Adriano Zumbo Pâtissier, Balmain (30 Nov 2008)

296 Darling Street, Balmain NSW 2041
http://adrianozumbo.com

Adriano Zumbo Café Chocolat

308 Darling Street, Balmain NSW 2041

Sydney Food Bloggers raid Zumbo!

I'm usually not up before noon on a Sunday but an invitation to a meetup of Sydney food bloggers at 11 am to sample the new summer season of desserts at Adriano Zumbo Pâtissier was a good excuse to get me out of bed.

The event was organised by I Am Obsessed with Food and well-attended by the likes of:

• Chocolatesuze (review)
• Citrus and Candy (review)
• Not Quite Nigella (review)
• Grab Your Fork (review)
• The Delectable Delight (review)
• The Cake + The Knife (review)
• OOh, LOOk... (review)
• EatShow&Tell (review)
• The Way It Crumbles
• Here comes the FOOD (review)

Below are some of the desserts sampled by bloggers. I missed out on photographing atleast 3 other desserts which will hopefully be covered in their blogs. I look forward to more food adventures with my fellow foodies.

Food bloggers calm before the storm of photographic frenzy

Mocha to wash down the sugar overload $3

Have a chat Kai! - Coconut dacquoise, lychee jelly, coconut mousse, coconut crunch, fresh strawberries & lychees $7.80 (my selection), Gluten free

Strawberry and peach danish $4.50 (my selection)

Berry custard brioche

Miss Marple Cheescake - Orange cheesecake with orange strawberry compote, cream cheese créme legere with a crepe & maple glaze $7.50

Tarte aux fruits de la passion - Pate sable, passionfruit créme $5.50

Chocolate fondant - Flourless chocolate cake $5.50

Cassius - Chocolate biscuit macaron, blackcurrant chocolate cremeaux, chocolate plates with sea salt, dark chocolate Chantilly $7.80, Gluten free

Wheely Wildly Wendy - Fresh roasted peach in a tonka bean créme legere and sandwiched between two almond dacquoise disks & rolled in almond crumble $7.60, Gluten free

Paris - La Vie en Rose - Rose creme brulee, raspberry sorbet balls, fresh lychees, petit rose macarons and coconut strawberry tapioca shake $13.50

Dr.Apple - Pistachio dacquoise, apple cider jelly, vanilla creme chantilly, calvados cooked apples, green apple mousse $7.70

Past jobs - Kaffir lime & ginger pannacotta, black sticky rice pudding, exotic fruit jelly, palm sugar mascarpone $7.50, Gluten free

Craigie bam! - Chocolate dacquoise, chocolate sabayon with salted caramel debris, chocolate caramel creameaux, caramel mousse $7.50, Gluten free

On the lounge with Zumbo - Mango financier, raspberry & liquorice jelly, fresh mango slices, liquorice mousse, mago caramel glaage $7.50

Zumbo the kid - Vegemite bavaroise, peanut butter créme legere, raspberry jelly, chocolate peanut glacage, peanut feullitine, flourless chocolate biscuit $7.50

Woo Hoo - Pate sable, raspberry coulis, pistachio ganache, pistachio nougatine $6.20

Sunny cloud - Pate sable, lime jelly, yoghurt créme fraiche, lime curd & italian meringue $7

Charles du Jour - Tart pate sucree, vanilla ganache, vanilla créme chantilly, vanilla water bursts, vanilla glacage $7.60

UZC - Biscuit macaron, sweet corn jelly, saffron bavaroise, vanilla brulee $7.80, Gluten free

Framboise Millefeuille - Raspberry coulis, biscuit jaconde, raspberry créme mascarpone & caramelised puff pastry $7.50

The Younger Years - Chocolate fondant with raspberry coulis, vanilla anglaise injection & peanut butter gelato $13.50

Comfy cushion seating in the café

The aftermath at Adriano Zumbo Café Chocolat

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Home Cooking: Baked Scallops (14 Jan 2008)

Just takes minutes. Too easy, too delicious!

Baked fresh scallop with ground chilli, pepper and olive oil with squeeze of fresh lime, Chef Leong :-)

Home Cooking: Paradise Sunset Dessert (25 Dec 2007)

Slowly simmer fruit with liqueurs and sugar to soften and sweeten and you have a recipe for a delicious dessert. If you have a better name for this dessert please let me know.

Fresh strawberry, raspberry, mango and lychee macerated with Grand Marnier and Frangelico served on a bed of port wine jelly and topped with vanilla ice cream, Chef Leong :-)

Home Cooking: Blueberry crumble (23 Nov 2008)

Very simple dessert to make with just a can of blueberries and flour, brown sugar and butter for the crumble. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Can substitute blueberries with pretty much any type of fruit like the classic apple, sultanas and some cinnamon.

Blueberry crumble, Chef Leong :-)

Home Cooking: Duck rice paper rolls (23 Nov 2008)

SMH Good Living recipe, 21 October 2008

http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/rice_paper_rolls

100 ml vegetable oil

1 leek, washed and finely sliced

3 medium carrots, grated

1 Peking duck, breast and leg meat finely sliced

3 handfuls coriander leaves, washed

1 handful mint leaves, washed

1/2 cup oyster sauce

20 rice papers, large

I used Vietnamese mint and much smaller portions to fill small rice papers. Halved to make bite sized canapés. I also added some chopped bean sprouts and finely chopped bamboo shoots would work well too.

