Apple Cake, Recipes

Apple Cake

Every second weekend or so daddy comes over and bring lots of goodies. Usually its veges, fruits, Tasmania salmon fillets and some marinated chicken/pork that mummy makes. Last weekend I think he must felt like he has neglected us lately because he brought over ALOT of food. Stuff that I didn't even know what to do with! For example, chokos or chayote- what? Do I stir fry? Roast? Seriously! What is this?!?!

(Btw I ended up stir frying it with some chicken- tastes pretty good actually)

Anyways so back to the point- with way too much fresh fruits in the fridge, I decided to make an apple cake :)

Ingredients:

125g butter, slightly melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup plain flour

3/4 cup milk

2 apples

1/4 cup marmalade jam

fresh cream to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced.

Line a round pan with baking paper and grease it with some butter.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat it for a few minutes and then add the eggs, beating each one at a time with the rest of the mixture.

Sift flours over butter mixture.- If you dont have a sift, just add a little bit of flour at a time and then beat gently.

Add the milk and combine.

Spoon into prepared pan.

Slice apples but also dice about a quarter of an apple. These should be half a centimetre pieces.

Place half the batter in the round pan and then sprinkle on top the diced apples. Arrange apples in slices around the top. Bake for about 45 minutes and rest for 10 minutes. Top with melted marmalade jam. Enjoy and serve with fresh cream.

Tada!

I had some batter left so I made a few mini apple cupcakes :)

Sassy's Red, Malaysian, Sydney Westfield Food Court

Sassy's Red by Chinta Ria

Level 5, Westfield Sydney Food Court

I am in love with the new Westfield food court. Din tai fung? Charlie & Co? Chinta Ria? Thairiffic? Every time I come here I want to try everything. I could just like eat all day and eat and eat and eat. So far I've only tried DTF, guzman buritos, sassy red and macaroons from one of the cafes. Pathetic hey? I really want to try the Ragu Wine bar and also those hot dogs with truffle oil chips. So depressing.. I wish I had the metabolism of a fourteen year old girl in the middle of her growth spurt so that I can just eat and eat and eat.

Anyways before I start sounding like a psycho.. I came to Sassy's Red for lunch after gym today. Did a V-Core class at VirginActive and nearly died. Who does squat jumps, lunges and pushups as part of an abs workout?! Seriously. Evil instructor. Anyways it was good so I'm going again next week hah!

So Sassy's Red..

Chicken Rice

Fragrant chicken rice and grilled chicken on top.

Very good.

Funniest thing happened.. as I went to get the sambal sauce for my chicken rice this Indian lady goes up to the counter and is like 'I know I've finished my dish but I found a hair in my food". And her plate is like literally scrapped clean. I mean hello???? If you found the hair at least tell the food stall BEFORE you eat the whole friggin thing. Sigh some people...

Sushi Tei, Japanese, Sydney

Sushi Tei

1 Chifley Square

Sydney

9232 7288

The last time I went to Sushi Tei was about a year and a half ago so when I went for dinner on Friday night I didn't really know what to expect. Had the menu changed? Were the waitresses still the same as those from Sushi Rio? (Last time I went, I recognised all these waitresses from Sushi Rio!! Maybe they're owned by the same joint?) Could we get a table for four on a Friday night without booking? Thankfully yes. One of my pet hates is waiting for food... I cannot understand how people can line up at Mamak. Why would anyone line up for an hour to eat.. let alone line up for Malaysian food??? The moment I start queuing up I get grumpy and annoyed.

Maybe this is why I've never managed to take a proper photo of the ribs at Hurricanes. Each and every single time (including lunch on Saturday) I have cut into the ribs and happily gobbled away without taking a photo. I went to lunch on Hurricanes and was so bad that I didn't even realise I was supposed to take a photo until I was already three quarters through :(

Anyways so Sushi Tei..

We ordered the Aburi Salmon Roll.. I think this is a crab stick, soft shell crab and grilled salmon roll. It was very good.

We also ordered the King Prawn Roll which is king prawn tempura and avocado but obviously I failed to take a photo. I was too hungry :( sad.

Salmon roll topped with cod roe mayonnaise

Okay I don't actually know what the name of this sushi dish was so I'm really just describing what was on it. Oh dear lord this was good. Thank you E & J for ordering TWO of these per person, these made my day. Cod roe mayonnaise may sound gross but I swear its friggin delicious. Have you tried the volano roll at kobe jones? Well this was basically that but instead of a scallop base, its a salmon base. Yum! I am so coming back just to eat this. Nom nom.

I secretly wanted to take this plate and run. And eat it alone without sharing muahahahah

Oh by the way- Kobe Jones is having their all you can eat sushi deal again. Its lunch only, mon-wed and is now $29.50 instead of $25 in case anyone was interested.

Grilled Scallops with cheese

Again, I have no idea what the proper name of this dish is and I'm just describing what it tasted like. This was good- so good that we ordered it twice haha! Gosh we are such fatties.

