Laduree French Macarons in Westfield Sydney CBD

This fairly new kid of the block boasts of a recipe direct from France. Since opening last quarter of the year, Laduree has attracted a steady following even though the fad and craze of macarons have dissipated somewhat.

http://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/laduree-brings-french-macarons-sydney

Though it does not have the aura of exotic gold dust promoted by Adriano, the King of Desserts,  in his version and interpretation of macarons, the traditional and original French macarons are equally popular.

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/11681/golden_macarons

Unlike the mass produced ones that are sold in some supermarkets and grocers, this French sweet has a much softer bite. Hence, Laduree comes with a higher price tag.

Thank God! Elastic, artificially flavoured and overly sweet macaron fillings are forgettable and unforgivable, this one is simple and pleasant.

Nevertheless, a macaron is a macaron. Except novice cooks, you can't go very wrong with it.

The tower or pyramid of macarons is a reminder of the Masterchef competition creations. Where did they draw inspiration from?

Like all exquisite branding, marketing a bundle of non-food items which are non-perishable can help to boost revenue and hopefully profits. Aromatic candles and body creams could lead you to imagine they are almost good enough to eat.

Fine dining - modern Australian @ Silk Leura

The definition of fine dining ought to be all-encompassing from the taste of food to impeccable service given the exponentially higher price that patrons and customers pay. Falling short of either, a good restaurant does not maketh.

You could tell that the chef loves to use a lot of cream in its sauces and soup. This mussel chowder served in tiny bowl is flavoursome but that is probably all that you would like to consume as an entree. The spicy bread stick comes from a nice and soft layered pastry dough. Disappointing are the tempura prawns that are a tad too soggy. If it is called tempura, it should be crisp and non-oily. Otherwise call it light batter or by some other name. The secret to good tempura is in the flour, batter mix proportion and temperature of the oil for frying which seem lacking in this recipe. To its credit the seafood is fresh and succulent but lacks finesse in food prepration.

I love zuchinni flowers and would not miss a chance to have it as it is challenging to prepare and not many folks in my vicinity would like to share this dish when it is cooked in batches. The scallops are fresh and pan seared to perfection. Do you think this is an expensive entree which costs more than AUD 20?

This meat and vegetable main is a bit more substantial but you'll have to like Moroccan type cuisine and spices to enjoy it.

Though it looks like the run-of-the-mill fish and chips one could easily buy from a hole in the wall type of shop, the taste of flathead is extremely sweet. However, like the tempura prawn in the entree, the batter does not rise to the occasion. The hot chips are well fried and crispy, neither soft nor oily.

Sweet endings

This creme brulee appears and tastes good too. It goes well with the fruits and almond slice.

Quince in cripsy filo tart with whipped cream and poached pear. Other dessert are quite ordinary such as chocolate and sundaes, nothing to die for.

The verdict is : the bill does not fit the value and quality of the meal served at Silk. Yet this restaurant is usually fully booked and does three turns during busy seasons such as the floral festivals. Curiosity has attracted us to try just once.

A restaurant opposite called the Goblet, serves traditional French food is probably a better bet if you are just after a good meal but be forewarned that the service there is slow and lacks personal attention.

Moon Festival in Sydney southwest - multicultural Cabramatta

The wait was probably worthwhile, detours and negotiating through narrow lanes to get into the congested public parking areas. Cabramatta celebrated the moon festival, also known as the mid-autumn festival. The fifteenth day of the eighth month is marked by the Chinese and other Asians on the lunar calendar. The most repeated mythology was about the empress who swallowed the elixr pills and saved the people from tyrannical emperor from gaining immortality. However, the empress Chang Er drifted to the moon and remained there eternally.

Two Australian artists were putting on the finishing touches to the sand sculpture of the lanterns and mooncakes to depict the happy occasion.

Cabramatta is perpetually crowded even on a normal weekday. The strong winds did not deter local residents and visitors from all over Sydney to turn up and join in the fun and festivities.

Cake decoration courses from basic to advanced. Various styles showcased were a fusion of Vietnamese, French/European and Thai food decoration.

These are fruit and vegetable carvings of beautiful pink roses!

The longest queues could be seen at the BBQ jerky and Thai food stalls. My favourite stalls are the vegetarian noodles and cake stalls.

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Best tasting mooncakes

The autumn festival (spring in Australia) is approaching, two weeks to be exact, according to the lunar calendar - 15th day of the eighth month.

I am biased towards cakes and pastries made in Macau where the best Chinese and Portugese cake making skills fuse to superb delicacies.

The most popular are the traditional lotus seed paste filling with single yolk. This is sweet but not coy. I've recently acquired a taste for savoury and sweet mooncakes with century egg with lotus paste which are freshly made by some Hongkong confectionaries.

Is it safe to eat dyed sesame seeds - latest food scare

You would never have guessed that unscrupulous businessmen would try to make the extra profit margin by processing sesame seeds with cheaper substitutes. While they must be exposed and stopped, it is important to verify through lab tests whether and what amounts of harmful ingredients are present in the sesame seeds. (Note : black sesame seeds are more expensive than white sesame seeds.)

This is a reputable brand of imported dried goods sold at many grocers. Hopefully other products imported by this company have not be adulterated. (Hint : the company's initials are D.C. - can you make a guess?)



