I'm baaaacckk....

Ok, after desperate entreaties (polite enquiries) from many of my followers (two cousins and a friend from church) I have decided to jump back on the blogging band-wagon. I'm not quite sure how I fell off, because there is plenty to talk/ photograph/ eat/ cook/ write about. I guess I am busy, but no more than pretty much every other person I know. I'm actually surprised that when I went back to my blog, the last post was in December, I feel that I have plenty of things to write about that according to my diary (in my head only...and trolling through old emails) actually happened in November.

And I think that is the crux of the matter - that there is just SO much to write about. And where to begin. Do I start from now and keep going? Or do I look back at my list and try and re-hash (get it? the foodie reference??) the events/ dinners/ circumstances.

I think I will try a combination of the two, and to keep me honest I will put a list here of blog topics that I want to write about (from the recent past).

Events:

Cooking for 20+ for a weekend at craft camp - not just the cooking, but the fun of talking it over with my co-conspirator Michelle, the planning and the shopping.

GingerBread House Decorating - too much fun...and also a little too serious....

Austi Women's Night Out: Food for body and soul - recent cooking demonstration at my church.

Christmas - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Week before Christmas family Christmas celebration - you get the drift.

An amazing Champagne Hour Champagne Tasting - 4 bottles of top notch champagne, 5 thirsty girls...

Reviews:

So many new restaurants/ cafes opened in the northern suburbs of Wollongong towards the end of last year! All are still open! And there is not really anyone else writing (good) restaurant reviews. Some of the places we've been to:

The Point - new cafe on Point St Bulli - rough review: good

Sea Salt - where Ruby's used to be - rr: not good

Flanagan's - at Thirroul. Have blogged a work lunch but have since been there for dinner and lunch again - rr: great

New sushi place in Woonona (the name escapes me right now...aahh thank you google - it's Sushi Moon) - rr: good with reservations

Gone Burgers - hip & funky beer and burger place in a Woonona laneway (who would have thought Woonona was NSW's answer to Melbourne?) - rr: good

The Bar Next Door to Samuels - aka TBNDS. Where the cool kids go - rr:great

Chedo's - at Coledale. An oldie, but a goodie. rr: good

One on Park at Woonona. Dan's workplace, but it would be good anyway. rr: good

Bon Aroma - had a lovely Christmas get-together with "the girls" with an absolutely hilarious meal. rr: interesting

Berry Sourdough Bakery - on the way to camping - rr: great

The Gelati Clinic, Bermagui - holiday time - rr: fantastic

Mimosa Winery, near Bermagui - luxury lunch - rr: good

Cream, Bermagui - great cakes, great coffee, always the first place we head to - rr:great

Montague Cafe, Bermagui - and I wonder why my nephew-in-law calls us "cafe campers" - rr: good

Cookbook and books about cooks reviews:

I gave, received, read and even compiled some great cookbooks since Christmas, mainly:

The Songs of Sapa- Luke Nguyen

Food Safari - Maeve O'Mara

Meals:

Camping - we had some fantastic meals while we were camping. Including:

Paella

A seafood extravaganza for Nick's birthday

Yum Cha - yes, whilst camping, then repeated a fortnight later...

A birthday breakfast extravaganza

The cooking roster also continues, pretty much without fuss (from me that is). Everyone is starting to get their specialities, which I will let you know about.

Miscellaneous:

Onions vs Shallots vs Spring onions - I think this is what did my head in and made me stop blogging - way too much research...

New Year's Eve on Cockatoo Island- the food was good, but the experience was fantastic

And if you've read this far, my most ambitious idea for the year ahead is a Cookbook Swap. I'm still working on the logistics and the fine print, but I hope to go ahead with it soon. I'm thinking along the same lines as a clothes swap, but am still working on it. Any suggestions gratefully received...

So, sorry there's no photos this time around, I'm on the wrong computer. Please let me know what you would like to hear about first, plus I'll be keeping current - the aim is to blog at least twice a week.

Eating out: Flanagans Fish Cafe

It had been slightly more than the usual hectic week at work. Most of us had put in a 16-20 hour day on Monday, then had fronted up again at seven the next morning. So on Wednesday, our boss shouted us lunch (whilst we had our (sometimes) weekly team meeting).

