Almost like Disneyland

My love affair with the nondescript churro happened in Disneyland. The happiest place on Earth made perfect with a piping hot churro in the cold breeze of winter, all too long and much too quickly finished in the hands of an 8 year old and her cousins. Now that, to me, was love. :)

I've given up on the search for a churro that could come close to that experience. Especially after the initial excitement at seeing it in Universal Studios Singapore, it was found to be nothing more than a terribly tough to chew dough stick served lukewarm at best. :(

Well then, with hardly a mission in mind but always the best recommendations from my cousin, we headed from Chocolateria San Churro at Harbourside, Darling Harbour on our walk home from dinner. He didn't mention Disneyland, he just thought I should be trying these out.

They certainly don't come cheap as food often does in Sydney.

 

But when these arrived at our table...

My heart skipped a beat. 

And I restrained myself for just one photo before I just. HAD. TO. EAT. summadat! 

Mmmm.

Was it the chocolate though?

*one more bite

Nope. 

This was it. 

Almost like Disneyland.

Churro sticks that were thinner, not as long but definitely hitting all the right spots on the taste index. 

Three each and two pots of milk chocolate. 

Devoured all too quickly. And enjoyed all too much. 

They've got outlets around Sydney but this was the one closest to home. 

And even better? 

They've got a Santa Fest special offer now on till Christmas Eve!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Indeed.

Eat up and enjoy! For me :)

http://www.darlingharbour.com/eat-drink/san-churro-chocolateria/santa-fest-special-offer.aspx

And then there were two. Plus two. :)

The sun was relentless.

The training?

Gruelling.

But then the doc decides to jog over from his place and wasn't content with just that.

He wanted to do more.

And so he did.

And so we did.

Kinda.

I hardly kept pace!

But onward we go from there to where a new cafe has just sprung up!

At Horne Road.

The Lavender enclave that is home to many cafes but always space for another.

Just a few doors down from Windowsill Pies,

Two Bakers occupies a pretty neat corner unit with gate grilles painted with a pop of yellow.

And adorned with congratulatory flowers.

Yes, these guys are the new kids on the block.

And they offer some yummy grub.

Seafood pasta rich with crabmeat and happy white clams.

Wide open, these guys' mouths were.

The chilli flakes gave a much needed kick to this linguine dish. 

And all good food is about sharing isn't it?

Large rings of calamari battered and fried to a delicate golden brown.

Battered to death.

Not.

These were served with lemon yoghurt and wasabi mayo.

Lemon yoghurt me anytime. :)

The mozza sticks were yet another deep fried indulgence.

The herb batter gave an added dimension to an otherwise flat mozzarella dish.

Good enough on its own.

Ketchup not needed.

So that was round one.

And we were saving all that space for desserts!

Passionfruit & matcha profiteroles.

It looked like an overwhelming amount of chantilly creme at first.

But the generous serving of light creme was all gone in an instant.

Nothing like smearing pieces of crisp chewy choux and craquelin with generous amounts of creme before putting it into our mouths.

The matcha flavour was evident but not overwhelming.

And the passionfruit added a nice zing to the light tasting creme.

Mmmm.

This key lime tart was a crowd favourite.

A buttery tart shell filled with a deliciously refreshing lime custard.

Subtlety is key.

To the lime tart.

Pun entirely intended.

Give this le chocolate noir some centrestage love.

This was quite the death by chocolate.

Last to be started on.

And last to be finished.

If you had to have some chocolate.

This would be a whole load of chocolate love for you!

And these are a few of my favourite things.

No.

Men. :)

We'll be back.

Because hey, we've still got another half of dessert list left! :)

Terrible Thursday

Because the exams have been taking a toll on me.

With a terrible breakout and the worst kind of sinking feeling ever.

There's much to be said about faith and blind confidence.

Or none of all that and instead, painful reality.

And she was in the same kind of situation.

A same same but different type.

We desperately needed a break.

Oz Specialty Coffee it was.

Now that would make terrible better.

Yes, it did.

But not till you get past the pursed lips of the girls behind the counter.

The cold shoulder.

The aloof demeanour.

Which made us feel entirely unwelcome.

On a day like today?

That was definitely not what I needed.

And I had half a mind to just cancel my orders and leave.

But really, who else needs a terrible Thursday right?

So we took the outdoor seats along the corridor.

(There's only 4 seats at the bar counter)

Their salted caramel and banana waffles.

Being Belgian liege waffles, they were full on jaw action.