I've summarised the description from my friend's first hand account :

{ yesterday I tried to cook some black sesame soup. I usually wash the
sesame seed, drain all the water and wok-fry to dry them before grinding
them. After first two washes, I reckoned that it was not normal as the
water seemed too dark for the natural color. You can see from the photo the color of the water. That sink of water was after about ten washes. I kept trying to wash them in order to see that what it could reveal. I then found that some whiter seed appeared ... then I [realised] why a month ago, the sesame seed I ground had no aroma at all, but a bit of chemical smell (at that time, I didn't wash it as the portion was very little.) I asked my dear family members to smell the wet "black" sesame seeds. All confirmed that it is like 涼粉 [at least one ingredient was ] ... I couldn't taste any sesame flavour. }

Water after the 10th wash is still jet black!

Though 涼粉 also known as xian cao or chin chow or grass jelly is edible, we really do not know what other ingredients were present in the tainted sesame seeds.

Many white seeds appeared after many rounds of rinsing. We could safely conclude that the seeds have been dyed black - exactly by what chemicals? yet to be confirmed.

I normally don't bother to make black sesame broth from scratch but would buy ready to mix sachets. The "Green xx" brand has served us well so far. We might want to stay clear of black sesame seeds for garnishing rice or making delicious desserts for a while.

- First hand Information from a reliable source

Baclava - Mediterranean sweet that Aussies love

Multicultural Australia is manifested mainly in the locals' appreciation of food diversity even as stereotyping and lack of understanding persist in many quarters. Baclava is a Mediterranean sweet delicacy that has bound many Australians to identify with good living and learning a little more about minority ethnicities.

Some of the best baclava can be found in traditional Middle Eastern dessert speciality stores, the Sydney fresh food weekend markets and dried fruit and nuts stores.

Simple Recipe for Baclava

Chop walnuts, pistachios, sugar and cinnamon finely chopped in a food processor.

Lay filo pastry flat and cover with a damp tea towel.

Use softened butter to brush baking tin. Butter and layer the filo pastry alternate the next year with the nut filling. Top layer of filo should be brushed with butter as well.

Using a sharp knife, diamond pattern into the top layer of filo and sprinkle with the water. Bake in preheated oven of 220 degrees C for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180 degrees C and continue to bake till golden colour but not brown.

Combine honey, sugar, water, lemon rind and juice in a saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes and reduce to a simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and leave the syrup to cool.

When baclava is ready, remove from oven and immediately pour the cooled honey syrup on the top layer. Leave to cool. Follow the cutting on the top layer and cut through the other layers.

Asian Cakes and Pastries available in Aussie Land

Less than 20 years back, Southeast Asian restaurants were hard to come by and rarer were Asian cakes which were usually only sold during weekends at popular grocers or restaurants. Nowadays, one could order assorted cakes at a day's notice and purchase selected types of kueh at more outlets in the city and suburbs.

Sago pudding coated with fresh shredded coconut.


Kueh Talam - layered pandan mung bean and coconut rice cake

Bingka Ubi Kayu - baked tapioca / cassava cake

Curry puffs that are made from blending oil pastry with water based pastry (not frozen puff pastry or short crust) and are deep fried in oil (not baked).

Cake Decorating

My first attempt at wedding cake decoration after a few lessons.

Various types of roses and buds at different stages of blossom, some with chipped petals and aphids (fortunately, not noticeable unless you look closely).

The green dye from the "natural" selection was too dull while the one from the cheaper range was too bright - that was how we ended up with bright coloured leaves.

The observant would notice that the swan is incomplete, with missing wings.

My favourite part was ribbon insertion (right in front). I believe I did a good job at this. Piping should have been a breeze had my royal icing been a little thicker. Tying the sheer organza ribbons and sticking them around the sugar flowers were actually quite easy.

Marzipan Fruits

An alternative to cookies, cakes and sweets, these pretty miniature fruit made from almond paste and icing sugar make fantastic gifts for the special occasion. They can be moulded to different shapes and dyed with various shades of colours for realism.



This was my first attempt at making marzipan fruits. Banana was a hot favourite, so was strawberry and pear.

New Year Cookies - Pineapple Tarts

The all-time favourite pineapple tarts are hard to come by at the stores unless one places a special order. Though it may be quite costly and time consuming to make them at home yourselves, it gets the family into the festive mood.

Each large Queensland pineapple priced around AUD3 yields about one and a half times that of the Malaysian variety. Melt in the mouth pastry is softer and more challenging to mould but tastes a lot better than the harder versions. This the result of various recipes I collected over the years from culinary schools, my aunt and in-laws.

The Fudge Shop - Sweet Tidings

These colorful fudge may help to sweeten and brighten the day amidst global armed conflicts and economic gloom. This stall is at Harbourside, Cockle Bay, Sydney.

Great Italian food in Parramatta

Simply delectable Italian food is more than just pasta and salada. This highly rated Italian restaurant at Parramatta (second largest city in NSW after Sydney CBD) would impress the most sceptical and fastidous gourmet.

Mediterranean Salami Pizza with fresh basil

Spicy seafood pasta

Grilled butter and garlic scampi

Creme brulee with strawberry topping and icing

Tiramisu

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Sweet Desserts

The Old Post Office Cafe

This quaint eating place serves Italian and modern Australian cuisine. The pasta and pizza are above average but the desserts are to die for!

Chocolate souffle

Sinfully delicious

Brandied Cherry Meringue

a bitter sweet experience

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