The view from my seat - looking south

The view from my seat - looking north

The location of choice was Flanagan’s. This establishment had been located as a take-away on Lawrence Hargrave Drive a few years ago. When they moved to the kiosk on Thirroul Beach, they seemed to be continuing to focus on “high-end” seafood take-away, but now also with the facility to dine in.

Since a few months ago when I had visited last, they have now physically separated the restaurant into take-away and dining sections. Both have table seating out the front, though this too is separated by a wood/rope barricade. The signage is not immediately apparent so in the time we were there, I saw 3 couples directed away from the dine-in section and around the corner of the building to the take-away section and a couple vice-versa.

The location is magnificent. Separated by a walk-way from the sand of Thirroul Beach, you can’t get much closer in this country to dining by the sea. It is a beautiful day when we are there, and for the days that are not so pleasant there is still adequate table space inside.

The service is a little curious. No-one came out to our group of seven, so we went inside and took some menus back to our table. There were also a couple of blackboard specials to choose from. Choices were mainly seafood oriented, though there were also some burger and Caesar salad options. The specials were the salt & pepper squid and Atlantic salmon. Once we had decided what we wanted, we then went back inside to give them our orders.

My choice was the King Prawn Wrap with aioli, cucumber and salad greens ($13). It came accompanied by a salad. Although the prawns were not really king-size, they were sweet, fresh and full of flavour. You could taste the aioli without it being over-powering and the wrap was fresh and nicely crispy.


Others at the table tried the specials: the Atlantic salmon ($18.50) came with hand-cut chips and salad with a pot of thick hollandaise sauce and was plated nicely and pronounced beautifully cooked; the salt & pepper squid ($14.50) was cooked to perfection.

Salt and pepper squid in the background, note-pad and pen in the foreground thereby proving our meeting intentions

The gluten-free member tried the Greek salad, which had generous chunks of feta and tasty olives, and a bowl of hand-cut chips that we were able to share.



They also have a wine list with a small, but thorough selection of bottled wines and beers. A waitperson came to clear our table, but did not ask for coffee orders, so our Akubra wearing stand in volunteered to take our order in (thanks John!).


Staff started taking in tables and chairs at 3.00 o’clock and when asked, they advised that they closed at four, which seems like a missed opportunity for the after-school crowd. However they did advise that they would be opening for dinner on the weekends from the beginning of December.

Food: 17/20 – Tasty, generous servings for a reasonable price
Coffee: 18/20 – Strong, flavourful and not too hot
Service: 14/20 – Full table service would have been nice
Location/ Decor: 20/20 – Right on the beach at scenic Thirroul

Flanagans Fish Cafe
At the beach, Thirroul
02 4268 1598
Open 7 days, 7.00am - 4.00pm
Check for evening opening days and times

Getting our just desserts at Samuel's

Rick and I are in what I would like to call the pre-empty nest stage. Our little chicks (I use this term very loosely) are getting ready to leave the nest for good. This stage however is characterised by: lots of driving them around to their evening or weekend events; intensive logistic planning in order to carry out all the driving; making sure our phones are charged in case we get last-minute changes to the carefully planned itineraries and then the welcome surprise of an empty house and time to ourselves.

So, once upon a Friday night, after making TWO round trips to Wollongong, I arrived home at 9.30pm and suggested that Rick and I go down the road to Samuel's for dessert. Samuel's is one of a handful of good restaurants in the Northern Suburbs of Wollongong. I have been there for lunch and dinner several times over the last few years and have enjoyed it every time. One of the features of dinner is that you can choose two side dishes to accompany your main course selection, that means four side dishes between two people - a great way to experience a cross-section of dishes.

But tonight was dessert. We walked down to Thirroul, arriving at 9.30pm just as the rain made good its threat to come down. It's always a bit awkward arriving in a busy restaurant when none of the wait-staff acknowledge your presence, and I don't think I imagined a slight raise of the eyebrow when we said we were just there for dessert. However, once we chose our seats in the undercover outdoor area another young waiter promptly brought over menus and water.


With delicacies such as banoffee cheesecake with caramel gelato, toasted apple cake with bonfire apples & chantilly cream and nougat semifreddo it was difficult to decide. However for me the lemon pannacotta with balsamic strawberries sounded spot on for a warm night, and Rick is a sucker for a pineapple fritter especially if it's served with vanilla bean gelato and ginger syrup. We also order coffees - decaffeinated in deference to the late hour. Liquor, dessert and fortified wines are served by the glass and/or bottle and I was almost tempted. Samuel's used to have the liquor or wine suggestions matched to each dessert, a helpful guide that is missed (and might have tipped the temptation into action).