I loved the crisp exterior contrasted with the dense chewy interior.

The premium vanilla ice cream scoop melted quickly in the warm heat and was barely enough for just one waffle.

The other waffle had only bananas for company.

It was filling and pretty darn satisfying.

This would be perfect if the bananas were caramelised.

My order of an iced chocolate was a welcome respite from the heat.

And her ice cream latte was good, she said.

My coffee fast is becoming quite the reality.

I'm hard pressed to come back here because of the kind of service I was given.

But their waffles do deserve a repeat visit.

I'll just have to find someone else to do the ordering. :)

Matcha Nama Chocolate 抹茶生チョコレート

First fall.

And I've fallen in love.

Now that nama chocolate can be made at home, 

I wouldn't have to do a Royce run in a long while yet.

:)

I got the recipe from this website,

by Namiko Chen.

http://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/green-tea-chocolate/

And I made just a few slight tweaks on my version.

I halved her recipe to yield enough for a roughly 10 x 20 cm lock & lock- type tupperware.

200g of white chocolate (I used Cadbury Dream)

65ml whipping cream (President Lait Entier)  

12g unsalted butter

1 Tbsp of matcha powder + 1 tsp for sprinkling

Baking sheet lined tupperware

Chop the chocolate up into smaller pieces to allow for faster melting before heating the cream.

Heat the cream and be sure to stir constantly.

Otherwise a film will form on top.

Once it comes to a small boil, remove from heat.

Add in the chopped chocolate and butter and stir till smooth.

It should form a ribbon trail.

Add in the matcha powder and stir till well combined and smooth.

Fill the parchment paper and smoothen out air bubbles if any.

The mixture should be flowy enough to take on the shape of the container.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

The tropical heat here will not allow for this to be kept outside for too long so you have to work fast to cut them up into cubes.

Be patient.

There will be a few times when you have to return the chocolate to the fridge to chill before continuing.

Please also do get a fine sieve or you'll get your matcha powder in ugly blobs like mine.

Excuse the first try.

Might not look like much but...

At least it tasted like nama. 

I had a colleague who asked,

Oh, Royce? :)

That's when I knew this recipe was for keeps!

You never know when you need some chocolate comfort.

Especially on Mondays. :p

one minute chocolate obsessions :)

Ingredients

• (makes enough for a cupcake sized microwaveable container)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon nutella or more to taste
• 2 teaspoons of egg, lightly whisked
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chocolate chips or more to taste
• half teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)

Method

1. Add dry ingredients to the container and mix well, making a well in the centre.
2. Add in the egg and mix well.
3. Add milk and olive oil and mix again.
4. Add nutella and vanilla extract if used and lastly, add in chocolate chips mix well to get a smooth consistency.
5. Place in the microwave for 1 minutes on high.
6. Top with diced fresh fruits or rainbow sprinkles and eat while it's warm! :)

Patisserie G

Patisserie G. 

Simplistic decor and quiet spaces within.

We were lucky to get a seat in the cafe on a Friday night.

One of the four tables and a bar counter occupying the space indoors.

But they have since extended their seating area outdoors where there's a large expanse of space and are currently in the midst of expansion to the unit next door.

Executive pastry chef and owner of the cafe- Gwen Lim, is Le Cordon Bleu trained and she also did a stint at Pierre Herme.

The dessert choices are not extensive and much appreciatively so.

Exquisite cakes with pricey tags sit in neat rows on display.

And how could one skip her signature G spot?

A piece of gold foil anointing the otherwise nondescript chocolate dome, the description was enough to speak of its richness.

Dark chocolate mousse with chocolate meringue on a chocolate hazelnut praline crunch base.

Have you already lost count of the chocolate that lie within one dessert choice?

It was rich but not cloyingly so and the base crunch gave added dimensions to the smooth dark chocolate mousse.

C'est tres bon.

And just so there was some balance for my tastebuds that have started to malfunction in chocolate heaven, we made an order for the Lemon Cheesecake.

Covered in a layer of gelatin and flecked with crushed vanilla bean.

It was a refreshing palate cleanser with a slightly singed dark biscuit base.

We made an order of the hot chocolate to savour.

It was rich with chocolate afrom the Normandy region of France.

This although was a small serving, should be shared or the essence of any other chocolate dessert would be overshadowed.

Cold water is available on self serve.

And an order of double shot macchiato with added steamed milk was a perfect complement to hit the G spot.

A perfect way to end a Friday night.