Strawberry Fields Patisserie, Dulwich Hills

So a little birdy on Instagram told me a new pastisserie had opened in my area ( well sorta :P) and they were raking in awards and getting praises like no tomorrow! So what better way to find out than to personally pay them a visit? right? ( yes i am right because food is involved!)  So on a sunny weekend i gathered a minion and off we ventured to Strawberry Fields in Dulwich Hill.

The area is rapidly changing with many quirky and hipster-y cafes and shops opening up, it is no longer your local corner shop, delis and frabic stores, it is now home to many cool food places, i guess that means i need to make a few more trips there, not that im complaining!

This lovely place is just off the busy new canterbury road and parking is pretty easy ( we parked just outside, convenient for rolling back to the car after a good feed if you ask me~)

As soon as i stepped in, i knew this would be my kinda place. why?  look at below pic!
my type of humour! thats the way a roll too!

Normal people generally head for the savouries first, but being me, i had my eyes on the sweets before anything else! 

 

 

 look at all that choice!

Decisions decisions, i wanted to save up stomach space and calroeis for more desserts o i didn't get a drink but fellow minion ordered a hot choc. how pretty is it? who needs coffee art when u've got lovely gradients ( oh and a marshmellow too!)

Fellow minion ordered the tiramisu, i had a spoonful for blog purposes ( yes you do that too! :P) and it was rich and delicious and very importantly, boozy! thank gosh i didn't drive!

I was being good and went for a savoury option first as i hadn't had anything to eat that morning.
i went for the very handsome looking sausage roll, and it didn't disappoint! golden shards of pastry flew everywhere as soon as you bite into it, the filling was also delicious but BSB will forever have my heart when it comes to sausage rolls (SORRY!)

 

My take home box of goodies!

 

 

i took home a strawberry tart! a simple but amazing dessert. pastry was buttery and crumbly!

 

also took home a mixed summer berries cake after much decision-phobia. this was pretty nice, the sweetness of the strawberry went really well with the tartness and sourness from the raspberries!


So what you waiting for? go check it out!

Till next time,

Milkteaxx!

 

Ippudo (and a quick detour to Laduree!)

This is a super delayed post, i actually tried Ipuddo back in January when it first opened but i completely forgot to blog about it! silly me! anyways,  I am sure every sydney-sider has heard of or has realised by now that the famed Ippudo has arrived in Sydney. (if you haven't you MUST be living under a rock). I've heard wax lyrical praises about this place, both for their ramen and pork bun (PORK BUN!) and comparisions between their stores located all around the world. i don't really know much about ramen, i just eat it because its delicious. haha. But i do know there are different types of ramen and the type served accross the Ipuddo stores are the Hakata style ramen, which is a thinner and less yellow like the egg noodle type ramen we see more commonly.

Many have said that the broth is the soul of the ramen, here at Ipuddo, the ramen is served in a thick tonkotsu broth made by boiling pork bones for twelve hours, (yes! 12 hrs!) so all the porky goodness is extracted from the bones. Despite it being pretty new when i visited, there were no queues as i visited in the late afternoon, just before the dinner peeps, so that was good as i was starving by then ( post gym session and i go eat a pork bun. yep, that's me)

 

As soon as i sat down, a big tray of pork buns whizzed past me, i didn't think i could hold my excitement anymore but my fellow diners weren't ready to order yet ( i only had my eyes on the pork bun!) so i had to PATIENTLY wait. So, verdict of the pork bun? one word. AMAZING. pillowy soft mantou bun with a decent slab of heavenly pork belly, i swear i went to heaven and back in a matter of 3 seconds. But alas, the pork bun was gone in a flash... i wanted more... 10 more....

we also ordered a serve of gyoza as peeps on instagram said they were delicious abeit a bit pricy at $6 for 5.

 

i really love their dim lighting and their wall decor. so pretty!

 

fellow diner J opted for shiromaru chashu, which is its amazing tonkatsu broth with simply pork belly, dried black fungus strips and shallots.