The pannacotta is that perfect balance between creamy and firm, and the lemon has still retained it's tang amongst the sweetness. The strawberries are sweetened by the balsamic vinegar, which is either a very thick variety or a reduction that has been swirled around the plate.


The pineapple fritter is coated with a light sweet batter that is cooked just right - crispy yet the pineapple is not cooked through. The vanilla bean gelato has tell-tale specks of vanilla bean and has good vanilla flavour. The ginger syrup is a bit sweet (well, I guess it is a syrup) and not ginger-y enough for my liking.


The coffee is Withams - a brand I am not very familiar with and I have not tried decaffeinated for a long time, but it is strong and well flavoured (and not just for decaf).

The bill comes just as we are ready to leave and is less than $30. Desserts are $10 each (apart from the Frangelico Affogatto at $12) and coffee is $3.50 - a great bargain in my opinion.

I'm looking forward to going down for a midweek dinner special (Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays) which is $35 for two courses, especially while Dan is doing his hospitality practical hours there for the next few weeks!

Samuel's Restaurant
382 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Thirroul NSW 2515
(02) 4268 2244
Open Tuesday-Sunday for lunch and dinner‎

Dessert Treats

Last Thursday Lauren and Nick journeyed up to Sydney for some retail fun. Realising that he had not yet purchased anything by the time they arrived in Surry Hills, Nick selflessly purchased a dozen cupcakes from Sparkle, rather than have to arrive home empty-handed (that was his excuse and I'm more than happy to go along with it).

No expense was spared for packaging. A well-crafted paper-bag held a strong box with individual slots for each cupcake. The temptation was too much and I was allowed to lift the lid before it was actually time for dessert.



A veritable treasure trove of cupcakes greeted my eyes (you may think his is cheesy hyperbole, but trust me, it wasn't).


But before dessert we had to endure dinner! No, it wasn't too hard as Nick and his minions had created a delicious Thai Beef Salad, a welcome dish on a hot day.

We also had a special guest for dinner - Michelle! She was on her very best behaviour and "felt very honoured to be dining with one of her favourite bloggers - just like in a movie!" We told her to get over herself (and that she could read about it on my blog ;-)).

Michelle and Lauren

And then, the real MAIN course - the cupcakes!

Nick and Lauren had thoughtfully chosen a selection of the usual 15 or so delicious flavours that are baked every day. Lauren and I were a little disappointed that the "Oriental Flower" (lychee and rose cake with sweet rose petal topping) had not been available on the day, so we sighed and resigned ourselves to tasting the ones that had been available.

Now, I was under the impression that I had been busily photographing a wide selection of the cupcakes that we were eating, but unfortunately that does not seem to have been the case - maybe I got distracted?

Green Tea and Bubbles

However, I do recollect the flavours and the responses of others. My general impressions of all the cakes was that they didn't look very fancy but that the flavours were very distinct - without being artificial, the "naturalness" of the flavours was a definite plus. The icings were also full of flavour without being sickly sweet (like some other cupcakes we have tried (or made)). I loved the little coloured icing discs to differentiate the flavours - very stylish!

Some of the cakes we divided into four (or more) so that whoever wanted one could have a taste. Our impressions (cake names and descriptions from here):

• Morning Glory (cinnamon cake with a hint of apple, dusted with cinnamon sugar) - delicious! Not too cinnamon-y (a good thing, sometimes it can be overdone). I thought my piece was a little dry, but Dan assured me it was "perfect".
• Lemon Squeeze (traditional zesty lemon cake and frosting) - perfect blend between sour lemon and sweet cake & frosting. MMMmmmm.
• Citrus Cloud (vanilla cake, a spurt of lime curd and fluffy meringue topping) - A-MAZ-ING! Really - as good as it sounds. If you like lime, you will love this.
• Green Tea and Bubbles (Maccha cake filled with tapioca bubbles and lime frosting) - Not being an aficionado of maccha cake or tapioca bubbles, I was keen to give this a try. The bubble filling was very refreshing and the green tea gave a delicate flavour to the cake.
• Lavender and Honey (soft scented lavender cake with creamy honey frosting) - Not my personal favourite - though if you love lavender flavoured food, you will like this. I can't get past the lavender as soap/ shampoo/ moisturiser scent, so find it a bit disconcerting as food. The honey frosting though, was very tasty (and I'm not just saying that to be nice).
• White Chocolate and Strawberry (Belgian White Chocolate with slithers of fresh strawberries) - I didn't get a look in on this one, as Rick (the White Chocolate King) polished it off (he may have been heard to mumble under his breath (very quietly) "would anyone like to try some of this?") He LOVED it!
• Banana Toffee (light banana cake filled with toffee and caramel frosting) - the flavour of the banana which can so often be overpowering, was perfectly balanced by the not-too-sweet caramel frosting.
• Pure Sparkle (vanilla cake made with the world's best pure vanilla bean and extract) - You would sort of think that with all the amazing flavours to choose from, the vanilla would be, well.... a bit vanilla. It was however exquisite, the black specks of vanilla seed attesting to it's freshness and a perfectly moist and flavoured cupcake.