Chicken Katsu Curry

Wagyu Beef Hotpot

The soup base was a little bit too sweet but the waiter was nice enough to dilute it for us. Wagyu very tender.

In the end I think we ordered too much but who cares, it was worth the calories.

Yummy for my tummy. An experience thoroughly enjoyed and a restaurant that I will return to.

Spice I am, Thai, Darlinghurst

Spice I am

300 Victoria St Darlinghurst

I've heard alot of good things about Spice I am so was very eager when a friend suggested to catch up over dinner at Spice I am. There are three locations- there are two casual Spice I am in Surry Hills and the more up market restaurant is on Victoria Street in Darlinghurst. So of course we went to the Darlinghurst one. It was definitely a nice change to get out of the CBD for dinner.

Spice I am was impossible to find, it looks nothing like a thai restaurant from the outside, more like a swanky wine bar. So it was really embarrassing using google maps to find the place when we were literally standing outside the restaurant. The sign doesn't grab your attention (I think they should have done the name in red rather than silver) but eventually we found it :)

The menu was a little pricey but the portions were quite good.

We ordered firstly the Stir fried crispy pork belly wok tossed with red curry paste, green beans, chilli and kaffir lime

The pork belly was nice and crispy and the flavours were good. Not too spicy either.

Yum Hua Plee

Shredded banana flower salad with king prawns, roasted coconut, shallots, chilli, coriander and nam pik pao dressing

The prawns were juicy and tender but I found that the salad was a little too strong. There were just too many different flavours which confused my taste buds.

Massamam Curry

Rich aromatic curry of slow cooked beef eschallot and potato

The massamam curry was good, beef extremely tender and the curry delicious.

Overall the experience was good. I enjoyed the nice surroundings, the swanky chairs and the fancy toilets (with bath towels and even hand lotion) and its a great place to sit around and have a chat. But personally I think the food was lacking that 'ooomph' and didn't really offer anything different to reach the calibre of an up market thai restaurant. Comparing it to Rambutan, the food at rambutan was just so much better and also more creative (ie rambutan in the stir fry) and I think Spice I am was just missing that. The food is good but a little too expensive for what you're getting. Try the Surry Hills restaurant which is on average $10-$15 cheaper for the same dish.

Pizza, Milsons Point

Last Friday night I had one of the best pizzas at this tiny pizzeria near Milsons Point. I don't know what the name is and I don't know the address but it was damn good. We ordered the pepperoni cheese pizza to takeaway and ate it with pure glee.

Look at the cheese!! SO MUCH CHEESE

Pepperoni crispy, pizza base crispy and oily- pure gluttony. By the way this late night pizza snack was AFTER dinner. Yes what a fat filled day. But so gooooddd and it was only $11 takeaway.

Home Thai, Sydney, Thai

Home Thai

299 Sussex Street Sydney

9261 5058

www.homethai.com.au

Every night from 630pm long queues form outside Home Thai. This Thai restaurant opened up around March and has been a hit with Sydneysiders ever since. In fact most of the customers seem to be Thai people, and if the Thai people recommend it, then it must be good right?

I usually get takeaway from Home Thai and eat it at home because the restaurant gets very crowded. Expect to wait up to half an hour during the dinner rush.. and if they try to 'squeeze' your table into a smaller table - ie fit 3 people onto a 2 people table- say no! Its uncomfortable and you'd much rather wait another 10 minutes for a proper table. Otherwise do the right thing and book!

Tom Yum Goong

Spicy Prawn Soup with Mushrooms and Herbs

So spicy. So sour! I did about three spoons of soup before giving up and just eating the prawns and mushrooms.

Look Chin Ping

Grilled skewered chicken balls served with fresh vegetables and spicy sauce

This was $1.50 for 2 skewers. Unbelievable hey?

Pak Ka Na Moo Grob

Stir fried crispy pork belly, fresh chilli, chinese brocolli, green beans and oyster sauce.

This dish almost makes me think that Thai food is healthy. Lots of crunchy greens and barely a hint of chilli. I think the pork belly is deep fried though.. which would explain why its deliciously crispy. But not very good for you.

Pad Nue Nam Mun Hoi

Stir fried marinated topside with shallot, mushroom and oyster sauce served with steamed

brocolli.

This was very tasty and the beef topside was nice and tender.

Pad Pik Khing

Stir fried crispy pork belly with chilli, lime leaf, green bean and pik khing sauce

This dish was surprisingly spicy. The pik khing sauce really kicks a punch.

Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab with Mango Salad

This my friends, is no the 'mango salad' you would expect. The mango is actually green mango, which is a sour stringy version and not the sweet juicy mango you would pick up from the supermarket. The salad is quite good and if you like thai salads, definitely try number 20 beef salad, superb.