 

I opted for the akamaru shinaji, which is Ippudo's signiture ramen. it was an amazing mix of its famed tonkotsu broth and its special blended miso paste and garlic oil. super fragant and went really well with the thin noodles. It also had some amazing pork belly, black mushrooms and shallots, simple and delicious!

 

 

The ramens were pretty big so we were all pretty full by then but everyone has a 2nd stomach for dessert right? (say yes!) so we made a quick detour to Laduree and picked up some macarons.

 

i split a pack of 8 with my friend ( why you ask?) so i got to sample salted caramel, violet marshmellow, lemon lime marshmellow and pistachio. to be honest, these weren't the nicest macarons i've tasted ( i love cafe cre asion's) and they were more expensive than your usuals at $3.2 a pop take away or $4 eat in.

Overall, i quite liked Ipuddo but i would probably not say the same about Laduree. As i am typing up this, all i can think of is the pork bun but i am actually heading off to a kickboxing class after this. so no pork bun for me tonight! boo hoo!

The weather is getting cold, so keep warm and eat a few more pork buns or ramens!

Till next time!

Milkteaxx

Chinese Home Cooking: Simple Steamed Egg Whites with Seafood.

Can you believe it is the end of April already? where has the year gone? it was christmas not long ago ( ok im exaggerating, but i still have chocolate left from Easter so Easter wasn't THAT long ago!)

today's post is short and sweet because chinese cooking isn't all that hard, i think people overcomplicate it, a home cooked meal is so simple and most of the asian dishes i make are simple because i don't have time to do anything fancy by the time i get home.

Steamed egg white with seafood is a dish my mum use to make all the time, we would have it at home and we would even order it when we were out dining. Its a simple and versatile dish, best of all, its lower in fats as we use the egg whites only and seafood instead of  red and white meats.

ingredients
(serves 4 with rice)

5 egg whites
5 tablespoon milk
6 prawns, cut into quarters
6 scallops, cut into quarters
10 snows peas, cut into 1/3
1/2 can of button mushrooms, drained and halved.
2 cloves of garlic sliced
4 thinly sliced ginger pieces
1tsp oil

sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornflour
few drops of sesame oil

mix them milk and egg together and steam for 5 min in a 25cm shallow dish, covering with clingwrap.

while its steaming, prep all your other ingredients. you don't want to overcook your egg whites, so shake your pan to check, it is ready when the centre is still slightly wobbly.

heat oil in pan and stir fry the prawns and scallops, then add in snow peas and mushrooms, cook for another minute then add in sauce. mix well and arrange on top of steamed egg white mixture.

serve with rice!

p.s. weather is getting colder and colder, look out for more comfort foods @ milkteaxx HQ and on facebook or instagram!

till next time,

Milkteaxx

Naked for Satan Fitzroy Melbourne

I was planning on blogging a home cooking dish today but as i went through these pictures, i just had to blog about naked for satan first. seriously, one look at these delicious morsels and you'd be wishing that they opened up in Sydney and not Melbourne.

so who is naked for Satan?  Naked for Satan is a Vodka & Pintxos bar located in  Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. the whole place feels very hipster (like the rest of Brunswick st) and full of surprises.
So what is a Pintxos? (credits for a simple definition @grabyourfork) Pintxos means spike in Basque (pinchos in Spanish), referring to the toothpick that holds the ingredients together, often on top of a piece of bread. You take your time to eat pintxos, having a few here and there, before taking your collection of toothpicks to the register to work out your total bill.
I first found out about the place on various food blogs and what really captured my attention was the  name of the place, it was fun and quirky with an edge to it. So it was no surprise when we arrived that we were greeted with some pretty awesome fitout and scienc experiment like counter.

note the sign behind, they serve dirty granny cider, i was going to get one having so much about them  but being a lightweight asian and no one else wanted to share with me, i had to pass :(
The pintxos here are $1 each ( up from 80cents since i last read about it) during lunch time and it is pretty good value for money especially when you have decision phobia and want to have everything in sight.

