerie. It looked like a ghost church from far. Then as I advanced, it looked like a church on fire because of all that red, fiery light. I liked it best when it had blue and white colours projected on. It looked like the starry night. You get to enjoy this weird mix of aboriginal and classical music playing throughout the light exhibit too. =)

End.

Fouratefive, Campos coffee

Have you ever had a time when you want to get to this place but you can't? You remember seeing that place but you don't remember how to get there? Then, after going round and round in circles looking, you gave up? Because you were too hungry to care? Well, I have.

At ten-thirty in the morning, I was suppose to be sitting in Cafe Ish, with a plate of croc-in-a-hole on my table (ever since I saw it on A Table For Two I wanted to try..). No, I was walking uphill along Albion Street, still looking for the fabled cafe; I could feel Elise stomach grumbling. No, I had not consulted the map, nor do I remember the address. I was ultra confident that I would have no problem at all finding the cafe for I had passed it at least 3 times, on my way to Crown Street. Things have a way of hiding themselves when you are looking for them, and that includes cafes as well. After walking around Surry Hills for half an hour, we decided to head to Fouratefive instead. Elise had yet to try their famous sandwiches.

11am on a Saturday morning. It was so, so busy. The insides were full. There were lots of people standing outside, waiting for their takeaway coffees and sandwiches. We were lucky. We only had to wait for about five minutes before we got our table.

Busy is as busy does. We only got our food 25 minutes after ordering...

Carrot, apple and ginger, $5. My favourite. I had it the last time I came.

Homemade creamed corn served with two poached eggs, crispy bacon and organic sourdough toast, $14. It was normal for me. Nothing fantastic. My only comment would be the creamed corn wasn't creamy enough.

Toasted sandwich, smoked ham, gruyere cheese, potato and fennel hash and bechamel sauce on organic sourdough, $11. It's like a croque monsieur except that it has potato in it. It's my first potato in a sandwich... hmmm, bit of a overkill with all that starch. And I reckon they could have used better gruyere. Still nice. It was a really big breakfast for me.

Followed by Campos Coffee at Newtown.

485 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney

Phone: 9698 6485

www.fouratefive.com

End.

Botega Del Vino

I'm in love with Sonoma's Miche bread. Dark, sour, springy with a thick crust. Delish.

Saturday morning, Heidi was a girl on mission. Objective 1: Breakfast at Infinity cafe. But Heidi is very bad at directions, she could not find the cafe. Nevermind. Heidi adapts to situation quickly. Objective 1.1: Breakfast at Botega Del Vino- must eat that chicken sandwich Row raves about. Objective 2: Buy Sonoma's Miche bread from the same deli.

Elise bought a cranberry and turkey sandwich, which was stuffed full of rocket leaves. It was a bit dry and had way too much rocket in it.
Heidi got her chicken and egg mayo sandwich. Now she knows: chicken and egg mayo- a great combination. Shreds of tender chicken, generous amounts of salty egg mayo (where the yolks were still kind of translucent), spinach leaves and soy and linseed sourdough. Really really good.

Botega Del Vino

Potts Point 1/77 Macleay St

Phone: 9331 8333

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Berry Berries (aka Strawberry Shortcake)

Waguri Millefeuille 和栗ミルフイル

Class Excursion to Fish Market

Lowenbrau

It has been pissing down rain this entire week. Wet, dreary, cold and unable to do my laundry, I pretty much stay home mostly. Monday evening, after school, I couldn't take it anymore. I called Elise, and we hoped down to the city for dinner at Lowenbrau, Sydney's most well-known authentic Bavarian restaurant.

Right: Hofbrau Dunkel Diesel, 300ml, $7.50- Coke with dark lager, sweet and with a very distinctive taste. Left: Lowenbrau original radler, 300ml, $7.40- also known as shandy, beer with lemonade, light and easy to drink. haha, having fun with beers hey.

Calamari served with a passionfruit sauce, small. $18.50. When it first came out, I balked. The calamari is white. Used to that golden brown stuff, white is alien to me. But when I put it in my mouth and chewed, I understood why it was white. Unlike the usual rubbery stuff, this calamari is tender, just cooked and very easy to chew and swallow. Paired with the passionfruit sauce, oh yumm!

Schweinshaxn-
Oven Roasted Pork Knuckle with Sauerkraut, Löwenbräu Bier sauce and Mashed Potato, $32.50. For my asian stomach, one knuckle is more than enough for two. Anyway, when it came, the first thing I did was to cut it up for sharing. It was amazingly difficult to saw through the thick crackling. Elise had to hold the knuckle with her fork and knife while I applied brute strength in getting the meat of the bone. No wonder it was so difficult to cut, the knuckle was dry. It was so dry that some parts of the knuckle was completely dehydrated that we had to discard it. Good thing the skin was crispy. My advise is to quickly eat the crackling while it is warm. Once it cools, it becomes like hard plastic. The mash and the sauerkraut were very complimentary to the knuckle. They moisten our bruised tongue and gums, and evens out the saltiness of the pork knuckle.

They do look delicious right?

Cnr Playfair & Argyle Street
The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

Phone: (02) 9247 7785

Opening Hours:
7 days, 9am til late.
Live entertainment every night from 7pm and from
12 to 3pm on Friday and Sunday.

End.