And then there was one...

What a dessert! Thanks Nick!

Sparkle Cupcakery
132 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills 2010
Between Bourke and Crown Streets
Check the website for opening hours.
www.sparklecupcakery.com.au

Review: Sugarloaf Patisserie

I generally end up driving to the airport about once a month. It’s just less than an hour on a good run, up to an hour and a half if the traffic’s bad. I usually drive roughly the same route from Wollongong, which sees me turning down President Ave at Kogarah from the Princes Highway.

I started noticing an intriguing looking café over a year ago. Seeing that most of my trips to the airport are for work, I try not to waste too much time getting there and back. But this café on the corner, opposite a service station and next to a delicatessen and dive equipment shop (obviously no relation) kept catching my eye. Was it the restrained, newly painted exterior? The funky pale green chairs around tables out the front? Whatever it was, I decided next time I returned from the airport, I "really needed" a coffee and would stop and check it out.

Isn’t it exciting when you spy a new (for you) restaurant or café, and then when you go in there it meets all the criteria for a “good find”? After that initial visit, the Sugarloaf Patisserie then became a regular stop-off, usually returning from the airport, but also used as a welcome alternative to parking for an extra half an hour at the airport and indulging in some insipid brown liquid from Starbucks.

By the way, [START RANT] what the hell is it with the Macquarie Bank Fun Park also known as Sydney Airport? When picking up Jono and Maddie from the airport last week, I realised that private cars are not allowed to pick up people standing OUTSIDE the airport, waiting WITH their luggage, and in every way READY to jump in a car. There are signs there saying “NO PUBLIC PICK-UP”. What’s the legal alternative? Drive into the carpark, get charged the minimum fee of $7 for the privilege of stopping for 30 seconds? I ended up stopping at the entrance of the taxi rank, feeling very conspicuous and waiting for the travellers as they jogged down the walkway risking (others) life and limbs to reach the car as I frantically waved them over. I would have almost welcomed a security guard or (pseudo) parking officer to come and challenge my right to stop there (not obstructing anyone I must point out) just so I could have given them a “piece of my mind”- an ANGRY piece! [END RANT]

So, obviously needing a calming caffeine fix (is that an oxymoron? Or a sad indictment of my caffeine habit?), we stopped off at the Sugarloaf Patisserie last week.

From the inside, looking out onto the pavement and the cool kids

The interior of the café seats around 15 or so at tables. There’s some decorative coffee bags behind one end of the counter, but it’s the pastries behind the counter and the larger cakes in their own display case that take centre stage.
Sugarloaf Patisserie is owned by an Argentinian couple, who have transplanted the South American delicacies to Sydney. Apart from the sweet treats (I’ll get to them in a minute) they also have pies and sausage rolls plus a variety of empanadas – South American savoury pastries, pastry covering a range of fillings – chicken, meat and spinach & cheese. My favourite is the spinach and cheese – the short pastry enveloping a firm mix of spinach, cheese, garlic and other subtle spices. Very tasty indeed. We haven’t tried the other types of empanadas, but both the meat pies and sausage rolls get a thumbs up from the crew.

Well I had to show you the inside...?

Aaahh, the sweet treats. Let me start with the croissants. They have plain and sugar glazed. Then they have filled – with chocolate, quince, jam or dulce de leche (soft, gooey caramel). Nick had the sugar glazed, I had a quince filled one and took home some more for later – and they were good. Beautifully buttery croissant pastry surrounding the not too sweet quince jam – a great combination.