 

The awesome counter housing the pintxos!

between the 3 of us, we managed to have 15 pintxos (we had seconds on our personal favourites)  and we felted really bready and carby afterwards but it was sure worth it!

 

carrot puree and field mushrooms and garlic.

 

those who know me know that i am a mushroom freak. i love all mushrooms may they be in soup, steamboat, sauteed etc you name it.

so when i saw this with carrot puree ( carrot being another favourite) i knew i had to get it. the mushroom was delicious and juicy, i think i could have this on bread everyday.

 

 

sundried tomatoes with crispy pancetta andpeas

 

this was ok, nothing wow, the pancetta was a bit too hard.

 

 

squid ink risoni with grilled calamari

 

this was another favourite. perfectly balanced flavours i think we all went back for seconds.

 

 

 eggplant chip with blue + cream cheese honey

 

If you don't mind blue cheese youll like this, i am not a big fan of bluecheese but the eggplant chip was really nice. crispy on the outside creamy on the inside.

 

 

choc contreau mousse canolli

 

This cannoli was the only sweet option on the day. it was quite nice as it was filled with dark chocolate (my fav), the shell was a bit soft tho.

 

 

chorizo cream cheese and green chilli

i like my chorizo hot but this was cold, so it was a bit weird. the cream cheese on the bread was amazing tho.

 

 

They turn into a wine and vodka bar at night ( i'm sure if u wanted drinks during the day, they would happily serve you) and this is probably one of the smartest storage ideas ever. decorative and space saving.

 

 

tortilla egg potato onion w/ aioli

 

this was another favourite, abeit a bit hard to eat in 1 bite. if this was served warm or hot it would of been even tastier.

 

 

 capo allo

 

i don't think i got to try this one but J said it was pretty good.

 

 

They have quite a bit of seating downstairs but they open up level 2 at night or when it gets busier.

 

 

cauliflower, manouri cheese and garlic chilli prawns

 

this was quite nice especially the chilli garlic prawn, but it would be even better with a stronger chilli garlic flavour.

 

 

smoked chicken and corn relish

 

not very interesting, couldn't really taste the corn "relish"

 

seafood with prawns and capsicum

 

i'm normally a bit skeptical about seafood pastes but this one was really delicious!

Overall it was a great experience as i had never had pintxos before, i do look forward to trying more of these delicious morsels in Sydney ( i heard the carrington has them for $3 on tuesdays?) or attempting to make a few simple ones at home.
and for those who haven't been, its a pretty nice place to  have a few things to nibble on and chat.
i will definitrly be back when i'm next im Melbourne totry more of there pintxos!

till next time,

Milkteaxx.

Two Birds One Stone- South Yarra Melbourne

So Tiger airways had a sale at the end of last year and i wanted to take my parents on a trip to somewhere close because they've been whinging about me going out and that i don't take them anywhere ( not true! i took them on a road trip up to central coast as well as kiama!)

 

So i quickly browsed the list and looked for a place that all 3 of us would like, as much as i wanted to go to Adelaide or Tasmania my dad wanted to go Melbourne so we booked ourselves in for melbourne.

 

unfortunately something came up last minute and my dad wasn't able to come so i invited my good friend Janice to come along. I know i shouldn't ask for too much from a budget airline but i needed to call up to change the name on the ticket, being a sales fare it was just cheaper to buy a new one but after some mad calling ( which no customer service reps answered, i ended up having to call the singapore line) i was told that i couldn't simply purchase a new ticket and forfeit my dad's ticket but i had to change the name on my dad's ticket which set us back $200! grr! not happy!

 

Anyways, today's post is not about my entire trip to melbourne, we ate way too much to be covered in 1 post, but i will slowly be posting about all the awesome ( and not so awesome) places we ate at.

First up is Two birds one stone cafe in South Yarra.