Heat oil in a saucepan and cook leek over a medium heat until soft, about five minutes. Add carrot and cook a further five minutes. Remove from heat and stir through duck, coriander, mint and oyster sauce. Place rice paper in a large bowl of warm water a couple at a time to soften. Spread out on a dry tea towel and place a few tablespoons of duck mixture in the centre, fold over edges and wrap up.

Duck rice paper rolls, Chef Leong :-)

Trang Restaurant: Vietnamese, West End QLD (16 Nov 2008)

59 Hardgrave Road, West End, QLD 4101

A cheap and cheerful Vietnamese place has plenty of customers keeping it busy. I'd love to try many of the other dishes which looked so good on other tables. Portions were generous and fresh.

Prawn and Pork + Salad Rolls $8

Chicken Noodle Soup $9

Homemade Iced Lemon Tea $2.50

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Little Singapore Restaurant, Sunnybank (17 Nov 2008)

Shop 3A, Market Square, Cnr Mains Road & McCullough Street

Sunnybank QLD
http://www.littlesingapore.com.au

I would have to say this is now one of my favourite restaurants for Malaysian I've been to so far in Australia and pretty much on par if not better than my Sydney favourite of Alice's in Thornleigh. The beauty I find with Little Singapore is that they seem to be good at all the classic dishes, while other places tend to be great at some and not so good on others. Everything I tried here was good and would happily have again.

The service was fast, the portions generous and the prices very reasonable. If they had one of these in Sydney it would be the busiest in town but so good to have around. I'm definitely visiting again next time I'm up in Brisbane.

Other places tried for Char Kway Teow:

• 25 Jan 2012 - More More Cha (includes clams)

• 2 June 2010 - Wong Kee Fast Food

• 20 Jan 2010 - Yummy Cuisine

• 19 Oct 2009 - Sayong Curry & Laksa Malaysian Cuisine

• 2 Sept 2009 - Chili Hub

• 16 Aug 2009 - Albee's Kitchen

• 13 Aug 2009 - Jaya Malaysian

• 29 April 2009 - Malay-Chinese Takeaway

• 17 Nov 2008 - Little Singapore Restaurant

• 19 Oct 2008 - KL Kopitiam Malaysian Cuisine

Lobak (Deep Fried Mince Pork Rolls) $6.80

Malaysian Char Kway Teow $9.80

Hainanese Chicken Rice $8.80

Malaysian Nasi Lemak $10.80

Combination Chow Mein $9.80

Assam Squid and Rice $10.80

Combination Fried Ho Fun w Egg Sauce $9.80

Little Singapore Combination Laksa $9.80

Ice Kacang $5

Little Singapore front

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Bécasse: Fine dining, Sydney (7 Nov 2008)

204 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.becasse.com.au

Second visit much better

Georgia and Justin North of Bécasse generously invited me and a guest to a complimentary lunch at their 2 Hatted restaurant to experience the restaurant as it should be. I recommend atleast two hours to leisurely enjoy a three course meal at this fine dining establishment. The food was beautifully presented and visually simple. Ingredients and flavours were fresh and delicious and had depth to satisfy the tastebuds. Service was attentive and knowledgeable of the dishes and the maître d' friendly and welcoming.

The canapé had such fine melt in your mouth puff pastry and would happily of eaten a whole plate of these. One of my favourite oysters is St Helens (also Coffin Bay) so I had to try and was thinking they were freshly shucked because the oyster brine tasted so fresh. The ginger and lemon thyme sorbet version worked well. The potato gnocchi was very delicious with the crispy skin barramundi.

The buttermilk mousse palette cleanser was a generous portion before trying the banana crème brulée which had taste explosions of salty peanut brittle throughout. Generous petits fours preluded a hot chocolate which pretty much filled me to the brim. Their degustation menu looks very tempting for future dining.

Other visits to Bécasse:

• 24 Oct 2008 - Good Food Month Let's Do Lunch

• 7 Nov 2008 - Reinvited back for complimentary lunch

Canapé: Puff pastry with olive puree, tomato marinated with olive oil, thyme and garlic, topped with lemon mascarpone and fried basil

Emulsified olive oil with black salt

Assorted breads

St Helens oysters, one natural $3 and one topped with ginger and lemon thyme sorbet $5

Amuse bouche: Asparagus velouté with lemon cream and shiso leaf

King prawn and Serrano ham 'gran reserva' mparettati with shellfish bisque, tomato and orange $29

Salad of cured organic grass fed wagyu beef with spiced gaspacho salsa $15

King prawn risotto with sautéed prawns and bisque $15

Roasted fillet of barramundi with a sauté of prawns, pan fried potato gnocchi, pea puree, peas and beans $48

Palette cleanser: Buttermilk mousse with poached pineapple and pineapple granita

Banana crème brulée with salted peanut brittle and milk coffee sorbet $20

Petits fours: carrot cake, chocolate macaroons and apple jelly with spiced sugar

Hot chocolate

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