Sugar glazed croissant

Quince filled croissant

Other treats I have tried are the alfajores – sort of a Wagon Wheel type, chocolate coated biscuit, or a coconut covered alternative. The millefueille and French vanilla slices are a great blend of smooth, vanilla custard and again with the great pastry. Everything in and behind the counter looks amazing – and I nearly forgot about the churros!
I must admit to getting a little bit addicted to churros when I was in Spain a year or so ago. What’s not to like about chewy, yet soft fried doughnuts with liquid chocolate or caramel to dip them into? Yep, I didn’t think you would disagree. No disappointments at the Sugarloaf Patisserie in the churros department.

The coffee is excellent – strong and not too hot. The service has always been quick and cheerful and I can imagine this would be a busy place on weekends, it’s just too good to drive past. One point – they don’t have EFTPOS, but there is an ATM at the service station across the road.
¡Buen apetito!

Sugarloaf Patisserie is located at 37 President Ave, Kogarah. I'm not sure of opening hours, but it was open on the way to the airport (7.00am on a weekday).

Just popping down to the local

Is it me, my teenage and young adult kids, or is it society in general that is embracing café culture as an alternative to the pub culture from the “olden days”(ie anytime before 1990).

The meeting place of choice in our house is The BeansTalk (capitals intended), a local café in Thirroul. We eschew the two pubs in Thirroul and the one in Bulli, to get together to chew the fat (and the delicious caramel kisses) at The Bean – as it’s affectionately abbreviated amongst those in the know.

It has a laid-back coolness about it, veering between nondescript and arty, with regularly changing exhibitions of mostly local artists hanging on the walls. The interior is cool and reasonably spacious, but it’s outside where the cool kids sit – a prime vantage point on the corner of the main road, so that you can see who is walking or driving past and be seen.

The tables out the front used to enjoy a beautiful large shady fig tree that was recently cut down in on-going council work in the area. Now, there are still two smaller trees remaining, the large umbrellas and personal parasols on offer to provide the rest of the shade. Further external decoration is provided by one (or more) Vespas owned by one of the café owners and giving a certain European feel to the café.

Imagine the sexy Vespa, just out of shot, to the right

Café going in our home has moved on from the occasional coffee with friends, or celebratory breakfast, to a place where, if they might not know your name, they certainly know your face and coffee order. The BeansTalk is now the place of choice for a quick takeaway, or a leisurely Saturday morning, as enjoyed by Dan who will start with coffee with a friend before work, join Rick, Allira and I after we visit the library for second breakfast, have a juice with a group of mates and then join Nick & Lauren for lunch when they make their way down.

And so, to the food. They keep it simple for breakfast, with bacon & egg Turkish rolls or scrambled eggs, ham & cheese or plain croissants. For the sweet tooth, there’s French toast dripping with maple syrup, blueberry bagels with cream cheese, banana and honey or fresh fruit salad with yoghurt.

Lunch favourites are deliciously flaky pastry spinach & cheese quiche (pictured), samosas, vege rolls, French “gottas” – open sandwiches with a variety of toppings, mainly vegetable & feta and toasted sandwiches, all served with or without salad.

There are also the ubiquitous banana, pear & raspberry or fruit & nut bread; as well as friands, cookies and caramel kisses (really just old-school caramel slice, cut in rounds).

Mmmm...tasty treats

Freshly squeezed fruit juices are always good, and at the BeansTalk, they keep the glasses in the freezer so that half the glass isn’t filled up with ice-cubes. My favourite juice is apple, orange and carrot. Nick has apple, pineapple and ginger.

The coffee at the Bean is usually pretty good. The mochas are chocolately without being sickly sweet. The temperature is drinkable without burning your tongue. And the service is equally speedy, whether grabbing a takeaway or having it there.

Back to shooting down to your local. I am being tempted by a newly opened café in Woonona – Jaffa, though it is a little further afield. (I mean, I could walk to BeansTalk, just because I don’t, doesn’t mean I can’t…) Cucina in Thirroul is also good – and has amazing salads, which I will talk about in a later post. One on Park down near the beach in Woonona is also great (and also a subject for a later post) – and being on the bike track is very convenient.

BeansTalk is open seven days a week, from early (in time for a commuter coffee during the week) till around 4’ish. It’s on the corner of Lawrence Hargrave Drive & Railway Parade.

So where’s your local? Is it the local pub or a café? Do they know your name or just your coffee order – which is all they need to know!