 

With the introduction of the not very tourist friendly Myki in melbourne, we actually walked a fair bit to make our way around melbourne, next time i will hire the bike and ride my way around instead but yes we took the shuttle bus to the botanical gardens, did a bit of exploring and walked to south yarra  from there. it took us around 30-40 minutes, i enjoyed the walk but my fellow travelling buddies whinged and whined about it being too sunny and hot T.T so on our return trip, we caught the cab back to the city. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS GOOD FOR YOU GUYS!

 

 

By the time we got there, we had finished all our water and was quite swety as it was a hot day. So what better way to quench our thirst and replenish the calories we lost with an amazing iced chocolate? i was going to order an iced coffee but janice doesn't drink coffee so we ended up going for the iced choc. it was pretty good, just chocolately enough without being overly sweet.

My mum likes ginger beer so when we spotted this on the menu, she immediately said she wanted one of these. to herself of course.

 Now on to the food!

I love all day breakfast so i was over the moon when i found out that they had all day breakfast! i picked the two birds breakfast. it was basically a combo of all the things i love! if only i could have this every day! ( my waistline would not be happy tho)
i opted to have poached eggs ( egg porn!) with the toast and also on the plate was mushrooms, haloumi (!!!), heirloom tomatoes and spinach! this was so filling but it was amazing and worth every single calorie!

Janice and i love our avocado, i think we had avocado whenever it was on the menu!
she picked the smashed avocado and feta with capers, tomatoes, radish, chives and dill on toast. this may sound like a simple dish but it was packed full of flavour! yum!

 My mum loves her corn so she ordered the corn fritters with bacon, avocado and snow pea tendrils.
the bacon had a perfect fat to flesh ratio but we found the corn fritters to be a bit too soggy for our liking. the flavours were there tho but corn fritters for me have to have a crispy exterior!

With only 3 of us, we didn't cover much of their lunch menu but it was a really satisfying meal and i would gladly return the next time im in melbourne!

Till next time,

Milkteaxx

Universal restaurant. Christine Manfield.

So word has said that the famed Universal restaurant was closing down and this may be the last of Christine Manfield's last restaurant. After its feature on Masterchef last year i have wanted to try this restaurant out for the longest time, while the food and presentation was immaculate, the service was horrendous and it certainly a mark against our experience at Universal.

I had originally booked for 630pm that night but then received a call that 630pm booking was no longer available and that if we wanted to dine, there was only 830pm left. i was ok with that but when we turned up at 830pm they told us that i left them the wrong number and they couldn't call me to confirm my booking and that in fact my booking was at 630pm.

That aside, we were lead to our table outside, and were promptly asked if we would like any drinks, we all declined and the staff said "you are missing out on tasting our true flavours", i was pretty shocked as i don't drink but i was expecting better service from the waitstaff at a hatted restaurant.

The photos on this post are all by chloris as she was the only one with a camera.  The dishes here are designed to be a sample size so are quite small so it was recommended that we each order 3 savouries and a dessert.

First up, complimentary bread with olive oil. this was ok,the bread felt like it was left in open air for a while and was a bit dried out

hiramasa kingfish sashimi, sweet grilled eel, pickled seaweed, shiso and finger lime salad, yuzu jelly

As you all know, Christine's dishes are heavily influenced by asian flavours and spices, this was definitely a nice play on your average nigiri sushi with a few extra elements. the eel was a bit too sweet for my liking tho but the kingfish was spot on. and give me more of that yuzu jelly!

roasted snapper, spanner crab and green mango salsa, spiced coconut

This dish was a nice combo of subtle coconut and cillantro. it  reminded me of the bamboo wrapped steamed fish i had at izakaya den in melbourne earlier this year (more on that soon, one amazing place!) i personally don't think there was much crab meat in this dish and the snapper was definitely the star of the dish here.

salted beef sirloin, chilli, lime, cucumber and pomelo salad, roasted cashews

this was the strongest in flavour out of the first 3 dishes, with strong chilli and lime flavours. this was ok, but i didnt think the cashews were necessary.

sichuan spiced duck, seared sea scallops, white asparagus, longans, smoked eggplant sambal

Next up was the scallops and duck. my favourites. i really liked this dish because the scallops and duck was cooked so perfectly, the duck was so flavoursome! and that eggplant sambal was amazing. i couldn't really taste any logans tho....

seared ocean trout, steamed garlic eggplant, caramelised cherry tomatoes, hot and sour shallot relish

this dish was quite light despite the garlic and hot sour shallot relish. i don't remember much about this dish haha.

