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food

La Gerbe D’or

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J’adore French food. Since I can’t be in France to eat it right now, the next best thing is La Gerbe D’or in Paddington Five-Ways. Delightful cafe for breakfast or lunch, plus a patisserie to buy treat from to take home for those we left behind.

Last time we ordered a bowl of hot chocolate each, not realising it would be the size of our heads. This time we thought we would be smart and only order one and share it. Only problem was pouring it into the cups. This below illustrates what happens when you attempt this debacle.


A tomato and cheese tart. DELICIOUS. I will order this next time instead of stealing pieces from the girls.


Croque madam – like a croque-monsieur but with two eggs on top.


My French toast. The way the French have it! Seeped in eggs, with home made apple jam and cream and covered in icing sugar. The most delicious I have ever tasted.


Inside the croque madam.


Happy girls about to stuff themselves.



Dessert! The St Tropez – we shared this treat. A light friand-ish thing with light custard / cream blend.


Can I fit it all in my mouth?



Full of food goodness and ready to shop!


First day of hot weather! Check out our summery clothing.

Sushi Tei

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Beverly and I put ourselves through a pump class at the gym, then indulged in noodles at Sushi Tei – one of Bev’s favourite places nearby. I love Japanese noodles and this place had a wide variety of delicious noodle and sushi dishes – as well as very polite service.

Bev practice’s Alec’s “stop taking photos of me” look. Check out the giant menu.


Potato and corn cakes.


My udon noodle soup. Very simple and plain.


Bev’s cutlet.


Sesame ice cream.


My ice-cream with chocolate inside thingy. I don’t know what it was called but it was very unique!


Sydney Breast Cancer Foundation Lunch at Jordons

/ Sydney Food, Sydney Life / 1 Comment

I love a good cause, especially when it involves the Sydney Breast Cancer Foundation.

Today I spent a lovely afternoon at Jordons in Darling Harbour with many other like-minded women supporting a great cause.

I’ve been to a few of these style of event and I think this was the nicest so far. It could have been the lavish displays of pink everywhere, or the excessively girlishness of it all that did it for me – or it might have been the delicious food and the simplicity of the event. No entertainment was needed, no excessive speeches. Just a few poignant moments and plenty of time to chat with old and new friends while raising money for the cause.

Google table – yeah!


Pink merchandise everywhere.


Sussing out the silent auction items with the fabulous view in the background.


The Mimco bag I had my eye on – and “won” in the silent auction. Hey, it’s for charity!


With girly partners in crime.


Our table of 20 like-minded ladies.


Sweet touches on the table.


Angela Bishop, the MC.


Cous cous with lentils, fetta and more.


Pumpkin risotto with spinach and sun dried tomatoes.


Fresh salad.


Tasty chips.


Most delicious dessert – pink mirangue with some kind of berry / passionfruit cream. So tasty I ate two.


With my bag after the auction end – while I was still on a buying high and before it set in that I had accidentally bought a bag.


Bye for now!

Malabar at Crows Nest

/ Animals, friends, Sydney Food / 2 Comments

I’ve never been a fan of Indian food – with the exception of cheese naan (which I was told recently wasn’t traditionally Indian – what a disappointment!).

Beverly and Lisa however have been raving abut their favourite Indian place in Crows Nest, Malabar, so in the spirit of trying new things, I agreed to come along for some new flavours.

I was pleasantly surprised by the delicious food – although I shouldn’t have been surprised since B & L are usually right when it comes to good restaurants. I was also pleased by the variety of vegetarian food on offer.

The interior – very dark unfortunately which made it not optimal for taking photos.


Colourful menu.


The house specialty is Dosai – B & L have been raving about it for a while now so I had to try it out.


The Dosai – a thin pancake wrapped around lightly spiced potatoes. Very, very tasty.


Hello there Lisa!


Patti Samosas – filled with spiced potatoes and peas.


Malabar Paratha – some kind of fried doughy bread. Delicious!


Bev in food heaven.


Nomming isn’t always a graceful thing.



Dessert – pistachio ice cream.


I can’t remember what this was called but it was a dessert with cottage cheese I believe, deep fried into dough somehow.



We adjourned to Bev’s house afterwards for ferret play and internet surfing.

The ferrets REALLY want to get on Cute Overload … “Ein, get out of my WAY!”



Malabar
334 Pacific Highway,
Crows Nest, NSW,
Australia
(02) 9906 7343

Rockpool

/ Sydney Food / 1 Comment

One of the things I love about my job is getting to eat at restaurants that otherwise I would never be able to.

We took some clients to Rockpool this week. I’ve heard amazing reviews but since it’s a seafood restaurant have never though of going myself.

Lucky for me, I was given the chance to try it out and see how they handle a fussy vege like me.

The entrance to Rockpool is very unassuming. Located at the The Rocks end of George Street it fits right in with low-key cafes and pubs. Even once you enter, the decor is very understated.

