about time.

I'm currently in the midst of preparing for my exams now so I probably won't be updating until the end of next week. I do have a lot of places I need to get through so hopefully I'll be disciplined enough to do up the posts then.

Time flies. I've been away for a couple of months now and it's almost time for me to head back to SG. I was just telling Ivan when he was in Sydney for a short break that I was jaded with the SG food scene for a while. This and including the fact that I had too many commitments made me slow down on blogging. Honestly, there were times even when the thought of closing down this blog crossed my mind. 

On the food front, the time that I've spent away has done a lot for me. I found the time and the words. More importantly, I was curious again; traveling to a new suburb to search for that one particular dish, planning a schedule of places to dine at, meeting new and old companions for a catch up over a good meal. I guess many things may have changed over the years since starting my blog but my love for a good meal and good company has been the only constant all this while.

I'm looking forward to a whole lot of eating and catch ups when I return home. When the p.sch girls sent me a msg to say hi, they decided to take pictures of their claypot chicken rice. They probably thought I cared more about what they were eating instead of how they were doing! P sent me a msg telling me that she misses her eating kaki (aka me) yesterday. The parents have been raving about a beef noodles stall that I have to try. D is going to buy me a good meal at André (if I'm lucky). There will be eating trips across the Causeway and hopefully some overseas. Now's definitely time to invest in some elastic waisted pants!

Time to hit the books. See you soon!

a 2nd visit to ash st cellar.

Ash St Cellar
1 Ash Street
Sydney
Tel: 612 9240 3000
Website: http://www.merivale.com/#/ivy/ashstreetcellar


I have a thing for cosy little restaurants that serve good food and Ash St Cellar fits that bill perfectly. Ash St Cellar's food is Mediterranean and dining there reminds me of the little alleys in Melbourne and the cafes along the streets in Europe. Tucked in a little corner behind the Ivy in downtown Sydney, it makes the perfect spot for a catch up with friends or even a casual first date! The food is designed as sharing plates and the menu is short, yet succinct. Ash St Cellar changes their menu from time to time so there are no worries that the food will be exactly the same the next time you return (that is unless if you decide you wanna return the next day).

Anyway, some botched dinner plans brought my sis and I to Ash St. I enjoyed my first dinner there back in July and had wanted to bring my sis for a visit since then.

Kingfish Tartare, Green Apple, Young Celery, Witlof

   

birthday at quay.

Quay
Overseas Passenger Terminal
The Rocks, Sydney
Tel: 612 9251 5600
Website: http://www.quay.com.au/ 

I still have a ton of pictures to edit and loads of writing to get down to with the amount of eating that I've been doing recently but I figured I better post this up first since it's already a couple of months overdue. Also, since I'm going to a special place for dinner tonight in celebration of the sister's birthday (expect another blog post coming up soon), I figured I should at least post about the special lunch which she arranged for me on my birthday when I first got in to Sydney.

 Petits Fours

 

a Hakka banquet at Claude's.

Claude's
10 Oxford Street
Woollahra, Sydney
Tel: 612 9331 2325
Website: http://claudes.com.au/ 

Hi, I'm Sooks and I'm a Hakka.

I've been familiar with quite a lot of Hakka food since young because of my parents and more so in recent times due to the opening of the family's restaurant. Just a little bit of background. Back in the old days, Hakkas were known as nomads and generally lived in the inner land of China thus, seafood in the Hakka cuisine is a rarity. There was also a need to preserve their produce in order to ensure they lasted longer. Hence, the Hakka cuisine is characteristically known to be salty and boasts strong and heavy flavours.

Chef Chui Lee Luk (or 'Chui' as affectionately known by her regular customers) of Claude's comes from the same heritage and presented a Hakka banquet for the Sydney International Food Festival this year. Having grown up with Hakka food on the table, she wanted to present her own modern take on the cuisine and showcase it to many who were probably unaware of Hakka food in general due to the lack of Hakka restaurants in Sydney.

 Eight Treasure Puffs

In the Kitchen: Pancetta & Zucchini Carbonara

It's been a while since I've cooked something non-Asian. Maybe it's cos I'm away from home now so I tend to cook the familiar home favourites to make up for the distance and my mum's cooking. At times, I do feel that it's easier to cook Asian since we already have most of the sauces and condiments needed.

I've been wanting to make this pasta since having a delicious one at my uni cafe months back (yes, there is good food at uni). Whilst doing some Googling, I found Jamie Oliver's Carbonara recipe and since there was some cream in the fridge, I got down to work in the kitchen.

I ♥ Zumbo's Macarons.

Adriano Zumbo Café
114 Terry Street
Rozelle,NSW 2039
Opening Hours: Mon - Fri, 6.30am - 4pm; Sat & Sun, 7.30am - 4pm

Adriano Zumbo Pâtisserie
296 Darling Street
Balmain, NSW 2040
Tel: 612 9810 7318
Opening Hours: Mon - Sat, 8am - 6pm; Sun, 8am - 4pm

Website: http://adrianozumbo.com/ 

 Passionfruit Tart

I have to admit that I never knew about Adriano Zumbo until this year. Well, let's just say I missed out on watching him and his Croquembouche which was featured in Masterchef Australia. I do feel a tad ashamed for missing out on his fantastic creations for so long but as the saying goes, better late than never.