 Lamb Rump, Roasted Pumpkin, Chilli Mango Pickle, Saffron Rice and Spiced Chickpeas, Smoked Almonds

I've had so much lamb lately, no joke. my mum made lamb hot pot, i lad lamb cutlets for dinner, had lamb at a BBQ and also at momofuku (amazing!). i don't mind lamb as i dont mind the muttony taste but this lamb was a bit too pink for me.

i really liked the saffron rice tho, it had soaked in all the amazing flavours of this dish.

we were seated outside which got quite loud and dim. and the tables were a bit too close together, lacking some privacy when u wanted to chat with your dining buddies.

soy braised organic pork belly, squid, smoked bacon, garlic mushrooms, gremolata

Whenever i see pork belly on the menu, i have to order it! this was really really good except the crackling (tiny little bit of it!) wasn't crunchy enough. and for those who know me, i love my mushrooms, the mushrooms in this dish was packed with flavour, simply amazing!

i couldn't really taste the smoked bacon tho.

 rare roasted venison with beetroot and horseradish spelt risotto and a goats cheese cigar

i have recently taken a liking for roast beef and this dish hit the spot! the beef was so flavoursome and cooked perfectly! i haven't had much risotto before so i can't comment much on it but it was so flavoursome! this goats cheese cigar was visually really pretty but i found it too overpowering to eat on its own.

Slow Braised Rabbit, Chorizo, Potato and Leek Pastry, Swiss Chard, Gruyere Cloud

i was a bit skeptical about having rabbit as i've never had it before. but this one wasn't too gamey so it was ok. for some reason it tasted like pulled pork which i love! the keek pastry was amazing both in texture and flavour, crunchy shards as soon as you touch it with a fork.

i would gladly have this again but might want to cut down a bit on the gruyere cloud as it was a bit too cheesy.

Now to desserts time! We had another bad service moment when we ordered desserts. we were ordering desserts and we pointed on the menu pointing to which one we wanted as it was quite loud at seating outside, the staff who was taking our orders actually said " can u tell me what u want clearly, i can't understand" and then she turned around to a nearby staff and said in a loud enough voice for us to hear "those girls there can't even express themselves clearly". so service definitely was non existent as i get better at my local chinese restaurant. 

That aside, the desserts were definitely the stand out of the night. and when your'e at Universal, the Gaytime is a must as this is basically what made Universal so much more popoular than it already was post Masterchef.

gaytime goes nuts: Honeycomb ice cream, caramel parfait, chocolate crunch, salted hazelnut caramel.

this is universal's signiture dessert and i was looking forward to this as i've heard so much about it! this was amazing shared between 3 people because it got a bit too sweet and heavy after 3 -4 spoonfuls. nevertheless it was amazing. i'm sure constructing this dessert took a lot of technical skill, not something i will be attempting at home anytime soon.

mister fawlty: basil panna cotta, strawberry jelly, raspberries, orange croquant 

this was the most beautifully presented dessert i've seen. so summery and colourful!

i really liked this dessert cos it was really refreshing and the flavours went together really well.  

little miss sunshine: passionfruit banana and yoghurt sorbet, coconut clouds, pineapple, mango and red papaya

this one was also really good, i didn't have a good experience with yoghurt sorbet last time i had it but it was suprisingly yum and light! i loved the coconut clouds and red papaya in the dessert too. simply beautiful.

overall the dining experience was pretty good. the savouries were ok and the desserts were amazing! the only thing i wasn't too happy about was the service as i expected better service for a hatted restaurant. it is still sad to hear that they are indeed closing down!

till next time,

Milkteaxx!