Dear readers, I apologise for the lack of frequent updates. Lately I've been a little preoccupied. Mostly because its just so friggin damn cold and I cbf going outside to eat. Tonight my lovely sister cooked chicken and swiss mushroom risotto, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and poached pears for dinner. Seriously, why would I go out to eat? Anyways I do have a few more posts that I need to upload, including J's 24th at Red Chili Sichuan Restaurant. With a menu that includes:

- Chef's special lamb spices with spciy cummin

- Hot Pot Venerupis with hot and spicy sauce

- Stewed Beef and vermicelli in special cour soup

- Country style stewed fish fillets with chinese chive juice

(exact spelling of the menu), it was definitely an experience to remember.

By the way, how awesome is the new level 5 Westfield food court? I was so excited! I had lunch there today and also last Friday. It has a Din Tai Fung and the 'stalls' look like proper restaurants. I cannot wait to try Ragu Wine Bar. So excited! Who wants to have lunch?

So until then (B.L can you please upload photos!) toodles :)

Beach Burrito Company, Coogee Beach, Brunch

Beach Burrito Company

260 Coogee Bay Road

I caught up with two good friends today over brunch at Coogee Beach. The weather was kind to us and we chose to catch up at the Beach Burrito Company. I was interested to try it again because the last time I came here (which was around two years ago) the experience was somewhat disappointing.

First of all- what to eat? Theres so many choices during brunch because you've got all the breakfast choices AND all the lunch choices so it takes twice as long to make a decision. Eventually I settled on breakfast and ordered the courtyard's special of smoked salmon and poached eggs.

Our drinks were first to arrive..

Skim Cappucino

Orange Juice

It took an hour later but finally our food arrived.

Pepper grilled asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon served with poached eggs, pancetta, sourdough and hollandaise

Boy was I happy. The poached eggs were perfect- so good. They didn't even drizzle water when you break them apart. I always fail at poached eggs so the only times I ever get poached eggs is at cafes and these were damn good.

All or Nothing- Eggs any style, bacon, field mushrooms, sausages, baked beans and roast tomato served with toast and a creamy pesto sauce

I tried a bit of the bacon from this and realized that I haven't had bacon in like.. six months. Why?! When did I forget that bacon tasted so good?

The serving size was good and W didn't manage to finish her plate.

Overall it was a much better experience than the first. The food and coffee were good and although the service was slow its understandable for Sunday brunch/lunch/breakfast.

Friends

A non food related post

I tend to miss the bandwagon. I've never watched the OC. I don't follow Gossip Girl and my favourite tv shows are usually shows that were cancelled mid-season (ie Pushing Daisies).

So this is why I started watching Friends ten years after everyone else.. and only just finished watching the show's finale tonight. What a show. Seriously I cant believe it took me this long to watch it, what was I thinking!??! And now that its over, its like breaking up with six friends that I got to know over the past two months. Whooo...

Anyways I'll be back tomorrow with a review of Astino's Newtown and some breakfast at Coogee Beach :)

Fujiya, Japanese, Sydney

Fujiya Japanese Restaurant

Level 1, 605 George Street

9283 2268

Fujiya is that restaurant which everyone forgets about until they run out of all other options. Tonight, we went to Fujiya. Its pretty sad since initially I was trying to think of a new Japanese restaurant to try- but realised nothing was new. It seems the new restaurants (Sushi Hotaru @ Galleries, etc) are just sister restaurants of old Japanese restaurants. Unbelievable.

Does anyone know any new good Japanese restaurants that are in the Sydney CBD? Yes I understand that Darlinghurst, Potts Point, Glebe and etc are all very hip, trendy&etc but I'm talking about a good restaurant within walking distance of the CBD..

Anyways.. surprisingly I quite like Fujiya. It has a great location, good views to people watch if you get a window seat, moderately priced and the food is consistent (although somewhat average). But hey- as long as you know what you're expecting you won't be disappointed.

Chicken Gristle Kaarage

I love this dish. Theres not many restaurants in the city which do this and Fujiya has the best deep fried chicken gristle. Less fat and meat, more gristle. Drizzle with lemon- perfection.

Takoyaki (Japanese Deep Fried Octopus and Potato balls)

Takoyaki- not too bad. Serving size a bit small for the price but acceptable.

Wagyu Fried Rice with Garlic

Rice was chewy and didnt stick together, lots of egg, beef was tender. I liked this :)

Nabeyaki Seafood Udon

This was an ideal choice what with all the cold weather in Sydney at the moment. The soup was rich and hearty with the egg adding a really good flavour.

Sashimi Salad

This was my least liked dish.. the sashimi wasn't cut up into equal portions, the dressing tasted really strange and there was way too much onion. Also could barely find any salmon.. seemed like mostly kingfish. Disappointed because I've had the tofu salad before at Fujiya and its always been really good.. I wont be ordering this salad next time.

Overall its a good place for a nice quiet dinner and I would recommend it on non busy nights (ie sun-thurs). Its not overly expensive ($50 for two) and the booths are cute and cosy and the waiters aren't obtrusive. Good thing about japanese restaurants, the boyf left his bag at the place and they had it when we came back three hours later to look for it. Thanks guys! Much appreciated :)