Vegetarian-wise, there were three options from the appetiser menu but only one from the mains, so I tried a dish I otherwise probably wouldn’t have.

Bread to start – crusty, fresh, hot bread.


Four tastes of the sea. I love the presentation. The presentation of all of our dishes was amazing, as was the service.


My goats cheese tortellini with raisins and pine nuts. Delicious! I just wish there had been more!


Tuna, snapper and leatherjacket sashimi with fresh wasabi, sushi rice, ginger and soy dressing.


Dishing out of my baby vegetable tagine and stuffed date. It was delicious, but slightly too spicy for me.



Potato gratin. So very tasty I could have eaten it all on my own.


Leaf salad with palm sugar vinaigrette. Delicious!


Date tart (original since 1984).


Chocolate rice crackle cake – delicious! The presentation, the fluttery gold leaf decorations, the explosion of chocolate mousse and caramel … ahhhhhh!


“Strawberries and cream” with rosé jelly. It gave me food envy.


Food porn shot!


Petits fours. Made on the premise. Jaffa balls and orange marshmallow pillows with salted caramels. OMG … my stomach was fit to bursting by now.


Super cute little coffee.


Such an amazing meal and service. I can see why Rockpool has such an outstanding reputation.

Rockpool
107 George St
Sydney, NSW
Australia
(02) 9252 1888

RSPCA Cupcake Day

/ Sydney Food, Sydney Life / 1 Comment

Anyone who knows me knows that my passion in life is animals. I am the hugest fan of the RSPCA and would do anything for them to help them fundraise.

2008 marked the first year for the Cupcake Day for the RSPCA and I decided to bake up a storm and raise some cash at work.


Since my oven doesn’t work, I went over to see my parents and baked with their state-of-the-art wonderful oven. The recipe I used was the same one I have been using since I was about five – it’s a very simple, never-fail, vanilla cupcake recipe that always turns out perfect – fluffy and crumbly in the middle with a great texture and taste. I did however tempt fate by making a second batch and throwing in a good heap of Cadbury drinking chocolate to see what happened. What happened was I stuffed up the recipe and half of the chocolate cupcakes sunk in the middle so were un-sellable. They were still tasty and devoured by family however, so it turned out OK!

Batch number two goes into the oven.


Batch number one comes out – perfect!


Iced! Glorious sprinkled cakes with lemon yellow icing.


Chocolate with white butter cream icing and chocolate sprinkles.

Dispite some hiccups at my work, the day went off very well. Several other Googlers brought in treats they had baked as well, and together we raised $170 for the RSPCA. Google also gift matches any money we donate to charity, so it ended up being $340 we made in total. I hope to raise even more next year!

Girls’ Day Out

/ friends, Sydney Food / 2 Comments

Beverly has been telling us about this fabulous French cafe for a while, so I was more than happy to begin our shopping bonanza with hot chocolate and pastries. I’ve been to France a few times and am planning another trip, so it really got me into the “I’m going to France” groove. Which also reminds me that my lapse in practicing French has left my language skills as abysmal. Must refresh my memory before venturing the land of chocolate!

Back to the cafe, it’s called La Gerbe D’or and is in Paddington. Beverly knows the owner, a lovely French fellow, who recognised her and came over for a chat. The cafe was extremely busy, both with fellow diners inhaling gigantic amounts of hot chocolate, as well as locals popping in for exquisite pastries and baguettes.




Beverly points to the many items she is about to order.



This is not a distorted image. The bowl is as large as my head. We worked out it was about four cups worth, and only cost around $5. Bargain – and sickness-inducing.


Onion tart.


Mushroom quiche.


My late breakfast – so tasty and fluffy. It cost around $8, which I thought was a reasonable price.


Yes, another demonstration of how piggy we are.


Three girls, ready to pig out and buy lots of pretty things.

Lisa’s dessert.

Drinking my way into queasiness. It was so divine I just couldn’t stop. It was very sweet and light, but next time I will split it with someone.


In Alannah Hill I fell in love with this princess dress. I wasn’t exactly in the market for another dress, but what can you do when fate throws you the perfect frock?


After a day of trying on dresses, we adjourned back to the apartment for pizza gluttony from LCC. After boasting about the glory of LCC pizza, the girls insisted we all try it and decide once and for all if it is indeed the fairest pizza on the North Shore. The evening did not start auspiciously – the pizza took an hour to arrive. That is the standard delivery time for LCC and we’re used to it, but our guests were impatient for foooood.

Posing. Of course.


“Limpeted!”


Don’t know what was going on here. Beverly has “I’m cranky, feed me” face. And Chris has … I don’t know what to call that.


Finally! Food! LCC were good to us and threw in a large garlic and herb pizza and garlic bread.


Alec tries to save me from myself.


Chillin’. Ahhh pizza satisfaction!


Spellbound by the Wii.


Cuties with their toy ferrets.


Couldn’t resist throwing this one in. Too cute for words.

La Gerbe D’or
255 Glenmore Road
Paddington, NSW 2021